2022 seemed like the year to make up for everything we missed in the prior two 'Covid' years.  For David and me this meant more travel than normal for us.  While all this travel is very fun and exciting, home also seems like a welcome relief at times.  Hopefully 2023 will be a more normal year for us, but as you will see, this is doubtful.

First, a kid update.  Our grandson, Ethan, started Holland Hall in early preschool this fall.  For us, it's all the joy of an outstanding education without the annoying phone calls letting us know of little 'incidents' along the way.  Ethan fit right in from the beginning which hopefully means I'll be able to present him with a diploma down the road.  His current career goals are piloting a monster truck but I bet that changes somewhere along the way.  He's his Pappa's best friend and loves to hang out with us as time allows.  We couldn't ask for more.

Jason is finishing a Masters from Georgia Tech in Analytics (I hope I got this right because I have a hard time remembering the exact title, old age!).  This truly seems like a field he's totally bought into.  Alexa continues to grow her business, Alexa's Illustrations.  You can find her at alexasillustrations.com/shop if you looking for a last minute Christmas gift or an anytime of the year gift.

Brandon has had a very adventurous year.  The end of 2021 found him in Washington D.C. in a serious relationship.  The relationship continued in a positive direction culminating in an engagement with Kathryn (and a move back to California).  We love them as a couple and look forward to their nuptials sometime in 2023. He continues to work as a project manager for Jackson Family Wines which has been a good fit since he continues to grow his wine knowledge in his spare time.

Now for us.  Despite our best efforts we added a year to our age which continues to climb.  David and I continue our love of photography and David is still pursuing his love of the smell of gasoline fumes (that sounds like a drug problem, doesn't it?).  What I mean is he's still spending time under the hood of cars and loving every minute of it.  I am still doing my CPA thing while also volunteering with a couple of organizations.  

Travel this year started in March with a trip to Amelia Island for the Concours (fancy car show).   A weekend in Detroit (car related again) was followed by a photography trip to San Francisco and wine country which was dubbed 'A Day in the Life of Brandon' since he had lived in all these places at one point or another.  We traveled to NYC for a short trip  to visit our friends who were finally allowed to travel outside of  Australia. Tired yet???

May found us on the beaches of Anguilla with friends.  We're not used to laying around on vacation so this was a good change of pace. We made our annual trek to Colorado for a few weeks in July and August with a side trip to Santa Fe.  Labor Day weekend found us in Chicago for a food weekend.  

Our longest trip of the year was to Tanzania, a photography trip that had suffered from two years of postponements due to our friend, Covid.  This photography trip was all animals all the time.  Lions, giraffes, hippos, zebras, wildebeest,  we saw it all.  Roaming through three National Parks, we experienced life in very nice tent camps, both permanent and seasonal, for almost two weeks.  I highly suggest a photo safari to anyone that loves animals.

To finish out the year, San Miguel Allende's Day of the Dead festivities and a trip to Cuba in December concluded our photography adventures.  Both were colorful and crazy in their own way.  Definitely target rich for those of us with cameras.

In between travels, we have enjoyed family and friends over drinks and dinners and have generally enjoyed good health.  Hoping that all of you have had a year filled with joy and look forward to a 2023 filled with hope and inner peace (repeat after me.....om).  Until next year.....

Tammie and David