Welcome to the 2011 annual Farley family letter. One of our most watched movies of the year (outside of the Star Wars universe) was Mater's Tall Tales featuring exaggerated stories of the Cars characters. We wanted to write some exaggerated stories, but figured that the true ones were pretty tall themselves. So sit back and enjoy a flavor of our year.
A good work out. Brett and Joy woke up early one morning and noticed the weather called for wind gusts up to 60 mph with horizontal rain and decided it was perfect weather for running their annual half-marathon. Because they were confident in their skills, they gave the competition a 40 minute head-start. After mastering running, the next challenge was a triathlon. We swam in some non-triathlon suits, used some seriously old bikes, and ran to successfully complete our first sprint event. Because that wasn't enough to break a sweat, we joined the Tough Mudder challenge, tackling 4000 ft elevation gain up to 10,000 ft and about 13 miles of running with 20 plus obstacles in mostly freezing water at Squaw. We finished up our good workout with a couple of protein shakes.
You don't yet realize your importance. Joy came to bat in the bottom of the last inning of the championship game in our softball league with our team losing by one run and the go ahead runner in scoring position. Joy hadn't done the math (wait a minute, she never does), so when she lined the first pitch she saw into centerfield for a base hit she was irritated at Brett hugging her when she rounded first base because he wasn't allowing her to go to second base. Once she realized she had just delivered the championship-winning, walk-off hit to defeat the arch-nemesis in the league, she truly enjoyed the moment.
10 Years of bliss. We celebrated our 10th anniversary this year with a night of dancing, eating, rededicating our vows, and reliving some of our fondest memories from our wedding day. Thirty famous celebrities joined us for the event. While there were no groomsmen donning lightsabers, cake falling down Joy's dress, or rings put on the wrong fingers, everyone enjoyed "ZZ Tops" who served as our DJ (who was apparently selected for our musical taste). We waited until the summer for our romantic "honeymoon" when we took a "land cruise" to an all-inclusive resort called Family Camp in the Redwoods. Yee-ha!
Anyone know where to find Kamino? Brett often wishes he could clone himself during the night shift at work in order to deal with the 7 patients waiting to be admitted in the ER, the 2 patients who needed to be transferred to the ICU, plus the family who wishes to hold an extensive meeting to discuss every detail of their loved one's care. It is no wonder that when he gets home in the morning, he is able to sleep through the "quiet" of a house full of boys.
A Sabbath Day at work? Joy enjoys her weekly break from the boys by going to work at Public Health. Every other day of the week, she orchestrates the Farley Homeschool Academy for our boys. Once a week, they attend Classical Conversations where Bryce participated in the curriculum this year. A typical day includes potty training Griffin, math lessons for Garrett involving multiplication, and teaching Bryce to read while doing five loads of laundry and cooking healthy food to keep us all growing properly. It is no wonder she needs that Sabbath day.
Size matters not. Since Garrett graduated to a 20 inch bike, it was time for the first no-crying family bike ride. You have to understand that previous bike rides were always accompanied by tears and loud wailing by whomever was sitting in the now retired "paddy wagon" being pulled behind Brett's bike. Finally, everyone would have their own place, which included Bryce and the rear gunner on Joy's now tandem bike and Griffin riding in a seat behind Brett. This was dependent on Garrett being able to use his hand brakes to get down the 15% grade into the park with cars driving up the hill toward him. After some brief protests that he couldn't do it, Garrett weaved in and out of traffic into the park. After watching Brett and Griffin popping wheelies, Garrett downshifted and ascended the hill and was cheered on by numerous onlookers.
Am I the son of a carpenter? Responding to a request for less battle scenes on the kitchen counters and computer desk, Brett took on the task of designing, cutting, sanding, and assembling a play table and shelves for the boys' room. Now there is one more place for battles to take place, but it hasn't eliminated the violent occupation of hallowed areas in the house.
This is school, Daddy? Brett specializes in applied academics in our homeschool academy. One such project included counting coins and reading price tags and being able to match them up at a local card shop that sells favorites such as Star Wars figures and sports cards. Needless to say this has not been a one-time project and our boys are getting pretty good with money.
GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL! After spending the first half of the soccer season pulling his shirt over his head and shooting his teammates, Bryce listened to his coach and went to spot in front of the goal where he received a pass and kicked the ball into the goal. Garrett spent his third soccer season learning to play different positions and specializing in defense against Fat Chickens. More importantly all three enjoyed beating Dad on our backyard field.
What sport are we playing? During his inaugural teeball season, Bryce got to play with his big brother. One game, while the batter was struggling to make contact, Bryce decided he'd had enough. He charged full force across the field and tackled Garrett, taking him down and pinning him. He counted to three and then went over to the opposing stands and high-fived all the fans. Later, since he had used all his energy on his football/wrestling move, Bryce proceeded to lie down on second base while "running" the bases. Brett picked him up and flew him to third base and home plate on the subsequent hits so as not to have a backlog on the bases. Bryce enjoyed a standing ovation for his inventive way of scoring a run. Seeking to play first base more, Garrett went on to play summer ball with his two brothers in the stands. But look out boys, Griffin is already asking for pitched balls.
Stock market crashes. Griffin had noticed the developments in our house. The once popular Thomas the Tanks Engine and Disney Cars franchises had taken a tumble in popularity with his older brothers, so Griffin invested wisely and bought up all their shares in these companies. Now he is reaping the benefit of having sole control over these proud franchises and his brothers are under his power when they want to play with their former toys. In the meantime, his brothers are chasing the stock of Star Wars, Army Men, Transformers, and the newly added sports cards (cards from the late 80s and early 90s are plentifully available at bargain basement prices today.
Mecca to Bethlehem. We packed up our troops and headed to the airport for a full day of travel which began with a red-eye out of SF, our destination was Bethlehem (PA that is), so you can imagine how long we were going to be traveling with slightly more comfort than a donkey's back... we had snacks a plenty and much prayer for sleep on the initial part of the flight. The biggest blessing at the end of the journey was getting to see Joy's family who had congregated for the annual family gathering. We never did find the manger, but we did manage to see other hallowed ground like Citizen Bank Field, Valley Forge, and the Poconos. We awoke the entire lakefront area we stayed by setting off some authentic African bottle rockets while trying to recreate the Christmas star.
God born in the flesh. At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus, God's son who was born of a virgin teenager. He came to give testimony to God the Father and die as a sacrifice for our sins. Why? Because God loves each of us so much that He wants us to be with Him forever in heaven. That sure sounds like a tall take too, but it's all true. Open the gift that is Jesus this Christmas.
We hope you enjoyed our tall (mostly true) tale adventures. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
