John returned to O-9 Well. He climbed to the top of the 150' dome, and discovered/explored ~80 meters of new passage. Woo-hoo! (This is a big deal for caving people.) Donna's impression of this trip is that John spent many hours crawling through mud in cold, wet, dark places - and had a blast.
A few weeks ago, Katelyn also spent some time crawling around a small, dark place and discovered about 8' of unexplored cabinet space.... John was one proud daddy!
At the Texas Cavers Reunion this year, John came 2nd in the 30m rope climb - which is impressive, since regular rope-climbing workouts have become purely aspirational. His latest plan is to rig a rope *inside* the house to allow well-lit and air-conditioned workouts. Last year, we had pictures of his record-setting rope-climbing feats; this year, we have pictures of Katelyn playing near the rope-climbing contest.... How things have changed!
Swimming also took on a different flavor this year... We enjoyed daily swims with Katelyn, who took to the water like a fish, and loves skinny dipping (and bath-time).
Travels for the year included San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Colorado, Boston and Utah.
A November trip to Red Mountain Spa was a fantastic getaway, and we spent several hours in the sand dunes at Snow Canyon State Park - which apparently tasted as good as they looked and felt.
In October, we celebrated Katelyn's first birthday. The year has flown by! It's been a year of "firsts" for all three of us, and it's been more fun than we can describe.
Katelyn is a constant joy and wonder to us, and shows us every day the value of being present, being curious, and seeing the wonder in the world around us.
We wish you happy holidays and health, joy, peace and wonder in 2011.
Donna, John and Katelyn
