Hey! You made it to our Christmas letter!! Yeah!!! This year we decided to try and go paperless..... so lets see how it goes!!
Once again, its hard to believe that its time to sit down and write this letter. 2011 has whizzed by us. Our year started out with wrestling for Jayden, He had pretty good year and qualified to go to the state wrestling tournament at 112lbs. His dream was just to qualify.. way to go bud!! Lets hope he has another great year.. he will be a little heavier though weighing in at 132!
Rylee also decided to jump into the game of
volleyball and give it a try. She had a great season
and her team did well at Regionals in
Des Moines. Coming from a wrestling family
this sport was all new to us. She seasoned us
well and we cant wait to watch her compete
again!
Our little baby girl turned 5 this year..... seriously, we
cant figure out how that happened!! She loves
Curious George, so that's what she picked as
her birthday theme. We had lots of family and friends
to help us celebrate. She is now creeping closer
to the age of 6....just cant be!
Our spring started out with Rylee having 4 permanent
teeth pulled and braces put on. She was a trooper
about it all and her teeth are looking great:)
She has become our little track star as well,
running 100 and 200 relays for the track team.
Rylee also had to try and squeeze one more
thing into our spring by being in a special choir called Amabile and being the school musical ,Jack and The Beanstalk. We think she loves the stage!
Stacy helped coach Jayden in 11 Freestyle/Greco wrestling tournaments this spring. Jayden also qualified and traveled to Frago, ND to wrestle in Nationals for Greco. What a great experience he had making
friends, learning new techniques and watching
some of the best wrestlers in the US.
Oh, and his hotel was right across
from HOOTERS...sweet, uh?
This summer consisted of lots of time at the
beach, swimming, fishing, and picnics. Cousin
Aida still comes to our house a few days a
week and got to enjoy the beach with us
as well. Lake Mac Bride is only 7 miles
from our house and we love it there. It
has a campground, boat rental, biking trails,
etc. So if you ever want to hang at the beach,
let us know!
As most of you know, in June, Amy's aunt Marge passed away suddenly. She was tired of fighting the fight and moved on to a better place. We all miss her guidance and love. Not to mention her sewing and embroidery projects:)
In July we celebrated our 20th wedding
anniversary...wait...what? 20 years? HOLY
CRAP we are getting old!! No big trip was
planned but we did have a nice evening out
for supper WITHOUT KIDS!!!!!
In August, Amy and Mayson flew to
San Antonio, Texas for the National Down
Syndrome Convention. Mayson was a great
traveler and she got to be with all her friends her and her mom love so dearly. Their roommates were Erin and Addie who are also
from Cedar Rapids. They stayed
at a huge resort that had about everything they needed!
They had a blast, learned a lot and cant wait for next year which is in Washington DC!
While they were gone in Texas, Stacy had to
work so the kids headed down to Branson , MO, with Grama and Gramps Strottman. They rode go karts, saw a few shows, and shopped.
When they got back school started...
Crazy as it is, Jayden is Junior this year,
Rylee is in 8th grade and Mayson is in
preschool.
School is going well for everyone. Jayden is starting to do some college hunting, Rylee has made the highest honor roll, and Mayson has already met her goals for the year! We are very proud of our kids!!
October is National Down Syndrome Month, so in honor of Mayson, cousin Shelly and many of our friends, we raised money and walked in the Buddy Walk. There was food, games, face painting, music, jumpy castles, and great weather. We helped raise over $30,000 for our area!!
November proved to be a month of change for our family. We bought a different house and moved the first of the month. We are still in Ely, but in another neighborhood. After living in the same house for over 10 years, lets just say, that moving plain sucks! We love our new home, our FLAT yard and the kids love the neighborhood since many of their friends live here. Stacy started a new job after our move as well. He is now the CFO at Bennett Machine and Fabricating in Anamosa, IA. It is about a 25 minute drive for him and so far its been a great match for him! Over Thanksgiving, Amy's Grama Jensen passed away at the age of 92. She was a wonderful lady, who was gentle, loving and wise. We are so grateful to have had her with us all these years. Stacy's uncle Gary also passed away and his funeral was the day after Thanksgiving. We got to see a lot of family that week.... but we are hoping the next time we get together it will be for better circumstances!
We hope you enjoyed the highlights of our year. Thanks again for stopping by and if you want to keep up with us throughout the year you can do so by going to http://theflegefarm.blogspot.com
May you all have a healthy and happy holiday and may you keep the magic of Christmas alive!
Love~
Stacy, Amy Jayden Rylee and Mayson
New mailling address:
1200 Glendale Lane
Ely, Iowa 52227
