So here we are again, another bizarre year, but on balance, we’re very grateful to come out relatively unscathed. We know that many of you have lost dear loved ones this year, in some cases to Covid, in other cases, the sad but inevitable circle of life. That being said, it was also a year of the blessings of new weddings, new job, and new arrivals. Christmas started off well enough. In fact it was the first Christmas at home for many years and we made the most of it with a treat of roast pheasant and duck with homemade Christmas Pud and Brandy Butter. It was also the month that Callie got her learner permit so she could start the process of learning to drive with Dad. At the same time time Matt and Jeab were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary, feeling very blessed and fortunate to keep the adventure going. It was also the month that the trilobite-bearing shales arrived so Gabby and Dad could practice paleontology at home. The weather was nice enough to bike ride on the trails  in our areas and a sense of optimism was perhaps starting to build as vaccines started to be rolled out.

     Even early February seemed to be off to a good start  and our friends Michele and Jim from Covington paid us a visit bearing the important gifts of the doll house that kept Gabby entertained for many hours over there and our favourite King Cake. But as is often the case, nature had a different plan and we found ourselves in the Big Freeze. It was fun at first with the novelty of snow. You can see from the outage map that we were spared the loss of power and were able to provide shelter to a Thai family that were not so lucky. As the water pressure dropped we used water from the pool for pretty much everything. The only issue was that the pressure drop meant that insufficiently insulated pipes cracked on the outside of our house and it was only after the thaw at the end of the week we realised this. Luckily again for us, through a friend, we had almost immediate plumber support and the damage was minimal compared to so many poor people across Texas. We begin the journey towards being vaccinated with Matt first at the end of Feb This was a journey that ended in early December with Gabby getting her second shot. While we cant say that we suddenly felt bullet-proof, at least statistically we felt less exposed to a very serious outcome if one or all of us became infected.

     March started off with the arrival our 20th Anniversary present to ourselves, which was our wood-pellet pizza oven by OONI and once again we turned to our dear friends The Shepstones to take it for pretty successful first test run. Callie was able to present Julia with the first of two commissioned pieced for her new home with soon to be hubby John back in Michigan.

     It was perhaps with that optimism in mind, we headed to Colorado during Spring Break for a ski trip to Keystone. It was a little different to be sure. We had to prebook our slots as there were limited ticket sales to keep the numbers down. We were spaced apart lining up for lifts, timed entry to eating facilities on the mountain, contact/exposure tracing and notification, and masks on the mountain. All that being said, we had a wonderful time and it felt good to be out in the fresh air again. Thanks to Darrell and Kim, we had a great place to stay in the town of Dillon and the kids had the novel experience of walking out over the frozen lake. With copious amounts of usually overnight snow, we had the “fun” of putting Callie to work with the snowblower so we could clear the driveway. All in all, one of the most fun ski-trips in quite a while.

     End of March and in to April and the weather picks up a little more, and the mean getting planting for herbs, veggies and replacing everything that died in the big freeze - and that was pretty much everything. April was also noted as special milestone birthday and while we wont mentioned wha that was, we can say if was pretty....Nifty. Joseph and Julie joined us for a low key celebration at one of our favourite (but haven't been for a few years) restaurants. Meanwhile, Jeab has jumped in to the Pickleball craze with both feet! By the end of April Callie and her musical partner Caroline performed their own composition at their high school outdoor review. We are all so very proud of them both as the song is well written and they performed it so well. They were invite in May to perform the same song at a charity event. May was also special for young Gabby who tuned 5 and invited her besties over for a pool party, ably support by Alan and Julia Shepstone. Matt had Major League Rugby tickets as part of his Christmas present and so while the weather was still bearable, he took Jan and Jo to a game to see the Houston Saber Cats.

     By June we were starting to get close to Callie’s driving test that she would take about a week after her 16th birthday. The parent-led instruction requires 38 hours of on the road instruction including nighttime and freeway driving to complement the on line modules she needed to complete so as our driver’s education efforts continued, switching this month now to practicing the potential test routes near the test center but most importantly, repeated practice of the parallel parking part of the test that is the first thing they do at the test center, and if they hit the poles or curb, the test is over, so no pressure! We also came to the difficult but we hope pragmatic decision to pause on moving forward with our home in New Zealand. We did get a design we loved and a builder we can work with but the runaway costs of materials due to housing boom in New Zealand and especially in Central Otago caused us to rethink if we wanted to be almost 40% higher than we budgeted. The answer was “we can wait”. We’ll pick that up again later.  Jeab treated Matt to a hall pass for Father's Day which included a nice meal out with the boys (Joseph, Keith and Steve) followed by pre-arranged bourbon tasting and a nearby hostelry. Callie embarked on and finished me mammoth school project to make a diorama of the Nurburing race track in Germany. Jeab turned her hand in to making geology-themed clothes for Matt and Gabby and Matt ventured in to the office to meet his new team managers for the first time in person after all working remotely together since October of 2020. More projects are slowly completed around the house including laying a more shade tolerant grass at new strip at the back.

     July itself became a very busy month, with Callie turning sweet sixteen and having a modest. Covid-aware party outside a home. We were delighted to welcome Frances and Maddie over from Covington to help out with the celebration. A driving test about a week later followed, in the rain, which she passed without incident, a new evening and weekend job at a tea shop near our house (which she can drive to!) and a week’s adventure to Montana to stay with Doug and Sandy Kypfer. Friends of ours from back in the Bangkok era, they have settled just outside Bozeman and kindly invited us to spend some time up there. Bozeman has changed a lot since Matt was there in the early 90’s and it was most noticeable in the historic downtown area that we stayed a few night and explored the surrounds. We found great restaurants and shops, a fantastic library, and even a place to watch England blow the European football final on penalties (couldn’t see that one coming, right?). Staffing shortages were notable in this mini-boom town where a service-industry rebound, still in the middle of covid, was outstripping the availability to deliver workers. None the less, we had a great mini-visit before moving over to stay at the Kypfer Estate.

     First order of business was a visit to the most excellent Museum of the Rockies, on the periphery of Montana State University. Great if you are a geologist anyway (just saying). If you are a history buff, then you’d also enjoy the nearby Tinsley House. This sojourn was capped off by a visit to Sandy’s horse and a chance for the girls to have a little ride. The showcase part of the trip was the big looping adventure through Yellowstone. Jeab had been there the year before, but it was a huge item on Matt’s bucket list and did not disappoint. Despite the strong haze around Bozeman that made the views of the mountains a bit of a stretch to the imagination, by the time we got the West Gate, things we much better. Too many highlights to talk about and we have included some of the better photos but seeing Old Faithful go twice was surely a memory for the ages. Despite our love of that day trip, we were treated to a follow up the next day that was also fascinating, this time visiting the preserved frontier town of Virginia City. The High Street it set up like an open museum with a snapshot into life in the late 1800’s. Impressive enough until you take the short train ride to Nevada City where you can wander around a truly impressive collection of buildings and memorabilia from that era. Our final full day was a little more relaxing for our hosts with Matt and Doug going on a short hike and the ladies heading back to the stables. Gabby and Callie got to spend sometime with the now fully grown Zack Kypfer who drove back to join us for dinner on our last evening and we parted company the next day vowing to make a return!

     Big Road Trip would be the headline for this month. Matt had been wanting to visit the Pacific North West for the longest time, with Mount St Helens and Crater Laker firmly on the Bucker List. In addition, there were friends to visit along the way so with that in mind, we flew off to San Francisco with high hope. First stop was with Matt Tierney and Susannah over in Oakland and a chance for Callie to get her eye on campus visits, starting with the impressive Berkeley UofC. The next day we zipped across to have a wander around Stanford followed by lunch with Warren and Lin, friends for the late 80s and their lovely grown up daughter Maia, before heading up to Guerneville to party with the Tierney’s at the River House. Joined by Matt, Susannah, and Julie Anne, Poog and Mike provided the usual very warm welcome and fun-filled adventure including but not limited to River Runs, Music Festivals, Food and Wine celebrations, Ted Lasso and of course lots of love and laughter. Jeab pitched in to provide a memorable Thai feast and Callie decided to adopt Susannah. Unbeatable delight. But wait, there’s more. The road trip now started in earnest with the next night exploring the Old Town of Eureka (must recommend a detour to follow the entire Avenue of the Giants to experience the redwoods), a cross country trip from there along the Klamath River Valley to avoid fires and end up just south of Crater Lake, a fantastic visit to Crater Lake itself (bucket list, check!) before making a slight detour away from a smokey Bend, down the Willamette Valley for 3 nights in Eugene (Campus visit, hiking with Michel Bee, Museums, Galleries, quarry free climbing), pushing on to Hood River via Salem to stay with 3/5ths of the Wagners and having a fantastic time, before a final push on to Seattle (Mt St Helens postponed due to smoke) for the Needle, Central Market, dinner with Frank and Loretta Healy, a trip to Bainbridge Island to see Dr Jim Allen and the home of Pickleball, and finally brunch with Dawn and Ron May before flying back to Houston, phew!

     September was generally a more relaxed month although the planned return to work was pushed back to Jan 2022 thanks to Delta. The girls went back to school (Callie now driving herself to her Junior year and Gabby starting at a new school as a kindergartener). Matt turned 56 and the weather was notably milder compared to the swelter of August. Matt also attended his first technical conference for many years in Denver. An added bonus was a chance to meet up with Marrisa and recently (but unattended wedding due to covid) husband Daniel. In addition, he bumped in to old (literally) friends Darrell Kramer and Steve Shirley.  

     If September was to be more serene than October was to be almost the complete opposite! Oh, it started off more or less normally with a chance to see one of our favourite comedians, Brian Regan. The preparations begin in earnest with Julia's Bridal Shower. Jeab was able to significantly beat her charity target, thanks to your generosity and Callie designed and made her own hat for the Renaissance Festival. Jeab and Seb placed in her first Pickleball Tournament. Matt had had tickets to see Genesis at the O2 in London but the concert had been rescheduled twice due to Covid. 3 time lucky! So pal Simon suggested making a bit of a weekend of it, you know, so as to maximize the time. Here's how it played out. Thursday overnighter to London, Friday late lunch before "No Time to Die" in very comfy reclining seats and some adult beverages. Onwards then to Twickenham to see a Harlequins game. Saturday morning Matt had a much needed lay in before heading up to London to see the Irish play rugby, back out and across to Reading for dinner and Level 42, then back home with a brief visit to a local nightclub. Sunday in someways was even more prolific as it felt like we got out a taxi just before the right train left, or rolled up to a venue jsut as things were kicking off. First up was brunch with Nova and Lillian, then up to North London for the NFL game at the new Tottenham stadium, back in the West End to meet Lee and David for dinner, followed by a great show at the Palladium with a symphony-backed rendition of Led Zeppelin's greatest hits (you'll be hard pressed to get "da na na, da na na from Kashmir out of your head after that), a post show celebratory shandy or two and then some digestives and chat at Simons to round out the evening..... well, early morning by then. It was also by then that we knew that Genesis had been cancelled due to the entire band having Covid. But not to be deterred we had already scrambled to back up plan. Lunch in London, a visit to Simon's Mum, a little light shopping around Carnaby Street, a fantastic steak dinner at Hawksmoor followed by The Prince of Egypt at the theatre. Not a bad way to finish off the trip as Matt headed back tired but very happy the next day. Well done Simon, Epic! Lee and David made Sunday Evening fantastic too! It didnt end there though. We had a great day out at Brookshire Farms with Gabby's inner sanctum of friends and Matt and Jeab took a day trip to DC to see the All Black decimate the USA Eagles rugby team with an awesome side trip to the Smithsonian. And of course, the end of the month means Halloween with trunk or treat at the temple and trick our treat around the Heights.

     November continued in the same hectic vein with the signal event being the fantastic Julia and John wedding with Gabby taking the important role of Flower Girl. As the weather improved the Pickleball gang spent time remarking our courts at the Y, Gabby's Thai reading and writing lessons were paying off at Thai temple, and the project to put a raised deck behind the garage made major progress. Thanksgiving presented a chance to go back to Hood River in OR, this time with Mike and Kai there too. We had another fantastic trip right from the word go, with High Tea served upon our arrival, indoor climbing for all the girls, a white water rafting trip for Matt and Mike, hiking out on the Columbia Plateau Volcanic Province. We all took a side trip to Bend and arrived in time for a light dusting of snow. Just before Thanksgiving, Matt, Jeab and Gabby went for nice overlook hike with Michel Bee before heading back to his house to spend the afternoon with Marcy. Thanksgiving Day was another day of mainly outdoors activity before a big big dinner that night. The Dukes headed back to Hood River the next day while the Wagners pushed on south to Medford. Fantastic Trip!

     So we are here in December which is tuning out to be a season of parties and general goodwill (despite the specter of Omicron). We really enjoyed the Van Gogh Immersive Experience and Elf on the Shelf, and the big send off for Stan's retirement with the band reformed just in time to play after a near 2 year pause. All that remains at the time of writing is week in NYC replete with shows, museums, Santa, and great food. Once again it's nigh impossible to predict what 2022 will bring but we can see visit to Thailand for Jeab and a Spring Break adventure for Matt and the Girls. A possibility of a long trip to the UK next summer and all of us going to Thailand for next Christmas. Callie will make some big decision about University, Matt will get a year closer to a retirement decision, Jeab will move a step closer to world domination in pickleball, and Gabby, who grew about 6 inches in 2021, will doubtless move a step closer to world domination in general. We hope that many of you will be part of next year's adventure just as so many of you have made this year so wonderful. Be safe, Be Curious - Not Judgmental :)

Gabriella, Calliana, Jeab and Matt

Houston, December, 2021