Since we will be closing a little early on Christmas Eve (1PM), now is as good a time as any to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. As Jen & I didn't send everyone a holiday newsletter, here is what you may have missed. Also, thanks to our camper friends who sent Christmas cards to Strawberry Park, and a special thanks to a few of you who sent a little something extra. I won't mention you by name, but it was greatly appreciated and not necessary.
2009 Season’s Greetings from Jen, Dave, Brock, Reed, Harvey & Cooper
Although it may seem like it was more than 11 months ago, our biggest news of 2009 was the arrival of Reed Chapin Nowakowski on January 5. With an icy winter driveway, we slid down the mountain and into a tree on our way to the hospital. Everything else went well that day (obviously Dave is typing, impervious to the pain of childbirth), and Brock became a big brother. We struggled with his middle name, but since the hospital required it before we departed, Jen relented and the late great Harry Chapin became further immortalized. Much like when Brock was born just in time to meet David’s grandmother before her passing, sadly, Jen’s grandmother passed away unexpectedly shortly after Reed was born.
Harvey & Cooper have come to tolerate Brock chasing them around the house and tugging them by the collar, and Reed is ready to join the fun. Reed began walking about 2 months ago, before cutting his first tooth. Speaking of cuts, with great rewards come great risks. Reed was the first of the two boys to require a trip to the hospital after meeting the corner of the coffee table, resulting in a single stitch above his right eye. In keeping the car accident/trip to the hospital tradition, David hit a deer on his way home from work after being informed of Reed’s mishap. David was uninjured, but the same cannot be said about the truck or the deer.
Brock still enjoys the classics (“The Cat in the Hat” and “Where the Wild Things Are”), but probably prefers Curious George books above all others. He has started talking much more, and does well spelling his name (first only, as his last name may take until 3rd grade) and counting to 12 (the number of stairs we have). Brock has mastered forward rolls as a result of participating in his gymnastics class and bath time has become more enjoyable as both boys are enrolled in swim class during the camping off-season.
2009 was not a big travel year, as we have mostly been catching up on sleep, since unlike Brock, there were not many (any??) “sleep through the nights” with Reed until very recently. We were able to take a day trip to Block Island (our young friend Lexi is a great helper with the boys), during which a decent wave caused Brock to become a little wary of the ocean, which took many day trips to the beach to overcome. We were also able to make it to the Cape and visit some family members we don’t get to see too often. Our longest journey with the boys was just recently, as we traveled to Santa’s Village in New Hampshire. Much like the waves at the ocean, Brock and Reed will require a few extra visits to Santa before the stranger danger wears off. Other than the long drive and the cold temperatures, everything else was enjoyable, and we even got our tree in the rain on the way home. Brock wanted the biggest tree in the lot, but we settled on the second biggest, one that just barely fits in the cabin.
Congratulations to David’s sister Lisa on her recent nuptials, to the Yankees on their World Series victory and to Derek Jeter being named Sportsman of the Year. Jen’s Red Sox did not fare quite as well, but now that they have Marco Scutaro, the sky’s the limit. Despite her loathing of the Yanks, Jen treated us to a trip to the new Stadium for David’s birthday present. Unfortunately for David, the Red Sox prevailed on that particular drizzly night in May. For Jen’s milestone birthday, we tried to pull off a little surprise party, but the pouring rain put a little damper on the plans. Her best present was having Kelly join us for a few days from her new home down in South Carolina.
Jen is still playing volleyball and the team has been playing quite well this season, currently battling for first place. Although neither of us played much golf this year, we look forward to the near future when our caddies are strong enough to carry the clubs. Brock has developed a nice swing, and has improved his putting. On other sports notes, David continues to follow the post-graduate wrestling careers of a couple of former wrestlers, and we took a recent trip up to Troy, NY to watch one of them wrestle for Hofstra. Although we may not catch as many Griswold matches as in the past, David will still be involved with some of the post-season tournaments in February.
It was a busy summer at Strawberry Park, following a damp June. Brock earned a few ribbons in running races, but usually came up short to a little one who got dragged by a mom for 50 yards. The boys enjoyed bonfire nights, and Brock was thrilled with the fireworks display atop the Mohegan Sun. In July, David escaped the campground for an evening with Jen to see Billy Joel and Elton John at Gillette. Jen got to relive her first concert-going experience after seeing them at the same venue 15 years ago. Jen did not play much Bingo, but did raise a few eyebrows when she was one of the winners on the progressive jackpot in September on her grandma’s lucky number. Nothing annoyed David more than the gloomy forecasts on almost every fall weekend (most of which were inaccurate). Much of the late fall was spent updating the website.
We promised ourselves that we would keep this down to just a page in a normal font (we know
most of your attention spans are like ours and, besides, we need to start on Reed’s birthday invitations).
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Although it may seem like it was more than 11 months ago, our biggest news of 2009 was the arrival of Reed Chapin Nowakowski on January 5. With an icy winter driveway, we slid down the mountain and into a tree on our way to the hospital. Everything else went well that day (obviously Dave is typing, impervious to the pain of childbirth), and Brock became a big brother. We struggled with his middle name, but since the hospital required it before we departed, Jen relented and the late great Harry Chapin became further immortalized. Much like when Brock was born just in time to meet David’s grandmother before her passing, sadly, Jen’s grandmother passed away unexpectedly shortly after Reed was born.
Harvey & Cooper have come to tolerate Brock chasing them around the house and tugging them by the collar, and Reed is ready to join the fun. Reed began walking about 2 months ago, before cutting his first tooth. Speaking of cuts, with great rewards come great risks. Reed was the first of the two boys to require a trip to the hospital after meeting the corner of the coffee table, resulting in a single stitch above his right eye. In keeping the car accident/trip to the hospital tradition, David hit a deer on his way home from work after being informed of Reed’s mishap. David was uninjured, but the same cannot be said about the truck or the deer.
Brock still enjoys the classics (“The Cat in the Hat” and “Where the Wild Things Are”), but probably prefers Curious George books above all others. He has started talking much more, and does well spelling his name (first only, as his last name may take until 3rd grade) and counting to 12 (the number of stairs we have). Brock has mastered forward rolls as a result of participating in his gymnastics class and bath time has become more enjoyable as both boys are enrolled in swim class during the camping off-season.
2009 was not a big travel year, as we have mostly been catching up on sleep, since unlike Brock, there were not many (any??) “sleep through the nights” with Reed until very recently. We were able to take a day trip to Block Island (our young friend Lexi is a great helper with the boys), during which a decent wave caused Brock to become a little wary of the ocean, which took many day trips to the beach to overcome. We were also able to make it to the Cape and visit some family members we don’t get to see too often. Our longest journey with the boys was just recently, as we traveled to Santa’s Village in New Hampshire. Much like the waves at the ocean, Brock and Reed will require a few extra visits to Santa before the stranger danger wears off. Other than the long drive and the cold temperatures, everything else was enjoyable, and we even got our tree in the rain on the way home. Brock wanted the biggest tree in the lot, but we settled on the second biggest, one that just barely fits in the cabin.
Congratulations to David’s sister Lisa on her recent nuptials, to the Yankees on their World Series victory and to Derek Jeter being named Sportsman of the Year. Jen’s Red Sox did not fare quite as well, but now that they have Marco Scutaro, the sky’s the limit. Despite her loathing of the Yanks, Jen treated us to a trip to the new Stadium for David’s birthday present. Unfortunately for David, the Red Sox prevailed on that particular drizzly night in May. For Jen’s milestone birthday, we tried to pull off a little surprise party, but the pouring rain put a little damper on the plans. Her best present was having Kelly join us for a few days from her new home down in South Carolina.
Jen is still playing volleyball and the team has been playing quite well this season, currently battling for first place. Although neither of us played much golf this year, we look forward to the near future when our caddies are strong enough to carry the clubs. Brock has developed a nice swing, and has improved his putting. On other sports notes, David continues to follow the post-graduate wrestling careers of a couple of former wrestlers, and we took a recent trip up to Troy, NY to watch one of them wrestle for Hofstra. Although we may not catch as many Griswold matches as in the past, David will still be involved with some of the post-season tournaments in February.
It was a busy summer at Strawberry Park, following a damp June. Brock earned a few ribbons in running races, but usually came up short to a little one who got dragged by a mom for 50 yards. The boys enjoyed bonfire nights, and Brock was thrilled with the fireworks display atop the Mohegan Sun. In July, David escaped the campground for an evening with Jen to see Billy Joel and Elton John at Gillette. Jen got to relive her first concert-going experience after seeing them at the same venue 15 years ago. Jen did not play much Bingo, but did raise a few eyebrows when she was one of the winners on the progressive jackpot in September on her grandma’s lucky number. Nothing annoyed David more than the gloomy forecasts on almost every fall weekend (most of which were inaccurate). Much of the late fall was spent updating the website.
We promised ourselves that we would keep this down to just a page in a normal font (we know
most of your attention spans are like ours and, besides, we need to start on Reed’s birthday invitations).
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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