For someone who is a pure knucklehead, Mikey had a great year. His Cub Scout activities included competing in Pinewood Derby (he won his den and came in third overall in the Pack) and a summer trip to Cub Scout Adventure Camp with his Dad. He also played Little League baseball (yes, Mikey grasping a bat sounds more like something from a Halloween horror story than a Christmas newsletter, doesn't it…). When he wasn't bringing the police to our pool club by calling 911 ("my sister was giving me trouble," he told the officer), he was generally managing to keep his nose clean. So far, he's one of the best spellers in his second grade class.
The irrepressible Emily - actually, she dubbed herself "Emmi with an i" this year - moved up to Junior Girl Scouts in the spring, proudly accepting her leaders' selection as the "Drama Queen" of the troop. Anything for attention, right Emily, ERRRR, "Emmi with an i?" Other stuff for her this year included dancing the role of "the medium hunter" in a local production of Peter & the Wolf, cheerleading (of course), and writing a rap song about people with disabilities (yes, you read that correctly) for her gifted and talented class. Perhaps the highlight of her cheerleading year was the final game, in which most of the squad never showed up and those who did left at halftime. Emily stayed for the second half and, alone, did cheers for the team. Several people noticed this. Not that our Drama Queen was looking for attention, right?
Meghan, in her last year of middle school, was voted "Most Quiet" in her eighth grade class (Mom and Dad didn't get to vote, and were denied veto power). Much like John Entwistle of the Who once wrote, "I ain't quiet - everybody else is too loud." Highlights for Meghan included a trip to Cape Cod at the end of the school year (upcoming trips for her include Quebec in January and Washington DC in the spring), continuing to be a columnist for her school's parent newsletter, and competing on the school's swim team starting in January. Just before school ended, she threw an epic party for her friends, memorable for being a lot of fun - and for the fact that a guest broke her arm in the first thirty minutes. As her parents, we say... "Glad we got that out of our system!" Probably the next party we host for her, she'll be wearing a white dress and a veil.
Katie's biggest news this year is something small: her! Using admirable self-restraint and perseverance, she diligently followed Weight Watchers starting late last year, losing a pound here, a half-pound there, until August, at which time she'd lost more than 40 pounds. Keeping away from cheesecake occupied her spring… keeping away from the amorous approval of her husband has kept her busy since then. She led Emily's Brownie unit into Girl Scouts, with almost every girl choosing to stay with the troop. Otherwise, she's let nothing - not even being on crutches in February - keep her down, as, still working at the Rochester paper, she's done whatever's been needed to keep the family healthy and happy and moving forward.
