The Curtis Clan - Winter 2025
Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice
We marked the Winter Solstice with putting snowflake magnets on the Traverse for the first time. One unexpected bummer: the hood is aluminum and not magnetic. WHAMP, whamp, whamp
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Snowflaked Traverse
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The whole family went to the grounds of the Rep with the dogs to get the Christmas Card pictures done (Thanks McKenna).
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The 4 Curti and dogs at the Rep
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The girls and the dogs
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The Solstice also marked the 25th First Date Anniversary of Bethany and Randy's first date at the St. Louis Symphany Orchestra Holiday Concert. We went again this year to the Stifel as Powell Hall is under renovations. The muscical lineup was terrific with a few that particularly struck one's sentimental heart strings: We Need a Little Christmas and I'll be Home For Christmas. Using a Marriott free night certificate, we stayed the night at the Ritz.
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The Rock Hill Curti Christmas Album
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This 1966 Tru-Value Hardware compilation album was THE Christmas album of Rany's childhood. His mom would wake us up on December mornings with Sleigh Ride at near full volume on her Fisher Hi-Fi stereo. Finding a digital version on YouTube made hime exceedingly happy: https://youtu.be/QHivzRC0QhY?si=ughDNyRroytuDr1c
Sleigh Ride (Andre Kostelanetz)
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Doris Day)
When Lights Are Low (Tony Bennett)
I Wonder As I Wander (Percy Faith)
Tell It On The Mountain (New Christy Minstrels)
Skaters' Waltz (Frank DeVol)
The Winter Song (The Merrill Staton Choir)
Pretty Snowflakes (Patti Page)
The Holly and The Ivy (Norman Luboff)
Snowfall (Tex Berneke)
Our Winter Love (Anita Bryant)
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (Ray Conniff)
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Bingley - All I want for Christmas is a toy that tastes as good as my ears
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Sagemas
Sagemas Day 1 was a full crowd at Amy and Alvan's for the traditional soup dinner with a total of 22 folks. Seeing the Singapore Sages was a treat.
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Christmas Eve Dinner
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| Left Side table view |
And the Right Side view |
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| Sage Offspring and Spouces |
and the required pointing version |
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| The Curti |
Sage Townie Cousins + Finn |
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| Pepper and Bingley waiting up for Santa |
The dogs and girls hang stockings |
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The Curti had a low-key Christmas of restrained gift giving within the family. Amy and Alvin joined us for a simple comfort food of spaghetti reminding us that it's good company that is most important.
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Christmas begins at the top of the stairs
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Our Boxing Day shopping super deal was a $28 tub of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups which included 375 full size cups; a year's supply for the Rob Your Neighbor game with the girls.
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Three Curti at Serendipity and used in the advertising
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Randy relaxing with the dogs
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Sagemas Day 3 on Friday was the main event at Rosemary's with everyone. Dinner was a popular Make-Your-Own Burrito night, making everyone happy or at least satisfied. An enjoyable evening in a new venue making it somewhat fresh.
| Chatting around the Christmas table |
Sage Sibings Top Gun |
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The 13 Days of Sagemas video, tenth edition, which Jane edited again this year, was the center piece of the evening was big hit as expected. The videos came be found here:
13 Days of Sagemas - 2024 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2023 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2022 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2021 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2020 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2019 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2018 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2017 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2016 Edition
13 Days of Sagemas - 2015 Edition
In a similar vein,
Mele Kalikimaka by sung by Jane and Cate Curtis - 2012 Edition
| Playing games with fun Aunt Bea and Aunt RoRo |
Answering a card game with Randy's requested final resting place |
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Sagemas Day 4 was St. Peter's Sages night. Before arriving at there, the gang went to see Joe play at the Wentzville hockey arena. All the Curti enjoyed buckets of long necks during the game and afterwards as we filled in time before Rob Your Neighbor. `
| Go Joe, go! (yes a picture here of Joe playing hockey makes sense but without a telephoto lens it would be just an indistinct group of kids in red Kirkwood jerseys...and Kirkwood on this page dedicated to 3 Webster grads? Really!?) |
Sagemas holiday cheer from Anheuser-Busch |
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It was a fun evening with Randy gaining control of the infamous Curti Tapestry after a trade with Patrick for it and then trading it to Jane for the kitty litter bucket of Reese's.
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| Ready for Rob Your Neighbor |
Sage Cousinsat the Shaws |
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Sagemas ended on Sunday at VanGwenJoe's with Pasta House salad and Con Broccoli family trays of food and the Sage Brothers Pentathlon of silly skills.
Adventures in Plainfield, Indiana (west side of Indianapolis)
or Pittsburgh or Bust!?
On Monday, 30 December we got on the road only 15 minutes from our AIS goal of 5:30 am. After comfort break at a rest stop and switching drivers about 250 miles from home, our power steering stopped working and within seconds the "Service Battery Charging System" notification light came on. These two facts along with the year, make and model allowed Google to quickly identify our probable problem as a failed serpentine belt. In a bit of karmic irony, we just had a new one proactively put on 2 weeks earlier to avoid having troubles on our road trip.
Fortunately, a full exit was just a mile or two further up the road and we were able to get off I-70 and to a gas station to safely for service. A call to AAA brought a super-fast and pleasant response from Express Services with a fun Scooby Doo decorated tow truck. He suggested a local guy (Jim's Auto Service in Plainfield, IN) who had availability to look and hopefully repair the belt that day. The auto service guys gave us dropped us off to get some lunch at the nearby Metro Dinner and confirmed the serpentine belt had come off while we ate. They got it back on and let it run a bit to be sure that was all there was. We had to talk them into letting us pay them for their 5 stars plus for the best possible outcome to our three-hour delay. `
| The Mystery Gang giving the Traverse a Lyft |
The Curti in the The Mystery Machine Tow Truck |
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The karmic energy kept going as on the way out we saw our Scooby Doo Tow Truck friend heading out to another job and once on I-70 highway, we were passed by the Indy Sages heading home from STL resulting in another round of happy text messages to the family. All in all, the best of all outcomes.
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Indy Sages passing the Curti on I-70
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That evening, we had an easy check in at Neville Island followed by a warm welcome from Katie and Don in the parking lot of the Eat N Park on Ohio River Road. Good and cheerful wait staff and the comfort of immediate gratification meal of soup and salad bar made for a great experience at a simple dinner. As we would for the next two full days, we chatted with KnD at their charming home to very late at night. Their warmth and hospitality are a cozy blanket of love ❤️.
| Katie and Don open gifts |
Bethany looking on |
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Happy New Years Curti and Ciconee
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2025
After returning back to St. Louis, Randy went to a Blues hockey game on friend Jerry's Mallinckrodt company tickets with Anthony and his son Josh. We found street parking at 10th and agreed to take a golf cart shuttle the 8 blocks to Kiel for $20 including free beers. The ride was a death-defying Mr. Toad trip that was hilarious fun albeit very dangerous from our driver who drove on the sidewalks and wove in between stopped cars at traffic lights; crazy. If we tipped over or fell out it would have been bad. Terrific seats, five row up from the ice that most importantly were wide and comfy. The Bloes won 4-0 with Binnington getting a shutout and Shaad getting a hat trick.
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Company tickets rock! (Josh, Jerry, Randy and Anthony)
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The next morning, we woke up to a thin blanket of snow rendering the whole world pure and clean. The next day, Monday, brought in 7inches of snow overnight and the street clearing was far less than expected across the region. The initial part of the storms sleet left ice at the bottom which along with the cold temperatures frustrated efforts to clear it. The girls helped shovel us out in the afternoon along with the neighbors.
| Snow removal team |
Snow blankets the Curti vehicle fleet |
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Friday, brought a fresh 3 inches of snow rendering the landscape clean and fresh again. Jane and Randy took Metrolink to the Convention Center for the St. Louis Auto Show. Hardly anyone was at the show with the staff outnumbering the visitors. We looked at all the cars in the small SUV/hatchback class so Jane could get a feel for what she might want when the time cam to buy a care. The visit mostly confirmed her previous decision that the Toyota Corolla Cross was the car of choice. Dinner that night was Shotzi's pizza with the family that 3 of us enjoyed. Jane flew back to Massachusetts on Sunday, after heartfelt goodbyes to all, particularly Pepper.
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Tuxelia on Snowday #2 2025
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| Bingley of the Antartic |
Car show photo booth |
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| Cas's WGHS pals gathering over the holidays to play D&D |
Cas as a suspect for a murder mystery night |
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In the middle of January, Bingley had her hysterectomy and hernia surgeries, which went fine. She was kind of pathetic in her cone-of-no-licking for the next week.
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Bingley as a sad Tigger in a cone
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Randy's Righteous Rambling Rants Against the Radical Right Running Roughshod over Reality and Ruination of the Republic (RRRRRRRRRRR)
The inauguration on 20 January began a series of changes on the National scene and a personal level as a Federal employee. Immediately, there was a hostile lurch of the overall Federal climate as the new head of OMB guy referenced the "bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy" in one of his first missives and began pushing an agenda with the stated goal to cause "trauma" in the workforce. These were direct threats to Randy, his career and his environmental team for the Army. It was good to escape the initial direct assaults on environmentalists being hidden within the military as opposed to the EPA, which faced immediate mass firings without cause or Congressional direction. Even so, the team felt like we had a target on us and a Sword of Damocles hung over us constantly. The flurry of Executive Orders in the following weeks and months were a dark cloud on moral. Unqualified cabinet and agency choices, particularly for the DOD, would also sting.
This isn't the place for a full summation of the daily outrages (a.k.a. "flooding the zone" or overwhelming the press and opposition to react before submitting the next unconventional injustices) when a sampling will suifice. A good example of the nonsense was a week and a half in, the President Trump blamed DEI as the cause for a helicopter running into an airplane near Washington National Airport. Randy quipped a translatation of what he essentially said was: "If it wasn't for all the C word, N word and F word, this wouldn't have happened. Let the straight white men do it." "Don't forget the dwarves!" Bethany added. This single event and everything else had the immediate and chilling effects on team morale as people worried about not being born in the US proper (Puerto Rican), being LGBTQ, being remote, being in for less than a year (probationary), or simply being a decent person.
The first concrete change was the end of teleworking for all Federal employees which took a couple of weeks to be adjudicated at our level. The correlation between coworkers that voted MAGA and those living furthest away was strong and it was somewhat amusing at this first Fuck Around and Find Out (FAFO) moment with more coming. Problematically, his team had spread around the globe due to spousal transfers for the DOD among other factors, leading to the quip for several years: "Just like the British Empire, the sun never set on his team." With a third of his team remote around the globe, the return to the office edict would have major consequences. The office felt like we were under assault from hostile forces.
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Standing with out biggest trade partners on first declared Tarfff day
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Move fast and break things seemed to DOGE motto. There was no trust for the childish, half-baked DOGE "Fork in the Road" email asking Feds to leave with full bnefits for the rest of the year if they left in few days. This became the Deferred Resignation Program after the HR professionals and DOD attorneys tried to limit the illegalities of the offer which had no Congressional funding as done in the past (and reuried by law). This early salvo created a constant foreboding that Randy might have have his teams budget eliminated, be forced into an arbitrary resignation or outrighted fired. Was Randy quitting? In the words of the 101st Airborne General in response to a surrender request at Bastogne: NUTS!
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With nerves of steal, our hero Spaceman Spiff skillfully guides his damaged craft to a smooth landing on the Planet Zog
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It was difficult to appear apolitical at work as Randy's internal response was generally "FUCK THESE GUYS". Let's face it, we all know Randy has no poker face and clearly wears his thoughts on his face, when he's not thinking out-loud. As the daily outrages of non-sense never stopped, it was a struggle he wasn't particularly good at and Bethany heard fears his mouth would get him fired (more than her usual background fear for her less than diplomatically challenged spouse).
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The above rant is primarily Randy's Pity Party as the author of these pages. However, the rest of the Curti felt under attack at the daily dismantling of the rights that had built up over the last couple decades as all programs and rights dealing with the MAGA trigger words of Woke, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were slowly torn apart so that white men could feel appreciated and valued again. Like the vaudeville routine Slowly I Turned that the Three Stooges did a Niagara Falls or Abbott and Costello did to Susquehanna Hat Company, mere mention of any of these phrases would send administration lackeys into fits of rage firing of the offenders. Talk about snow flakes.
Small things like the BBCs All Creatures Great and Small were a warm comfortable blanket of kindness and caring on days where MAGA hate and revenge played out on our National scene. Our rainbow flag went back up and we comforted one another and remembered Charles Schulz's wisdon: Happiness is a warm puppy.
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Typical King Charles Caviler Spaniel Behavior: poking open bathroom doors to check on you
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In late January, our friend Jerry got the corporate tickets with a parking spot 50 feet from the door to the Broadway musical Six at the Fox. Access to the Fox Club for dinner, and box seats was nice but the pop music score was not our preference.
| Going in the fabulous folks entrance to the Fabulous fox |
View from the box seats at the fox |
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The first Saturday in February is Ice Cream for Breakfast at Serendipity, a family tradition since 2010. Bingley & Pepper got in on the action at home with "pup cups" of their own!
| We got coffee with our ice cream! |
This is how you welcome February in. |
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Dogs get their special treat too
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Ron's 90th
The next weekend Randy flew to San Francisco and Monterey for his Dad's 90th Birthday. The first nights he stayed with Jake and the Keklikian family.
| Randy and Jake in Mission Park |
Reuniting the bucket hats from the 1980s (they used to fit) |
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Going out with the boys for gelato
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Randy got to Monterey on Sunday, on a beautiful sunny day where it felt good to be outside in the 54-degree temps with Ron for an hour and a half. We gave him a digital photo album frame which pleased him to the point he stopped talking and just watched. Having worn him out, Randy spent a couple hours at Point Pinos rocks (Little Norway) in Pacific Grove while Ron took a nap before Randy returned with Hagen Daus pints for him and his roommate while the Chiefs lost the Super Bowl to the Eagles.
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Randy and Ron on his 90th Birthday
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Monday, February 10 was his actual 90th Birthday. The cake and banner party was put on by the staffers. While there, Ron shared a couple of his gratitude "You Make a Difference" heart pins he purchased and passed out during the holidays while dressed up as leprechaun, etc.. He looked a bit goofy in the costumes but based on the number of pins I saw attached to the staffers badges, it was clear they loved him more for these gestures of kindness than anything else. In his sunset years, Ron made the most of his chances to be the best version of himself. His sense of peace and harmony in a shitty situation was a lesson from another parent. Afterwards, Marcie stayed late to pass on Gaye's presents to him, which primarily consisted of replacement clothes as his quality stuff kept getting swiped from the laundry. He observed he'd lost 32 pair of pants over the last six years, which was another reason he switched to the kilts as it would be hard to pass those off as yours even if someone swiped them. Retention of a sense of humor during the indignities of the realities of staying in a SNF was key to his contentment during this period.
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Goofing around on Ron's 90th Birthday
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Cheaking in with girls at school
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Jane's BE REAL of an informal AXiD Gathering
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| With roommates Sarah and Hannah at initiation (Jane made the banner) |
Sorority Seniors out for bar trivia |
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At a Worcester Railers Hockey Game
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In February, Cas and a contingent from WSU SAC went to the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Live conference in Philadelphia. It was a 4-day convention of similar organizations from around the country. Cas and a couple others were presenting, though she was more interested having fun and mingling with YouTube celebratory Keith Harbersburger of Lewberger fame (Try Guys and I Wish I Could Be A Disney Princess). Yes, her parents had to Google that one.
| At the Denver airport (because that's how one gets from Wichita to Philly) |
City of (Botherly) Love (says so on the sign) |
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| WSU SAC at a Philly coffee bar |
Shockers showing the shocker (Sign of Sisterly Love?) |
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| With Try Guy Keith |
Presenting at NACA |
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Cas at the Curtis Insitue of Music (The most selective university in the USA)
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WSU Valentines Day dance?
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Florida
In late February, Bethany went to Florida to visit her folks for a week. Jane joined them over the long President's Day weekend (Cas having gone a year earlier). Amy and Alvan spoiled them with love and attention in a pleasant break from winter in the northeast and mid-west.
| Amy, Bethany and Jane at the Villages |
Jane ready for music at Edna's in the Villages |
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| Lakeside Winery with the A Sages |
Bethany and Alvan in the Villages |
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Enjoying a snack at the Villages
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In late February, Randy served as the safe, back-up date for Jerry's elite Zoo donor polar bear viewing (Coco with Kali). It was the day before the bear was covertly swapped out for 2 cubs from another zoo to improve the breading stock. He than met Anthony, in town for the night, enjoying two Koream places on Olive (Wu Don Korean BBQ and CM Chicken).
| Randy, Kali and Jerry |
Randy, CM chicken and Anthony |
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The next night, he picked up Bethany from her week in Florida and we visited the classic mom and pop Nick and Elena's Pizza near the airport. It was terrific.
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Excellent mom & pops pizza on the near northside Nick & Elenas
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March
On Mardi Gras (4 March), Jane received a job offer from Jacobs in Boston as a Structural Engineer. Jacobs is one of the largest engineering firms (45,000 employees) world-wide and is a highly regarded firm having acquired many others A-E firms over the years, like former local St. Louis powerhouse Sverdrup. During a period when the jobs for so many of her friends, particularly in the bio-medical fields, turned barren, it was a particular relief and sense of accomplishment. She still had two months to go until graduation.
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Tandem dog team blazing a path to the future
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In early March, Bethany and her friends went to hear Nadia Bolz-Weber preach at her "Red State Revival" message.
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Meeting Nadia Bolz-Weber
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The next day, they celebrated International Women's Day by joining the Unite & Resist Protest in Brentwood, MO. Regular protesting would become a regular Saturday activity in 2025 for the Curti.
| Laura, Bethany and Lisa on Women's Day |
At Brentwood and Eager with Adeline, Lisa, and Laura |
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Randy missed this first one going on to a workday at Rolla with some fellow alumni on the empty Pi Kapp house. They filled a dumpster up with mattresses and other left behind detris from the departed undergrads.
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Pi Kapp dumpster with seperate fire pile in background
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For spring break this year, Jane and her roommate Sarah arranged their own trip to Costa Rica, definitely showing more wanderlust and confidence than her parents at the same time. They stayed in youth hostels, visited a volcano, waterfalls and beaches. She did inherit her parents agility and balance, ergo the surfing lessons on the west coast were frustrating (and no shared pics).
| Jane Versus the Volcano |
With Sarah at La Fortuna |
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| Costa Rican rainforest waterfall |
Safely? motoring in Costa Rica with Sarah |
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West coast of Costa Rica (Life is Good even without surfing)
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St. Pats
| MS&T - Rolla |
WPI - Worcester |
Webster Groves |
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The last week of winter was Cas's spring break from WSU. It's an empty nester moment of joy seeing your kid drive up the street in their car for extended time at home. We spoiled her with trips to her preferred dinner options like Himalayan Hut and Whopper Wednesday while in town. On an outing with Dad, they both got fancy foot scanning to confirm they have unusually high arches and insteps and needed special (i.e., expensive) insoles to resolves those issues. Afterwards they caught Porky Pig and Daffy Duck in the full-length movie: The Day the Earth Blew Up.
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YIKES!
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She left early to visit friends a Mizzou and Stephens and the go to the KC Comi-Con.
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Cas in Columbia with Luke and McKenna
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| Planet Comicon with Cas, Emma and Katie |
Cosplaying Marty McFly |
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| Chipolte outside Comicon |
Cosplay in Batman multi-verse |
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