Our Yearly Christmas Letter

More or less, the final draft will probably go out this week-end, but I'm sharing it on-line now ;)

In the "can do" tradition of Texas, the Marsh family presents a “do it yourself” or “choose your own options” Christmas letter. Many of these options make for a better year than we had, or at least a stranger one, but don’t let that stop you when you make a pick


Heather:

(a) Decided engineering was a better major than neuroscience;
(b) test drove a 30.06 at the rifle range;
(c) Is getting a concealed weapons permit class for Christmas
(d) Is now taller than her dad;
(e) Is practicing walking in a long skirt and wearing her hair in tight braids as she prepares to move to West Texas;
(f) Now works for KBYU;
(g) Went horseback riding in Washington State.


Rachel:

(a) Wants to work in a think tank when she grows up;
(b) Was baptized this year;
(c) Started fourth grade;
(d) Got a perfect score on the State Music Theory test;
(e) Got a superior rating at the sonatina festival;
(f) Begs daily for a cell phone;
(g) Keeps asking for a rifle of her own.


Steve:

(a) Got a rifle for father’s day;
(b) Had a presentation from his material made to the Shanghai People’s High Court at the University of Wisconsin and is cited in the C.F.R.s;
(c) Was invited to join a group blog that drew comments;
(d) Went to New York City to do a short appearance on Fox TV;
(e) Had a Daddy/Daughter date at the rifle range;
(f) Experienced his car bursting into flames after he was rear-ended;
(g) Joined the (Jeff) Green Party.


Win:

(a) Completed five quilts this year;
(b) Volunteers in the nursery at Church;
(c) Has multiple firearms registered in her name;
(d) Functions as a social director and transportation agent for Rachel, drawing the line at more than twelve activities a week;
(e) Racked up twice the frequent flyer miles as the rest of the family;
(f) Looks better in blue fox than mink;
(g) Has worked hard to work less this year.


Vincent the polydactyl cat:

(a) Brought us a bat as a gift;
(b) Delivered a baby rattlesnake to Steve;
(c) Left a freshly killed mouse in Steve’s shoe;
(d) Developed a catch and release program of live birds for the house;
(e) Still forgets where his food bowl is;
(f) Found his way home after Rachel took him for a tour of the neighborhood;
(g) No longer thinks chicken is tuna.


We visited:

(a) Salt Lake City;
(b) Yellowstone;
(c) Spokane;
(d) Galveston;
(e) Orlando;
(f) Colorado;
(g) King Tut.


Whatever answers you chose for us, we had a great year and hope you did as well or better than we really did. May each of your coming years be creative and fun.

The Marsh Family