May the wonders of the season fill you with delight and remember to keep the faith just like Santa is doing here!  Two thousand and five was another delightful year in the north woods of Minnesota.

We are so blessed with a wonderful family and friends; and continue to enjoy life on Lake Minnetonka, when not at work supporting the success of Target & Wells-Fargo.

Kristi is in her last year of college at UMD in Duluth (hard to believe our little girl is a college senior).  Kevin continues to pursue his dreams in Germany and we are looking forward to his visit over the holiday season.  Ken Jr, Rachel are doing a fantastic job of raising their two wonderful children Sara and Ethan and sharing them with their proud grand parents (we get all the enjoyment with none of the work).

Dorothy & I spent the summer and early fall enjoying Lake Minnetonka, I'm turning into "fair" boat captain (at least I know the difference between starboard and port; and I haven't run into anything, the key is staying out of the way of the other captains who use "beer" to sharpen their boating skills).  Sara and Ethan's favorite spot is the swimming beach on one of the large islands.  Dorothy's become quit a Loon fan and we even had the opportunity to watch a pair of bald eagles raise their little one this spring.  We would love to share our lake with you, give us a call after the ice goes out.

Kristi and Matt (Kristi's significant other) are both doing well, Kristi keeps telling me school is going great (as long as I keep sending checks).  They are both looking forward to graduating from UMD this spring and capitalizing on all their hard work, with degrees in hand.  Just like last year they spent the summer building up their bank accounts by working at Canterbury Park a local racetrack.  So when you calling with that job offer or lead, I'm sure they would be willing to give you some pointers on how to be successful at the racetrack or at least limit your losses.

Kevin is calling Frankfurt Germany home and it sounds like he enjoys his work, which is teaching English.  It also sounds like his German is getting better every day?  As I talked about earlier, Kevin and Karina (Kevin's significant other) will be joining us for the holidays.  We are looking forward to their visit, this will be Karina's first time to the mid-west.  While they and Kristi/Matt are back we are planning a trip to Ohio to visit Dorothy's folks and family.

Ken, Rachel, Sara and Ethan continue to call Farmington, MN home; a growing suburb just south of the twin cities.  Sara and Ethan continue to grow (Sara is eight, going on eighteen and Ethan will be four in February), they are growing up to fast.  Over thanksgiving it was amazing to see their advanced computer skills.  The four of them went on a major road trip this summer to the west coast for Disneyland's 50th anniversary.  Then they returned via Arizona to spend time with Sara and Ethan's other grandparents (Ron & Linda Rinder).

Surf and Chessie our two feline companions keep us entertained and have the two of us “very well” trained.  I'm not sure what we would do without them, now that all the kids have flown the coop.  They clearly keep us on our toes.  Unfortunately, Kristi keeps reminding us that Surf is just on loan since she started out as her cat once upon a time.