Recap: What's Up For This Year?

It’s been a good year so far, though some of what I thought might happen didn’t and, of course, other things did. Here’s what I thought would go on, and how those things turned out:

• Jan - Phil Keaggy in Rockford, IL

  Missed it. Couldn’t get anyone else to go – was it the Winter weather?



• Jan - Visit to Hope College in Holland, MI

  Didn’t go until March.



• Feb - Annual sales meeting in San Diego, CA

  Got there. Fly in, stay a night, fly out. Pretty nice weather, though, and our training sessions went well. Had a nice dinner after our training was complete, at a restaurant directly out of the 1950’s, on the bay.



• Mar - Church band to Heartside in Grand Rapids, MI

  Happy we could make this one. Daughter Amy had an internship at Heartside, and we were happy to bring (a smaller version of) the church band there for their store-front service.



• Mar - SAP BW and Portals Conference in Las Vegas, NV

  Nancy went with me to this conference, the third year I’ve gone and the first she has. Conference was minimally exciting (I’m not planning on going again next year), but was able to spend time with Nancy and her cousin leroy and his wife Jerri. Our conference hotel was the Venetian – absolutely gorgeous, especially in the very expensive room we got due to arriving late on Sunday after all of the “standard” rooms were given out.



• Apr - Visit Aunt Yolie in San Antonio, TX

  I didn’t go down to San Antonio this year, but Nancy and her sister Linda did. Glad they got to spend time with Aunt Yolanda and their cousin Harv. Nancy bought her dad a book about the San Antonio River Walk, as her parents really enjoy San Antonio, as well. When Nancy showed Aunt Yolanda a picture of her Aunt – Rosita Fernandez, “San Antonio's First Lady of Song” – Aunt Yolie pointed out that the little girl in the picture with Rosita was her!



• May - Graduation at Hope College in Holland, MI

  Two down, two to go . . . what else can I say?



• May - Open friends' cabin in Land O' Lakes, WI

  A beautiful weekend “Up North”. Take a look at this map link and you’ll see how far north in Wisconsin we were.



• Jun - Church band to Pecatonica, IL

  Played at a Lutheran church out west of Rockford, IL, in our music director’s home town.



• Jul - Family reunion in St, Louis, MO

  Cancelled!



• Aug - Vacation in Land O' Lakes, WI

  We went in July, over the Independence Day holiday. What a great time! But by the end of the week it was hot, hot, hot! Ninety-some degrees in a climate where daily highs can only reach into the low 60’s at times (like our first vacation trip Up North several years ago).