Christmas Card and Letter 2019

 Merry Christmas from the Christensen family,

We have had an awesome year and have gotten to do lots of fun things.  For Spring Break we went to China.  We hiked on an empty section of the Great Wall near Beijing, floated a serene river in Yangshuo, famous for its dramatic mountains and outdoor beauty, and rode the only “magnetic levitation” train in the world in Shanghai and explored the craziness of a city of 24 million.  China is wonderful place for travelers, even though getting a visa is annoying, and travel there has many quirks.  It’s almost a cashless society, and US sites/apps like Google are blocked, but with a little preparation and access to an “on the fly” translation app, it’s not hard to get around. Kirt, Katie, and I got to participate in a Church Pioneer Trek in June. In July, we flew back east and visited my sister Jessy and her family and my parents who are on a mission in Upstate New York.  Then we had a chance to visit a bunch of church history sites in Harmony, PA, Palmyra, NY, Kirtland, OH, Nauvoo, IL and Independence, MO.  We also saw Niagara Falls from the US and Canadian sides along the way.  We had a blast at Spirit Lake this summer and spent many lazy days there.  It is our favorite place to be, when it’s 90 degrees out and the lake is as smooth as glass.  In October, Kirt and I had the chance to go on a Caribbean Cruise with Kirt’s parents and all of his siblings and their spouses as a surprise for Kirt’s Mom’s 70th Birthday.  Incredibly, it was kept a secret for nearly a year. Our group of 19 people had a blast in the ports of Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, and St. Maarten. If you want to see pictures from our trips, it’s on our blog at http://ketkgchristensenfam.blogspot.com.  I know blogs are totally 2007, but it is my journal.  At least I’m recording life somewhere, right?

Garret (12) is a 7th grader at Horizon.  He loves to play the piano and has been taking lessons for 5 years.  He played 3 sports this year, baseball, basketball, and cross country (sometimes all 3 at once).  One of his highlights was scoring 8 points in 32 seconds in one of his AAU basketball games.  He improved his 1.5 mile run time in cross country by 66 seconds.  His best time was 9:59. He loves to read "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books and watch "Star Wars" movies (and has to be holding his X-Wing fighter when he watches them). He also enjoys watching basketball games with his dad, and knows all kinds of sports, geography, and history facts. 

Katie (15) is a 10th grader at University High.  She finished up the JV season of basketball in the spring, and this fall is now on the Varsity team.  She is almost as tall as her mom.  She is also playing on a AAU team called the Titans (which is really convenient because that is the mascot for her high school team so I only have to remember one name to yell at the games.) Katie got her drivers permit in April and can’t wait to get her license in February.  She had an awesome experience in March where she got to go to the Capital in Olympia and be a page for Senator Padden.  Katie was the Freshman Class Treasurer and is the Sophomore Class Historian.  She also had an amazing time at EFY Provo this summer with her friend Madison Crandall. 

Tanner (19) only has 6 months left in the Buenos Aires North Argentina mission.  We can’t wait until he comes home.  He is currently serving in Villa 31.  If you want to see some crazy pictures, Google "Villa 31 Buenos Aires".  It is the oldest and most famous slum in the city, and has 40,000 residents.  He really loves the area, teaching people from almost every country in South America.  One week he talked to people from 15 different countries. If you want to hear more about his mission, check out his blog at: http://eldertannerchristensen.blogspot.com.

I really got into snowshoeing this last winter.  It is so fun, and easy to do here.  There are some trails just 5 minutes from our house.  I already bought myself some snowshoes for Christmas this year, so I am ready to go again this winter as soon as we get some snow.  I’m still working at the Valley Hospital in Labor and Delivery and just hit my 7-year anniversary.  

Kirt is almost done with his 5 year sentence of being the Bishop of our Ward.  We rearranged Ward boundaries in March, and 75% of our Ward changed, so Kirt had to reorganize a whole new Ward. Kirt’s internet business continues to hum along, he has great staff and customers that he loves! Kirt got really into mountain biking this year, and he bought himself a sweet mountain bike.  He and Garret love to go mountain biking on the scary trails at Spirit Lake. Kirt had a massive crash and skinned up his knee really badly.  Garret never came back to check on Kirt.  Luckily Kirt wasn’t hurt too badly that he couldn’t ride his bike out.  

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas season!