Sorry, no updates in quite a few years. Will get back to this someday...
Welcome to the TheFosses.com! Stop in every now and then and get an update on the 3 coolest kids in town. A lot has been happening lately, so we're just going to jump right into it...
First of all, we want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hopefully everyone got the Christmas cards and are here to check out the latest. (If you didn't get the Christmas card, trust us, we sent it. Must have been lost in the mail...). Seriously, we hope everyone has had a wonderful 2005. We certainly have! It's been full of great trips, fun visitors, expanded family, and more. In addition to all the wonderful things, we also had a significant somber event. Grammie Foss passed away this year. Fortunately, we were able to take the kids down in the Spring to spend some time with her before she passed, and Jessie still makes a point to mention "Grammie up in heaven" during our evening prayers. So.... Grammie, hopefully you've got a good Internet connection in the sky. Take a look at the pictures below and remember how much we love you.
We've definitely had some good news as well. Baby Lucy, Lucia, Ilana, Lillie, and more have all been born. Connor has made it to the big school (the big SCHOOL, not the big house), Jess is training for the olympics, and Nate is looking to start in the World Cup. So read on and let us know how you're doing!
Jessica. First up, the little blondie. Jess has been a ton of fun this year, and with both boys in school, she's getting a lot of 1-on-1 time with Mom. This little girl is incredibly active and just loves every waking moment. Right now, her big things are gymnastics and Star Wars. First, close to my heart... Star Wars. Despite Rita's best efforts, Jess wanted to be Anakin Skywalker for Halloween, so Re finally capitulated and made her an Anakin costumer. She looked awesome. The only problem was that after Halloween, she decided she wanted to be "bad" Anakin, so she started wearing Connor's Darth Maul costume (see below).... every day. Seriously, some little girls want to dress up like princesses and ballarinas... should we be concerned that our daughter wants to dress up like the dark side of the force. (Ok, fine, I admit it, part of me is so proud!). And if it's not Star Wars, her obsession is gymnastics. She had her class every Friday and AT LEAST every other day, she would ask "Is it Friday yet?" I know that she's only 4 (almost - Jan 10), but I'm pretty sure she'll be on the olympic squad in a couple years. In addition, she can't wait to start playing soccer with the boys; she's itchin to go to school; and she still helps me set up the poker chips on poker night!
Carvin' her pumpkin |
Diving board at 3! |
Beach babe already... |
Connor. Ah, where to start. This one is still just a great kid with just a ton of energy. One day he'll go to school and come home with 7 stitches (remind you of anyone?), and a few weeks later he comes home with a "Good Character" Award. One day he's bugging his brother to the point that Nate is thinking of moving out, and the next moment he's giving Nate his most prized possesion. He keeps us on our toes, ... and we wouldn't have it any other way. This kid is great! Granted, late in August, he did tell us "Mom, Dad, I've decided not to go to Kindergarden this year" but so far he's had a great year in school. He's been playing a lot of soccer, is still obsessed with cars, and (according to his teacher) is the one that "everyone wants to sit next to." Another big breakthrough for Connor this year was in the pool. He finally decided that he wasn't going to implode or anything if he went under water, so he finally started swimming. Nothing that we said would change his mind... he just suddenly decided it was ok. Another quick story about Halloween: Connor decided to be Darth Maul, but half way through putting on his face paint, he decides he hates it and wants to wash his face. All I had to do was hold a mirror up and suddenly he gets this sheepish grin... "It does look pretty cool..." He loved it.
Darth Maul |
Surfs up! |
Turning 5 |
Nathan. Now, we don't want to brag or anything, but... Nate's the smartest 2nd grader ever. (Yes, I said 2nd grader - he's 8!). According to his classmates, he's the one to go to for any answers. Of course, that just means that he refuses to back down if Rita and I ever tell him he's wrong, but I guess that's how it goes. Seriously, we love watching Nate grab hold of something and try to figure it out. I think he's making my father happy too. I remember that my Dad gave me things like Erector sets when I was a kid and I would look up at him like it was an incomprehensible alien contraption. Nate on the other hand has already taken old Erector sets and created all new contraptions. He also decided, completely on a whim, to build one of his friends a treasure chest. I only helped wtih the hinges. Other than that, Nate did the sawing, nailing, sanding, painting... everything. Again, he either got those genes from his Mom or else they skipped a generation. Nate also was goalie of the year for his soccer team, played in a regional all star game, started Odyssey of the Mind, and is plowing through books faster than we can get them.
Skilz. The kid's got skilz. |
Yoda (notice a theme yet?) |
How you doin'? |
Trips. As mentioned above, we took two trips to see Grammie in 2005. In the spring, we loved every second of it, and were able to spend a lot of time with her. Which is great, because our next trip to see her was in the Summer at her funeral. It was sad, of course, but Grammie had to finally let go of a lot of pain. I just wish she could have joined us at the Foss Farm up in Maine in the summer. What a great trip! Uncle Warren and 
Aunt Sue treated us to a wonderful trip where we got to spend a lot of time with the extended Foss Family, got to let the kids drive tractors, got to let Nate shoot a rifle (boy was Rita mad!), and got to fire off a ton of fireworks (Rita wasn't happy about that one either). Thanks Fosses!
In 2005, we also made a couple trips up to NY to see one of our new nieces... Lucia! Mike and Roberta Lataille had their first baby, and what a cutie! Of course, with 2 teachers as parents, she's destined to be smart too! 2005 also saw the arrival of Lucy Taliaferro (Mel and Jason's 2nd daughter) in November. We made it down to Tampa this year, but haven't been able to meet Lucy yet. We'll see her soon though.
Blokus w/ Uncle Mike, Aunt Roberta, and Lucia |
The East Coast Gang |
Kool Kids w/ Kool Katie |
Visitors. Thanks to everyone who came to visit. This year we had a great time hosting the Lataille family reunion. With Rita's parents out here now (did we mention that?) we were able to convince Yvonne and Mike, Mike and Roberta, and Dave and Connie (and their respective crews) to come to Virgina for a few days. What fun! It was definitely a full house, but everything went great, despite all of us being related! We also saw a ton of other visitors this year, and I'm afraid to try and name them all. I'm certain to leave someone out, and I don't want to do that. Check out all of the photos and you'll see a lot of great pics, but even that doesn't do it justice. Of course, if you DIDN'T come to visit us this year, then you better start making plans. We've got a full basement for you and three kids that know downtown DC like the back of their hand. Come on down!
Us. Rita and I are doing good too. When she's not running the PTA, coordinating the neighborhood activities, planning area transportation issues, training for a marathon, or coordinating 23 different extracurricular activies... she's starting to look into life with all the kids in school! Fall 2006 will see Jess off to preschool, so I'm looking to retire by the pool and have Rita officially take care of everything. In the meantime, life goes on (faster than ever) and we're keeping busy. We hope you all have a great 2006, which brings us to...
The End. Drop us a line some time and let us know how all of you are doing!
