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Christmas 2024 Newsletter

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Willow (6)

Willow is a busy first-grader. In addition to school, she enjoys dance, cheer, and tumbling. The summer was filled with a variety of dance, cheer, and tumbling camps which has made her quite the celebrity as groups of high school girls have remembered her when they see her around Brentwood. She is the crafter of the family and can often be found surrounded by markers, glue, tape (all of our tape) and piles of scrap paper.

Gavin (8)

No broken bones this year – hooray! Gavin picked up chess this year and has really enjoyed the weekly chess club at our local library. The highlight of his chess career so far was being on the team that won a trophy for Lipscomb Elementary in a local Nashville kids chess tournament. A close second was playing a local international master (IM) in a one vs. many match where the IM played 10+ kids at once. Currently, he’s reading Land of Stories and looks like we’ll need to expand our library again.

Owen (12)

Owen is low-key a sigma junior high student this year – no cap. He enjoys (by acting embarrassed) when we use slang around the dinner table. He also completed Cub Scouts and is now a Boy Scout in Troop 86 where he is progressing quickly. His current rank is Tenderfoot. He continues to enjoy sports, including basketball, swimming, and cross country. He got his first personal desktop and is now a member of the Linux community, running Gentoo as his daily driver.

Laura

Laura has been working on a time-dilation device. Just kidding. It seems that way based on all the things she is able to accomplish in any given day. She volunteers at the elementary and has been able to chaperone several field trips. She again made the trip to Ottawa to cheer in the Ottawa Redblacks Alumni Cheer game which is becoming an annual tradition. Laura continues to love working out and being great example to our children of living a healthy lifestyle.

Travis

Travis continues to feel incredibly lucky in all aspects of life. This year's highlights include a friend of thirty-six years, Phil Compton, and their family visiting Nashville for several days. It was amazing seeing all of our kids play together. This year, we also saw Predators games with Owen and Gavin from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) suite in Bridgestone Arena. Thanks, Erin and Jennifer! It has also been amazing to host both sets of grandparents in our home for events like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Boy Scout Crossover. Work is going well, and my small team continues to expand each year. What a 2024!

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