Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Best wishes for a wonderful 2018!

Love,
Peter, Charlotte,
Zachary & Jackie

Special thanks to Zack for making this year's edition of the chronicles mobile-friendly!

2017 has been a year of transitions. Zack lived in Maryland for the fall semester and boy, did we miss him! We are very thankful that we were able to visit him twice, and that he came home once, but we never quite adjusted to the empty seat at the dinner table. In all fairness, Zoey happily sat in his seat, but it just wasn't the same.

Jackie started high school... how is that even possible? She joined marching band which typically consumed about 50 hours per week in the last month of summer and 25+ hours per week during the school year. There were many days where she was gone for 15 hours at a time. She also went on three out-of-state trips this year without us!

With Jackie so busy and Zack away, Peter and I got a sneak-peek of being empty-nesters. Since we do so many things together as a family, it has been a significant change and felt very odd. Jackie is now done with marching band and Zack returned home on December 16th, so we are enjoying spending time all together again.

Zack completed his first year at the University of Cincinnati and did very well. He commuted to school every day and quickly learned about the joys of rush-hour traffic. Fortuntely he was able to craft his spring schedule to avoid traveling during those times. We knew that Zack would have his first co-op semester in the fall (working instead of taking classes), and I assumed his first few co-op experiences would be local. I was very wrong. Zack accepted a position in Maryland, over 400 miles away!

For all the people who lamented that he was missing out on the "Full College Experience" by living at home, he is certainly getting that experience now. Zack is living in an apartment with other co-op students about 15 minutes from work. There are constant events for the students and he is very active in them. Not only has he tried new foods and new activities, but they've also taken several weekend trips together. He has found a nice group of friends with similar interests and goals. The way the co-op rotation works he will be with this same group when he goes again (4 more times on alternating semesters.)

Zack and Mary got together several times while he has been away. Mary went out to visit him in Maryland, even before we did, and drove that 8 hour trip by herself. They also met at the halfway point in Pittsburgh. We saw Mary a few times while we were out and about, but we miss seeing her on a regular basis. We are happy to have both of them back!

Jackie is 14 and in 9th grade. She is doing very well while taking all honors classes, as well as Latin. She plays flute in concert band and earned 1st chair. She asked for a new flute for Christmas which Santa delivered a few months early. In all fairness she was playing my 35 year old flute that had already been passed down through 2 of her cousins. She plays alto saxophone in jazz band and is doing very well, especially considering she had only been playing it for a few months prior to school beginning.

Jackie played flute in marching band and was very excited to earn a spot in the show since many freshman are used as reserves. As a self-described spaz, the most stressful part for her was "jazz running" where she had to look straight ahead but run sideways, while playing of course. The season culminated with a week-long trip to Disney World over Thanksgiving week. Suddenly she had a lot of free time, but quickly filled the gap by playing in the pep band. She was also chosen for Honor Band.

After many years of wanting to be a teacher, Jackie has recently expressed interest in becoming a veterinarian. She started volunteering at an animal shelter over the summer but took a hiatus during the craziness of marching band season. The plan is to resume volunteering in the near future. She has done some pet sitting and, of course, continues to love on Zoey.

Peter has been busy this year working on some projects at home - inside and out. For years he has been waging a landscaping war against the destructive shade thrown off by our large pine trees. Nothing can live in their shadows. This year he planted 1,200 pachysandra plants, with some help from Zack, and also created a slate walking path. Only time will tell if this latest attempt is successful once spring arrives. In addition, Peter has always been a bit hestitant to do plumbing but after getting a quote of $185 per hour he decided to tackle the projects himself. So far so good - no floods!

This year I had my first full-time student teacher. It has been such a great experience and I am so very sad to see her go. This school year has also presented some signficant, unique challenges which have really pushed me to grow as an educator. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself... Thankfully the principals at my school are amazingly supportive. In talking with teachers in other schools I know that is not always the case. I am very fortuante! In other news, I am on month #5 of not drinking Coke.