Christmas 2003 (move to Fayetteville)

December 2003
Dear Family and Friends,
Yes, once again we seemed to have survived yet another calendar year and all of the challenges, excitement, joy, and sorrows thereto. Now that Christmas has passed, I’ll take the time to compose and send our annual letter about the Templeton family. We had another event-filled 365 days so let’s get started and see if I can remember some of the important points through the year.
We managed to work in a few camping trips early in the year. They just aren’t as relaxing as they used to be now that Lawson and Georgia are in the picture. One of the things that we like(d) about camping was a lot of “unassigned” time that resulted in late breakfasts, snack lunch, hammock time, maybe a walk, a stick-to-your-ribs dinner, and then an early bedtime. Let’s just say that the kids don’t really see it that way. Their ideal camping day seems to go something like this: up with the sun, quickly needing some juice and breakfast, a wave of “what are we going to do next” questions, display of interest in all aspects of the campfire, mid-morning snack, more “what next” questions, lunch, absolutely NO hammock time, more “what next” questions, afternoon snack, “what next” questions, early dinner, “what next” questions, refusal to go to bed, bounce around the camper for a while, negotiate sleeping arrangements, lay down, get up, bounce around, cry, negotiate, get driven around the campground, onset of a semi-comatose state after a few minutes of the late-night drive, get put back in bed, and then sleep until sunup or until they kick off their covers (whichever comes first), and then start the whole thing over again. For some reason my childhood memories of camping didn’t go like that…I wonder if Mom’s do.
June found us heading to Florida to meet up with the whole Templeton clan. Lawson helped navigate on the drive, but we made it anyway. Of course our first bathroom stop was less than 15 minutes out of town at an interstate-side gas station. I’m glad Lawson couldn’t read the fine soliloquies penned on the walls. My mother rode with us on the trip and we worked in an overnight visit with one of her brothers’ family. Although bedtime with the kids was not ideal (see paragraph #2 above, beginning with “refusal to go to bed”), we had a great stay at my aunt and uncle’s place. The kids enjoyed some rides around the yard and property on the 4-wheelers. Always great to get to see family when on the road. After a big ol’ southern Mississippi breakfast complete with fresh biscuits and tomato gravy, we continued on our way south.
The Templetons/Davidsons spent the week at Navarre Beach, Florida. We had a great stay and great weather. Pretty nice place with not too many crowds. All of the kids enjoyed the beach, of course, including those over 35 years of age. Lawson and Georgia had a great time in the surf and playing in the sand. Lawson was fully prepared to “bonk it on the head” if a shark ventured too close. There were a couple of sightings but I think the sharks were properly intimidated by the 3-year old sitting safely on shore.
Only one trip to Budapest this year and it was way back in January. I actually missed taking that trip as the year progressed. 2002 had too many trips in a short period of time, but about 3 or 4 trips a year would have been pretty good.
Beth has been making quite a few trips to Russellville this year to continue working on settling Paps’ estate. It’s been time consuming and emotionally draining but progress is evident.
Georgia turned 2 and Lawson turned 4 this year. Georgia’s backyard beach party was a success and she was thrilled to receive her brand new tricycle…although we forgot to give it to her until after the party. Lawson’s party was at a fine pizzeria known as Chuck E. Cheese’s. His brand new bicycle complete with training wheels and a brand name of “Wipe Out” was a big hit. The next day we purchased a helmet for the little stunt man.
Christmas was fun this year with Lawson and Georgia, although Lawson has a tough time keeping secrets. He and Beth had gone shopping and purchased a “surprise” for me. I told him he couldn’t tell me what it was but he had to give me one clue: “It makes coffee.” Imagine my surprise on Christmas morning when I unwrapped the package and found a new coffee maker!
A few 40th birthdays of family and friends occurred this year with three of them in December. My college roommate Ken, my sister Jan, and her husband Jay all officially crossed over the proverbial hill this month. Ken’s party included a one-day roadtrip to Dallas for some good food and one of the most challenging croquet courts you’ve ever seen. There was some good-natured ribbing at each of the parties, but I’ve learned not to lay it on too thick at these things given the fact that these 40-year olds still seem to have pretty good memories and streak of revenge in them.
Nothing much else happened this year. Oh wait…I guess there is one more thing: after much consideration and over-analysis I quit my job and we moved to Fayetteville. I turned in my resignation notice to my employer, sold our house to some former neighbors who were moving back to Little Rock, and finally found a house to buy in Fayetteville. We are really glad to be here and the kids love seeing their aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandmom on a regular basis.
Merely 4 weeks after we moved in to our new Fayetteville home, we found the “perfect” house that we had been looking for all summer. We closed the deal in late December and are in the process of moving to this new/final house at this time. It’s a great place with plenty of yard for the kids (and a justification for a lawn tractor) and room for guests. Get on the list now for Razorback football season! My favorite thing about the house is it’s only about 5 years old and there are no updates needed…according to me. Of course the children’s rooms are the “wrong” colors so they’ll need a fresh coat of paint. Our new contact information is below. Come see us and check out our guest room. It comes with turndown service by two young people that will ensure perpetual conversation into the night (see paragraph #2 above, beginning with “refusal to go to bed”).
We love Fayetteville and miss Little Rock just as much. We had developed lots of Little Rock-based relationships that will continue to be a part of our lives forever. We hope to keep seeing those friends and “family members” on a somewhat regular basis.
If you recall from last year’s letter: my siblings were working to get us moving to Fayetteville, but nobody had offered any employment opportunities. They still haven’t. So we moved up here without knowing exactly what we’d do professionally. In lieu of seeking a well-paying, secure job with an established Fortune 500 company with good benefits and predictable earnings, I’ve decided to be a self-employed consultant. I specialize in finance and accounting services for companies needing short-term assistance or facing unique business issues. Stay-tuned for next year’s letter to see how it goes. Maybe I’ll be so busy billing clients I won’t have time to compose such a rambling note.
I should close now. We hope you and your family had a great Christmas (or whatever holiday you personally choose to celebrate this time of year) and a Happy New Year!