Merry Christmas

We're busy here getting ready for the holidays. Tina's sibling are all planning to arrive today. Lots to do. Looking forward to the time off and with family.

Here is a copy of our 2009 Christmas letter for those of you who don't get snail mail.

Happy Holidays

The Voss Family Christmas Letter
2009

Here’s hoping this message finds you in light heart and good spirits!

2009 was another fun year for the family, with the focus on the kids.

Evan has gotten into baseball in a big way this year. It all started with Winter Workouts in January, Spring Ball, Travel Ball in the summer, Fall Ball and Fall Workouts. It’s a sport he has really taken to. So, when the Phillies went to the World Series again this year, Evan was really excited! Evan also participated in chorus, chimes and he still enjoys playing the trombone. Madeleine’s sports interests are a bit more diverse and all were a first this year. She joined the swim team in the summer and loved it so much that she continued indoors during the fall. She also played soccer in the fall. Recently she started to play the violin. After 2 yrs, Madeleine and her Brownie troop (and yes Tina too) did their first camping trip in June – that was fun. Both kids are playing basketball now in the winter. It’s no surprise most of our time is spent bringing the kids to one practice or another.

Tina participated in two triathlons this year. In addition Tina and I did a couple of longer distance bike rides (one 50 mile and one 77.4 mile ride) which help keep us active. The kids also did a mini-triathlon in the spring which they enjoyed. I guess you can’t start them out too young.

In March Tina and I took a 10 day cruise through the Panama Canal as well as other destinations in the Caribbean. That was very relaxing!

We took a 2 ½ week family vacation to Colorado and California. Tina’s cousin got married in Beaver Creek, CO. After the wedding, we stopped in Steamboat Springs to visit Tina’s sister Mindy. From there we flew to Southern California to see family, friends and Disneyland. The kids haven’t had the Disney experience yet. We stayed for 5 days and were able to do pretty much everything we wanted.

On the job front Tina got a promotion in the spring – EBC Trade Planner BPM. She tracks funding for her region. She works in the office and no longer at home. It’s about a 45 min. ride. I’m still working with the Best Practice group and travel a lot. Gigi has been a terrific help with the kids and this allows us to maintain our busy schedules. In addition, Tina is still doing Arbonne which she really enjoys.

On the home improvement front, we added a small pond and waterfall in the backyard as well as spruced up the landscape. It was nice to spend more time back there in the evenings (when we weren’t taking the kids to their activities).

We enjoyed Thanksgiving in Richmond visiting my brother and his family and my mom. Christmas will be spent at home. Tina’s siblings and spouses will all be here to celebrate as well as Adrian. We were happy to have him visit us at Easter too this year – making the gingerbread house was so fun. More extended family will be visiting the day after Christmas. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!

Here’s hoping your holidays are peaceful and safe. We’re still keeping up the family blog. Check it out at www.thevossblog.blogspot.com
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Merry Tuba Christmas

The first weekend of December was also the first snowfall of the season. We were kept busy with a visit to South Orange, NJ to visit Tina's cousins and aunt. One of Tina's cousins was visiting from Columbus, OH and her aunt was in from Greenville, SC. It was a great afternoon of visiting and having the kids play together. It's great to see everyone as well as having the children play together. It made for a great day.

On Sunday, Evan participated in Lansdale's Merry Tuba Christmas. Essentially all the tuba and baritone players get together to play Christmas carols at Railroad Station Park next to the Christmas tree. Since it snowed the day before, there was a gentle coating on the ground which added to the festive holiday cheer. Hot chocolate and Philly pretzels were on hand for whoever wanted them. The concert was about 45 minutes and there were about 65 tuba / baritone players. This was Evan's first year playing. Since he got the music about an hour before, he struggled with a lot of the songs. His trombone teacher recommended he participate and assured him that it will be much easier next year. Hopefully this will become a tradition for him to play in the years to come. Ironically I took the kids to a Tuba Christmas concert about 5 years earlier. Little did I know Evan would be playing along one day. Funny how things transpire over time.

The After Thanksgiving / Before Christmas Lull

The Thanksgiving weekend was pretty fun this year. We did our traditional drive down I95 to Richmond to visit my brother, his family and my mom for the weekend. It has been said, it's not about the destination, but the journey. This trip is more about avoiding traffic jams along the way. I think after all these years we figured the best times and routes to get to our destination (there and back) relative backup free. That being said, the destination was great. We had a terrific dinner and spent the rest of the weekend taking walks, taking the kids roller skating and enjoying a relatively drama free visit. They are the best kinds.

Now that we're back, it's time to get ready for Christmas.

The decorations are up, however a few decisions had to be made, do we go with the new-fangled aluminum trees that are all the rage or stick with the more traditional green with faux snow?

I decided to go "green" if you will.

Once that decision was made, I had to think of stocking stuffers. Santa had a suggestion, but I thought I would pass.

Next, the gifts...