December 17th, 2011

Dear Family and Friends, They say when you die, your life passes before you. I find the same thing happens to me every December when I sit down to write our Christmas letter. I cant believe all the stuff passing before my eyes was shoehorned into the past twelve months. And why do I look so old in these memories? Reagan turned two in May. She is a hopper. She hops everywhere. Crack in a sidewalk? Better hop it. Pair of shoes on the floor? Easier to hop them then go around. Sterling lying on the carpet reading a book? In her mind she can clear him. She cant, ever. Its like watching Evel Knievel trying to jump the Caesars Palace fountains. No broken bones, but always the same landinga bit short. Shes also developed an odd habit. She likes to sneak up on me when Ive got my shoes off and bite my big toes. A bare foot hanging off the side of a bed in our house is like chum in the water for Reagan. She also has developed a rare form of Tourettes. I call it Disney Tourettes. Four or five times during any given Disney movie she will burst out in a random scream of joy. I am convinced she is physically incapable of keeping it in. Sterling turned seven in November. He is full-blown into Harry Potter. Melodie and Sterling have a standing date each evening from 8:30 9:00pm for Melodie to read to Sterling from 1 of the 7 Harry Potter books. Like any good method actor, Melodie has developed a different accent for every character in the book while reading aloud. Theyre all quite good. My worry is that costumes are next. Im afraid a command performance (dressed as Hagrid) is in my future. Ive tried several times to get the nightly show on video. However, like Dumbledore, Melodie has put a spell on the door to keep me out. Muggles refer to it as a Door Lock. Sterling has blown through nearly six grades of spelling levels this year at school. He enjoys spelling so much that he no longer speaks to anyone while at home. He only spells to them. This has created quite a problem. You see, Ive never been a strong speller. So at any given time, I only understand about 1/3 of what my own son is telling me. I could have sworn the other day he told me he rode a large goat home from school. Whats the likelihood? Should I buy him a saddle for Christmas? That cant be all that comfortable. Lauren turned thirteen in July. She is now consistently out-texting me each month. Ive even begun cheating by texting complete strangers the last two days of the month to try and bridge the gap. No help. Besides Laurens interest in cell phones, she continues to expand her talents on the piano. About six months ago she found her practice sessions were becoming a bit boring. To push herself, she began increasing the level of danger surrounding her daily practices. One day shed light the piano keys on fire with lighter fluid. Another day she put a bag of rattlesnakes inside the piano bench. Although it has been difficult to get used to the smell of burnt hair around the house (and the empty bottles of anti-venom), I must admit her piano skills have really taken a step forward.

Lauren lost four teeth this past month. I didnt think anything of it until I watched a show on the Discovery Channel about Crystal Meth in America. The show convinced me my daughter had meth mouth and I needed to step in and quickly get ahead of her drug problem. I waited until she left for school before going downstairs to search her room. I didnt find any drugs. What I did find were six jelly donuts (which I ate), a copy of one of my favorite books from Junior High (which I stole to read later), my unwrapped Christmas gift (oops), and the fact that my daughters bed is more comfortable than my own (had to sleep off the donuts). Thanks a lot Discovery Channel. Melodie didnt get any older this year. What she did get was a hankerin to run from here to the moon and back. Because there was no direct route to the moon, she decided to run the equivalent distance here locally on earth. She completed her first Marathon this past October while in St. George. It ended up being a warm-up for another Marathon being held two weeks later in a neighboring town. Whatever happened to just cracking your knuckles as a warm-up? With all the running Melodie was doing, I decided to get into the spirit of exercising as well. I signed up for the Spud-man Triathlon being held up in Idaho this past summer. For some reason I got Triathlon and Decathlon mixed up in my head. I spent all spring practicing events like the Pole Vault and High Jump. The mix-up finally dawned on me when I walked to the starting line (track spikes on my feet and a Javelin in my hand) and saw every one of my peers in a wetsuit and swim cap. I felt like Captain Ahab standing amongst 1500 well toned Moby Dicks. I knew I must take my revenge by finishing the race in record time. No records were broken. In fact, at the end of the race I was out-sprinted by a 78 year old woman with a smoldering cigarette clamped expertly between her lips. I think she even slowed down a little to give me hope And so it goes. Another year checked off on the ole Lund calendar. And although no two days are ever the same, the end result of every year never changes. Namely, that God has looked over and blessed our family. Heres hoping for a 2012 filled with the same outcome.

Warmest Regards, The Lunds