and 2010 begins . . .

After a wonderful-and-far-too-brief holiday vacation, "regular life" is back in full swing. We had a lovely Christmas break which we all enjoyed very much. Kristi and two friends made their professional guitar trio debut at our ward Christmas party, playing a holiday medley which was delightful. We'll let you know when the CD comes out.



Keith's sister and family came to town, so we had lots of fun hanging out with them. We then enjoyed a lazy and fun Christmas Day:



Our super missionaries (who might just be Brennan's best friends in the world) spent time with us on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and then Brennan left for Las Vegas for five days to play in a basketball tournament.



He had lots of fun but was glad to be home and out of the 'city of sin'. He said one highlight was a discussion he had one night with a man he met on the strip who was preaching salvation to all who would listen. Upon finding out Brennan was Mormon, he told him in no uncertain terms that he was going straight to You-Know-Where, which really took Brennan aback. Brennan gave him a pass-along card from his wallet, but when the man said he would take it only to prevent Brennan from giving it to someone else, Brennan kindly asked for it back! He was in Vegas over a Sunday, so unbeknownst to us, he had asked our local missionaries to contact some missionaries down in Vegas (same mission) to see if they could find him a ride to church -- which they did -- but his coach wouldn't let him go anywhere with strangers, which is understandable. So since he couldn't go to church, he went with his team instead . . . and rode the coasters at the top of the Stratosphere Tower.

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And oh yes, they played a few games of basketball.

Kristi's bestest and oldest friend spent the week between Christmas and New Year's with us. She lives in Oregon and has been away for the past 4 years, but their friendship has never faded. She's just a part of the family and we all love it when she's here.



Could they be any cuter, really???

After we dried our tears about Kenzie leaving, we faced putting away the Christmas decorations and going back to school and work. Was this only a week ago??? Oh my.

Back to Brennan and basketball. His season is in fulll-swing now and he is having a great season so far. I just can't tell you how wonderful it is to watch him play after he lost last year to a broken foot. He is happy and confident and we feel like it's been a longish road, so it's very gratifying. Last night he played a fantastic game against a strong rival who was expected to win. He received some nice words of praise: http://carsonsports.com/index.php/basketball/38-chs-boys-basketbal/1725-senators-shut-down-damontes-best
(how do you do an embedded link???)

We didn't take pictures of last night's game, but here are some from today. They played a private school (who can recruit), and they are always at the top of the league. We didn't win, but played hard and only lost by 11, which, considering the opponant, almost felt like a victory.



Brennan had to guard Bobby Hunter (below), whose stats make him the #1 point guard in northern Nevada. He averages 20 points per game, but didn't get that today. Here is one reason why:



No foul; that was all ball. Way to go, Brennan! (all 5'8" of you!)



Go CHS!!

I am back at work . . .



. . . and working for the school district means that my immediate family gets into all local sporting events for free. It's like a little Christmas present each and every time we attend Brennan's games. I flash my badge and in we go, saving the $20ish it would otherwise cost. It makes me love my job a little bit more.

Hey, Keith has a facebook page now. He finally succumbed because lots of business colleagues hounded him about it. If you want to befriend him, look him up!

Happy New Year to all. We are optomistic and hopeful that 2010 will be 'new and improved' over last year. May you each find much happiness as it unfolds.