Where does the time go?
2019 proved to be another amazing year.
Jay had several big life changes. First and foremost, he married his fiance Sasha. They had a
spectacular wedding in Bermuda hosted by Sasha's mother Libby, which exceeded the expectations of not only the happy couple but all who were privileged to attend. They also hosted a casual reception at lovely Balboa Park in San Diego for Jay's aunts, uncles and cousins who couldn't make the Bermuda trek. Second big news for Jay is his well-deserved promotion to Vice President of Advertising Licensing at
Universal Music Enterprises. His boss lobbied for Jay to get a raise, but his boss's boss said Jay should instead advance to this executive position with a larger increase in salary. Sasha has also excelled at her job as fund-raiser for UCLA Health, earning substantial pay raises. They bought the condo that Jay had been renting from us in Brentwood. Jay and Sasha found time for lots of concerts, game nights, meals and travel. An extended summer trip took them "glamping" with Libby at England's Silverstone Grand Prix before the three of them joined the rest of our family in England's Lake District. Jay and Sasha then went by way of Scotland and Isla de Mallorca on to Portugal to attend Sasha's sister's wedding.
Amy landed a big promotion to
Digital Director for Bonnier Media. This broadened her responsibilities as Digitial Director at
Popular Science to Bonnier's other well-established brands including
Saveur,
Field & Stream and
Outdoor Life. Accepting this huge increase in responsibility has obviously brought additional stress, but Amy has always been capable of taking on enough work to keep three people busy and shine at them all while still beaming her winning smile. The fact that she has a great boss who appreciates her definitely helps. In addition to her demanding job, Amy has moonlighted as unpaid manager for the Wall Street Traitors, a roller derby team that competed in tournaments that brought her to Denver, where she met up with her Colorado cousins, the Megas family, and Montreal. Plus, she continues to skate herself, recently winning a spot in the League as a skater after many months in the training league. She loves to travel upstate and abroad with her boyfriend Lukas, who continues to engineer the future of alternative energy battery storage. They're loving life in Amy's Jersey City high rise with a view of the Statue of Liberty.
Gina's family also made some banner announcements this year. Gina happily remains Co-Director of the Health Collaborative at
Drexel University. She loves doing work she finds meaningful, with her great boss and staff. She's continued to balance managing a large department with successfully publishing articles, speaking nationally and internationally at public health conferences and winning grants. She's wrapping up her new text book for Oxford Press, which should be ready by February. Laszlo landed a new faculty tech support position at Drexel University, which lowered his commuting stress and raised his compensation. He seems happier than ever. With both Gina and Laszlo now working at Drexel, they now can commute together on the train. They bought a beautiful historic home in Merion Station that is less than two minutes away from the train stop and also one stop closer to Philadelphia.
Our granddaughter Emma has been doing great at school, now working at math two grade levels above her fourth grade class as well as being a gifted artist and writer. Emma mastered the back bend during her spring break with us. In the summer, her mom brought Emma to spend a couple of fun weeks with us in
California. Just this week, she has started learning the viola.
Their larger condo seems to have encouraged Emma to bring more friends home for play dates and sleepovers. It's also resulted in her parents hosting parties comfortably, including Thanksgiving hosted for Jay, Sasha, Amy and Lukas, where a good time was had by all.
Julie and I would have loved to join them in Pennsylvania, but the hassles of flying seemed too daunting following so quick on the heels of long flights to Bermuda in September and our family's trip together to
England's Lake District in July. In England, we toured
Sizergh Castle, our family's ancestral home on my mother's side. Julie and I were happy to have the entire family together for at least a few days of our extended trip that took us through more of
England and then over to Ireland.
It felt like Julie and I traveled more this year than any other, including several
fun trips with our family. Darlene and Brooks joined us for a few days in
Alabama with relatives on mom's side. Darlene, Brooks and their son Brooks also hosted us several times at their gorgeous homes in
Point Loma and Big Sky, where we shared great meals prepared by Darlene or at restaurants, walked their funny little dogs Teddy and Rizzo, and sometimes went boating, skiing or golfing.
We were so busy that late in the year we realized we'd only taken
two short cruises, so Julie booked a
cruise to Hawaii roundtrip from L.A. for November.
All the kids seemed to be constantly on the go themselves. We actually planned the England trip around a time when all the kids happened to already be going to Europe. Just as Jay and Sasha visited other places in conjunction with our England family trip, Gina's family spent the prior week in Scotland attending Laszlo's uncle's wedding, and Amy went on to spend a week Germany visiting Lukas's sister, who attends medical school there.
Of course, we also are blessed to split other times between two great homes, in Redondo Beach and Big Sky.
Amy came to
Big Sky for spring skiing, and Jay and Sasha will join us on the slopes for Christmas. We're always privileged to ski with my sister Darlene's family at their resort, which is the best place to ski in the world.
We thank God for these blessings and so many more in our lives.
We hope you enjoyed a wonderful year yourselves, and the New Year brings more wonders clearly into view. You know: 20-20.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Wes, Julie, & Family
Jay had several big life changes. First and foremost, he married his fiance Sasha. They had a spectacular wedding in Bermuda hosted by Sasha's mother Libby, which exceeded the expectations of not only the happy couple but all who were privileged to attend. They also hosted a casual reception at lovely Balboa Park in San Diego for Jay's aunts, uncles and cousins who couldn't make the Bermuda trek. Second big news for Jay is his well-deserved promotion to Vice President of Advertising Licensing at Universal Music Enterprises. His boss lobbied for Jay to get a raise, but his boss's boss said Jay should instead advance to this executive position with a larger increase in salary. Sasha has also excelled at her job as fund-raiser for UCLA Health, earning substantial pay raises. They bought the condo that Jay had been renting from us in Brentwood. Jay and Sasha found time for lots of concerts, game nights, meals and travel. An extended summer trip took them "glamping" with Libby at England's Silverstone Grand Prix before the three of them joined the rest of our family in England's Lake District. Jay and Sasha then went by way of Scotland and Isla de Mallorca on to Portugal to attend Sasha's sister's wedding.
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