2003 News Archive
December
The end
of another year as we look forward to 2004 and
Jessica's marriage to Jason in
March. Happy Holidays to you all!
November
We had
a great trip to Minnesota last month . . a fun time and beautiful scenery! We
are looking forward to having Jessica and Jason visit us here in Omaha for the
Thanksgiving holiday. Barb's sister, Janice, came to Omaha from Topeka to help
us celebrate the holiday.
October
Birthdays this month for Barb on the 1st and Jessica on the 31st . . Happy
Birthday! We are traveling to
Winona, MN this month to visit our nephew, Henry
Hill, his wife, Lorie, and sons, Tyler and Trevor . . and we are hoping that
the leaves are still all ablaze with color during our visit. Winona is right on
the
Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota and has many Victorian-style
buildings and homes that we are looking forward to seeing.
September
Barb is
back in the swing of things at school; a class of sixteen 4th Grade students
this year, who, overall, seem to be decent group of kids. We celebrated our 34th
wedding anniversary on the 13th with a nice dinner at "Charlie's on the Lake".
On the 16th John drove over to
Des Moines, IA to see half of our Phoenix-friends
team, Roger Hansen, who was there for 3 days of meetings. Jessica has been
trying to wrap up more wedding details such as "the cake", "the flowers", and,
of course, "the honeymoon", which looks like it will be in Mexico.
August
Hot and
dry . . that's the hand we were dealt in August . . school started for Barb on
the 6th, with the 4th Graders "reporting for duty" on the 13th . . oh, and
John's 59th birthday . . sure wouldn't want to leave that out . . yeah, right!
July
This
month found us on the road to
Santa Fe,
Tucson,
Phoenix, the
Grand Canyon, and
back through
Albuquerque before returning to
Omaha . . . about 4,000 miles in
just under 2 weeks! Plenty of great scenery to go around in those places . . . .
Barb found a nice silver Native American-made bracelet in Santa Fe, and while in
Tucson we had our own personal local guide - Jesse Frantz, a friend of Jessica's
from
Vassar who is finishing up his Ph.D. in Optical Physics at the
University -
give us a quick tour of the city. That evening we met Jesse and his wife,
Meagan, for a great dinner at
P. F. Chang's. Also, in Tucson, we took a model
home tour at the Robson Communities' "SaddleBrook" development. In Phoenix, we
spent about four days with our friends, the Hansen's, who, once again, were
generous hosts. While in the area we checked out the Robson "PebbleCreek"
development as well. We then spent a day and a half at the Grand Canyon, touring
the South Rim on foot and viewing the IMAX movie of the Canyon on Day 1 . . .
then early the next morning taking an hour aerial tour of the Canyon in a
6-passenger high-wing Cessna. Barb was a little apprehensive about it, but glad
she did it since the vastness of the Canyon is really impressive from above.
While in Albuquerque we stayed with Jim and Susan Carson, friends of John's from
his high school class. They have lived and worked in Albuquerque for over 20
years and generously shared their home and their time to show us the city and
the scenery.
June
Rachael
spent 4 days in Houston with Jessica and Jason mid-month and Barb and John met
Jason's parents in
Kansas City over the weekend of the 21st/22nd.
On the 29th we made a quick day trip to our old "home town" of Abilene to visit
friends Colleen & Rex Cearley, where we enjoyed their company over a great meal
at the
Brookville Hotel.
May
May
29th . . . Happy 25th Birthday, Rachael! We split the day between the
Lauritzen Botanical Gardens and the
Henry Doorly Zoo. CONGRATULATIONS to Jason on passing
the
Texas State Bar Exam !!!! What a crazy weather month here in Omaha . . high
winds, tornados, hail and LOTS of rain with daytime "highs" averaging 10 degrees
below normal.
April
Barb
spent the 18th-21st in Houston with Jessica and Jason - and Jessica's good
friend, Cindy Chung - doing wedding-planning-related things and enjoying the
warm weather. Nothing like a quick trip to Topeka to see the flowers in bloom at
Binkley Gardens, a private residence with 3 acres of blooming tulips and
daffodils on a warm 85° Spring day. While there, we visited with Barb's brother,
Bob, sister, Janice, and Janice's friend, Gail. Barb is off to Houston April
18th to the 21st to visit Jessica and Jason . . . How about that 90° on the 1st
. . . and the April Fool delayed until the 4th when we are at 32° with light
snow and sleet. Who says Nebraska isn't an interesting place to live? While
Jessica was in
NYC the last weekend in March she found just the right wedding
dress and had time for a visit with her friends Cindy Chung and Gloria Haynes.
March
A very
cold start to the month and a little more snow as well. Our mid-month trip to
Phoenix is looking better every day . . . hey, and we're already back . . . and
it was a great trip! The weather was in the low to mid-80's with plenty of
sunshine. Barb got a chance to see her cousin, Suzan, who lives in the area, and
we spent a day visiting with Jan and Steve Amdor. Jan teaches with Barb at
Cather Elementary and was in Phoenix with her husband for a few days. We also
took a tour of
Sun City Grand just to see what we'll look like if we ever get
old. As usual, our hosts, Roger and Debbie Hansen, were very accommodating and
we enjoyed our visit with them.
February
Several
snowfalls and colder temps have made this month less enjoyable than last. Barb
and I are planning to spend some time in Phoenix in March and Rachael is
planning a June trip to visit her sister in Houston.
January
Ah,
another new year full of promise . . . a New Year's Eve spent quietly with
neighbors, then some really warm weather - two days of 65° - then January
weather reality caught up with us. Mid-month temperatures dropped to single
digits with several nights below zero. . and the 6" of snow. Then there's the
constant reminders from the Hansen's in Phoenix that it is sunny and 75° . . so
cruel.
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