Happy Holidays
Buone Feste
Boas Festas
We sincerely hope 2024 found you and yours healthy and happy… The following is a brief review of our family's year.
**Note: click on any photo to see an enhanced view.
In January we took Hunter and Felicity to see the Harlem Globetrotters in San Jose. They were very entertaining as always and the kids had a good time. We acquired decent seats near courtside, so all the action was right in front of us. It was fun. January is also Jordan’s birthday month as he celebrated his 7th birthday on the 14th. One highlight for him was taking skiing lessons for the first time. He took to it right away and is looking forward to next season on the slopes of Vail and Breckenridge – huge benefit of living in Colorado. Paul attended the NFC championship game at the end of January where he witnessed the unbelievable win by the 49ers to propel them to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to capture the NFL title as they fell one game short (darn Chiefs!).
March came along as I reluctantly aged another year on the 15th. We watched Hunter play baseball as he improved each and every game. In fact, he was named MVP of one of the last games of the season which was a testament to his improvement. What mattered most was that he enjoyed playing the game with his team. Also, in March Felicity was in the Starting Arts production of Matilda Jr. the musical. She played the part of Bruce and she did a great job. She appears to really enjoy being on stage and performing and it shows in her performances.
In April we took a quick trip down to San Diego to go to the zoo and tour the USS Midway. We stayed at the Westgate Hotel and dined in what was once known as the Le Fontainebleau room – since been renamed, but it is a special place for us as it’s where Paul proposed way back in 1979. Later that month we attended the Queen of Apostles charity auction where Amanda was the auctioneer. She did a great job getting the audience to open their wallets for a good cause. She was amazing because she had never done anything like that before, but you wouldn’t have known it as she’s been asked to do it again in 2025.
In May we celebrated both Felicity’s 10th (May 13) and our grandniece Gianna’s 1st (May 25) birthday. It is very hard to imagine that Felicity is already 10 years old. In many ways she is more mature than her age even though it just feels like she was born yesterday.
In July we headed out to visit Rob and his family to spend some time with our Colorado grandkids. Jordan is a prolific artist as he draws many cartoon characters freehand, and he also creates comic strips of his own made-up characters – he truly has talent in this area. It will be interesting to see how he develops going forward. Faye is a kick – she is very determined and head strong. She will definitely keep her parents engaged as she tests limits all the time. She’s so much fun to be around. While we were there, we visited the Denver Zoo as well as spent afternoons lounging at the new pool at Valley CC where Rob and family are members.
After returning from Denver I took off for a weekend in Las Vegas to go see Rod Stewart with my friends. We stayed at Caesar’s Palace where he performed. It was a great show as to no one’s surprise it was an awesome production with world class musicians and talent. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Felicity attended an equestrian camp in July where she thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of riding and caring for horses. In fact, she asked her parents to let her continue her training by enrolling her in weekly classes. She has shown a real affinity for everything involving the care of her horses.
At the end of August we took off for a tour of the Canadian Rockies. We visited multiple national parks in both the US and Canada. We started in Calgary and traveled south into Glacier National Park in Montana. Headed back north to Many Glaciers Park, Lake Louise and Banff. We were supposed to go to Jasper as the final leg of the trip but were unable to due to fire devastation in the area, so we spent 4 days in Banff. We experienced the most beautiful glacier fed lakes whose brilliant turquoise color can’t be explained – you just need to see it. We saw elk, big horned sheep, bald eagles, ospreys and a momma bear with cubs along the way. It was wonderful.
September is Hunter’s birthday month (age 7 on the 26th) and he’s really gravitating toward all sports. He played both basketball and baseball during the fall and we enjoyed watching him play. But most impressive was how he was doing so well in school that he was moved up from the 1st to 2nd grade mid-semester. He is a bright kid, especially in math, and he’s excelling, which is very promising. Felicity started playing volleyball for Queen of Apostles in the fall and she also participated in her first equestrian competition at Circus Fun’khana in Morgan Hill. Being a beginner participant she did very well by placing first in most events. Needless to say we have a ball watching the kids compete and cheering them on in their sporting events.
As always there's plenty of fun and mischief in October for Halloween. Rob and his family were all decked out as Sonic the Hedgehog characters. Felicity was a witch, Hunter an astronaut, Paul as Fred Flintstone and I was a pumpkin.
In November we headed out to Denver once again to spend Thanksgiving with Rob and his family. We were able to attend grandparent’s day at Jordan’s school, St. Mary’s Academy, and got to participate in the various activities with him. As has become a family tradition we headed out to spend a few days pre-Thanksgiving at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The Broadmoor is a 5-star hotel with great amenities and fine dining. Unfortunately, a nasty flu bug that started with Jordan and jumped to Rob and myself derailed our plans. We were so sick that we missed Thanksgiving and had to postpone our return home – I couldn’t fly due to intense nausea. The only good thing about it all was that we were with family which was comforting.
In December Rob and Jordan came out to visit and to attend a 49ers game with Paul. While they were here we went down and spent a day with Amanda and her family so that Jordan could play with his cousins. Jordan and Hunter really hit it off as they have a lot in common being the same age and all. Amanda hosted a great brunch for us as Aunt Sandra and Uncle Wayne were able to stop by to spend some time with Rob and Jordan.
Faye turned 4 on December 9th and Rob and the family celebrated her special day with family and friends over the following weekend after returning from their trip out here. Faye is in her all things unicorn stage at this point so she enjoys playing with unicorn toys and pretending she is a unicorn.
Finally, we will be hosting Christmas Eve at our place as we count our blessings and welcome friends and family.
Well that’s about it in summary. We wish you and yours the very best that life has to offer.
Health, happiness and most of all joy in 2025!
