Merry Christmas

With the most wonderful holiday quickly upon us, I thought it a good time to write my version of our Christmas letter. We've all received these letters this time of year. You know the ones, some a little anoying (at least Darrell admits it) but most rather comical. I hope to be more of the latter.

Our year started much like many previous ones. A promise to get to the gym more often and eat right. I don't remember how long that lasted but I do know how it's ended, I just finished off some Oreos and a big glass of milk. And it's closing in on midnight!

In February I had my seventh trip to Daytona for Speedweeks. This trip is always something I look forward to, yet at the same time I'm dreading it. It's not so bad covering NASCAR in Florida in the middle of winter. On the other hand, the days are long, the Speedway officials act like Nazis and two weeks away from the family gets harder every year.

March brought one of my favorite times of year, the NCAA tournament. I went to Syracuse with sports director Rich Brenner and sat truck operator Danny Spilane to cover the Tar Heels. Now, as an avid Kentucky Wildcat fan this was not the easiest thing in the world, especially when I had to watch my beloved Cats fall to Michigan State from the comforts of a satellite truck in a cold and dreary Carrier Dome parking lot. Not to mention the fact I missed my youngest daughter's first birthday. Oh yea, I almost forgot about the trip to Syracuse. Somewhere just south of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania we got stuck in a snow storm, and when I say stuck, I mean stuck! From just after 6pm to somewhere around 2am, yep over 8 hours, we sat on I-81 in the Poconos. It seems a tractor trailer had jacknifed and it took that long to get the mess cleaned up. Let's just say thank God for XM radio.

My wife and I celebrated our 14th anniversary in May just like many of the previous ones. Working in television means I can't get a vacation in May. Lis is a very understanding woman, though, and we always manage to make the best of it by going to dinner and... enjoying each other's company. OK, enough sappiness for now.

The family vacation again was spent in Myrtle Beach, SC. We've come to appreciate this overcrowded, overpriced, ultracommercialized piece of paradise. Lauren loves the ocean and Kingston Plantation, where we stay, has a water park that she could live at.
Some days we did! It was also nice to see Lauren becoming more of a big sister to Caroline as she showed her the ropes around Ripley's Aquarium, many times shouting, "Caroline, look at the sharks, they won't eat you."

June brought the US Open to North Carolina. Yours truly was selected to go run the sat truck and shoot a little. Pinehurst was perfect and it can't come back here soon enough. I know if they could they'd bring it to Pinehurst every few years.

The rest of the summer was pretty uneventful until Lauren's first day of school. Believe it or not, she was very excited to go to Kindergarten. It's really brought her out of her shell, too. Caroline continues to ask when Lauren's bus is coming and looks forward to her coming home every day.

October was a very special month for my entire family. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding aniversary. My parents were surprised to see some of us. My wife and daughters drove home to Kentucky and my dad's brother and his wife flew in from California. It was a Golden moment seeing their faces as we met them at the church for a renewing of vows.

Now, Christmas is close at hand and the girls are more excited than ever. I'd like to get a little sappy and say how fortunate we are to be surrounded by good friends, neighbors and a wonderful family. Merry Christmas to you all and most joyous New Year. I look forward to many more with you all.