“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth, receive her King…”
Merry Christmas friends and family! This theme seemed appropriate as we reflected on the joys and blessings in our lives this year and our gratefulness that we were able to experience a bit more of our amazing world during our family adventures.
Terri’s wish to run in the London Marathon gave us the chance to travel to Europe last spring. Making the most of our time, we spent a few days in Paris sightseeing, then met up with friends in London for the race and finally to Aberdeen, Scotland to stay with friends Andy and Kathleen Cole (We have known the Coles since our Conoco days in Midland, Texas. Ironically, Kathleen and I ran our first marathon together in Houston 15 years ago! So, it was great to run with her again in London!) Although Brian and I were thrilled with the history and spectacular sites of Europe, the kids were less enthused, although the hoopla surrounding the impending royal wedding, several weeks after our visit, and the Cole’s cats provided some excitement for them. So, Olivia and Jack pleaded that after the castles, museums and cathedrals of Europe, our next big vacation would only involve pools and beaches. So, relaxing in Hawaii for their school fall break was perfect. Our other travels took us to visit family in Michigan and friends in Oregon. We are lucky Colorado also has so much to offer right at home. We took the kids on their first white water rafting and zip-line adventures this summer. One of our most unique opportunities this year was to ski at Arapahoe Basin on July 3, in shorts of course!
In between travel adventures, life is running smoothly, albeit busily, at the Ary home. Olivia started middle school this year, 6th grade. She decided to “retire” from gymnastics and all the hours of practice. But, she has wasted no time in filling those hours with horseback riding, cross country, basketball and piano. And, she is already talking about spring lacrosse and summer swim team. She is a voracious reader, and since realizing that books on the iPad are NOT free, frequent trips to the library continue. Jack, in 3rd grade, keeps us busy as well with his Lacrosse and Basketball schedules. Since he is playing piano also, that gives us at least one hour per week that we are in the SAME place at the SAME time, a treasured rarity. While we would love to say he is an avid reader too, it would be more accurate to say he is a Nerf gun, sling shot, Air-soft pistol and Lego aficionado. And when those activities are not keeping him occupied, you will find him making or covering something with duct tape.
And yes, in addition to running the kids around, I continue to run around on the pathways and trails of Highlands Ranch. In an effort to try something a little different this year, I ran my first and, God help me, LAST 50 mile trail run in Buena Vista last May. Let me just say that “run” is probably a generous description of what I was doing for a good portion of the event. Even so, I was thrilled to finish within the 12 hour time limit, barely, and have never been so happy to be almost last. As if that was not enough adventure, I agreed to participate in the “Wild West – Get your Ass over the Pass” relay race. Our 12 woman team, “Girls Run Wild” completed the 200 mile relay from Ft. Collins, over Rabbit Ears Pass, to Steamboat Springs in about 32 hours. I also continue to drive my family crazy by insisting on taking pictures of everything. This year – I vow to do something with the thousands of photos on my computer, figure out all the features on the camera and learn how to use Photoshop!
In addition to Brian’s day job, running his independent oil and gas company, Crown Energy Partners, his real work involves his morning carpool shuttle to school, complete with math fact, spelling, phonogram and vocabulary quizzes and evening “homework enforcer/checker” responsibilities. Judging by the kids grades, I think he gets an A! He continues to help coach Jack’s lacrosse teams and is looking forward to another ski season, although the kids have yet to convince him to try snowboarding. Maybe this year…
So, during this Christmas season and in the year ahead, we hope that you and your family are blessed with feelings of joy in all you do! If your plans include travel near Colorado, please let us know, we love visitors! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Keep in touch at terribrian@comcast.net and check out some additional pictures of our family’s adventures at www.tinyprints.com/2011/ary and our occasional blogs at www.aryadventures.blogspot.com
Cheers,
Terri Brian, Olivia and Jack
11 years ago
