December 8, 1999    It's the big millennium countdown … 23 days to go before Y2K.  Are you ready?   We've put New Wave (our cat) on alert.  She's been instructed to warn us of any impending anomalies and she reports directly to Shannon.  That should take care of that!    Well … we’ve been going through some major lifestyle changes with the new offspring unit around. I've found that I'm far too old for this kind of stuff! Not a lot of time for sleep anymore … I think Nora gets half of what she was used to.  After the “big event” last December, Nora took a 4 month maternity leave and thoroughly enjoyed the time off … spending the days with her “Mom and Baby” group and shopping along with taking care of Shannon.  She went back to work on April Fools Day attempting a part-time 30 hr / week (working 6 hr days), but found after a few months she was putting in at least 35 hrs anyway, so she adjusted upward to that.  Her work day begins at 7am.  I work the later shift and have morning baby duty which allows me to drive her to daycare using the car pool lane!  You'd have to live here and deal with the traffic on the daily commute to understand why that's such a perk.  Shannon ends up in daycare only about 5 hrs a day … our goal to minimize her time there.  We've been blessed with a very mellow, happy child (at least for now).    The first 3 months of '99 were spent adjusting to the new schedule … so life was a pretty boring routine.  Shannon made her first hike to the Northern Cascades in early March.   We spent a 3-day weekend at the Sun Mountain Lodge in Eastern, WA for our anniversary at the end of June, taking Shannon on a few more hikes, lounging in the pool and even splitting a one-hour session with the resident masseuse.    I took 4 weeks off in early June to finish mortaring up the stone and framing our backyard river rock / cedar storage shed project that began last year.  Of course it rained through the majority of that, so the work was slow going and mostly done under a huge tarp.  A couple of the nicer days I'd sneak in a round of golf.  It took about 3 more months (one day a weekend) to finish up the exterior and roof it.  All that's left is installing the double door and a little home-shaped window in the front peak, and hooking up the plumbing and electrical.    In mid-July the entire Steffens side of the family organized a week long vacation to Alaska to celebrate my parental units' 50th wedding anniversary.  Shannon finally got to “officially” meet all her strange relatives (including Grandma and Grandpa).  The 14 of us started out in Anchorage, took a Glacier Cruise through Prince William Sound, chartered a guide for a day of Salmon Fishing, went on the Tundra Wildlife Tour through Denali National Park and had a formal Golden Anniversary dinner at a very nice restaurant at the top of a ski lift overlooking Turnagain Bay.  The family traveled from Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin to all be together … quite the nuclear family.  It was great to spend time with them all!    Nora is still involved with her “Mom and Baby” group, plays a Social Director for the Homeowner's Association and continues to meet fairly regularly with her UW college friends (“Girls Night Out”).  We're still trying to lead a somewhat “normal” life, going to the Puyallup Fair, the Seattle Symphony and a Musical this year mixed in with a few parties.  Shannon saw her first Mariner's baseball game at the new retractable-roofed Safeco Field … she also attended her first UW Husky football game in full Husky apparel.  Nora's father Bill has come up from Bremerton several times over weekends to spend time with his newest granddaughter. We're off to Dayton, Ohio in a few weeks to visit my next older brother Dave's family and most of my old friends over the Christmas holiday.  Dayton is where I reached puberty, first became responsible and went to college … not necessarily in that order.  Responsible for what, you may ask.  It's been almost 9 years since I've hung out in the Oregon District or shared a beer with the Wright State University crew … our last trip back there was Christmas 1990.   It looks also like my oldest brother Bruce, his wife Cathy, son Jeremy and his wife Melody will also be meeting us there while visiting Jeremy in Lafayette, Indiana.   Another mini-reunion!   Nora and I both need to be close to the office for Y2K (both being IS Managers) so we'll be back home for the start of the new century. Shannon just celebrated her first birthday with a few of our friends and their children last weekend … how time flies when you're busy living!  We hope the new millennium finds your bank account intact, your lights on, and happiness in your home.  Don't forget to visit if you find yourself anywhere near the Pacific Northwest … oh, and bring some sunshine with you!  E-mail us a line every now and then Merry Christmas 1999!