Merry Christmas

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – or so the old song says.  We tend to agree around our house.  There is just something about the twinkling lights and the anticipation of days to come that make us all reflect and remember the past year and the people who shared it with us fondly.  Here are a few highlights of 2018.

Spencer-

He continues to love performing.  He had a role in the HS production of Young Frankenstein and played Not Dead Fred in MCT’s Spamalot.   He is active in his HS Players group and had a fun role this fall in You Can’t Take it With You.

He takes voice lessons and will show off his skills as Grimsby in The Little Mermaid this spring.

His interests are broad as he enjoys forging in fire, gaming on the computer, Dungeons and Dragons and wants to learn to play guitar.

Evan-

He spent two weeks this summer at Scout camp.  One week was for National Youth Leadership Training.  He is on the way to Eagle Scout and determined to beat his older brother.

Had a blast in his MS performance of James and the Giant Peach and will take to the HS stage for The Little Mermaid.

 His Destination Imagination team went to the State finals last spring at MSU.  They are hoping for a repeat trip.

He was on the tennis team for the HS.  He didn’t play a lot but had fun with the guys and enjoyed lots of snacks.

Hailey –

Auditioned for a role in the MS production of High School Musical and was cast in the ensemble.  (Can you sense that the kids all take after their dad with regards to performing?  Of course they must have got their singing ability from me. J)

She is continuing with piano lessons and hopes to join the MS tennis club in the spring.

She is a typical preteen - obsessed with making slime and watching YouTube videos about random things.

Trent is in his 25^th year of teaching at RPHS.   He will direct Into the Woods in March so mark your calendars.

Jen continues to work at Lincoln Park (though it feels strange to be there without our kids in the school).  She expanded her hours to spend the morning as a 1^st grade teachers aid.

Klairter Family Fun –

In June we loaded up the van and headed down to Florida for two weeks to vacation at Disney World and Universal Studios.  We had a great time.  The weather was perfect (no tropical storm like six years ago).  The kids were at great ages to be there. They could wander independently and we were not worried about losing them.  We spent the Fourth of July in the world of Harry Potter watching the lightshow on Hogwarts Castle.  It was an amazing day and trip. 

We wish for you a holiday season and a new year filled with happiness, health, peace and love.

Love – Trent, Jen, Spencer, Evan & Hailey

The sweetest

This girl often amazes me with her kindness and pure heart. 

As I was walking into work a couple mornings ago, her teacher from last year stopped me to tell me she had received a wonderful email from Hailey wishing her a Merry Christmas and telling her about middle school and what she missed about her former class.  Her teacher was so touched and blown away by her gesture.  I was also blown away since I didn't know anything about it.

When she got home from school I asked her about it and she told me that she had sent emails to all of her former elementary school teachers to wish them a Merry Christmas. 

This girl...filling buckets wherever she goes.

Singing in the season

This past weekend was one of my favorites of the whole year.  The  high school choir put on their annual Singing Christmas Tree.  This year was extra awesome because both of the boys are in choir and got to be in the tree. 

Before the show on Thursday night we had dinner downtown at Rad Dad's and were able to sit in the outside "igloos" that Hailey and I had been admiring from afar all week.  It was so fun.  I seriously could have sat there all night and ate yummy tacos. It kind of made our little town seem a bit big cityish. 

Then it was time for the big event.  Before Spencer started high school, I hadn't attended this concert since my senior year of high school.  It really is something incredible.

The first few photos following this were taken by the local news site.  You are not allowed to photograph during the show and I wouldn't be able to get these angles anyway so thank you to the local photographer who took these. 

Spencer was in a sextet before the actual "tree" singing.  They sang The 12 Days of Christmas the Straight No Chaser arrangement.  One of my favorite Christmas songs of all time and my first introduction to the group Straight No Chaser -  LOVE!

More awesome news site photos. 

Parents could take pictures after so these are now mine.  That is probably why the boys are actually looking at the camera.

Spencer's row was the last out of the tree.  This photo made me laugh because Evan in the foreground looks like he is cheering them on.  They may have just finished singing the theme from Spongebob Squarepants.  You can put the kids in the gorgeous tree but that can't make them fancy! Ha!

My tired camera flashed face boys in front of the tree.

On Saturday night the Muskegon Channel live streamed the concert so anyone that wanted could tune in.  It was also pretty cool to see it on TV but nothing beats actually being in the theatre and seeing it live.

This is always such a fun way to start off the holiday season.  I hope I have babies in this tree for years to come.

Celebrating Halloween

The day we decided to carve pumpkins was a gorgeous fall day.  To eliminate seeds and pumpkin guts on our floor we decided to carve outside.  We made a fire in our pit, played some music, basically had our own little mini Oktoberfest in the driveway.

Spencer is usually willing to have some family fun with us if he can use power tools.

This year was another one that I LOVED my kids' costumes.   I found the base of this Cleopatra outfit at the Goodwill for four dollars.  We bought a wig and did some costume embellishing and it is one of my favorites of all time.

 
We made the collar and the wristlets and painted some black on the belt.  Hailey made an identical costume for her doll.

She wanted to bring the doll and this cat to the photoshoot at the beach.

She is weird. 

Evan couldn't come up with anything to dress as, then on a whim we came up with Captain Obvious.   Perfect.  At the same Goodwill trip where we found Hailey's dress - we found this red blazer and it all came together from there.

Spencer dressed as Shaggy from Scooby Doo and fit the suit perfectly!  Sadly, my seventeen year old guy wouldn't let me give him a photo shoot of his own.

Every year I think this may be the last they want to dress up but so far I have not been disappointed.
I love Halloween costumes.

Return to the patch

It has been a few years since we have gone to a pumpkin patch.  As the kids have grown they have been much less available or willing to go.  They are just as happy to carve a supermarket pumpkin rather than one they have picked out on the farm.  We just happened to have a beautiful fall Sunday with nothing planned and we hadn't had any family fun time in a while - so off to a local patch we went. 

Another deterrent from the pumpkin patch is that all the ones around here are so commercialized and over crowded.  Suddenly I feel like I sound like Linus on Charlie Brown. I just want to find pumpkins, get a donut and cider and maybe walk a corn maze.  We don't really want to spend over a hundred dollars at the farm because of all of there attractions.  Plus have to pay for our pumpkins!

We found this new to us pumpkin patch about 45 minutes south of us.  It was perfect.  Exactly the amount of fall fun we were seeking.

The kids all wanted giant pumpkins so once we paid by the pound we ended up spending almost fifty dollars on pumpkins.  At least they were into it I guess.

They also had a corn maze - with trivia questions at each stopping post! 

(At this point, Hailey was SUPER hangry and just dying to leave the maze and eat a donut).

It was a fun family day at the patch.  I hope we have a chance to come back next year.