Merry Christmas to all our friends,


The big event of the year was the arrival (FINALLY!) on February 23 of Marcus Spencer Michel, all 9 lbs. 2 oz of him. He is a happy and mellow boy who likes to imitate Alec playing the violin. Alec is quite an amazing big brother. He showers Marcus with love and encouragement ("Can I kiss him one more time? Good job, Marcus!"). Believe it or not, I once found him cleaning up Marcus's spit-up. Sometimes Alec's hugs give new meaning to the phrase 'strong love', so Marcus has turned out to be a particularly tough little guy.

Though we're not quite sure how, we do continue with professional activities. John performed Dvorak Concerto in both June and November, and Carrie is serving as President of the Washington American String Teachers Association. We are so happy with our students this year, having a large batch of talented and delightful freshman. The fourth year of the Icicle Creek Music Festival went off splendidly, with near full houses for most of the concerts.

With the establishment of a joint chamber music residency between Icicle Creek and Central Washington University, we are now able to devote half of our time to the Kairos Quartet! Goodbye music theory and history, hello Beethoven and Mendelssohn!

If you have email, please write us at michelj@cwu.eduor rehkopfc@cwu.edu

We wish you joy, as we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Love,

John, Carrie, Alec, Marcus and Rikka