Don and Hallie's Christmas Letter - 2009

Dear Friends,
          Greetings from Boulder, Colorado. Our biggest news of the year is that our grandkids count has doubled. Chris and Sarah had their second son, Jasper Jack (or JJ ) in early March. Jasper has a killer smile and, at 9 months, is an eating and crawling machine going at 100 mph. Phin is enjoying having a baby brother although doesn't quite understand why he won't romp with him on the carpet yet. He is a precocious preschooler 3 times a week and we enjoy keeping both boys once a week to help preserve Sarah's sanity. Chris' start up company is nearing development of a medical testing device for various kinds of sepsis.
          Mike and Lisa still enjoy working on their house near DIA airport on the eastern edge of Denver. They added a big deck and hot tub over the summer so now it's party central. They are both still employed in law enforcement, Mike as a parole officer and Lisa as a deputy sheriff for Adams County. No kids yet for them but they still have Charlie dog and a cat as surrogates. They are taking advantage of their freedom by traveling to Hawaii and other locations hither and yon.
          Our travel adventures last year included a trip to see old friends Kraig and Suzanne in east Texas and a road trip across the nothingness of northern Nevada to Sacramento to visit with brother Bob and his family and attend niece Jaclyn's wedding.
          We just returned from our exotic trip of the year to Costa Rica, spending some time visiting wildlife in the rain forest (home of the original zip line canopy tour) and sunning and snorkeling on the Pacific coast. Great fun in a country that was amazingly clean for a banana republic. We would highly recommend this to anyone seeking an exotic alternative to Mexico. We still have a long list of places we would like to visit on my retirement "bucket list" so we may wind up on your doorstep someday.
          I am also trying to fulfill one of my retirement goals by getting an opportunity to tutor kids in math. So far I have only had a few volunteer gigs but hope to find a regular part time position to keep me occupied.
          As we look back on year 2 of the great recession we hope that all our friends can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope it's not an oncoming train!! The good news is that, at least here in Boulder, property values have not dropped that much (10-15%) and the stock market recovery has helped out our 401K somewhat. Although Hallie's interior design business is still slumping, we still think that this business will come back before housing as folks choose to fix up rather than move.
          We don't see many of you during the year but you are frequently in our thoughts. Please know that you are always welcome to visit even on little or no notice. We are only 20-30 minutes off either I-25 or I-70 so free room and board for a night is very do-able.

Best wishes for a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season,

DON and HALLIE