Dear family and friends,
As I stare at my Christmas tree and prepare to write this letter, I can’t help but chuckle at how our tree reflects our current stage of life. Every breakable ornament occupies the top third of the tree, my normal white lights have been replaced by multi-colored strands because Harper deemed them more “fun,” and there is a caution sign next to the tree that all presents must stay wrapped until Christmas. Directly to the sign’s left is a present wrapped haphazardly with extra tape, evidence of a 2 year old who can’t yet read. It’s a far cry from elegant scenes of Christmases past and future, but it also brings a smile to my face to see this representation of the chaos and wonder that colors my daily life.
There is much to be thankful for this year. After six years at The Salt Lake Lawyers, Robert transitioned back to a larger firm and has been with Snow, Christensen, and Martineau since March of 2019. It’s been a wonderful career move, and he is grateful for the support and mentorship of new colleagues and friends. Since joining SCM, Robert has had two trial success. In July, he received a favorable valuation on his clients’ minority interest in a corporation (whatever that means). And in October, he had a three-week jury trial in St. George which ended with his two favorites words, “not guilty.” With the extra bandwidth attendant to not running a small firm, Robert has been able to spend more time with the kids and renew his love of skiing with an Ikon pass for 2019-2020.
On the surface, not much changed for Rebekah in 2019. My dual roles of mom and digital humanities librarian keep me as busy as ever. Internally, however, 2019 was a year of focus and renewal. I started making yoga and working out a part of my regular routine and discovered a love of hiking with Harper and Ashton. Every weekend from April-October, we explored toddler-friendly terrain across the Wasatch Front in search of hidden lakes, waterfalls, and streams. One highlight for me was encouraging a weary Harper up the final switchbacks towards Cecret Lake. When a dirty and tear-stained Harper reached the pristine lake at the summit, she looked at me wide-eyed and said, “It’s even more beautiful than I thought it would be!” I love that my kids are not only experiencing all the beauty that Utah has to offer but are also learning that they are capable of doing hard and amazing things. Another highlight in 2019 was having one other Tripp join me in Utah! My nephew Zach started at the University of Utah this fall and became a frequent fixture at Sunday night dinners.
Aidan is in his last year at Hillside Middle School and is looking forward to starting high school next fall. His creative streak became more apparent in 2019 as he devoted more of his free time to drawing, playing guitar, and creating short videos. He started a Dungeons & Dragons group with three friends at Hillside, which grew into a weekly group of about 15 kids running multiple D&D campaigns. A highlight for Aidan was when girls started attending the group and, in his words, the snacks got a whole lot better. After 14 years of parenting, Aidan gave us our first broken bone in 2019 when he broke his collarbone by falling out of the ceiling at Boy Scouts. Broken clavicle aside, Aidan continues to be one of my favorite people to hang out with and a tremendous help with the little ones.
Harper is a force of nature in the Cummings household with her humor, boundless energy, and iron will. There are a lot of days I would give my right arm for a more compliant child, but I can’t help but admire Harper’s spunk and determination. She was my favorite hiking buddy this summer and conquered many short trails in Utah including Ensign Peak, Living Room, Stewart Falls, Cecret Lake, Temple Quarry, Donut Falls, Church Fork, Silver Lake, and more. When she started scaling the walls of Big Cottonwood Canyon on her own, we decided to enroll her in climbing lessons where she now scurries up and down walls like her hero Spiderman. Harper is in her second year at Wasatch Presbyterian Preschool, takes gymnastics lessons at Little Gym, and started skiing this winter. She does everything with her whole heart from loving her baby brother to picking out her clothes to sneaking snacks from the pantry, and I can’t wait to see what 2020 holds for our little spitfire.
Ashton balances out Harper’s fiery personality by being the calmest, happiest, easiest toddler on the planet. When I was a kid, my parents used to say that every day was the best day of my life. Perhaps it’s because we are both youngest children, but Ashton seems to have inherited the same content and easy-going disposition. He smiles constantly, could play happily for hours with his trucks, trains, and Legos, and is generally everyone’s favorite in the house. While Aidan and Harper bicker like siblings much closer in age, Aidan is endlessly patient with Ashton and genuinely enjoys his kind-hearted little brother. Ashton is dying to go to school and join his siblings on more adventures. He often puts on his own little backpack and shoes when he sees Harper and Aidan getting ready for school, and he loves tagging along at Harper’s climbing lessons. I’m so excited for him to start preschool at Wasatch Presbyterian next fall and graduate out of my baby hiking backpack next spring.
Just this month our family welcomed a new au pair from Thailand, C-Game, into our home. C-Game has already wowed our family with her delicious homemade Thai food, warmth, and helpfulness. We are so grateful for her help caring for the kids and bringing her culture into our home!
We wish you a warm and wonderful holiday season filled with love.
Robert, Rebekah, Aidan (14), Harper (4), Ashton (2), and Stan
As I stare at my Christmas tree and prepare to write this letter, I can’t help but chuckle at how our tree reflects our current stage of life. Every breakable ornament occupies the top third of the tree, my normal white lights have been replaced by multi-colored strands because Harper deemed them more “fun,” and there is a caution sign next to the tree that all presents must stay wrapped until Christmas. Directly to the sign’s left is a present wrapped haphazardly with extra tape, evidence of a 2 year old who can’t yet read. It’s a far cry from elegant scenes of Christmases past and future, but it also brings a smile to my face to see this representation of the chaos and wonder that colors my daily life.
There is much to be thankful for this year. After six years at The Salt Lake Lawyers, Robert transitioned back to a larger firm and has been with Snow, Christensen, and Martineau since March of 2019. It’s been a wonderful career move, and he is grateful for the support and mentorship of new colleagues and friends. Since joining SCM, Robert has had two trial success. In July, he received a favorable valuation on his clients’ minority interest in a corporation (whatever that means). And in October, he had a three-week jury trial in St. George which ended with his two favorites words, “not guilty.” With the extra bandwidth attendant to not running a small firm, Robert has been able to spend more time with the kids and renew his love of skiing with an Ikon pass for 2019-2020.
On the surface, not much changed for Rebekah in 2019. My dual roles of mom and digital humanities librarian keep me as busy as ever. Internally, however, 2019 was a year of focus and renewal. I started making yoga and working out a part of my regular routine and discovered a love of hiking with Harper and Ashton. Every weekend from April-October, we explored toddler-friendly terrain across the Wasatch Front in search of hidden lakes, waterfalls, and streams. One highlight for me was encouraging a weary Harper up the final switchbacks towards Cecret Lake. When a dirty and tear-stained Harper reached the pristine lake at the summit, she looked at me wide-eyed and said, “It’s even more beautiful than I thought it would be!” I love that my kids are not only experiencing all the beauty that Utah has to offer but are also learning that they are capable of doing hard and amazing things. Another highlight in 2019 was having one other Tripp join me in Utah! My nephew Zach started at the University of Utah this fall and became a frequent fixture at Sunday night dinners.
Aidan is in his last year at Hillside Middle School and is looking forward to starting high school next fall. His creative streak became more apparent in 2019 as he devoted more of his free time to drawing, playing guitar, and creating short videos. He started a Dungeons & Dragons group with three friends at Hillside, which grew into a weekly group of about 15 kids running multiple D&D campaigns. A highlight for Aidan was when girls started attending the group and, in his words, the snacks got a whole lot better. After 14 years of parenting, Aidan gave us our first broken bone in 2019 when he broke his collarbone by falling out of the ceiling at Boy Scouts. Broken clavicle aside, Aidan continues to be one of my favorite people to hang out with and a tremendous help with the little ones.
Harper is a force of nature in the Cummings household with her humor, boundless energy, and iron will. There are a lot of days I would give my right arm for a more compliant child, but I can’t help but admire Harper’s spunk and determination. She was my favorite hiking buddy this summer and conquered many short trails in Utah including Ensign Peak, Living Room, Stewart Falls, Cecret Lake, Temple Quarry, Donut Falls, Church Fork, Silver Lake, and more. When she started scaling the walls of Big Cottonwood Canyon on her own, we decided to enroll her in climbing lessons where she now scurries up and down walls like her hero Spiderman. Harper is in her second year at Wasatch Presbyterian Preschool, takes gymnastics lessons at Little Gym, and started skiing this winter. She does everything with her whole heart from loving her baby brother to picking out her clothes to sneaking snacks from the pantry, and I can’t wait to see what 2020 holds for our little spitfire.
Ashton balances out Harper’s fiery personality by being the calmest, happiest, easiest toddler on the planet. When I was a kid, my parents used to say that every day was the best day of my life. Perhaps it’s because we are both youngest children, but Ashton seems to have inherited the same content and easy-going disposition. He smiles constantly, could play happily for hours with his trucks, trains, and Legos, and is generally everyone’s favorite in the house. While Aidan and Harper bicker like siblings much closer in age, Aidan is endlessly patient with Ashton and genuinely enjoys his kind-hearted little brother. Ashton is dying to go to school and join his siblings on more adventures. He often puts on his own little backpack and shoes when he sees Harper and Aidan getting ready for school, and he loves tagging along at Harper’s climbing lessons. I’m so excited for him to start preschool at Wasatch Presbyterian next fall and graduate out of my baby hiking backpack next spring.
Just this month our family welcomed a new au pair from Thailand, C-Game, into our home. C-Game has already wowed our family with her delicious homemade Thai food, warmth, and helpfulness. We are so grateful for her help caring for the kids and bringing her culture into our home!
We wish you a warm and wonderful holiday season filled with love.
Robert, Rebekah, Aidan (14), Harper (4), Ashton (2), and Stan
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