A Year Worth Remembering - 2016

We hope this letter finds you well! Things this year have been going just as well as we could hope. And while, like for most of you, our year has been filled with both ups and downs, here’s some of the Good News from the Paxton’s for 2016.

Adam is our two-and-a-half year Jekyll & Hyde. He likes to ride scooters, dance, and play on anything with a screen. He does not, however, like to run errands, which he announces loudly, with weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth to any store he finds himself in for longer than 4 minutes. On the flip side, he loves to sing loud for all to hear and has been practicing his dance moves to The Whip for over a year now. And it’s important to point out that he enjoys throwing balls, and pretty much anything else round that fits in his hand.

Isaac is our little ray of sunshine. Visitors to our house around any holiday will find a wide variety of decorations hand-crafted by this creative 6 year old. He’s also got a little taste of Drama, landing a couple of bits in some volunteer productions this past year. He also enjoys riding his bike (mostly downhill), building with Legos, which can be found in every room of our house, especially at night by bare feet. Isaac is enjoying first grade, his first year of soccer and basketball, discovering the world of Terreria (a video game), and playing with and making new friends wherever he goes.

Caleb is our nine-year-old scholar, whose love of Harry Potter motivated him to read all 7 books -- seven times! – and has now moved on to 39 Clues. He plays the piano, basketball, and the heartstrings of the girls in his class. He’s mostly at home guiding his friends (and little brother) through the world of Terreria and the recently re-discovered world of the Legend of Zelda. Thankfully, the digital world hasn’t hampered his social life, and he’s had a lot of fun this year making new friends, working on cub scouts, and exploring our neighborhood on the electric scooter.

Brandon, our newest teenager, is kind of an open book. You really ought to check out his instagram feed @brandon__paxton, but just to sum up: he plays any sport with a ball, runs track, and loves to learn Piano Guys songs on the piano. His tackle football team made it to the YAFL Superbowl this year. And after a couple of years of “almost”, Brandon’s hard work finally paid off this year and he made the middle school basketball team. He’s a great babysitter for his little bros, and is working hard in school and Scouts. A huge fan of OKC Thunder, he keeps us up to date on Russell Westbrook’s stats, with a running tally on the number of triple doubles.

Kelsie turned sweet sixteen this year, which brought two important rites of passage: 1) she’s joined the ranks of licensed – and responsible – drivers; and 2) she’s begun the unusual ritual of teen-age dating. To help satisfy her increasing appetite for cellular DATA, Kelsie got a job at a local tutoring center where she can share her love of learning with other kids. She was a YCL at girls camp where she taught campers how to do CPR and other first aid. She also was able to go on stake pioneer trek over the summer. Kelsie’s classes in her Junior year are challenging, but she’s a dedicated student and has started to see the positive effects of her diligent scholarship. 

After a power struggle that concluded with a series of Minute-to-Win-It games and an arm-wrestling match, Ronni continues her reign as the de facto Family Manager, an often thankless and mundane job punctuated by moments of utter frustration dealing with the domestic challenges of mothering kids over the broad spectrum from toddler to teenager. But there are moments of absolute joy, like the kind that comes from helping a kid overcome fears and challenges of speaking in front of people and knowing that you had something (a lot!) to do with that. She’s taking lots of great pictures, running lots of miles (including an Albuquerque Half-Marathon!), and playing lots of great music for the Ward Choir. She also serves as the tireless, inspiring, and fun “Singing Lady” (music chorister for kids 3-12 year olds) at church, with another excellent Primary Program under her belt.

Wally’s been enjoying work at Sandia. His work this year took him to Germany to organize a conference on Micro- and Nanomachines. While there, he caught up with his postdoctoral mentor who was just awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry this year (Congrats Fraser Stoddart!). He’s enjoyed another year of camp outs with the Scouts this year, and finally made it to Bisti Wilderness Area in northwestern New Mexico, an otherworldy landscape that’s been on his list for quite some time. He’s always trying to find people to go biking with him more than once.

As 2016 comes to a close, we have had a chance to reflect on our year and the many blessings that we have. It’s been a good year for us and, in addition to the hope of life we might have more abundantly through the  we’re most thankful for our family and our amazing friends who have given us lasting memories of every place we’ve lived. Thank you for your love and friendship. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!