Happy Holidays,
As we near the end of 2021, we are grateful for life and health. We began 2021, celebrating our 40th anniversary, with Audrey’s family staying with us for close to two months. Due to Covid, Audrey homeschooled the girls, so they had the flexibility to learn from Arizona. We went on lots of field trips, hiking and finding petroglyphs. We hiked with Claire’s family at Picacho Peak. We helped Mary prep her house in Phoenix to put on the market. We were busy and wearing masks.
We were vaccinated in late January and February. We took a trip to Kauai in early April, and rented a cottage on the beach, enjoying the magnificent scenery after a year at home. In June and July, we spent five weeks in Abiquiu, NM. Audrey brought the girls to stay with us a few days and we visited Chaco Canyon and Bandelier National Parks, Ghost Ranch, and Santa Fe. In late July, we flew to Fargo to visit Whitney’s family over two weekends at their lake house in MN, and we spent a few days in between with Audrey’s family in Omaha.
In early August, we spent four days with Toby and Greta, visiting Sedona, renting a boat on Lake Powell for a couple of nights, and touring Antelope Canyon. We were fortunate to see Claire’s family several times during the year, in Phoenix and Tucson. Emerson and Colby stayed with us in March. We took them to Tombstone and hiked in Tucson. Our grandchildren love building fires in the firepit with Papa, so there were plenty s’mores made too!
After getting our Covid booster shots in August, we left on September 2, to fly to France for 10 weeks. We house hunted the first month and purchased a house in the village of Lectoure in early October. We stayed six weeks in a rented house in a nearby village, Saint-Clar, getting to know the area. We plan on spending summers in Lectoure. We stayed a week in Paris, before returning home on November 13. Our Paris apartment was across the street from the Hôtel de Ville with the Notre Dame a block away. We enjoyed waking up and going to bed with all the Parisien activity outside our window, walking along the Seine, and museum hopping every day. It was our best trip ever to Paris.
Cousin Dickie and his wife Susan, visited us in Tucson for a few days just after we got home from France, in early November. We hiked and talked, enjoying time outside with perfect weather. Mary, and our friends Jennie and Jovita joined us for Thanksgiving on the patio. We visited Lynne in San Antonio and Louise’s parents in Kentucky in early December. Our four children are coming to Tucson during the holidays, to celebrate 2021 birthdays and anniversaries. We’re grateful our six youngest grandchildren are now vaccinated. We missed family gatherings and time with friends over the past two years.
We’re hopeful 2022 will be a good year for the world! Make a plan to visit us in France! Stay in touch. We wish you a happy holiday season and New Year!
Love,
Louise & Dale
