2016: A Year of Blessings
2016 was a year full of adventure with family and friends!
The year got off to a great start, with heavy snowfall in the Sierras which made for a fantastic ski season. The family skied on the very first day of the season
and the very last, and it was truly EPIC!
Many of those days were in the company of our good friend Gary Poley...
...and others were blessed with visits from our families from Washington (Jerry, Audrey and Amy) and Chicago (Todd, Andrew and Jack), as well as
with our Nevada families, the Dunbars and Bodensteins.
Gary was the perfect ski-ambassador, hauling gear and bodies up and down the mountain in the ski-van, and making sure everyone had a fun time on the hill,
and that we got plenty of vertical feet in.
Amy and Dee earned top skier honors by logging over 36,000 vertical in one day.
This year, we go for 40K!
When the snow melted and the spring weather came, Todd and Allen headed south
to do a little camping in southeastern Nevada...
...at Cathedral Gorge.
Then it was on to Arizona to meet up with Grandma Donna for a visit with Allen’s parents, Arleen and Cliff to watch a little spring training baseball.
In May, Dee and Todd flew to Chicago to celebrate cousin Andrew’s high school graduation. What had been a smooth plane ride turned into a roller coaster ride when it came time to land in Chicago. After three aborted attempts to land, the plane was diverted to Detroit. After a short 45 minute dinner stop in Detroit, the plane headed back to Chicago, where it landed smoothly and safely.
After all the excitement, Todd was glad to see his Grandma and cousins
waiting in Chicago with some much-needed hugs.
The end of June featured Allen's final days as a public educator. After 30 years of hard work, he is now a free man! (And Dee only has a year and a half left!) It is hard to believe we spent our entire careers in Nevada, beginning in Eureka as newlyweds, then in Douglas County (Carson City for Allen’s last three) The years sure went quickly.
Being a teacher has many joys,
and for us one of the greatest is the ongoing friendships we have
with former students and their families.
This summer was a perfect example, as we were invited to celebrate the wedding of Cody Witt and Bronagh Kelly in Carrickfergus, Northern IRELAND. We dropped Todd off at the grandparents in Washington and flew out of Vancouver B.C. for a two-week vacation on the Emerald Isle!
It was an amazing trip. Incredibly friendly people, beautiful landscapes,
great food, great beer, a 4-day wedding that included golf and a night in a haunted castle... Aiman, Ursula and the Kelly kids were wonderful hosts,
and it was hard to say goodbye.
Leaving was made a bit easier by our being invited to tag along on the post-wedding Family-moon! Cody & Bronagh spent the week after their wedding travelling around Ireland with Cody’s parents, Caren and Craig, his brothers Connor, and Colton,
and our good friends Marie and Anna Lekumberry.
The trip to Galway with the Witts was a highlight of our Irish visit!
The Ireland trip was followed by a week in Oroville, WA before heading back to Nevada. There stay was short, because Dee had to catch a private plane with her fellow baseball moms Cathy, Shannon, Melinda, Kate and Nicole
for a visit to sunny San Diego.
Dee was in heaven when the pilot invited her to join him in the cockpit. She hadn´t been that close to flying a plane since she was 15.
When Dee got back from San Diego, we were blessed with a visit from our adopted German daughter, Ramona. Mona has been a part of our family for fifteen years now, and we were thrilled to hear the tales of her world travels.
She has such a wonderful spirit, and we love her dearly.
ROAD TRIP!!!!
Summer finally drew to a close, which meant that Dee and Emily were off to work (Dee back teaching 2nd Grade and Emily as a barista at Starbucks), while Allen and Todd began their ¨HOMESCHOOL¨ adventure. Being retired, Allen has decided to home school Todd for a year. Part of that experience would include a father-son tour of the USA. In the middle of September they took off north to Idaho, then Montana, and across through Yellowstone and the Black Hills, through Minnesota to Chicago (where they spent a few days with Todd, Steph and Jack, and met up with Al’s buddy Jim), then east to Pennsylvania and Cape Cod, down to Florida, west over the Appalachian Mountains (Hey, Duff!), and, after a quick visit to Graceland (Hey, Tracy!) back home through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah., Over 10,000 miles in all! (You can experience the entire trip on Todd’s blog at toddontheroad2016@blogspot.com. )
The Gosselin kids are doing great. Todd swims 5 days a week with the Douglas Dolfins and is doing very well. He and his pal Cammie qualified for the State Meet in Vegas, where Todd had three top-five finishes.
Todd has also posted five Junior Olympic times this year,
and set the team record for his age in the 200 medley!
Emily continues to take classes at Western Nevada and is enjoying her job at Starbucks. She was selected ¨Barista of the Quarter¨ and is slotted for advancement in the coming year. Being almost 21 means you are free to learn who you truly are, and Emily balances work and school with exploring her long-term career options.
Her thoughts of being a teacher have been put aside,
and now she's considering the world of dental hygiene
Winston agrees that 2016 was a great year, but now we’re ready for 2017!
The skis are waxed, the boots are dusted off, and a new year of adventure is about to begin. We hope that your 2017 is as full of blessings as 2016 was for us!
From our family to yours we wish you a...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Allen, Dee, Emily, Todd and Winston
