Another year has come and gone. We are grateful for you and want to share some more about what's going on with our family. I am still at the Census Bureau. We have able to hire some new staff and contractors. I am happy for the help and enjoy working with my new coworkers. This year we published several documents with our plans for conducting Geographic Programs to support the 2020 Census. The commute seems to get longer, but I am definitely grateful for a good job.
This summer James was on a detail in another area working on best practices for cost benefit analysis for all of the Department of the Labor. He was very busy early this year working on a regulation, which worked to limit conflicts of interest to the financial industry and put billions of dollars back into investors pockets. With the results of the presidential election, he may very well be revising many of the regulations he has worked on under the Obama administration.
There are so many beautiful places in our country. We spent spring break in Pennsylvania, visiting Gettysburg, Hershey, and more. On a separate trip we were able to take a trip to Philadelphia to learn more about the founding of our country and visit the LDS Temple Open House. We've discovered the Shenandoah River State Park, which is pretty close and features a ZIP line. We purchased some tubes and life jackets and have enjoyed and enjoyed tubing down the Rappahannock and Shenandoah Rivers.
Over the summer we took the kids to Utah and Idaho, and were able to visit my parents on their mission in Salt Lake City. (They are now back home in Las Vegas, and continue to volunteer at the church history center remotely.) We were also able to spend some time with my sister, her family, and some extended family in Utah. In Idaho we were able to reconnect with the Butikofer family. We also visited some family graves, toured the manufacturing company where James' Dad works, hiked a volcano, camped in Island Park, visited with good friends, drove through Grand Teton National Park, and enjoyed many other fun adventures. What a blessing it is to be with family! Both Mom and Dad Butikofer are now retired, although Dad will still be working part time. Mom is still on oxygen in part from struggling with pneumonia earlier this year.
The kids and their mother moved this year to Warrenton, Virginia. It's a similar distance from our house. Joseph is 17. He is a certified life guard and working at the Recreational Center in Warrenton. Some of Joseph's interests this year have included poi, backpacking, nursing, swing dance, and harmonica. Jonas is serving as the Teachers Quorum President in his ward in Warrenton. He was able to attend two youth conferences with our church this summer. He turned 15 this year and worked at the Goshen scout camp for part of the summer. Jonas is a good teacher and still loves to cook, swim, and listen to music. Hyrum is 11. He was able to attend scout camp with his Dad, and has earned four merit badges. He was able to share the same talk in two ward for both of his Primary programs. He enjoys art and enjoys learning. Jenna (10) has been growing the most this last year, and now needs larger shoes than I do. She has a variety of interests, including the anime show Avatar, running around the house, Japanese culture, and games. Joy will be turning 8 in January and is looking forward to getting baptized. She enjoys ice skating and being active. They all
love to swim, and like to spend time at the pool. We are so fortunate to be part of their development and growth.
I have an awesome husband who makes sure I get to visit some new lighthouses every year. We spent some time camping in Ohio along Lake Erie in September and added 16 new lighthouses to my list. The Census Bureau also helped out this year and I got to see 4 lighthouses in the Los Angeles area. James also came out and we were able to visit with my brother Josh and his family in San Diego.
James enjoys working with the young men as scout master, although he would like to get more campouts scheduled. I am now compassionate service leader, and struggle with how to be of best assistance there. I am humbled as I think of the blessings in my life, and I try to be better at recognizing them. This year I have been trying to collect a few stories of the miracles in our family. There have been multiple times we have been lead to know the will of the Lord in our life, guided, and been protected.
We pray that you will also recognize the true source of love and joy, and offer our well wishes for the year to come.
Love the Butikofers,
James, Carrie, Joseph, Jonas, Hyrum, Jenna, and Joy
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