Me, Kids & Life…
Yes, we can all say we have survived the wettest winter on record since 1865 when they started taking record! Whew! Looking forward to more sunshine.
It’s been a while since I sent out a newsletter and the Christmas cards never did materialize. Life is always busy as usual. I started off my year with a once in a lifetime trip to New Zealand and Australia. WOW! An amazing trip I can’t say enough about! Many thanks to Skipper Dave for putting this trip together!
Eight of us flew into Aukland and sailed from there up the East Coast of the North Island to the Bay of Islands (sorta like going to the San Juans). The three day, 150 mile sail up the coast was phenomenal! We had great winds and weather on our journey.
Once in the Bay of Islands, home to 150 small islands… we cruised around, anchored, hiked and explored the area. Yes, it was a dream… We then drove back to Aukland were some of us then continued on to Sydney… we were so close, you kinda gotta go, right?
I had 5 wonderful days in Sydney taking in all the sights and experiences that I could manage. The beaches are great, the Bridge Climb was a fun rush and the weather kept me constantly putting on sun screen! The highlight in Sydney was getting to sail in the regular Friday night race in Sydney Harbor. Wow! What a treat!
Thanks so much to Jane for connecting me with her friend Mitch who skippers the “Goat”, which has done the Sydney to Hobart race several times- so this was no small boat! We had 30mph gusts, came in second and only hit the committee boat once! 🙂 A super fun night for sure!
Can’t wait to go back to both NZ and Australia and see more of both of these amazing countries. Which by the way, could not be more different. A common saying I learned while down under…In NZ, nothing can kill you… (no snakes, spiders or deadly creatures inhabit the island) but in AUS everything can kill you!!
Kids are doing well! Scot just finished his Senior year at Western and will return for his “Super Senior” year this Fall to do his last couple classes. After that, he is talking about taking a gap year before deciding on which medical path to take with his Bio Chem major. I am excited to see where his career/journey takes him!
He still gets together with his band mates Trevor and Aaron on occasion and jams with them. He also still volunteers with the Humphrey House and recently was featured in an article about this Adult Family home that houses folks living with HIV/Aids. He also still volunteers with the local hospital and is next in line for a Scribe position. He hopes to get the position for a Summer job. Fingers crossed!
Sam finished her Freshman year at WSU and managed to pull off a really great GPA, even with all the Sorority and Fraternity “events” that WSU is known for 🙂 I am super proud of her. It was long year for her with the constant snow and wind. She still can’t figure out why they built the school on a hill so all the classes seem to be uphill?
She was fortunate and got to move into her sorority house (KKG) after the Holidays. The house has been a much better support system and social environment than the dorm turned out to be. She is looking forward to another year at the house. She is now home for the Summer and nannying for the same family she has nannied for the last 6 years or so. Fun, but exhausting job for her! It’s great to have her home!
My business continues to grow. A good thing when you are self employed! I had the busiest first quarter ever this year. I have found a niche in being hired to do images for companies doing a new or refreshing an old website. 10 years ago, it was a must to have a website. Now, with online competition even more fierce, it is now becoming even more important to have a GREAT website. This is where I come in.
I can do all the photography a company needs, from portraits, to exteriors, action shots and products. It keeps my job interesting and lets me exercise all my skills!
I still continue to be very involved with my local Chamber of Commerce. This year I will move from Vice Chair to the Chair position on the Board of Directors. Yikes! How did I get here! haha.
I am also still involved in the Woodinville Marketing and Tourism Committee and had just helped with the formation of Woodinville Arts Alliance which I am really excited about! You will be hearing more from us soon! In the meantime, follow/like us on Facebook!
