Here is our little Jadeyn doing what he loves best: camping!!!!!

Closing the year 2009

We were blessed with another wonderful close of 2009 with the ability to visit with all of our precious Children. Julie and Jared blessed their 5th child, a son, Jonah Scott, on November 1st and Sheri and Terry were able to attend. A brief, but memorable, time with everyone in Idaho at Julie's home in Twin Falls, ID. I had a moment of self-destruct as we left and slipped on the icy steps which has slowed down the holiday season, but also been a blessing. We discovered a large cyst that will need to be removed in January. So sometimes, blessing come with a hard fall. LOL

We had Sheri and Terry and kids over for Thanksgiving dinner in our new kitchen, which finally was finished, except for painting and a few other misc. things. We learned that Justin is a fantastic Chess player, so be prepared if you challenge him! Michelle is doing beautifully with the piano and drama this year. While Jennie is a young adult looking for work so she will be able to attend college in the fall. She is looking forward her last semester of tennis as number one seed. Can't believe we have a granddaughter who is graduating from High School.

On December 21 th, we left for Houston, TX to warm up the tennis rackets with all the kids down there. Dick played most every day with someone. We had major celebration time while there. Ryan had just had his 17 th birthday a few days before we arrive. He had requested a BSU tee shirt so he could tout the TCU people. Christmas Day came far too quickly, and then Spencer's 8th birthday and baptism. He was baptised before he even got a chance to open his presents at 10 AM. It was a beautiful day for him. Sunday, Malia sang and Shelly played for her song, Miracles. It was very moving. Then Shelly was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting and sent a beautiful message about "it matters" what we are doing our lives. "It matters" what we are doing in our lives because it develop the eternity of our future.

We had a wonderful time visiting Kevin, Rebecca and little Jadeyn in Longmont. Jadeyn really got excited to see us, even though we knew he didn't have any idea who we were. He warmed up to us and loved us. We were thrilled to have the time with them over New Year's. We watched movies, played games, and ate lots of fun things. Kevin and Rebecca are great cooks and love to cook, but we did go out to eat several times. We went to the animal shelter and almost brought home another cat. They already have two "boys" (cats) that were their first children before Jadeyn. The weather was wonderful and we played outside in the left over snow. It was a grand time. We look forward to when they can come see us in Boise.

Rebecca & Kevin Cottrell & family

What a wonderful year this has been!

Who knew that it was possible to just keep getting better. As you all know, Jadeyn, our little boy, joined the family in April ‘08, so this is our first full year with our little munchkin. He has definitely been the highlight of our year. He hasn’t stopped us from doing any of the things that we love, in fact he has only increased them.

We camped and fished as much as possible and quickly discovered that these are Jadeyn’s #1 favorite things to do! He loves the outdoors just like we do, he loves getting dirty and he LOVES to fish.

We went on several amazing trips this year. We went to Florida’s three National Parks to continue our goal of seeing all of the National Parks in the US. What an amazing trip! The Everglades were just as breathtaking and mysterious as we expected. Exotic birds and allusive alligators, and the noise of the swamps was beautiful. Biscayne and Dry Tortugas came with some incredible boat rides complete with dolphins and manatees.

Hershey’s Park, PA was another fun highlight of our year. We couldn’t go through a whole year without visiting an Amusement Park could we? We flew to Pennsylvania and met Stephanie and family, Kevin’s sister and had such a great time with them. Who knew and entire amusement park could smell like chocolate? We stayed in Hershey Lodge where when you walk in the door, you just have to smile sweetly and you are given a full sized Hershey bar!!

Life in the working world has been going very well. Kevin’s optometry practice is doing great He has helped the practice to grow and thrive through the tough economy and enjoys helping his patients everyday. Rebecca continues to enjoy working part time for a local plastic surgeon and being able to spend the rest of the time with Jadeyn. Two days at work a week is perfect!

Life this year has been great and we try to enjoy every moment that life gives us.

P.S. This only covers 3/4 of the year as our dad, Mr. Planner, insisted on a deadline for submitting the Christmas letter! :)

Merry Christmas!
Kevin, Rebecca, Jadeyn, Dozer & Newt

Longmont, Colorado

We had a wonderful few days with Kevin, Rebecca and little Jadeyn. It was so fun to get to know him and play for a while. The weather was wonderful and we went for several walks in the neighborhood. They are a cute family and Jadeyn is the center of all our attention. He is so cute. We almost had him taking his first steps alone, but missed it by about 3 days. Look on Rebecca's blog to see the first steps. Thank you Kevin and Rebecca for wonderful visit to Longmont. Oh! I am now wearing contacts again, thanks to Dr. C. and loving it! He is a great doctor!

Kevin, Rebecca & Jadeyn