I was torn throughout the Christmas season on whether or not I would send a Christmas card this year. I decided that I wasn't going to mess with sending it out before the holidays and would just send out Valentines like we did a few years ago. But, I'm cheap, and lazy, and the vast majority of you can read this and see our pictures on Facebook! So here is our year in review.
2017 started with a long weekend in Florida with my parents. We got to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and saw wild dolphins swimming just off the beach near our hotel. We returned to a show heifer in the barn, youth basketball, swim lessons and making many trips to the hospital to visit my grandma. She spent most of January-May between the hospital and the nursing home before finally passing in May.
Summer brought lots of success in the show ring for Claire and her heifer Nancy. She took home Grand Champion honors at the Fisher Community Fair and the Farmer City Fair and we also checked out some other local shows. We spent many nights at the pool watching Claire (and occasionally Kelson) swim, and the kids and I enjoyed our first summer at home without a job to balance too. We visited St. Louis with our Edward Jones friends and I got to get away with a couple very special ladies for a long weekend in Door County, WI. Trever kept the trailer packed and the cattle pampered.
Claire is 8 1/2 years old and in the 3rd grade. She reads ALL THE TIME and is doing quite well in school. She is officially old enough to be a 4-H member and has joined our local club signing up for cattle, hogs, legos and sewing! Last fall she participated in a learn to dive workshop at ISU and has decided that she loves diving! She has a new heifer, Lady, in the barn and enjoys spoiling our first calves, Emmy & Bravo.
Kelson is 5 1/2 and in Kindergarten at Thomas Metcalf School in Normal. He has an AMAZING team of teachers and therapists there that are helping him catch up to his normal hearing peers. Kindergarten has been a huge adjustment for me but Kelson seems to be thriving. His hearing is pretty stable and he doesn't let anything slow him down. He has really taken a liking to Bravo (the bull calf) and we hope that he will get to participate in peewee showmanship with Bravo this summer. Kelson joined cub scouts this year and enjoyed selling popcorn and participating in his den and pack activities. He is a huge helper, has the biggest heart and is super laid back.
Trever continues to be successful as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones. He had his BEST MONTH EVER in December and welcomed a new office administrator this past summer. He is a deacon at our church, active on the Le Roy Chamber of Commerce and he's on the Illinois Angus Board of Directors. He loves spending time with Claire in the barn and is looking forward to taking her to her first National Junior Angus Show this summer in Madison, WI.
I, Krista, am in my second year with the LIFE class at LeRoy High School. There is never a dull moment when working in the Special Education world, but the kids we work with will amaze you! I spend most of my free time trying to stay organized, cleaning up after my kids, and trying to raise them to make smart choices. When it comes to the cows my job is to clean up poop and keep our crew clothed and fed. Trever agreed that we would be Advisors for the Illinois Junior Angus Association this year so I'm anxious to see what he's got planned for me there!
The holidays brought lots of firsts as we celebrated for the first time without my grandma but allowed us to spread out the festivities. We celebrated with the Builta clan a little earlier than usual but were excited to be able to host for the first time. Christmas Eve brought our first "Friendsmas" with a few families from church who have been a huge blessing to us since moving to LeRoy, and Christmas day included a trip to visit Grandpa Kuipers to celebrate his 97th birthday. We finished up our winter break with a trip to Florida to visit with both sides of the family. Our first time driving was a little rough between motion sickness and recovering from colds, but we made it to The Villages and spent a few days taking golf cart rides, shopping and eating. We headed a little farther down the road and spent a few days in Orlando taking in Sea World, the Crayola Experience and the hot tub in unusually cold weather for Florida.
We hope that your 2018 is off to a great start. We are looking forward to a very special family wedding this spring, the summer show season and spending as much time with friends and family as we can. We hope you've enjoyed our quick and affordable Christmas update and we hope to catch up with many of you in the coming year.
