Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What a wonderful year this has been for our family.  I hope the same has been true for you in these challenging times.  Our family again been exploring the world and loving it.

Azamara Journey in Patmos, Greece

Some say I "boast" of our travels, but that is never my intention. I really am trying to share our joy and invite you to experience the same wonders.  For Julie and me, our most amazing vacation this year took us to the Holy Lands aboard Azamara Journey, and having toured Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Galilee enriches our Christmas experience this year.

Emma the Ballerina

We also cruised to Hawaii on Grand Princess, took the Surfliner train to Pismo Beach, drove to Montana for July hiking with Jay, and made three trips to New York this year, spending time at the Lovasi BnB in New City hosted by our star granddaughter Emma, who is now in kindergarten.

Emma must be well ahead of her class, because she can read and write at about third grade level.  She's also learned to somersault in gymnastics and plié at ballet.  Emma, incidentally, put together a travel book of her own featuring places she's visited, and it makes quite an impressive list for a 5 year-old.  This year, she joined her parents on a few trips out of state, including a quick trip to Redondo Beach.  She stayed with us in New City while Gina and Laszlo went on a "date cruise" to Canada/New England.

Gina and Laszlo Recently Celebrated Their 10th Anniversary

Gina's work as a Columbia University epidemiologist brought her to South Africa, Brazil and several cities around the USA to consult and make presentations.  She's recently been working on a water project for Rio De Janeiro in preparation for the 2016 Olympics.  Her husband Laszlo has successfully transitioned from being a middle school teacher in the inner city to being a computer tech manager.  He continues to cultivate the part of teaching he loves as a tutor on evenings and weekends, making hay while the sun shines.

Amy and Lukas In Santa Monica

Amy took an extended trip to Portugal and Spain in the fall, cashing in vacation days earned at her new job as Digital Editor of Travel+Leisure, where she learned to appreciate some of the finer boutique hotels. She also took shorter trips to Germany to visit her boyfriend Lukas, who was finishing his masters program, thanks to T+L allowing Amy to occasionally work remotely because of the nature of her job, which after all is about travel. When at home, she commutes to the office from her new Harlem apartment that she shares with good friend and science journalist Rachel. Amy also came out to California twice and takes frequent quick trips to upstate New York or to her sister's place in New City.

Jay visited Chez Lovasi for Thanksgiving, which this year was a Festivus for the Youngest of Us, with Amy also joining the celebration in New City, while Julie and I headed down to a wonderful stay with our siblings' families in San Diego for the holiday.

Jay in the Yellow Mountains of China

Jay's big trip this year took him to China to visit his friends Jimmy and Amiya, who proved to be exemplary hosts, taking him to the Great Wall, the Yellow Mountains, the Longji Rice Fields, the Guilin Mountains, and quaint Chinese villages as well as exciting Shanghai and Beijing. Jay remarked that he ended up consuming way too much food as Jimmy would order nearly everything on the menu at every meal so Jay could taste it all. Jay also went on several shorter trips, including Colorado, Fourth of July in Montana, and Chicago for the Lollapalooza Music Festival, which ties in directly with his job at Universal Music. When Jay's boss left UMe unexpectedly, Jay applied for her position as Creative Director for Film and Television Music and subsequently landed it.

Wes and Julie at Yellowstone National Park

For Christmas, our family will all re-unite in Big Sky, Montana, where we'll hook up with sister Darlene, Brooks and BG3 for what is sure to be an amazing ski vacation. We are truly blessed to be able to return to that beautiful mountain area regularly.

I had planned to write a short message rather than one so long that it not simply encourages but probably demands skimming, but what can I say?  I'm just so grateful to God to be so blessed that I want to share it all with you, and believe it or not, I barely scratched the surface.

Stained Glass in Church of St. Catherine, Bethlehem

May you and yours be blessed with a merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!

Love,

Wes, Julie & Family

P.S. As always, you can print on any of the photos to make them larger, and hotlinks take you to more information about a particular topic.