Happy New Year, 2007!!!

The Barca-Hall children are thriving. We’ve had a terrific 2006 and look forward eagerly to 2007 and Kim’s and Nikolai’s July wedding. They are happily settled in Corvallis, Oregon, where Kim is enrolled in graduate school at Oregon State (Agricultural and Resource Economics) and Nikolai now works as a Forester for Oregon Parks and Recreation.

Taran also begins a new job in 2007. He was recently hired as Site Director for a new Boys and Girls Club program in Paradise, CA—just outside Chico. He is busy interviewing and hiring a staff to start the new year.

Calen (almost 19) is a busy freshman on the beautiful UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) campus. He is an art major, plays on the Ultimate team, and has been able to continue his gymnastics coaching job and playing drums with “Zephyr.”

Correll (almost 16) is a high school sophomore at PCS (Pacific Collegiate School). As usual, he has juggled with aplomb a substantial academic load, twenty hours a week of gymnastics (Level 10) and has done two time-consuming theatre productions (one with his lines in Chinese) this year as well.

Sage (13) is in eighth grade at PCS—training as a Level 7 gymnast, and showing some signs of his father’s math genes! He has enjoyed some theatre this year, too, and looks forward to West Side Story as his next show.

Anya (10) is a fifth grader at Happy Valley School. She is an enthusiastic student but a passionate gymnast. She recently came in 7th place out of a 115 girls, ages 9-18, from all over Northern California at the Level 7 National Judges Cup qualifier. The top six (plus Anya, the alternate) have qualified to compete at the National Judges Cup in Indianapolis, in a few weeks.

Tristan is seven years old and has skipped to third grade work at school. He is a terrific sport about schlepping to all his siblings’ activities (though he too is a competitive gymnast) and just buries his nose in a thick book during the long waits. He’s charming, fun, and funny.

Jeff and Lisa are the chauffeurs for the above brood whose gymnastics has sent us on trips all over California, plus a trip to Texas, and will send us to Indiana, Chicago, Las Vegas, Hawaii and possibly Oklahoma this year alone! Having four kids competing in gymnastics at the same time is an astounding scheduling feat compounded by the fact that the kids train at gyms 30-45 minutes away from home. Jeff continues to enjoy his job at IronPlanet. Three full days a week Lisa teaches forty+ wonderful students who make her job a pleasure. Sadly, this January we will be making a trip East for Lisa’s mother’s memorial service (her mom passed away just before Thanksgiving) but we are looking forward to getting together with friends and relatives we haven’t seen for years.

That’s our news for the year. Please send us yours!

THE BARCA-HALLS             parents@barcahall.com