Well, it’s our Fifth Annual Holiday letter, and we just started composing it New Year’s Day (2010). As we had to file for an extension on our 2008 income taxes, we are asking for the same grace period from you.January: The New Year began with well-checks for the kids (who are growing like weeds and blessedly well). El Jefe made four day trips to Las Vegas and one overnighter, and i had one overnighter, and somehow at least one of us was home with the kids while we worked weekends, too … but chaos is bound to happen as the photo shows. We went to Red Robin for Punkin’s fourth birthday, same as last year. Punkin’s former teacher, Ms. R, babysat when El Jefe and i went to the heartbreaking funeral for the husband of our friend and El Jefe’s coworker. Peanut got her lower right canine tooth. We think she has all her baby teeth by now, but apparently that is the last one we kept track of. Yes sang with the Naval Academy Glee Club at the Inaugural Celebration “We Are One” … an experience of a lifetime, but only her uncle was able to identify her on the stage as we all assumed she would be in the front row due to her height. And finally Punkin got to be the Birthday Star at Chuck E. Cheese. Fortunately the parent/child ratio was extremely high as we lost Peanut on more than one occasion.
February: The month started with John’s, Punkin’s classmate, birthday party at Ballocity, where parents and kids alike climb and slide and pelt each other with very soft spongy balls via cannon, machine gun, etc. El Jefe gave an inordinate number of presentations at Nevada Department of Transportation’s (NDOT’s) Resident Engineer (RE) Academy, including three in one day. He made three day trips to Las Vegas and one overnighter, i had one overnighter, and on that occasion we nearly passed each other in the airport to hand off the kids. We celebrated our eleventh anniversary with a wonderful dinner at the Rapscallion Seafood House, same as last year, while Ms. R held down the fort with the kids. We definitely proved that the cost of living has increased by ordering the exact same meal and drinks for $20.00 more (approximately a 20% increase for you analyticals). Peanut pee’d on the potty for the first time, and my dad, Paw Paw, came for a long weekend visit at the end of the month.
March: Paw Paw left early in the month, but within ten days El Jefe’s mom, Grandma, visited us from Wisconsin via San Diego. We all went to the Wilbur D. May museum here in Reno, which in addition to some great kids exhibits features an unbelievable collection of dead animals (far beyond lions and tigers and bears, oh my!). El Jefe made five day trips to Las Vegas and i had one two-nighter. We all went to the Shrine Circus where the kids found the clowns kind of scary, but the cotton candy terrific. Peanut roared at the tigers, Punkin was fired up by the motorcycles in the “sphere of death”, and Pam and El Jefe enjoyed the best Budweiser EVER. i turned forty-four without taking a break, realizing i have spent half of my life as an engineer and half of my career with one company.
April: El Jefe did one two-nighter and four day trips to Las Vegas this month. Peanut pooped in the potty! Punkin started sleeping in underwear! By this point, i was averaging one day off a month (including Saturdays and Sundays), so i jumped at the chance to spend a couple nights in Mesquite for the Nevada Chapter of the American Association of Public Works (APWA) Spring Conference, even if she had to give a presentation (“Q is for Quality”). It is no surprise in my frame of mind i lost her bifocals. We filed for that extension on our 2008 income taxes, and Punkin and Peanut helped me make Sponge Bob and Patrick cupcakes (Punkin’s idea) for El Jefe’s forty-eighth birthday.
May: Punkin read “Big and Little” to Peanut, and two days later both kids played sick to stay home from day care. It’s official; they are starting to gang up on us. Peanut’s tricycle was stolen allegedly by some hoodlum kids. El Jefe only made one day trip to Las Vegas this month, but we made up for it with an eight-day Midwestern journey to scatter Nonna’s (my mom’s) ashes. We all flew into Louisville, KY, and drove the next day to meet Paw Paw in Evansville, IN. We went to Nonna’s hometown of Vincennes, IN, and also saw the early sprouts in my Aunt Pat’s infamous garden. She is the one who instructed me in the art of canning tomatoes. From there we caravanned with Paw Paw through pouring rain (a novelty for our kids) to Gibson City, IL, home of my Aunt Gayle and Uncle Doug. Punkin and Peanut most enjoyed playing in the basement (also a novelty for our kids). Uncle Doug gave us all a tour of Foster’s Woods, home of his tale of “The Little People”, which he was encouraged to tell no less than seven times in two days. We split off from Paw Paw and continued north to Arena, WI, to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Paul, El Jefe’s aunt and uncle and cousin. We went on a horse-drawn wagon ride, toured a reconstructed blacksmith shop, and visited with El Jefe’s cousin, who had spent the day with his sister planting literally pallets of tomato and pepper plants. We squeezed in a day with El Jefe’s dad and his family, who got some terrific snuggle time with Peanut. In the end, we drove south to fly home via Midway. We used all that inspiration to plant our own little garden (10 ft x 10 ft), a rare but typical home improvement involving multiple trips to Home Depot for irrigation system parts. Paw Paw made his way back to the North, logging in over 7,500 miles, and Peanut got her first haircut. El Jefe and i went to a terrific retirement party barbeque for El Jefe’s boss, sans all the kids (including Paw Paw), as Ms. R once again held down the fort. And despite Paw Paw’s dog, Gabby, destroying the first effort at the cake, we all celebrated Peanut’s second birthday at our home in the North.
June: El Jefe did two two-nighters and one day trip to Las Vegas this month, while i went to Washington State for five days, participating as a Quality Auditor in our Bellevue and Burlington offices. Peanut said “I miss you” on the phone, and graduated to a big girl bed to discourage Punkin from pulling her out of her crib and onto her head. Yes turned nineteen. El Jefe was treated to Father’s Day gifts related to the ravenous birds in our backyard: binoculars, a bird book, and birdhouses crafted by Punkin and Peanut. El Jefe got the promotion to the Chief of Construction position at NDOT! We ate radishes out of our garden, and went to a backyard water party for Sophia’s (a former classmate of Peanut’s) second birthday. Punkin and her sister, Emily are best of friends … a budding romance at age four.
July: Yes did some time at sea as part of her second summer at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Paw Paw came for visit, and we all stayed up past our bedtimes to enjoy 4th of July fireworks at Star Spangled Sparks. El Jefe made one overnighter and four day trips to Las Vegas, including one via Ely. i spent two nights in Denver, CO for Federal Program Management training, including a side trip to my Mecca, the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO. Punkin and Peanut started Saturday swimming lessons, and Peanut finally mastered riding her replacement tricycle (no parental push handle). We all went to the NDOT Family Summer Bash, followed the next day by Emily’s birthday party at Ballocity (busy social calendar, eh?). With a ton of help from friends and coworkers, i was able to pull off a surprise celebration for El Jefe’s promotion to Chief of Construction. i flew in over 20 pounds of brats and wieners from Wisconsin (Usinger’s), and arranged for a keg of Icky (Ichthyosaur Pale Ale, from local brewery Great Basin).
August: El Jefe and Punkin had some male bonding time at Logan’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. El Jefe represented Nevada at the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Official’s (AASHTO’s) Construction Conference in downtown Chicago, so i and the kids tagged along to goof off, only occasionally paying $20.00 a day for hotel internet. Grandma took the Van Gilder from Wisconsin to join us. Punkin and i participated in the Skyscraper Challenge at the Children’s Museum; Punkin and Peanut dressed up and slid like penguins at the Shedd Aquarium; the kids played in the fountains at Millenium Park; and Grandma and i struggled to figure out parking garage fees. We most enjoyed Wednesday night fireworks off Navy Pier (because we could walk from our hotel). At the conclusion of the conference, we all drove up to Arena, WI for El Jefe’s 30th River Valley High School class reunion. El Jefe made lots of promises to update his Facebook page. We celebrated his Dad’s birthday at their home in Belleville with a pool party, when Peanut was convinced she could swim alone (not really). El Jefe made two overnighters and one day trip to Las Vegas; i made a day trip, too. Paw Paw came up for a long weekend, highlighted by our company picnic at Zephyr Cove (Lake Tahoe), Punkin’s first of many rounds of mini golf at Magic Carpet, and we adopted Elsie, a feisty black and white medium hair cat who coincidentally carries the same name as my maternal grandmother. Our garden kicked into production mode (except for our pathetic sweet corn) and we started canning salsa and baking bread from our harvests. The month concluded with a visit to the Nevada State Fair, where Punkin got a $40.00 Nemo, Peanut turned green on the giant spinning strawberry ride, and we all were mesmerized by the Splash Dogs, who can leap nearly 20 feet from a dock into a tub of water.
September: El Jefe continued to carry the responsibilities of both the Assistant Chief and Chief of Construction jobs for the third month with one overnighter and two day trips to Las Vegas. We went to the Best of the West Rib Cook-Off (twice!) and amazingly filed our 2008 incomes taxes just after Labor Day. Ms. R babysat again while El Jefe and i went to a barbeque up at Lake Tahoe. We all went to the Great Reno Balloon Race, including the Glow Show, Dawn Patrol, mass ascension, pancake breakfast, and this year fifteen minutes in the bounce house and inflatables to make sure Punkin and Peanut were sufficiently exhausted. Obviously not, as Punkin successfully rode his bicycle without training wheels later that day. Paw Paw visited the following weekend, but we never made it to the Air Races. i attended the APWA Fall Conference up at Lake Tahoe, and Peanut pee’d on the potty three times at day care in one day!
October: For Peanut’s third and Punkin’s sixth time, we all participated in Race for the Cure, then the Walk for Juvenile Diabetes the following weekend. El Jefe had one overnight trip in Elko, NV, returned North via Las Vegas, and turned the reins over to one of his Assistant Chiefs. After nearly three years, we finally returned to Kauai, spending two weeks on the island with Paw Paw. Punkin and Peanut swam with water wings like little fish, both in the condo pool and the ocean where we got up close to a real tide pool and a couple green sea turtles. i got stung by a bee, Punkin took a header that required three band-aids, and Peanut got car sick. We all took a helicopter ride which Paw Paw deemed “uneventful”, and a sunset cruise when both Peanut and i got seasick (“eventful”?). We got the opportunity to see our house, and El Jefe and i independently considered chucking it all and staying on paradise, where the cruel irony is internet is free. Paw Paw stayed in Hawaii another three weeks while we returned home via LAX, spending 8 hours in the airport after a red-eye which just seemed like another three weeks. We arrived home in time for the kids to enjoy their Halloween Parties and a night of Trick-or-Treating.
April: El Jefe did one two-nighter and four day trips to Las Vegas this month. Peanut pooped in the potty! Punkin started sleeping in underwear! By this point, i was averaging one day off a month (including Saturdays and Sundays), so i jumped at the chance to spend a couple nights in Mesquite for the Nevada Chapter of the American Association of Public Works (APWA) Spring Conference, even if she had to give a presentation (“Q is for Quality”). It is no surprise in my frame of mind i lost her bifocals. We filed for that extension on our 2008 income taxes, and Punkin and Peanut helped me make Sponge Bob and Patrick cupcakes (Punkin’s idea) for El Jefe’s forty-eighth birthday.
May: Punkin read “Big and Little” to Peanut, and two days later both kids played sick to stay home from day care. It’s official; they are starting to gang up on us. Peanut’s tricycle was stolen allegedly by some hoodlum kids. El Jefe only made one day trip to Las Vegas this month, but we made up for it with an eight-day Midwestern journey to scatter Nonna’s (my mom’s) ashes. We all flew into Louisville, KY, and drove the next day to meet Paw Paw in Evansville, IN. We went to Nonna’s hometown of Vincennes, IN, and also saw the early sprouts in my Aunt Pat’s infamous garden. She is the one who instructed me in the art of canning tomatoes. From there we caravanned with Paw Paw through pouring rain (a novelty for our kids) to Gibson City, IL, home of my Aunt Gayle and Uncle Doug. Punkin and Peanut most enjoyed playing in the basement (also a novelty for our kids). Uncle Doug gave us all a tour of Foster’s Woods, home of his tale of “The Little People”, which he was encouraged to tell no less than seven times in two days. We split off from Paw Paw and continued north to Arena, WI, to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Paul, El Jefe’s aunt and uncle and cousin. We went on a horse-drawn wagon ride, toured a reconstructed blacksmith shop, and visited with El Jefe’s cousin, who had spent the day with his sister planting literally pallets of tomato and pepper plants. We squeezed in a day with El Jefe’s dad and his family, who got some terrific snuggle time with Peanut. In the end, we drove south to fly home via Midway. We used all that inspiration to plant our own little garden (10 ft x 10 ft), a rare but typical home improvement involving multiple trips to Home Depot for irrigation system parts. Paw Paw made his way back to the North, logging in over 7,500 miles, and Peanut got her first haircut. El Jefe and i went to a terrific retirement party barbeque for El Jefe’s boss, sans all the kids (including Paw Paw), as Ms. R once again held down the fort. And despite Paw Paw’s dog, Gabby, destroying the first effort at the cake, we all celebrated Peanut’s second birthday at our home in the North.
June: El Jefe did two two-nighters and one day trip to Las Vegas this month, while i went to Washington State for five days, participating as a Quality Auditor in our Bellevue and Burlington offices. Peanut said “I miss you” on the phone, and graduated to a big girl bed to discourage Punkin from pulling her out of her crib and onto her head. Yes turned nineteen. El Jefe was treated to Father’s Day gifts related to the ravenous birds in our backyard: binoculars, a bird book, and birdhouses crafted by Punkin and Peanut. El Jefe got the promotion to the Chief of Construction position at NDOT! We ate radishes out of our garden, and went to a backyard water party for Sophia’s (a former classmate of Peanut’s) second birthday. Punkin and her sister, Emily are best of friends … a budding romance at age four.
July: Yes did some time at sea as part of her second summer at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Paw Paw came for visit, and we all stayed up past our bedtimes to enjoy 4th of July fireworks at Star Spangled Sparks. El Jefe made one overnighter and four day trips to Las Vegas, including one via Ely. i spent two nights in Denver, CO for Federal Program Management training, including a side trip to my Mecca, the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO. Punkin and Peanut started Saturday swimming lessons, and Peanut finally mastered riding her replacement tricycle (no parental push handle). We all went to the NDOT Family Summer Bash, followed the next day by Emily’s birthday party at Ballocity (busy social calendar, eh?). With a ton of help from friends and coworkers, i was able to pull off a surprise celebration for El Jefe’s promotion to Chief of Construction. i flew in over 20 pounds of brats and wieners from Wisconsin (Usinger’s), and arranged for a keg of Icky (Ichthyosaur Pale Ale, from local brewery Great Basin).
August: El Jefe and Punkin had some male bonding time at Logan’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. El Jefe represented Nevada at the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Official’s (AASHTO’s) Construction Conference in downtown Chicago, so i and the kids tagged along to goof off, only occasionally paying $20.00 a day for hotel internet. Grandma took the Van Gilder from Wisconsin to join us. Punkin and i participated in the Skyscraper Challenge at the Children’s Museum; Punkin and Peanut dressed up and slid like penguins at the Shedd Aquarium; the kids played in the fountains at Millenium Park; and Grandma and i struggled to figure out parking garage fees. We most enjoyed Wednesday night fireworks off Navy Pier (because we could walk from our hotel). At the conclusion of the conference, we all drove up to Arena, WI for El Jefe’s 30th River Valley High School class reunion. El Jefe made lots of promises to update his Facebook page. We celebrated his Dad’s birthday at their home in Belleville with a pool party, when Peanut was convinced she could swim alone (not really). El Jefe made two overnighters and one day trip to Las Vegas; i made a day trip, too. Paw Paw came up for a long weekend, highlighted by our company picnic at Zephyr Cove (Lake Tahoe), Punkin’s first of many rounds of mini golf at Magic Carpet, and we adopted Elsie, a feisty black and white medium hair cat who coincidentally carries the same name as my maternal grandmother. Our garden kicked into production mode (except for our pathetic sweet corn) and we started canning salsa and baking bread from our harvests. The month concluded with a visit to the Nevada State Fair, where Punkin got a $40.00 Nemo, Peanut turned green on the giant spinning strawberry ride, and we all were mesmerized by the Splash Dogs, who can leap nearly 20 feet from a dock into a tub of water.
September: El Jefe continued to carry the responsibilities of both the Assistant Chief and Chief of Construction jobs for the third month with one overnighter and two day trips to Las Vegas. We went to the Best of the West Rib Cook-Off (twice!) and amazingly filed our 2008 incomes taxes just after Labor Day. Ms. R babysat again while El Jefe and i went to a barbeque up at Lake Tahoe. We all went to the Great Reno Balloon Race, including the Glow Show, Dawn Patrol, mass ascension, pancake breakfast, and this year fifteen minutes in the bounce house and inflatables to make sure Punkin and Peanut were sufficiently exhausted. Obviously not, as Punkin successfully rode his bicycle without training wheels later that day. Paw Paw visited the following weekend, but we never made it to the Air Races. i attended the APWA Fall Conference up at Lake Tahoe, and Peanut pee’d on the potty three times at day care in one day!
October: For Peanut’s third and Punkin’s sixth time, we all participated in Race for the Cure, then the Walk for Juvenile Diabetes the following weekend. El Jefe had one overnight trip in Elko, NV, returned North via Las Vegas, and turned the reins over to one of his Assistant Chiefs. After nearly three years, we finally returned to Kauai, spending two weeks on the island with Paw Paw. Punkin and Peanut swam with water wings like little fish, both in the condo pool and the ocean where we got up close to a real tide pool and a couple green sea turtles. i got stung by a bee, Punkin took a header that required three band-aids, and Peanut got car sick. We all took a helicopter ride which Paw Paw deemed “uneventful”, and a sunset cruise when both Peanut and i got seasick (“eventful”?). We got the opportunity to see our house, and El Jefe and i independently considered chucking it all and staying on paradise, where the cruel irony is internet is free. Paw Paw stayed in Hawaii another three weeks while we returned home via LAX, spending 8 hours in the airport after a red-eye which just seemed like another three weeks. We arrived home in time for the kids to enjoy their Halloween Parties and a night of Trick-or-Treating.
November: Honestly El Jefe was sick most of the month and only made one day trip to Las Vegas, while i did one overnighter. i took Punkin and Peanut to play the 28-hole back course at Magic Carpet where Punkin got a hole-in-one, and i came home with Barney, a 13-week-old Border Collie/Lab mix. We went to a party for El Jefe’s new Assistant Chief; i took the kids to Tanisha’s third birthday party; and we all made a jet-set 24-hour trip to Las Vegas for our friend Mike’s surprise 40th birthday party. Three days later, we drove to Las Vegas with both dogs (Jenny and Barney) to spend Thanksgiving with Paw Paw (and Gabby) and my middle sister and her family. Besides an amazingly civilized Thanksgiving dinner, we all completely enjoyed a day at the Springs Preserve.
December: El Jefe had one day trip to Las Vegas and two nights for training in Sacramento, CA. Punkin and Peanut rode their bicycles the day before it snowed over a foot, the Tumblebus arrived with chains (for the wheels, not the kids), and we saw a herd of a dozen wild horses including three colts strolling down the street on our way to day care. Our social calendar was jam-packed with the NDOT Construction Christmas party in Gardnerville, a family Christmas party at the NDOT Deputy Director’s home, and my company’s Holiday party. Ms. R of course had the baby-sitting gigs! Paw Paw and Yes both arrived on the 22nd to spend Christmas with us; we had not seen Yes in a year and a half, and this was her first visit to the North. We had a very special visit from Santa Christmas Eve, played by my coworker, although Punkin was convinced he was El Jefe’s coworker Steve. “Santa Steve” delivered, so there were no complaints. Peanut had two days in Tinker Bell underwear but has since regressed. We all went ice skating at the Rink on the River, skiing at Mt. Rose (Peanut cried all three times down the bunny hill), and went to see “The Princess and The Frog” (Peanut’s first movie in a theater; mine and El Jefe’s first in 4½ years). My middle sister and her family came “over the hill” on Sunday and joined us for another day of skiing at Mt. Rose where Peanut made four more runs (without crying!), Punkin took his first chair lift ride and repeated the feat no less than six times, and my sister and i skied/snow-boarded together for the first time in over 25 years. All of our visitors left on the 30th and we closed 2009 by celebrating Eastern time zone New Year’s Eve with hot dogs and macaroni and cheese at home.
El Jefe takes one furlough day a month, i logged in over 500 unpaid hours (not including this letter), and through it all the most rewarding time is that we share with our family and dear friends. With that, it’s time for a Fat Tire. We send you all our love and wishes for a prosperous new decade.
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