The Ewert Family 2021

Allen, Kathy & August

That's right, a new addition! - August Jasper Ewert, aka AJ, was this summer's blessing. Currently at 6 months old, he has reached the delightful giggling phase. Allen was promoted to Director of Engineering at Adaptive 3D in Plano. Kathy is back to work as a sign language interpreter, and actively signing to AJ, hoping he will grow to be bilingual. This fall, while working on a relatively simple window replacement, they found old (not active) termite damage in their home which necessitated an unexpected tear-out and rebuild of a huge section of their back wall. Between new baby, home renovations, puppy back injury, and a variety of illnesses, they have been pretty exhausted these last few months, but their perseverance and love for each other continues to inspire us! P.S. - They celebrated their 5th anniversary this year!

Megan

She finally got to scratch her travel itch after being Covid sidelined for almost two years. Triple-vaccinated and ready to take on the world, she took trips to Florida with friends in November, and to the Galapagos Islands / Ecuador in December. She swam with turtles and hiked through mountain waterfalls - Wow! She continues her work as a writer for Cigna. Together with Patty, their small business is off the ground with the purchase of their first rental home this past January. With luck they can add another before the interest rates get crazy. She also bought a new Prius! The car she's been driving since high school reverted back to her parents, who used it to replace the family van (which finally gave up the ghost after 20 years and 200,000 miles). Meg also volunteered a full day on her feet at a vaccination clinic.

Andy

Having survived Covid and later a mysterious throat infection that left him unable to eat for several days, Andy also felt it was time to start enjoying the world again. He checked another two baseball stadiums off his bucket list - Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, and Target Field in Minneapolis (that makes 19 out of 30). He also enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Chicago, and Asheville, NC. When he has the spare time, he's been enjoying volunteering with the Houston Community Fridges project to provide free food to those in the community who need it.

Mike & Patty

Patty has not yet felt up to the rigors of travel, and Mike is still hesitant, so they are grateful to have a nice home for enjoying the extended staycation of working remotely. They hope to take a smallish trip in the spring. Patty added a new moonlighting job this year, which is actually with the same company where Andy works. She also volunteered several shifts mixing Covid vaccines at UT Austin. Mike continues his rewarding career with NASA, with his eyes on the retirement prize (he's technically eligible, but not yet ready). He was the lead NASA engineer involved in development of Tide Infinity - click here for more on that. Research like this could improve life on earth through water conservation, especially in arid regions.

We mentioned in last year's letter, that we enjoyed a White "Christmas" because it snowed in Austin during our rescheduled celebration in January. So fun! However, the Snovid / Snowmeggedon / Ice-pocalypse that followed in February, was not so much fun! And being a life-long renewable energy advocate and expert, Mike is here to tell you that wind and solar energy did NOT cause the failure of the Texas power grid. Mike deserves major kudos for MacGyver-ing our pool equipment after the freeze damage, because we are still on a wait list for repairs. Luckily that was our only significant damage. And there is no denying that although our frozen corner of the world was uncomfortably cold for a little while, it was also incredibly beautiful. The ice-encased trees just glittered in the sun, and most of them survived. We hope all of you who were likewise affected came out mostly unscathed, and that we never see a storm of that magnitude again.