Very late 2021 holiday greetings or perfectly timed President's Day 2022 greetings

Regardless of the label you choose for our greetings, we hope your year's off to a good start. Here's an update on us. (click on photos for larger versions.)

2020 came and went - a year like none of us expected! Then 2021 whizzed by! Despite all the weirdness of the last few years, life is good. 

Last year started out with an educational February, as Dallas was hit with an extended arctic front and we learned first-hand about how the Texas power grid works (or doesn't work, as the case may be.) During 5 days with no power, it was ~44 degrees in our house, so we lived in our winter camping gear and invented new forms of entertainment, like: "Let's see what we can find in the garage to break through the 4" of ice that's formed on the pool."

Luckily, though, other than the demise of the new pool heater that we'd installed 6 weeks earlier, we had no major damage. 

 

During the summer of 2020, Katelyn and I spent a lot of time in Austin, water skiing and wake boarding. In 2021, we all learned to wake surf. 

John also discovered a new sport that he got us into - wing boarding / foiling. It's like kite-surfing, but instead of being tied to a kite, you're holding a wing to use as a sail. Super fun!

John very regularly (some might suggest "obsessively") checks his wind apps to see what the wind is doing. One of the benefits of working from home most days is that he can sneak out to the lake on afternoons when the wind is good. 

 

 

   

Katelyn and I decided we were done for the year when the temps dropped into the low 70's, but John has been going out to the lake for most of the winter! (cold, wet and windy... brrr!)  Since John is planning a big caving trip this year, maybe this is training for being cold and wet *and underground.* (Oh, joy! Stay tuned for details in the next update.)

 

We did our usual trip to Colorado to spend a couple of weeks relaxing, hiking and camping. We camped a few nights in the bowl below Mt Columbia, which was blanketed in more wildflowers than we've ever seen. After 3 hours of scrambling (avg 45% slope) up to the ridge line, we summited a peak that the locals call "Five Fingers" at 12,735'.

Then we had some "bonus" time in Colorado, spending a week near Vail with my family to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday. 

 

Katelyn started the 6th grade in the Fall. She's thrilled to be back at school, after being remote for all of 5th grade, and very quickly made a bunch of new friends. She loves playing flute in the band and we're enjoying her daily practice sessions. She's also playing tennis, doing gymnastics, baking, and always has several creative projects in process.

I spent a lot of time in 2021 working on the Happy Lungs Project. Three weeks after I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, my sister, Ilana, went for a checkup and - unbelievably - was diagnosed with lung cancer. Last spring, the cancer appeared in her liver and brain. Her older (adult) kids started a non-profit, the Happy Lungs Project (HLP), to raise money to fund research into this specific type of lung cancer. Working with leading doctors at Stanford, MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, Mass General, and others, HLP is already funding promising initiatives.

 

We wish you good health, many hugs, much joy and many adventures in 2022.

Love, 

Donna, John, Katelyn & Lovebug