For our musical Christmas greeting, here are Jeremy, Nathan, Ethan, Lizzy and Caleb performing at a local retirement center.
Lin turned 50 this year. He celebrated by training for and completing a 50 mile bike ride and by losing 50 pounds. Once he got to 50, he didn't stop there. He has now lost over 70 pounds and is still going strong. He trains so hard on his bike that Jannette can barely keep up with him. Lin also continues as chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at BYU where he was recently asked to extend his term fo
r another year.
r another year. 
Jannette's big news is that she completed her first Olympic distance triathlon (see the June postings for the full story). She also joined the Utah Baroque ensemble this summer and is happy to be singing again.
Jeremy's big news is that he turned 16 and now has a driver's license. He prepared for a very difficult All-State orchestra audition and just learned a few weeks ago that he was accepted into the All-State Orchestra. They will perform Dvorak's New World Symphony in Abravanel Hall in January. Jeremy also completed a sprint distance triathlon in August. He also enjoys playing the electric bass in a band with his friends. Here he isdressed as Buddy Holly on Halloween.
Nathan started High School this year. He is constantly improving on the violin and was one of just a few freshmen to be accepted into his high school's most advanced orchestra. He was also named as an alternate for the all-state orchestra. Nathan did his first sprint distance triathlon this summer and placed second in his age group with a great time of 1 hour 22 minutes. He likes mountain biking.
Here he is making a fast transition to the bike portion of his triathlon.
Ethan made the full transition from violin to viola this year. He plays in his Middle School orchestra as well as in the Utah Valley Youth Symphony. He also finished a sprint distance triathlon in August and placed third in his age group (11-19). I think that he was the youngest male competitor in the race. Here he is playing his viola for our retirement center Christmas program.Lizzy is 11 this year. She is still dancing and was accepted into the BYU Young Dance Makers this year. She is also making beautiful progress on her cello and plays with a sweet, full sound. She is almost ready to graduate Suzuki Book 1 with a very demanding teacher and can play simple string quartets with the boys. Lizzy accomplished two major athletic goals this summer. She ran her first 10K in the freedom run this summer and then completed her first sprint triathlon in August. She was the youngest person to do the r
ace that day and got a big cheer at the finish line.
ace that day and got a big cheer at the finish line.
Here is Lizzy dressed up as her 11th great grandmother, Sarah Woodson to do a school presentation during Colonial days.
Caleb is in second grade and loves to learn and ask questions. He started playing violin this year
and is doing great. Caleb placed thirdin his age group in the one mile Freedom Run in July and did a kid's triathlon in August. Here is a picture of Caleb with Jeremy on the day of his baptism.
Seth started kindergarten this year and enjoys the time to play and have fun. He already reads at exceptionally well, and is very precise and careful about all of his work and activities. He enjoyed our summer vacation and kept up with everyone on all of the long hikes that we took. Seth also learned to swim so that he could do a kid's triathlon this summer. Here is Seth at his school Christmas program singing "Must be Santa."
