Letter to our future Au Pair....

Dear Future Au Pair,

We are the Magill Family and we are so excited that you might be the Au Pair to come and live with us. I am Emily, my husband is Mike and we have 4 children: Grant, Evan, Allyson and Camdyn. We live in Highlands Ranch, Colorado which is a suburb of Denver. I am going to tell you a little bit about each of us and then you will see a bit about what life is like for us.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I am 36 years old. I was raised in Dallas, Texas and moved to Denver with Mike just after we were married in 1998 (almost 10 years ago). I have a large family in Texas and we are fortunate to travel there often to visit them. I love photography, scrapbooking (photo album making), watching movies and just having fun with my family. I enjoy volunteering at Grant's school as often as I can. I have been a stay at home mom for the last 3 years. Prior to that I worked part-time. My career outside of the home is in Information Technology/Computers/Software. I have decided to return to the working world. I consider myself a kind, fun and generous person and really look forward to having you be part of our family.

Mike, my husband, is 39 years old. He is a Chiropractor. Mike has owned his own practice for over 9 years. His office is about 10 minutes from our house and he has approximately 5 people that work at his office. Mike grew up in Colorado very close to where we live now. He loves all sports (football, baseball, hockey, golf, skiing, etc.). He played baseball in high school and college. Mike loves to go to the movies. He is both a wonderful husband and father and loves to spend time with the kids and me. One of his favorite times of the day is bath time and bedtime with the kids.

Grant is our first born son. He is 7 years old and is finishing up 1st grade. He is crazy about playing sports. His favorite sport currently is football. He has played flag football, basketball, baseball and inline hockey. He also loves to play golf, roller blade, ride bikes and swim. Outside of sports he is a wonderful artist and loves to draw and create projects. Grant tends to be very competitive and quite serious at times. He is a kind boy however and loves to have fun and be creative.

Evan is 5 1/2 years old. He is an incredibly loving boy. He also tends to be our comedian at times. Evan enjoys roller blading, riding bikes, swimming, playing computer games and watching Sponge Bob Square Pants. He will be starting kindergarten in July at Grant's elementary school. He is a bright boy and enjoys being challenged. Evan is a dare devil and will try just about anything! He is a very fun kid.

Allyson is our only daughter. She is 3 years old and is so adorable, but very sassy. We also call her Ally. She loves being the girl in the family. She loves to play dress-up, play with her dolls, put lip gloss on and anything else girly! She does love playing outdoors though. She rides her bike, with training wheels, very well. Allyson attends preschool two days a week and loves to go to school.

Camdyn is the baby and he is the sweetest baby! He is currently 15 months old (as of 3/28/08) and walks all around now. Grant and Evan gave Camdyn the nickname of "Spike" before he was born and he is often called that in our house. He is finally getting some hair on his little bald head. He can be a silly little boy and really loves me (his Mommy). He adjusts fine to anyone who cares for him, but when I come in the room it is all about me. Camdyn loves to play outside on his little slide. He adores balls of any kind.

All of the kids are really good eaters, they generally have good manners and seem to enjoy being in our family.

If I could describe our life this is how it would be...busy, but fun! Having 4 children 7 years old and under keeps us busy, but we are never bored! Our school system is year round and therefore Grant and Evan do not get the entire summer off. School will end around May 23rd this year and then the new year will begin around July 7th. Grant and Evan will both attend the same school (Summit View Elementary) and will both ride the bus to school in the mornings. Evan will be in kindergarten and it is only 1/2 day mornings. Evan will need to be picked up at 11:30am each day unless he goes for a play date with a friend or stays for childcare to play with friends longer. Grant's day is 8:35am - 3:30pm at school each week day and he rides the bus home from school. Their school does get weeks at a time off (called off-track) and these usually occur 3 weeks in September, all of December and 3 weeks in March. We actually like the track system and enjoy having those different times off through the year. Allyson will attend preschool 2 days a week this year starting in September. You will take her to school and possibly pick her up, but Mike may be able to pick her up some of the time as well. Camdyn will be at home each day with you. As of now, March 2008, he is still napping 2 times a day. I (Emily) will be working during the week days. Mike works M/W/F all day and then a 1/2 day on Tuesdays and doesn't see patients on Thursdays. He will be home earlier on T & Th. On the weekends we will probably have sports games to attend for the kids and we would love for you to come with us to games, but you are not required to. Practices for the sports will be during the week, but Mike and I plan to be able to take them to these practices. We attend church usually on Sundays and would love for you to join us if you would like to. We like to socialize with friends and family and would love for you to do this with us. The weekday evenings and weekends will pretty much be yours to do what you would like to.

Our home is in a wonderful community. We have 4 recreation centers with swimming pools, exercise facilities, as well as all kinds of other activities. As a member of our household you will have all the privileges to use these facilities. Our home is 2 stories plus a basement. We have 4 rooms on the 2nd floor, which is where we all sleep. Grant and Evan share a room. Camdyn and Allyson have their own rooms. Your room will be in our basement. It is a really nice sized room with a walk in closet and a 3/4 bath (stand-up shower). We have another guest room as well in the basement and an entertainment area with couches and a large TV. On our main level is a family room, office, play room, dining room and kitchen. We have a wonderfully large backyard that the kids love to play in. Our community has tons of parks to play at as well. Our neighbors are very nice and our neighborhood is quite safe. Our climate is so wonderful in Denver. The summer is wonderful here. It can be hot (90+ degrees), but if you find shade it is so pleasant. The fall and spring are wonderful. It can snow during the spring and the fall, but warms up quickly. The winter is really nice too. It will snow, but then melt pretty quickly. As long as the sun is out it doesn't feel terribly cold. You do need a warm coat in the winter and I have plenty to share as well. The community is well developed with great shopping malls, many movie theaters, many parks and all kinds of other activities to do on your time off.

We spend quite a bit of time at home, but we do love to do activities as a family. My extended family all live in Texas and we travel there a few times a year. We do enjoy taking vacations as a family. Mike's mother lives in Denver as well as his sister and her family (husband and 10 year old son). Mike's father lives in Texas as well. Mike's mother has a horse and loves to have the kids spend time with her at the barn, working, playing and riding the horse. We are members of a church right near our home and are involved in numerous activities there. Depending on the season, Grant and Evan are usually on a sports team. We enjoy days at the zoo or museum, attending professional sporting events, socializing with friends and many other things. We live on a cul-de-sac and spend quite a bit of time outside while the kids ride bikes, play basketball, roller blade, etc.

We hope that you are excited to come live with us. We can't wait to bring you into our home and get to know you.

Sincerely,

The Magills (Mike, Emily, Grant, Evan, Allyson and Camdyn)
April 2, 2008