Merry Christmas to you all!

I hope that if you are reading this that you are relaxed, happy, and enjoying the holiday season. I sure am trying! Having Lindsay and Jackson around and seeing the excitement that they feel during this time of year is absolutely contagious and I can’t help but to love it all too despite all of the crazy preparation that we all go through!

It’s also a fun time of year to reflect on the last 11 months. For some reason, this year seemed to go by faster than then should be allowed. I can’t believe Lindsay is now 13 and a half and that Jackson is about to turn 9. Since I am crazy about our dogs I will just tell those that care, Cooper is 4 and Lucy is 2. We are all grateful for our health, home, for each other, certainly for all of our friends & family and last but not least our cabin in the woods.

This last year our place in Mazama was the reoccurring theme for us. The gorgeous North Cascade Mountains are the perfect backdrop for family memories. We started off the year the way we have so many times before with fun in the snow. Thank goodness the four of us never seem to tire of this ritual. With love in our hearts we manage to pack up all of our crazy at least once a month and make the trek 3 plus hours to spend time in Mazama. We have made some great friends over there and are really feeling a part of the community. Perhaps my favorite Mazama highlight this year would be seeing our lovely girl dominate at the summer pie-eating contest (what a lady!) while her brother coached and cheered her on. I also have some really fun memories of the first disco dance party outdoors, disco ball and all! Or maybe is was the little fire we lit on the banks of the Methow river this summer so the kids could roast their hotdogs outside, during the day for lunch.

I mentioned the kids are growing up. Lindsay has grown so much this year. She is now 5’6” and will probably pass me up by the end of 2011. She is still attending Seattle Girls School as an 8th grader. She is definitely ready and excited about starting high school next year. I don’t think daddy is ready for that yet.

Lindsay continues to do very well in school. We are so proud of her and her academic achievements. Lindsay ran cross-country for Seattle Girls School this fall and is planning to return to rock climbing after the holidays as well as her Ballard basketball team. Lindsay loves to go on runs with her lab Lucy. Lindsay is babysitting a lot now and is enjoying having her own money to spend. She is turning into quite the young lady.

Jackson is fabulous. He also is doing very well in school and has lots of really great friends. He is in third grade now at West Woodland Elementary (right across the street from home). He played basketball last winter, baseball in the spring, and soccer this fall. Jackson also tried his hand at rock climbing this summer and it turned out to be a fabulous fit for him. He is a little spider monkey at the gym! Jackson is really into his Rick Riordan books (Percy Jackson series), his Cub Scout Pack, West Woodland Chess Club and his Lego’s. His latest adventure is getting his computer drivers license at school so that he will qualify to join the West Woodland Robotics Club.

Scott is still enjoying success at Optify. The company has grown a ton this year and I know I can speak for him when I say that he is very grateful to be so busy during this uncertain time in our economy. Scott is still playing tennis though not as much as last year. His new fitness regime is all about hot yoga. He just loves it. My incredible husband still enjoys biking to work, coaching baseball for Jackson’s team and is very involved in Pack 144 (Cub Scouts). Since I get to write this I will just say that he is such an amazing father and husband. I am one lucky girl!

My year was great. I’ve spent a lot of time with my kids at the cabin as a family and big groups of their friends. I’ve stepped away from any PTA leadership roles and am instead focused on being in the classroom with Jackson. I am learning so much in the third grade! I volunteer at Lindsay’s school as much as I can. The need there is very different and doesn’t involve the girls so much. I actually could really learn a lot at her school!

I made a stained glass window this fall while taking a class. I haven’t made any stained glass in 15 years so that was really fun. I’ve been focusing on yoga and am finding it to be so amazing for me. Last winter I attended a yoga/cross country skiing retreat for women and just loved it. I was surprised and amused to learn that I have been skiing wrong for the last 13 years so that was interesting. I just tried to ski with Scott over Thanksgiving and had forgotten everything I learned at the retreat. Guess I need to go again this year.

Well, if you have gotten this far in my letter, thank you for reading it. I hope our Christmas card found you all well. On behalf of all of us, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah and a very Happy New Year.

With Love,
Michelle, Scott, Jackson, Lindsay, Cooper and Lucy Fasser