Monday, December 29, 2008

Post Christmas Post




Well. Christmas has come and gone. And it was fun. Kids came and went. There was lots of food, but mostly we snacked. Steven made it back to NYC. We thought his flight left at 12:50 and in fact it left at 12:15. We arrived at the airport at 12:18, walked to the front of the Delta line, and Christmas miracle or miracles, everyone was nice, helpful, and saw to it that Steven didn't miss his flight. We miss him, but were very glad he made it home.
Megan and Graham went up to Chandler and then Megan went on home to Flagg. Maren and Justin stayed for Christmas day.




I think I'll leave the tree up until January 6--Dia de los Reyes Magos--the day the Wise Men arrived.




Happy New Year. I hope 2009 is wonderful.
Do you think the Middle East will decide to try peace this coming year??? Oh well.

Monday, December 22, 2008


Hopkins 2008 year end report:

Well, as you all already know the financial report this year is in the toilet.
So let’s just skip right to the basics:
1. We wish you all a merry Christmas and a very Happy New year in 2009.
2. Bailouts are alive and well, but the Hopkins’ kids all appear to be solvent and self sufficient!! Miracles never cease.
3. Megan is finishing her last semester at Northern Arizona U, and is then planning to go on to Graduate school, although she still keeps in close contact with GE and with all her siblings. She is truly the surrogate mom. I guess that’s what being #1 is all about.
4. Ariane and Alon are busy running their own business and raising the two most beautiful granddaughters ever born. Alon will get his permanent green card finally in January after a record wait with the US Immigration Service. Nola is in kindergarten and Talia goes to the Hebrew preschool. It’s hard to believe how quickly they grow.
5. Michael and Becky are in Arkansas. Mike is working on his Master’s degree in Spanish and Becky is teaching art. Of course they are busy raising the most handsome grandson ever born.
6. Charlie bought a house this year and is remodeling the upstairs. It’s a do-it-yourself project and it looks great. He is nearly finished with his degree at ASU and continues working at GE having taken over from Megan there.
7. Maren still digs her work. She just uncovered the oldest prehistoric canal yet discovered in this area, and as she worked her way up through the levels she discovered pit houses that are the most recent prehistoric structures in the area. What a find.
8. Morris works for the Tibetan Buddhist Research Center in Manhattan, in charge of the digital library. He loves his work and he loves his girlfriend, Seung Hee, whom he is marrying on January 24. We couldn’t be happier for him! We are of course planning a trip to NYC toward the end of January!
9. Steven is living in Brooklyn working for Ari and Alon. He has discovered the big city and likes it. He is working hard, making money and planning to go to school in NYC next August.
10. Graham, our baby boy, is 18 and attending Pima College in Tucson. He comes home occasionally and keeps us entertained.
11. Finally: Mike and I are basking in the sunshine in Rio Rico. We invite you to come and visit whenever it strikes your fancy to travel this way. We keep busy with family history, with reading good books, taming the yard, and planning fabulous future vacations. We have had a few medical scares, but so far they have all turned out to be benign and we hope they remain that way! That closes out the year, so we will begin to Plan now for a prosperous and pleasant Next Year from our house to yours. (Don’t forget to plant a garden.)

Love,
The HOPKINS.
P.S. We love you more than words can say--beyond infinity!!



Christmas is coming. It was only 71* today here. I actually wore a sweater. We went up to Tucson with Steven and Graham and then came back without them. They'll be home tomorrow, Megan is coming down through the deep snows, and Maren and Justin will be here on Christmas day. We stopped to see Maren's newest work project along I-10. The canal system they are surveying is the OLDEST in all of North America. Cool. I think I got a little sun on my face today. Merry Christmas--we can't wait.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Moon shots

Speaking of the full moon, did you hear the conversation between the two blondes in Arizona? The first blonde asks, "What do you think is closer, Florida or the moon?"
The second blonde replies, "Hellooooooo, can you see Florida from here???" Duh!

Looking down on the little guys

A somewhat stilted pose:
First and foremost. For all of you who have been worrying about Martin and keeping us in your prayers, the biopsy reports were very positive. No malignacy. Now they just want him to keep an eye on his lymph nodes and see if anything changes. I am not exactly sure how one does that. Anyway, every six to eight weeks the doc will check him out and if nothing changes, we will continue as we were. But if things seems to be growing, moving . . .? then the doctor will do some "quick and easy" surgery. Oh my. Anyway, I think all of that news is good.

Second and foremost. Graham and Megan were here for the weekend. Megan for 4 days, Graham for just a day and a half. We had big plans to build fires, play scrabble, make many delicious Christmas treats. We did manage to decorate the tree and eat plenty of Costco pumpkin pie.

Megan and I went to a Relief Society breakfast this morning. She got to meet dozens of my friends who analyzed her carefully--the consensus? She got her dimples from her dad. Also her nose, and her blue eyes definitely. But she looks alot like her mother too??? Hmmm. Maybe dad and I actually look alike? What do you think?

Well the lights are on the tree, Christmas carols are playing softly in the background and this is the biggest full moon of 2008. Go outside and enjoy it!