This yearly letter has turned into a tradition! We are glad to have the opportunity to fill you in on what our family has been doing this year and look forward to hearing from each of you.

Michael had a big change in his life in March, when he left ETS and his long commute after 12+ years. His new job is with docSense, a group within Pitney Bowes, which specializes in electronic bill presentment and payment. Michael is working as a project manager, which involves lots of time on the phone, coordinating the efforts of various customer and docSense groups. How's the new commute? The operative concept is 'virtual office'. Most days, Michael just strides down the hall to Matthew's former bedroom and is at work! One advantage of the digital age. The office dress code is also somewhat 'virtual'. Michael travels a little more frequently in his new job, mostly to Connecticut so far, but with visits to Massachusetts, Georgia, and Florida.

Sonia continues teaching high school, putting in long hours most evenings grading papers and planning lessons. Sonia started the summer off on the wrong foot - breaking a metatarsal bone in her left foot 5 days after school was out. She spent the next several weeks wearing a special orthopedic shoe. That didn't stop her from working on a summer curriculum project as part of the Rutgers Marine Institute. The project involved developing several web-based lessons using real-time data from an ocean studies site (LEO 15) in Tuckerton NJ. Sonia has been active in Lenape Partners (Catherine's high school parent group) coordinating hospitality for the Grad Bash pool party in June and the College Fair this fall.

As Matthew began his 2nd year at Lockheed Martin, he also moved into the second year of his master's program. This year, he is taking several evening courses at Penn State at the Great Valley campus. In July, Matthew moved out of his apartment and bought his own condo. Before moving and taking on the added responsibilities of being a homeowner, Matthew embarked on another car stereo upgrade this summer (see full photo details on his website). He also still enjoys biking in nearby Valley Forge Park and snowboarding in Vermont.

David continues to alternate semesters and summers between attending classes at Virginia Tech and working at his co-op job at Techsburg. Recently, David has gotten some experience programming instructions for a computer controlled milling machine, which his company uses for making prototype parts for themselves and others. Although he enjoys working with his 'toys', he has also been hitting the books, and in fact, is ranked #1 in his engineering class of 226. In June, David and fiancée Paula traveled up to New Jersey for the 'birthday week' which included both David's and Matthew's. This fall, Paula took a job as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the athletic department of the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where David is now a regular visitor.

Catherine is a sophomore in high school this year. Her field hockey season was cut short by a tonsillectomy this fall. Catherine is a 'frequent flyer' at her pediatrician's office where she gets weekly allergy shots. She is allergic to dust, ragweed, pollen, grass, cat, and just about any kind of work!

Despite Catherine's allergies, we have kept Callie. She has become more of a 'lap' cat and likes to curl up on the couch with whoever is watching TV or taking a nap.

The highlight of the summer for Sonia, Matthew, and Michael was an 18-day trip to Italy. David opted for his co-op job and Catherine opted to spend the time with her cousins. Sonia did extensive research for the trip and is now a Rick Steves (travel guide) disciple. We started our trip with a tour of major cities, including Rome, Florence, Pisa, Siena, and Venice. Next we made quick stops at Varenna on Lake Como and Rio Maggiore in Cinque Terre. Then it was on to Sorrento, just south of Naples, for a visit to the ruins of Pompeii. Up to this point we used the Italian rail system to get between cities. From Sorrento we rented a car and drove (an adventure!) to San Vito, Sonia's hometown. I got my share of driving twisty hillside roads and narrow city streets. Just too many details to relate here. We all had a great time, enjoying great food, wine, and hospitality.

Michael, Sonia, Matthew, David, Catherine, and Callie