Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What an amazing year has come to pass.

Each day we thank God for the many blessings bestowed upon our family.

In September, our son Jay proposed to Sasha at the Singapore Grand Prix, and they're destined to be married next September in Bermuda.  They managed to find vacation days away from their busy professional schedules to also visit Vietnam on that same Singapore trip, go skiing several times and vacation in Cuba, as well as taking several extended weekend trips.  Jay still works as Director of Film and Television at Universal Music, so they attended lots of concerts, with Sasha's new job as Fundraiser for UCLA adding a few more interesting events to attend.  We're happy they make time to see us a couple of times a month.  We also got some bonus skiing with them, starting the year in Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho, and then terrific spring skiing in Big Sky, with lots of sunshine and fresh powder.

Amy also had a big year.  After a bid to buy a condo at auction brought only aggravation, she pulled the trigger on a Downtown Jersey City condo which, upon seeing the interior and view, caused her to remark to her boyfriend Lukas, "This is why the other one didn't work out."  She's happy to have a beautiful, modern place with an easy commute to Manhattan, where she remains Online Director for Popular Science.  It occurred to me that she always loved the music from "Wicked," and apparently the song "Popular" must have made a big impact on her subconscious.  She was honored to be named on Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" list.  She also managed to find time to skate with a roller derby club in Brooklyn and slipped in a week in Tuscany plus some long weekend trips.

Gina continues in her research professorship at Philadelphia's Drexel University, frequrently traveling to make presentations, including a recent trip to Uganda, Africa.  Always one to say yes to every opportunity, she now finds herself with a large staff to help with her many projects.  Her husband Laszlo switched from a contract position to similar permanent job at a computer services company.

Our granddaughter Emma continues to surpass high expectations academically, including in an accelerated math program.  Always an impressive artist, Emma has taken an interest in drawing anime characters.  She was an anime character for Halloween, too.  She's been attending Circus School, learning a bit about the trapeze and acrobatics.  They took a long family trip to the Dominican Republic, with Gina leaving email at home and Emma unexpectedly deciding to learn to speak Japanese.

Julie and I loved getting together with all the kids again for Thanksgiving in Jersey City, which was prefaced by a fun stay at Gina's place in Wynnewood.  Last year, we all spent Christmas together with sister Darlene, Brooks and LB in Big Sky, but this year, only Julie and I will be there with my sister's family, with Gina, Jay and Amy sharing their holiday joy with other families this year.

Julie and I did quite a bit of additional travel this year, including two summer trips to Big Sky, where the hiking and music were awesome and friendly moose popped in for a visit.

Darlene and Brooks were in Big Sky for a few of the days while we were there, and we enjoyed some beautiful days golfing...not that the golfing itself was pretty.

Darlene and Brooks generously hosted us in Diego, too, where we always enjoy relaxing days viewing the harbor interspersed with great meals and the occasional outing for a boat ride to lunch across the bay or occasionally golf.  We walked over to their boat to hear Graham Nash in concert at Humphrey's By the Bay one evening.

Staying home in Redondo Beach feels like being on vacation, with long walks along the beautiful shoreline, jaw-dropping sunsets, concerts in the park, happy hours at Barney's Beanery on the pier, and jazz at the Lighthouse.  Jay and Sasha come over sometimes, and our east coast girls also made it out to California for a few visits, including for Gina's 20-year high school reunion --- how is that possible? --- and Amy's visit en route to Solvang with her friend Stephanie.

Julie's brother John and his family came to see us from Colorado, and while the trip from San Diego from Julie's sister and our niece Kendra's family might not be as distant, it was a happy day, punctuated by three year-old Koda waking from dead sleep to point out the window and exclaim, "Beach!"

As Cruise Planners, our obligation is to go places so you don't have to --- but hopefully will want to go once we tell you about them --- and this year was a banner year with three major trips.

First, we cruised to Hawaii, a wonderful 15-night voyage that felt like returning to carefree college days but without the homework.

An opportunity to fly to China seemed too good to miss, so we didn't miss it.  Talk about a totally different feel from our leisurely Hawaii cruise!

We were on the go the whole time we were there, not to mention the fun of multiple trips to downtown Los Angeles to get visas, but our China tour was another sensational, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Believe it or not, the best formally structured vacation of the year was yet to come.

Beginning with a wonderful stay in Portugal, we cruised to Spain, the French Riviera and Italy aboard Oceania Riviera, which is a very comfortable, uncrowded cruise ship.  We have been back for three months, and I am still blogging about it.

And that, as you see, is the crux of a wonderful dilemma.  So many good things happen every year that I simply don't have time to write it all down without missing the next big story.  And quite frankly, who other than us would take the time to read it all? I think Julie probably skims a lot of them herself!

We hope your year has been as blessed as ours, and that the new year brings you and your family all the best.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Wes, Julie and Family

P.S. As a special treat, here are some au courrant fruitcake recipes for this new age.