Dad was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. He went to the hospital with a UTI that turned into pneumonia (1/6). Very rough.
Jonah got a 1470 on the SAT (beating my score by 10 points!) (5/4). He was accepted at Texas A&M (10/25). He took Calculus and Communications at ACC.
Daniel was confirmed (5/5). Pastor Brock Abbott confirmed him. His confirmation verse is 1 John 4:4 - “Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world.” The Schroeders came, and my parents hosted a party for him.
Kaeta graduated from CHS (5/24). She got the choir to sing Wild Mountain Thyme as their senior song, which was beautiful. Commencement speach by Pr. Wolfmueller. My parents hosted a very fun grad party for her (5/26), and Kaethe Ward got to be there. We moved Kaeta up to Lubbock (8/16), Horn Hall room 127.
Plays we saw:
- Daniel’s ODA play, The Secret Adversary. He was a butler and really lit up the stage, even with a small role.
- Newsies (Joel and Alanna were leads, Curt played Joe Pulitzer, Kendra was Madame Something-or-other)
- Twice Upon a Time (Daniel’s theater camp; he played one of the 3 pigs and also one of the 7 dwarves)
- Night at the Wax Museum (Daniel’s production theater). Daniel’s character had a phone as a prop, so he used a real phone and took selfies while performing.
- Seussical! With Jonah as the Mayor of Whoville and Daniel as a Wickersham.
I finished editing and publishing a new edition of Pastor Harris’s devotional book, Me and My Arrows. Carl Roth had a heart attack (5/20) while on vacation in Corpus. A “widowmaker,” but he survived and they put 2 stints in.
Laurie/estate stuff:
- Car insurance on the Lexus! (5/23) K and I went to Houston and brought it home, along with the variable-pressure mattress and the folding lift (6/1). Ate at Star Pizza, which hasn’t changed a bit and was great!
- TSP released 401k funds only after I got my congressman (John Carter) involved! Laurie would roll her eyes. The funds transfered on Laurie’s birthday (9/18).
- Sold the house (4/10).
I was named head elder to replace Bill Inman, who moved away from the area. Trinity called Vicar Josh Killion to be our pastor (10/15). He was installed on the first Sunday in Lent (3/9).
Jonah mowed regularly at church with Daniel Harris. The boys and I tilled and planted grass seed. This didn’t work very well. (6/13)
Gary and Mary’s 55th wedding anniversary (6/9). They received a blessing during their church service.
Polygrok. This continued through August, but then it ended.
Hackathon 2024, Park City Utah. Played ping pong with Brandon Hayes. While I was there, Daniel went to Dell Children’s Hospital – they thought appendicitis, but it was inflamed lymphnodes, maybe from a virus.
Lucy died July 4th. We had an appointment to put her down on July 3rd but canceled it. We came back from watching fireworks and found her.
Daniel went to Lutheran Valley Retreat in Colorado with a group from St. Paul (6/16). Jonah went to Camp Lone Star with Thomas and Ben (6/30/23).
Trip to Branson with the Copelands (7/12). Saw the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Bentonville, AR. In Branson, we stayed at the Majestic Moose Lodge. We saw the play Queen Esther (again!) at Sights and Sounds theater. When came out of the play, we learned that Trump had been shot in Butler, PA. Silver Dollar City.
After Branson, Higher Things. Jamie Terral was there. Trinity was broken into that week. We gave Emma and Sam Roth a ride back to Texas.
Game Night with Josiah Bell’s family. (7/20) Kaeta broke up with Josiah (10/28). By Thanksgiving, she had started dating Cooper.
Kaeta: “In the game Ridiculous Fishing, when you unlock a new biome with new fish… I bet this is what it was like to discover America.”
Saw Counting Crows at the Moody Center (Anabelle came, using Kaeta’s ticket). Saw The Arcadian Wild at Antone’s with Daniel, Jud, and Anabelle. Saw Matt the Electrician at Radio East. Karianne and I saw Sam Salem at Cap City Comedy Club (for our anniversary).
Gus ran into Mary, knocking her down, and she broke her knee.
Austin Ukulele Society with Daniel: Toxic by Britney Spears (10/10).
We saw the Aurora Borealis… in Walburg! Sort of – just a faint green along the horizon.
While hanging out with Anabelle in the Georgetown square, Daniel saw Gordon Ramsey filming an episode of Kitchen Nightmares.
Mark Boerger’s funeral. Saw Jason, Betsy, and Stefani.
Cubing competitions: UT Arlington, 10/26. U of H, 1/4. Austin Cubing Limits, 1/11.
Trump was elected again.
I built paneling in the half bath. We installed peel-and-stick wallpaper, which took forever and did not stay stuck very well – YouTubers lied about this!
Purchased my first handgun (Springfield Hellcat Pro). Kaeta came with me to Eagle Peak Gun Range to try it out.
Daniel cut a slit (on purpose) in his right eyebrow. This was short-lived, thankfully. (12/18)
We played Pickleball on 12/31 with the Bishops, just barely keeping a new years resolution.
Homemade affogatos! (1/12, ice cream + shots of espresso from Black Rock Coffee)
Jonah organized a surprise party for Daniel at Urban Air (1/19), a complete success.
Daniel got his learner’s permit (in Killeen – and I got pulled over on the way there!). He got a job at Sonic and we opened a checking account for him.
I recorded and released an EP on Spotify: tiny lightning, by paragraph vultures.
The boys started their podcast, Baja Blast Wednesdays.
Mary: “You can’t be on a diet on Valentine’s Day! It’s against human love!”
Tongue twister: “Kaeta says she wishes she was a shark.”
Explosion / fire underground at Tech. Green fire from a manhole. Spring break starts early!
Started digging a bocce court in the back yard.
Alex and Megan got married (4/24). Very small but beautiful wedding at Cedar Valley out near Lakeway.