For the eighth annual Brown Family Christmas Letter, we’ve decided to do something a little different.  This year’s letter will be a quiz! So see how much you know (or can guess) about what happened with us this year.  The answers are on the next page.

1.  In January Charlie went back to college!  He began his undergraduate work on a degree in (A) Comedic Performance, (B) Human Sports and Performance, (C) Biology, or (D) Physical Therapy.

2. One of the biggest events of the year happened in May and was (A) Justin turning eight and getting baptized, (B) a trip to Utah to celebrate Alicia’s brother’s wedding and visit Charlie’s brother, (C) Charlie getting a new, more stable job, or (D) Alicia finally graduating from college with her degree in Human Services.

3. Charlie and Alicia spent their eleventh wedding anniversary (A) at dinner and a movie, (B) their favorite comedy club, Madcap Theater, (C) in Hawaii, or (D) at home snuggling in front of the T.V.

4. Alicia got a job in June working (A) at detox, (B) as a receptionist for a big company, (C) as an overnight counselor for an adult residential rehab, or (D) as a superhero fighting evil. 

5. The kids spent their summer (A) tormenting each other and driving mom crazy, (B) taking Kenpo martial arts classes, (C) jumping on our new trampoline, riding bikes, and playing with the neighborhood kids, or (D) solving the mysteries of the universe.

6. Our first ever Brown family only vacation (meaning no extended family members or friends) took place in (A) Utah, (B) Disneyland, (C) Texas, or (D) The Black Hills.

7. We added a new member to our family this year, it was (A) a new nephew, (B) a ferret, (C) a fish, or (D) we had another baby!!

8. Alicia got a new calling in church working in the (A) nursery, (B) Young Women’s program, (C) Relief Society, (D) ward missionary program.

9. Charlie has kept himself busy this year (A) taking ballet classes, (B) serving as the second counselor in our ward bishopric, (C) working towards his black belt in Kenpo, or (D) working and going to school full-time.

10. Something exciting that’s coming up in 2012 is (A) Alicia’s sister, Tonya is expecting her first baby, (B) we are planning to adopt a kid, (C) Alicia’s brother Kyle is expecting his third kid, or (D) a Lehman Family reunion for Christmas 2011

Answers:

1. While he started the year out working on Human Sports and Performance, he changed that major in the fall to Biology, but plans to change it again next year to physical therapy (Comedic Performance is one of those pipe dreams). 

2. May was a big month for us, because all of these events happened!

3. Can you believe we’ve been married for eleven years??!!  Crazy!! We spent our anniversary at our favorite comedy club this year, but the plan for our thirteenth anniversary is definitely Hawaii!!

4. I’d like to think I’m fighting evil, but the answer is C.

5. The answer is B, C, and most definitely A!  Zach began work on D, but decided to wait until he started kindergarten in September to continue

6. The answer is The Black Hills!  We did visit Utah this year as well, but we went with lots of extended family, which was also a lot of fun, and in 2012 we are going to try to get to Disneyland again!

7. Definitely not D (this baby factory is closed)!  No, the answer is A, Charlie’s brother Jeff and his wife Julie had another baby in June, Benjamin Jeffrey Brown, and boy is he adorable!

8. It’s a trick question; Alicia was called to work in the nursery earlier this year, but then later called to be the Young Women’s president, where she’s still serving happily today.

9. Ballet? Seriously?  LOL!  Thankfully Charlie hasn’t had time for ballet considering that B, C, and  D are all true.

10. They are all true! Both Tonya and Kyle are expecting babies in June and we’re so excited for them!  We are also planning to begin the adoption process this year; we want to adopt an older waiting child, hopefully we’ll have good news on that in next year’s letter! And next year for Christmas all of Alicia’s siblings, and their families, will be here, and we are going to PARTY!

So how did you do on our quiz?  If you missed more than five you better start using your ‘phone a friend’ and give us a call to catch up one of these days! Or you can check out our blog at www.thecharliebrowns.blogspot.com.

We had fun once again creating our letter, and hope you enjoyed it as well.  Overall we have had a fabulous 2011 full of many blessings.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you have a happy and prosperous 2012

With Love,

The Charlie Browns