Merry Christmas everyone! We feel very fortunate to have made it through yet another year with enough energy left to tell you about it! It’s been another busy one – full of more good times than bad times; we’ve met many new friends, and kept in touch with old ones – we feel very blessed to have enjoyed the good fortune of spending time with family and friends:

We started off the new year in California, visiting Donna and Ed Peek at their motor home, in an RV park by the ocean – we went to a Barry Manilow concert in Hollywood, walked along the beach, visited Ed’s kids and sampled many restaurants. On the way home, we drove through Bryce Canyon National Park and took pictures of the park with all the snow–covered formations - so beautiful! Barb finished off the month by working – Ugh!!

We’re off to Florida! Unfortunately…. The first night of our trip was spent about 90 miles from home in a motel watching a blizzard!! This was not supposed to happen!! Things did improve, however – after spending a couple of nights in a beach motel on Panama City Beach, we’re off to Tampa to pick up Sandy and George for our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. – Although George is not too sure about this, he has a fabulous time visiting San Juan, Nassau, Saint Thomas and Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island. We had a ball! After the cruise we spent a couple of nights in the Everglades, then took them to the airport, so we could continue on….

To our friends’ Betty and Jack, who have retired to Lady Lakes, Florida – a huge fun-filled community – they have a wonderful new home; we spent a week shopping, sightseeing, playing cards and enjoying our time together. Next stop: South Carolina to visit Barb’s aunts – isn’t southern cooking wonderful? After stuffing our tummies on several occasions, it was time to head for home – what a great trip! Next comes Barb’s single most important step this year: She joined Weight-Watchers and lost almost 40 pounds between March and August, and she feels great! (She thinks she looks much better and Bob agrees!)

We spent a lot of time at the gym – and "counting points"….. and Barb keeps getting called into work, too! Barb crocheted a baby blanket for Kama’s friend Marcie – took it to her baby shower – soon her "little one" will arrive.

Ed flew from Pennsylvania to Denver to put all their furniture into a U-Haul truck. – Then Ed and Bob drove it back to Pennsylvania to furnish their rented house. – They plan to spend six months there and six months in their motor home in California. – Sounds cool, huh? This was a really bad month for forest fires in Colorado. – Some were way too close to us! The drought gets worse and worse here. – If only it would rain! Saw Engelbert Humperdink in concert – had front row center seats! It was a fun night…. Barb flew to Pennsylvania to help Donna put her house together. – We had a fun time rearranging furniture, hanging pictures, Playing cards and shopping. – Was a busy month! Barb filled in empty times with work!

Our friend Sherry from Maine came to visit for a week – We had a fun time gallivanting around. – Went to the Cirque du Soleil – also took her to our club and worked on losing weight – Barb has been pretty successful so far! Bob’s dad has had to be moved to assisted living this month. His health is really starting to deteriorate. George and Sandy have done a phenomenal job of taking care of the multitude of things that have had to be done for him this year!

Barb is still working quite a bit – have to save for all the things we have planned for next year. We celebrated our 23^rd Anniversary – Then we’re off in our mini-van, heading for our "eastern adventure". – Our first stop is Allan and Karen and Casey’s in Virginia – We just made it in time to spend…

Labor Day weekend with them. – Had a fun visit, as we always do – then continue on to George and Sandy’s in Massachusetts. Barb arraigned a reunion with several friends we had not seen in 30+ years! – That was interesting! Simply could not believe how busy we were, helping to get things ready for Lara’s wedding! The list was endless, but we had a ball – the medieval wedding went off without a hitch – we spent 4 days at our motel by the ocean in Gloucester with a crowd of friends and relatives. (Kama and Mike flew in for the wedding!) – What a great experience – nighttime bonfires on the beach, wedding feasts, whale-watching and shopping. – To say nothing of early-morning coffee on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Lara and Scott had a great start to their married life. Also during the month, we moved Bob’s father yet again – this time to the Memory Care unit. It’s hard to watch his very speedy decline! The four of us (with Sandy and George) managed to escape to Martha’s Vineyard for a few days before we headed to Pennsylvania. – We had never been there before, so it was another new experience. We also managed to squeeze in a few card-playing sessions and a trip to Newport, Rhode Island with our friends Richard and Irene.

We’re back on the road – heading for Donna and Ed’s. We stopped for 2 nights in Philadelphia on the way – we spent our days exploring the city – another first for us! Then craft fairs and more shopping with Donna and Ed. By then we were ready to head for home. We attended the Broncos Vs Dolphins game (we lost!) – started our Christmas shopping. Looks like I’ll be working a lot until the end of the year, cause it’s so busy and the office is short-handed. More traveling money for next year!

Bob turns 65!!! Does that mean I’m getting old too? NAH! Women are immune to that! We try it again! Broncos Vs Raiders (we lost again!) We are not going to any more games this season. I guess we jinx them! .… Barb found time for some lunches with "the girls" and got serious about shopping and wrapping for Christmas. Sandy and George have to move Pop to a nursing home – He’s becoming more confused and unsettled. Again our thanks to Sandy and George for their efforts on behalf of Pop! But we still have a lot to be thankful for – Thanksgiving with our kids is special for all of us. Kama, by the way, lands her first "real" job as an attorney with an environmental firm!

Big Event! Mike graduates from college "Summa cum Laude"! We are very proud! Al is coming to help us celebrate – we have several parties scheduled, and plan to enjoy the holiday season. Can life be much better than this?

We hope this letter finds everyone in good health and enjoying life as much as they can. We’ve been so blessed to have good friends and great family to spend time with. We pray that our good fortune will continue to next year. We have lot on our tentative schedule for 2003:

January or February: A California visit with Donna and Ed.

Early March: Donna and Ed are here for a family wedding.

Late March: New Mexico friends "Mo" and family is here for spring break.

May: Branson, Missouri with Irene and Richard and the Massachusetts gang.

June and July: River cruise in Europe with our "cruising buddies" Sam and Leona. 3 weeks

October: Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico – We missed it this year!

December: A time-share week in Hawaii – visiting Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island

Please keep in touch, stay well and have a great 2003

Barb & Bob