2008 Highlights

1. Moved to Wakefield in February and have enjoyed living in a lovely condo that we could not normally afford if my aunt wasn't also our landlord :-)

2. The Wakefield Lake - Chris, Manny and I made the most of the beautiful walking path this summer, and tried to run/walk the 5K around every chance we got

3. Mother/Daughter weekend in Grand Lake. While the men of the family were in Florida on business (fishing), I was able to go out and spend a lovely lowkey weekend with my mom. We chatted, watched movies, ate yummy food :-)

4. July 4th at the Esplanade with Flip & Christie (MIT side). Christie whipped up some yummy Mojitos and we snagged the perfect spot to see the fireworks and listen to the Pops.

5. Vacation on Martha's Vineyard - Chris's dad gave us a week to ourselves down at their house on the vineyard. We went to the beach, went on a 40 mile bike ride (ouch!), and had as much seafood as humanly possible. Manny loved running around the big yard, and my parent's were able to come out and join us for a few days as well!

6. Long weekend up at the Balsam's Resort as an early 60th birthday celebration for Chris's dad. Beautiful setting, historic old resort, and first voting place in the nation (Dixville Notch).

7. Christmas with family/friends in Colorado! Got some quality days in Denver with best friend Kari, and got to have a great visit with Gretchen and her two adorable girls. Then off to Grand Lake to see the family, this year including Auntie B and Cousin Chris. Great Christmas Eve party, bonfires in the backyard (with hot cocoa or your choice of beverage), shopping around Grand Lake and movies and reading by the fire in my parent's new beautiful house.

8. Stephen and Tahnee are engaged! As of Sunday, December 21st. Wedding is set for June 26th and Tahnee will be an official member of the Penta family (though she really already seems like she is ;-).

Many blessings this year, and I am sure I could think of a lot more! Hope 2009 holds as much joy and happiness as 2008.