Peace on Earth � Good Will Towards Men
We hope everyone is staying well and had a good year.
We started the year by celebrating with our nephew Daniel at his very first birthday party on January 3rd. Most of his grandparents, aunts, uncles and little cousins were there to celebrate with him and he had his very own little cake to dig into. His birthday is December 29th so we will be celebrating #2 soon.
Gregg and I went on several fun trips this year. In May, we spent some time in the Springfield, MO area. We checked out the Wildlife Museum, Bass Pro and Lambert�s restaurant (Home of the Throwed Rolls), and then spent a day at Silver Dollar City with Gregg�s brother�s family.
In June, we went to Salina, KS for 3 days of the Smoky Hill River Festival. This is a great festival � with non-stop music on 2 stages, craft booths and demonstrations, an art show, sand sculptures, water sculptures, and festival food. When in Salina, we always stop by Bogey�s for burgers and shakes. This year we also dined at the Brookville Hotel in Abilene, KS. This restaurant was recently moved from Brookville to Abilene � it is a fancy place with tablecloths, fine china, chandeliers and antiques. There is only one entr�e on the menu � fried chicken with all the sides. This is a place that is worth the trip.
In October, we took a vacation to Albuquerque, NM. It is beautiful in the fall with
all the adobe buildings, yellow trees & surrounding mountains. The state question is "green or red?", as in chilies, which is in every kind of food. The Albuquerque area has a lot of ancient Indian culture � remains of old pueblos, kivas, petroglyphs and cliff dwellings. These are all protected in National Parks and Monuments where we saw some nice scenery on the hiking trails. We also took an aerial tram up to the top of the Sandia Mountains. There is an observation area at the top. Although it was windy and cold (30 degrees), we stayed a while to see the sunset, and the city lights before we descended.
Gregg�s company IDI has been doing well this year. He attended a conference in Orlando for a week. In September, the company celebrated their 25th anniversary with
a party at the Westin Crown Center Hotel. The party included appetizers, an
open bar, dinner, a live band, and a 70�s costume contest. And a hotel room.
Diane is working part-time PRN in a nursing home, doing Activities (the same part-time job described in last year�s letter). In June, Diane went to Nashville, Tennessee with Richard, Judy, Steven and Ellen to attend her step-sister Kim�s wedding and see all the relatives there. She saw some of the sites in Nashville, toured the Gibson guitar factory (Beth�s fianc� works there and gave a group tour), and spent some time with her friend LeAnn and her family. During the year, Diane also saw the new Robert Altman movie, The Company (about a ballet company), and the Rock n Roll Gymnastics show.
Both moms had some health problems this year. Diane�s mom was in the hospital in January with Meningitis. Gregg�s mom had heart bypass surgery in April.
Both are doing well. Also, Gregg�s first cousin Charles Barr died in an accident in August. In December, Gregg�s uncle, Ken Egelhoff, died. Our thoughts are with both families.
There were many other fun events this year. Gregg went to the Chiefs playoff game and a couple other Chiefs games with Richard. We went to several Royals games.
We also went to Nascar races (truck, Indy, Busch, and Nextel (formerly Winston Cup).
During the year, we go to festivals and events: the Lenexa BBQ Festival, Johnson County Fair, Lenexa Spinach Fest, Ballet in the Park, Art Westport (Joan had a booth there), Renaissance Festival, and Oktoberfest (at Berkley Riverfront Park).
We attended several concerts this year � Van Halen (with Sammy Hagar), Bela Fleck, and Carbon Leaf. We first heard Bela Fleck and Carbon Leaf at the Salina festival. Bela Fleck was at the City Market; besides several bands, there were local microbrews available. Carbon Leaf was at the recently renovated Grand Emporium.
Diane turned 40 this year (not much difference from 39 except maybe a bigger gasp � �You�re kidding?! You are 40?!�). Her mom planned and surprised her (with Gregg�s help) with a party in her backyard several days before the date. The attendees included grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, etc. The party was indeed a surprise, as well as seeing her Uncle Mark and cousin Rosa from Puerto Rico there.
We enjoyed spending time with nieces and nephews.
Nicole graduated from Belleville (KS) High School. Diane attended the graduation and
the reception at Nicole's church, with some of Gregg�s family members. Gregg was in Orlando and thus unable to go.
Throughout the year, we have enjoyed Brandon�s band concert and the play Charlotte�s Web (he was Templeton the rat), Lauren�s piano recital, and both of their basketball games. And it�s always fun to dogsit Sammy and Chance when their family are out of town (we will really miss Sammy (Samantha) � we knew her about 10 years and she was always so sweet).
Then there is the little nephew. Daniel is growing and changing so fast � we babysit and spend time with him whenever we can.
