Thursday, January 1

Happy Holidays!!!


Happy holidays to you and yours from Madeline, Kate, Peter and Stan. All is great with us here in Minnesota. Madeline and Peter grow more mature every day.


Maybe maturity is in the eyes of the beholder. But they are fun to be around, and Kate and I enjoy the breaks in the quiet and order of the empty nest when they come home for a visit (and the return to the quiet and order of the empty nest when they return to college).


Actually, they are maturing. Madeline, after a meteoric 11 semesters at the University of Wisconsin, has graduated!!! The teaching profession awaits (after a couple more weeks of student teaching).



Peter continues to do well at the University of Iowa. He's spent the last two summers in Alaska canning salmon. A great money earning adventure. The return of the rugged fisherman is always a highlight for Kate and me.


He'll be staying in Iowa City this summer to complete a couple of summer school classes which should enable him to add a marketing degree to his political science major. As the photo below of Madeline and Kate lecturing one another illustrates, lively discussions are easy for us to come by.

2008 was another year of weddings for us. These great events gave us several opportunities to get shined up, celebrate four great young couples and even do some dancing.

Kate has made lots and lots of dough in 2008 (as in bread dough - like most we are not immune to the recent economic downturn. But we eat well nonetheless).

Kate made a couple of trips to Pennsylvania, one to join in a celebration put on by Kitty and Bob. While there she had a chance to see family and friends.


I made two really fun trips to the BWCA this year in the spring and the fall. On our spring trip we were canoeing on a lake which had been frozen just a day before.


A family spring break trip to the shores of Alabama was tremendous. A long but laugh-filled drive to and from through M-I-S-S-I-P-P-I (ask Kate) and a relaxing week on the beach were a nice break from the northern cool.

We had lots of great get togethers with friends and family this year.


Our major holiday gift for the family was iPhones all around. So data is never far away! Need to find a restaurant? How about resolving a dispute over some arcane fact? We are there with the answers.

We've done lots of remodelling around the house this year. The house looks better than ever. We are ready for your visit.

All the best!!!

Stan, Kate, Madeline and Peter