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Back to www.ThomasKids.com ThomasKids.com Christmas 2003 Letter
Christmas 2003 To all our family
and friends-
I cannot believe it is that time again – Christmas and New Years!
Where did the year go? As I
was reviewing our escapades for the past 12 months, it amazes me how busy we
are! And I guess I should not
wonder why the time flies by…
Our first born, Shannon, is 8 already.
And keeping her social calendar is a job in itself. I must say, the child thrives on being busy and she still
manages to get good grades at St. Lawrence.
Danny and Shannon brought in the New Year 2003 in Big Bear where Danny
got Shannon up on skis for the first time.
And like a true Thomas, she took right to it. She then jumped right into basketball season, her first year,
and seemed to do pretty well. She
is still Irish Dancing, and attended 3 feisiana this year. Her best showing was a 1st, 2nd and 3rd
place in three dances in September. She
was thrilled! She played soccer
again, took swimming lessons, and started attending Indian Princess’ with her
Dad. She is also a Brownie, and
earned several badges over the course of the year.
She is taking chess after school once a week, too.
I keep telling her she is going to have to teach her mother!
Steven, 5 ½ now, started Kindergarten this fall at our local public
school. He fits right in with the
rest of the “5-year-old” gang! He
is a genius with his Lego’s and transformersJ.
Steven and Shannon could not be more different in personality.
Steven is content to play, play, play, especially if he can have a
“buddy” over to play with. He
prefers not to have a busy schedule. He
did take tennis again this summer, along with swimming lessons.
And he played his first season of soccer. It sure is a kick watching the little guys play!
And then there is Colleen, who has made it to her 3rd
birthday. She is in perpetual
motion, both physically and mentally. She
started preschool this fall and couldn’t get rid of me fast enough! (This also gives me two mornings a week of FREE TIME!)
We still do a “Mommy and Me” class together, and she is in Sunday
school at St. Lawrence. We are just
about potty trained; no more diapers after 8 yearsJ!
She loves horses, and has just about driven us all to the funny farm with
her “whinnying”. She has a
fantastic imagination and keeps me guessing all the time!
Personality plus!
As a family we did take two vacations this year.
We went to Hawaii in January as Danny had a business trip.
It was nice to get away. And
we took our annual pilgrimage to Palm Desert in August.
It was QUITE WARM, but we always manage to have a great time.
Danny’s brother, Jim, his wife, Shelle and son, Vincent joined us for a
few days, so that made it even better! I
had a few adventures myself this year. I
was in Chicago in February (QUITE COLD!) for the CFM National Board Meeting.
Danny and I have joined this fantastic organization in a larger capacity
now. I also went on my Moms’
weekend in May to Temecula and did a little wine tasting and shopping.
Both trips were welcome breaks! And
Danny actually gave me a weekend alone when he took all the kids on a camping
trip in October. I had a great
weekend while they were gone – went to a UCLA football game on Saturday and
raced (sailing) with my Dad on Sunday. The
only other silly thing I did this year was to volunteer to be Cookie Mom for
Shannon’s Brownie Troop. Little
did I know what I was getting in to! The
girls sold the most cookies in the region – over 3000 boxes – that all
passed through my house J.
WOW!
Danny and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary in April. Danny surprised me by planning a ceremony for us to renew our
vows in the Church. It was a
beautiful evening and our wonderful family and friends shared it with us.
We also took the kids on a gondola ride, where Danny proposed to me many
years ago. They had a blast!
Danny went on his annual Mexico trip with “the boys” in June. Don’t really know what goes on and probably don’t want to
know. He had fun at any rate!
He also took a trip in July to Virginia for the 2nd CFM
National Board Meeting. He enjoyed
much warmer weather than I did in Chicago!
Danny also took to the water in August for the Santa Barbara to King
Harbor sailing race. This is a long
race, but the boats finished in record time this year – lots of wind!
Not too much to report on the family front.
My Dad and his wife Jane are the busiest retirees I know.
Dad will be sworn in as Vice-Commodore at KHYC in January.
Danny’s sister Laura and family moved to Boulder, Colorado this summer. We might have to visit for a “snow-fix” J.
Vincent, Danny’s nephew, had his third, and hopefully last, open-heart
surgery in July. He was in the
hospital for about 3 weeks and came through with flying colors.
He is a fighter! Everyone
else is copasetic (one of my Dad’s favorite words)! We sincerely wish all who receive this a happy and healthy 2004. Let us all pray for peace in the coming year. Love, Noreen, Danny, Shannon, Steven and Colleen |
