The Year's End

A few years ago, I started including our Christmas letter as the last blog post for each year. That way when I print the year's posts in a book, we have our Christmas letter to look back on too. 

Merry Christmas from the Taverns!

The lights are up all around the house and the Christmas DVDs and blu-rays have been moved to the front of the media cabinet. But, it’s not officially “That Time of the Year” until the annual year-that-was letter is composed. So....away we go.

Our family grew by four little paws on the second day of 2013 when we welcomed a new kitten to the fold. Rudolph Clarence Kringer Tavern - affectionately shortened to Rudy - quickly became a huge part of our daily lives and almost a year later we can’t remember what life was like before him. Though he is not small enough for her to wheel around in one of her doll strollers anymore, Leila loves playing with him and calls him “my little angel.”

Much of what has filled years past for the Tavern Clan continued to occupy our time and energy this year. We continue to love the time we spend seeing plays and musicals at Seattle Children’s Theatre. Leila enjoys seeing the performances, but she also loves learning about how they pull off various “Theatre Tricks” (as she calls them) such as cool lighting effects or set construction. We happily continued to show our love of Disneyland in 2013, making it a Double-Disneyland year, traveling down during Spring Break and during the summer. On one of our trips, Leila was selected  to take part in the Jedi Training Academy. She gave Vader the one-two and got in a couple Force-pushes on unsuspecting Stormtroopers. I was simultaneously so proud and so jealous. While on our second trip to Disneyland, Erin and I celebrated our Datsyukian wedding anniversary (for those who aren’t fans of the Red Wings, that’s number thirteen). We added hiking to our list of summer activities this year, going on hikes in Mount Rainier National Park. Though a little hesitant at first, Leila enjoyed the experience so much, she decided to go for a hike on her sixth birthday. 

Erin continues to teach first grade with such talent and care that former students greet her in the hall with hugs and petitions of “Can we please come back to first grade with you, Mrs. Tavern?” Her compassion, care, and excellent teaching definitely impact her students’ lives. Erin also started doing a bit of photography on the side. Though she does not have any formal training, she most certainly has an eye for what looks good and a knack for making her subjects feel comfortable. Proving she’s got the chops to be a photographer, she won a Best in Show Award at the Pierce County Fair for one of her photos.

    I continue to plug away, teaching and directing at the high school level. A highlight of this year was directing Guys & Dolls, a musical that I was in during my senior year at Rogers. Leila and I went to our first Daddy/Daughter Dance in February and it is certain to become an annual tradition. In April, I decided to start taking hockey lessons. Eight months later, I’m not prepared to say that I’m good, but I am proud of the progress I’ve made thus far. 

It’s been a gigantic year for Leila. Her total of lost teeth has run itself up to five, she danced in her second dance recital (she’s a pro now), and she was the perfect flower girl in a beautiful summer wedding. She played soccer this fall, scoring quite a few goals and surviving her parents as coaches. Recently, she has developed a love for comic books, most especially Tiny Titans, My Little Ponies, and The Powerpuff Girls. The biggest news is that she started Kindergarten and she is loving it! Her reading continues to amaze and she is developing great number sense. She loves telling us about the “studies” she does during the day (that’s what she calls worksheets), gives us lessons in how to play the rhythm sticks, and looks forward to January when she can start checking out books from the school library. It’s no shock that school has been a great fit for this kid, but we are most proud that she is a positive leader in her class, helping out the teacher and being the type of classmate that all of her peers want to be around. What more could parents ask for?

      As you finish reading up on the year-that-was for the Taverns, we hope that your year-that-was brought you as much happiness as 2013 brought our way. It wasn’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t blessed. May the joy of the season, the peace of the divine, and the many blessings of life abound for you in the year to come.

                     Peace and Good Wishes,

Chris, Erin and Leila