Just for something new and unusual this year, we thought we’d get our holiday letter out during the holidays. We hope this letter finds you in good health and able to spend some time with family and friends. We’re all doing well and feel that, in spite of some occasional challenges, we have much for which to be truly thankful. The kids continue to grow up and Bryan and I try to ignore any effects of those recurring birthdays.

Bryan has probably had the greatest success on this score, as he has become very dedicated to his endurance training. On the way to participating in two triathlons this year, he has left all of his "post-college weight gain" (which wasn’t that much really) on the road-side. He proudly passes twenty-somethings on the course, smugly noting (silently) that his bike is older than they are. (Thanks to his fiscally conservative wife ☺) One side benefit of his pre-dawn runs was a recent close encounter of the skunk kind that has afforded him the opportunity to keep pace with his trend-setting wife. (Some of you may remember our 2002 letter which described the baptism of our new car and its driver by a distant cousin of Bryan’s little buddy.) Most of his clothes were recoverable and his shoes are usable, but they now live in the garage. Bryan is still with Wyse Technology and has made a couple of trips to India. The people that he works with there are very nice, sharing the hospitality of their homes and showing him some of the local sights.

Megan is a junior in high school and staying busy with academics, tennis, and soccer. In high school tennis, she pulled out some very tense, three set matches with the team result riding on them and with all of the associated cheering and general pandemonium. She also lost a couple of close three setters after coming back from the flu, so she had the opportunity to experience the flip-side of that coin and handled both types of experiences well. Megan (and her parents!) survived the drivers permit process and, over Thanksgiving, she obtained her license. She is mostly driving short distances around town, but she is very happy with her new flexibility and no longer having to wait to be picked up. Over Thanksgiving, we visited a couple of college campuses, underscoring the significant decisions that lay just down the road. So far, we’ve looked at UC and Cal State campuses, but there’s more to come!

Kyle is in eighth grade this year and still having a great time in his lunch time football games. His classes are going well, and he is working hard on his study skills in preparation for high school next year. One of his classes is a drama class, which just put on a melodrama this month. Kyle played the role of ‘the hero’ and had a great time. Kyle no longer plays competitive tennis, but still enjoys getting out to hit with the family. He has continued with his baseball, where he still loves to pitch and catch, with occasional stints in the infield and outfield. Kyle also played soccer this year with his Fremont team. They traveled to several tournaments, one of them in Las Vegas which was great fun both on and off the field.

I have continued to play soccer and tennis both of which provide fun, friendship and good exercise. I have been teaching several technology classes in the ‘older adult’ program at the Fremont Adult School. My students are a pleasure to work with and very appreciative of the help. In addition to the satisfaction of working with this community of people, I have learned a great deal myself! Most recently, I have been spending additional time with my parents and grandmother as my mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. It has been a difficult 4 weeks for mom, but she is tackling the challenge with her usual determination and the outlook is positive. One thing that she has learned and is working very hard to pass on to all that she can is that, although mammograms are an important part of monitoring our health, about 10-15% of breast cancers are not detected through mammograms and so doctor and self-exams are essential as well. Something to think about for sure.

In May, we added a feline member to our family, Allie. She is quite social for a cat and, thanks to the fact that our dog is very easy going, gets along quite well with him. They offer some pretty fun photo ops.

This summer, we enjoyed visits from both of my cousins which gave us the opportunity to spend a few days in Yosemite, and visit San Francisco, Monterey and other local sights. The falls in Yosemite were spectacular in early summer — the ‘Mist’ Trail had become the ‘Rain’ Trail — and they were still going quite strong by August.

Bryan and I marked our 20th anniversary by spending 4 days in NY City as a couple. We had a full day of non-stop tennis at the US Open (which we loved but were grateful not to have tried with kids) and then 3 days in Manhattan. Neither of us had really spent much time there and we thoroughly enjoyed the traditional tourist activities (‘The Producers’ on Broadway, Times Square, Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, Circle Line boat tour, the Metropolitan Museum of Art — those rental cassettes are a life-saver!) as well as just hanging out. (Central Park, marching all over lower Manhattan). The WTC site was sobering - the magnitude of the remaining cavity and the height of the surrounding buildings (which were dwarfed by the towers when they were standing) were hard to really look at and put in human terms. We loved the efficiency of the metro and were grateful for the air-conditioned cars after the stifling heat of the platforms. The humidity of the first couple of days was quite an experience for us high-dessert folk and we were happy for the last couple of days when paper no longer felt like cloth and clothes no longer hung like Saran wrap.

We look forward to hearing from you whether at the holiday or throughout the year. Our email addresses are: bryan, ellen, megamite or kyle @hilbrichter.com. (We also have a website at www.hilbrichter.com which will hopefully be updated a little more frequently in 2006 than it was in 2005.)