HAPPY 2010!!!! 

Now that Jeff and I are moving toward our MID-fifties(!) time truly moves too fast to process sometimes. Kids put their toys away, marry and have children in the blink of an eye! 

Our brood is maturing fast (some faster than others). 

Nikolai and Kim welcomed their first child: Eva Elizabeth Hall, born May 31, 2009. She is beautiful, of course. Grandparenthood is wonderful except for the unfortunate distance between us.  The Halls moved back to Corvallis, Oregon from Centralia, Washington this fall, so that Kim could complete her PhD in Resource Economics. Nikolai (29) has enjoyed being home for a few months as a stay-at-home-Dad and is returning to work as a forester this month for Oregon State Parks. 

Taran (27) continues to do well as Director of the Paradise Boys and Girls Club. The range of his responsibilities is impressive--from sitting on a truancy board, to writing grants, to hiring and training counsellors, to fundraising for the kids and fun raising with the kids. And despite long hours, he finds plenty of time for golf. 

Calen (21) will graduate this spring from UCSC with a BA in Art. Sculpture is his favorite medium and he is not sure yet what his future holds. He's an adventurer, with an uncanny ability to land on his feet no matter what. He and his good friend Nico rode their BICYCLES this summer from Santa Cruz to New York. (Check out their blog.) They rode through the scorching Nevada desert, spent time in Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Great Lakes, Canada, New England....and then drove home in a borrowed car, just in time for senior year. Amazing. 

Correll (18) has been among the more accomplished students in the family. He graduated from PCS this spring and headed to UC Santa Barbara this fall to study film and perhaps Global Relations. We'll see! He retired as a competitive gymnast but enjoys a job coaching a competitive girls team (levels 4-7). He's playing Ultimate, working at an internship, and learning from a few classic college freshman mistakes. 

Sage (16) is a Junior at PCS. He's over six feet tall now and thus decided to retire from competitive gymnastics with his head held high--higher than most gymnasts! Sage has been quite helpful in preventing Jeff and I from feeling too cocky about our teen-parenting skills. He really enjoys mountain biking and rock climbing. His heavy course load comes easily to him--though he's only recently and a bit belatedly begun to apply himself.  The college application process will be interesting next year. 

Anya (13) is an eighth grader at Scotts Valley Middle School and still passionate about her gymnastics training. She decided to leave PCS after seventh grade to attend a school closer to her gym, where she would find it easier to balance schoolwork with her intense training schedule. (She's a perfectionist and is thrilled now to be able to attain "straight A's.") She spent eight weeks this summer with casts on both arms, recovering from stress fractures in her wrists, but is in fine shape for a second year as  a Level 9 gymnast at Airborne gymnastics--and is working hard to adjust to a HUGE growth spurt.  She's all legs--even more slender and much taller than a year ago. This weekend marked the begining of her busy travel season. Last season culminated with her qualifying to Western Nationals in Oklahoma. This year the goal is Iowa. 

Tristan (10) is a fifth grader at Vine Hill School in Scotts Valley--a new school for him this year, too. He is quite an academic kid and has really enjoyed the new experience of changing teachers for different subjects. He won first place at the County Science Fair last year, spent a lot of time golfing over the summer, and trains at Cal Sports in San Jose as a Level 5 gymnast. We are cherishing these last few non-teen years.....and he basks in the light of being the non-cranky, non-belligerent, non-hormonal one! 

Jeff and I are doing well. We are looking forward this year to more travel, more family time, more vacations. IronPlanet is profitable and on track. Jeff is happy there. I am still content with "retirement." And the whole family has enjoyed the addition of "Osa" to our family. She's a gorgeous Hungarian Vizsla, eight months old now, and a terrific running companion.  She trots along with me every morning while I run along the ocean and she accompanies Jeff on trails through the forest on weekends. Often she'll be carrying a long streamer of iceplant, or seaweed or pinecones, to the delight of other runners. And if any of you out there are runners, FYI, Vizslas are great for interval training. She is SPEEDY.   

That's our news this year.  We'll be traveling to the East coast for a short trip this spring but welcome visitors to the Santa Cruz mountains anytime. 

Wishing you health and happiness! 

The Barca-Halls