Hope that you have all had a good year and will have a very Happy Christmas. It doesn't seem
like 5 minutes since I was doing this last year. We're all well here and have been keeping busy.
News about the children first!
James is in the middle of his mock GCSE's at the moment, so he'll have to start thinking about what to do for A levels after Christmas. So far, he's chosen History, Media Studies and ICT. Everyone does General Studies and he just has to choose 1 more subject - probably Chemistry or Psychology. He was thinking of doing software engineering at university previously, but apparently he'd have to do Maths for that, so I think he's changing his mind! James is about 5'10" now and still a keen skateboarder. He goes up to London and skates around by South Bank most Saturdays. Some of his friends have got video cameras so he's been putting together a film of them skating. He's also been to a couple of concerts this year - The Foo Fighters most recently at Wembley. He's booked up for one in March at the Brixton Academy - as they need to be accompanied by someone over 18, John has been roped in to go to that one! James gave up scouting in the autumn - although he did go to a week's air camp in August, and had the chance to do more paragliding then. James has also been to Germany this year - a good friend moved there in the summer, so James went over to stay with the family in October. I think he was less worried about getting around Heathrow than I was! James is still playing the guitar and has been working on 2 websites - www.dbz.freeuk.com and www.friction.freeuk.com.
Rachel's now taller than me at about 5'6", so I'm the shortest in the house now. She'll be doing her SATS in the summer, and also has to choose her GCSE subjects after Christmas. They only have 2 options to choose, as all the others are compulsory, so she's thinking of choosing between History, Art and Sociology. She's decided to do French rather than German, even though she's done a year less French, but she seems to have a flair for languages, so she should be OK. Rachel continues to keep fit. She usually goes to the gym on Saturdays with friends. She has kept up the judo until recently, but I think she's decided she's had enough bruises! Rachel missed out on guide camp this year, but is still enjoying guides. She's also joined the school choir and is singing at the carol concert soon. Rachel is still a keen shopper, although she hasn't been to Bluewater lately - much to our relief as we usually get a phone call asking for a lift home! Rachel also likes cooking - she's just made a cake and she makes a mean apple crumble! John's Dad's been bringing us vegetables from his allotment, so she's good at soups too. Rachel will be going to Belgium with the school next year to visit WW2 sites, so she's looking forward to that. She'll also be making her confirmation next May, so there'll be a party then.
We had our holiday in America this year - California was wonderful. We started off in Los Angeles, staying in Santa Monica. We went to Disney World and John and Rachel ended the day in the parade (as hippos - tutu's were provided!) We also went to Universal Studios and I even went on the rides. The John Paul Getty museum was also well worth a visit. From there we headed north up route 101 - the coast road to San Francisco. The scenery was fantastic and we enjoyed a drive round the Monterey peninsula - memories of eating a delicious deli sandwich overlooking the sea and watching the sea lions and seals basking on a rocky outcrop. We had only a short stop in Santa Barbara, but I decided I could live there quite happily. It even had a skate park next to the beach, so James liked it there too. San Francisco was John and Rachel's favourite city of the trip, but we all enjoyed exploring it. Whilst there we went on a boat trip 30 miles out to sea to view the wildlife on the Farallon Islands. We were lucky to see some hump back whales near the boat, as well as dolphins and an albatross. We then moved on to Yosemite National Park for one night. We had to lock up all foodstuff and scented toiletries to avoid attracting bears, although when we left our tent in the morning, the person who lived in a cabin a few feet away asked us if we'd heard the bear at 4 am trying to break in through his window! Again, spectacular scenery - John, James and Rachel headed off for a walk to see a waterfall while I enjoyed a peaceful stroll around the American Indian museum. From there we drove down to San Diego and went to the Sea World Centre and the zoo before heading back home from L.A.
If you want to see the photos, you can find them on our family website at www.waterworth.org.uk. We've also got the Flynn family tree on there.
John's still working for Eqos in Leatherhead - he's head of product development now and still enjoying the work. I'm still working for Social Services and am kept busy with the team I manage and different projects I'm involved in.
That's all there's room for - all the best for 2003.
Anne