Street: Highview Circle

Pets: One dog, Beau, Labradoodle Mix

Profession(s): Stephen is a Navy veteran. After his service in the Navy, Stephen has, so far, spent 33 years in municipal water and public works, beginning as a Meter Reader in North Las Vegas, Nevada, and is now the General Manager of Water Utilities and Street Operations for the City of Denton. Stephen also enjoyed a 17- year ‘side hustle’ working as a Lighting Technician for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.

Karen is retired from a career in theatre and entertainment management, having worked in opera, the largest Community playhouse in the US, and several Broadway shows, including national tours. She finished her career as General Manager and Director of Operations for Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. Before leaving Cirque, she also served as their Director of Global Citizenship, directing social and cultural action programs, and other philanthropic activities in the US.

Activities/Hobbies: Walking/exercising, golf, music, crafts (Karen anything, Stephen likes working with leather), and you can often see us at a neighborhood garage or estate sale. Love finding something we can give a little love to and either sell or donate. We also like a good Sunday drive after church.

Park/Play Area/Hang Out: We love being within a short walking distance to South Lakes Park, and wander over there often to walk the trails and enjoy the open spaces. Our Grandchildren love it too, especially the wonderful Eureka 2 playground and fishing pond.

Restaurants: We love Blue Ginger, Sidewalk Café & Bistro and Beth Marie’s, especially as they are so close to home, but we also love The Chestnut Tree, 940’s Kitchen, and Hannah’s on the Square. Marco’s is our newest favorite for pizza, and Jupiter’s for coffee on the Square.

Vacation Destination: New York City, Montreal and Chicago are some of our favorites but also love attending a good Shakespeare Festival, and any National Park! For the two of us, we’ve traveled a good bit for our work careers so haven’t until recently planned a vacation for ourselves until we recently went on a splendid Viking River cruise to France to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Next vacation destination will be Australia and New Zealand.

Sports Teams: Nebraska Cornhuskers, UNLV Mavericks, Dallas Cowboys and our soon-to-be son-in-law has us rooting for the Georgia Bulldogs!

TV Show/Movie: The Voice, and we watch HGTV, Discovery and Food Network from time to time. Our favorite movies are all around the Christmas holidays. Name one, and I’m sure it is on the list!

Music: Gosh, pretty much any and all. We always listen to Jazz on Sunday mornings before going to church.

Family Dinner: Weekdays, just something light. Weekends we like a great steak with veggies, or a healthy salad. We also mix in some poached or roasted salmon. One of our favorite dinners is Ina Garten’s Scallops Provencal…sounds fancy and complicated, but it is quick, easy and delish.

Do you have any family traditions? If the kids and grandkids are available for holidays, then everyone makes their own specialty dishes, and we have a great meal together. But these days, life is crazy, and everyone is everywhere, so our traditions are not very standard. For sure, though, when we are together, we try to squeeze in lots of crafts for the kids, fun meals, games, museum visits, popcorn and movies, karaoke, cornhole, good conversation, and of course, s’mores by the firepit.

What college/university did you attend? Stephen attended Phoenix University for his bachelor’s degree in business administration, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas for his Executive Master’s degree in Crisis and Emergency Management. Karen attended Peru State College in Nebraska for her Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha for her Master’s degree in Theatre Arts.

Where are you originally from? Karen is originally from Nebraska and Stephen was born in Utah and raised primarily in Las Vegas, Nevada.

How long have you lived in this neighborhood? Just over three years. We moved into our home on Highview in December of 2021.

What do you like to do to relax? Try to sleep in on weekends, take walks, do some crafting now and again, watch sports, and we also love to play Scrabble, card and board games. But nothing beats enjoying the beautiful sunsets every night from our sunroom, back patio, or while sitting by a warm fire in the firepit.

How are you involved in the community? Karen is so happy to be a part of the neighborhood Bunco group, and both of us have done a little volunteering for Theatre Denton which we hope to more of soon. We’ve also attended some of the cool events coordinated by the Special Events team in Forrestridge, they do such a great job!

If you have kids, what activities are they involved with? We’ve been empty nesters for a while, but so grateful the kids bring themselves and the grandkids around often to enjoy South Lakes park, the Denton water park, and Beth Marie’s, of course.

What is your favorite part about living in your neighborhood? The neighbors and the tree lined streets! Truly, our neighbors are wonderful. On day one, we had neighbors at our door welcoming us to the neighborhood, and when we take our daily walks, we see so many that even if we don’t know them, yet, they are always sure to give us a wave hello. And who wouldn’t love these tree lined streets, just magical! We pinch ourselves and feel immensely blessed to live in Forrestridge!