REFLECTIONS.....OUR YEARLY NEWSLETTER

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! This past year just flew by....of course, it seems the older you get the faster time goes by! We were blessed with so many wonderful things this past year and were very busy.

Cliff is always busy at work, he is a workaholic and is always traveling up and down the east coast with a couple side trips to corporate offices in Scottsdale (an added benefit because he can see the kids and old friends.) He loves his job but is always glad to be home. His weekends are always taken up with working in the yard and doing the things that need to get done around the house. I still love doing real estate...the first of the year I was busy and like most other businesses things slowed down a bit toward the end, because of the economy, so I took up a part time sales job selling Miche handbags and really enjoy that too! I am very active in church as the Enrichment Counselor for Relief Society. We both enjoy the many dinners, movies and game nights with our friends, sightseeing (yes, still), taking drives to see the beautiful scenery, golfing when we can and going to Orioles and National games! Chica (our Chihuahua) scared us by getting bronchitis and then found out she has a heart murmur but is doing much better now. Ryan is still living in Avondale, AZ. JD married Shauna in the San Diego Temple this year and they live in Phoenix, AZ. Andy married Chelsea in Monterey, CA and that is where they are currently living. Jennifer lived with us for the first part of the year and then moved to Monterey to live with her mother. Julie lives in Chandler, AZ. Chris and his family, Ameerah and Trey, live in Columbia, MD. We get to see them often and babysit every once in a while. It is so much fun being grandparents….. Besides Trey, Chris has a daughter, Alexa that lives in Phoenix; Julie has a daughter, Ariana and JD and Shauna are expecting their first child in June 2009. We are growing!!!!!

We really enjoy it when family and friends come to visit. My sister, Lisa and her family, live close by and visit often or we visit them. Some of our other visitors included: Julie and Ariana, my Mom and Dad, JD and Shauna, my sister Jacqui with her family and their exchange student, Hannah, Stan (Cliff's brother), Teri Taggart (my brother-in-law's sister) with daughter and friend, Alexa, Andy and Chelsea, and Jennifer and Ariana. We love to tour everyone around our area. We live in such a wonderful spot to see all the historical places. We are so close to DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NY...it is GREAT!!!

Every year I say that I am going to stay home more but opportunities come up and I get to go visit all my family and friends. I still love to travel, last year I went to Dallas to visit my parents and sisters, Jacqui and Leslie and their families; Malad, ID for our annual Bowen Family Reunion, which our family was in charge of this year; McCall, ID to visit some very good friends…it is a beautiful area and had a lot of fun; San Diego for JD and Shauna's wedding…beautiful day for a wedding and they were on top of the world. The San Diego Temple is beautiful and I went with Shauna’s family to Sea World, it was a great weekend; Branson,MO for a vacation with my parents, brother (Jeff), sister (Leslie) and their families; and Eden, UT for my annual Nieces Weekend which I always look forward to seeing all my aunts and cousins. Cliff and I both went to Costa Rica with Cliff's company for a conference (beautiful place and alot of fun). Cliff worked most of the time and I got to play and enjoy the area. Pebble Tec always does an excellent job with their conferences and makes sure we all enjoy the area. We joined my parents, Jacqui’s family, Lisa’s family and Chris’ family in Orlando, FL to go to Disney World. I decided at this stage in my life, I like Epcot Center better than Disney World but sure had a great time at both places. Then, in October, we went on a European river cruise from Paris to Prague with a group of friends… way too much fun was had there!!! Great friends, beautiful scenery and you can’t beat the accommodations! We both love Europe and can’t wait to go back.

Cliff's brother, Glenn, passed away, which was a big loss. He was such a jokester and always so thoughtful and loving. Cliff and his brothers got together every year to play golf and have fun but Glenn hasn’t been well for the last few years so he wasn’t able to play with Cliff and Stan. We will all miss Glenn deeply. Stan came to Maryland for their weekend of fun and golf and got me to start playing again. Cliff and Stan sure have a good time when they are together!!!

Holidays are when we really like to spend time with our family. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Maryland. My parents, Chris and his family, and Lisa and her family were here for Thanksgiving. I love when we all get together, no matter how old I am, I always learn something new from my parents and grateful for every minute we spend together. Mom, Dad and I went to Williamsburg while they were here and really enjoyed that area, can’t wait to go back when it is warmer! Mom, Lisa and I managed to still do our traditional Black Friday shopping. Christmas was suppose to be with all of Laurie's immediate family but it just didn't work out this year so Lisa's family, JD's family, and Chris' family all got together and was very grateful for our friends for allowing us to use their farmhouse to celebrate. It was a beautiful setting and gave us plenty of room to move around!! We all missed not being around the rest of the family but we had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve we invited 8 other families to join us and had a wonderful time. New Years Eve we spent dining with friends and then playing games until the we celebrated the New Year!!!