The Engelbrecht-Smyth Odyssey

Allyndreth today joined the ranks of the elementary school student body as she graduated from preschool in a grand ceremony.

2007 in review: Here’s our holiday letter along with new December pictures!

Allyndreth is 4 1/2 going on 30. She was definitely born with an old soul, but her maturity, mental acumen and physical abilities continue to awe and amaze us. Plus, she is absolutely statuesque — many mistake her for a first grader. She goes to preschool three days a week and spends the rest of her time indulging her passion for movement. She goes to dance and gymnastics once a week, and Tae Kwon Do three times a week. She loves the grace and beauty of dance, the tricks and tumbling of gymnastics and the combination of strength and agility in Tae Kwon Do. Getting the opportunity to beat up boys in the dojang isn’t so bad either. In her “free time” Allyndreth has chosen to join two children’s choirs at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (LOPC), Sunbeams (pre-K/Kindergarten choir) and Psalmsters (1st-3rd grade choir). She is angling to join the church’s Gospel Choir as well.

Tyrian just turned 7 and continues to be a perpetual motion machine. His formal sport is Tae Kwon Do, which suits him well with his natural abilities in grace, strength and physicality. He’s always ready for a pick-up game of soccer, basketball, football, capture the flag or anything that involves running, running and more running. First grade has been a boon to him and his knowledge is exploding in the three Rs. His favorite subject is science and his school has a great science program to accommodate this interest. His teacher, Mrs. Blair, is one of our greatest blessings of 2007. Tyrian can build anything out of anything and is always involved in an engineering project of some sort. He is infinitely creative and we marvel at what his brain comes up with. He is also a gifted vocalist and sings in the Psalmsters choir at LOPC.

2007 brought Matt a new job. In the spring, he began BARTing to San Francisco to fulfill his new role as SWAT Team Manager at StubHub. Although he relishes the levels of responsibility and technical challenges at StubHub, the greatest fringe benefit has been the chance to bury his banker’s clothes deep in the closet and don jeans and a T-shirt again as God intended a dotcom guy to wear. On the side, Matt still does some consulting work for his own company, WebPlumbers, has myriad irons in the fire on personal projects and sings with the Chamber Singers at LOPC.

In the summer of 2007, Christina made a career shift from freelance writer to children’s choir director at LOPC. Through the fall she taught two classes for the Sunbeams choir and led one rehearsal a week for Psalmsters. Both programs are new to the church and have proven very successful in the first three months. Sunbeams is even launching a third weekly class starting in January to meet demand. Christina is continuing her writing by posting weekly columns on Art And About, the Web version of the entertaining soapbox column she used to write for Contra Costa Newspapers about the vital role the arts play in our daily lives. And she satisfies her love of singing as a member of the LOPC Chamber Singers. She continues to work her way through the house redecorating room by room. With only the laundry room left to transform, she is turning her design energy toward the backyard in early 2008. Poor Matt keeps thinking he gets to put his tools away…

May the New Year bring you peace of heart and joy of spirit!

Ready for a fright? We’ve added new pictures four months in a row!

Head over to the Halloween Album!

In other news, Christina is now posting weekly columns on ArtAndAbout.com. This is the Web incarnation of the Art and About column she used to write for the Contra Costa Sun. New columns go up on Sundays, and you can also link to the archive that has all her printed columns from 2001-2006.

Tyrian and Allyndreth went to the San Francisco Open Tae Kwon Do tournament and did wonderfully… check out the pictures on the family gallery along with the other new albums we’ve posted!

We’re BAAAaaaack!!!

For those of you keeping score, it has been almost a year since our last posting of pictures. Our site needed some technological retooling, and some of you know that all of our spare time over the last several months has been spent on home improvement projects.

We had a couple of big events this month that finally drove us to take the plunge and prepare the new systems. So here are those pictures, as well as the entire year since last July!
There are still some kinks we’re working out, so please forgive the photos that don’t rotate until you view the larger version. We appreciate your patience, and without further ado…

• Tyrian’s Preschool Graduation (June 9)
• Allyndreth’s Gymnastics Recital (June 9)
• … or you can explore all the albums!

You’ll also find some new tricks as you browse… if you really enjoy any pictures, you can view them larger or even at full size if you want to print them at home. If that is too much ink for you to use, you can also add photos to a cart and buy them at some online photo printers. I’ve never tried it, so let me know how it works if you do!

Thank you for not pestering us too much during the hiatus – we won’t let it get this far again. Ever. Wander, have fun, and here’s a little taste…

-Matthew

PS: You can still get to the older pictures, if you wish.