Another year has come and gone. We cannot
believe how fast the years are going by. We hope this letter finds you happy
and healthy. Our house is a busy one. Here is the update for 2012.
Prior to our Healthy Family Challenge last year
we enrolled all the kids in swimming lessons at the Bettendorf YMCA with Amanda
McCord. Quite by accident last winter we
discovered Alexis is a natural swimmer. She joined the intermediate swim team
as a 6th grader (so did Charley with a little coaxing) in January. She LOVED
it! After witnessing her passion for swimming we joined the Davenport Metro
Swim Team. She competed in her first swim meets this past spring and has been
swimming 3 evenings a week almost every week since.
We took a few days off in June to travel to
Omaha, NE to watch the Olympic Trials (for swimming). The kids were so pumped to
seer Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Missy Franklin. Then they watched them win at the Olympics in
August! It was fun to be there and experience the excitement live and
in-person!
The
highlight of the year is something new. Triathlons. Alexis, age 12 set a goal
for 2012 to compete in a triathlon. With
the encouragement and coaching of Maureen Dolan we signed her up for the Quad
Cities IronKids triathlon in August. Maureen and Amanda were instrumental in
her success. Alexis finished 5th! This finish put in her in position to compete
at the national level.
The end
of August offered another opportunity to compete in a triathlon in Madison,
Wisconsin for practice before nationals. Along with the Dolans we trekked to
Madison for an adventure and let Charley and Xavier and Joe do their first
triathlon (along with Alexis). WOW!
Was that ever a challenge keeping track of 4 kids and start times, bikes, helmets,
etc. Labor Day weekend brought the national championships (how lucky--it was in
DesMoines!). We learned a lot about transitions (one key to being fast), open
water swims, and how to sleep (or not sleep) in a booked hotel in a room over
90 degrees with no air conditioning! The competition was stiff and overwhelming
but what an experience! We definitely made a lot of memories and thank the
Dolans for being great support for the Cummins Family!
Not being
a sport-minded family this interest in swimming and triathlons has taken us by
surprise. We also sampled some football this fall. 7th grade football for Charley and Rising
Knights Football for Xavier. Alexis plans to continue her triathlons in
2013.
Charley has found an additional music interest
besides saxophone and cello. Show choir. Alexis and Charley participated this
year for the first time in both marching band and show choir. Charley appears
to be a natural on stage singing and dancing. Oh what fun we will have with
these varied interests in our children!
The kids are doing well in their respective
schools. Alexis and Charley at Walcott in 7th grade, Xavier at Rivermont Collegiate
in 4th, and Joe and Cariyana are in the same first grade class at Buffalo
Elementary. Joe is excelling and may join
his brother at Rivermont for 2013. We continue to see academic growth in
Cariyana and she has had an excellent year medically. Three different school
schedules in the house drives mom a bit crazy each morning but we are thankful
for Trinity College & Health
Sciences flexibility and carpooling with the Elliotts to Rivermont. Jerry and
Joann Ray continue to meet the kids each day and provide the household
stability we all need to have to keep up with the busy schedule--scouting, an
unpredictable John Deere shift schedule, FLL, martial arts, etc. We are truly
blessed.
Nick and Angie are finishing up their senior
year at Augustana College. Nick has applied to multiple dental schools for post
graduation. Angie will get her masters wherever Nick ends up (or nearby) in speech
language pathology. Stay tuned to see where they end up. They now have a cat
named Yoshi.
Our family suffered a huge loss this fall. Edna
Grell, my grandmother passed away at age 97, the matriarch of the Grell Family.
She influenced who I am
today more than I realized until after her passing. We will miss her but
remember her fondly, always.
It’s a busy life! Until next year…blessings to
you and yours! Remember the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!
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