Christmas greetings from the East… 2011
This July we celebrated our 25th anniversary!
Bryan continues to fly with the USAF Reserves C-130 unit (30 years next June, but no deployments this year!) while I play and learn with local students in creeks. We’re both happy to be working! Bryan planned a fantastic birthday trip for me… a long weekend in Savannah: beautiful city with lots of history, cute shops, ghost tours, and amazing food! Thanks Bryan!! In July, both KJ and J took a week of their time to work as counselors (one each week) at my high school Creek Camp. They had a blast and I had terrific help!!
J is finishing up a semester of studying abroad at the University of Limerick… IRELAND! In the big photo, J’s at the top of Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone. Her study abroad has consisted of lots of “abroad” with trips throughout Ireland, Edinburgh (Scotland), Oslo (Norway), Amsterdam (Holland), Berlin (Germany), and Prague (Czech Republic). In mid-December she takes one last trip for the year: returning home to the University of Pittsburgh to finish up her geology degree. Last summer she enjoyed a great internship at a local environmental engineering firm.
KJ made the big move! She has a cute apartment in Pittsburgh (Friendship), much closer to her job at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. She loves having her own place and we love that she visits home regularly! She’s a great big sister to K, friend/mentor to the teens in the church youth ministry, and a big help to me. KJ celebrated her 24th birthday with two dozen red roses (photo) and a zipline safari through The Wilds! (an animal park in Ohio). Being a big girl with a real job has other benefits… she traveled to Ireland to visit her sister and is planning a reunion voyage to the Bahamas on Semester At Sea.
K is 18! As of December 8th, there are only adults in our family. K is enjoying his senior year of high school (the photo was snapped during his senior photo shoot) singing, driving, hanging with the guys… and making his way through college admissions essays and forms (ugh!). The new year brings his favorite things… Living Stations with the Youth Ministry and the All-School musical (Beauty & the Beast) then tennis season. Last summer K volunteered at the new Boy Scout high adventure camp under construction in West Virginia. It will be the home to all future Boy Scout Jamborees as well as a high adventure camp.
J’s study abroad adventure provided an opportunity for Bryan and I to have a second (or first, but that’s another story) honeymoon traveling through the beautiful countryside and quaint towns of Ireland. We toured for four days then added a few extra days to our stay so we could celebrate Thanksgiving weekend with J! We’re all looking forward to having her back on this side of the Atlantic in time for Christmas.
We wish you ALL the peace of Christmas and great adventures in the New Year!
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