Ashley is our 16 year old Cherry Creek High School Junior.

Ashley gets mail. A lot of mail. The influx of college application letters this year signals two things - our little girl is rapidly approaching college and adult status, and welcome to the world of junk mail.

When Ashley is not attending the competitive educational atmosphere that is Cherry Creek, she practices with the swim team 5 days a week, studies, peruses Tivo, IM's her friends on her computer, and plays iTunes on her computer and/or iPod. Oh yeah, and she manages to find time in there for her friends, and last but not least - her boyfriend Richard, who she has been dating since the summer.

Here are a few links to weblog entries or photos of Ashley in the past year:

Happy Sweet 16

Grammy's Birthday (meet Richard!)

Ashley's Homecoming

 

Tobey is our 20 month old active baby/toddler.

It's been a busy year for the youngest member of our household. Well, learning how to walk, how to recognize and say your colors, how to build "towers of power" with blocks, how to make tons of different car noises while you play with them, how to color and paint, and attending daycare, the Zoo, Ocean Journey, and Denver Nuggets games all for the first time would make for a busy year for anyone.

Some favorite moments for Tobey's Papa: When Tobey learned how to give knuckles to people as a greeting, and hearing him say "dunk it" anytime he sees a basketball game on tv.

Here are a few links to weblog entries about Tobey in the past year:

Tobey's Page (with the infamous movielets)

Tobey goes to daycare

Happy 1st Birthday

First trip to the Denver Zoo

Twizzler is our faithful 7 year old Chocolate Labrador.

While most people are trying to "slim down", Twizzler is one of the few dogs/people you will meet that is trying to "fatten up". Could be those daily walks that she still gets without fail, or the nervous energy she burns as she follows us around the house, or maybe its her inability to process anything resembling normal dog food. Anyway, for anyone else out there trying to "fatten up" - lunchtime peanut butter sandwhiches seems to do the trick. :) Twizzler loves them!

Twizzler and Tobey get along fairly well, considering that they are around the same height and both vie for Mama and Papa's attention as often as possible. Twizzler is proud to claim that she has helped teach Tobey the word "brown" by being a walking example.

2004 was another busy year for Carrie and Alan.

Carrie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in April, and 6 years in business together with DecaTech.

Carrie went back to work this year and is keeping very busy. She started in with DecaTech work, helping Alan keep several of our larger clients happy and helping to improve DecaTech's overall operating efficiency. In the past week, she started a part-time job doing web development for Qwest, working out of the home. Carrie also fills her time by volunteering at Good Shepherd and participating in a Mommie's club.

Alan continues to work for Quovadx during the day and finds time for DecaTech client work in the evenings. He has completely replaced his passion for volleyball with a passion for golf, and thanks to two great brother-in-laws (Karl and Tom) and a few vacations this past summer, actually discovered his long-lost swing. Then there is his beloved Denver Nuggets, who finally rewarded years of unquestioned support by making the playoffs last year. Two playoff games in the Pepsi Center were pure joy, even if they were defeated in the first round.

2004 dealt the family a loss. While loss is never easy, we chose as a family to deal with the passing of the head of the Thomson clan, aka "Gramp" as a celebration of life. You can view and add to some of his memories on his memorial webpage.

The year goes incredibly fast when you are raising kids. I know many of you can relate to this. This is not a negative statement by any means. If you can embrace the fact that we all live hectic lives these days, no matter what the situation, you then realize that the kids also help us slow down some moments as you enjoy life thru their eyes. Spending time with our children creates the memories that you look back on at the end of the year, and helps bring balance to life along the way.

Oh, and for family and friends out there reading this, that don't have kids in your life, you are welcome to borrow ours for a day any time. :)

A few highlights/trips from the year in our family weblog:

Back to Barbados

Family Trip to Florida