May 5 - June 5: After moving to a new house in Nelson, Karen flew back to the US to see family, friends, clean the house, get new renters, and have some adventures with Kay from New Zealand. First was the Bay Area to see Kelsey and Konstantin. They celebrated Popii's 92nd birthday with Grammy; swam at the South End Swimming & Rowing Club (brrrr); and met one of the stars of Kelsey's video for school that documents swimming issues of the South End Rowing Club - to be made public soon. In Salt Lake, Kay helped Karen tremendously by helping her clean and repair the house and get new renters in just a couple of weeks. To celebrate their hard work, they took the sprinter down to the desert and explored Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, and Lower Calf Creek Falls. Then on to St. Louis to spend time with Kathy and Andy. Kathy, Karen, and Kay drove to Madison to see Sam. Wow! He works for EPIC and the work campus is incredibly fun (epic really)! Story Works building; Harry Potter like building, Deep Space Building... a great experience for us and Sam! We loved meeting his mates and exploring Madison. Then back to St. Louis for the Chihuly installation at the St. Louis Botanical Gardens. And... surprise Aunt Linda came to town!!! Again, back to Salt Lake, keys to the property manager, good bye to Salt Lake for a little longer, a little more time in the Bay Area and back to Nelson. Meanwhile in Nelson..... Mark was hanging at the Boat House with friends Ben and Malcolm, working, walking trails, swimming, and enjoying the new pad.