Great Mom is 92!

This weekend past, we traveled to PA to celebrate my grandmother's 92nd birthday. We had a hard time choosing a present for her since she is notoriously hard to shop for, and I figure if she has yet to acquire something in 92 years, she probably doesn't really need or want it.

Here are some party photos for your viewing enjoyment:

Kids Letter To Santa

Hello Santa Claus-

I've been very good this year. I'd like a Mac the Truck for Christmas. I also hope you can bring me my own electric train.

Santa Claus, Merry Christmas! I hope you have a fun one. If the reindeer are nice, I will give them reindeer food sometime. Santa Claus, sometime can I have a ride in your sleigh?

Our house is in Adamstown, Maryland. It is a brick house. If you see a Christmas tree with Thomas on it, that means you are at the right house. We're going to get our Christmas train out today.

Merry Christmas Santa, Goodbye.
Alex

Dear Santa-
Happy Christmas!
I have been a good girl this year. I played with my Daddy, I played with my big brother, I played with my cars, I played with my Mommy, I played around, and I played with all my friends. That's all I did.
Can you please bring me a Dora kitchen, a Dora magic castle, and a Dora towel, a new computer (I don't have a computer), and maybe a kid remote. I'd also like a Sally. That will be a lot of stuff for Christmas - all that stuff! I want a kid spoon. I got too many stuff.
You can fly to our house. It is in Maryland. It's like this high. It's kind of grayish.
That's the end.
From Ella.

2006 Christmas Letter

As those of you on "the list" know, in years past we sent out a letter each December chronicling the year's events. Given that we're six years into the twenty-first century, I figured it was time we started posting this letter online. Since this blog is where we've been reporting on our family all year, it seemed like the perfect place. So here we go.

As we end another year, I can't say that too much has changed for the Roth family. We have the same jobs, the same house, the same kids, the same pets and the same haircuts as we did last December. This year seems to have gone by more quickly than usual and I am unsure of the reason. Despite the fact that Alex and Ella have become more self-sufficient, that magical free time that I think I must have once had still eludes me, and my dream of a three hour Sunday afternoon nap in my family room easy chair remains unfulfilled. I also can't cope with the fact that Wake Forest is going to a better bowl game than Penn State.

So, what did we do this year?

It was a good year for Ella. She started the year in a crib, wearing diapers, and relying on a "huck". All those things are now a distant memory. She also finished a semester of kindermusik, saw her first movie, played a season of U4 soccer, and turned 3. She is showing signs that art talent can skip a generation, and has become an accomplished colorer. Ella plays a mean game of Uno and is becoming a master puzzle builder.


Alex turned 4 in May and through the year his interest has shifted from trains to cars, or more precisely Cars. After seeing this Pixar movie, he only wants to be Lightning McQueen. Ka-chow! Despite having the busy schedule of a world famous race car, he finished 3 year old school and is now half way through 4 year old school. He also plays soccer and sings in the church kid choir. He also served as ring bearer for his Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim without a hitch.

For Shelley, being a part-time statistician, a part-time stay at home mom, a gardener, and a laundress was apparently not enough, so this year she took on the additional roles of piano teacher, assistant soccer coach, and soccer coach. I imagine this keeps her very busy, and I plan to ask her about it next time I see her. As for me, I continue on as a "tele-tester" for IBM, and got to go to Las Vegas in May to tell people about it. I am also trying to answer the age old question of "If you write a blog and no one reads, are you wasting your time?"

So that was 2006. I need to finish writing now since we just mailed the Christmas cards containing the link to this. It is nice how technology allows the last minute to be later and later. We hope you all had a wonderful 2006, and wish you the best for 2007.