Merry Christmas, Krystle's Christmas Letter

Dear friends and family,

We hope this letter finds you all well and in good spirits! Since our life now resembles something normal, we finally have time to sit and write our first annual Christmas letter! 2006 has been an incredibly eventful year!

In the last part of 2005, I was living in Flagstaff with my then pregnant friend Sarah Lemon finishing my elementary education degree at Northern Arizona University, and tending to Sean-Delle the cat’s every whim. I worked part time teaching preschool to help ends meet. Vincent was living in Phoenix flying for an air ambulance/air cargo company called Sun Western Flyers. Sun Western is not exactly “Fortune 500” material, and they treat their employees and aircraft like second-class citizens. Getting cargo from point “A” to point “B” was the only priority. Aside from that, being two hours from each other didn’t help matters. However, this was the only way to pay bills. Thank you so much to my parents and Chris Bornemisza and Rhiannon Richards for being there for us when we needed places to stay. Without them, we never would have made it on Vince’s meager salary.

The conclusion of 2005 was difficult, because my friend and roommate Sarah moved to Phoenix where she had more family support. This left me living alone for two and a half months, seeing Vince only on the weekends. Still, the conclusion of the college degree was worth it! In January, I moved to Phoenix where I finally got to live with my husband and begin student teaching. I was under the supervision of Paige Lewis, an amazing first grade teacher at Desert Thunder school in Goodyear, and Vince was still working for Sun Western. In March, Vince and I moved out of the homes of friends and family to our own place..sort of. We rented the master suite of a large ranch home in Tolleson, which is west Phoenix. Our roommates, Mike and Sue, were more like an extension of family which was a twist of fate considering it all started with us answering a newspaper ad. We had a great time living in a quiet neighborhood with three horses, a dog, a cockatiel, about a dozen chickens, and two cats! Sean-Delle LOVED having a wide variety of things to chase! It was a tough semester since Vince was not happy in his job, and I wasn’t much help financially since student teaching is really full time teaching –unpaid- with another teacher in the room.

January marked the marraige of our friends Joslyn and Jeremy LaMantia! We were excited to attend their beautiful wedding in Costa Mesa, California. They were kind enough to let all of us who drove from out of town stay in their wonderful home!

On February 24^th, Sarah gave birth to her son Lewis James by c- section. It was awesome, except for the events that followed. In the first week of March, during my spring

Break from student teaching, Sarah was put back in the hospital for a serious staph infection. I spent my break caring for the baby during the day, while Sarah’s mom was at the hospital. I spent nights with Sarah in the hospital to help keep her sane, while her mother went home to get sleep. A brand new mother being separated from her son is NOT a pretty picture, but Sarah is one of the strongest people we know, and she managed to pull through; even after the infection sprang back shortly after her release from the hospital. Mother, son, and grandma are now well and living in Okinawa, Japan.

Our lives were now back to status quo, with me student teaching and Vincent flying cargo out of Sky Harbor International. Then, April came. One night that month Vince told me he had the job opportunity of a lifetime, and he had to fly to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to pursue it. He heard that a company by the name of Keystone Aerial Surveys would be hiring survey pilots to build their western branch of the company here in Benson, Arizona. This was wonderful news, except for the fact that I had just been offered four teaching jobs at NAU’s career day the previous month. These jobs were all in Phoenix. We decided we’d play it by ear.

During Vince’s trip to Philadelphia, he learned that this opportunity with Keystone was too good to pass up! They would be paying him a decent salary, regardless of weather and flight time. Besides that, summers with Keystone mean going on the road and traveling the country for the department of agriculture land use survey project. At first I was dreading being apart again, but then Vince informed me that I’d be going too, as his aerial photographer! After lots of debate and sleepless nights, I decided to take a deep breath and go for the plunge taking a job that had nothing to do with my degree.

I graduated from NAU with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education on May 12th, and our friends and family joined us for a wonderful party the next day! It included my wonderful in-laws and my cousin Joe, both traveled all the way from San Diego! My 7^th grade teacher, Paula Drake, also attended my graduation despite a recent car accident, as did our friend Mike Denoff. He came from LA! What a wonderful treat to see them all! It gave us a chance to say goodbye for the summer.

The day after my graduation party, we flew to Keystone’s home office in Philadelphia; together this time. When I say home office, I really mean home. We were greeted with open arms and everything we needed to feel comfortable in our new setting. Vince was learning the ropes as a pilot and me as a photographer. While we were there, we got to take a trip to New Jersey and New York City! Not to mention seeing everything Philadelphia has to offer! By the end of June, we were sent solo as a survey crew in our trusty Cessna 206 complete with a Leica RC30 aerial camera. Nervous beyond all imagination, we flew ourselves from Northeast Philadelphia Airport to our first base in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. We encountered weather along the way, so we stopped in Fremont, Ohio overnight to ride it out. While we were there, we had the opportunity to check out grandma Ammann’s old stomping grounds! It’s a beautiful little town! The next morning we made it to Rhinelander, and started our first day shooting pictures. From then on, we made the best team in the air!! We finished in Rhinelander, the home of the Hodag, a fictitious monster that eats white bulldogs, and moved on to Bismarck, North Dakota. We were stuck there for over a month, mostly because we had very few good picture days due to thunderstorms. The good news is we had another crew there to keep us company! Lee Barthold and Terry Knight stuck with us at our first major base to make sure we had a handle on things and share the thousands of pictures we needed to take! During one of our many stormed out days, we drove our rental car to Rapid City, South Dakota, and visited our friend Tim Trautman. He was stationed at Ellesworth Air Force Base. He took us to Mount Rushmore! That is truly a sight to see, and we feel blessed that we got to see it! While in the Dakotas we also got to see Ft. Mandan and Ft. Abraham Lincoln. It was interesting to see how General Custer and his men lived at the time of his last stand. Ft. Mandan was intriguing because Lewis and Clark’s journey across the west really started the tensions between the “white man” and the natives.

It was during our tenure in Bismarck that I realized I wanted to make the job as a photographer a seasonal event. I knew it was still in my heart to teach. So, knowing we’d be moving to Benson, Arizona, at the end of the summer, I researched the job market in nearby school districts. Sure enough, Benson Unified School District had job openings in first, second, and sixth grade. I took a shot in the dark and faxed my resume, paperwork, and application from our hotel in Bismarck. They scheduled a phone interview with me the next day, and within five hours made the decision to hire me! I was offered the second and first grade positions, and I chose first grade because I was familiar with what they needed to know at that grade level, and I knew I’d be comfortable with kids my baby sister’s age! Shortly after, we were successful in securing a place to live via mail, fax, and telephone. Vince and I were ecstatic!

So, now that we knew we had established jobs once we got home, we went through the rest of the summer completely at ease. Our second base was in Billings, Montana. That was gorgeous!! Words cannot possibly describe that area of our country. We were fortunate to see the battle ground at Little Bighorn, as well as the reenactment of the battle itself. That is one piece of history where there was truly not a right or wrong answer. Flying at 15,000 feet over the beginnings of the Rocky Mountains wasn’t a bad experience, either. J Up to this point, we realized we had followed the trail of Lewis and Clark! This inspired us to research that part of history further. They really opened a lot of opportunities for the settlers of the time!

We spent about two weeks in Billings, and then we found ourselves taking survey pictures in Greeley, Colorado. What a neat town! We agreed it was one of our favorite bases. We were fortunate to be there during the 4^th of July. This is when the Greeley stampede takes place, which is a huge Independence Day celebration that includes concerts and a rodeo! After our flight for the day, we bought tickets to the rodeo and carnival. We decided the concert would be a little much. Just when we were cheering on the best team ropers in the event, the lady behind us said she wasn’t interested in the concert so she offered us her tickets she earned from her company! Since Big and Rich were on the schedule that night, I quickly accepted and did not give Vincent much choice in the matter. What a night!! While we were in Greeley, we were fortunate enough to hear that our friend Jena Hess was in Estes Park visiting her family! We took a day of thunderstorms and made the trip from Greeley to Estes Park in our trusty rental car. Jena’s family welcomed us very warmly with a good, home cooked dinner and cookies! We had the opportunity to do some hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, one of our new favorite getaways. It is amazingly beautiful there. Nothing beats being in the mountains with good friends and some trail mix!

When the points in Greeley were photographed, we were sent to Colorado Springs, by far our top base of the summer. We got to stay in a suite at the Radisson, which was right next to the airport! We had a view of Pikes Peak, which of course we had to check out. It’s funny, because the elevation of Pikes Peak is 14,110 ft. This is just about the elevation at which you need oxygen if you are in an aircraft! The view from the top is phenomenal! It was a great place to spend our second wedding anniversary! While we were there, we took the short trip to Denver. What an amazing city! It’s this actual metropolis in the middle of the mountains! It makes you wonder how it got there. And of course, being in Colorado, we had to go to Golden and tour the Coors brewery, followed by the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Ft. Collins! We decided Bud rules as king over Coors any day!

The summer was wrapping up in late July, and we figured we’d be flying straight home from Colorado Springs. We were wrong! Keystone had one more place for us to clear of photo points. El Paso, Texas!! We were thrilled! We’ve always wanted to see if everything is really bigger in Texas! We also missed..I mean REALLY missed authentic Mexican food! Guess where our first stop was once we got to El Paso? Yes, the closest Tex/Mex restaurant to the airport. We shot a small number of pictures there and saw a small piece of the Lonestar State. Then it was homeward bound.

My grandparents picked us up from Goodyear airport on July 29^th. We went home and spent the afternoon packing to move because I had to be at new staff orientation in Benson the first week of August! Vince flew the 206 to Benson that night, and my brother and I drove down to Benson to seal the deal on our duplex rental and pick Vince up. Then life proceeded with a drive back to Tolleson and more packing. Thank goodness for Charlene and Daniel!! Being the awesome friends they are, they helped us move all of our worldly possessions from Tolleson to Benson, a three hour drive. Daniel also changed the radiator in my Jeep Cherokee. We will be forever grateful. Charlene and I would walk through fire for each other, I think.

The move to Benson was smooth. Benson is a tiny town about 45 minutes east of Tucson. Population 5000. Until Wal-Mart opened on November 8^th, we had to drive to either Tucson or Sierra Vista for any kind of shopping! It was a tough adjustment, but it’s so serene and untouched here that you forget the inconvenience!

It didn’t take Vince long to get settled in with the Keystone office here in Benson, and his Fall/Winter photographer, Judd Lowe. The primary work during the non-summer months is topography, or map making. That means taking more pictures at once and using a different portion of the photography system. It also means staying in Arizona, so my husband comes home every night!! I am fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to learn this type of photography, too, because I’m the backup weekend photographer! Occasionally I get to dust the rust off of my photo brain. J For the first time in quite a while, Vince is very content with work and life in general. He is also flight instructing on the side.

I was a little overwhelmed that first month of school, but things are smooth sailing in Mrs. Ammann’s first grade class these days. J Teaching in a small town comes with challenges I didn’t expect, despite the fact that I grew up in just that. Perhaps I was sheltered. Only time will tell what will become of some of these kiddos, but I’m learning I can’t make everything personal.

After we got settled in after the move, life didn’t stand still! At the beginning of October, my friend Nikki Miller called me and informed me that she was getting married in Las Vegas! I was her only friend in attendance; everybody else who made the trip was either her family or that of the groom. The wedding was gorgeous, and I was lucky enough to be there for Nikki on her special day! Another exciting aspect of that trip was staying with and spending time with Gena McIntyre (and of course, Chris, too)!! I need many more visits with that girl!

Around Halloween, my grandfather had to have colon surgery, which had the whole family pretty nervous. However, being the stubborn soul he is, things went just fine with zero complications, and a positive outcome. Since October just decided it had to be an eventful month, my parents closed escrow on their new house, too!! It’s a very comfortable home in Litchfield Park, also in the west valley of Phoenix. They are very happy there! My brother didn’t have to change schools, and my sister’s school is a gorgeous, brand new facility! Markus, my brother, just applied to Arizona State University and is anxiously waiting to take his SAT’s. He also is anticipating driving his new Chevy Cobalt through the Scum Devil (I mean Sun Devil) campus! Also, Joshua Lawrence McBride was born to our good friends John and Audrey on October 24^th!! We can’t wait to meet him!

November was a good time to catch up with Vince’s side of the family! We spent Thanksgiving at Auntie Gail’s house in La Habra. Almost everybody was there! It was good to see grandpa more than anything. He was having a good day and he enjoyed his dinner! It was very nice to spend time with mom and dad since we don’t get to see them much these days. Things seem to be going pretty well for them in San Diego. We also got to catch up with Ben and Patsy Cartwright while we were there! What a treat to see them! We also had to harass our friends Katie and Larry Crampton. J We truly miss living within such a short drive of them like we used to. Going back there always makes us a bit homesick.

Now that we are beginning December, we already have events for this month as well. Vince’s friend and old roommate, Rex Nichols, and his girlfriend Gennie, welcomed the arrival of Alina Nichols on December 7^th. One of my college roommates and sorority sister, Autumn, and her husband Brain, welcomed Maegan Hope MacDermott into the world on the 10^th!

Here’s to a happy and joyful holiday season for all of you from our family to yours!!

Love,

Vincent, Krystle, and Sean-Delle Ammann