Schroeders On Elk Street

Dear Friends and Family..

It is snowing again in Colorado and the holiday season is in full gear. Somehow 2006 disappeared just as quickly as 2005. As you might suspect three kids and two dogs keep us quite busy. Here are the highlights from the year that disappeared:

Madeline is now 11 years old and in 6th grade. I’m not sure how we have a ‘tween’ ager, but we do. She loves to cook and spends as much time as possible in the kitchen with Dad. She is very creative and an excellent writer. She is growing more and more independent each day and is now a ‘certifiable’ babysitter. After a four year break from soccer, Madeline is back and loving it. Also, whether Dad likes it or not, Madeline has a lot of natural rhythm which makes her a great Hip Hop dancer. Madeline continues her lessons in Tae Kwon Do and quickly progressed to a purple belt. As of late, Madeline indicates that she wants to be a vet when she grows up.

Parker is 9 years old and in 3rd grade. He loves math, not a big fan of puzzles and can’t live without Legos – an interesting mix of analytical talent. He played soccer this year and is also a purple belt in Tae Kwon Do (other than dad, sister and brother are favorite sparring targets). He wants to play football next year and has shown a recent interest in making paper airplanes. He discovered the Tower of Doom at the amusement park this year and indicates that he wants to design cars or work for the CIA when he gets older.

Weston just turned 5 and can keep up with anyone, just ask him. He has an uncanny ability to make us laugh a lot…even when he is getting in trouble. After going back and fourth about pre-school vs. kindergarten for our little man, we decided to send him to kindergarten. He is doing great and as mentioned above is keeping up with his classmates and then some...that's Weston! He played t-ball this past spring, loves soccer and can’t wait to play basketball. Weston likes funny movies, but his favorite is Pirates of the Caribbean. He wants to be a garbage truck driver and a bus driver when he grows up.

Bret is still with Diamond and enjoys being a consultant. He has been busy with remodeling projects around the house, spending time in the kitchen with the kids and hunting with the dogs (Snowball is now one and has proven to be a good hunting dog). He is in debt to me for a number of ‘boys’ trips – one to Chamonix for his birthday and another to Alaska with his dad and brother. Needless to say I have the upper hand in girls weekend trip debates for 2007.

I keep very busy with volunteering for the school and managing the kid’s activities. I will admit that I did my share of traveling in 2006 with a girls trip to Las Vegas, a couple of trips to Montana and seeing Madonna in concert in NY. We also got in two family vacations this year. We went to Cabo San Lucas in the spring (a lot has changed since our honeymoon 15 years ago). In the fall we visited New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont). The kids enjoyed Salem Massachusetts on Friday the 13th in October as well as touring and having ‘lunch’ at the Ben and Jerry’s factory in Vermont. What ever time I had left over was spent helping with remodeling projects around the house.

As we reflect on 2006, we realize that we are blessed with incredible friends and family. As always, we love hearing from you and enjoy company even more so let us know if you are planning on being in Colorado.

Cheers!The Schroeders on Elk Street: Bret, Marla, Madeline, Parker and Weston (Granite and Snowball)