Nikki is still happily retired, finding more and more that there is plenty to keep her busy during the days while David works and always finds time to relax with him when he is home.

The first part of this year David and Nikki were preparing the yard for the Idaho Botanical Garden Show in June. The showing had a wonderful turnout, and 970 people ended up touring their yard! It was a wonderful and rewarding experience watching people peruse their yard and enjoy their labor of love.

Nikki happily plans on keeping very busy this coming year helping Sarah prepare for her wedding in June. The Mother of the Bride is elated for her daughter and the man she has chosen to be her husband.

David has been up to his usual thing, work. He's happy that he has kept busy this year and been able to provide for Nikki. He feels blessed that his business continues to thrive each year, though it didn't leave him much time to ride his Harley!

Matthew and Grete had a very eventful year. They bought their first home in San Antonio, Texas, settled into their new jobs and also added a new member to the family -- a puppy named Sabine!

Matthew has been working as a flight commander for the 33rd Network Warfare Squadron at Lackland, AFB. His squadron is the only unit in the military that defends the entire Air Force network worldwide. He was recently selected to promote to the rank of captain, and will pin on his new rank while he is deployed this spring in Qatar.

Grete is currently working as a nurse at Lackland in the Urgent Care Center of the Wilford Hall Medical Center. She was selected in November to train in the Critical Care Fellowship, which is a yearlong study to become an ICU nurse for the Air Force. She is extremely excited to begin her training next year; after which she will work as a full time ICU nurse. She will be promoted to First Lieutenant in April.

We're still very proud of Matthew and Grete, we just wish they lived a little closer! We miss them dearly, especially during the holiday season.

In case you haven't heard, Sarah and Will are officially engaged, as of April this year. Will took Sarah on a surprise trip to Las Vegas and proposed to her in front of the Bellagio fountain. I'll never forget the call around midnight from Sarah, happily crying as she told me "Will proposed!" We are very happy for them as they plan this next step in their lives.

Sarah and Will also bought a house this year not very far from us (which we love!). They visit us and we visit them, quite often. We are happy to be able to have family so close.

Despite the happiness from the engagement and wedding planning, they've had a year of ups and downs. Will's job has been steady and kept him very busy. Sarah, however, got laid off in late July, but she turned around and got a job a week later in August! She loves her new job (a Design Director at MediaPoint Studios) and feels that the lay off was a blessing in disguise.

As you can imagine, they are busy budgeting and planning for their wedding. Sarah chose her "sisters" to be her bridesmaids, Grete, Brandy and Will's sister Carolyn. The only sad news is that Matthew's deployment falls during their wedding. Sarah and Will are devastated he will be unable to make it, but are happy for his promotion and wish him a safe return.

Since the end of this year, Judd is working in town again, happy to be near his family after working in Moses Lake, Washington for 18 months. He is planning on going over to North Dakota for the Oil Boom sometime in January, thankful for work and the ability to provide for his growing family.

Brandy's business is still going strong, and growing steadily. She's loves her business and is thankful that it allows her to be with her children as often as she can.

Teddy is almost 3 1/ 2 now and is already becoming a protective older sister, taking care of and loving her little brother. Tevin is 18 months old and growing fast! He learns a lot from his big sister everyday and is very active. He's such a sweet little man.