This September will bring James and Charlotte’s two year wedding anniversary. It’s amazing that time has flown by so quickly! So many things have happened in the last few years, some good and some bad. But all has turned out well in the end. We are all stronger and have a stronger bond as a family and appreciate each other even more.

After the wedding, we were thrown right into the school year with Makayla entering 7th grade with her first year at Bethel Junior High and Joshua entering 3rd grade at Centennial Elementary school. Unfortunately, it was a tough year with some family challenges that really tested and strengthened the bond we had created. We all grew as individuals and learned more about each other and appreciated each other just a little bit more.

The summer of 2009 was fun in the sun as Makayla played fast pitch for a summer league and Joshua had fun being an 8 year old boy. For our summer vacation we drove down to Santa Rosa, California to visit with Great Grandma Patty and enjoy the summer sun. We traveled down the coast via Highway 101 and took in all the beautiful sights along the way. We camped a few nights in Oregon along the beach and then stayed in a resort in Windsor, California. Heading back north, after camping in the Redwood Forrest, Charlotte had some uncooked food (her own doing, funny enough) which abruptly cut the last day of the trip short as James drove from northern California straight home to Spanaway, Washington all in one day. Good memories and good times.

September 2009 brought another school year as Makayla entered 8th grade at Bethel Junior High and Joshua entered 4th grade in the Endeavour program at Shining Mountain Elementary. James and Charlotte are so proud that Joshua was selected to enter this full time program that was created for advanced students. He had his fair share of blood, sweat and tears with the additional homework and challenging projects, but he came out ahead in the end (with a little bit of motivation from Pokemon cards). Makayla had her fair share of accomplishments in school as well. James and Charlotte were overjoyed to attend her award ceremony for a 3.9 GPA her first semester of school.

The kids each found a sport that they enjoyed. Makayla tried out for fast pitch softball for her school, and made the junior varsity team! They had their fair share of wins and losses, but whenever she caught a pop fly in the outfield, you could see the smile on her face from across the field. Joshua played soccer for the second year in a row and had a new coach this year…his dad! James stepped up to the plate as a first time soccer coach and was very successful. They had a winning season and came in second place in the league. James will once again coach Joshua's summer soccer league. We are looking forward to more fun times and games.

This summer has been a little different for all of us. This is the first time that the kids are living with their mom for the whole summer and James and Charlotte see them every other weekend. This has, once again, shown us that when we are apart from each other, we miss each other even more. We are looking forward to our summer vacation in the beginning of August to Santa Rosa again! This time, we are camping for two nights at Beachside near Waldport, Oregon. We will then trek down to the resort in Windsor, California to visit again with Great Grandma Patty and the rest of the California family.

Once again, looking to the future, Makayla will be top dog as a Freshman at BJH and Joshua will be in a new Endeavour 5th/6th grade class as a 5th grader. Charlotte will still be working part time as the room scheduler at the University of Washington Tacoma. James will continue to be the webmaster at UWT and will continue to build his contracting business in the evening. We are very blessed to have our jobs, our home, and our family.