Merry Christmas 2005! 

      Congratulations! Along with Zeke Richter, you have been selected as a recipient of the annual Richter holiday letter.  Note: Best if read near a roaring fire, possibly with eyes closed.  Good luck!

 

 

      January:  Chris began the New Year on doctor's house (and movie theater) arrest to facilitate a healthy pregnancy. From her comfy chair, she watched ‘the guys’ make life-sized snowmen after a snowfall in Seattle.  Each week was another victory for the baby. Chuck survived his company’s lay-offs and continued to bring home the bacon, which sat in the fridge, being high in cholesterol.

February: Ultrasounds confirmed the baby’s heartbeat was sound. Speaking of hearts, Chris baked heart-shaped cookies for her two Valentines. One trimester down, two to go: Chris’ new doctor cleared her to return to work and for travel. A trip to Southern California allowed the Richters to see Diane Hall and her kids and visit the San Diego wild park zoo, where no striped ligers were spotted. 

March: “The ultrasound shows the baby is a girl.” In arts and entertainment news, Charlie was the best mouse in his daycare’s spring program (Cinderella). The play was good, but it never made it to Broadway (last seen on Pine near 2nd Street).

A trip to SD allowed Charlie, Angel, Hope, & Luke to hunt for Easter Eggs and fly kites. Ginger served a wonderful Easter meal. Great-grandpa Richter celebrated his 89th birthday during the visit.

Back in Seattle, Chris insisted Chuck see a doctor about a suspicious mole (dark skinned, shifty eyed, between the ages of 18 to 72) that was too-close-for-comfort to Chuck’s… er,... loins. After close inspection, the doctor did not believe the mole posed any danger.  However, to appease Chris, the doctor agreed to put Chuck under the knife. Thankfully, there were no accidents.

April: Charlie took swimming lessons. Chuck’s sister Laura came to Seattle to drink beer at the Pyramid Ale House and to tell some funny stories—something about a shart attack.

The stitches were out, and the wound was healed when the lab reported that (a) the mole was pre-cancerous, and (b) they didn’t get it all. Chuck returned for round 2. 

Before the month ended, Chuck and Charlie got tickets to see The Wiggles in concert. At least some of them—darn obstructed view!

May:  Before the pregnancy entered the final no-fly-zone trimester, the Richters got cheap airfare to Oahu—home of Steven J. Richter. Activities included snorkeling, hiking and swimming with turtles. Hiking Diamond Head with a turtle on your back is not easy.

Back in Seattle, Chris complained about Chuck’s fidgety legs, which kept her up during the night. Chris convinced Chuck to meet with a sleep specialist. They hooked hundreds, possibly thousands, of wires to Chuck with superglue for a night to investigate his sleeping problems. (“Here’s your problem right here, you got a bunch of wires glued to your body.”) They learned that Chuck had restless leg syndrome, which they attributed to anemia. Iron supplements were prescribed to boost his so-called ferritin level.

Later in May, Charlie “Frodo Baggins” served as ring-bearer for phase one of Vincent and Lily’s worldwide wedding tour.

June: Chuck and Charlie flew to South Dakota to visit Great-grandma Richter who was sick with congestive heart failure. After a teary goodbye at the airport, Chris spent her first weekend without Charlie. “Don’t worry mommy, I’ll write everyday.  Oops, I don’t know how. Okay, I’ll call.” The guys did call. They also ate ice cream at Great-grandma’s 85th birthday party before watching Zeke & the band perform to an enthusiastic crowd.

 

July: Charlie was the star of his T-ball team (The Dragons). Mike & Nancy Caldwell got to see him play during a visit (along with Kath Hall) in July. Activities included climbing Mt. Si, wine and beer tasting, riding the tube of death, and getting sea-sick. Don’t forget the Dramamine®.

“Swallow this camera. It’s digital.” Investigating Chuck’s anemia, the doctors boldly go where no man has gone before. The upper-endoscopy, the colonoscopy, the barium swallow and the handshake™ were some of the procedures doctors used to acquaint themselves with Chuck. The procedures revealed nothing.

“I felt a strange thud. I think my water just broke.” Two weeks ahead of schedule, Chris went into (what turned out to be a very short) labor. Thirty minutes after checking in at the hospital, and after four minutes of pushing, Caitlyn Rose Richter was born. Soon-after, Caitlyn and slightly-forgetful Mom (“Where are those keys!?”) adjusted to life at home. Charlie eagerly filled the role of helpful big brother.

 

“But Chris, at these employee discount prices, we can’t afford not to buy that new 4x4 pickup.” The Richter's traded in their beater for a Chevy 2500HD crew cab 4x4 pickup. A day later, gas rose to $3/gallon.

August: Early in August, Christine had a severe pain in her side which meant a trip to the Emergency Room one evening. X-rays & CT scans confirmed that (a) her kidneys were okay (b) her uterus was quite large (she just had a baby), and (c) her spleen was the spitting image of Zeke Richter. There was nothing they could do about the spleen, but they treated the pain with muscle relaxants.

      The Castros & friends joined Chuck and Charlie on the boat to watch the Blue Angels air show. Chris watched from shore with Caitlyn. Afterward, while trailering the boat, Chuck got in too deep and submerged his cell phone. With all its phone numbers. Too late to replace. Driving to Minnesota in the morning. Through the rain. With a brand new baby. In a Jeep with new front brakes.  Still at the shop. With the key locked inside. And the spare key missing (see above, regarding forgetful mom).

Chuck phoned the dealer to order a $44 smart key. When the cashier requested $96.00 (“the extra $50 is for labor”), Chuck’s skin became green and his shirt began to tear. Grrr… Her manager asked, “How does $55 sound?”  The Hulk grumbled, “Better.” Chuck returned home to hair-dry his phone.

The next morning the family was on the road. They found lodging at the finest camp-grounds nestled between roaring interstates & busy railroad tracks. Yellowstone National Park was conveniently located on the way, so they stopped. Along the way they also stopped to see Great-grandma Richter, who got to hold two-week-old Caitlyn. Back in the Jeep, they sang:

We’re on the way, we’re on the way

On the way to Julie’s house

We’re on the way, we’re on the way

On the way to Julie’s house

Finally the quartet arrived in Minneapolis, where Julie hosted the 2005 Richterpalooza.  After donning matching T-shirts, participants went to Valley Fair, attended an Irish Festival, toured museums and junk sculptures and grilled food.

After Richterpalooza, the family headed east to South Bend, Indiana where Grandpa Norm was recuperating after doctors removed a section of his lung having a tumor. Wanting to help, Charlie mowed the lawn, and a little bit of the golf course. Wanting to help, Chuck gave Charlie a crew cut. After a few days of quantity time with Chris’ parents, it was time for the drive back to Seattle.

 

      September: Project of the month: painting the house. Second project of the month:  repainting the house with the right colors. The family successfully sold the Honda Accord, telling the prospective buyer, “at these gas prices you can’t afford not to buy this car.” Later, the family went hiking in the mountains and ended up camping. The only open spot in the campground turned out to be 50-feet from the busiest railroad tracks in the world.  “Can I have s’more?”

September 21st, succumbing to congestive heart failure, Chuck's Grandma Richter passed away at the age of 85. The family traveled to South Dakota to say farewell. With her relatives present, Caitlyn decided it would be a good time to get baptized. Before returning to Seattle, she decided to meet her Aunt Nancy & Uncle Mike in IA. Travel tip: The 30-minute cut-off really means 30-minutes. The Richters missed their flight.

October: Charlie joined a soccer league in the T-ball off-season. Of course he was the star player. Caitlyn took her first boat ride, and liked it so much she decided to stay overnight. Chris liked maternity leave so much she decided to wait until the New Year before going back to work. Charlie gave up daycare to keep the family financially solvent. His reward: a borrowed trampoline, set up in time for his birthday. With 40-friends confirmed, the birthday bash had to be cancelled due to a severe cold.  Sorry Charlie.

November: A hike to see ice caves kicked off the month. It was an hour drive before discovering Charlie had no coat or hat. Caitlyn’s pants served as a hat; Chris had an extra coat.

Missing another flight (see travel tip above), the family traveled to San Jose, California to combine Chuck’s work with pleasure. At a winery near Los Gatos, Chris and Chuck were served by a bartender that looked exactly like Chris Guetzloff. They also claim to have seen three acrobats riding a circus horse at another winery.  It’s true! 

The first morning back in Seattle, Chuck awoke. As usual he asked the magic mirror who was the fairest of them all. Seeing a huge red rash, the mirror answered, “not Chuck Richter.” During the next week he amassed quite a collection of nasty looking rashes. They appeared wherever he scratched. Wherever he scratched. Was it something he ate? Sushi in San Jose perhaps? Bed bugs? Too much hand sanitizer? He returned to the dermatologist: “Your guess is as good as mine. Here is a prescription for some ointments (one for your face and groin, one for the rest of the body).” With great Jupiter’s giant red spot surrounding his eye, Chuck told the pharmacy clerk, “So… I have this friend, who has this rash.” She laughed; glanced at the prescription; and then stepped back. 

A Thanksgiving feast was shared with friends. Thanks were expressed for lower gas prices and a healthy new baby (not necessarily in that order). The weekend after the holiday, the family loaded up the pickup and headed for the hills to throw snowballs and chop down a nice looking tree. On the ride home Chris dug through a backpack she hadn’t used since July 28th and exclaimed, “Here they are—The missing Jeep keys!!”

December: The house and the tree have been decorated with lights and ornaments. As per usual, Chris baked gingerbread cookies and biscotti. Chuck made soup. Santa Claus is making his list and double-checking it. Charlie and Caitlyn are on best behavior alert. Scrooge has canceled Chuck’s company Christmas party and the bonuses, so construction on the pool has been halted, but the family is still planning a trip to South Dakota for Christmas.

Can Santa find people who travel on Christmas? Will there be a hay ride? A straw ride? Accordion music?  Eggnog or other Christmas spirits? 

 

 

We look forward to seeing some of you this holiday (the rest we will avoid—just kidding)! If fortune brings us together, don’t you worry. Chuck’s rash has completely cleared up! Really. Just stay away from his friend.

 

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the Richters!

 

Chris, Chuck, Charlie & Caitlyn

8325 NE 161st Place

Kenmore, WA 98028

www.dakotarichter.com