Happy New Year! January 2010
The past year has been filled with memorable experiences, and we look forward to new adventures in 2010. We have been residents of North Las Vegas for nearly six years now – longer than anywhere else during our nearly 12 years of marriage. Our four children continue to keep us very busy, and we made several trips to California and Utah this year, particularly enjoying visits to Legoland, the Santa Barbara Zoo, the beach, and St. George. We also went camping at Mt. Charleston in July, hiking at the Valley of Fire in October, and tubing at Brian Head in December. Closer to home, we enjoyed frequent visits to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, the Bellagio fountains, and the recently opened CityCenter resort.
Harrison (age 8) is a third grader at Gilbert Elementary, a magnet school for communication and the performing arts. He loves reading, music, soccer, watching movies, riding his bicycle, and playing a schoolyard game called “four-square.” He also loves swimming and participated in several competitions in his age group this summer. Harrison recently played the role of “Marvelous Mike” in the winter matinee at his school, and he was cast as the “Mayor of Munchkin City” in a community production of The Wizard of Oz at the Summerlin Theater earlier this year. He is very confident and comfortable on stage and can’t wait for his next opportunity. Harrison continues playing the violin and just completed Suzuki Book 2. In December, he performed in several Christmas concerts with a local children’s orchestra called The Deseret Strings, including an appearance at the historic St. George Tabernacle. He greatly enjoyed learning to play the glockenspiel for the “Sleigh Ride” piece. Last summer, Harrison began taking piano lessons and quickly discovered that playing the piano is much easier than the violin. Harrison was baptized in October and received his own set of “grown-up” scriptures.
Whitney (age 6) loves going to kindergarten at Watson Elementary near our home. She attends school only in the morning but wishes she could go all day. We are amazed by the large amount of homework she gets for kindergarten. Her favorite subject is math, and she is learning to read very well. She has been a good writer and a budding artist for some time now. Whitney played soccer in the fall and also enjoyed a season of dance classes and a gymnastics class during the summer. Whitney loves dressing up, having her fingernails painted, and playing with dolls. She has a great sense of humor as LOVES being silly. Whitney also has no qualms about being on stage and appeared in The Wizard of Oz as a member of the “Lullaby League” and a “Snow Fairy.” She plays the violin and is just polishing her last few notes of “Minuet 1” from Suzuki Book 1. She also performed with The Deseret Strings in St. George and Las Vegas during December.
Bretton (age 4 ½) is a strong but tender boy. He wants to run, jump, slide, and throw balls all day long. He loves playing at the park, and chasing birds (especially seagulls at the beach). He is shy around strangers and dislikes large crowds and noisy environments (unless of his own making, of course). He attends a neighborhood pre-school group on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and looks forward to going to a “real school” in the fall. Bretton loves baseball and soccer, and he participated in a gymnastics and tumbling class with Whitney during the summer. He performed with the Spunk ‘n Spice musical group in December. He is fascinated with the sky and can name all of the planets. He begs Mom to take him to see a real spaceship.
Julianna (age 3) is extremely vocal and determined to get what she wants no matter the consequences. She insists on taking her pink blankie everwhere and refuses to stop sucking her thumb. Also, with Mom trying to haggle a way to help her, Julianna potty-trained herself in record time, and was soon looking for other ways to keep up with her older siblings. She loves music, dancing, and reading books. Julianna attended a neighborhood preschool group this fall, and will continue with another group of three-year-olds in January. She loves her school days, and the added independence is a blessing for both mother and daughter.
Cherlynn continues to be the chief taxi driver, scheduler, cook, lion tamer, and circus organizer. In addition to serving as PTA secretary at Gilbert Elementary, she volunteers a few hours each week in both Harrison’s and Whitney’s classes. Over the past several months, Cherlynn has also taught math and reading once a week to nine first-grade girls through a local homeschool group called Freedom Academy. This has been a challenging yet rewarding opportunity. For her own development, Cherlynn completed two comprehensive Herbology classes during the past year and has become quite proficient in the use of herb formulas and essential oils for better health. She has become a huge advocate of herbal remedies and has even taught others how to make some of the herb formulas that she uses. (Somewhere out there, Grandma Blatter is smiling down on all of this). This summer, Cherlynn launched into research for a book that she plans to write about the use of herbs by pioneers. At Church, Cherlynn was released from her calling as Gospel Doctrine teacher in 2008 and subsequently served in the nursery for more than year. With all of our children out of the nursery, she is now grateful for her new calling to teach the Temple Preparation class with Ned.
Ned continues working as a Principal Planner for the City of Henderson. He chairs the City’s Sustainability Committee and coordinates all of the City’s green initiatives, many of which have received various awards. Over the past year, he has attended green conferences in Los Angeles, Portland, and Palm Springs, and he was part of a regional group that established “Green Chips,” a new public-private partnership that supports sustainability initiatives in southern Nevada. In February 2009, with the support of many friends and neighbors, Ned launched a campaign for Mayor of the City of North Las Vegas. The primary election was held in early April, and we regret that the poll results were not more favorable to our cause. However, we are thankful for the 1,500+ voters who did support us and the many new friends we made during the course of the campaign. The experience definitely made us better people and increased our awareness of issues in our community. Highlights from the campaign include appearances on local TV and radio programs and a benefit concert held at the Aliante clubhouse featuring several professional musician friends from New York and Las Vegas.
Thanks again to all who contributed.
Best Wishes to you for a Happy New Year,
Ned and Cherlynn Thomas
Harrison, Whitney, Bretton, and Julianna
