2003 with the Suddaths

So, here we are again - another year has come and gone; we hope your year was as good as ours was. We had a lot of fun, made some new friends, connected with some old ones, and made plans to see some others next year! We also managed to stay healthy (although not necessarily “wealthy and wise”) All in all, life is pretty good, don't you agree?? The kids are both doing well, for which we are also thankful. So, here is our year in a nutshell:

January:

We started off the new year at the “Pepsi Center” listening to Neal Diamond sing our favorite songs - the kids got us tickets for Christmas. A Great Show! Other than that, Barb was pretty busy - working 3 days a week; the office is short-handed, so she is able to earn some ”traveling money”!

February:

Mike turns 30!! Hard to believe that my 6'5” “baby” is getting old - good thing I was a child bride.... We celebrate with dinner at a cajun seafood restaurant - Yum! This month was even busier at the office - Barb was there 3-4 days a week, while trying to find time for her crafts and going to the health club. Boy, have we been spoiled!

March:

Our friends Donna and Ed came to visit, from California for Ed's grandson's wedding. While Donna is here, we have a “girls get together” so she can visit with everyone - we have another gathering in Colorado Springs with everyone from the school there. We have great fun shopping, eating, and playing cards and “Mexican Train” while they are here. Ed's grand-daughter sent us our newest family member: Java - a large black and white cat! He and “Little Bob” have a great time playing together - and now in the evenings, we each have a cat in our lap. On the day Donna and Ed were supposed to fly back to California, the “Blizzard of 2003” begins! So we spent an extra week playing and eating and shoveling snow - close to 40” of it! Took some great pictures, though - and since we were lucky enough not to lose power, it was a fun adventure. Sadly, Bob lost his dad this month. We can only be grateful he had a long and interesting life. We will miss him greatly.

April:

We spent most of the month getting back in shape by spending time at our health club - the office is fully staffed again, so no work for a while - enjoyed a few lunches with friends - have to stay in touch with everyone! Toward the end of the month, we headed for Salt Lake City - Donna's son Rick is getting his Masters Degree, and we're invited to the ceremony.

May:

We spent several days with Rick and Rita (Donna is there too!) - they are getting ready to move into a beautiful, spacious townhome - Rick is proud to have his diploma - Rita treats us to an interesting theatrical production in nearby Park City - the shopping was fun there, too! On our way home, we visited Dinosaur National Monument; an interesting side trip. Barb managed to spend a few days at the office - also kept up with some of her craft projects. We are grateful every day for how well life is treating us.

June:

We are off on our much - anticipated river cruise in Europe! We meet our friends Sam and Leona in Amsterdam - 3 days prior to the ship's departure. Spent those days exploring this canal - riddled city. A water taxi takes us everywhere we want to go, including Anne Frank's preserved hideaway. We then boarded our ship for 15 days of fantastic scenery, visiting a different place in Germany or Austria every day - walking tours, medieval castles, historically - significant visits to a variety of ancient buildings. We had great local cuisine, fabulous dining on board - spectacular shopping experiences and as a whole, the trip was wonderful!

July:

The chefs on board even baked a huge cake decorated as a flag, to celebrate July 4th. As a final treat, we spent 3 days in Budapest before flying home - our hotel was just steps away from their Metro, so we had no trouble exploring from dawn to dusk! After returning home, Barb spent some time working in the Colorado Springs office, then Bob's sister Sandy came to visit. We had such fun while she was here - shopping, eating out, visiting Glenwood Springs and Breckenridge. The only ”negative” was the dreadfully hot weather - we had to go to a movie one day to escape the heat!

August:

We attend a Bronco pre-season game for our 24th anniversary - where have the years gone?! Had a good time - we won, of course... On another sad note, we lost a friend, Stephanie, to cancer. Her amazing struggle lasted almost 9 years - she was an inspiration, and will definitely be missed.

 

 

 

September:

After over 20 years in our house, we decided to install a new countertop in the kitchen. Of course it's blue, and we love it! Too bad we don't stay home long enough to enjoy it - after Barb covers her old job for a week, we leave on our 7 week eastern trip - first stop: Pennsylvania to visit Donna and Ed. After a fun week there, playing “Mexican Train” and catching up, we head to Virginia to see Al, Karen and Casey - spent a weekend there watching Casey play soccer, going to a chile cookoff, giving Barb's little brother grief. Then we are off for a week visiting “Colonial Williamsburg” with some friends from Massachusetts who meet us there. This was our first trip there, and we really enjoyed it - learned a lot of history, had fun, did some shopping, and found time to play “Pitch”.

October:

We head north, to Massachusetts to visit Sandy and George - Sandy took some time off so we could ”play” - we shopped, visited ”Pickity Place” in New Hampshire, had some good seafood, and went to a ”Renaissance Faire”. Next, we got on a ship in Boston for a 10 day cruise to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Quebec and Maine. This was a great trip - fantastic foliage, cool weather, great food and good company - our friends Sam and Leona brought along 6 other couples, so we made new friends as well. After returning to Boston, we went with Sandy and George for a few days in upstate New York to visit a friend Barb has not seen in 27 years! What fun! We had a good time Christmas shopping at a huge craft fair in Syracuse - spent some time house hunting for Sandy and George and had a wonderful visit - we hope to see Jan and Will again soon!

November:

We're home again! Time to recharge and get ready for the holidays - finished up the Christmas shopping - worked another week - spent a quiet Thanksgiving with the kids and cats - watched football and enjoyed each other's company. Kama is anxiously awaiting the outcome of the big trial her firm has been involved in for the past several months. Her future depends on it! Mike is anxious to get to his girlfriends house - she spent Thanksgiving with her family.

December:

We are getting ready for a week in Hawaii - looking forward to visiting Volcanoes National Park on the “Big Island” - our first trip to Hawaii in almost 7 years. We'll be back in time to mail these letters and do last minute shopping - Barb has to work yet another week - and then it's Christmas!

 

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season - and stays healthy - the flu here in Colorado is bad news! We hope to see you next year - you never know where we might turn up - take care and enjoy life!

Please keep in touch, stay well and have a great 2004!

Barb & Bob