Kortenkamp Christmas Newsletter (2006)

Jan & Dan, Stevens Point, WI. In January we drove to Houston to visit David, and help him with kitchen remodeling – installing new vinyl floor tiles. We did some sightseeing – Imax “Mystery of the Nile”, Cockrell Butterfly Center (“hundreds of live butterflies in a naturalistic rainforest setting.”) We sampled some ethnic restaurants in the area, tried some new vegetarian recipes, and watched many NetFlix movies on David’s 61” TV. Dan & David ran the Houston Half-Marathon (“18,000 runners in both the full marathon and half; with 200,000 spectators it is the biggest single day sporting event in Houston”), each placing in the middle of their age class.

Everyone was home for Easter (except Steve & family). But, we all got together Labor Day weekend when we rented two condos at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells (“the largest indoor water park in the U.S.”). And we host Christmas here with everyone.

In May we visited Steve & Jane and family in Tucson. Jan babysat while Steve competed in the Ironman Arizona Triathlon in Tempe, AZ. Dan, David, and Jane took pictures and videos, and offered support during the race.

In June, Dan’s father, Tony, celebrated his 96^th birthday. Dan’s brother Ed hosted a picnic at his house in Marion, IA (Tony lives in an assisted living apartment in Marion). Their sister, Marilyn, was there; and brother Leon and wife Ginny came from California (their son John also came from Tübingen, Germany, where he lives with his family). Several other grandchildren and one great grandchild attended. We played our traditional game of croquet, and some of us toured the historic Amana Colonies near Cedar Rapids.

Janet keeps busy with church volunteer work – Eucharistic Minister, lector, choir, teaching 5^th grade religious education, doing billing for religious education, scheduling volunteers, maintaining the parish web page, etc. She also likes baking, going for walks, practicing piano, and working on crossword puzzles. She embroidered two quilts for our two new grandchildren. In March, Janet went to Chicago for a weekend with all her daughters. They shopped and went to the play “Emma” by Jane Austin.

Dan volunteers at the local food co-op. He also still has an office & computer at the university and a locker in the gym. He enjoys genealogy, working out and long distance running. He ran the Madison Half-Marathon this summer. The temperature was 90+, and after 8 runners were taken to the hospital, the race was stopped. However, Dan finished before the race was stopped – he loves to run in heat. This year Dan scanned over 3,600 family and ancestor photographs and documents. He plans to make family history DVDs for everyone. Each month Dan visits his brother Ed and his father. His father is doing well physically and mentally. He continued to drive until this summer when he sold his car. With his reflexes getting slower, he was starting to worry about his driving skills.

David, Seabrook, TX, senior scientist with the Automation, Robotics, and Simulation Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston; works on robots and software for automated life support systems on the Moon and Mars. He is a leader in the Spacecraft Autonomy project, and a member of the "tiger team" on systems management for the crew exploration vehicle (CEV) -- NASA's space shuttle replacement (recently named “Orion”). David travels extensively in his work -- Washington, DC; Norfolk, VA; NASA Ames Research Center, CA; Carnegie-Mellon U. (Pittsburgh); Co-chair, American Association for Artificial Intelligence Symposium on Spacecraft Autonomy, Arlington, VA; Conference on Habitation Research and Development, Orlando, FL; Judge, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (“the world's largest pre-college celebration of science; nearly 1,500 students from more than 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship”), Indianapolis; Program Committee, National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Boston; Presenter, Congreso Nacional de Informatica y Sistemas, U. of Tampico, Villahermosa, Mexico; Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, etc. He also volunteers for Classroom of the Future LEGO robot competition. David is Assoc. Editor for the MIT Press series on Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents, and reviewer for Autonomous Robots Journal, and the journal Transactions on Robots. He also has a private research company -- Texas Robotics and Automation Center (TRACLabs), working on projects for NASA, the Army, etc. David enjoys working out, playing softball, and running road races (e.g., running the Houston Half-Marathon every January). He went skiing with friends at Big Sky Resort, Montana, and canoeing with family in the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota.

Suzie & Jerry Raflik, Kaitlyn (12), Michael/”Micha” (7), Poynette, WI. Suzie & Jerry were busy with their business -- Skyline Steel, Inc. (structural & decorative steel fabrication) in Arlington, WI. Among projects this year – a 560 ft covered pedestrian walk bridge over a canyon connecting two water parks; and steel for fire-training facilities in Hawaii and Turkey. They also designed and built a new house on their 37 acres of woodland (adjacent to the 280-acre McKenzie Center Conservation Park with “nature trails, a wildlife exhibit of native animals including a bison herd, and a wildlife pond”). Their house is 5 levels with 5 bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, 4-car garage, and an in-ground swimming pool -- just right for hosting Kortenkamp family reunions (Thanksgiving & New Year’s this year). They did manage to get away for a few days this summer by taking a trip to Las Vegas. Kaitlyn (6^th grade) loves social studies, and is taking clarinet lessons. She was selected as an outstanding 6^th grader. All the teachers vote and select two students per grade based on academics, attitude and citizenship. She competes in gymnastics and medaled at the Wisconsin State Meet in the floor exercise. Michael most enjoys math -- learning to add and subtract and count money (he takes after his CPA mother), and tell time. He is still into LEGOs and building anything, especially Star Wars space ships. He wants to be a water park designer when he grows up, and recently started a bottle cap collection. Suzie had a surprise 40^th birthday party during the family reunion at the Dells.

Steve K. & Jane Morrison, Oliver (7), Eliza (3), Eleanor (5 mos.), Tucson, AZ. Steve is an astronomer at the Planetary Science Institute researching the origins/evolution of solar systems, both ours and those around other stars. He wrote a children’s book this year -- “Why isn’t Pluto a planet?: A book about planets”. Jane is an astronomer at the Steward Observatory, U. of Arizona. She works with a team that operates an instrument on the Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA's orbiting infrared observatory. She regularly travels to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena for Spitzer workshops. Oliver is in 2^nd grade and plays soccer, flag football and basketball. He also went to a Colorado Rockies spring training game. Eliza takes ballet class at her preschool and performed on stage during her school's annual holiday dinner. Steve and Jane welcomed a new addition to their family in July, a girl named Eleanor Francis Morrison Kortenkamp. Ellie is named after Jane's grandmother and St. Francis. On April 9, Steve competed in the Ironman Arizona Triathlon, Tempe, AZ, (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run), finishing in 12 hrs 26 mins [Jane did this Ironman last year.]. After the triathlon, Jane flew to Pasadena, and Steve drove with the kids to join her for a vacation. They visited Disneyland and Universal Studios, where Eliza was freaked out by a (much) larger than life-size Dora the Explorer. Steve and Jane were visited by Mom, Dad and Dave (for the Ironman), Aunt Miri and Uncle Gary (in town for the Rockies spring training), and Sarah & Julian, Betsy, Katy & Joel. They also took a Labor Day trip to Wisconsin for the family reunion at the Dells; and home for Xmas where everyone got to play in the snow – sledding, building a snow man, snowball fights, etc.

Nancy & Matt Mikel, Simon/"Sam" (6), Lance (5), and Jackson (3), Madison, WI. Nancy is an audiologist, heading the pediatric cochlear implant program at the U. of Wisconsin Hospital Audiology Clinics. Matt is an airplane mechanic at Wisconsin Aviation, Dane County (MSN) Regional Airport. He took his Inspection Authorization (IA) test this year and is now certified to do annual checks on airplanes. He is also able to return aircraft back to service that have had major repair or alteration. Matt has put his flying lessons on hold so he can go back to school to finish his bachelor’s degree in education. Matt and Nancy recently became certified foster parents and have done some respite care for other foster parents. They are also busy remodeling their basement for a master bedroom (Matt is really doing all the work while Nancy keeps the kids occupied). The family took one trip this year to Texas to visit Matt’s family. Matt will make a second trip to Texas for the holidays while Nancy and the kids will spend time in Stevens Point. Sam started 1^st Grade and is very proficient in reading and math. He can even do multiplication and division in his head already! Lance started preschool and is very obsessed with electricity. If he can’t plug it in he is not interested in playing with it. Jackson is a very outdoor child who loves playing many different sports. His favorite is soccer.

Peter, Zwingle, IA (south of Dubuque), plays horn for several orchestras – 4^th Horn, Des Moines Symphony; Principal Horn, Central Wisconsin Symphony (making frequent trips home for practices and performances); Co-Principle Horn, La Crosse Symphony; 2^nd Horn, Quad Cities Symphony; and 2^nd Horn, Cedar Rapids Symphony. He is also substitute horn for other orchestras when his schedule permits – Illinois Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Dubuque Symphony, Ottumwa Symphony, etc. A high point of Peter’s year was playing a stage-front world-premier solo on a ceramic horn with the Central Wisconsin Symphony. The solo was a work commissioned specifically for the horn (a horn made by a professor of ceramic art). Peter also teaches horn at Simpson College, Indianola, IA; and Loras College, Dubuque. Peter hopes to get a full-time (with benefits) horn position. This year he traveled to auditions for the Boston Symphony/Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New World Symphony, Hong Kong Symphony, Denver Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and several minor symphonies. When playing with the Des Moines Symphony he stays at the Principal Horn’s vineyard, helping with weeding, mulching, etc. Peter enjoys photography, distance running, and writing. He won his age division in a 5K road race, Moline, IL. A running high point was racing in the 7-mile Living Farms Cross Country Race near Des Moines – "Largest & best Cross Country Race in North America. You must be ready to climb fences, wade through creeks, avoid animals and claw your way to the top of gullies with over 5,000 other runners of questionable senses.” Peter’s travels included a trip with Nancy & family to visit David in Houston, road trip with Betsy & Tony to Maine, and canoeing the Boundary Waters with family. For Peter’s writing, check out his blog [just Google: “Have Horn.Will Travel blog”].

Sarah K. & Kurt Clopton, Julian (2) and Evan (5 mos.), Marshfield, WI. Sarah & family moved to Marshfield, 45 mins. from Stevens Point; a big change, going from a very rural area to a small city, but one they had been excited about making for some time. Sarah, a clinical neuropsychologist, transferred from a satellite clinic, Minocqua, WI, to the main Marshfield Clinic (“736 physicians in 80 medical specialties and subspecialties located in 41 clinics throughout northern, central and western Wisconsin”). She joined a department with three other neuropsychologists, and does assessments for people with brain injuries, learning disabilities, and memory problems. Kurt works at home as a computer consultant for the U. of Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and does some freelance art work. He is also busy at home with the kids as they are in day care only part-time. In February, Sarah attended the International Neuropsychological Society Conference in Boston. In May, Sarah & Julian visited Steve & Jane’s family. Sarah & Jane were able to share pregnancy stories, as they were quite pregnant and their due dates were within days of each other. Evan was born July 24, and has the esteem of being the biggest grandchild so far at 9 lbs., 6 oz. Not a record Sarah was excited about. Julian has really enjoyed having a brother and is already very protective (when he is not trying to jump over Evan).

Betsy, Middleton, WI, is a pre-kindergarten teacher at Clubhouse for Kids, Cross Plains, WI, preparing children for kindergarten. She enjoys planning lesson activities for her class and mixes in fun and interesting topics that excite the children. This past year she taught about Ancient Egypt, the Wild West, robots, pirates, and medieval times; and built props such as a large Killer Whale, pirate ship, castle, Pterodactyl, and a pyramid. Betsy, Sarah & Julian, Katy & Joel, flew to Arizona to visit Steve & his family in Tucson. They visited the Desert Museum; and climbed (not Sarah!) Safford Peak (“Sombrero Mountain”) near Steve’s house. Betsy also made a road trip with Peter & Tony to Maine where they camped in the Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor. Along the way they stopped at Niagara Falls, and also visited their aunt & uncle, Miriam & Gary Spivey, in Schenectady, NY. Again, they drove our 2002 Saturn wagon, which has now been coast-to-coast (Bar Harbor, Maine, & Outer Banks, North Carolina; to Red Wood National Park, California) and almost border-to-border (Tucson to the Boundary Waters, MN).

Katy K. & Joel Santodomingo, Madison, WI. Katy is a psychology doctoral student at UW-Madison, interested in experimental design/statistical methods. She is a teaching assistant, and for extra money does editing. Her research interests are judgment and decision-making about environmental issues, and quantitative modeling. She recently published an article “Time, Uncertainty, and Individual Differences in Decisions to Cooperate in Resource Dilemmas”. In November she presented her research at the Society for Judgment and Decision Making Conference, Houston, where she stayed with David. Joel, a computer programmer, was promoted to Information Technology Coordinator for the UW-Madison Law Library. Katy & Joel made several trips (Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Diego) to visit friends and Joel’s family; and in May went to Tucson (with Betsy, Sarah & Julian) to visit Steve & family. In July they joined David, Tony, Brenna & her father for camping and canoeing in the Boundary Waters. In their spare time they take tango classes, practice yoga, and go road biking together. Katy also spent time this fall volunteering with the Fair Wisconsin campaign to defeat the amendment to ban civil unions and gay marriage in Wisconsin, which unfortunately passed. Joel still enjoys playing video games, despite Katy's nagging. They also had a small garden this year.

Tony K. & Brenna Lavalier, Big Lake, MN. This summer Tony & Brenna became engaged. Tony left his teaching job (physics, astronomy) at East De Pere H.S. near Green Bay; and moved to Minnesota (just NW of Minneapolis), where Brenna teaches 3^rd grade in Otsego, and Tony teaches science (physical science, astronomy, geology) at Monticello H. S. He is also an Assistant Coach for cross-country and track.. Tony competes in road races himself -- placing 1^st overall in the Rogers, MN, 5K; and 3^rd in his age group in the La Crosse, WI, Oktoberfest YMCA Maple Leaf 5-mile Road Race. Tony also enjoys playing guitar, and writing and recording his own music. The seniors at his last high school asked him to perform for their Senior Prom which was held at the new atrium inside Lambeau Field. Brenna enjoys crafts and camping. In July Tony took David, Peter, Katy & Joel canoeing with Brenna and her father in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. They had chosen a campsite which turned out to be only a few miles from forest fires which burned several thousand acres of the Wilderness. In November, Tony & Brenna moved into a house they bought on about one acre with a pond. Their wedding is planned for August 11 in Grand Rapids, MN.