As the year comes to a close, I looked back at the photos, videos, and blog posts we’ve shared to celebrate God’s provisions for our life.
Rosie’s Passing
We unfortunately started the year with the passing of our gerbil Rosie. She and her sister were such joys to us and we are forever grateful for their company during the pandemic.
The Kids
The three kids continue to cross life milestones and we’re busy shuttling them from one activity to another. They’re all hard-working, compassionate, and artistic.
Kadie is a sophomore continuing on her biomedical path at Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering (BASE). She started crocheting this year and made cute animals as gifts for others. She also enjoys dancing with grace and strength in her aerial arts class.
Violet started high school at the Arts and Communications Magnet Academy (ACMA). She has grown her love for singing by joining the Synergy choir group at ACMA and also the Pacific Youth Choir in Portland. She is often singing throughout the day.
Bruce started middle school at BASE. He has adjusted well to the higher requirements and joined the badminton club. He continues to enjoy collecting Star Wars LEGOs and playing Minecraft.
Chris and Emily’s Wedding
In February, we drove to California and attended Chris and Emily’s wedding. It was a fantastic family reunion and we had a blast celebrating the beginning of their adventure together. The kids are looking forward to the next wedding and party with the family.
After the wedding, we made a detour to San Francisco for sightseeing, since the kids had never been. We enjoyed a few major tourist attractions and ventured further south to admire the sea creatures in the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
We thankfully got home an hour before the snow closed down Portland.
Anniversary at Next Level Pinball
Jenni and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary at the Next Level Pinball arcade. We enjoyed an afternoon shooting light guns, racing Batmobiles, jumping over obstacles, and admired the wall-to-wall pinball collection.
Painting Miniatures
My interest for board and card games got reignited after Christmas last year and I received the game Marvel Untied for my birthday. The game included ten unpainted miniatures and our family learned how to paint them.
We’ve collected a few more expansions and backed the third season of the game on Kickstarter.
We’re going to be busy painting over a hundred miniatures next year.
Pacific City with the Hill Family
Jenni’s family gathered at the beach for their parents’ joint 70th birthday party. The beach house was close to the beach and we took advantage of it. We watched fireworks on the beach for Independence Day and snapped family portraits.
Fiddler on the Roof
Jenni had a dream come true when she joined the ensemble cast for Fiddler on the Roof. She held multiple roles that used her singing and dancing skills. Violet joined the crew and helped move sets and props for the production.
Kadie, Bruce, and I helped out with photography and videography. I was very impressed at the quality of the production and have a greater appreciation of what goes into the production like that.
20 Years at Vernier
In November, I crossed a milestone and celebrated 20 years at Vernier. I’m so incredibly blessed to have a workplace that I have thrived on meaningful projects to help educators teach science with Vernier’s products. There are so many kind and smart people who make it one of the best places to work in Oregon.