what a year!
Leona started first grade this year! She continued to attend our amazing neighborhood public school that has a Japanese program, where she learns the language and culture daily. She is quickly surpassing Patrick, though she also has an advantage by having so many friends that are native Japanese speakers. It is fascinating to watch her learn, and attempt to learn more, as she schools us from time to time. She loves crafting, swimming, gymnastics, and being a big sister.
Arden is feisty, adorable, and gives us all a run for our money! She loves her big sister, and doesn't want to miss a single minute of time together- especially if that minute is at bedtime! This spring, just before leaving on a 3 week adventure, we discovered she had many nut allergies. We’re optimistic that treatments these days are more advanced than ever before, and thankful that we have so many amazing resources to call for advice. Despite her best self-sabotaging efforts, she turned one this August!
In the spring, we took a trip to Santa Fe, to visit Audrey’s Grandma Lois, and see the sights of Santa Fe. Grandma and Grandpa Bauer met us there, and we had a great time, walking around the square downtown, heading to the mountains to ski, and roaming the galleries for art. It was a great way to spend spring break.
Our summer adventure was a three week tour through Norway, Copenhagen, and a day trip to Sweden! We loved arriving in the very livable & lovable city of Oslo, meeting up with friends from SF who were back in their home city for the summer. Then we took the train (and an unplanned bus and mini-cooper ride) up to the fjords of the Western coast of Norway for one of the most magnificent parts of the world that any of us had been to. We discovered just how kid friendly Norway was, with an entire train car just for kids, and another for families. The waterfalls were incredible that time of year, the summer sun was endless and beautiful, and our boat rides were stunning. We couldn’t believe how awesome that landscape was. Then it was on to Copenhagen, where we quickly settled into the bikefiet life, with the kids enjoying being together in the bike bucket, with a front row seat to exploring the interesting and beautiful city. Traveling Grandma Extraordinaire, Grandma Kathy (Bauer) joined us for the trip, and we were so thankful for her help and company. We even got to go on a few date nights with Audrey riding in the bike bucket seat! We spent one day traveling across the fascinating Øresund Bridge (it becomes a tunnel halfway through!) to Malmö, Sweden in hopes of tracing some family history on Kathy’s mothers’ side. What we didn’t plan for, was that it was Midsommar holiday, which is much like Christmas in that everything shuts down by 3pm! Luckily we found a few friendly stores in the morning that gave us the scoop and we actually had a lovely time exploring a completely empty city, before heading back to our apartment in Copenhagen. All in all, the trip was an amazing trip of a lifetime, we had a blast.
Patrick continues his work at Coda.io, and Audrey guides the team at Studio Maven. This fall, she became Secretary of the PTA for the Japanese program at Leona’s school, so that keeps her busy too. This fall, Kathy (Barry) had a health setback, which kept the whole family busy. While there were a lot of rough patches, there is always a silver lining. We found that our new school friend network is full of parents in the medical field! We were so glad to have their guidance. The friend parents also chipped in, helping shuttle Leona to and from activities when we couldn’t make it. Additionally, we relied extra on support from Audrey’s family, with her brother, Evan, providing a taxi service while in a pinch, and Grama Kathy doing a lot of overtime babysitting, among other things. We are all so thankful for Grama Kay’s improving health and looking forward to having her back as Chief Library-Book Acquirer and In-house Grandma Extraordinaire.
It was a big year, but we're ready to see what's in store for 2024. Wishing you health, happiness, and a bit of peace in the world this year. Bring on the Year of the Dragon!