Dear friends and family,
We hope 2014 has treated you well. We’ve been busy, but
can’t complain. We try hard not to be busy, but with two kids, two jobs, and a
really old house, there’s always something to do.
We spent a part of our spring break this year “glamping” in
Santa Barbara at El Capitan Canyon. We swam, hiked, played with the goats and
llamas, and ate some delicious food – not goat or llama. Mark had a close
encounter with a skunk and, after the terror dissipated, was very glad he
hadn’t been sprayed, because he didn’t want to hitchhike home.
In July we visited the Sequoias and loved our time boating,
kayaking, paddle boarding and standing in awe under some mind-bogglingly-large
trees. In August we went camping for real, and even though we all love camping,
it was a far cry from the comfy days we enjoyed in Santa Barbara. I spent much
of our last night feeling like things were crawling on me and woke to find it
was not my imagination - there were ants in my sleeping bag. It wasn’t supposed
to be our last night, but after that, I was more than ready to go home.
Mark and I went to Provo, Utah in October to celebrate our 17th
wedding anniversary. It was all great fun except the anticipated highlight of
our trip: watching BYU beat Utah State. BYU’s quarterback broke his leg during
the first quarter and the team lost steadily for the rest of the game. I might
have screamed a little, and Mark is now convinced he has some kind of curse
that makes BYU lose every time he attends a game. We spent a couple of days there
touring campus and Utah County, visiting our old apartments, eating at
restaurants we knew and some we didn’t, riding the lift at Sundance, and
admiring the beautiful mountains. Our dorms are gone and the field where we got
engaged was torn up for construction, but everything else was so familiar, we
felt like we’d never left.
Claire is in 2nd grade. She’ll be 8 in March. She’s reading
anything she can get her hands on and still crafting like it’s life or death.
The crafting has led to a less positive hobby: the hoarding of crafts and
crafting materials. Her room is pretty trashed. But she’s so sunny and
delightful, we don’t scold too much. Claire’s always sharing her love in the
form of hugs, kisses, impromptu dances, notes, acts of service and the crafts already
mentioned. She’s getting very tall, but I still pretend she’s little.
Audrey is in 5th grade and growing up fast. She
just turned 11 this month, and even though it’s bittersweet, I’m finding it easy
to accept her new maturity. It’s nice to have another responsible and
conscientious person in the house. She’s got a fun sense of humor, too, and we
are starting to have conversations that we both enjoy. Audrey still asks 110
questions a day, but now the questions are harder to answer and often reveal a
hidden agenda. Sometimes we think she’s going to be a lawyer, but she says
she’s going to be an artist.
I’m busy with my work as a stay-at-home mom and part-time
freelancer. I’d like to do more freelance and less laundry, so we will see what
the future brings. I still play a lot of tennis and do yoga several times a
week. Tennis gives me something to whack at and yoga makes me slow down and
breathe. I’d like to say I’m never stressed, and handle life with calmness and dignity,
but that would be a huge lie. I enjoy my garden quite a bit and learned how to
can my extra veggies this summer – our cupboards are full of good things I
worked too hard to make to even consider eating.
Mark began his new job at Western Digital in March. His
commute is long, but his hours are reasonable. We were fortunate because the position
came along just when his freelance contract ended. It was a crazy time for us
living on an income that fluctuated from a little to a lot every few months,
but we made it work and are grateful everything worked out for our benefit.
Mark just went to Taiwan and will be at the CES show in Vegas in January. When
he’s not working or traveling he’s taking on the extra-exasperating jobs like
bedtime, math homework, and the memorization of times tables.
It’s a wonderful time of year, and we are grateful for our
home and health, friends and family. Our kids are getting older, but are still
young enough to enjoy all of our traditions. They look forward to the holidays
and trips and celebrations so much it makes all the hard work worthwhile. We
are soaking in every moment.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Love, the Sterzicks – Mark, Melissa, Audrey
and Claire
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| Sequioa July 2014 |
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| April 2014 |
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| April 2014 |
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| Torrance Plunge August 2014 |
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| Camping at Crystal Cove August 2014 |
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| Camping at Crystal Cove August 2014 |
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| Big duck - Long Beach August 2014 |
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| Disney Hall January 2014 |
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| Disney Hall January 2014 |
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| Disney Hall January 2014 |
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| Disney Hall January 2014 |
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| Halloween 2014 |
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| Disney Hall January 2014 |
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| Sequoia July 2014 |
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| Hume Lake July 2014 |
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| Hume Lake July 2014 |
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| Hume Lake July 2014 |
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| Last day of school - June 2014 |
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| End of the year class party - June 2014 |
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| End of the year class party - June 2014 |
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| Knott's Berry Farm March 2014 (Claire's birthday) |
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| Chelsea's wedding March 2014, Arizona |
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| Chelsea's wedding March 2014, Arizona |
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| Knott's Berry Farm March 2014 (Claire's birthday) |
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| Anza Elementary open house June 2014 |
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| Anza Elementary open house June 2014 |
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| Mother's Day 2014 |
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| Halloween 2014 |
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| Shopping with mom |
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| West High cheer clinic October 2014 |
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| First day of school September 2014 |
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| Torrance plunge summer 2014 |
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| Anza Elementary movie night September 2014 |
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