Hello friends!

It has been a busy and exciting year for us! As you can see in our video, we did lots of traveling, exploring, and started some new adventures.

Alice said good-bye to our very dear day care in early June and spent the summer at Day Camp at her new school, the Kazoo School. She loved every minute of it, and came home filthy and exhausted every night. In September she started full time preschool at Kazoo, and she loves that, too. Every night she asks me what I did at work that day, and then tells me about her day at school– and it’s always been grand. She is continuing to take swimming lessons and learning quickly– she can swim from the edge 8-10 feet without her floatie, and then be turned around by and adult and swim back. She is writing her name, and recognizing more words every day.

In August we went on an EPIC road trip that took us up through Canada and west, then down through Seattle to Eugene and back east. As you can see in our photos, we had a great time. Some of the things we saw include: Winnipeg, Riding Mountain National Park, Prince Albert National Park, Elk Island National Park, Edmonton, Jasper National Park, Banff National Park, Yoho National Park, Glacier National Park (CA), Mount Revelstoke National Park, Othello Tunnels, Seattle, Eugene, Oregon Coast, Craters of the Moon National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, Cody, Devils Tower, Custer State Park, Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and the Corn Palace. We saw many friends along the way, and are hoping to plan another trip next summer.

Jacci has been busy finishing up her PhD and is hoping to defend her dissertation early next year; she will graduate in May from the University of Minnesota. She is currently applying for jobs to start next August, so it is likely we will be moving some time next summer. She has a few new pieces of research starting up and is excited about the next eight months and beyond!

We are so grateful for all of our loving and loyal friends who are on this life journey with us. We hope that your family is enjoying the holiday season and that you have a happy new year!