MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

 Happy Holidays!

We hope this letter finds you and your friends and family enjoying the season in good health and enjoying all the seasonal festivities. We are doing well, still enjoying life here in Texas.

Kendra and the boys came down with Covid last year just a few days before Christmas, so our 2022 Christmas happened in January of this year….better late than never!  This January 14 photo seems like a long time ago and both boys have grown a lot since it was taken.  

We started the year off with a dose of real winter.  February brought us an ice storm like we have never seen before. While the icicles hanging from fences and bird feeders were very decorative, the weight caused a lot of damage to some of our largest trees. Following the storm we had to deal with the cleanup of huge broken limbs and in some cases, whole trees that simply snapped and fell.  Mother Nature is always providing us with “opportunities”. I wish she’d stop with the opportunities! The storm did give us an appreciation for the normally mild winters we typically have. 

The storm cleared out just in time for a planned trip, to California to visit family, and then to Arizona for a reunion with friends we hadn’t seen for a several years. We spent several days in Long Beach, visiting Steve’s mother 

at the assisted living center where she lived, and several of our siblings who also live in Long Beach. We took our time as we traveled, staying in several state parks and enjoying some beautiful spring scenery. 

Our big project in May was the installation of an above-ground pool at Kendra’s house. The boys eagerly awaited the day it would be filled up, and wasted no time jumping in as soon as they could. It kept them busy most of the summer. 

In August we took the boys to a Jurassic World Live performance.  They love the movies, and Raylan (now 10 years old) is our special expert on dinosaurs, so they really enjoyed the pre-show opportunity to see some of the “performers” like this animated triceratops, and get close to some of the props like the Jeep featured in the performance. Jaxen (now 12 years old), the mechanical one, seemed especially fascinated by the movement of sets and the mechanics of the dinosaurs. The show had something for everyone!

Unfortunately Kendra’s health took a real hit this year, beginning in late March with a broken ankle. Other issues followed, resulting in a combined total of about 10 weeks in the hospital between March and September.  

She’s finally back on track, feeling much better, and was able to don her Dia De Los Muertos costume and join the boys for Halloween festivities.   

Steve’s mom passed away in early November, just 4 days after her 95th birthday.  We were so glad we had been able to spend time with her during our spring visit.  She had been in hospice care for quite some time, so it wasn’t unexpected, but we still miss our daily afternoon phone calls with her. She had a good life, and always had a positive attitude and loved keeping up with all the relatives and college football, especially the Ducks! 

The last (but certainly not the least!) noteworthy event of the year was December 8, when we celebrated our 50th anniversary!  An easy accomplishment when you marry your best friend!

We’re looking forward to 2024, with new projects, better health for Kendra, and hopefully a little traveling.  We hope the New Year has good things in store for you too! 

Merry Christmas, from us, and our Elves!

A Texas kind of Christmas

As I write this I'm sitting on the porch watching the early morning fog drift between the live oak and the mesquite, listening to the birds sing. It was 80 degrees yesterday, and promises to be even warmer today. It's a little bit strange to adjust to this kind of "Christmas weather" after spending 30 years in the cold and rainy northwest - but we're managing!

We've noticed some interesting Christmas traditions around here. For one, I've never seen so many wreaths on the grills of pickup trucks. And reindeer antlers, attached to the car or truck widows. I've never seen them for sale but folks are finding them somewhere! Corny? A little - but fun.... and if there's one thing we have come to understand, Texans don't care what YOU think. If they enjoy it, or their kids enjoy it, it shall be.

There's still a small-town temperament around here too.

We were up in Kyle the other evening for dinner with the kids, and ran into Mr. and Mrs. Santa and their helpers, who strongly resembled the local fire department.

Kendra said this was their second or third evening to visit the neighborhood, singing and calling "Merry Christmas" over the loudspeaker. Yes, people say that here, with no apologies.

Folks in the neighborhood show a  lot of creativity with their decorations. There's one with the fancy computerized gizmo that twinkles in time with the music - you tune in with your car radio - I'm sure the neighbors appreciate that feature rather than loudspeakers.

There are a lot of cartoon characters reflecting the young families in the area, and there's one yard that clearly belongs to a football fan.Guess we'll have to forgive the uniform not being UofO green and yellow!


The decorations in this yard suggest Santa will be flying with only 7 reindeer this year.   We can't decide if the family is celebrating their favorite hobby or just trying to irritate the neighbors. Either way, you have to admit it's unique!

Steve's favorite is this longhorn bull. You just cannot beat anatomically correct Christmas decorations, and what's more "Texas" than a longhorn?

We'd like to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! and... Go Ducks!