You are turning six today (well, you turned six recently and have probably found out I don’t write these in real time every time). You are in the third quarter of your kindergarten year at St. Joes. As you can see from the pictures, you are starting to look like a real human :). You have had a number of new experiences I will discuss, but it’s worth mentioning that when I write these I don’t always reflect back on what I wrote last time so there may be redundancies. Plus my memory is garbage so…

If you had not noticed based on the pictures, you and Ethan are incredibly close. You guys play every day, and for two kids this small you get along surprisingly well. You also still play with the girls next door and down the street. Mom is not a big fan of the girls (although not surprising since she isn’t a fan of most), but you have a great time. After school and over breaks that is where most of your time is spent.

Skiing

As always we took a number of trips to SV. The difference this time was that you went skiing on Dollar! I took you up on the lift, we got off, and you were so brave. We went down the hill as I skied backwards in front of you. The first time down you were noticeably nervous, but in true Buggy fashion by the time you got to the bottom you wanted to race back up. We spent a couple hours doing this routine, and you never fell once.

We did a lot of skiing this year. We even went to McCall and you got to ski with Ali and Maci from our street. With them you were even more brave as they had a lot more experience – but you totally hung with them. We skied for a few hours again and you had a blast. We actually went to McCall for your birthday and celebrated it in a cabin there. My Aunt Jane and her wife Karen joined us and we all had an amazing time.

Outside of that we got another half a dozen or so days on the mountain in Boise at Bogus. We got you some lessons with a guy, Kihle, that you really liked. You are timid in your approach, but you figure things out quickly without ever falling. I would go ski during your one hour lessons, and then we would normally get hot chocolate. It is only about a 45 minute drive to the base so we made it a normal routine either on the weekend or after school. We also skied together a few times if you didn’t have a lesson or after it.

I love skiing with you so much. You are so much fun to watch and you have such a great time. My hope is that we can do it together for the rest of my life.

Tucson

We also took a trip to Tucson in January to see Boppy and his new house. Boppy built a new house on a very cool plot of land in the desert in Tucson. For the first time that you could really understand you were exposed to the desert. We went in January so it wouldn’t be too hot.

While in Tucson we did a bunch of stuff. We started with the children’s museum, where you learned about cactus, trains and desert animals. We took the trolly from university where we got to walk campus a bit and you could see where I went to school, and even the dorm your mom lived in during her one year there. At the museum you, and Ethan, especially liked the train part. You dressed up as engineers and conductors and pretended for quite a while. On the way out we got you Dippin’ Dots which you had not had at the time, and since have grown to love.

After the children’s museum we went to the Tucson Train Museum. As you know, Boppy worked for the railroad for 42 years. What you might not know is that he was the 5th generation of Donegan’s to work on trains – I busted the streak. After that we had some amazing Mexican food at Cafe Poca Cosa downtown, and headed back.

While there we say Nonnie and Boppie Barnes a lot, went and saw Brad and Beth Benites one night to have a pizza dinner, drove by the airfields of retired airplanes, and one night Aunt Maddie and Boppy babysat you so mom and I could go to dinner at Tito and Pep. But the highlight of the trip was of course…

OUR FIRST UA BASKETBALL GAME!!!

On game-day we went to McKale Center, parked in the Cherry Creek garage, and sat about 20 rows up in the southeast corner. We brought you and Ethan ear protection for the sold out game. You, me, Ethan, mom and Boppy came and we had a great time. Well…Boppy and I had a great time. About halftime you and Ethan were pretty bored and spent the second half on our phones playing games. Boppy and I jumped and yelled and cheered the Cats on to a win.

While this is non-consequential for you, and something that you may never be interested in (although at home when I watch games you get excited about watching “Bear Down” rather than the Wildcats), it was something I have wanted to do with you since before you were born. When you were little we went to McKale and walked the courts, but a game was so different. This was something that I shared with my dad and uncle growing up, and to share it with you and Ethan was more than I could have hoped for.

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Speaking of things I have been wanting to do before you were born…we went to our first daddy/daughter dance at your school. Fortunately, you don’t get to pick your date and was stuck with me.

As you can see from the picture, I got you a corsage and you got me a boutonnière. We went to dinner at 13th Street in Hyde Park and then went over to the dance. We took pictures in a photo booth with silly props, and then proceeded to dance for about an hour.

You were about as cute as they come, and seemed genuinely proud to be there with me. This was not the case with all the girls and their dads, and whether you were just pretending to make me feel better or really was proud doesn’t matter. There was nothing crazy or memorable about the night other than its significance…that you are on your way to becoming a young lady.

As with every year that goes by there is so much I miss in talking about here and only highlight a few items. I wish I could write daily, as there is enough content to do so. Regardless, I am so happy and excited and proud of who you are becoming. Please stay sweet and amazing, and I can’t wait to write to you again soon.

I love you more than anything in the world.

Love, Dad