Christmas Letter

Hello all!
I figured I’d better get my Christmas letter on the blog since I already mailed out the Christmas cards promising a yearly update to be posted here. Although, I guess if you wanted a more detailed update you could just read the rest of the blog…I digress.

This year has been amazing. We’ve had so many fun adventures and trips. We had a family vacation in C’ouer d’Alene. It was so beautiful and a lot of fun. Cliff and Lisa (Trevor’s brother and his wife) and family joined us for all the fun. We went waterskiing, to an amusement park, and visited Spokane.

Right after that trip, we took a trip to Texas to see some friends be sealed in the temple. While there, we stayed with my sister and husband (Amy and Bart) and family. It was a very fun trip and I LOVE getting to visit family! They kept us busy with fun things even in the record-breaking heat they were having…and it was HOT.

We took a trip (this time without the kids! Thanks Grandma Strupp!) to Bath, Illinois for their annual Redneck Fishing Tournament. We “fished” for Asian Carp. These are the fish that jump out of the water, many times right in the boat. The rules state you can’t take a fishing pole, only a net and a baseball bat—we just used nets… It was more fun than I ever thought possible.

We also went on our first cruise with my brother and his wife (Mike and Alicia). It was amazing, and I’m sure we’ll have to frequent the cruise ships more often. Although it’s probably not a good idea for the waistline…Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Madsen for watching the kids!!
Trevor is still loving work and Montana. He has been really busy this year with work, church callings and the kids and balances it all so well. He loved coaching Tyler’s basketball team so much last January that he’s doing it again this January. His new calling in the Elder’s Quorum keeps him on his toes, but once in awhile he’ll find some time to go hunting.

Kim loves being a mom. I love the different stages the kids are in and watching them learn and grow. I feel like I have a little more free time with just one child at home on school days. It’s weird going to the grocery store with just one kid. It’s wonderful! I still play in the city volleyball league. I was just called into the Young Women’s program at church and was able to go to camp with them this year. I still fill in a few times a month at Trevor’s office and LOVE being able to keep up the hygiene skills, but still stay home with the kids (kid) most of the time.

Tyler turned 8 this year. The highlight of his year was his baptism. He’s such a good kid and really likes school, basketball , swimming and cub scouts. He’s excited because he just got his wolf badge. He continues to be a wonderful big brother and loves to play and wrestle with Jason when he gets home from school. Jason really looks up to Tyler and always asks when we’re going to “pick up Tyler” from school. He also really likes to play his Nintendo DS, but isn’t too obsessive about it…yet.

Hailey just turned 7. She’s a VERY good helper and always asks if she can help me with anything. She finished her gymnastics class at the end of the school year in June and decided she didn’t want to take another class this fall. Instead she joined “Girls Running Club.” She told me the first day that she like it but it was “too much running.” She stuck it out, though and finished the season. Hailey is a sweet, sensitive, loving girl. She’s very responsible and I know when I ask her to do something, she’ll do it right away. She’s also going to be starting basketball in January. We’ll see how that goes.

Ashley is 5 years old. She started kindergarten this year and loves every minute of it. I was afraid she might get sick of it because it’s all day long. Nope. She probably wishes she could stay there after school, too. She loves her teacher and her friends at school. She loves the activities they get to do and the time they get to play at recess. She also opted not to take more gymnastics classes this fall but wants to join the basketball bandwagon like the rest of the kids.

Jason is 3 on the 22nd of this month. He’s finally potty-trained. Hurray! Once in awhile he’ll get to playing and not want to stop to use the bathroom, but I’m excited to not have ANY kids in diapers. He’s quite a little social boy and likes to talk to all the people at the grocery store and at church. He makes us laugh every day with the things he comes up with. Lately he’s really into Superheroes. Specifically Spiderman and Captain America. He wears his Spiderman costume almost every day since Halloween. He also has been watching “Super Hero Squad” every day for the past 2 weeks and runs around saying “Super-squadies, time to hero up!” He also WILL NOT wear his underwear the right way because the super heroes are on the back and he wants to see them. So he wears them backwards. Comfy.

We are so grateful for our Savior’s birth and atoning sacrifice. We count our blessings every day and are so thankful for our family and friends and the opportunities we have. Thank you so much for blessing us with your friendships. We love and miss you all so much!

Love,
The Strupps (Trevor, Kim, Tyler, Hailey, Ashley and Jason)