January 12, 2020
Hey Y’all,
We wanted to give everyone an update on what’s going on in our lives. We may make it a yearly thing, if nobody complains too much…
2019 was a busy year for us. In January we had a houseguest from the Netherlands staying with us. She was a friend of Kelly (Joe’s brother Ben’s wife). The two of them had met when Kelly was in Romania several years back.
Also in January, Joe’s brother John got married. The Rothrock women were very happy to finally have a majority. As you may know, Joe’s parents had 6 boys and 3 girls. John was the forth of the boys to get married, bringing the girl count up to 7.
In March, Beth’s parents sold the farm and moved to Earlville. Why Earlville? Pretty house.
We have enjoyed visiting often, and claimed the downstairs bedroom as our weekend retreat early on.
Beth was pleased to find there is a bowling alley a few miles from their house. We have only been there once so far, but will be back when we have time to spare. If you’d like to go bowling with us sometime, shoot Beth a text and we can set something up.
We went kayaking on Otsego lake several times this summer. We enjoy kayaking, and would love for you to join us (if that’s what floats your boat).
In August we went out to Ohio to visit Beth’s Aunt and cousin. Her cousin’s boys enjoyed playing with Joe, and Beth thought it was funny when they knew Joe by name, but called her “that girl”. Beth and her cousin are 6 weeks apart, and this year they turned 30, so it was only right to celebrate the occasion together.
In November Joe’s sister Naomi got engaged. She will be the first of the Rothrock girls to get married, and us boys are happy the girls will lose their majority. They plan to get married this year (2020), in keeping with Rothrock tradition. For those of you who don’t know, Joe’s older brother Ben got married in 2016, we got married in 2017, Luke got married in 2018, then John in 2019. Naphi, who falls between Joe and Luke in chronological order, was completely skipped.
Also in November, we got a stair lift so Beth can go up to the second floor without being carried. We also finished painting and cleaning up the second story, which consists of a guest room and a lot of storage.
The weekend before Thanksgiving we went out to Rochester to attend a Maker Faire. We enjoyed seeing all the creative inventions and projects people were working on.
Over the last several months, Joe’s grandmother (who lives next door to us) has been working on getting an apartment in Albany. She moved last week, and Ben and Kelly will be buying her house.
Beth is still volunteering at Headstart 3 hours a week. She enjoys working with the little monsters.
Beth has been learning about essential oils for awhile. She wants to start teaching people about them and selling oils. She is currently a distributor for Young Living oils, so if you are interested in learning about essential oils, give her a shout.
She has also been using her computer skills to help the Amish near us sell their puppies online.
Joe recently acquired a wok and has been experimenting with Chinese style cooking. Beth enjoys watching him cook, in spite of the fact that it makes her hungry.
Some time this year we hope to make a trip to visit family in Ohio, Tennessee and Alabama. We have been to Ohio a couple times in the last few years, but we haven’t been down south since 2016.
Beth is considering flying out to California to visit some family at some point as well. She got a portable power chair that should make it easier.
We are looking forward to doing some camping with Beth’s parents this summer, probably on mirror lake. Or really anywhere, as long as there is water to take out the kayak.
If you’re ever in the area, stop by. We’d love to see you. If you come from far away, we do have a guest room (if the dog likes you).
We love hearing from you, keep in touch with Beth by text (607-434-9544) or on Marco Polo. She’s our family Social Media Manager and Event Coordinator.
Until next time,
Joe & Beth