Oh yeah, we'll my brother in law can breath fire on stilts!

I was thinking of what I could write about (life is pretty much of the same stuff lately-work, school) then I got this email from my brother in law Watson. I had to share the coolness of my bro-in-law; I mean the guy can breath fire on stilts! Anyhow, he'll be on a commercial for Dunkin Donuts doing this amazing feat and we're all really proud of him.

Nothing quite that exciting going on here, but here are some kid highlights:

Don Roy won the Spanish Bee today. He was able to answer the most questions in Spanish and recite on call words in spanish. He won a trip to the taco stand to order some spanish munchies. He was really excited about this. I'm so proud of him. He's like his mom, fascinated by other cultures and languages. Anyhow, next time you see him you can practice your spanish skills with him.

Kaikoa got a reward for running the mile in 9minutes. I have to say much better then I (or Don) could ever have done. The kid has so much energy it makes me tired. We're so proud of him; he always gives 110% in athletics. Even though he gets really angry when he can't get something easily, he is no a quiter. It may take a bunch of yelling and throwing of objects, but the kid is determined and by golly he's gonna do even if it takes a broken leg, picture, or window trying. Anyhow, next time you see him you challenge him to a race, but you better be prepared to loose.

Christmas 2007

We celebrated Christmas here in Texas. My sister Genie, her husband Aaron, and the new baby Elliot joined us from California. My brother Joey, his wife Holly, and their three daughters also joined us in Corpus from Dallas. We enjoyed their visits and the boys really love hanging out with the cousins! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well. Check out our Christmas 2007 album to see pictures.

Happy Birthday Christine & Don

Just want to take a minute to wish Christine (27th-today) and Don (30th-Sunday) a HAPPY 35TH BIRTHDAY! They are so funny they stopped telling each other happy birthday when they turned 30.

2007 Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,
I have been inspired by ye faithful yearly letter writers to actually take some time to sit down and write about what's been going on with our family this year...so here goes.
2007 has been an eventful and tragic year for the Duenas-Youngberg family. With the exception of myself, 2007 started with every member of the Duenas Clan being pregnant! Joey and Holly were expecting their third child in March, Genie and Aaron were expecting their first child in July, and Christine and Watson were expecting their first child in August. We were all so excited with anticipation for Christmas 2007 when everyone would gather at Nana and Tata Duenas' house and celebrate with a houseful of cousins.
However on August 27, 2007 tragedy struck our family when Christine and Watson's beautiful baby girl Olive Lucy Kawecki was born still in New York. For reasons unknown, Lucy experienced trauma during labor and did not make it. Needless to say, we were all devastated and gathered around Christine and Watson in New York to lay this angel to rest and with heavy hearts we will gather this Christmas in Texas without this special cousin. To read more about Lucy, visit a beautiful blog attributed to her sweet spirit at http://clownbaby.blogspot. com.
Tragedy puts everything into perspective. Life is sacred; it must be treasured. I haven't looked at my own children, husband, and loved ones in the same way since Lucy's passing. She has taught me to reflect on all my blessings and really cherish my life. So, the rest of this letter will be brief and to the point. This year has brought us many blessings; here they are:
January: We bought our first house. It's the house we've been renting, but it sure is great to be a homeowners!
February: I turned 33 and only have a couple grey hairs...now that's a blessing.
March: The boys played their first season of baseball and Don helped coach. They really enjoyed it, but their hearts still belong to football.
Baby Cali was born on March 26th in McKinney, Texas to my brother Joey and his wife Holly! She is their third daughter.
May: 2006-2007 school year ends and the boys begin summer track for the 4th year. They love it and I love that they actually love to get up and exercise! Although, I can't say I've been able to do much of that this year.
June: I got a new job! I got hired as the new assistant principal at the 5th and 6th grade campus in our school district. 800+ kiddos to discipline, including Don Roy; it's quite the job, but I really enjoy it.
July: Family Vacation to New York City! We had a great time with Christine and Watson. Highlights were ferryboat rides, walking in Manhattan, Christine's baby shower, and going the NY Element Store.
Baby Elliot was born on July 18th in Southern California to my sister Genie and her husband Aaron! He is their first child.
August: Football season started! Here in Texas, it's all about Football! Like country music, this too has grown on me. I am now a huge football fan. I love going to games and watching them on TV too. Although besides the boys teams and our local High School team, I can't say I'm partial to any particular team. The boys (Don included), however, are now big Dallas Cowboys fans.
Kaikoa turned 9 on the 11th! He's Mr. Funny and the life of the party. He loves to skate and of course play football. He played quarterback this year...um and broke his foot doing it too.
September: School started. Don Roy's in 6th grade and Kaikoa's in the 4th grade.
Cousin Aubrey (Joey's) turned 6 on the 10th!
Cousin Prudence (Sarah's) turned 1 on the 6th!
Don got a new job! He's the school district carpenter! The kids and I love having him around the schools. It took some getting used to, but he's enjoying his new job too.
October: I defended my dissertation on the 30th, so that's about all I can remember from this month! Umm, I think there were some pumpkin festivities too.
November: Don Roy turned 11 on the 27th. He's really a pre-teen now-attitude and all! He's so smart though and loves school, his friends, and of course FOOTBALL! A friend of ours is the High School coach and got all the varsity players to sign a football for his birthday. He was so excited!
Football season ended. It was a good season, despite some injuries.
December: I graduated with my Doctorate in Education on December 15th. Cousin Ella will turn 4 on the 23rd!
Don will turn 35 on the 30th. He officially feels old.


With Love and Warm Wishes for 2008,


Nikol


Contact Information
Email: nikol_youngberg@hotmail.comBlog: youngbergpartyof4.blogspot.com

Graduation Day

Yeah! The day finally arrived. Actually it started on Friday with a special Hooding Ceremony and went on into the wee hours of Saturday Night with some dancing fun with friends and Don. It was really a special thing to have so many friends and family there to share the day with me. Everything went really well, with the exception of me forgetting my card at commencement and having to go back to my seat and get it, causing us to go out of order. Anyhow, after the ceremony we went to Ichiban a Japanese Seafood Place and had a very nice meal with friends and family. Then, me don and some friends went out dancing and it was a lot of fun. Thanks for all your support during this crazy journey! I'm just glad it's finally over!!!!!! P.S.Check out the graduation album on shutterfly.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

I'm trying so hard to be better about getting things done on time. I ordered Christmas gifts which should be delivered by Christmas, I wrote a Christmas letter, and I plan to mail cards this weekend. Nevertheless, I can't believe it's already the 11th of December. I got my nativity scenes up and Don got some lights on the house, but I think that may be the extent of the decorations this year.

We'll be staying in Texas this Christmas and are so excited to see Joey's and Genie's families, especially since Don and the boys will be meeting Elliot for the first time, but at the same time, we are so sad at the thought of missing Don's family during the holidays and of course the loss of Lucy will be heavy in our hearts and memory during this holiday.

We are really hoping to make travel more frequent in the future. Family is so important to both of us and it makes us so sad when we miss their milestones and the fact that they won't know us as well as we'd like. That was really a reason I wanted to start this blog in the first place. I know how much I love to check in with the families on their blogs and see what's new in their lives and I thought that'd be beneficial for you all to see what the boys are up to. That said, here's some news for the moment:

Don Roy got contacts! He still can't get them in himself, but I can put them on for him and he is comfortable wearing them. He's growing like a weed and now towers over his mother. I really do love seeing him everyday at work though. I can't wait until Kai's there next year.

Kaikoa's...well he's Kaikoa. Today, he was combing his hair and had a knot so he decided he'd just cut it off--all 8 inches of it! He went to bed early (at 8:00) so he could be rested for his mile run tomorrow. He'd like to beat 10 minutes; I think he can! He's so sweet though. He'll just ask for hugs out of the blue and that makes my day.

Don actually drove a school bus with kids the other day. He was a nervous wreck, but as usual he did great! Otherwise work's been busy for him, but we occasionally get to see him and we love that!

I'm tired. Work is challenging and I'm ready for a break, but I really enjoy it and I think I'm doing an OK job for a Rookie Assistant Principal.

That's what's going on with us at the moment. There are some pictures on our albums if you click the link. I emailed the password to access the pictures, but if I missed you email me and I'll send it to you. Take care and I'll write again soon.

Look We Have a Blog!

OK. I'm going to join this blogging thing. For now, this would mean I've established a site! I'll email when there's something to see on it!