2021 In Review

All in all we've had a pretty good year. Coming off the COVID 19 pandemic that started in early 2020, we spent a wonderful 2-week Christmas vacation in Hawaii on Oahu's North Shore. It was great to get away and unplug and spend quality time together (and we loved the warm weather). We were all able to get our vaccinations completed this year (2021) by May so that has given us some reassurance to move forward with confidence this year and explore a little more.

2021 brought a number of key milestones. Emma finished her Junior year at university in the Spring and after a summer internship with Honeywell, was accepted into the Masters Degree program for Information Systems. That turns her final year in her bachelors degree (2021-2022) into two more years where she will earn her bachelors and masters degrees at the same time in Spring 2023. Emma (like her sister), continues to love to travel. This year she took ANOTHER trip to Hawaii in late April/early May with her friend and Sarah and loved being near the ocean and tropics. She also flew out to upstate New York later in the year to visit one of her best friends in Syracuse.

Sarah continues to blossom and enjoy her time at college, making new friends and new experiences. Sarah worked on campus all summer in the Information Systems office and as she commenced her Junior year, was accepted into the Communications program in the Fall. She loves attending the K-Pop club on campus each week and had an amazing experience going to the BTS concert in LA in late November. Sarah continues to be an example to us of compassion and the importance to enjoy the little things in life.

Ethan became a licensed driver early in 2021 and meant all of our kids are now 'on the roads'. He had a much better summer this year compared to 2020, spending time with friends, camping and hiking and getting ready to start his Senior year at High School. He is a fine young man, is a great friend and well-liked amongst his peers. He started working part time at a local smoothie store so is a working man in addition to studying hard in his last year of High School. He is a pretty savvy film-buff, still loves all things lego and quite the all-rounder on the xBox, Nintendo Switch and whatever games he and his friends play. He went to two school dances this year and so that was new too.

Elaine continues to be an amazing Mum and does all she can to prove our kids still need her and love spending time with her (they do). Having two of our kids away at college - albeit 30 mins down the road - and Ethan on his own now at home has been a challenge, but she is the first to go to their aid or catch up with them with a lunch or call. A special treat for Elaine this year was going on a 'girls trip' with Emma and Sarah to Disneyland in mid-August. They had a blast and so glad they could spend this special time together. Although she is looking younger and more beautiful than ever, Elaine celebrated her 50th birthday this year and had a wonderful time with family, friends and also paid a visit to Marsha in her new home in Arizona which was really fun. As a late '25th' Anniversary and 50th Birthday treat, Stephen secretly diverted a trip we were taking to London in late September, to visit Manchester and the site of 'Pemberly' in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. We had planned to go to Holland initially but due to quarantine rules that went into place shifted the trip to the UK. Visiting that film location and historical estate was amazing and Elaine got to live a little like Elizabeth Bennett.

Stephen (me) continues on in Vivint and enjoys his work there and after most of 2020 working in his basement office, started going back to the office in May. He has plenty of side work like family tech support, helping with college assignments, college or job applications or any other questions and enjoys planning our vacations. In 2021 he loved going to the Jazz games with Emma, sharing mountain bike rides with Sarah, golfing with Ethan and being at the game with Andrew when BYU beat Utah in college football for the first time since we moved to the USA in 2010. To add a little extra in for next year, Stephen will be working part-time at BYU as an adjunct professor starting in January 2022 where he will teach a class on product management in the Marriott school. He is excited to do that one night a week and help share his craft to the next generation. Stephen has some great goals he is working on completing before his 50th in 2023 and also taken on some more responsibilities at church which keeps him busy for sure.

We pray this Christmas and Holiday Season finds you all safe and that you feel the love of your friends and family, whether near or far. We still hope to be able to visit Australia /New Zealand and the Netherlands again sometime soon to see family and friends, and think of them often and all our family around the world.

We are grateful for this time of year where we remember the greatest gift we have, the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ and how through him we can have everlasting peace and happiness. We pray that you will have a prosperous and safe 2022 and look forward to seeing you there.