Our first big news is we moved back to Colorado and now live in the quaint town of Castle Rock, which is 15 miles south of Denver. The desert southwest turned out to be too hot and too dry for all of us so a move to a cooler climate was a must. We were also not very happy with the schools in Tucson and wanted to give Stephanie the best opportunities available in a place we could also feel comfortable living. Though we miss being close to all the grand parents, we are all real happy with the move. We all love Colorado.

In July, we all went back to San Jose to see family and friends. Kathy and Mike also attended their 20th high school reunion at Leland High School. It was great to see people we had not seen since graduation and catch up with those we had lost contact with. It is sad to say we didn�t get to talk to everyone, but it was a very healing trip.

Stephanie is now 15, a freshman at Douglas County High School, and towers over Kathy by about 4 inches. She has really settled into her new school environment and has really become active in clubs and of course the band. She continues to be an honor student and has already started looking at colleges. I am sure a lot will change before her senior year, but it is exciting to see her so motivated. She decided to try out for marching band and made the color guard team. Stephanie was amazed at how hard she had to work and proved to herself that she could do just about anything if she tried. Mom and Dad had fun traveling to band tournaments across the state and really enjoyed watching all the kids perform. The band worked very hard and the result was a 3rd place finish in the state 5A marching band tournament finals. Stephanie has told us that next year she wants to play trumpet with the marching band so that will be another new experience that I am sure she will enjoy.

Kathy finished the sell of our house in Tucson and supervised the packing of all our belongings and finally made it here on February 14th. She had no problem finding a job doing medical billing and seems to be really enjoying her work. I am happy to say that she really loves our new home and seems to be very comfortable with Castle Rock. We haved moved into a very active neighborhood with a lot of great and friendly people. She still is the more active parent when it comes to Stephanie and her activities and never seems to miss anything. She and Stephanie have there shopping routine down on the weekends and they never seem to come home empty handed.

Michael a.k.a. Mike is finally doing something he really enjoys. I am working as a claims adjuster for a TPA company and finally understand why I kept going back to insurance related jobs. I was promoted into the position in October and so far have really enjoyed the new challenge. I finally feel like I have a career and not just another job. This is great news for those of you that know me well. I am hoping to ride my bicycles more and maybe even pick up the guitar more this year.

We hope everyone has had a productive 2004 and may you and your family have a safe and productive 2005!