Merry Christmas 2013

It has been a cold winter in Sierra Madre...just kidding.
We have enjoyed another wonderful year with family and friends. We had a great trip through England with Darrick and Cady as guides, a fun couple of weeks with family in Catalina, attended the annual grand kid birthday party (4&6), and took a short trip to Sequoia last winter. Lacey, Mark, Cady, Darrick, Kaylee, Lily, Liz and I are all doing very well.
Life is Good...Happy Holidays to All

England 2013

We are back from our England trip with Cady and Darrick. We had a terrific time traveling from Lizard Point Cornwall, to London, to Bath, to Paris, to Witby & Robin Hood's Cove, to Edenborough, to the Lake District, to York, and to Leeds. We walked an average of 9 miles a day, checked out numerous National trust sites, ate terrific food, and frequented the local pubs. Please check out our slide show at http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Ru7cp9tQ.

Happy Holidays 2012

Liz and I had a wonderful and eventful 2012 and want to thank all our family and friends for sharing it with us. Liz is enjoying retirement and I am happily working with a great group at the Academy. Mark and Lacey are doing great at J&J and Ichor. Kaylee and Lily just turned 5 and 3 and are cuter than ever. Cady and Darrick were married last summer and are off to England for 7 months on 12/31.

Thank you all for staying in touch and we look forward to another great year in 2013.

GROUP SHOT!
Here is a pretty good one of the Staff-Rode fam.

Cady and Darrick Wed

Cady and Darrick celebrated their wedding with family and friends over the weekend in Catalina. It was a fun time with perfect beach weather, lots of dancing, conch blowing, making new friends, and catching up with old ones. Thank you all for coming and I hope you all had a great time...we sure did.

See slide show at http://www.photoshow.com/watch/zN2DK6tC

Happy Holidays 2011
Liz and I had an eventful year in 2011 with the trips to Costa Rica and Hawaii, the engagement of Cady and Darrick, Kaylee and Lily's 4th and 2nd birthdays, and so many wonderful times with family and friends.
2011 was also the year of the passing of my terrific big sister Jan. Her positive energy will continue to inspire us all.
Liz retired this year but somehow is busier than ever and I am still enjoying my stay at the Academy. We both look forward to a great 2012.
Happy Holidays from Liz and John!

Happy Birthday Jan!

The Staff Family celebrated Jan's life on Saturday, October 29th at the El Encanto with about 200 of Jan's family and friends. We all enjoyed sharing stories and reminiscing about our time with Jan. I especially enjoyed Ben's slide show and the stories shared by the "kids" particularly Lacey's reflections and Cady's poem.
Here is Jan's poem to us...

Warm summer sun, balmy breezes,

Smell of ocean---Love's dream seizes!
Autumn colors and cooler nights,

Toasty sweaters, Halloween delights.

Family mem'ries at Thanksgiving,

Snowy evenings, alpine skiing.

Easter flowers and island grass,

More memories of the past.

How can I be the dieing one,

When I want the warm summer sun?

(Do you like it?  Love, Jan)

Please send your favorite pictures, music, and stories to remember my big sister. Jan was always the photogenic one and always looked her best. She loved good music and so far we have Theme from a Summer Place, It's a Wonderful World, Senza Fine, and Righteous Brothers.
I know we all have great stories...Thanksgiving, rollerskating, bobbing for apples, 45's, Huskey eyes, Stewy, Jan Christine the flying machine, golf, fishing, parasailing, snorkling, waterskiing, skiing, red wine, Spanish emersion, the energizer bunny...it is just a matter of if we can remember.
Jan was always the organized one.
Please check out the slide show on Jan on Photoshows.

Jan Christine “Staff” Harrison passed away last Sunday, August 21, 2011 after a 13 year battle with cancer.  Jan proved to be a fighter who continued to beat the odds right up until the end. Jan was a loving wife, the family matriarch, big sister, special aunt, hostess, organizer, and inspiration for us all. Jan was born in San Franciso on October 28, 1948, graduated Avalon High School in 1966, graduated from San Diego State in 1970, and was a stewardiss for American Airlines for 34 years where she met her pilot husband Dave on a flight in 1972. Jan was also happy to volunteer as a docent at both the Avalon and Nevada State Museums. Jan touched so many including her many loyal old and new friends. Jan was a combination of smart, opinionated, high energy, athletic, stylish, proper, and artistic. Jan did not have time for complaining or sitting around and doing nothing. She was an adventurer who climbed mountains, fished, skied, and loved to travel. She was fun to be around and wanted everyone to enjoy life as much as she did.

We will all miss her greatly and the family would like to thank the many special friends that assisted Jan with her difficult final journey.
Dave and the Staff kids will be holding a service and a gathering to celebrate Jan’s life on the Island on Saturday, October 29th.