Christmas letter 2011

December 2011

Dear friends and family,
The year 2011 has been full of adventures for our family. The nice part about 2011 is that many things have also stayed the same – so it was not a year of major life changes. We are still living in the same home, still working at the same jobs, and we are still in our same ward.

Toby has kept busy with his job teaching middle school orchestra in Vancouver, WA. He had a brief scare this spring when he received a rift notice saying he might not be hired back for the following school year. However, in June he was hired back and he was able to return to his position in the fall. One of his teaching highlights happened in November when his 8th grade students had the opportunity to perform in the lobby of the Arlene Schweitzer Concert hall just before watching the Oregon Symphony concert. Toby also teaches an after-school strings enrichment class to students in grades 1-4, and in his spare time is teaching our own kids to play the violin.

Juliette is currently teaching for Ashford University (in their online department). In addition, she continues teaching part time at Marylhurst University for their ESL department. One of Juliette’s highlights for 2011 was running the Newport Marathon in June with Toby. We had a great time training together and enjoyed the race very much. Juliette also ran Hood to Coast for her second year.

Benjamin, now 5, started kindergarten this fall and is really loving school. Whenever he is asked how his day was at school, he responds “Awesome.” He has made lots of friends and enjoys all the routines and activities at Sunset Primary School. Outside of school, Ben’s favorite hobbies include building with Legos, running, riding bikes, and doing art projects. This fall Ben played on his first soccer team – and had a blast.

Nathan, now 4, has learned to read this year – and is working hard to catch up to Ben academically. Both Nate and Ben learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels this year, took swimming lessons, and also began learning karate. Nate can’t wait to start kindergarten next year. Until then, he is attending Oregon City Preschool for his second year and is loving it. Whenever Juliette parent helps for Nate’s class, Mary gets to come along, which she loves, too.

Mary turned 2 this year and has grown up tremendously. She talks up a storm and has fallen in love with princesses, Barbies, and ballerinas. She still goes to her weekly gymnastics class and is looking forward to switching to a dance class once she turns 3. She loves to wear her leotard and tutu to gymnastics class each week. She also enjoys going to playgroup on Wednesdays and weekly playdates with her friends.

As a family we did not do a lot of traveling this year, preferring, instead, to stay close to home and enjoy the beauty of Oregon. We took a trip to Seattle in February for a few days and enjoyed seeing the city. This summer we spent a lot of time at the Oregon Coast. We also enjoyed camping at Silver Falls State Park, just 1 ½ hours from Portland. While there we made a point of hiking to see each of the eight waterfalls – and we enjoyed them all. At church, Toby is in the elder’s quorum presidency, and Juliette is the primary pianist and a ward missionary.

We have felt especially blessed by the Lord for the many ways we have been taken care of during the last year. We look forward to the adventures that 2012 will bring. May you and your family enjoy a peaceful holiday season and may you celebrate, with us, the reason for the season – the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

With love,
Toby, Juliette, Benjamin, Nathan, and Mary Weston

Trip to Sauvie Island

On Sat. Oct. 1 we went on an outing to Sauvie Island to the pumpkin patch and corn maze. The kids had a lot of fun navigating the maze and checking out all the things to do on the farm. They went for a ride on the cow-train and even visited the hen house. It was a lot of fun.

Camping trip to Silver Falls

We camped at Silver Falls State Park (in Oregon) July 5-8. We had a wonderful time seeing all the waterfalls (and hiking more than 8 miles total). The campground was lovely and the weather was perfect. We made some new friends at the campground and enjoyed getting back to nature.

Lincoln City beach trip

On Father's Day weekend 2011 we headed to Lincoln City, OR to spend the weekend on the Oregon Coast. There were 9 of us in a four-bedroom beach house and we had a blast. The weather was nice two of the three days. We visited the Newport Aquarium and the Yaquina Bay lighthouse. We spent a lot of time playing soccer, making sandcastles, and playing on the beach. It was a relaxing way to start summer vacation.

Marathon day

On June 4, 2011 Toby and Juliette ran the Newport marathon in Newport, Oregon. It was a fun race but had its share of challenges. The weather turned out to be very warm -- 80 degrees by the end of our run. Toby finished in 3 hours 33 minutes, finishing 85th overall and 16th in his age division. Juliette finished in 4 hours and 54 minutes, finishing 43rd in her age division. It was nice to have a weekend away from the kids -- and to tackle this challenge together.

Easter

We had a lovely easter weekend. The boys both got to have Easter Egg hunts at preschool, and we all went to a primary easter egg hunt on Saturday. Sunday we opened Easter baskets at home, had a small easter egg hunt in our front yard, and enjoyed church in the afternoon. Mary wore her new spring dress to church, but she wet through it before church even started. It was a fun weekend -- and nice that the weather cooperated -- on Saturday, anyway.

Spring Break 2011

Here are photos from our spring break trip to the Oregon Coast April 2-4. We had a great time staying in a condo on the beach. We flew our kites, played in the sand, and tried to stay warm. The weather was party sunny -- a little windy, and pretty cold. But it was a lot of fun, anyway.