Merry Christmas once again from the McLoughlins! Here’s all the latest for this past year and it’s a lot!
Aron
turned 50 in November, traveled to South Carolina and Canada this year for work
and grew a massive garden. He also got most of our kitchen remodeled. He went
fishing in the spring with the Solsbergs and the boys. He’s still active in
Joel’s Boy Scout troop and now also in Sam’s Cub Scout pack, along with helping
out at Theology of the Body for Teens classes. He went to Camp Savio (including
Schlitterbahn!) and Medicine Mountain this past summer (with Joel,
see below). He also did the Octoginta bike ride in Lawrence and rode 100 miles
in a row TWICE!
Kerrie
turned 45 in June and is still homeschooling while running her writing-related
businesses of writing books/magazine articles, proofreading, and blogging. She
gets to teach high school PE, 5th/6th grade Drama, and 7th-12th
grade Creative Writing at Christ the King homeschool co-op. Kerrie and Aron did
something in March they had not done in 15 years: they went away overnight
together ALONE!
Joel
is 15, was Confirmed in March, and is the Senior Patrol Leader of his Scout
troop. He enjoyed his co-op classes of Music Appreciation, Drama, and PE last
spring and now likes PE, Study Skills, Creative Writing, and Latin. He’s always
doing various activities and dances and lock-ins, as well as his Theology of
the Body for Teens course. He went to Catholic Camp Savio for a week in June
and then Medicine Mountain High Adventure camp in South Dakota, where he discovered
his love for indoor and outdoor rock climbing. He also was a spring/fall soccer
referee, played spring/fall soccer, babysits, and started a terrific lawn care job
recently. With all of that working, he saved up for a really nice bow he is
very proud of. He got his learner’s permit in the fall and has been knocking
out those hours to prepare for his driver’s license. Oliver the bearded dragon
is doing well and roams the house sometimes. The adjective I would use for Joel
would be: social.
Michael
is 13 is a super-smart Minecraft and Lego master who is going through
Confirmation classes now to be Confirmed in the spring. Last spring he took PE,
Science (shark dissection!) and LEGO Robotics in co-op and is making new
friends. This semester he is taking PE, Study Skills and Engineering. Michael
makes sure we make the Lego mini-build at the mall every month like clockwork. Jiggy
the tortoise, who he has had for about 5 years now, is currently hibernating.
Callie
is 11 and gave track a shot this past spring and is currently playing CYO
basketball for Holy Cross. She got a sewing machine last Christmas and promptly
made a bunch of pillows, a pillowcase, a skirt, and even a dress. She loved her
PE, Science and Egyptian Mummification classes at co-op in the spring and now
digs her Science Experiments, Drama and Handcrafts classes. She went to her
first coop dance this past fall and lives life with flair J
Eva
is 9, always talking and smiling, and had her First Communion in April. She
loved her Catechesis, Science, Storytime and PE classes at co-op last spring with
her friends and also enjoyed lunch and recess. Now she is taking Art, World
Geography and Creative Writing. She likes to play My Little Pony, Shopkins,
Littlest Pet Shop and Barbies with her friends and alone and likes to sit and
color.
Samuel
is 7 and is all super-snuggly boy. He’s going through First Communion classes
and making new besties at co-op who like to play with toy guns and run around like
he does. He played a little soccer in the spring, took up Cub Scouts, and at
coop he takes two art classes, fairy tales, PE, and music. He took all the same
classes as Eva in the spring. His fish, Spongebob and Patrick, live on
swimmingly in our bedroom.
Here’s to a fabulous 2017 from The McLoughlins (Aron,
Kerrie, Joel, Michael, Callie, Eva & Samuel)
HOPE{LOVEYDREAMRPRAYVLEARN&SINGTLAUGHJACCEPTASLEEP
