Author: klabundes

Gratitude is the heart’s memory ….. a French proverb

We are 70 years old!  How did that happen?!?!?  We’re not sure, but we celebrated with a dream vacation to Greece in September.  Three nights in Athens, three nights on the island of Mykonos, four nights on Santorini and a final two nights in Athens: perfect!  Not too crowded, not too hot: twelve days and nights of sunshine, clear skies, bright blue water and FUN!

Other travels this year included golf in Borrego Springs, a lovely Sunriver wedding, an Oregon Ducks football game in Eugene and Las Vegas to see Sting and Billy Joel in concert!  In October we flew with Penny’s mom to Riverside, California, for Aunt Margot’s Celebration of Life.  A beautiful weekend! Besides wonderful family time we were able to share meals with friends, Gary & Susan Brown, and with our long-time Garden Grove neighbors, the Woods Family. 

In our “regular” life, Kevin planned a backyard landscape project that turned out great and played lots of golf (of course).  Penny left the board of the Family Nurturing Center after ten years (term limits).  She’s happy to be “re-retired”!

Arden is 9 years old and in the third grade.  In July we had our second annual Grampa – Grammie – Arden Adventure that began with Arden’s first solo airplane trip to Medford!   We hung out by the pool and played games for a couple days, then headed to Burney Falls, Lassen National Park and Red Bluff before meeting up with Becky and Jonathan in Lodi.

Julián will be 3 years old on November 29.  Healthy and happy, he loves running and the Disney movie, CARS!  We flew to Chile in March and had so much fun:  beach time in Viña del Mar, then a quiet country weekend in Olmué.  It wasn’t too hard to say goodbye since we knew they’d be visiting us in June.

Penny’s mom, Rosemary, is doing well, loving her Medford retirement community and the new friends she has made there.  She spent six weeks at Black Butte Ranch this summer, thanks to family and friends who kept her company up there in the forest.

We’re driving to San Jose for Thanksgiving with Becky, Jonathan and Arden, then heading home to decorate for all the family for Christmas!

We wish you a holiday season of gratitude and love,

KEVIN & PENNY

How great the beauty, how vast the art
To live each day with a grateful heart

Happy New Year …….. Happy Valentine’s Day …….. Grateful Every Day

It was wonderful being together at Black Butte Ranch for niece Kassie’s October wedding to Bradley Buckmister. A fun week in the forest was topped off with a Solar Eclipse, son-in-law Jonathan performing the beautiful marriage ceremony and a VERY FUN party!

January 2023 found us in Arizona: Scottsdale/Cave Creek with friends, then Tucson and Chandler to visit cousins and see Penny’s college roommate. In February Penny flew to Chile to babysit Julián so Rachel and Héctor could work while their daycare center closed for summer vacation. Kevin stayed home to oversee the continued construction of our pool/guest house. It was ready for company in May, behind schedule but definitely worth the wait. Come visit!

While Penny was in the Southern Hemisphere, a nagging ache in Kevin’s back grew to debilitating pain:  no sitting, meals and TV standing up, no golf. Surgery in April provided 80% relief and a return to golf.  Despite shoulder and back issues and another surgery (for skin cancer) Kevin clocked his 14^th Southern Oregon Golf Championship title on Labor Day.  Aging does bring aches and pains, but at least it’s easier to “shoot your age” which he did five times in 2023.

The day after Labor Day Penny had successful skin cancer surgery.  While her facial scar will take a year to heal, she recovered enough for our trip to Wisconsin two weeks later.  We spent six blissful days exploring a new (to us) state and visiting many Frank Lloyd Wright sites, including Taliesen.  Penny’s flight home overlapped friend Brad Bills’ arrival for a two-man golf adventure.

Grammie and GramPA had a lot of 2023 fun with Arden, Julián and their parents.  Rachel and Juli came to Medford in May and stayed three weeks since she was able to work remotely.  Becky and Arden made a quick trip in July for Kassie’s bridal shower and they returned with Jonathan two weeks later for some summer fun.  We have cared for Arden almost every year to give Becky & Jonathan a little anniversary getaway. This year Arden was old enough for an adventure!  After B&J left: a trip to Crater Lake, pool time, arcade games and overnight in a caboose at Dunsmuir’s Railroad Resort.  All three of them returning to Medford for Christmas eclipsed anything under the tree!

After the wedding in October, it was time to pack up Penny’s mom for her return to Medford.  On the appointed day she came down with Covid, traveled by ambulance to the ER, received two prescriptions and slept most of the car drive home.  The Covid abated but pneumonia ensued, requiring a week in the hospital and 24-hour supplemental oxygen when she went home.  Penny moved in for a month to care for Mom.  Miraculously she was weaned from oxygen by Christmas, decided to move to a retirement community and we sold her house.  The three months from Covid to moving day on January 8^th were mighty intense, but mission accomplished! Mom is happily settled and recently celebrated her 93rd birthday in her new home.

We’re hoping for fewer health issues in the new year, but whatever comes, we have grateful hearts,

Penny and Kevin

Gratitude is heaven itself. William Blake

How grateful we are that Julián is healthy and celebrating his first birthday on November 29th!  The February family get-together in Chile to meet the little baby was indeed “heaven itself”.

Chile was the headliner to a year that contained many other joys: friends Brad & Holly’s wedding, sightseeing and hearing friend Marc Bonilla’s concert in Seattle, good times at Black Butte and just enjoying life at home.

We are excited that HOME is being reinvented:  our ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) is under construction!   At nearly 400 square feet, it will serve as a pool cabana, guest room and tiny house.  Additional room for visitors … please come!

Kevin is a diligent project manager for the ADU and, of course, he PLAYS GOLF!  Highlights this year:  a trip with bro-in-law Brian to Arizona in March, another successful Southern Oregon championship, a round in San Jose with nephew Patrick and the annual December Borrego Springs trip coming up soon.

Penny remains active with the Family Nurturing Center and has been a Spanish student on DuoLingo since January 1st.  She and her mom (age 91) flew to Fresno for Mother’s Day to see all the Howes and meet Mom’s great grandson Gabriel!  In August Penny flew to Chile to visit Rachel, Héctor and Julián.  In September she flew to San Jose to care for Arden so Becky and Jonathan could enjoy a getaway.  Kevin drove down for the second week.  Daily life with a first grader was wonderful (and confirmed that we are not as young as we used to be!)

Becky and Jonathan (the first mate) had a terrific time sailing the Mediterranean around Sicily, but we didn’t get  to hear the details.  They came home with COVID so we waved goodbye and headed home.  Despite moving over to his cousins’ house, Arden also caught the virus, fortunately mild cases for all.  Other than germs, the family is thriving. 

COVID kept Héctor from traveling but Rachel and Julián came to the US in May, the visit culminating in a Klabunde/Adolph reunion at Black Butte.  Penny’s mom met Julián, her youngest great grandson, and we met Gemma, our grand niece!

Rachel had work in London in November and Becky flew over so they could hang out together.  Becky was at the height of immunity but COVID caught up with Rachel.  That extended her time away from Héctor and Julián but she has recovered and is happily back home.  Héctor completed his thesis in October and will be finished with his master’s degree in December.  Hooray!

We are grateful that the kids and grandkids plan to be here in Medford for Christmas.  If it is finished enough, we will sleep in the ADU and leave the house to the younger generations!

May the days ahead bring you love, joy and glimpses of heaven itself!

Kevin and Penny

WE ARE GRANDPARENTS ONCE AGAIN!!

Introducing JULIÁN DANIEL ÁLVAREZ KLABUNDE, born November 29

. . . 57 days in advance of his January 25 due date.

The day after Thanksgiving, Rachel was hospitalized with pre-eclampsia.  Staying positive, she texted, “We’re happy Julián’s looking good and a bit bigger, understandably a bit nervous but have the good experience of preemies in the family to give us hope.”  Three days later, Julián was born in Reñaca on the Chilean coast.

Rachel received and Julián continues to receive wonderful care.  He is making very good progress, no longer needing breathing assistance and requiring fewer feeding interventions.  He has graduated from the most intense to the medium level of care, all while still several weeks premature.  He will likely be released from the hospital sometime in January.  All tests indicate a normal, healthy life ahead.  We could not be more thankful.  All five “Americanos” have plans to visit Chile in February to meet the newest family member!

Rachel visited the US this summer, the first time since 2019.  The wonderful reunion included a baby shower for her and her cousin Holly, Grandson Arden’s birthday, an engagement party for niece Kassie and her fiancé Bradley and time to just hang out together.  Hector’s work schedule prevented him from making the trip, but you can see that Becky was able to include him in the family photo!

Arden is learning a lot about his own premature birth as he follows Julián’s progress.  Arden started Spanish-immersion kindergarten in San Jose, California, and loves it.  Someday he and Julián will be able to converse in two languages! We’re thankful for lots of happy times with Arden, Becky and Jonathan this year.  Jonathan relayed a recent conversation that puts grandparenting in perspective:

A:  “When the Golden Gate Bridge was built, I was not even born.”

J:  When the Golden Gate Bridge was built, Grammie and Grampa were not even born.”

A:  “What?! That was thousands of years ago!”

Though we’re thousands of years old, we manage to stay active! Kevin coached high school golf again this spring.  When the season concluded he decided it was time to pass the torch to a new generation.  Many, many young people were positively impacted by his twenty-seven years of commitment, that’s for sure!  Don’t worry: he still loves golf, plays golf, watches golf, reads and thinks about golf.  Three trips to Borrego Springs, rounds in Eugene and Bandon Dunes and the successful defense of his Southern Oregon Champion title confirm the fact!

In January Penny became president of the Family Nurturing Center Board of Directors.  The local nonprofit has grown tremendously in response to the pandemic and to local fires that displaced hundreds of families.  Making a contribution to that work is very rewarding.  Penny’s mom turned ninety in February, had surgery in July, gave up driving in August and is thriving.  She checks in every day and we spend a lot of time together.  October saw Penny in San Jose for art exhibitions, a James Taylor concert and Halloween fun with Becky, Jonathan and Arden.  Penny was in Chile the first two weeks of December.  The planned “Pregnant Rachel Vacation” became a sweet time of support for Rachel and Héctor.  “Grammie” wasn’t allowed in the NICU so cuddle time will happen in February. Added Bonus:  warmth and springtime sun south of the Equator!

Though we’ll celebrate Christmas in different hemispheres this year, sweet Julián has drawn our family closer than ever through nearly constant texts and photos. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda expressed it so well:

To feel the love

of people whom we love

is a fire that feeds our life.

May we each feel that love and generously share it, widening our circles of humanity,

Penny and Kevin

We must accept finite disappointment but we must never lose infinite hope

Martin Luther King, Jr

As they were growing up, we told Becky and Rachel, “Look for the good.”  We are trying to follow that advice while respecting all that people have suffered this year.

There was joy all around on January 12^th when Kevin’s mom, Eadie, marked her 95^th birthday  …  yay, Mom!  We hit the road a few days later, stopping first in Fresno to visit Penny’s brother, Nick, and family.  Second stop:  Borrego Springs for sunshine and golf.  Kevin was there two weeks, but a few days into the stay, Penny took off.  Third stop:  LONDON!  She and Becky met at Heathrow, then joined up with Rachel who was attending a conference.  Five wonderful days together:  we were especially grateful for the timing once “the world shut down.”

Back home, Eadie was in need of more care.  On March 3^rd she moved to a lovely assisted living facility and a couple days later Penny and Kevin’s sister, Kelly, flew to San Jose to visit Becky, Jonathan and Arden … a last bit of “normal”.

Since then …… Penny has continued volunteer work, long walks and listening to lots of audiobooks.  She took a ZOOM class on climate change and has learned to do yoga with a mask.  Her dear friend (and former teaching partner) built her a Little Free Library!  Thanks, Tami!!

Kevin has continued to play golf.  No rakes in the sand traps, flags stay in the hole and the holes are lined so they are shallow.  No touching anything but your own ball and clubs.  He and the high school golfers he coaches were sad to miss their entire competitive season.  The tournaments Kevin played felt very different this year:  no parties, no galleries, no high-fives, but the game and the fresh air were as good as ever.

Rachel and Héctor in Chile have been the most isolated.  Working from home, for a good portion of the year they were allowed outdoors only when they obtained an online pass for a short time period, available twice a week. In March they adopted Rita, a sweet doggie in need of rescue.  What a bright spot she has been!  Spring has arrived in the southern hemisphere and restrictions are easing now.  Thank goodness!

Becky, Jonathan and Arden are in a “pod” with two other families, six parents and five kids total.  Jonathan works at home.  Becky has adapted many variations for homeschooling Arden and the kiddos in their pod.  They call it “Corona School”!  The family grew in June when they adopted a fluffy one-eyed poodle.  His full name is “Captain Macaroni van Winkle” (Arden’s favorite food + a pirate reference to his one eye!)

They were here in Medford when Eadie died August 21^st.  After visiting her through a window since March, we are thankful hospice allowed us to hug her and share some final words before she passed away.  In a diary portion of her address book we found the following that sums up her sweet nature:  Best Friend? and her response: Anyone & everyone!  We miss her.

There is much we miss this year, most especially seeing Rachel and Héctor.  We are thankful that we, Penny’s mom and all our family are well.  In October we drove to San Jose.  Arden, five years old, loves superheroes, numbers and robots.  His enthusiasm for life strengthens our hope for a future of restoration, health and justice.

Sending you love, warmth and HOPE this holiday season,

Kevin and Penny

♫ Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!

Lin-Manuel Miranda

HAMILTON  The Revolution

2019   ♫ How lucky we are to have had our whole family together for Christmas!  Grandson Arden, four years old, came from San Jose, CA, with his mom and dad, Becky and Jonathan.  In the photo he is sitting next to Aunt Rachel and Uncle Héctor who traveled all the way from Chile!

♫ How lucky we are to have family here in Medford!  Years ago, Kevin’s sister, Kelly (and Brian!), initiated Sunday dinners with our moms.  We take turns cooking and are thankful for this tradition with the grand ladies.

Kevin continues as head girls’ golf coach at St. Mary’s High School.  His talented team was the district and state champion again – what a thrill for the girls, their parents and, of course, Coach Klabunde!!  His own game saw another Southern Oregon Championship title and two rounds where he “shot his age” (64 and 62, actually!)  Woot, woot!!

Penny logs many volunteer hours and relishes her role as Arden’s “Grammie”.  She flew to Denver with Kelly in May to meet great-nephew Cooper and to Portland with friend Louise in October for friend Linda’s birthday bash.

Together we made a January trip to see Elton John with Becky and then on to the desert, including a (terrifying!) trip on the Palm Springs aerial tram.  Camping, hiking, backpacking (mosquitos!!), golf tournaments, the Redwoods and Black Butte rounded out the year.  This fall we started going to yoga together.  We feel both younger and older every class!!

♫ How lucky we are to have the Tomer family not so far away!  Becky returned to teaching preschool last fall, Jonathan is still with Google and Arden attends Spanish-immersion preschool three days a week.  When Becky traveled to Jordan in May, Penny stayed with “the guys” to assist with day to day living.  This fall she helped pack boxes for the move into their very own house! We have had fun together almost every month:  San Jose, Medford or wine tasting in Lodi!

♫ How lucky we are that video chats and texts with Rachel and Héctor keep us close, even when they are so far!  After a month-long honeymoon to the southern tip of Chile, Rachel began working for Cochrane, an international evidence-based medicine collaboration.  Héctor continues his work with the Navy and has added training course leader to his duties.

♫ How lucky we are to have seen “Hamilton” in San Francisco twice this year…  the two of us for our July anniversary, then again in December with Becky and Rachel.  Inspired and inspiring!!

2020     looks to be a challenging year for our nation and our planet.

May we each embrace how lucky we are to be alive 

and do our part for justice in our world.

With love, Penny and Kevin

perfect day, we spent a delightful week in cabins on the coast in Viña del Mar.  Becky, Jonathan and Arden’s cabin was right next door to Grammie and Grampa’s.  Arden loved walking back and forth and because the cabins were identical, he sometimes mixed up where he was!

After the wedding we ventured south to Rachel and Héctor’s family cabin for a week of relaxation.  We played tourist in Lican Ray, Villarica and Pucón and toasted Rachel’s 30th birthday on November 5th.

When Rachel and Hector went home, we road tripped with Becky, Jonathan and Arden for two nights at the Huilo Huilo nature preserve and three nights in the city of Valdivia.  We celebrated Becky’s 34th birthday on November 10th and flew home the next day. 

Becky, Jonathan & Arden and our life in Medford:

trophies?!?!  Winning the Borrego Cup earlier this month capped off the year:  golf insanity reigns!

When last we wrote, we were residents of Martha’s Vineyard, about to celebrate Christmas at Becky and Jonathan’s home in Washington, DC.  Arden was pulling ornaments off the tree and learning to walk.  Rachel was on school break and Hector flew in from Chile.  After that happy time, we returned to the Vineyard for almost three weeks, experienced an honest to goodness blizzard, and returned to DC to help Becky and Jonathan pack for their move to California.

We had planned to sell the car and fly home, but our road trip east was so much fun that we decided to drive west  …  the Biltmore Estate, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Austin, the LBJ Ranch.  We saw family and friends along the way and revisited our honeymoon spot near Sedona.  Our last stop was Becky, Jonathan and Arden’s new home in San Jose.  They enjoy California and we love how much closer they are!

Springtime was devoted to house remodeling and yard work in preparation for Rachel and Hector’s summer wedding.  In May, we introduced Kelly and Brian to Martha’s Vineyard and Boston, where Rachel received her Master of Science in Public Health from Harvard.  She returned to Medford and we savored our time with her before the wedding.

Becky hosted Rachel’s bachelorette party at Black Butte.  Hector took his parents and sister on a road trip from Disneyland up the California coast to the Redwoods, arriving in Medford on the Fourth of July.  Jonathan hosted a bachelor party a couple days later.  On July 8th, Rachel and Hector were married in our back yard.

As Becky said in her toast, it was especially sweet for the home where the girls grew up and “played wedding” to host the joyful event.  Every moment was a delight and we forged a new closeness with Hector’s family.  We are thankful for friends and family who celebrated with us and for the clear sky that made the outdoor wedding so lovely.

After a honeymoon to the Oregon Coast (and some very challenging packing!) the newlyweds are living in Viña del Mar, Chile.  Hector continues his work with the Chilean Navy.  Rachel was awarded a Harvard research fellowship and is making public health contacts in Chile as she delves into the problem of teen smoking.

We didn’t spend much time outdoors last summer because of the worst forest fires and smoke of our 40+ years in Oregon.  We went to San Jose in August for Arden’s second birthday, to Maui in October with most of our extended Klabunde family and to Lodi for wine tasting in November.  Kevin made two golf trips to the California desert, affording Penny extra “Grammie Time” with Arden in San Jose!

Kevin still coaches golf, but Penny has completely retired from teaching.  We are blessed that both our moms are healthy here in Medford.  We will celebrate Christmas with them and all the Klabunde Clan  …  fifteen around the table!  Arden has just learned to sing “Jingle Bells”.  Childhood wonder returns!

Let’s give less stuff and share more love.

Let’s be the peace we’re dreaming of.

Penny and Kevin

Greetings from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts,

                                                     our “home” since mid-October …

Penny long dreamed of living during the off-season on the beautiful island where her dad grew up.  We arrived October 14th in time for a family reunion and memorial for Uncle Dick Doane.  His kids, Penny’s cousins, have generously allowed us to live, for a time, in the family home.  We’re having so much fun!  The fall colors have been spectacular and the weather has been remarkably mild and sunny.  We hike preserves and beaches nearly every day.  Our Christmas tree is decorated with shells we’ve gathered as we’ve wandered!

Before we shifted to “Island Time,” 2016 was jam-packed!

Two days after Christmas last year we celebrated Rachel and Hector’s engagement.  Extended family, friends in town for the holidays and those who traveled specifically made for a very happy party.  Special thanks again to the Fresno Howes caravan!

visits to Ernest Hemingway’s home and Truman’s Little White House.  We stopped to wade in the Gulf of Mexico as we drove back to Miami on the Overseas Highway:  an engineering marvel!

The next month Penny and Kelly (Kevin’s sister) met Rachel in the Big Apple during her spring break, then headed to DC for time with Becky, Jonathan and Arden.  Broadway, lots of walking and warm weather outdoor dining  —  girl trips are great!!

Arden is thriving and Becky is delighting in motherhood.  She has shifted from worrying over a tiny “preemie” to constant vigilance of an inquisitive little guy always on the move!  After substantial paternity leave, Jonathan was instrumental in creating Google’s apparatus for voters to locate their polling place and to view candidates and issues in advance of November’s general election.

Our summer included a fun Toadfest, jazz in Portland/Seattle with Kelly and Brian, floating the Deschutes River with teaching friends, Baltimore and DC for Arden’s first birthday and our 40th wedding anniversary. (How is that possible???)

Penny taught very little in 2016, but Kevin joined the St. Mary’s High School staff as girls’ assistant golf coach.  (State Champions!)  “Mr. Golfballhead”, as his daughters call him, still has the passion.  He made a couple golf excursions during Penny’s trips to DC and he captured his seventh Southern Oregon Championship on Labor Day.  Lately Penny calls him “Mr. Generous” since her Vineyard dream has drastically reduced his golf.  At her request, he is currently “Off Island” with friends in the desert for golf therapy!

him for a long weekend in London.  She graduates in May.  They will marry in Medford in July and return to Chile to launch their married life and her career in public health.

Our extended family had a big year, too, highlighted by four happy events.  In May niece Holly Adolph earned her doctorate.  A July wedding in Fresno joined nephew Connor Howes and his bride, Trinity.  In August niece Kassie Adolph earned her master’s degree.  And Holly married Scott Reid in Medford in September.

While near to dear ones on the East Coast, we miss our family at home and are thankful for their support of our adventure.  Both our moms are going strong.  Special thanks go to Kelly and Brian for spoiling our little Daisy Dachshund and for assisting our house sitter.  We’ll sell the car and fly home in time for high school golf in February.

Next week we will board the ferry for “America,” meet up with Rachel in Boston, and take in NYC’s holiday scene before Hector joins us in Washington, DC, for a very merry Christmas.  It will be one of our last visits to the capital city because Jonathan has just accepted an offer to join a Google team in California.  Congratulations!!  And joy all around that soon Arden and his parents will live much closer to Grammie and Grampa!

All that we behold is full of blessings.

William Wordsworth                            

Love, Penny and Kevin

WE ARE GRANDPARENTS!

Introducing ARDEN FELIX TOMER, born August 5^th

. . . 71 days in advance of his October 15 due date.

While visiting Oregon, Becky developed pre-eclampsia and was hospitalized July 31^st.  Steroids to develop Arden’s lungs were administered while trying to “keep Becky pregnant.”  Those efforts bought five days of growing time before Arden was born at the same Medford hospital as his mom!  He spent 62 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, receiving care from an army of wonderful people.  Two veteran nurses had cared for Rachel 27 years ago!  The unplanned 2½ months in Oregon concluded when the little family flew home to Washington DC October 11^th.

We are thankful for Rogue Regional Medical Center, a world-class facility, for the opportunity to watch Arden develop here in Medford and for the opportunity to support Becky and Jonathan during this very difficult experience.  We got spoiled having them here!  Most of all, we are thankful that Arden is thriving:  at his December doctor visit, he weighed in at 11 pounds, 1 ounce!  Hooray!!

Becky, Jonathan and Arden leaving the hospital October 6th

Rachel and Hector have had a big year too!  A good job, good friends and a good life with Hector in Chile had not silenced Rachel’s dream of a career in public health.  In Medford when Arden was born, Rachel is now pursuing her master’s degree at Harvard.  Hector, meanwhile, has joined an elite force in the Chilean Navy.  His training began in March and concludes a week before Christmas.  Big news:  they were engaged in July right before she traveled stateside.  They plan to marry after she graduates.  Welcome to our family, Hector!!

Rachel and Hector engaged in July!

In February, before Hector’s training began, we flew to Chile and toured a portion of that beautiful country.  What a wonderful vacation . . . Rachel and Hector in the front seat, the “oldsters” in the back, completely cared for as we visited wineries, relaxed by lakes, viewed smoking volcanoes and enjoyed getting to know Hector’s family.  The more we experience Rachel’s adopted home, the more we can appreciate her life there.  Our souvenirs?  Wine, of course!  What a silly question!

On March 1^st, Penny returned to fifth grade at good old Wilson School for a teacher on maternity leave.  It was fun and rewarding to finish out the year, reconnect with colleagues and build relationships with kids.  (It was also exhausting!!)

Our wider family saw many special moments in 2015.  Kevin’s mom (left below) turned 90 in January (Go Mom!!)  Danny and Amanda Howes, our nephew and newest niece, were married in March.  Our back yard hosted a June engagement party for niece Holly Adolph and her fiancée, Scott Reid.  A week later we enjoyed a mini Arizona family reunion  (top with Penny’s mom) for Aunt Dora’s 90^th  birthday (Go Aunt Dora!!)  On the way home we enjoyed a wonderful overnight visit (bottom also w/ Penny’s mom) with Aunt Margot Varden.

Here in Medford we are immersed in church responsibilities, but there is always time for GOLF!  Kevin’s win at the Southern Oregon Amateur Championship this year was extra cool because Becky and Jonathan were in the gallery.  He made trips to Monterey, Tucson and Borrego Springs to hit the little white ball.  In September Penny spent a week in Boston helping Rachel get settled.  A Red Sox game, lots of walking and great food were interspersed with unpacking and furniture building.

In November we visited Arden, Becky and Jonathan in DC for five days, then flew to Boston for five days with Rachel:  lots of home time, cuddling and babysitting followed by lots of theater, restaurants and exploring.  The weather was much fairer than it had any right to be . . . no complaints from us!

We will all be together to celebrate Christmas, toast the newly engaged couple and marvel at Arden’s growth.  Our dear little grandson’s name was inspired by the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”.  The bard has also provided our prayer for this year:

O Lord that lends me life,

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act I, Scene I

Wishing you love, joy and thankfulness now and in the new year, 

Penny and Kevin

December 18, 2014 . . . one week to Christmas!

Our annual reflection on the last twelve months comes with a modicum of bittersweet…

One year ago today, Kevin’s dad, Les, had a stroke, and passed away within a month, on January 17th.  Death is never an easy thing, but with all his family here in Medford for Christmas, everyone had the opportunity to bid loving farewells.  Mom is doing well, though losing your life partner after 67 years is a challenge.  We had a wonderful remembrance celebration for Dad in early August, where this family picture was taken.    Family and friends from near and far, including Dad’s only remaining sibling, Aunt Betty, and her family, gathered to enjoy Dad’s displayed artwork, and to share in the pictures, memorabilia, and stories of the life of Lester William Otto Klabunde. We all miss him very much.

The rest of 2014 may pale in comparison, but the circle of life continues.  Kevin’s mom, Eadie, has lived in a vibrant and lively senior living apartment complex near us for almost four years.  She seems to continually school her neighbors in the art of winning pinochle hands and bingo cards!  We look forward to celebrating her 90^th birthday on January 12th.

Penny’s mom, Rosemary, also lives nearby, spending most of the year in Medford and a few months at her home at lovely Black Butte Ranch near Sisters in Central Oregon.  Between quilting, knitting sweaters and prayer shawls, attending church and watching her beloved SF Giants and LA Angels baseball, she keeps fairly busy!  Twenty-nine of her quilts were just acquired by children at the Family Nurturing Center here in Medford.

Travel is one of our favorite things, and we were fortunate to make a few trips this year.  A quick February jaunt to Las Vegas with Kevin’s sister, Kelly, and her husband, Brian, to see the Eagles and Shania Twain in concert was so much fun!  In March, during spring break from Penny’s substitute teaching and Kevin’s high school golf coaching, we made our annual pilgrimage to visit Becky and Jonathan in Washington, DC,:  always a delight!

In early May, Penny met Becky in Chicago for five days of sightseeing and a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition/tour. We were back in DC to spend Father’s Day with Becky and Jonathan, then zipped up to NYC for the wedding of Lindsey Kortum, daughter of friends, Robin and Joe.  We managed to see a few Broadway shows while there, and Kevin made a quick trip to play golf at Pine Valley in the Sand Hills of New Jersey, just outside of Philly.

A scenic camping trip on the Oregon Coast with Kelly, Brian, Eadie, and niece, Kassie, was a fun way to celebrate the 4^th of July.  Our girls and their guys were here in August for Dad’s celebration, so the six of us made a trip to Black Butte, one of our favorite places on earth!  Houseboating on Lake Shasta with a number of dear friends brought our summer to a close.

We had a warm and sunny vacation with the kids in October, lazing in the sand at Mission Beach in San Diego and frolicking at Disneyland before arriving in Fresno for the main event:  the wedding of our nephew, Patrick Howes, to Megan Cavazos.  What a happy occasion to celebrate!  Especially nice was the fact that Rachel and Hector were able to join us from Chile!

Penny returned to Las Vegas in November to celebrate two 60^th birthdays (one hers) and the 50^th birthday of the youngster in their group.  Carlos Santana in concert was amazing!!  And finally, Thanksgiving 2014 at Black Butte Ranch was joyously highlighted by the engagement of our niece Holly Adolph to Scott Reid!  Wow!  What a year!

Penny’s “retirement” from teaching three years ago doesn’t seem to have slowed down the busy-ness of her life!  Along with fairly regular substitute teaching, she remains on the board of The Family Nurturing Center, a parent education and child abuse prevention non-profit organization here in Medford.  In November she felt called to step into the role of Senior Warden for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.  With the September departure of our rector, she has become the “face of our church” and has the huge assignment of not only overseeing the operations of our church, but also coordinating the search process for a new rector.  Prayers are appreciated!

Kevin, in addition to supporting Penny in her new role as Sr. Warden, continues to manage all financial aspects of our church.  In May, he wrapped up his high school coaching career after 20 years leading the North Medford Black Tornado golf teams. A couple weeks later he carded his third HOLE IN ONE, the first one on his home course at Rogue Valley Country Club!  Occasionally traveling out of town for golf binges with friends, he mostly plays a couple times per week … just enough to keep the golf muscles limber!

To all our family and friends, we wish you health, happiness, and love in the coming year.

A Christmas wish –

May you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten.

Irish proverb

Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.         Karl Barth

2013  has been another year of joy.  Retirement for Penny has been a mix of leisure time, substitute teaching, and new volunteer endeavors:  all rewarding.  Kevin’s church work and coaching are flexible enough that we enjoy lots of freedom and time together. Kevin’s big news this year was playing golf at Augusta National Golf Club just three weeks after the Master’s Tournament! Play at Augusta is so exclusive that it wasn’t even on his “bucket list” . . . the only way to play is to be invited by a member.  A friend here in Medford takes a couple of guys every year to play with a member he knows there in Georgia.  How fortunate can one crazy golfer be?!

Rachel started the year in Portland, working two paying jobs and one more as a volunteer.  Hector spent the first half of the year in Haiti on loan to the UN from the Chilean Navy.  She left her beloved Portland in May, traveled a bunch, gave her mom and dad a good dose of “summer back home”, then moved back to Chile in mid-July.  She and Hector are happily settled together in Viña del Mar where she has found much work as a teacher of English and he is back to his naval duties.  We are excited that they both will be here for Christmas!

Becky and Jonathan remain in Washington DC, delighting in much that the city has to offer.  She teaches preschool and provides one-on-one therapy to children with autism.  Jonathan’s most recent project for Google, connecting voters to their elected officials, was published online in November … great work!  Thanks to Google business, they were in Seattle in February, so we zipped up there for a weekend together.  They traveled to Oregon in July and will be back for Christmas … three times on the West Coast in one year:  we are smiling!!

We enjoyed East Coast time too:  first in March when we met Becky and Jonathan in Pittsburgh, a destination chosen primarily for its proximity to Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous house, Fallingwater.  The snow was not in the plan but we relished all the sights, then drove back to DC for a wonderful visit and glimpses of springtime.

In June we flew with Penny’s mom to Massachusetts for a family wedding/reunion.  Rachel and Hector were already in DC visiting Becky and Jonathan.  The four of them drove up and met us at the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, Penny’s dad’s childhood home and site of the festivities.  We rented a beautiful home for the week, reveled in time together, rekindled family ties with aunts, uncles and cousins, and soaked up island life.

And there was one more trip!  While Kevin was playing in a golf tournament in September, Penny and her mom visited Becky and Jonathan.  Our nation’s capital is a fascinating city and “Nannie” got to visit every place on her wish list.  We savored some terrific meals and took great pleasure just being with our wonderful hosts!

Other highlights this year were hanging out with Penny’s brother Nick and family in Fresno, visiting friends in San Diego and Borrego, niece Kassie’s graduation from Oregon State, niece Holly’s Master’s Degree in Pediatric Nursing from the University of Denver, a visit from long-ago exchange student Francine, dinner with college friend Maura and always . . . the daily blessings of living in the same town with Penny’s mom and all of Kevin’s family.

As we look forward to having all our “kids” with us, we wish you what we are feeling:  joy and gratitude!

Penny and Kevin

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not upon your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.                                                                                                                                             Charles Dickens

Greetings from Oregon as we reflect on the blessings of 2012~

Penny’s retirement has been on-again-off-again.  After sporadic substituting, she returned in February to teach 6^th grade math and 3^rd grade reading half-time until June, which was fun.  There was more substituting this fall and now the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas she is teaching fifth grade full-time for a teacher on health leave…rewarding and exhausting.  How did I do it all those years?  (Answer:  I was younger!!)

Kevin still manages our church’s finances and coaches high school boys’ golf.  He took his sophomore player to the state tournament in May…two promising years ahead!  One tournament victory for Kevin this year, and he recorded his second HOLE IN ONE in June at a tournament in Portland!!  The last one was in 1982…hooray for keeping at it!

Becky and Jonathan continue to love their life in Washington DC.  She is working with autistic children and volunteering at an after-school program in the city.  He most recently worked on the Google project that helped voters find their polling place for November’s general election.  We visited them in March in DC and enjoyed their presence in Oregon for six weeks this summer.  They made a trip back to Oregon for Thanksgiving, which was nice.

Rachel returned from Chile in January and moved to Portland in early February.  Living with friends in a fun neighborhood, she is working part time as a medical scribe and part time as a bank teller.  She is also an intern at a public health agency…busy girl!  Rachel and Hector, a Chilean naval officer, continue their long distance romance.  She visited him in Chile in September and he was in Oregon for Thanksgiving.  Their future continues to unfold.

Last February we soaked up some Southern California sun in Borrego Springs, visiting friends Jerry and Sara Anderson.  We stayed in Oregon this summer:  a Howes family reunion at Black Butte, the Portland Blues Festival, camping on the coast with Becky and Jonathan, plays, outdoor concerts and always…golf!  In October we spent four days on Maui and twelve days on Molokai, half the time with Kelly and Brian, Kevin’s sister and her husband, the other half just the two of us.  Sun…slow pace…deserted beaches…hiking…tropical paradise!

Thanksgiving at Black Butte was BIG:  fifteen of us in all!  Rachel and Hector, Becky and Jonathan, Jonathan’s sister, Ann, Penny’s mom and all of Kevin’s family.  Besides turkey and pie, we opened presents and played “Fuzzy Bunny”.  The kids won’t be home for Christmas this year ~ the first “Christmas for Two” in nearly thirty years!

Life is full of change.  Our sweet little dachshund, Max, died in May…a short illness at the end of his eleven years.  His “sister”, Daisy, is more spoiled than ever!  Our youngest nephew, Connor Howes, graduated from high school in June.  We bid farewell to Penny’s Aunt Martha and Kevin’s Uncle Bud this year, grateful for the loving memories of them that reach back to each of our childhoods.  We are thankful that Penny’s mom and both Kevin’s parents are here in Medford where we can see them often.

May the new year bring you bountiful blessings  ~  Penny and Kevin

…the thankful heart          

              …will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.                

                                                                                 Henry Ward Beecher  

2011… many changes, many challenges, many heavenly blessings.

Rachel graduated from Lewis and Clark College.  She was home for the summer working at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, taking an online class to receive her TEFL certificate (Teacher of English as a Foreign Language) and studying for the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test).  After a stop to visit Becky and Jonathan, she moved back to Chile in October.  Reunited with Hector, she is once again negotiating Chilean culture and putting out lots of resumès.  Her future is open:  a situation both liberating and disconcerting.  Of course we miss her lots and lots.

Becky and Jonathan are thriving in Washington DC.  She continues teaching preschool this year while pursuing her master’s degree in early childhood education.  Jonathan was thrilled to land his dream job as a programmer for Google in their expanding DC office!  He and Becky visited us in June prior to his orientation in Silicon Valley and they will be back again for Christmas.  We were lucky to also visit them twice this year, during Spring Break in March and again in October.  Assisting “Miss Becky” with her class, touring the very cool Google office and just hanging out…great times.

Penny RETIRED in June!!  After 34 years in her own classroom, she now divides her time between substituting for friends at her old school and…doing whatever she wants!!!  It is pretty cool (and a little unnerving) to have so much freedom.  Seeing old pals at her 35^th Whittier College reunion this fall was a blast!

Kevin is our steady anchor.  He continues managing church finances and coaching high school golf.  He won his sixth Southern Oregon Championship in September and hit the little white ball with friends in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in October.  The golf obsession is constant and unchanging!

Penny’s mom celebrated her 80^th birthday in February.  In July she returned to her beloved Ireland and brought along her friend Larry, Penny’s brother Nick, sister-in-law Kathy, Kevin and Penny.  In September she celebrated the college graduation of two grandchildren by taking them to Greece.  Rachel and her cousin Patrick had a ball with their Nannie right before Rachel took off for Washington DC and Chile.

Kevin’s parents celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary in September.  In February they moved to a cute apartment in a retirement community.  In July friends approached the family about renting Mom and Dad’s house.  Ten weeks later the renters moved in!  The heirloom sorting, garage sales, cleaning, remodeling, painting:  it was a whirl but we made it!  Seeing a sweet young family settled in the beloved home has softened the bittersweet move and we are thankful.  

We won’t be all together for Christmas.  This will be the first time.  Hector was with us last Christmas and this year his family gets to celebrate Chilean Navidad with our Rachel.  Change is a certainty in this life, but so is LOVE.

With thankful hearts, we send you love,   Penny and Kevin

No longer forward nor behind 

I look in hope or fear;

But, grateful, take the good I find,

The best of now and here.                             John Greenleaf Whittier 

Last New Year’s Eve found us in Chile, donning silly wigs, bumping shoulders with street revelers, ooohing and ahhhing the largest fireworks display in South America.  A pretty beach town, Viña del Mar (Vineyard of the Sea), was Rachel’s home for her junior year of study.  We loved meeting “Mamita” and Rachel’s Chilean family…we also loved summer in January!

On vacation until March, Rachel made the most of travel opportunities, first with Becky and Jonathan in Buenos Aires and then on her own revisiting Peru. Her parents were relieved when the solo travel concluded in Ecuador where she joined a month-long medical team.  Visiting rainforest clinics, observing surgeries and witnessing a birth made a big impression!  Back in “Viña” for her second semester, Rachel forsook travel to focus on becoming an everyday Chilean: school, nightclubs and…falling in love.  When it was time to return to the US in July, leaving Hector made the departure extra difficult.

Thirty-five years ago, Kevin and Penny knew something about long-distance romance.  While Skype and the Internet may make it easier, Chile is SO far away! Missing Hector has been woven into Rachel’s busy senior year at Lewis and Clark College in Portland.  Happy News: Hector arrived in Oregon December 23^rd for a five-week visit!

On the other side of the country, the happy news and the biggest event of our year was Becky and Jonathan’s marriage on August 7^th!  If wedding events foretell the future, the bride and groom will never lack for supportive family and loyal friends.  The rained-out rehearsal picnic signified life’s challenges, the triple digit temperatures and high humidity taught patience and the 85-degree, low humidity wedding day forecast wedded bliss!

It was a beautiful, meaningful ceremony at a Virginia winery followed by a REALLY FUN reception.  Rachel was both the maid of honor and the violinist!  Eighteen friends and family members flew out from the west coast…sightseeing beforehand and a reunion with east coast family at the wedding…it couldn’t have been better! 

After a honeymoon in Montreal and Quebec, the newlyweds are happily settled in Washington DC.  Jonathan continues his work as a computer programmer.  Becky is loving her new job as a preschool teacher.  She’s also taking classes toward an eventual master’s degree in early childhood education.  (Like mother, like daughter…who would have thought?)

Kevin and Penny keep the home fires burning…same fourth-grade teaching job for her, same church finances, high school coaching and golf passion for him.  He won the Senior Southern Oregon Golf Championship again this year:  extra sweet with Rachel as his caddy!  We painted, redecorated, gardened and generally “spiffed up” this spring, then threw a fun engagement party for Becky and Jonathan in June.  Before the wedding we had four fabulous days in New York City…four Broadway plays, the Staten Island Ferry, Birdland Jazz Club, Coney Island and great food!

2010 has been a big year of blessing and thankfulness.  Christmas was a joy with all four “kids” here in the house.  And now, as the new year dawns, we will, grateful, take the good we find, the best of now and here.

Wishing you a year of gratitude,

Penny and Kevin

Our South American Adventure deserves all the superlatives we can muster!  First and foremost, we were TOGETHER, a bigger deal than it first seems.  On December 18, we converged in Lima, Peru:  Becky and Rachel from the Peruvian coast, Penny and Kevin from Oregon, and Jonathan from Washington DC, where the next day 15 inches of snow fell and airports closed!  Our first Christmas gift was that all of us actually got to our destination! 

Our one day in Lima included slipping into summer clothes (hooray for the southern hemisphere!), a half-day bus tour, walking along the coastal bluffs and glimpses into another culture, notably the jugglers and acrobats who dart in front of cars stopped at red lights.  They perform until the light turns green, then stop at each car window to ask for money!  

The remainder of our time in Peru was a step back hundreds of years to the time of the Incas and before.  Of couse there were cars, cell phones and modern conveniences, but we were immersed in Incan culture, architecture and technology.  COOL FACT:  some of their famous terraces were used to acclimate crops to higher elevations.  Pretty advanced for the 15th century!! 

We spent a day in the Sacred Valley and were awed by the ruins at Ollantaytambo.  With construction more sophisticated than that of Machu Picchu, the fortress, unfinished Temple of the Sun and still-in-use stone water channels were a wonder! 

Next stop:  MACHU PICCHU       Evaluation:  EXCEEDS ALL EXPECTATIONS!

Day One:  train ride to Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu Pueblo), guided walking tour, lunch followed by an afternoon of wandering on our own.

Day Two:  strenuous (and scary for the scared-of-heights family members!) climb up Wayna Picchu, the mountain you see behind the settlement, incredible views from the top and the return train ride.  

 Machu Picchu is such a popular tourist destination that there is talk of limiting access to aid preservation.  Add in the recent floods that washed out the rail tracks, stranded some travelers and kept others away and you have another of our Christmas gifts:  two days of soaking up the splendor that is Machu Picchu. 

Home base for these adventures was the Incan capital city of Cusco, a lovely mix of Incan stonework and Spanish architecture.  Christmas Eve we walked the Christmas market filled with the country people come to town to sell their wares:  the most interesting were all the mosses and grasses sold to make fresh nativity scenes.

That afternoon we made our way south to Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca.  After our first-ever restaurant Christmas Eve dinner, we opened little gifts, called the family in Oregon and said goodnight.  Around midnight Kevin and Penny were startled awake by church bells and loud bangs!  We gazed at the surrounding foothills as thousands of what would be illegal in the US fireworks shot into the sky:  a firefighter’s nightmare in the crowded barrios except that the homes are all adobe with tin roofs!  It was spectacular — and the three kids slept through it all! 

Dear Reader, 

Blogging is slow for the novice who is also sifting through hundreds of photos!  

If you are interested in more, check back later.  

Love, Penny 

If the only prayer you ever say in life is thank you, it will be enough.    

Meister Eckhart 

Writing this after a lovely Thanksgiving at Black Butte Ranch, we are reminded that whatever our daily circumstances, we have much for which to give thanks.   

Thank you for Rachel, too far away to come home for Thanksgiving.    

A Spanish major, Rachel is living with a family and attending university in Valparaiso, Chile. Besides her classes and becoming fluent in Spanish, her travels are an education in themselves. Chile is a country of vast contrasts. From the world’s driest desert in the north to the southern glaciers that peek at Antarctica, she has biked, hiked, canoed and explored. Of course, it doesn’t hurt her feelings that she makes her home by the ocean and beach weather has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere!   

Thank you for Becky and Jonathan, who celebrated Thanksgiving close to home in Washington, DC

HOME is the operative word because they bought a house this year! It is a wonderful 1906 row house right in the city. With high ceilings, wood floors and a basement apartment they can rent, it is just what they wanted. Kevin and Penny got to provide a little cleaning and painting help soon after the July move.  That visit and one Becky and Jonathan made to Oregon in June were our two face-to-face times since January. But we communicate plenty via the phone and the internet. The biggest phone call came in April when they announced their engagement! A Virginia wedding is being planned for next August.  Exciting times!!   

Thank you for love and joy in Kevin and Penny’s lives.

Penny still loves teaching children.  February saw her in Las Vegas for a reunion with sorority sisters from Whittier College:  so much fun!!  Kevin still keeps our church finances in good order and coaches high school boys’ golf. A particular joy this year was the realization of a long-time goal: becoming only the third golfer in the 80-year history of the Southern Oregon Golf Championship to claim the champion’s title in all three divisions: Regular Men’s, Junior-Senior Men’s and, this year, Senior Men’s. Too bad it came with the knowledge that in some quarters we are now seniors!!   

Thank you for family and friends.     

Special times this year included the high school graduations of niece Kassie Adolph here in Medford and nephew Danny Howes in Fresno.  Great fun was had painting Penny’s mom’s Black Butte house with Kelly and Brian!  We bid farewell to two of Kevin’s uncles this year:  Uncle Al Beardsley and Uncle Ted Mortensen.  We can still hear their laughter;  may they rest in peace.  In October, Penny’s mom made a covenant of love and commitment with Larry Starr, a kind and gentle man we are happy to now call family.  Most recently, we recall the fun and happy Thanksgiving we spent with all of Kevin’s family. That loving circle warmed our hearts even as we missed our own kids.   

Thank you that soon the five of us will be together again!      

A South American Christmas is in our near future! Becky and Rachel will have a week of sister time traveling from Chile to Peru.  Jonathan, Kevin and Penny will meet up with them in Lima and see some of the Peruvian sights, including the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu! Our second week will be spent in Rachel’s present hometown of Viña del Mar. We will have time for the beach, the golf course, wine tasting and the biggest New Year’s Eve fireworks show in South America.  Woo Hoo!  Mostly, we will be together!!   

Wishing you a holiday and new year of thankfulness,   

Penny, Kevin and our far-flung kids!