Where were you?

Today is the 25th Anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger, STS 51. This is one of my first big memories. Like most school children (I was in kindergarten) I was at school, we were gathered in a central room, and we watched the launch live on television. I don't remember my exact reaction, but I remember knowing that something was very wrong. I'm sure the television was turned off, and we were returned to our rooms. As it turned out, this would become a kind of watershed event for our generation (Jaime has a very similar memory of watching the launch). A "where were you" event, and one of the first tragedies that was spread across the world almost instantly. As such, I felt it appropriate to take a moment to remember it. And I must admit - President Reagan probably put it best -

"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"

-Geoff

(The Boston Globe Big Picture Blog has a great post/pictures as well)

2010 - What a year!

2010, it's been a busy year...
We started the year on an upbeat with our cruise to the Caribbean, then came crashing back down with the death of my Uncle in April. In May, several events culminated - Jaime got a new job, we traveled to London and Paris to visit family, we picked up our new car (I'd been waiting patiently since February, thanks Bro!), and we finally took the plunge, bought our first house, and headed for the suburbs (we're adjusting well!).

Summertime came quickly - Jaime and I both celebrated our 30th birthdays (we're sad if you missed the party!) We got up to speed on working on projects around the house, and we got to spend some quality time up at the cabin. We also celebrated the arrival of our nephew Philip IV!

As the fall rolled around, we headed to Europe once more, to take in Oktoberfest. Got some autobahn cruising in, visited Amsterdam, drank a LOT of beer, and had an awesome time.

Christmastime was great, we got to see all of Jaime's family when we traveled to San Francisco, and also visited some of my family as well. Then we came home and got to see Tina and Ryan and niece Isabel and nephew Peyton, who were visiting from London.

It seems that every single weekend was packed with visiting friends or family, going to see a show, or some sort of travel. No wonder it felt like 2010 flew by. It really has been quite a year. We are truly blessed.

And so, last night, we found ourselves up in Bellingham, ringing in the new year with friends Courtney, Dan, and Craig at Boundary Bay Brewery (with a keg drop!) What will 2011 bring? How can we top last year? Well, 2010 brought one more significant change...

Happy 2011 everyone, here's to another great year!