2,024 Adventures

In 2024, we enjoyed a mix of travel, laughter, and curious pursuits — along with a major employment shift. The kids are thriving with Spanish immersion at ISLA. Kira is stretching her performance chops with an extra-curricular theater class and choreographing dance routines. Landon is finally losing teeth, loving a chess class, and cracks people up. They remain best buddies, which we'll enjoy for as long as possible!

Therese continues to transform lives, both as an executive leadership coach and as the school's family coordinator of the ISLA Language Ambassador program.

Bob's decade at Leadpages came to an end in May, and he's now independently guiding entrepreneurs through their next phase of growth through coaching, courses, and YouTube content.

On the front of this year's card, we had a family photo session at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (The Arb). Therese and I have to constantly pinch ourselves at how awesome our kids are. And I'm sure they feel the same about having the best parents in the world (at least that's what we whisper to them while they're asleep).

The back of this year's card features a few highlights from our 6-week trip to Spain in July and August. Kira and Landon put their 3+ years of Spanish immersion at ISLA to good practice as our translators — which they crushed.

It was very difficult to pick our top favorite photos, but here's our best attempt, in a (mostly) clockwise spiral:

• On our return flight, we brought home our third LA*, María, who is from Madrid. The Madrid airport has a fantastic color corridor that requires an #instaphoto.
• Early in our trip, the Sparkins crew and Marina (23-24 LA) went canyoning near Granada. Hiking, natural water slides, repelling, and 5m jumps into pools — one of the most challenging things we've ever done!
• Our time in Barcelona featured the Grácia Festa Major, a neighborhood festival with competitions between streets using papier maché.
• Experienced flamenco culture, more great food, and a fun city-wide walking scavenger hunt in Málaga
• Enjoyed the city of Valladolid as our home base for the trip, staying with Marina's family. A block from their apartment is a fun plaza with this amazing reading statue, mere steps away from a fantastic Döner Kebab restaurant.
• For Kira's 8th birthday, we traveled to Buñol and stayed in a nearby village of Godelleta. The house manager and her sister made an amazing paella for her birthday celebration.
• The next day, Kira, Landon, and Therese got in the mix throwing tomatoes during the kid's edition of the annual La Tomatina — the world's largest food fight.
• (inset) Kira enjoying a foam party and slides at the annual festival in Valcavado del Páramo, where Marina's family has a "cabin" for summer getaways.
• Inside El Castillo de Tiedra (one of 6 total castles we visited), Landon tries on becoming a knight.
• Landon and Kira crushed their first ever surfing lessons in the Bay of Biscay and the beautiful beaches of Donostia - San Sebastián.

* Language Ambassador's are student teachers from foreign lands that live with us as they learn American culture and share their own. Marina was with us from August '23 - July '24, and María (without an N) is staying with us through mid-May. They're both from Spain.