Finnicum Flyer

Volume 1, Issue 13
2008 Holiday Edition

WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD!!

Since we see so many athletes announce at the completion of a successful season, “I’m goin’ to Disney World!”, we decided to see what all the fuss was about. We went in May, which is great time to go temperature and crowd wise, but it was still pretty warm on a couple of days and we still stood in some long lines (kinda like Viagra—a thirty minute wait for a two minute ride—not that I would know anything about that!). Anyway, it was a lot of things—expensive, exhausting, emotionally/physically draining—but it also provided us with a number of Kodak moments and memories that will last a lifetime.

Garrett and Mikah news...

Garrett was six in September Mikah will turn eleven in January. They keep us pretty busy with a variety of activities, such as, basketball, soccer, bible school, AWANAS, dog obedience classes, going to the library and nature center, attending plays and so forth.

Garrett has improved his reading skills and it’s cool to be out with him and see the world open up to him as he begins to understand all the words around him. He has fallen in love with Star Wars and is constantly fighting imaginary clones with his cape on and light saber or any kind of sword in hand. We also got some Star Wars games for the Wii and we have to drag him off that, as like most kids, he has incredible stamina when it comes to playing games. He is a great kid, although he has meltdowns reminiscent of his ol’ Dad at times, but like his ol’ Dad, he recovers quickly and returns to his loveable self.

Mikah is becoming quite the young lady at almost 11. She is a voracious reader and we are constantly coming back from the library with a book bag weighted down with books for her. She loves going to Sunday school and having friends over to play. She played on a coed soccer team this year due to the lack of girls to support a girl's league. She got drilled by the boys in her first couple of games and it made her a bit gun shy, but gradually began to get after it again. We hope we can return to an all-girls league soon. She also plays basketball in an Upward league, which is a non-competitive Christian-based league, and she gets after it there (in a Christ like way of course).

We have also tried to continue to introduce the kids to the importance of community service (the non-court appointed variety) as we assisted with a school cleanup project for the United Way Day of Caring and a Family Day sponsored by a local non-profit agency. They also participated in Junior Marathon sponsored by a local hospital in which they had to accumulate 26.2 miles of exercise

Tawnya and Paul...

Tawnya continues her incredibly challenging job of teaching Mikah and Garrett. I pinch-hit once in a while and learn a little along the way and also realize how much I have forgotten. As a faithful watcher of HGTV, Tawnya also continues to make this house a home by way of painting, curtains, furniture and so forth. She is always on the look out for home improvement ideas. She also watches the food channels a lot, and we get to try a lot of new recipes as a result.

I have hit the 20 year mark at ASU, and it’s pretty much the same old story same old song and dance my friends. I love the good students and wish I could reach the bad students, but if I can’t reach them, I wish I could show them the door. I hope to make it 10 more years then call it a career.

Family events...

Beyond our local activities, 2008 was filled with a bit of travel too. We mixed business with pleasure as we went to Ft. Worth in April for a professional conference. While we were there we spent considerable time in the Stockyards and went to Billy Bob’s, a rodeo, and watched a cattle drive through town. We also stopped at a Bass Pro Shop and Cabelas and those two stores are an adventure in themselves. In May we took our big trip to Disney World. The kids enjoyed their first flight and all the attractions, and I’m pretty sure all the adults enjoyed themselves too (Tawnya’s folks traveled with us). We also drove to Sarasota while we were in Florida to visit Tawnya’s cousin Shawna and her family and got a little beach time while we were there.

We drove to OKC over the Labor Day weekend and enjoyed our usual activities of swimming, golf, fantasy football, shopping, and just being under the same roof with our family. An added bonus this year was I was able to get some homeboys to gather together in OKC. Rod Detra came in from Wichita, Bruce Scott came from Tulsa, and Jeff Dever, who was temporarily living in OKC, joined me and Tom and some of our Oklahoma cronies for a golf outing. A great time was had by all, even me, although I lost more money than anyone else.

We also had Tom, Dawn, Kristin, Mark, Becky, Jenna, Adam, Jesse, Kelly, Isabel, Ryder, Erin, Brianna, and Saylor in the house for Thanksgiving and it was a riot having 18 people, two dogs and a fish under one roof. We never ran out of food, hot water, or things to do, but unfortunately, ran out of time.

Hope your holidays were merry and your new year is bright.

Peace and love...Garrett, Mikah, Tawnya, Buck/Paul (and Sophie)