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Christmas Letter 2009

Hello Friends and Family,

It was a whirlwind of a year for the Orchard family. Please allow me to recap.
January:Russell and Douglas brave the frigid temperatures of Idaho for their annual fishing derby. I don't quite understand it but they have a ton of fun. It has become a winter tradition for them. We buy a used but new-for-us SUV in anticipation of many baseball road trips in our future. Both of the boys are playing Jr. Jazz and Douglas is practicing baseball.
February: More Jr. Jazz, more baseball. We drive to St. George for Douglas' first tournament of the year. Mason learns to crawl and gets his first tooth!
March: Russell and I take a much needed vacation to Puerto Vallarta. No kids, no carpools, no stress. I have a small amount of anxiety over leaving my baby behind but manage to enjoy myself. I turn a year older and we end the month with another tournament in St. George.
April: Arguably our busiest month of the year. Both of the boys are in FULL baseball swing and we juggle 2 league schedules, 2 super league schedules and tournaments. All of this while we still have homework and American Idol! I feel like I am running faster than I have strength but LOVE every minute of it! Mason no longer gets Saturday naps since we have 4 games on that day. I pack the car each Saturday as if we are going away for a week!
May: Mason walks! Stockton hits his first in-the-park homerun and we continue our baseball excitement. The boys are both playing in the Taylorsville league for convenience to us but inconveniently the fields are under construction. So, Douglas' games are in Taylorsville while Stockton's games are in Kearns. I cross that darn Bangerter Highway westbound, during rush hour, more times than anyone should have to in their lifetime! I try to not get too grumpy about it. We eat some very creative dinners from the cooler and way too much Wendy's!
June: Mason turns 1 while Russell and Douglas are in Idaho Falls for, you guessed it, baseball! I feel bad that I am missing until they get rained out. Lucky me! Stockton turns 9 and both boys get selected for all-stars.
July:Stockton wins District to move onto State where they don't do so well. Douglas wins State and qualifies to play in the Babe Ruth World Series in Murray. Russell and I put our neighborhood trail to good use. Russell runs 4 miles per day and I walk 2 and run 2 each day. I eventually work up to running a 4 miler and am so proud of myself when I finish. I am not ready for marathons yet.
August: Douglas breaks his collarbone at Raging Waters 10 days before the World Series. He has surgery and watches his team from the dugout. Russell and I cry a lot and Douglas does too. We go to all of the games, enjoy the festivities and host 4 boys from a California team for 10 days. The kids go back to school in the middle of this madness. Douglas is in 8th grade, Stockton is in 4th and Mason is into everything!
September: Both of the boys play Fall baseball. 4 more games each Saturday, yay! Russell turns 40. We learn how to juggle homework with practice and reality TV. We start watching Survivor, Biggest Loser and Teletubbies. October: We pack up the stroller and fly to Disneyland. We spend 5 exhausting and wonderful days there. Mason takes it all in but doesn't sleep well at night. We forgot how hard a little one can be on vacation! He redeems himself when we go to St. George for our last tournament of the year. He sleeps, we enjoy visiting with longtime friends and Douglas hits his first Babe Ruth homerun. Oh yeah, we come home in a rental car while a new transmission is put in our new-to-us used SUV we bought in January!
November: We take a breath and slow down! No practices, no games. We reflect on our blessings and kick off our holiday season with a wonderful Thanksgiving. The boys discover Farmville and spend way too much time planting and harvesting crops! Mason keeps us entertained by his constant chatter. He repeats anything we say to him. He now watches Sesame Street instead of Teletubbies, HURRAY! December: The boys start Jr. Jazz. Douglas turns 14. Russell and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. We feel gratitude for each other, all we were able to enjoy this past year and all we are constantly blessed with. We love our Savior and are thankful for all of you! We wish you a Merry Christmas and hope you will stay in touch. You can find us all on Facebook and we have a blog as well-teamorchard.blogspot.com.

Russell, Jenny, Douglas, Stockton and Mason

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Comments

Teacher Mama said…
I'm glad I got to catch up on your family's adventures. Your Christmas picutre is beautiful.
January 2, 2010 at 3:58 PM
LaTour said…
You are one busy mom of THREE boys! You know I get a little nervous when I read your posts- look at all I have to look forward to when my kids get a little older and more involved in sports! It sounds fun though- can't wait!
January 4, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Kimberly said…
I am tired just reading about that year. I have a feeling 2010 won't be any slower for Team Orchard!
January 5, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Sherrie said…
What a whirlwind of a year. Fun to catch up with you. Love your picture and blog design.
January 8, 2010 at 12:37 AM
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