Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Continuing last year’s approach we’ll hit the highlights by topic rather than calendar.

Topic #1 – the kids. No weddings this year, but continued educational progress. Erin completed her bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University. Kim and Tim completed associate’s degrees from Shoreline Community College and Tim also completed his high school graduation from Shorewood High School. Ben has transitioned from his time in the sushi world to working for classmates.com in the graphics world as he continues his time at North Seattle Community College. Jen began a respiratory therapist program at Seattle Central Community College and continues to work for UW Medical. Erin and Jess remained at their same employers but did relocate within the Seattle city limits from Shoreline.

Kim worked full time for Mercer Island Parks and Recreation this summer with their kids’ camps and now is working the holidays as temporary help for Macy’s. Come January she will depart for her final two years of college to complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Portland. Tim began work as a lot attendant for a local car dealership full time this summer and then scaled back to half-time in the fall as he began his final two years of a bachelor’s degree in business at the local branch or Eastern Washington University (making the second screaming eagle in the family).

To celebrate Kim and Tim’s completion of their associate’s degree we took a cruise in early September. We flew to Anchorage, Alaska, spent several days visiting local sites of interest (at least to Dave) and then took a train to Seward, Alaska. From there we took a seven day cruise from Seward to Vancouver, British Columbia. During the trip we got to visit Tom and Deanna – Dave’s cousins, thanks for the gracious and generous hospitality; Mike and Darlene – awesome seeing you and the girls and Larry Dalberg – you went above and beyond, huge thanks! A special thanks to Shiela and Larry who drove from Anchor Point to spend the day with us in Seward on the Kenai Fjords tour. Great scenery and great friends. And we saw moose, beluga whales, orca whales, sea otters, mountain goats, bald eagles, sea lions, seals, salmon, glaciers and more. Alaska is so beautiful and so pristine!

On the home front, Tim moved in with us on his birthday (April 28^th for those curious) while he finished his high school and community college time and will be there as he finishes his time at EWU. Kimberly moved in at the end of her apartment lease in the U-district for the remainder of this year before she moves to Portland.

In the world of travelling, our other adventure was in November. In celebration of Dave’s parents golden anniversary this year (that’s fifty years married for those too young to even know of this milestone) we took them to Nuevo Vallarta for a week (yeah, we got to benefit from their accomplishment also). We spent a week in the sunny 90 degree weather, soaking in the pool and enjoying pina coladas before returning to Seattle’s “snowmageddon”. Long story short, Kimberly spent nine hours getting from our house to the airport to pick us up (while we waited in baggage claim with the rest of the stranded travelers). We are grateful that Kim made it and made it safely. Hotels were full, taxis were stuck and our options were limited. On a smaller scale, we took a trip to Chilliwack, British Columbia for Tim to participate in their dance festival and to visit the Abbottsford/Mission branch of the family. We always enjoy our trips to see all the folks and appreciate the hospitality when we visit.

Next, our musical adventures continue. We continue to sing and play weekly at our church (Lake Forest Park Presbyterian) in various ways, including the worship band, the choir, the chorale and leading songs during our “traditional” service. We also performed for a variety of local venues, such as retirement homes, senior centers, Christmas tree lightings and caroling. We also spent time with our friends Buck and Elizabeth as the “Second Edition” and performed our folk music at Suncadia, the Bohemian Mining Days festival, the Taste of Edmonds and the Panorama senior community. It is such fun for us every time we get together and make music.

As is our tradition we spent New Year’s with Kevin and Heather in Lebanon, Oregon. Our visit actually began with us singing for the wedding of one of Dave’s co-workers at the Willamette Valley Vineyards. Then on to Kevin and Heather’s for some good food, good times and great laughs.

It was a pretty light year on the sailboat. Two trips out on the water, to be exact. One weekend trip with Kim and Mike (yep, same boyfriend from high school) and we had great weather and great crabbing. Then back up the next weekend with Kevin and Heather and we had rain but still got crabs. Perhaps next year we’ll have more time.

For something new and healthy, Lynn signed us up for a class to learn to run a 5K race for those who don't run at all. We ran the first week of class on the track for ninety seconds and both thought we'd never make it through the eight weeks of class to run the full three miles. But by practicing several times a week and a program that gradually increased our times and distances, we successfully completed the "Furry 5K" run through Seward Park with our Abigail. It was a rainy Father's day weekend but we made it in respectable time. And a while later we ran the "Run of the Mill" 5K in Mill Creek (where Lynn used to work). Now we have to plan next year's agenda.

This year’s big health news was dad’s brain surgery. In October the doctor’s removed an acoustical neuroma (benign tumor) that was growing against his ear drum and nerves. While we haven’t seen a great improvement in the hearing that was lost prior to the surgery we are glad to see his quick recovery (able to go to Mexico five weeks after surgery) and the minimal impact on his balance (a common side effect). Thanks to all who sent their support and prayers.

To all our friends and family, our wishes for a very Merry Christmas and the best of New Years!

Dave and Lynn