Happy Holidays from the Simpson Family

Winter in the desert. Again. This time last year, we imagined that we’d be in New Zealand by now. It’s been a wet winter so far, and I love it! We’ve had rain, hail, frost, and there is enough snow in the mountains for the ski slopes to open, and more than enough for the Simpson family to go sledding. Yeeeehaaaa.

2007 was a pretty mellow year for us. Richard’s work still takes him away for a good portion of the time. This year, however, he got to go to New Zealand twice, so there are perks (for him) to all the travel. He also spent time in Germany and England as well as some of the less desirable cities in the States. One business trip took him to Las Vegas for a week and I managed to escape to join him for a few days. Thankfully, we have some wonderful babysitters. On another trip, to Boston, Richard had the opportunity to speak to a class at MIT. My husband is a celebrity lecturer now!

Kip is in 2^nd grade and is doing really well. He seems to thoroughly enjoy school. He is also still working on his baseball skills. He played machine-pitch for the Firehawks this fall season. Something happened to Kip about two months ago, and we don’t know what. All of a sudden he mastered his two wheel bike, tried all sorts of new foods, and lost his fear of dogs. It was almost instantaneous. I guess kids go through all different sorts of growth spurts.

Reid is in Kindergarten at our home school. He is in a regular classroom with an aide. He’s blowing everyone away with how well he’s doing. He’s a bit of a celebrity at school, and everyone now knows me as Reid’s mom. Reid has started to take some soccer skills classes and is showing more and more interest in his peers. He’s a crazy, funny, smart kid who is a joy to have around.

Quinn is in a great classroom with a few other kids who have communication disorders. He’s making great improvements, but will likely repeat Kindergarten again next year. He is still our little puzzle, and although he’s come so far, we know there is something that we haven’t quite figured out yet. His smile is about the best thing going, and luckily for us, he shows it often.

I’m starting to venture back into real estate. It’s about the worst time to do it because the housing market is really suffering in Scottsdale. But, I haven’t often been accused of doing the most logical thing. Why start now? I also managed a few trips in 2007. I took a week for myself and flew to New Zealand where I attended an autism conference and met with school administrators. Richard’s parents came for the month of July and we traveled all month. First to Huntington Lake to sail in the annual regatta. Then to San Diego with the whole family. Then Kip and I took Lynn and Ken to Santa Fe for a few days.

In November, I headed up a team again for the Walk for Autism event here in Arizona. Team Twin Simpson raised over $4,000. The best part of the walk this year is that we had a Clay family reunion in conjunction with the walk. My uncle, my aunt, my cousin and his wife and daughter came from Oregon. My parents came from the Bay Area. My sister-in-law brought my three nephews from San Diego. It was great to have everyone together celebrating family and autism.

We are looking forward to another wonderful Christmas. My parents will be coming again to help us host our annual Christmas Eve party. The present shopping is finished, I’ve got this letter off my plate, and I’m about ready to put my feet up, sip my mom’s killer eggnog and admire the Christmas tree.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from the Simpson Family

Karen, Richard, Kip, Reid & Quinn

yankiwi@cox.net

It's Been Snowing in Arizona. Time to Hit the Slopes

We went sledding over the weekend. What a blast! It was a mere 8 degrees (that's -13c for you Kiwis) when we arrived on Saturday morning, but thanks to modern clothing technology, we were warm. The boys all had a great time, as did I. Picture taking was a bit tough because my mittens were too bulky to operate the camera, and it was too cold out to leave them off long enough to take many photos.

KIP RIDES HIS BIKE!!!!!!!

Kip has finally got it! He now believes us when we tell him how much fun bike riding is.