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Merry Christmas from the Hansons


 

          As the festive season is now here,
          We send you are love and good cheer;     
             May your days be bright,
             Your nights full of light,  
         Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

                                  -  Thor and Karen, December 2024

Dear Family and Friends – 

As the holiday season envelops us in its warmth and cheer, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year with gratitude and joy. It's been a busy year of travel, fun family get-to-gathers, and many memorable moments which we are sharing some of the highlights of in this newsletter.

In July, we were in Santa Barbara with Dale's and Adam's families. Dale drove from Colorado in his new Tesla EV and had no problem finding charging stations on the way, while visiting several National Parks coming and going.  In July, Jill and Adam's families were with us as we rented the same large home that we have stayed many times in the past. It is within easy walking distance to the beach where we spent much of our time swimming, boogie boarding, playing in the sand, walking and relaxing. Additionally, we celebrated Thor's 9-squared birthday, took a whale watching trip and enjoyed many other activities that have become traditions on our visits to Santa Barbara. It's a venue that's hard to beat!


At Sunday Craft Fair in Santa Barbara
Karen, Gabe, Dale, Alex and Pam


Camping out on Miramar Beach
 


After Breakfast at the Beach House
Daniel, Kate, Adam, Leah, Aimee, Karen and Thor
 


Karen, Thor and Gabe
at Gabe's High School Graduation

In May,  we traveled to Denver to attend Gabe's(18) High School Graduation and  visit with Dale's family. Alex (15)  is a freshman in high school this year and involved in prop design for the theater arts program. We saw the school play she worked on in a trip in November. Both are very artistic and amaze us with their creations. Dale works as a system administrator for Direct TV maintaining their extensive computer network. Pam is doing computer work for an educational company.
Pam, Gabe, Alex and Dale at performance
 of school play that Alex worked on the props
 

Jill and her family live near us and we can see them often and participate in some of their activities. Allison (20) is a sophomore at the University of Texas in Austin and majoring in library sciences. Cara (16) is a junior in High School and is interested in Marine Biology. Everett (13) is in the 8th grade and was most busy this fall as a linebacker on the football team, playing soccer and playing the clarinet in the school band. Colin (11) is in the 6th grade and is an avid soccer player as well and plays the trumpet in the band. Both boys played soccer in Norway and are very good players. We most enjoy attending their games.  Bill continues to work on international oil production projects at the Exxon office in the Woodlands. Jill is very active in church work and all the kid's activities keeps her on the go.
Everett, Jill, Bill, Colin, Cara and Allison
 

Daniel, Aimee, Adam, Kate and Leah		 Adam, Leah, Aimee, Kate and Daniel live near us in Houston so we get to see them often. Adam works for Forum Technologies, an oil services company, that manufactures equipment for oil and gas production facilities. They are really enjoying their  home, especially the backyard pool and patio areas which have been a great setting for parties. They have done several home remodeling projects and recently started updating their kitchen. Aimee (11) is in the 5th grade and has taken up "aerial silk" which she excels at. Kate (9) is in the 3td Grade and plays volleyball at the YMCA. Daniel (5) is in pre-school and is full of energy and played T-ball this fall. Both girls thoroughly enjoy being big sisters to Daniel and all three keep Leah most busy.


Aimee performing an aerial maneuver

 


Thor and Karen at Pont du Gard Aqueduct
built around 100 AD by the Romans

 In late August we traveled to southern Spain where we stayed with Jim and Maral in Marbella and had a great time visiting with them and seeing historical sites in Malaga and Alhambra. Next, we traveled to the quaint fishing village of Cassis, France, located on the Mediterranean about 50 miles east of Marseilles, where we stayed four nights and really enjoyed its fine restaurants, scenic coast and small town environment. From there we went to Nice for four days where we stayed at a hotel overlooking the Mediterranean and met our friends, Chuck and Kathy, who had invited us to join them on a river cruise up the Rhone River that started in Arles, France, ending in Lyon, and stopping along the way for inland excursions. Two of the more interesting and entertaining ones were a tour of Arles where Van Gogh once lived led by a guide whose mannerisms seemed to resemble those of the artist and a visit to a truffle farm near Vipers. We spent two additional days sightseeing in Lyon before taking a train to Paris for our flight home.
 
On April 8 a total solar eclipse passed thru Texas about 150 miles NW of Houston. Hoping for clear skies, Thor reserved a room at a motel in Temple, TX which was on the totality path.  The weather looked favorable so he drove there the night before only to find out the motel was overbooked and other hotels were sold out. He ended up sleeping in the car in their parking lot and after a semi-restful night spent the morning at a McDonalds preparing for the event which turned out to be well worth the hassle. While there were scattered clouds during the eclipse the view was mostly good - : CLICK HERE for a link to his video picture show of the event.

Thor (aka Potsi) and Karen (aka Mimi) thoroughly enjoy their grandparent jobs and watching the kiddos grow up. And there are plenty of activities to keep from getting bored. We regularly stay in touch with friends via telephone and ZOOM calls. Karen's mother (98) continues to do well and splits her time staying with us and Karen's brothers, Mark and Gary. Thor stays busy with his father's surveying  collection, finding new homes for many of  the instruments and maps through donations or selling on EBay. In February he met with friends from graduate school for a trip to the Southern California desert area near Indio for several days of hiking, exploring and BS'ing.

Plans are under way for 2025 with Santa Barbara accommodations reserved in July and an August cruise around Iceland of the Swiss Alps coupled with a visit to some European locale, yet to be decided. 

We plan on a mostly relaxed Christmas time at home with visits with family and friends.  However, it may not be totally relaxed as we are hosting a family Christmas Day dinner with twenty four expected to attend!

Take care and stay healthy.

We wish you a most Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 
 Thor and Karen Hanson

Thor and Karen Hanson
19019 Lakeside Cove
Houston, TX 77094
281-717-4336
thorhanson@comcast.net
Karendhanson@comcast.net