Wow! Over half the year is done. It seems as if yesterday was the Christmas holiday and now it is in the 100s outside. The first half of 2005 is going to be hard to beat.

 

Dirk: The new and much smaller school has done a lot of good. Most of the concussion problems are gone and he is feeling a lot better. The last concussion was in early November of 2004 and the worst remaining problem from the server door falling off is trouble with his arm. The doctors originally thought it was part of the neck injury, but it turned out to be its own little nasty.

 

Dirk has had a lot of fun teaching again. We are also back to meeting people everywhere. His students and their families stop us at WalMart, the movie theatre, church, ... just to say hi and chat a while. Dirk also is building a web site for the school this summer. The administration had some interesting requests and you can watch the development online at www.westbrookisd.com. There have been huge improvements at the school as Dirk has added their own e-mail, updated their servers, automated a bunch of the network functions and is installing a system to allow the staff and students to access their work from any Internet connection. One of the additions will automatically update selected files on all the computers they log into, even at home.

 

Valerie: The lady of the house is back at home full time. Since the move in December, Valerie has been staying during the week near her job in Hillsboro to finish out her contract. That is almost five hours from Westbrook. Coming home on Friday nights late and leaving Sunday in the late afternoon is a real pain and everyone is so happy she is home.

 

Valerie will now be working in Big Spring, about 30 minutes away, as an educational diagnostician at the High School there. She is starting work on her mid-management certification in San Angelo this Fall. (That is where she received her Masters.) The final goal is a job as a Special Education director. It should take about two years to finish her certification program and then it will be time to start looking for a Directorship.

 

Damon: Our family baseball player made the All-Stars this season. His regular team is one of the Holiday events as they have a game on July fourth. Damon has worked hard in baseball and we are very proud. Mom and Dad are trying to get the Midland Rockhounds' scout to check out his playing - that would be cool.

 

Damon and Ann have finished their move into a nice apartment on the South side of Milwaukee. The apartment has a sun room on the back, hardwood floors and a porch on the front. We are all very happy for them and wish them the best.

 

Megan: The newly weds are enjoying their first year in the middle of a lot of change. First was the move to Georgia. Then the teaching job in Alabama for her first taste of the classroom. After that it was on to the State of Washington and Adam's first duty station.

 

While Adam settles in at his new command, Megan will be out trying to find a job teaching. Being from out of state and having only a little experience will be a challenge. However, Megan has good references from college and her job in Alabama. Having a degree from the University of Madison will be a big help as it is famous for education. We are sure that it will be no time at all before we receive the call about her new job.

 

Dawn: After four years Dawn graduated in May from Marquette. The school is very difficult and she did a great job. Her husband Shawn now has two years finished toward his Architecture degree. Dawn and Shawn moved into a new apartment in Milwaukee. They are going to a larger location that will allow animals. It seems that a dog is joining her family.

 

The wedding in Hawaii was beautiful. Over the next two weeks we will post the wedding pictures on www.dirk.dykstra.com along with other pictures from Hawaii. Dawn and Shawn were married over looking the beach in Maui. The weather was perfect and they even enjoyed a rainbow over their heads right after the wedding.

 

We spent an entire week on Maui. Thanks to Dawn and Shawn we enjoyed a trip up the volcano, a trip along the cliffs to Hana, some wonderful meals, a snorkeling trip, a swim with the sea turtles, a visit to a plantation, a visit to the sugar cane museum, many hours on the beach, a second wedding, and so much more. Watch www.dirk.dykstra.com for these photos over the next two weeks.

 

Holly: In March Holly gave birth to a baby boy - Jordan. There are already pictures of Jordan on the website - so enjoy. We have many more that will be going on during the next two weeks. Holly is doing great and has announced her wedding - November 10th.

 

Holly also has a new job working for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She does clerical work and enjoys the job and her new boss. Holly and Sergio are doing good and both really love having little Jordan around.

 

Lisa: Now we have a cheerleader again. Lisa made the cheerleading squad for next school year and went to a camp in Abilene before the trip to Hawaii. She is doing great in school and has made lots of friends. Lisa has a full time babysitting job for the summer and is therefore exempt from all Saturday chores except her room. (This is a big thing.)

 

Lisa is working on her drivers license right now. She has finished the school driving part and is waiting for her sixteenth birthday to get her license. (Here drivers ed is free.) Lisa is also Jordan's godmother.

 

Dirk II: At the end of the school year Dirk is back with almost all "A"s. His teachers here really like him and he is rather popular with the girls in his class. He is looking forward to starting his High School year and here they have an eighth grade graduation, which he participated in. We hope to post some of those pictures on the web site also. (We may run out of room.) In High School he plans on taking a bunch of computer classes and is excited about being a Freshman.

 

The coach asked Dirk to be the manager for the football team and he has a couple of the top players who want him on the team. This past spring Dirk brought the Junior High boys into second place at one of their tournaments with his Tennis play. Dirk also purchased Lisa's electric scooter and is all over town with it.

 

As you can see, this was one of the busiest semesters yet. With two grandchildren in the family "Gammy" needed an upgrade on her phone. She now has unlimited incoming calls.

 

The Hawaii trip was the first plane flight for Dirk II and Lisa. With the kids and grandkids spread around the country it looks as if Mom and Dad will need to plan for summers driving around.

 

July Fourth weekend. Valerie's birthday on Saturday - A trip to Midland to see War of the Worlds and lunch at Fazolli's followed by some birthday shopping at a few stores, then back to Colorado City to watch the fireworks. Sunday - A trip to Clovis, New Mexico for the 3rd Annual UFO Music Fest. (On the way home we had the famous Holly burgers at Holly's Drive-In in Post. Monday the Fourth - Breakfast at the Colorado City Airport for the 43rd Annual July Fourth Fly-In. We followed that with a quiet day of reading, cards, a little TV and ended the day with family fireworks.

 

We hope that your spring semester was as fantastic as ours. We look forward to hearing from you about your family and wish you the best.

 

Love and God Bless,

 

The Dirk D Dykstra Family