2013 - A Year in Review

Hope you all had a great year. Our 2013 was busy. We started the New Year on the beaches of Jamaica. It was great to get away during the winter cold. This year we attended 3 graduations in May. Kim’s niece, Danielle, graduated with a degree in Mathematics from Minnesota State. The same weekend we traveled to Papillion, NE for Eric’s nephew, Adam’s graduation from high school. The following weekend we attended Eric’s brother Byron’s graduation from University of Sioux Falls with his Master’s in Education.

June started with Eric’s nephew, Michael and his girlfriend, Cassidy coming up for the weekend. We took them to all the sites of the Twin Cities including Walker Sculpture Garden, Minnehaha Falls and of course shopping at the Mall of America. We also took them to their first Twins game at Target Field and a day in the sun at Valleyfair amusement park. The next weekend, we flew out to DC and visited Eric’s cousin, Elizabeth. She took us to Mount Vernon and many great restaurants. One day, we rented bikes and biked to all the monuments and memorials around DC. We attended the Twins/Nationals at the very nice National’s Park. The rest of June, Kim volunteered to play in the pit orchestra for the annual Eden Prairie Players summer musical production of Carnival!

The next trip was the beginning of August to Rapid City for Eric’s parent’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Most of the family was able to make it so it was nice to see everybody again. The day started out with the family picture, followed by an Anniversary Mass and lunch. In the afternoon, we had a picnic in the park for friends and extended family. It was a fun weekend.

This year we celebrated our 10th Anniversary (August 23rd)! It was a very special weekend as Bradley proposed to Danielle! Their wedding is planned for March 14, 2015 (also known as π (pi) day.)

Our big road trip of the year was in late August following the Twins to Texas. They played back-to-back series in Dallas and Houston. While in Dallas we saw where JFK was shot, Pioneer Plaza, the new Cowboy’s stadium and other sites. We roasted in 100+ degree heat at the Twins game. In Houston, we visited Kim’s friend, Mary Linda. She took us to the beautiful gardens at Bayou Bend on the Ima Hogg Estate as well as Hermann Park. Again, it was over 100 degrees but thankfully the stadium in Houston has a retractable roof so it was kind of chilly at the game! After Houston we venture across the southern part of the US to Pensacola, FL.  We toured the National Museum of Naval Aviation and climbed up the lighthouse. We stayed a couple nights in Orange Beach, AL and enjoyed the beach before we headed back up north.

In September, Eric’s sister Carrie and her family came up to visit for the weekend for our triathlon relay race. We successfully completed the triathlon in less than two hours! Carrie swam, Kim biked and Eric ran. It was a lot of fun.

Kim went to Branson, MO with her Mom in November. They saw 5 Christmas shows and had a wonderful time. For Thanksgiving, we traveled down to Papillion, NE with DJ and kids. We spent a fun long weekend with Chris’ and Bonnie’s families.  A group of us ran the Omaha Turkey Trot 5K.  

Eric has been at Centerpoint Energy for 8 years and was recently promoted. He refereed a lot of soccer games this summer/fall. Kim still works for Ameriprise Financial and continues to play trombone in the Eden Prairie Community Band. Swirl turned ten this year. He is now a “Senior Citizen.” His year has been uneventful and thankfully no surprise visits to the vet. He got a new tower for his climbing pleasure which he seems to enjoy.

May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Kim, Eric & Swirl Williams