Our Christmas newsletter 2016

Every year I write out a family newsletter to include with our holiday cards, and every year I go back and forth about sending it out. Is it really worth the time, effort, printer ink, and paper? Is it too braggy? Too swaggy? Does anyone really read it?  This year I decided to write the newsletter but only share it with immediate family. I'm truly the worst at calling and emailing my siblings and parents, so this newsletter really does keep them updated. Unfortunately, I've been extraordinarily absent-minded this holiday season (for the first time ever I found myself scrambling to buy presents for the kids on December 24!), so I forgot to send out the newsletter. Fortunately, I still have this blog, so my work isn't going to waste. 



Dear everyone,

We hope this finds everyone healthy and happy. This is one of our favorite times of the year because we look forward to receiving cards and newsletters from everyone. We love finding out how everyone is doing and seeing how everyone has grown, so keep the photos and updates coming!

The Pea is now in her second year of high school. She recently joined her school's ukelele club and loves strumming along to Disney songs. Her nail art designs have been getting compliments from friends and strangers alike, and we're trying to convince her to market her services (she's available for individual appointments and kids' parties!). Her role in this year's Nutcracker ballet is a special one -- as lead angel, she is in charge of all the little angels, a role she played in her very first Nutcracker, nine years ago.

3Po and Jammy are 7th graders. Due to a scheduling mixup, they found themselves in the same classroom for the first time since preschool (their teacher uses a seating chart to tell them apart). Both boys still enjoy playing competitive soccer. In addition, they've become fully fledged US Soccer referees, and they've been earning money by refereeing soccer games in their spare time.

Jammy is now on his second year of playing saxophone in his middle school band. He also plays tenor sax with his school's jazz ensemble. It involves a lot of extra early morning rehearsals, but he says the donuts make biking to school at 6:45am easier to bear.

3Po has taken on the role of bonggamom's sous chef. As a result, he can now surprise the family with pancakes, shepherd's pie, pasta with sausage, and other dishes. At school, he is taking Japanese as an elective, and practices by reading the characters on random toy boxes and condiment packages.


Refereeing has become a family affair; Alfie also earned his referee license and has been refereeing weekend games with 3Po and Jammy. They make a great team, with Alfie calling the shots as center ref and the two boys running up and down the sidelines as his assistant referees. Graham's referee earnings helped pay for a trip to Las Vegas to see the Rolling Stones in concert. He also bought himself a set of drums last Christmas and has been practicing almost every day (fortunately they're electrical drums so the neighbors haven't noticed).


Worried about being left out of the family band, bonggamom has been stealing The Pea's ukelele and teaching herself to play. Like Alfie, she got to cross off an item from her bucket list -- visiting Disneyland Paris. She plans to drag the family along with her to visit every Disney park around the world, starting with Disneyland Hong Kong next summer.


Merry Christmas to one and all! As always, we hope to do a bit of traveling in 2017, so we hope our paths cross sometime in the new year. If not, please stay in touch!


Love,
Bonggamom and family


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