Lo, behold, tis the season for rhyming…
It’s a hot-n-fresh Dispatch—with pre-Christmas timing!
Adjusted our format; a modest fine-tuning.
Kept all the essentials; gave the rest a good pruning.
So warm up your coffee, make a nice cup of tea…
And join us, dear reader, as we recap two-three!

We begin with the good boy, the great golden floof!
Five years of pure joy, all under this roof.
On walks and on hikes, the backyard kiddie-pool,
Lakes, ponds and puddles—where the water stays cool.
Together with Andie, two peas in a pod,
On countless adventures, together they trod.

Whistle-britches herself? Most the time she’s just dandy,
Doing laps through our house, while shouting “Go Andie!”
Just shy of two, we all watched her sprout…
The antithesis of dad, she grows up and not out!
Twice at the Bill, for a trojan-bear trouncing,
In purple and white, “go cats!” she’s pronouncing!

Her schedule? Jam-packed. No boredom, nor bummers.
Swimming lessons? This past—and all future—summers.
Kicked off the fall with the start of preschool,
Play-dates with friends, and the Deanna Rose mule.
At the arb, she backpacked—all the trails and each ridge,
With pencils and crayons, she’s covered the fridge!

Meanwhile, mom? She’s still running this show.
Ran the Konza 10k, fast from the get-go.
A whole honkin’ decade spent teaching the youth,
Filling those brains, with knowledge and truth.
A trip to the Beaver, that old Arkansas lake,
And a trip to the Bear, for a labor day break!

On my end? The same! Ten years have gone by.
Departing with gratitude, an HQ alumni.
A big thanks to those who took a big gamble
On a techy farm kid, and allowed him to ramble.
A bach party down south, projects here and there,
Fundraising, cuttings, and CAD-ing hardware!

And the four of us ventured…quite far and quite wide,
To four destinations, for wedding knots tied,
In Saint Louie, Wichita, and Denver ven-ues,
To Elmdale, for Big Al and Tyler I-Do’s.
Easter in Lyons, with our fav Shaffie cousins,
Turkey trot in Manhattan, donuts by the dozens!

In Maui, we found, Andie loves beach vacations;
Built some sand castles, dined on crustaceans.
An Irish retreat, to the land of O’Dwyer,
Castles and forests—like a trip to the shire!
And lastly, time in the mountains out west,
Both sides of the family—simply, the best.

Another twelve months, gone by in a wink!
And another great chance, to step back and think,
Of how lucky we are, to have the family we do,
And the many great people we count as friends, too.
We hope that you’ve had a real solid year;
May your twenty-two-four be filled with good cheer!

Lots of love,

♥ Sarah, Casey, Andie & Milo