Our wonderful family on Christmas 2023.
Lisa before the whole season began at the tree lot picking out what was to become "the best Christmas tree ever".
Bob and Lisa on Christmas morning with our fully decorated Christmas tree surrounded by all our gifts to each other.
This year's ornament: Three chicks on a sleigh.
Hannah's Christmas tradition has always been to sleep the night before Christmas on the couch next to the tree. This year was special because she got to sleep under the quilt Lisa had made for her. Lisa titled it "Colors of the Canyon" in the spirit of the upcoming trip Bob and Hannah plan on rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in April of next year.
Hannah snuggling with her puppy on Christmas morning, how special!!
Hannah's "Colors of the Canyon" quilt made special for her by Lisa. What a beautiful gift!
Chester loves everything about Christmas except the wrapping paper. For some reason wrapping paper scares Chester.
Bob also had a wonderful gift for Hannah, a custom hardwood stock for the .22 her Grandpa Potts had given her before he passed in 2020.
What made it extra special is that Bob had Hannah's initials engraved in the stock which turn out to be the same as her grandpa's: Herb Potts.
There was a lot of laughter when Caleb opened a very funny gift given to him by his Mom.
It was a 2024 calendar of "Goats in Trees".
Caleb has always loved goats every since he first saw Mountain Goats when he was a little kid in Glacier National Park. So, this calendar really hit on a special history for our great son.
Speaking of history, Lisa also got both the kids a Lego set so they could once again build Legos later Christmas day.
Caleb loved it, but this look seems to say, "maybe it's time to move on..."
One of the special gifts Caleb got Lisa was a Bible study of the book of Mark. Lisa and Caleb both enjoy this series of studies and share them back and forth.
One of the things we enjoy doing is buying gifts for those less fortunate than us through World Vision. This small ornament represents 1 goat, 2 ducks, 3 rabbits and 4 chickens given to Lisa on behalf of a needy family by Bob.
Hannah gave Bob this great book on Ansel Adams and his photography as he gets ready for his upcoming river trip through the Grand Canyon. Bob loved it!
Lisa's favorite show these days is the Mandalorian and Hannah found the perfect gift for her, a Mandalorian crochet set.
Chester our Christmas dog!
Another flash back for Caleb was Mad Libs on something he currently loves to play, Dungeons and Dragons.
On December 8th we invited all the staff in Bob's office over for a Christmas party. As in previous years it was a wonderful time with over 25 showing up. We really had a house full of food, libations, laughter and fun. What a great time!
Once again Lisa made a wonderful main course and this year it was enchiladas which was a big hit with everyone.
We always invite work colleagues and the partners which is often the only time we get to meet them. That really adds a personal touch that brings us together in a way nothing else does.
As in previous years, we also had a great time after dinner participating in a "Yankee Gift Exchange" which was a blast. Everybody ended up with something they didn't show up with and didn't expect. It was a great time together doing something other than working together.
On December 1st Bob had a wonderful opportunity flying to one of Nevada's most rural counties, Lincoln County, for a project he and others have been working on for some time. In short, it has to do with harvesting Pinyon Juniper and converting them to green alcohol. It is a very scientific process brought forward by a company called SixCo and up until recently everything was in place for a successful venture other than a market for the green alcohol. That all changed when the country of Denmark approached us looking to buy all that could be produced for the Maersk shipping line which is converting all their operation to clean/green energy.
For Bob it was a real honor to fly in the State plane to Lincoln County with the Ambassador of Denmark, Jesper Møller Sørensen, pictured here at the Lincoln County Airport with Bob.
Pictured next to the Nevada State plane at the Lincoln County Airport are the Ambassador of Denmark, his attaché, local government officials, SixCo leadership, and GOED staff. It was a great event for Bob.
This Thanksgiving we had Hannah and Caleb over for dinner and also invited Hannah's friend Melissa and her mom, Erika.
It was a fun time of great food, visiting and playing games.
Chester, our wonderful puppy who we are so thankful for!
Bob enjoys going out target shooting as does our friend and pastor, Kurt Katzorke.
When Bob and Kurt go out they often go out to the desert where they can shoot out to 1,000 yards. Long distance shooting is something they both enjoy and it is especially fun doing it together.
Kurt using the shooting table a friend of ours made at the range we use in the desert. It's really great to have a place like this to go to for long distance shooting.
Hannah with her cleaned up RAV4 all loaded up with her and Caleb's bikes to take them back to Reno where they both now live and go to school at UNR.
It's been great knowing our kids are doing so well, but it's been hard to see them move out too. At least they're close and we get to see them quite regularly, especially on Holidays.
Bob and Caleb spent a day together over Caleb's birthday weekend getting new tires for his car. During their travels they made a fun stop at Scheels in Sparks to do some additional shopping for Lisa's birthday as their birthdays are only two days apart.
Caleb turned 20 on October 29th.
Here he is opening cards at our family birthday celebration that he and Lisa share.
Caleb loves to play Dungeons and Dragons. One of the specialty items in the game is called the "Bag of Holding" which is a bag which magically can expand to hold anything. Lisa made Caleb this "Bag of Holding" that Caleb can use in his car as a trash can.
Just two days before Caleb's birthday Lisa turned 59 so they enjoyed a special combined birthday party together.
One day we were walking through Target and Lisa saw this great building block toy set that she really liked, so Bob went back a bit later and bought it for her for her birthday. Lisa loved it...
Thanks, Honey!
Over the birthday weekend Bob took the kids down to our local shooting range here in Douglas County.
Here Caleb is taking his turn shooting Bob's precision rifle while Dad spots for him
This has really turned into a wonderful family activity to do together.
Hannah taking her turn shooting Dad's precision rifle. She loves shooting and is good at it.
On October 26th Bob was asked to be part of a Commercial Real Estate Economic Outlook for the Northern Nevada Development Authority. The panel was moderated by the President of Western Nevada College and the panel included leadership from two major brokerage firms and the Director of Economic Development for NVEnergy.
There were over 300 at the event and it was very well received.
On November 11th Bob joined the Lieutenant Governor for a tour of a great local company, Nature's Bakery.
Nature's Bakery is local company that Bob and his office help get set up about 10 years ago. Since then they have grown exponentially and now have multiple locations in the US.
This is a picture of the fig bars they make their way down the assembly line.
Our whole family loves the Nature's Bakery fig bars and it's so cool they're made here in Carson City.
Every year Bob attends a conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and always takes a few extra days to make a side trip to see his mom in Montana. Here he is with his brother Jim and his mom, Evie, at church together.
Bob joining his brother's Dave and Jim for breakfast at the historic Western Cafe in Bozeman, Montana.
You just never know what events are coming around the corner.
On October 13th Lisa got a call from her brother Craig that her mom, Berdell, had taken a fall and was in the hospital in Great Falls, Montana with a fractured femur, COVID and a urinary tract infection. Craig drove from his home in Boise, Idaho to be with Lisa's Mom and Dad. By the next Wednesday, October 18th, the doctors knew they had to operate on Lisa's mom or she would never be able to walk again. They did surgery that night and half way through the procedure Berdell's heart rate dropped dramatically and she could not be revived. Lisa and her sister, Amy, flew to Great Falls soon thereafter to be with their dad and discuss next steps.
This is a picture of Craig, Lisa's Dad Ken, Lisa and Amy.
Though this experience has been so sad for us all, the joy of feeling the support of family has been a truly blessed experience!
Here is a touching picture of Craig hand in hand with Ken on the way to dinner at a local favorite restaurant.
Blessing in the midst of sorrow!!!