Annual Poem 2017

Dear Friends and Family,
Before we welcome twenty-one-eight,
It’s time for our annual rhyming update.
As 2017 was arriving,
We kicked it off with some indoor skydiving.
Winter is a great time for sightseeing!
We took our guests for some amazing skiing.
Winter is also a great time for a dare:
Brinton (temporarily) dyed purple her hair!
As spring break arrived, it was time for a quest:
We decided to explore our nation’s Northwest.
We stayed with loved ones rather than in resorts,
And finally got to use the kids’ new passports.
Vancouver Island is where we were craving:
Ferries, a Bug Zoo, Tim Hortons, and great caving.
Before we knew it, the school year came to a close:
At Garrett’s graduation picnic, we nearly froze!
More visits from our loved ones, face-to-face,
We love showing off this amazing place!
A prize trip to San Fran for a Tesla tour was ours—
As I referred others from our own Tesla memoirs.
Dan watched the Pikes Peak Hill Climb with its speed and mistakes.
I went to Niagara Falls and New York’s Finger Lakes.
At last, it was time for our summer family roadtrip
Towing the pop-up camper with our Tesla spaceship.
North we went to Montana’s Glacier National Park.
A stunning place, it deserves your bucket list checkmark.
Then much further north into Alberta we drove,
The Canadian Rockies are such a treasure trove.
We spent time in hot springs, gondolas, and a canoe.
The whole place is spectacular. Canada, thank you!
Back over the border in our homeland,
We drove to Yellowstone, to see a certain band.
We spent time with family and enjoyed their music.
For us (and the car), the stop was therapeutic.
Back home, so I could repack—you must think I’m silly—
And hop on another plane to travel to Philly.
As I arrived home—in the Denver airport doorway—
We welcomed our exchange student, Emma from Norway.
She’s a senior in high school, Brinton is in third.
Garrett’s a kindie, learning his numbers and words.
We wasted no time planning even more trips:
We couldn’t miss the Total Solar Eclipse!
With an extra day and enough power,
We went to Mount Rushmore and Devil’s Tower!
(I promise, we all go to school, activities and work.
But school breaks, no gas, and teleworking have a huge perk.)
I’m sure you think this list of trips is outrageous.
But in October we took a trip to Las Vegas.
We fit in a Britney show, Arches, Zion (lots of pics!),
Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, balloons and Route 66.
Our Halloween costume takes a lot of time to plan.
This year we were the characters from Lego Batman.
In November, a “me” trip—international and grand!
A stopover in China, but two whole weeks in Thailand!
The trip was unforgettable—no need to convince:
Temples, markets, monkeys, boxing, and bathing elephants!
A beautiful country, kind people, incredible trees.
I even managed to find a beach named after me!
While local, my year was filled driving Denver’s streets,
Helping students, and making a thousand movie treats.
Dan played basketball as often as he could.
Now if only his adult-league team were any good.
Brinton still loves creating, focusing on the details.
She also loves Roblox, Minecraft and killer whales.
Garrett’s doing awesome, he’s reading and writing.
His passion for Legos is equally exciting.
I hope you’ve had a good year and next year is serene,
If we don’t meet up, have a great 2018!
May our offer for a visit pose no dilemma.
Love,
Kamala, Daniel, Brinton, Garrett, Lucy and Emma
- Garrett indoor skydiving. Despite begging to go, he did NOT enjoy it!
- Before we went indoor skydiving on New Year’s Day.
- Skiing at Copper with Larkin and Ingrid (Mel not pictured).
- Indoor ski lessons for Garrett and Brinton at Snöbahn!
- Skiing with Zeeni and Jordan at Loveland.
- In our amazing neighborhood for Valentine’s Day.
- Brinton with purple hair. It suits her!
- For Brinton’s 2nd grade Wax Museum project, she was Amelia Earhart.
- At one of the best Superchargers stops in Twin Falls, Idaho along the Snake River and BASE jumpers.
- We surprised Dan’s grandparents with a visit in March (in Lewiston, Idaho).
- Dan in 2017
- On the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, in Washington State.
- Exploring Port Gamble, Washington with Rebecca and family.
- Caving in Vancouver Island, BC.
- At the Victoria Bug Zoo, in Victoria, BC.
- Enjoying doughnuts at Tim Hortons in Vancouver, BC.
- Visiting with cousins Dezmin and Markus in Emmett, Idaho.
- Shark! Brinton and her classmate Michael at the Denver Aquarium.
- With our (temporary) exchange student, Ingrid on her 18th birthday
- Brinton visiting with the Easter Bunny.
- Digging out from a late April snow storm. Garrett was a super sweet helper!
- Garrett with Dan’s Slingshot. The Slingshot did not get much use this year, since we spent so much time in the Teslas!
- At Garrett’s preschool end-of-year picnic, we got tons of snow! In May! Garrett with Miss Becky and Mrs. Riedy.
- At Echo Lake (near Mount Evans), while showing Bella (an exchange student I supervised) some of the beauty of Colorado before she had to return to South Korea.
- Showing Bella and host sister Tia around Roxborough.
- We took the visiting Melpolders to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO, with the best views of any zoo ever!
- Climbing around Garden of the Gods with the Melpolders.
- Zeeni came to visit several times, yay! She should just move here!
- Lucy graduated from Intermediate training this year. I think she got by on her looks!
- Playing at Chatfield State Park’s beach/lake (only 10 minutes from our house!)
- At the Tesla VIP factory tour with our fellow Tesla owner friends, Giuliano and Sheri.
- With Chet at one of the tons of waterfalls in the beautiful Finger Lakes region.
- With Natalie in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
- Congratulations to Jeannie for graduating from high school and being accepted to UVA!
- At Niagara Falls, Ontario with Natalie, Jeannie and Chet.
- A day trip up to Mount Evans, one of Colorado’s 14ers.
- Playing in the car on our roadtrip.
- A quick stop in Kalispell, Montana. Thanks, Janet!
- At a snow melt lake in Glacier. Thank goodness it was 100°F that day!
- Our setup for the month of July: Tesla Model X towing a pop-up camper. We charged the car at all the campgrounds along the way (so efficient!).
- Waterfalls near Glacier National Park, Montana.
- Hiking to Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park.
- Mastering their begging faces in Montana.
- To celebrate 150 years of confederation, Starbucks created a special Canadian Frappaccino. Yum!
- Up above Banff, Alberta
- The chipmunks in Banff are so friendly!!!
- Jordan and Garrett in Banff, AB
- A waterfall near Banff, Alberta.
- At the Radium Hot Springs Pool in Kootenay National Park, BC.
- A bighorn sheep near our campground in Radium, British Columbia.
- While dry camping in Radium, we used the Tesla’s battery to power everything in our camper.
- In Jasper, Alberta
- Lake Louise, Alberta.
- Canoeing on Lake Louise in Alberta. Yes, that is really the color of the water.
- Brinton at a Canadian Rockies waterfall
- At West Thumb, in Yellowstone.
- Melissa is quite good at finding all the safe berries on a hike in Yellowstone.
- Visiting Old Faithful with the Tans
- At Old Faithful with Maria
- When Garrett wants to make a mean face, you might as well all join in.
- Our neighbor in Yellowstone: a bison who meant no harm.
- With sister Colleen, BIL Tim (members in a string quartet at the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone every summer), along with daughters Maria and Melissa.
- Our quick stop in Cody, Wyoming with the Thompsons
- These cousins all swear they are going to be YouTube stars. We’ll see…
- With cousin Scott during our brief stop in Cody, Wyoming.
- For all of my travels this year, I packed everything in either a backpack or carry-on and wore my Sash Bag everywhere.
- At the barracks in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
- Emma’s arrival in Denver
- Random costuming with Garrett
- Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. (Go watch “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”!)
- The view from the top of the boulders at Devil’s Tower.
- A nighttime visit of Mount Rushmore
- During the Solar Eclipse
- Watching the Total Solar Eclipse in Torrington, Wyoming.
- At Bishop’s Castle
- Atop Bishop’s Castle
- At a Colorado Rockies game (in the mile-high purple row).
- Under Double Arch in Arches
- In Zion National Park.
- Along one of the hikes in Zion
- Watching the Bellagio’s fountain.
- At the Hoover Dam
- After we saw Britney Spears perform, Emma and I took a ride in the LINQ Highroller to get a great view of the entire city.
- Custom M&Ms from M&M World
- Under the lights at Fremont Experience in Vegas.
- Williams, Arizona IS Radiator Springs (from “Cars”).
- Emma checking off a Bucket List item: the Grand Canyon
- The last morning of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta wasn’t cooperative for a grand ascension. Next year!
- At a Bethel Halloween party with fellow Bee Marnie.
- 2017’s Halloween costume: The LEGO Batman Movie (Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Joker, Batman, Robin, and Phyllis).
- Kamala in Beijing (Bird’s Nest and Lama Temple).
- Kamala’s adventures in Thailand
- At the Hua Hin night market enjoying street food with Allie and Tiffany.
- Seriously, these trees (bodhi tree pictured) are so amazing!
- At a dinner in Chiang Mai with fellow EFers.
- Bathing elephants at a sanctuary in Thailand. I also covered myself in mud!
- At an Orchid Farm with Meghan (another EFer, and as it turns out a fellow former Masonic youth!).
- What a fun experience to see some authentic Thai boxing while in Chiang Mai (with fellow EFers, Mike and Nicole).
- Just like in “Tangled,” it was awesome to see the floating lights in Phuket!
- Enjoying a fresh coconut in Kamala Beach, Thailand.
- Lucy’s sister Pippa came for a visit. Yes, this is an absurd photo.
- A few of the 1,000 movie-themed treats I made for our neighborhood movie nights.
- Visiting Virginia for Dad’s 80th birthday, and Chan and Chase, my twin nephews’ 21st birthday.
- Emma at a Denver Nuggets game
- Brinton in 2017
- Garrett in 2017
- State Signs we stopped at with Emma in the fall of 2017
- It’s been an extremely busy year! Naps are a must!
- Happy Holidays!
Lovely as always!
What a year! Incredible trips! Such a special family. I enjoyed the poem and the photos. Love to you all!
Fabulous year and photos to a family that deserves it all!!! Thanks for sharing this K! Love to the family from our clan!!