2022 in review
As we reflect back on 2022 our overriding theme has been family. This year the boys had a chance to visit with all their first cousins both near and far. It has been wonderful to get back to traveling!
Brian continues to work for Anodot as a DevOps Engineer. Several of his teammates are Ukrainians and their war with Russia has hit a little closer to home as he has heard about how their lives have changed over the last year. He continues to work from home and has made our home study his work office. Judy continues to work in a group practice setting and is now supervising pre- and post-doctoral interns. She used to do this when she lived in Houston and is enjoying the change to supervision in addition to seeing patients.
Blake is now 14 and a Freshman in High School! He continues to be a good student and is enjoying his classes in yearbook and photography. He has taken up an interest in the sciences and is interested in pursuing a career in the medical field when he finishes school.
Brayden is now 13 and in the 7th grade! He is also a good student and seems to have adjusted well to middle school. He continues to enjoy baseball and basketball and recently made his school’s basketball team. We continue to have a basketball hoop in our entry hall (mom was outvoted) and from morning to night Brayden challenges his dad to scrimmages to keep up his game.
A year in reflection…
We began our travels last December with a trip to New York City that Judy had on a “bucket list” as a holiday trip. It did not disappoint! We averaged walking almost 10 miles a day seeing the many sights, and enjoying the holiday markets. Brian and Brayden went ice skating in Central Park and enjoyed a basketball game at Madison Square Garden while Blake and Judy went to watch a Broadway show.
In July we took a trip we had planned to take back in 2020, to go visit Brian’s sister, Renee, and her family, in Paris, France. It is interesting to see how play is the universal language among kids. Despite a language barrier, the cousins could be found out in the backyard jumping on the trampoline or swimming together and having fun! It was nice for the boys to see their cousins, as it had been a few years since they last saw one another.
While in Paris we did the “tourist rounds” with the benefit of having French family to tell us what to see and where to go. Brian finally got to the top of the Effiel tower1. We also went to the top of the Arch de Triomphe. The boys got accustomed to gelato shops and French Macaroons. It was a bit of a shift coming back home!
We also traveled to the French Alps and spent a few days in Chamonix (shaa·muh·nee) and then headed over to Geneva, Switzerland for a short trip. If you have not been to Chamonix or the Alps it is worth a visit. Such beauty! We enjoyed being able to go in an ice glacier and the town itself has all the “feels” of a European Christmas ski town, which was awesome.
We then headed to the Lake of the Ozarks to help Grandpa Joe celebrate his 75th birthday! The boys got to visit with their cousins in the states and we enjoyed doing their usual tradition of going to get ice cream and visiting the shopping strip to check out the local arcade. We also did a cave tour of Bridal Cave which we all enjoyed. It is always a good time to see the boys playing and hanging with their cousins like they never missed a beat!
After the Lake of the Ozarks, we made a stop in Branson to go to Silver Dollar City and see some of the local attractions before making the trip back home for the boys to start their school years.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, to all! Hoping you and yours have a wonderful 2023!
The Clancys
