1/1/10

Happy Holidays and New Year! It’s hard to believe that another year and a whole decade have come to an end so quickly. Our boys continued to mature this year and we could not be prouder of them.

Charlie (13) is now a seventh grader in middle school. He continues to do very well in his classes and also has an increasingly busy social calendar. Of course, now that he’s officially a teenager, obtaining the who, what, when and where details of that social calendar has been somewhat more difficult this year. Fortunately, with the help of Facebook, texting and a few well placed informants, we are managing to stay one step ahead of his growth. Charlie was fortunate to have another banner year on the football field. His 120 lb Marple Junior Tigers team finished the season 12-0-1 winning the league championship for the third time in the last 5 years. Charlie continues to play organized basketball and baseball as well, keeping our evenings and weekends as busy as ever. One of the highlights of his year was attending Game 5 of the World Series with his dad and brothers.

Henry (11) is now a fifth grade “senior” at his elementary school and continues to amaze us with his maturity. He played organized basketball, baseball and football again this year, and enjoyed carrying the ball at running back full-time this season, scoring three touchdowns. Henry also seems to be a natural on the basketball court, playing on two different teams this season. One of the highlights of his year was our return trip to Williamsport, PA to attend the Little League World Series with dad, brothers and friends. Henry also remains an avid video gamer, having mastered most Xbox sports and combat games. But most of all, Henry remains our most sensitive, thoughtful and gentle family member, always considering the needs and feelings of others. Unless of course his brothers are involved, in which case unbridled sibling rivalry still prevails!

Patrick (9) is now a third grader and continues to be very popular at school and on the playing field. Since our boys are a “package deal” during each sports season, he too played baseball, football and basketball this year. Patrick was also selected to play on our town’s tournament Little League baseball team this season, extending our evenings and weekends on the baseball field into late July. Football season started just a week later, and Patrick’s 80 lb Marple Junior Tigers team (he only weighs 60 lbs soaking wet) also had a very successful season, finishing 8-4 and advancing to the league title game before falling short against undefeated Downingtown. While Patrick has often excelled on the ball field, he has also become overly competitive at times (like his Dad), so we do our best to remind him that true athletic success is impossible without sportsmanship.

Beth continues to lead our elementary school PTO as its Co-President. She has become a remarkable, multi-tasking household executive, managing kids activities, school volunteer work, an active social calendar and our home via e-mail, cell phone and Blackberry this year! Beth seems to have a boundless energy for our family and community that never ceases to amaze us all. Chris continued to commute to DC each week to lead marketing at Choice Hotels, where his work took him to Prague, Toronto and all over the US this year. When he was able to escape work, Chris managed to finagle surfing trips to Costa Rica, the Outer Banks and Hawaii again this year.