April 1998

Note: Click on any photo to see a larger version

Heather and I spent 10 days in Phoenix this past Christmas and New Year's. We managed to take a trip to Sedona to do some sightseeing, and stopped at a scenic overlook on the way back to Phoenix to take this photograph. As of February '98 Heather's had a new job... President of Junior Achievement of Decatur, Inc. After a couple of weeks going through old files, rearranging the office and getting oriented... things are going better. Although it's a part-time position (for now), shes putting in full-time hours. Now that Spring has finally arrived in Decatur and bulbs are blooming, Heather's looking forward to spending some "quality" time with her gardens.

We've been blessed with fantastic children. I know that we don't tell them often enough how proud we are of them and of what they've been able to accomplish in their short lives. Kristin's studying Early Childhood Education at Iowa State University in Ames. She plans to take a class or two this summer, so it'll be our first summer without her at home with us. She's a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority... a "legacy", because her Aunt Susan was also a Pi Phi at ISU. Kristin has been teaching gymnastics to a class of 2-4 year olds and she absolutely loves it. She's going to make an excellent teacher! We made a quick trip to Ames on Valentine's Day weekend to help celebrate Kristin's 21st birthday. It was a very special weekend for all of us. Kristin got "lavaliered" by the love of her life, Dale Hoppe. Ryan's 17-years old and is in his last month or so of his junior year at Stephen Decatur High School. He's #1 in his class and just got his ACT scores today, scoring "31". His science reasoning score was perfect. He was initiated into the National Honor Society earlier this month. His interests are engineering (like his dad), law (like two brothers-in-law) and/or business. Arizona State, Iowa State, Illinois, Purdue and Rose-Hulman are on his "short list". In addition to being a good student, Ryan's a good kid. He's active in school bands (trombone, baritone), theatre, scholastic bowl and is a member of the Commodore Decatur Yacht Club. He plans to purchase a laser (type of sailboat) this summer. Oh, he also works at Suncoast Video on a part-time basis.

I've been putzing around with "Adobe Photo Deluxe" ever since I bought a scanner in January. The photo on the left is a composite of Gordon (my dad) and Jackie (his wife, my step-mother). The background photo was taken at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona They moved from Shawnee KS to Phoenix late 1996. My sister Stephanie and her husband Randy live in Phoenix so the move was a "natural" for them. We haven't experienced any of the summer weather in AZ, but the winters are wonderful.

I grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota. If you've heard of it, it's probably because you're from North Dakota, you were in the Air Force (there are bases in Grand Forks and Minot... pronounced "my-knot") or you witnessed the Flood of '97 on CNN. My mom (Donna) and step-father Harlow Thompson still live in Grand Forks. They were evacuated during the flood, but had relatively minor damage to their home. Harlow is retired and enjoys playing golf with his senior buddies throughout the summer. I always enjoy the opportunity to join him at the home courses. My brother Jeff (Stoa) and his family live in ND, but they've moved to the country. Brother Scott (Thompson) has been in the Washington DC area for the last few years, working for Hughes on computer-related government work.

Heather's parents, Janet and Joseph Hutchison, live in the Xenia OH area in the house that Joe grew up in. Joe was in the cattle business in Kansas, living just two doors away from my Dad while I was in high school. Jeff and I spent holidays and summers in Shawnee... and Heather (or her sisters) would babysit our sister Stephanie while the rest of us went out to dinner, ballgames, etc. We always joke with people by saying that I married "the girl next door". Heather is the oldest of four children. Laura lives in Texas with her husband Rob and their six children. Sister Susan and her attorney-husband Gordon are in Ohio with three boys and Hallie. And last, but not least, Tim and his wife Cathy are in Australia with their two boys. Joe celebrated his 70th birthday on Easter Sunday. Heather, the kids and I were in Ohio to be part of the festivities.