Year In Review (AKA Christmas Letter)

Happy Holidays!

I guess this could be considered a modern day version of a printed Christmas letter. We had the best intentions of getting our annual photo montage out to everyone, but it just didn't happen. (insert long story about computer repair guy here) This year has flown by, but as you can see we've had many great adventures. Here is a quick re-cap of some of the highlights:

March: Our year started out training for a half marathon. Yes, "we." We signed up for the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA sponsored by Yuengling Beer (pronounced Ying Ling). We had a great trip! There were ten of us who flew out to participate in either the half or full marathon. This was Drew's debut half-marathon and possibly his last. A fun addition to the event was in addition to your normal hydration stations, there were several opportunities to partake in a Yuengling Beer. We ran the first 6 or 7 miles and run/walked the last half. It was a good experience and has kept us running since, just not as far. Definitely learned that more training will be in order before our next attempt.

April: Kelli and Drew took on new positions at the railroad. Drew is a Manager of Shipment Management in the Ag Products group. He manages the operation of 100-car grain trains and has traveled around Iowa/Nebraska to see how grain elevators load trains. He is really enjoying the new position. Kelli is a Sr Business Manager in the Industrial Products group pricing cement. It was a new transition from her previous logistics job, but she is finding it rewarding to understand this market in a down economy.

June: Drew and Kelli rode part of the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska (BRAN). This was Kelli's first experience riding in BRAN. Aside from a few mental barriers she had to break through, she did really well. It was a great route and we got to see some beautiful scenery in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Yes, there is beautiful scenery in Nebraska. We were up in the sandhill and Niobrara area, and stayed in Callaway, Dunning, Ainsworth, and Butte ending our pedaling in Creighton. Due to lack of vacation we did not ride the whole week, but Drew did go to Shelby on Friday night to ride the last day to Yutan. Maybe some year we'll be able to ride the entire week.

August: Drew took a motorcycle class at one of the Harley-Davidson dealers. It was one of the hardest things mentally he's ever done. The coordination needed to ride a motorcycle is unlike anything needed to drive a car. He got his motorcycle license and bought a new motorcycle a week after the class was completed. He rides to work to save gas and rides on the weekends exploring the "countryside". Kelli has ridden on the back a couple times and seems to like it. At some point they plan to take some small weekend trips.

September: We drove up to Minneapolis to see Kelli's Uncle Tim and Aunt Terri. Our friends Chris and Karol rode with us. They also have family up there so we rode together to decrease our carbon footprint. We did some shopping (you should see all of the fabulous things that Karol & Kelli were able to squeeze in the trunk from Ikea!), Drew and Tim watched the Nebraska game (Go Huskers!), and we all hung out and had a good time.

October: Is always our busiest month - we're not sure why, but we definitely were able to cram in a lot of activities each weekend. For Kelli, it started off with the Midwest Lampworkers Guild All Member Show at the Hot Shops Art Center. Kelli was one of the show coordinators. The opening was a smashing success thanks to all of the work of the members and the recruitment of a local musician to play at the event. The following weekend, Kelli and her mom went to the Prairie Point Junction Quilt Retreat near Cozad, NE. Drew spent the same weekend at the farm in Bethany with our friend Tom. They worked on cutting firewood and hiking trails for the camping trip later in the month. The next weekend debuted the Art in the Bag fundraiser for Cancer Research, Awareness and Care. This was a first-year event and we raised nearly $3600. The committee is already brainstorming ideas for next year. The next weekend we drove to Austin, TX to participate in the Livestrong Challenge. Our friends Mike and Stacey have gone the last 5 years and we decided to join them for the event. We ran on Saturday (3 miles) and rode our bikes on Sunday (45 miles). Several times throughout the weekend we were able to see Lance Armstrong. The event is a definite repeat and we can't wait to go back to Austin. Good eats! Finally - we made it to the last weekend and went on our annual fall camping trip to Bethany with our friends.

November: Kelli started taking an enameling class at the LUX Art Center in Lincoln with her friend Betsy. The class met every Monday for six weeks. She also went to Camp Calvin Crest for a scrapbook retreat though she pulled some strings and actually took her sewing machine to work on some unfinished (UFO) projects. For Thanksgiving, we flew out Pittsburgh to visit Drew's brother and family. It was a great trip where we got to meet their new addition Lauren Mae born on Sept 29th and to see the kids. Austin (almost 4) and Renee (2) are talking now, so it was fun to interact with them. Julia is nearing the teenager years and has grown up so much since we first met her. It was a great weekend, though always too short. Bill and Jen are keeping busy with kids, work and their farm. We're hopeful to get back out for another visit after the first of the year.

That brings us to December. Drew went to the Big 12 Championship game with a couple coworkers to entertain some customers - a cold game but a fun trip. Kelli finished her enamelling class. Hopefully she'll get some pictures of the neat things she's been making posted on her blog soon. And, we hosted our annual Cookiefest Party which is a fun gathering of friends and food. For the Holidays we'll be celebrating in Nebraska from Cedar Bluffs to LaVista to Auburn to Grand Island.Have a safe holiday! And a wonderful 2009!

Drew & Kelli
Toby & Simon

Happy Holidays

The holiday storm is upon us once a gain. We have 5 separate get togethers this year.
Tuesday night at Nancy and Jim's with Chris, Stacey, Blake, Hunter, and Kennedy, Troy, and Teresa.
Wednesday night at our house with Judy, Pete, and Michael.
Thursday day at Aunt Jackie's with Drew's Mom's side of the family.
Thursday night at Stan and Sue's.
Sunday day in Grand Island with all the Traudts

We're also celebrating New Years Eve at our friend Regina's house.

For those of you that we aren't getting together with we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happer New Year.

Drew & Kelli