A few years ago we started sending Christmas Letters to our friends and family.  The following are copies of those letters:

2004

To Be Added Later

******************************************************************************************************

To our friends and family – Merry Christmas 2005 

The year 2005 found life for Connie and I to be totally quiet and boring, for about 20 minutes.  The rest was normal chaos.  January 1st I sold my interest in the Farmers Insurance Agency to our son Dwight and moved back to Neodesha, kind of.  I kept my commercial accounts, opened an office in Neodesha, but still have an office in Wichita.  Carole Penny does an outstanding job of running the office out there and I go out about 1 day a week to check on things.  January also found Connie doing the same thing as last year, having babies (calves, thank goodness) and enjoying the farm. 

In March, Johnnie (Connie’s brother) came back from Jamaica for a visit.  He and I went Spoonbill fishing down to Grand Lake.  We had always wanted to try it and figured we were getting old enough that we better get it done.  You are only allowed to keep 1 fish each.  I caught one that weighed 65lbs and all Johnnie caught was it’s little brother.  It’s very little brother.  However we had fun and can now say we’ve done it. 

We spent most of April and May getting the house in Wichita ready to sell, which we did in June.  We had a very successful garage sale, especially when I put up a sign on the final day that said “EVERYTHING FREE”.  Sure beat packing and moving it.  Connie was thrilled when we got the house sold so she could quit coming out to Wichita to paint and clean. 

In July we had our family lake trip.  We rented a house on Beaver Lake for a week and everyone had a great time.  Rick & Kathy brought their boat over along with Michael & Haley.  Dwight & Helen showed up with all 5 kids (Lauren, Ryan, Ian, Logan and Kaila) but weren’t able to stay all week.  However, the grandkids were able to stay, so Grandpa became a professional ‘hook bater’ and’fish ‘taker offer’.  Morgan took vacation from her job in Wichita as a private nanny and joined us.  Johnnie came back from Jamaica again and also spent the week with us.  His daughter, Amy and her husband John flew in from San Antonio.  Connie’s niece, Crystal and her daughter Jordan came over from Wichita.  We had a house full but everyone had a good time.  Between Rick with his boat and me with mine, we pulled kids on tubes, kneeboards, and water skis all over the lake.  The only thing Rick and I found out was when it comes to kids, “you can’t wear em out”.  However, they about killed grandpa.  At least I slept well at night.  Everyone had a good time and we’re going back next year.  It is wonderful to have all the family together and the best part for Connie and I, is watching all 7 grandkids play together and have such great fun.  It’s hard to believe we went all week with no fights, bloody noses, skinned knees or major disasters.

The end of August, Dwight and I finally launched our yacht.  You remember, from last years letter, the 1976 Carver cabin cruiser I told you about.  The one Dwight and I bought that needs some TLC to say the least and the one Connie thought was going to be a 28’ permanent yard ornament.  We finally took it to Lake Keystone, near Tulsa and got it in the water.  It wouldn’t run, but what the heck, it is in the water so now we are official yachtsmen.  It’s finally running, kind of, but that’s another story.  Ask me about it sometime but don’t ask Connie.  It’s what you call a ‘tender’ subject.  She’s only glad it is out of the front yard. 

In September we bought a new Ford Freestar Van and had no place to go, so we took off for Colorado.  We spent a week driving around Colorado then spent a few days with my brother Duane and his wife Jewel in Arvada, which is near Denver.  We had a great time.  Connie had always wanted to see the Indian Cliff Dwellings in southwest Colorado so I went along.  We not only saw the cliff dwellings but also all the typical tourist traps in the state.  We went to the top of Pike’s Peak and almost froze to death.  We took an all day 4x4 ATV trip over some mountain passes where the road was about 6’ wide and the drop off was only a few thousand feet, straight down.  We drove the San Juan Skyway where the drop off was about the same and Colorado forgot to build any side rails on the roads.  With all the money Colorado charges a tourist, you would think they could build a side rail or two.  We were gone about 10 days and I was sure glad to get back to Kansas.  At least around here, when you look over the edge of the road you can see something besides sky. 

The kids all came to the farm on Saturday before Thanksgiving.  We had a great time and of course ate too much.  All in all, we have been blessed with a wonderful year and hope you and your family have had the same.   I’m still driving back and forth to Wichita but now it’s only for a day or two a week.  Connie still has her flowers, her yard, and most important, her cows.  There is something about watching baby calves that helps you remember how good the simple things in life are.  Our blessings are too many to count.  Three children, of whom we are very proud, two daughter-in-laws we love as our own, and most of all seven fantastic grandchildren.  Connie and I hope the Christmas season finds you well and counting your many blessings as all of us sometimes forget to do. 

Merry Christmas to All
  

Mike & Connie Smalley

 
PS:  We have a new address.    We didn’t move but the county moved us.  It is:   21699   275th Road,  Neodesha, KS 66757

*****************************************************************************************************

To our friends and family – Merry Christmas 2006

Another year has rolled around and isn’t it funny how time flies when your having fun. Unfortunately, at our age it flies whether you’re having fun or not. I still have the insurance office in Neodesha and Carole Penny is still running the Wichita operation for me. All we do any more is commercial accounts, mostly car dealers, and they are strung around the state. The Neodesha office has worked exactly as I planned, extremely successful, with about 1 or 2 clients a month coming in. Frankly, I make it a point not to advertise or let any of the locals know I’m here. That way Carole has to do all the work out of Wichita and I get away from the ‘honey do’ projects at "Connie’s" farm. Soon, I’m going to be forced to replace the sleeper sofa in the Neodesha office because it is starting to sag in the middle. I still go out to Wichita a day or two a week, just to make sure Carole doesn’t forget who I am and to sign paychecks. Connie still has her cows and flowers so she has decided, "what else does a person need."

Last year we bought a timeshare on the Texas coast and in March, we exchanged for a week in Branson, MO during spring break. We took all 7 grandkids to Silver Dollar City and they had a ball. Thank goodness we got Dwight and Helen to go along or I don’t think grandma and grandpa would have survived. It was a fun trip but after the first day, grandpa found out how nice those ‘electric’ scooters they have for rent can be. That is the only shot I had at keeping up with 7 grandkids.

April and May were fairly quiet and we got most of our ‘calving’ done so in June we took off on our family lake trip to Grand Lake in Oklahoma. We rented all the cabins at Blue Bluff Harbor Resort for a week and had about 25 people show up. Johnny, Connies brother, came back from Jamaica along with a friend, Tam. Morgan came from Wichita. Rick, Kathy, Michael, and Haley came over and brought their boat. Dwight, Helen, Lauren, Ryan, Ian, Logan, and Kaila also came down from Wichita. Carlene (Connie’s sister) came over with her husband Ronnie, daughter Crystal and granddaughter Jordan. Johnny’s, daughter Amy, came up from San Antonio and his son Andrew, flew in from New Orleans. Also Helen’s parents, George and Tess Koury from Wichita came over along with Helen’s brother Paul. Between our bass boat, pontoon boat and Rick’s ski boat we were quickly on a first name basis with the fuel dock at the marina. Gas at the marina was only $3.85 a gallon so we should be on their Christmas list forever. Enough people were there that I lost count. In fact, when we got together for evening cookouts I think there were 3 or 4 people that no one recognized. They probably stopped by for a free meal when they saw the crowd. This is the 5th year we’ve been doing it and the numbers just keep growing. Next year, the numbers will be even more because Johnny will be a grandpa (twice) and that means ‘more life jackets’. Everyone had a great time and it’s hard to believe, 5 years with no fights, broken bones, or bloody noses.

In July, Dwight and I went down to Keystone Lake and put our 28’ Cabin Cruiser in dry dock. You may remember, that is our 1976 Carver restoration project, or as Connie calls it, "our money pit". By the way, ‘dry dock’ means back to our yard, behind the shop, with a big tarp over it. Connie is thrilled to have her 28’ flower box back. Dwight and I call it our restoration project. Connie refers to it as another one of my ‘wild hairs’ so, if anyone wants to buy a ‘Classic’ cabin cruiser, CHEAP, please call Connie, "Collect".

Summer was almost normal for a change. Morgan moved back home from Wichita and has gone to work at Amazon.com in Coffeyville. We spent July and August waiting for rain, that didn’t come so we weren’t too busy bailing hay, because there wasn’t any hay. We may have enough to get through winter feeding but it will be close. We didn’t do much in August because Carole, my office manager in Wichita, went in for a simple 2 day surgery. Six weeks later, they finally let her out of the hospital. I think the hospital did their best to try and kill her but luckily didn’t succeed. As a result, I spent most of August in Wichita during the week and home on weekends. Over Labor Day, Connie and I exchanged our timeshare for another week in Branson and just her and I went. We were only able to stay 3 or 4 days, so Loretta Brady and her mother came over and finished out the rest of the week at the Condo. Everyone had a great time. In September, Johnny came back from Jamaica again and we had a real nice visit.

October rolled around and again we exchanged for a condo back in Branson (we seem to like that place) and this time Connie along with two friends, Jerry Ann Haug and Virginia Wickham took some ‘girls time off’ and had a great time shopping at the Landing, the flea markets and the outlet malls. Thanksgiving was here before we knew it and we went to Rick & Kathy’s house in Wichita for a nice meal and family get together. December rolled in with about 16" of snow. I don’t know of anything more fun than feeding cattle and cutting ice with 16" of snow on the ground. I don’t know of anything, but I’m sure there must be something. All the kids and grandkids will be coming down to the farm for Christmas, even though it will be a week early as some are going out of town the day after Christmas.

Overall, we have had a good year and hope yours has been the same. The local mortuary has quit calling asking me to make a reservation and neither one of our names has appeared in the local papers obituary section, so we are counting our blessings. Connie and I hope you and your family are blessed with a happy and healthy Christmas season. Merry Christmas to all and may God keep you safe through the holidays.
 

Mike & Connie Smalley

21699 275th Road, Neodesha, KS 66757