Photos of the Year PT. 1

 2025 had arrived! We were 5 years out from COVID, half way to 2030, and we were looking forward expectingly to several big events that were on the schedule! We were praying for no serious health issues for anyone in the family, adventures to be had by all, and most importantly, family! ALLO was going well, Jen was well on her way to another successful year in the Learning Center, Noah and Sariah were in Portland, Sarabeth was enjoying her role as an EA, Andrew and Ari were teaching in their respectful schools and planning the wedding, and Than and Ruthie were growing in their responsibilities at YFC.

The first three months of the year were filled with activities leading up to one of the most anticipated events of the year: Andrew and Ari’s wedding on March 21. The gathering of friends and family was overwhelming. Many tears were shed, core memories created, and the couple celebrated! ALLO was also a focus of the first quarter, with fun memories in multiple communities. That would be changing as the year went on, but at the time it appeared that event season would be another focal point of the year. Here are the first batch for the Photos of the Year for January, February and March. 

Still Philippining

 It appears the Cruzs  and the Roths are surviving another day in the Philippines. Andrew finally got to try an authentic dish, a balut. Don’t look too closely at the picture, you can see feathers. Looks absolutely beautiful there. I hope they want to come home and not just have us box up their stuff no move their to teach at one of the local schools. 

2025 Concerts

 Weird year for attending concerts. With the continued price increase in everything connected to seeing a show, I missed the goal of attending one concert of any kind per month. Looking back on 2025, I didn’t make it to the first concert until the end of April. End of June was very busy, then a few more sprinkled throughout the year, Having season tickets to the GPO helped my number. Looking forward to another OAR weekend in June, and hopefully the return of the Dave Matthews Band at the end of August.

Violet Visionaries at the Moxi in April.

Hip Abduction with the crew in Ft. Collins in April.

The GPO at the UCCC in Greeley in May.

Night 1 of OAR in Vail in June.

Night 2 of OAR at Red Rocks in June.

Dirty Heads at Red Rocks 5 days later. 

Warren Zeiders at the Stampede 2 days later (and still in June). 

Michael Franti in Casper, Wyoming in August with the Woods.

Crew was back together for Trevor Hall in Boulder in September.

Kicked off the 2025-26 GPO season in October with the family.

The annual Poinsettia Pops with the GPO in December. 

Closed out the concert year with the Zac Brown Band at the Sphere in Las Vegas in December. 

Day

 Quiet Christmas morning. Kids stopped by to drop Ollie off. Watched the Elway documentary on Netflix. Popped by the Andersons’s for laughs, memories, stories, and a nice late afternoon lunch. Chatted with the Vermont kids. Lots of text messages and phone calls. Closed the night with the Broncos game. 

Eve

 Little bit of a different Christmas this year, with Noah and Sariah out east, Roths in Asia, the other Roths with Ruthie’s family, and sis in the PDX. We tried to make the best of it, though. Than and I started our day trying to find Matt for the 8th year in a row. And guess what? We did! We were numbers 3 and 4 in line at 730 to earn a $100 gift card to 477. Got the brisket on the Traeger. Had a friend call to ask for some help getting a sheet of metal into his new establishment. Made it home to welcome friends for a high-spirited Christmas Eve dinner filled with memories and laughs. Watched NORAD as Santa made his way to Colorado! Thanks for checking in with a few pictures, sis! 

Winding Down

 Had A couple of events, activities and friend meetups as Christmas week began. One more picture from the Greeley Chamber BAH with Sate Senator Scott Bright and I. Attended the Jobs of Hope holiday party and dinner for the men and their families. I have been honored to serve on their Board for over a year now. Some silliness with friends in downtown. BINGO with different friends.