Robinson 2007

Merry Christmas to all and welcome to my family blog! We thought we'd try something new this year by putting our 2007 Christmas letter on the family blog that

I (Marji) started writing in July as a way to keep in touch with the boys now that they have flown the coop! Hence, the name of the blog, The Empy Nest.

Our status as "empty nesters" did not start until we dropped off Corey at Syracuse

University in the middle of August and we had a lot going on in the seven and a half

months before that occurred. 

Getting out of town seemed to be a theme in 2007 and we probably should have kept track of the miles we travelled. Some highlights include a week-long trip to see Tucker out

west. We flew into and out of Colorado Springs but spent most of our time in Utah and New Mexico. Tucker was our tour guide as he took us to several of the sites where he has done or is doing archaeological work. We hiked numerous miles in beautiful, unspoiled country, got to meet many of his friends and colleagues, and thoroughly enjoyed our time with him. If you are looking for a great place to hike, that is relatively unknown, consider the Four Corners area - you won't be disappointed!

As soon as school let out we travelled to Idaho to do another 6-day Main Salmon

 River trip, and Corey and Tucker served as 2 of the 7 guides on the trip. We were joined by some

friends and travelled down river with a delightful group of folks from around the world. These river trips are always a great vacation for us.

Shortly after returning from Idaho, we packed

up again for a 10 day trip to Iceland with our

dear friends Bob and Sally. Wow! Here is

another place you need to put on your "Things

To Do" list. Iceland has glaciers and volcanoes and puffins and ice-caps and flowers and sheep and hot springs and fjords and tunnels and mountain passes and hiking galore, and horses and waterfalls and history and geysers and mudpots and an endless coastline. You gotta go!

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a weekend in Toronto, where we went to a Yankees/Blue Jays baseball game. As a Yankee's fan, Marji loved it. As a reluctant

baseball fan, Jim put up with it. That must be the success of our 30 years together!

Syracuse University was Corey's college choice and we are quite pleased to have him only 90 miles down the road. He ran one race for the SU XC team, did quite well, and then was "red-shirted." This was done so they can have him run as a fifth year senior, when he is 22 years old, a more prime running age. He continues to train and will be part of the indoor track team this winter. He is enjoying the whole college experience and seems to have adapted quite well to life away from Mom and Dad! 

Jim has taken a new job within the Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics division of Johnson and Johnson and is liking his new responsibilities. He has had a bit of international travel for this new job, but not enough for it to become tiresome. Jim continues to run competitively all around the country. 

I am thankful to be teaching 5, 6 and 7 year olds because they keep me laughing and they think I'm only 29 years old! I run if there is a race that everybody else is doing, but I prefer to get my competitive high from rowing crew. Quiet times around the house or in the car will find me with knitting needles in my hands as I continue to learn new things about this craft that brings me joy.

Speaking of joy, Jim, Tucker, Corey and I wish you peace and joy this holiday season. We hope that you will have time to spend with the people that mean the most to you. Feel free to leave us a comment about your holiday and what brings you joy. 

Peace. Hope all is well.