Our 2009

It is at this special time of year that we reflect on the past year and acknowledge how richly blessed our family has been.

Mikell is 13 yrs. old now and a typical teenager. Suddenly, she spends a lot effort getting herself ready in the morning, listening to her music very loud, and now has herself a “boyfriend”. Luckily, her grades are still important to her and she’s still getting straight A’s, despite her “teenage” tendencies. She spent the summer traveling with her softball team, which she really enjoyed. She made the 8th grade volleyball team at her school and earned herself the position of setter. She got a hamster named Rhino who always puts a smile on her face.

Nik is 11 now and continues to be very involved in his sports. He enjoyed playing baseball again at shortstop and pitcher. His highlight was definitely playing on the All-Star team, a game-winning grand slam, and dad coaching both of his teams. He played on a travel soccer team this fall and enjoyed that as well. It was good for him to see “real” competitors for once on the soccer field. He says he’s done with soccer and wants to try football next “fall” until high school, and then he’ll run Cross Country in the fall. He’s also a great straight A student and a strong leader in the classroom.

Alek loves school and is now 7 in the 2nd grade. He is our social bunny and loves doing anything that involves other people. Of course recess is his favorite. He had another great season in machine-pitch baseball this past summer. Mom coached him again and all of his buddies and it was certainly a lot of laughs. Alek also practiced with Nik & dad’s team and definitely held his own with the older boys. He is looking forward to playing with the big boys next year but is also planning on Eric coaching….not sure how that’s going to work out. In his free time he loves to play with his Star Wars action figure collection. He had his tonsils taken out this past summer and also had an ear patch put on his ear drum after having a tube removed. Poor guy had to do without any swimming all summer long. It was worth it though because he can hear better now and doesn’t blast his radio anymore. He handled the procedures like a real trooper.

Tammy has made a change from her at-home lifestyle and started substitute teaching. It is fun for her to work at the kids’ schools and they actually think mom is “cool” for doing it. Spending a few days a week at school has made life at home a bit more crazy but it has been a blessing as well. She still enjoys her workouts, whatever it may be that day, and is even doing some in-home personal training on the days she’s not teaching. She had a great season on her road bike, with the highlight being the Yellowstone all-day ride in September with the local cycling team. It was difficult to plan on any running races this year with kids’ sports schedules, but she put in a lot of miles.

Eric spent a good part of his year coaching baseball, first with Nik’s Cal Ripkin team, then with Nik’s All Star team, which he loved every minute of. It kept him very busy but the boys benefited greatly from his efforts. Work had its slow moments this past year but it has certainly picked up. Eric is preparing to move the business to another facility in the next few months, which will be a big challenge but will utilize many of his abilities and talents.

Eric & Tammy took a cruise with other couple friends in March down the Mexican Riviera and had a blast! It was our first real cruise and we enjoyed it more than we thought we would, thanks to good motion sickness drugs. We stopped in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan and loved each adventure. We are still very blessed to have Grandma & Grandpa Hender living across the street and helping out in those times of need.

The family trip this year was a drive to San Francisco in June. We had a very touristy vacation, since the kids had never been there. We did all the fun things with them that Eric & Tammy grew up doing. Eric’s brother, Ron and sister-in-law, Kelly got married there at the same time, so it was nice to spend time with all of Eric’s family.

Our prayer is that we can all count our many blessings and keep our hearts filled with gratitude, especially during this difficult year for many.

2008 Update

Mikell had a great year and has started junior high school. She finally turned 12 this year! She is doing very well in school and watches her grades like a hawk online. She had great seasons in both volleyball and softball. She has decided to pursue her talent in softball and is starting on a travel team this spring. She’s quite the slugger on the field. Though she still loves volleyball and has a killer serve. She’ll try out for the school team next fall. Her highlight this past year has definitely been her volunteer work at the vet. She gets to assist in surgeries and help with visits. After all that, she is even more determined to be a vet someday.
Nik is 10 now and continues to be very involved in his sports. He ran a race his school sponsored and he was the first student to finish. He kept right up with mom, even though mom kept telling him it was ok for him to stop and walk, that only made him more determined to finish strong. He definitely did as he finished the 2 miles in 13:30 min. Imagine had he not had breakfast only 15 minutes before the start. He enjoyed playing his second year of Cal Ripken baseball at shortstop and pitcher. The best part was that dad was his coach and a great one at that. Not only does he have a killer “sinker” from the pitcher’s mound, he’s quite the slugger and base stealer as well. His highlight was pitching two innings in his All-Star game. Soccer was a lot of fun for him too, with dad also coaching. He’s definitely the speed demon on the field. Indoor flag football was a new sport for him this fall. His speed turned out to really help his team. He ran for several touchdowns and many long catches. Next year, he’ll want to play on the field with the pads, we’re afraid.
Alek started 1st grade and he and mom couldn’t be happier. He is quite the math whiz and loves school. He had a great season in machine-pitch baseball this past summer. Mom coached him and all of his buddies and it was certainly a lot of laughs. Alek had several in-field home runs and that was certainly a highlight for him. He can catch about anything, he especially loves the diving catches (we’ve gone through a lot of baseball pants). He also enjoyed soccer and is following brother’s reputation as the “speed demon”. Alek also ran in that race with Nik and was right behind him and mom. He enjoys his crafty projects in his free time making anything and everything. Empty boxes are his favorite; he can find one a mile away. Thus, the reason he’s not allowed to go to Sam’s Club anymore with mom.
Eric finished another season competing in his Triathlons. His big accomplishment was the “Spudman” in Burley, ID, which he had an excellent finish. All of the training was a great escape for the difficult year at work. We’ve been very fortunate though, that the company is still alive after some very hard months during the mortgage crisis. With the mortgage economy turning around we’re hopeful that things will only be getting better from now on. His big highlight this year was getting his BMW in April after selling his truck (saves lots of money on gas he says). The kids call it dad’s “baby”.
Tammy spends her quiet days at home keeping very busy with school volunteering, ward bulletin person and primary chorister at church, baking and cleaning. She had a difficult race season and she was plagued with one injury after another. She completed her second season as a Cross Country Assistant Coach for IF High School. The team this year was almost twice the size as last year so we looked like a small herd running around town every afternoon. Both the girls and boys teams went to state this year so that certainly made for a great season! She has her sights set on a few marathons next year, so she’s giving injuries a rest this winter. She took on the challenge of competing in her first triathlon, also at the “Spudman”. Not sure she’ll ever do an open-water swim again but she still enjoys her lap swimming. Unfortunately in that race, she was in the river with a man that drowned. She felt very helpless, unable to save him and barely escaped the water herself. Definitely something that will stay with her forever but certainly left her feeling grateful for life.
The family flew to Cozumel, Mexico again in June for a relaxing week at the beach. The week was spent doing much of the same; Eric scuba diving, kids playing hard in the water and on the beach with cousins, and mom on the beach reading. Their highlight was the new water slides at the resort. The staff still remembers us and our drink orders. Our home away from home!
In August we spent a few days up in Island Park, ID at Tammy’s mom and Bob’s cabin/home with all of her family. The kids had a blast with all their cousins, especially all the late nights in the “bunk room”. It’s a fun place to go and relax even with multiple families. They built it for large crowds. We also spent Thanksgiving up there. It’s a nice get-away and only just over an hours’ drive from home.