THIS is as good as it gets.

I think this will be my "Christmas letter" for the year. I can't get my act together to get one printed and sent. It also might mean I would have to go to the post office. That alone was enough to make me start typing.

I'll be positive in this post .. as that's how all Christmas letters are .. right?

Although, it would be pretty funny to send a 'real' letter. But no one wants that.

So here's a re-cap of our 2009 year.

It could have been worse. It could have been better.

Jan *Our trip to Ireland. I then dyed my hair red.

Feb *Eli learned how to speak Chinese. Fluently.

Mar *Hayley was accepted into IB (International Baccalaureate) at her school. She excels in calculus.

Apr *Our trip to Antarctica. All I can say about that is .. it was cold.

May *Jackson got the star role in the upcoming movie "Home Alone 7"

June *I lost 20 lbs. Then gained it all back. So ... I look about the same.

July *Our Africa safari trip. The giraffe's we rode were especially tall.

Aug *Eli was asked to be an intern at our local ER. He wants to specialize in

trauma.

Sept *Hayley was called to be the Young Women's president at church.

We realize she's a bit young - but when you are blessed with talents .. well..

Oct *Our trip to Tibet. Eli translated. Hayley decided she wants to be a monk

and I shaved my head.

Nov *Jackson finally got his book "How To Make 360 Creations With Just One Lego" published.

Dec *Our last family vacation of the year .. to Mogadishu, Somalia. We're

big fans of anarchy. Bonus .. there were no gun laws. Eli lost his pinky

toe and now Jackson has no middle finger. But those aren't important

digits.

We hope your year was as exciting as ours. It's a shame we couldn't fit in more ... sometimes we just get lazy.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

(so if you want a real re-cap .. you're just going to have to go through my blog posts through-out the year)