Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Rohwers!

We wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Here are some of the things that happened in our family this past year:

• We took a family vacation to Universal Studios and visited Harry Potter Wizarding World
• Emily turned 18 and graduated from high school Summa Cum Laude
• Avritt turned 13 which means we now have 2 teenagers
  
• We completed a long overdue landscaping project around our main entry
• Isaac started middle school (5th grade) which ended my career as a classroom parent (yay!)
• We went camping as a family for the 11th year in a row
• Emily spent 15 days in Europe as part of a band trip
• Isaac turned 11 on the same weekend that we brought Emily to college
• Mike and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary
• Avritt was selected for the middle school all-state band (only 6 were selected in the state)
• Emily successfully made it through her first semester in college (with 2 roommates!)
• Ginger accepted a full-time teaching job for Fall 2012 and will also start grad school then
• Mike completed his 5th year in his current job as Director of Technology at a local Intermediate School District
• We have been blessed as a family and want to express thanks to God this Christmas!
  

Emily's Europe Trip

Emily spent 15 days in Europe this past summer as part of a band trip. They toured through several countries in addition to performing in 5 concerts.

Avritt at a Pre-Jib Snowboarding Contest

Avritt participated in an amateur jibulation at our local snowboarding/ski hill. He made the cut into the second. For anyone wondering, here is the definition of "jib" from the urban dictionary:

jib
Verb. To jib. Jibbing. The act of manuvering a bicycle, skateboard, snowboard or skis in tricky manner on top of and around a structure such as a stump, rocks, stairs, railigs, rooftops, etc. When you are playing around, showing off, jumping, flipping, hopping, etc you are jibbing.

Emily and her College Roommates

Emily has a triple room at college this year, and has 2 great roommates! They put together this Christmas card for their college friends. They were having fun being retro!

State Band Competition

Avritt played in the high school marching band this year along with a few other eighth graders. He was part of the pit. The band got 5th place in the state competition.

Halloween

Mike had the clever idea of dressing up like the Swiffer commercials. He is a Swiffer and I am the dust that he picks up! We had fun making this, and even won best overall costume at our friends' annual Halloween party.

College Move-In

Family Picture after Convocation

Emily's Dorm Room (it's a triple - you can't see the bed behind me as I was taking the picture)

Camping Pictures

Camping was a bit different this year. Avritt had band camp, so he was only able to come one day and one night. Emily came a few days when she wasn't working. Most of the time it was Mike, me, and Isaac...so we had Isaac invite a friend. They had a great time!

Bounty from the Garden

Isaac's Birthday

Isaac turned eleven this past weekend! He had a couple of friends over and they went to Craig's Cruisers. We celebrated as a family with Emily in Holland (we went to Mike's office for cake and pizza) because she moved into Hope College the day before.

Isaac's Last Piano Recital

Isaac playing at his last piano recital - ever!

Emily, Isaac, and Avritt with their piano teacher. Each one of the kids took at least two years of lessons from Ardith. The era of making the kids practice and going through piano music for their lessons is OVER. The kids will thank me later in life...maybe...

Summertime on the Deck

Isaac and His Buddy at 4th Grade Graduation

Emily's Graduation

Emily graduated Summa Cum Laude last week as 10th in her class (of about 260) with a GPA of 4.188! We are extremely proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She is headed to Hope College in the fall.


Emily and her close friends Alyssa and Amber. They all graduated with honors!

Emily and her grandparents.

Proud parents!

Emily and her brothers.

Landscaping Project

There's nothing like a graduation open house to jump-start some long overdue projects...

Avritt is a Teenager

So he's officially 13. We now have two teenagers in the house.

Avritt's Birthday Gift

 

Prom 2011: Link to Online Album

Prom 2011

Avritt at His Band Festival

Avritt and his friend, Ryan, got a I rating at this festival, despite their goofy looks...

Emily and Her Buddies

Emily and her close friends at their last band concert of the year.