Dear Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas! We hope that this greeting has found you all enjoying the holiday season. Time continues to fly no matter how much I wish it would slow down a half a beat. There is always plenty going on, things to do, and people and places to see.

In May Ryan successfully finished his first year of medical school at the University of Utah. Over the summer he was invited back to be a counselor at Camp Hobe (A summer camp for children with cancer or siblings of children with cancer). He was able to serve with a couple good friends which made the experience even greater. He began the second year of school in August, which is simply more class and lectures, just more intense than the first year. Ryan continues to enjoy the challenge and is getting geared up to take the Step 1 board exams in June. This score will play a large part in the residency program that he will match with when he graduates in 2011. In July Ryan will begin his clinical rotations and the intensity will once again increase. He does find time to do other things, especially when the weather permits for a bike ride up Emigration Canyon.

Kaylie (41/2 yrs. old) finished her first year of preschool in May. She had a great time and her social skills improved. This year we are doing a preschool co-op with 3 other kids in the neighborhood. I was nervous about the work at first, but it has been wonderful! We have 2 girls and 2 boys in the group and they are learning a lot. Kaylie has been very excited as she has started to read and will jump at any chance she can to read to a listening audience. She is growing up so fast I am already getting sad about sending her to kindergarten next year.

What can I say about James (2 yrs. old)? He is all boy, lots of energy and usually sweet as can be. He loves to wrestle his dad, sister, and if he’s lucky his mom. After battling constant ear infections for several months James had tubes placed in his ear drum in February. It was the best thing we could have done. His speech immediately improved and has it continued to take off. He has since then had only 2 ear infections. We also confirmed his milk allergy. It appears to be something he will likely grow out of. Despite being my “sick boy” he is very happy, loves to play cars, trucks, trains, helicopters, and planes.

I am keeping busy with raising the kids and helping Ryan get through school. I am currently serving as the community president for our student housing neighborhood. Teaching preschool on my rotation has been an experience I am grateful to have chosen to do. I am also the primary president for our student ward. There will always be something to learn no matter how long I work with the children of the church. I have enjoyed working with the ladies of the Medical student Alliance. MSA is a group for medical student spouses. There are socials, activities for kids, interest groups, and service opportunities. I stay busy and always wish I could fit in several other things.

Our family had some big changes in the first half of the year when Eric, Ryan’s younger brother, left to serve an LDS mission in Athens, Greece. We hadn’t adjusted to his absence when JoAnn, Ryan’s mom, remarried. She married Ron Corbett from Brunswick, Georgia on June 7th. They met online, both had been widowed for a few years and are happy to have the love and companionship of one another.

The summer went quickly. We had a season pass to a local water park. We spent as much time as we could swimming with friends who also had passes, and getting our family to come a few times as well. Living on campus means there is always someone to play with. During the summer there were many late nights on the playground. One of the warm nights we drove down to Manti, UT where a play about the early saints if Church of Jesus Christ is done on the grounds surrounding the temple.

As the summer came to a close we went to Disney World with Maja, Faja, Hillary and Logan. We spent the week there and were lucky to spend a day at the parks with some friends that had recently moved there for residency! We had another big treat when Grandma Jo and Pappy came down from Georgia to spend a day at the Magic Kingdom with us! I am glad we took the kids to “little old” Disneyland in California last year or I think it might have been a little too much to take in. It really was too much excitement and fun!

The end of the year has been filled with activities and celebrations. We spent a week up in the mountains at a small resort that Ryan has grown up going to. It was a blast to spend time with just the four of us. We had a ton of snow and fun! We look forward to the new year with the memories and experiences it has to offer, and hope you do too.

May the true magic of Christmas bring you a holiday filled with peace, happiness and joy!

Love,

Ryan  Annette  Kaylie  &  James