2006 Christmas letter
2006 has come and gone so its time to write another family letter. I’m actually writing this on time, which I haven’t done in several years. I did catch up a few months ago and you can read all of my previous letters here. And now here we go with the events of 2006.
One of the other things that I had been putting off for several years was updating my website. So in January, I started a new website at chirrick.com. My old site is still up at buckwildbill.com if anyone wants to see the difference. This new one is much easier to keep up to date and allows other people to get involved if they want by posting their own pictures or leaving comments. My Mom really got into it at the beginning and added lots of family pictures that she wanted to share.
Towards the end of February, I traveled to Guatemala with Maria and Camila to see the in-laws. Getting there was a nightmare but our stay was nice. We planned on doing some touristy type things while we were there but changed our minds and spent the entire time with Maria’s family. This was fine with me as I got to relax and read some books. I won’t go into too much detail because I already wrote a long article about the trip on my website that you can see here.
Grandma Glennon died in April after being sick for a long time. I was able to attend the funeral in Oregon thanks to my Mom’s frequent flyer miles. It was a strange visit, both happy and sad. I can’t remember the last time we had all gotten together like that so it was nice to see everyone since normally we are spread out all over the country. At the same time it was very sobering to think about the reason why we were all there together and mourn the loss of a woman we all knew and loved.
As the weather got warm again in May, we took Camila to the beach again and she had a great time. She wanted to stay in the water all day even though she would turn blue after awhile from being so cold. It was hard dragging her back up the beach to warm up for a few minutes every once in awhile. The big news of this month was that we found out that Maria was pregnant again. We’re both very excited and look forward to a new addition to our family.
Not much happened in July. We did go to our nephew, Jeffrey’s 3rd birthday party. Now that Camila is a little bigger they have been able to really start playing together. It was a good time and I’m always happy to get some carne asada and cake.
Camila had a couple of new firsts in August. She had her first haircut and did really well. I was convinced that she would never sit still long enough but she surprised both Maria and I. Camila also rode on the Griffith Park train for the first time this month. She loved it and now goes around saying “chu chu” while she imitates pulling the cord for a train whistle.
There had been a lot of changes at work this year and it was clear that it was time to find something else. I luckily found out about a new company starting up that was created by a couple of guys I had worked with in the past. It seemed like the perfect fit so I decided to accept their offer and join them. The new job is the same line of work that I was doing so I can pick up right where I left off. Plus there weren’t any offices yet so it allowed me to work from home and see Maria and Camila more. And anytime that you don’t have to drive in L.A. is a great benefit.
October was another slow month. We did go trick-or-treating again at the same place we went to last year, downtown Montrose. Camila dressed up in a really cute cowgirl outfit with the hat, boot covers, and everything. We had a nice time walking around the streets, but Camila was too distracted and didn’t get very much candy. That is something she’ll need to work on for future Halloweens.
Mom came down for a visit again for Thanksgiving in November. Now that Sherry is gone, we get Mom for the entire time and Camila really likes having her grandma around. After Thanksgiving dinner, we all decided to go see the Christmas light display in Griffith Park. They have more the a mile of the park road lit up with lots of light displays and you can either drive through or walk. Walking is better as the drive can back up for up to a 2-hour wait on busy nights. One of the other days while Mom was down, we visited the trains in Griffith Park again. They also have pony rides for the kids there and Camila had ridden on them in the past but this time I finally had my camera with me and got to take some really cute pictures of her.
Coming up in December, my Mom, Dad, Sherry, and Richard are coming down for a visit. They are actually staying at Sherry’s timeshare in Capistrano beach south of here and it will be great to see everyone around Christmas time. Maria’s family is also planning on coming over to our place for Christmas Eve and celebrating here.
That’s about it for 2006. Maria’s pregnancy is moving along well and we are looking forward to the new addition to our family. I can’t remember exactly when, maybe in October, but we found out that we’ll be having a girl. We have also already decided on the name, which will be Bianca Isabelle. I hope everyone is doing well. I’ll try to keep things up to date on the website so check back now and then.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Bill