Laura and Robert And Their Boys

Spencer And Ross

Robert and Laura's family has had a busy year.  No surprises there, right?  Laura told me all kinds of things to share but I have very few pictures.  It was a transition year for everyone.  The biggest change was Mom stopped working and has been home this year.  The teaching music at Pennfield is something that she misses but she realized it was just taking too much of her time away from what is most importnat to her, her family.  Laura was not burning the candle at both ends she was burning the wick!  She says she is really so much more relaxed and enjoying the ordinary quality of her life.  She worked tirelessly at the school while the boys attended there but once they were off to other schools it lost some of its luster.  She is such a wonderful home maker and chef and organizer.  She's also very handy with the power tools and is a fabulous home designer.  We are so proud of all our kids, they never cease to amaze us.  Big and small they all have so much to offer this world.

Robert received the "Military Engineer of the Year Award this year and also The Top Engineer In His Command Award.  Robert was assigned to lead and manage the complete renovation of the pier at the Navy War College in preparation for the International War College Symposium and it was accomplished in six weeks.  It was a 4 million dollar project and a huge accomplishment for him under such an imposing deadline. Special arrangements were made and the funding came through and all the work was regarded highly by the powers that be.  We are so proud of him.  He has enjoyed their time in Rhode Island but is ready to move on and accept a new billet for the next three years.

They all worked non-stop on their home renovations so that their fixer upper would be ready to sell when the are ready to leave next June.  They have worked miracles on that house.  It looks so great. Every room is redone and all the landscaping too.  During the Thanksgiving break they finished the last bathroom.  Between all our kids four new bathrooms have been created this year.  Two at Laura and Robert's.  The house is ready for a top dollar sale!  The question is where are they going next?  They won't know until probably February or March.

According to his Mom, Spencer is a total Cube Head.  Do you know what that is?  It is a champion Rubix Cube competitor.  When most kids grab their electronic devices, Spencer grabs one of his cubes.  He has competed at both MIT and Harvard this year as well as other places.  He absolutely loves it. He has a world ranking of 10, 572.  He competes on the 2x2, 3x3 and 4x4.  He is the #1 competitor in Rhode Island Laura told me last year.  You would be amazed to see how quickly he solves them.  I cannot image there are 10, 751 people faster that him in the world.

Spence has also become very involved in engineering in his sophomore year in high school.  He has completed several really cool projects and is currently working on a power drill project.  He could spend all day thinking about, designing and building prototypes.  He is pretty sure he wants to study mechanical engineering like his Uncle Chris after high school.  Mom and Dad think it is a perfect fit for him.

Spencer enjoys church, seminary, and going to the Boston Temple with the youth and scouts.  He is an incredibly good young man.  Now that Ross is old enough to be in the Young Men's program at church they enjoy that together.  Spencer is honest, hardworking and has a lot of direction in his life. In a matter of months he will be learning to drive.  We admire and love him very much and know he will go far in this life by making consistently good choices.  We enjoyed our time with him this summer and look forward to that again...hopefully soon.  One of our favorite things is how well the cousins interact with each other.  

The boys always live by the water since their Dad is a Naval officer. I like the pier idea for their Christmas photos this year.  Very good idea, Laura!

Ross is 12 and in the 7th grade this year.  Junior high in a big public school was not something anyone was looking forward to but it has turned out very well.  Ross discovered that he already knows a lot of the kids at the school from church, karate, scouts, and various other activities he has participated in since living on the island.  He is very academic loves learning.  Laura says he seems happier than she has seen him in a long time.  Ross is fun-loving and has big idea for himself and usually for the rest of the family.  He has an incredible imagination and likes to write.  Ross is like his cousin Julia in that he tackles life with enthusiasm and a lot of energy.  He enjoys lots of different things.

One of Ross' favorite things is performing so Mom says he keeps up with his various instruments so he has an opportunity to perform for friends often.  When he heard that the school was putting on the play, Peter Pan he jumped right in and auditioned.  He snagged the role of Peter's Father, Mr. Darling. He is in his glory and really enjoying this experience.   There are at least two things that make Ross very good at acting.  He is not shy and he and Spencer both have an incredible ability to memorize things.  Both Jim and I saw him perform in a play last year at Pennfield and we both independently noticed that he has a very commanding stage presence.  The most important thing is he truly enjoys it and is making new friends at school.  It was fun to see Ross during the summer and it was a great reunion but he did break his hand which put a damper on things.  But he didn't complain and just went forward with the plans with everyone else.  Ross is a great kid and we love him so very much!