Bret continues to move up within the VA Medical Center management. He is Assistant Chief to several programs now, as well as head of the 55 bed homeless shelter. I don't know how he does it all! I continue to work from home as a technical writer and editor. Jessica and Elizabeth are now in 3rd grade and both just auditioned and were accepted into the local Children's Chorale. They also continue to play the violin at school. Emily is in preschool but already knows vastly more than the twins did at her age. We joke that she is 4 going on 8, trying to keep up with them. We had our very first garden this past year, and it was a wonderful experience for us as a family. I even learned how to butcher our wild game this year (previously I just trimmed the meat), something Bret is very happy about, since this used to be his job alone. We also got a new puppy this year, a black pointing Lab named Katiya (KAH-TI-UH). She is 5 months old and already 50 pounds! If we didn't have pictures, I wouldn't have guessed she started out as small as our miniature pincher. Bret has taken her out with him pheasant hunting, though she is still a bit young. She will be a great companion for him next hunting season. We just found out that our twins are old enough to hunt small game birds, so they are also getting excited for their first hunting outing with dad in the Fall!