Merry Christmas 2023!

We have been blessed with another truly remarkable year and wish the same for your family in the coming year.

The biggest news was the birth of our grandson Owen Westley, the cheerful son of Jay and Sasha, who greatly appreciated maternity/paternity leave benefits.  Jay remains VP at Universal Music, and Sasha was promoted to Senior Technical Financial Analyst.  Their extensive travels included Bermuda to celebrate their anniversary and Christmas vacation in London and Paris with Sasha's mother Libby.

Our granddaughter Emma is now a beautifully artistic figure skater and acing 8th grade.  Gina is Interim Dean of the School of Public Health at Drexel University.  Laszlo does IT Support at Drexel and parttime SAT Prep.  Their summer road trip from Arkansas to Nebraska was followed by time with loved ones in California, cooling off at ice rinks along the way.  Laszlo joined Julie and me in Egypt.

Amy and Lukas have enjoyed their first year of marriage.  They loved their honeymoon in St. Lucia in early 2023.  Amy competed another season in roller derby, both as player and manager.  She became a member of the Board of Directors at her company, and Lukas is now Research Director at his job.  Working at companies still building in their respective market niches keeps change afoot. 

All of the kids had the energy and funds to complete sundry remodeling and beautification projects on their homes.

We couldn't be more proud of all of them, flourishing in what have been trying inflationary times for many families.

Coming off our biggest cruising year ever, I found myself still writing blogs about 2022 until May of 2023, when we boarded another Princess Cruise to explore the gorgeous Norwegian Fjords and Iceland.

That doesn't mean Julie and I weren't living life to the fullest every day, whether on vacation or at home.  We began the year in Big Sky, Montana, where skiing was particularly good this past season.  Our senior season passes allowed us to score abundant ski days.

We took an escape from freezing temperatures, flying to Philly in February to spend fun days with the East Coast contingent of our family.  We mastered the "Gold Rush" Escape Room while there.

Back in Big Sky for spring skiing, spending time with family made this time outstanding.  Brooks, Darlene and BG3 hosted Amy, Lukas, Jay, Jojo, Julie and me at YC, which once again proved to be a truly magnificent treat.

As ski season wound down, Julie and I relocated back to Pennsylvania for warmer spring family fun.  Amy and Lukas drove in from Jersey City to celebrate May birthdays and Mother's Day with Gina, Laszlo, Emma Julie and me.

Right after that, Julie and I flew to London to catch our Norway and Iceland cruise, which turned out to be a great trip despite some unexpected itinerary changes.

Back from that extended cruise vacation, we were soon immersed in more family fun in Philly, plus a first time trip to the Jersey Shore for Julie and me.

Come summer, we were off to Big Sky and soon on a road trip to Spokane for an old friend's hippie wedding, then continuing on to California to meet our new grandson Owen and visit with other Golden State loved ones.

We enjoyed a terrific Summer, from that road trip through great times in Big Sky with visits from Redondo Beach friends Karen and Randy followed soon by Jay, Sasha, Owen and Jojo.  Darlene, Brooks and BG3 returned to Big Sky in August.

During the long road trip, however, I aggravated a back injury.  That had me down but not out.  I fully recovered, losing about 15 pounds in the process, by the time we returned to Pennsylvania in September.

Summer fun continued through autumn with hikes by seasonally-changing leaves, Friday afternoon happy hours with Gina, regularly observing Emma's figure skating progress, visiting local parks with Laszlo, and occasional visits from Amy. 

Julie and I took a guided tour with Nile River Cruise in baking-hot but intriguing Egypt with Laszlo the last week in September.  Obviously, we couldn't have chosen two more different international trips for 2023.

Upon returning to Autumn on the East Coast, Gina treated Julie, Amy and me to sophisticated cultural events at the posh Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia's Center City.

All of our offspring gathered with us in upstate New York for Thanksgiving, graciously hosted by Lukas's parents Silke and Winfried.

The annual fruit cake-making extravaganza followed the next week, this time at our house in Ardmore.  

Fun times were tempered with angst due to the October 7 Hamas terror attack leading to a prolonged War in Israel.

Most of us want peace on earth, but unfortunately getting there does not seem imminent with wars now raging in the Middle East and Ukraine. Still, we pray for a just peace throughout the world, as we always do.

Back in Big Sky once more in December, we have done some hiking and skiing, with light early-season snow seeming to favor the former.

However, Big Sky has made the most of what snow it has, with limited runs open but surprisingly good snow coverage.  We paid an extra $10 per person to take the tram up to the top of the mountain to take in spectacular views.

We look forward to soon celebrating the holidays with family and friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wes, Julie and Family

Emma with Coach Russ