MATTHEW

Matt loves people! He loves to be with people, to talk to people, to watch people, and to be friends with lots of people. He's a total people person. He laughs often, and really likes making others laugh as well. It's probably his favorite thing to do! Matt's hobbies include skiing, rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, and just about any other outdoor activity. He enjoys music, and he plays both the piano and the violin. He also likes to read, to learn, and to do new things. He loves to go out, but he also likes an occasional night just watching a movie or reading a book.

Matt loves to play games. He likes playing all kinds of games with both family and friends, and he does like to win (which Renee doesn't always appreciate, because if he wins, she doesn't!) :) He likes going out to eat (food is a big passion of his), and he can often be found exploring and traveling to new places. He loves to work out and keep himself healthy by lifting weights and jogging. He loves basically all water sports (wake boarding, water skiing, jet skiing, etc.) although he's never done them consistently, since he's never owned a boat. Matt really loves making something out of nothing, like models, furniture, and starting businesses. He's quite good with animals, especially tropical fish. He has 3 different aquariums in our home, and he often breeds and sells different kinds of tropical fish to help pay for new fish.


RENEE

Renee loves to go exploring. Currently, her exploring usually includes visiting museums, seeing historical sites and beautiful architecture, going to theater and musical performances, finding cute little shops with unusual items, and really good restaurants. In the summer, she loves to explore the outdoors and go camping, hiking, rock climbing, and kayaking. She enjoys going to the beach and playing in the ocean as well as exploring the tide pools and rocky areas. In the winter, she likes skiing and sledding. She also likes to occasionally go horseback riding and water skiing. Renee also really loves people, and she can talk for hours to a good friend or to someone she just met. She loves to travel and has gone to Europe, Mexico, all around the Caribbean, and she even did study abroad in China.

At home, Renee has many interests to keep her occupied. She likes to paint and do interior and graphic designing. She is very hands on and her delicate nature belies her ability to do the manual labor often required for such projects. She enjoys music and likes to play the piano. She loves to read and learn about whatever is currently piquing her interest. She often gets so excited about something she doesn't know that she'll find books and internet sites and learn EVERYTHING about it! She then enjoys sharing what she has learned with Matt. Renee really likes to dance, particularly salsa dancing. She also likes keeping fit, field hockey, and fashion.


JAEDEN

Jaeden is a thrill seeker! He loves to be spun, tossed, whirled, and zoomed anywhere and everywhere. He has a contagious laugh, and Dad can only throw him around for a little while before he's laughing so hard with Jaeden that he can't lift him again without taking a break to let the laughing out.

Another of Jaeden's hobbies is playing with the chickens. He'll follow them around singing to them, feeding them, or trying to catch them without much success. He loves all animals, and will be captivated for hours at the zoo. He loves to read with Mommy and Daddy, and he can even read several words on his own already! He also loves water, and will happily play in the sprinklers for hours at a time.

He loves cars, trucks, and airplanes, and he'll be happy for hours when he gets to stand on our porch and watch the garbage truck go by. He figured out all on his own what sound cars make, and he even recognizes and points out the cars of his friends in the parking lot.

Jaeden also loves playing with his friends, and he will often randomly yell out his friends names when we're driving in the car, and then tell us that we need to go visit them. It is not uncommon for parents of his friends to tell Matt and Renee that "Jaeden is the easiest kid to babysit... we'll leave him in the front room with our daughter, and the two of them will laugh hysterically for hours!" Jaeden loves people, animals, cars, and thrills. Typical boy!



FAMILY

We feel strongly that family time is very important, and we make a real effort to spend lots of time together as a family each week. In the summers, we spend a lot of time going to the zoo, playing in the back yard, picking and eating berries from the garden, hiking, camping, going on walks, and swimming at the lake or the beach. In the winters, we go snow skiing and to the zoo (it's easy for Jaeden to find the animals when everything except the animals is white!) We also like to go out to eat with friends and explore the various museums and neighborhoods in the city. Jaeden is quite the charmer, and between smiles and friendly words, most waitresses or neighbors are putty in his hands! Renee and Matt also enjoy working out together during the week and find that it gives us time each day to focus on each other, and to just talk. We all love to travel together and to explore new places, cultures, and destinations. While most of our trips have been to visit family or friends, we have also taken trips together to various places across the country, and hope to explore more foreign destinations in the future.