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Hello family and friends, They say time flies when you're having fun - so I guess it's been a really fun year! After a 23 year hiatus, our family has started growing again. On May 21st, we gained a new sister/daughter when Allen married his high school sweetheart, Kathy. It was a perfect celebration thanks to the love and participation of many people (especially our Fort Worth family who went above and beyond opening their home to us). Allen graduated from UT Dallas with a degree in Mechanical Engineering just one week before the wedding. He and Kathy are now both working in Dallas (she is a Sign Language Interpreter), and they are enjoying having disposable income for the first time ever. Both of their cars took significant hail damage this year, more than the value of Kathy's car - so their first big purchase was a new car!  Allen's graduation - the hard work pays off!  Allen & Patty hiking in Red Rock Canyon (and shortly before getting lost...)  Allen and Kathy are just too cute! Meggy continues to work contentedly for Cigna Insurance. She has really been enjoying the Austin music scene - from small concerts and bands to an entire weekend of live music at ACL Fest. Occasionally she lets Patty tag along. She also likes to compete with Andy for travel bragging rights. This year she took a trip with friends to DC and NY. Best highlight of the trip? -- sitting in the front row for a taping of Jimmy Fallon.  Megan amongst the Easter wildflowers near the house.  Megan and her hard-earned Harry Potter trivia prize.  Megan wins an inaugural game of Cones of Dunshire.  Selfie with Lady Liberty? Done. Andy continues to work successfully as the main programmer for a growing web-based medical services company. He added a country to his quest to catch up with Megan's travels by visiting Canada. He combined the trip with another quest (to see a game at every MLB park) by going to a Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre. He also caught the Yankees in NYC and the Nationals in DC. He still has 19 out of 30 stadiums to visit before crossing this off his bucket list. His quest to visit every microbrewery in the country is going to take a bit longer.  Three more ballparks down - 19 more to go!  Andy completes his first 5K with friend Dries. Perhaps a 10K in 2017?  Andy's handiwork at the annual Ewert family Christmas paint pub visit. Mom is still promising him a real puppy some day.  Allen and Kathy weren't the only ones to buy a car this year! Mike and Patty find it hard to believe that they have completed a full year living in the Austin area. Mike's grand experiment to work remotely for NASA has been quite successful. His main project is logistics reduction for "beyond earth" missions (think "reduce, reuse, recycle" for space travel). He is also taking some online classes at M.I.T. to learn a few new engineering tricks. This year he took a week-long cruise down the Mississippi River in a paddleboat, helping his Dad achieve a lifelong dream to travel in Huck Finn's path. Mike's schedule is symbiotic with Patty's as they commute to Houston together twice monthly for work. While he is off playing at NASA, she tends to Hospice duties. The round-trips across Texas allow us to see friends and family at one end, and enjoy the lifestyle at the other. Toasting the sunset is an ongoing favorite activity. We have enjoyed the visitors at our hill country home, so please don't wait for an invitation to head our way!  Patty & Mike take Mike's father to visit his 102-year-old(!) sister in Minnesota. You'll have to ask for the story behind the horse blanket...  Mike and his father embarking on their paddleboat cruise down the Mississippi.  Patty and Mike atop Enchanted Rock.  Mike and Andy enjoy a sweet Texas football win. Love, Megan, Allen, Kathy, Andy, Mike & Patty  Totally soaked after a water ride at Universal Studios.  All the kids at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden pumpkin patch.  The whole family - all six(!) of us. |
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