Echo's voice: 2008 Family here and trip to San Francisco

2008 Christmas Card

Merry Christmas and Happy 2009

Emerson Graduating from 8th grade

The largest change that 2008 brought to our lives, is that Emerson's 8th grade graduation in June means that both boys are in high school. Suddenly, No Children live in this house. So Dixie started re-thinking her pack-rat tendencies and realized that a house with no grade school kids, isn't really a place that needs boxes of baby clothes and Legos and pirate ships and Hot wheels. So I signed up for FLYLADY and started following the daily jobs - simple things like, shine your sink and find 27 things to get rid of. Deal with the stack of papers on your dining room table for just 15 minutes today. Amazingly, three months of 15 minute, daily jobs have made a big difference in our house.

page 1

Austin hit the magic age of 15 1/2 and that means that a California youth is of age to have a Driver's Permit. He was wishing it was like his cousins in Wyoming and his friends in Oregon who could get theirs at 15. He has been a careful, but skilled driver and already drove us home from a couple of 100 mile trips, through the dark and rain of our canyon and sea cliffs. He is actually a better driver than he ever was a passenger, less nervous when he is in charge. So in another year, it will be Emerson's turn. Then will Greg or I ever get to drive?

The most fun that we had this year was around the 4th of July when a lot of the Goode Clan came to visit. We went to the beach and the river, went to rent Quads at the sand dunes, checked out the local Yurok plank houses and had a firework blow out. The city fireworks at the beach were fogged out, but I might have been the only one who noticed that due to so many family ones to set off. Our house only has one bathroom so we rolled out the redneck hospitality and rented a deluxe Port-a-potty and borrowed a friend's fifth-wheel, set up some tents and lit the back yard fire pit. We didn't get to see my mom and brothers, or Greg's parents and his brother Matt's family at all this year so that is starting to feel like an urgent goal for 2009.

The Classy goode resort

part of me has never let go the idea that this solar flare is really my Sister-in-law
at the first family reunion since her funeral

4th of July at the Beach

hospitality on Wonderstump road

My in-laws enjoying the waves

Emerson, Aunt Laura and Greg

Yurok plank House

sweatlodge and house

campfire

Colton and laura

Sad Dunes at Florence Oregon

Austin and Ben (a friend)
first Duck hunt

Austin did his second season of High School Football. # 63, the Junior varsity team won a lot more than the Freshman team did last year. Austin played almost non-stop as a lineman for offense and defense and he was very proud of his bruises. Then he had to sit out the last two games with a truly gnarly concussion. It also knocked him out of band for a time because he couldn't stand the noise, or the pressure of blowing o the trombone. He missed a couple of days of school but wasn't back to normal for weeks. (In honesty, 6 years later he is still not back to normal. a scan showed a pinched optic nerve so reading gives him headaches, he has a blind spot the other eye covers but the strain causes pain. He lost nearly 6 months of memories including Sophomore algebra.)

Del Norte Warriors, Austin was #63

fishing

Austin #63

Page 2

Greg's third year with Brookings School District seems to be his best so far. He finally says for sure that it was a good decision to switch school districts and I can tell he's having fun working with the older kids and doing vocal music. We all had a great trip with his High School students to San Francisco and it was amazingly easier than the previous trips with 7th and 8th graders. We went to Phantom of the opera and Ice Skating and all around the city.

In and Out
on San Fran trip

Greg leading trip

Me loving the Art museum

Austin on cable Car

Escaped from Cable car via construction scaffolding

China Town in SF

SF Pier 39

Emerson and a good Friend, Miss Willie Mae

Austin on Quad

Emerson at Sand Dunes

Greg teaching his class

Austin

Del Norte Warrior football

Emerson at his brother's game

Austin going through

Emerson has joined a community orchestra and plays the violin with them. He also did horse riding again for much of the year, but his real passion is World of Warcraft on the computer. He has a group of friends who play it with him, and we have to limit his on-line time or he'd never get off the computer.

Emerson's home at Home

Orchestra

page 3

We did lose our older Greyhound. George died on St. Patrick's day. He was old enough that it was a natural thing but it wasn't easy anyway. Grace is doing OK now and there are two neighbor dogs who come over to play every time I let her outside.

O signed up for National Novel Writing Month and finally finished the first draft of my second novel. My writing instructor thought this one would be easier to market because it is about the Oregon Trail and Schools teach that a lot. So once I edit it, maybe I'll find a publisher? Now that I'm making myself write seriously I have to focus on the business end and how to present the manuscripts to editors. Yikes!

Looking back through the photos of the year, I see that the boys involvement with the Methodist Church Youth group was a big part of what we did this year. We went on a snowboarding trip at Mt. Ashland, and another to the water parks in Redding, CA. Emerson did a week long outdoor a venture camp in the hills outside Medford and Austin went up to Reedsport to an Aquatic Sports Camp. They did several fund raising pancake lunches and adopted a family to give Christmas too.

page 4

Next year, Austin's High School Band is going to Disneyland to play and participate in a music clinic, so he is also doing fund raising for that. He just finished selling Christmas trees but hasn't completely paid off the trip yet.

We're going up to Portland to have Thanksgiving with Vince, and his new Lady, Marcy, and her family and see his New House. Then we are hoping to make it back to Wyoming for Christmas with both sets of our relatives.

Hope your New Year is Wonderful!

Dixie, Greg, Austin and Emerson