As the year is drawing to a close, I must take up my pen (figuratively speaking) and compose the annual Kannely newsletter. It’s a time to reflect on our accomplishments and triumphs. I got all of my kids to do their own laundry for the duration of summer break. It was pure bliss. Plus, the momentum of all of that laundry has somewhat continued and the girls often still wash their own laundry. Folding, on the other hand, still needs continued guidance. But then, so do the dishes. And putting shoes away. Maybe let’s scratch that “triumph.” On another note, Ryan and I managed to convince our children we really do mean what we say when we say, “We love our children more than stuff.” This previously had been challenged by broken dining room chairs, jammed cd and dvd players, un-washable art on our kitchen table, and other general child mayhem. This year the stakes were raised to a broken car…
Emma (16) is a junior in high school, taking three College in the Classroom classes through CWU and Eastern. She is also broadening her horizons by taking pottery, yoga, and French 3 classes, and is the junior class vice president. She has performed in three plays this year and is currently cast as Wendy in Peter Pan, debuting early next year. Emma has taken on some chauffeur responsibilities and groggily drives herself and Elizabeth to early morning seminary. (Cue parental fist bump.)
Elizabeth (14) was this year’s recipient of the gift of orthodontia, just as Annie and Maddie were getting their first round of braces off. As a freshman in high school, our reluctant reader was placed in Honor’s English and is doing quite well. She thoroughly enjoyed her drawing class at school, enrolled in Irish Dance, and is doing Peter Pan with Emma. Elizabeth still loves art in many, many forms, and is not above cooking dinner. She is following in Emma’s French class footsteps and can be heard singing “Vive le Vent” around the house. (That’s Jingle Bells.)
Annie and Maddie (11) are in 5th grade, and final year in elementary school. They love having their dad as their principal, and frequently make jokes about going to the principal’s office. (“May we go, pretty please?”) Annie and Maddie are avid readers, and each has read over 2,000,000 words in AR just since the beginning of school. Annie’s competitive streak is keeping her ahead of Maddie in the race for Most Words Read. They joined the Irish Dance class with Elizabeth (the three of them making up exactly half of the class) and are still taking AcroDance. Annie and Maddie wanted to get a head start on learning to drive at their tender age, so Ryan taught them to use the ride-on lawnmower. They do a decent job mowing the sheep and chicken pasture, and an even better job of shedding hair to obstruct the vacuum cleaner and sink drains.
Ryan, The Master of Un-Clogging Sink Drains, is in his second year of being an elementary school principal. He was again the mastermind behind our garden. We were able to give away about 100 pumpkins and have stored more onions than any one family of 6 could possibly consume in a year. Ryan gave making his own sourdough starter another go and was finally successful in making really yummy sourdough bread, through much trial and error. We purchased rising baskets to give the bread dough cool patterns as it rises, and the end product is professional looking. No one at work believed that Ryan had made the bread.
Danae has been deposed as the primary bread maker of the house due to Ryan’s enthusiasm for sourdough. (Not really. The kids still like mine best.) Unfortunately, no other family members are looking for the dinners-every-night title, which is the job she’d prefer to give up. She is the Keeper of Everyone’s Schedules and Appointments and the one who makes sure the library books go back on time. Danae volunteers at a couple of elementary schools 3-4 days a week and teaches a church class of 9 and 10-year-olds every other Sunday.
This year we took our first airplane transported family vacation, and we spent 9 days in Kauai. It was everything we hoped it would be: lush foliage, the most fragrant and tasty pineapple, sunshine, snorkeling, splashing, hikes, smiles, and sandcastles. Ryan’s favorite part was the kayak trip and hike to a hidden waterfall, which in Danae’s mind was filed away under Character Building Experiences. Steering and paddling a kayak with a child in the front seat just did not come naturally to her. At. All. Wading through the mud in Waimea Canyon was infinitely preferable.
Our cat Merlin met her demise early this year following a dog attack, so we welcomed a couple of new kitties to keep the rodent population down. Dickens and Vinnie are well-loved and well-fed.
We are so thankful for our many blessings, and cherish our time with family and friends. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Love,
Ryan, Danae, Emma, Elizabeth, Annie, and Maddie Kannely