Zack and Sarrah have been renting for five years and decided to purchase a home this year! They moved in July and have been tackling projects small and large including but not limited to: fixing up outlets and switches, power washing the walkways, retrofitting ethernet through the house, unearthing a stone patio from years of debris, and most recently and ongoing, renovating the kitchen.

In April, they went with a group to a friend's wedding in Scotland spending a week traveling through the countryside. Stops included Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Nethy Bridge, and Inverness. They got to visit numerous castles, drive through the Cairngorms, participate in the Speyside Whiskey Festival, and see Loch Ness. Later in September, they went with Sarrah's sister to Portland, Maine for a celebration of life for Sarrah's Uncle Jon. It was great to see extended family that Sarrah had not seen in many years. As well, they made a day trip to Bar Harbor and hiked in Acadia National Park.

Following the completion of her bachelor's degree last December, Jackie graduated with her Master's in Accounting in May and earned three additional scholarships for her final semester! Her combined BS/MS program allowed her to complete both degrees in just four years.

Jackie joined the working world in June, and despite the realization that she can no longer take naps during the day, she seems to be enjoying her job as a staff accountant. She is thankful that she can work from home a few times a week (especially since the cats can sit with her while she works), but also enjoys going into the office to see her co-workers.

She began studying for the CPA exam last December, and completed it in July (while going to school full-time and eventually working full-time). This involved four, four-hour exams, for which she studied a total of 440 hours, and passed all of them on the first try. Due to the work requirement, she is not yet an "official" CPA, but will satisfy this last requirement to get licensed at the beginning of the new year.

We're not sure who is enjoying Zack & Sarrah's new house more - them or Peter! He was in all his glory this summer helping and teaching how to do DIY projects around the house. Peter also loved helping Jackie find and buy her car, and navigate the perils of a car dealership and all their associated nonsense.

Peter is currently recovering from his second spinal fusion surgery. Yes, Peter had another surgery with a very long recovery. He's currently just past the two-month recovery mark and has shown good progress so far and, best of all, less pain. We knew things were going well when just days after the surgery he got very excited, almost emotional, when he felt the texture of the bathmat in his left foot (which he hasn't been able to do for several years now). It's the small things in life!

Peter is enjoying getting back to his drumming and of course his aquarium. He's getting a bit stir crazy at home and is really looking forward to being able to travel again and visit friends, family, and maybe Craig.

Charlotte chose "experiences" as her word for 2025 and was thrilled to have some great ones! (See our Fun and Friends section below for our family vacations and other fun adventures.) In April, her fabulous group of high school friends reunited for their 2nd Annual "Rockin' HS Ladies Epic Rager." They had a great weekend of laughs and trips down memory lane. They decided they didn't want to wait a whole year to spend time together, so they started a Zoom book club that they've done 4 times so far. Charlotte is really enjoying reading novels and fiction with them that she may not otherwise have typically read. Of course she is also maintaining her non-fiction / self-help / finance obsession in audio books and podcasts.

Charlotte's newest interest is the guitar! She started with an electric guitar from our friend Kyle, and added in an acoustic a few months ago. Her goal isn't to go on tour with Green Day, but instead to be able to strum along to some of her favorite songs. She's still quite a beginner but she really enjoys it and is currently working hard on "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles which has relatively easy chord changes. Peter hopes that soon she will be willing to jam along with him on the drums.

As if she wasn't already a big enough nerd, Charlotte volunteered as a tax preparer this spring for AARP's Tax-Aide Program, and loved it! If you haven't heard of it, look it up because it's fabulous. Despite the name, it's not just for seniors / AARP members. Charlotte was doing some tax stuff the other day and Jackie commented that she must be the only person in the world who happily hums a tune while doing tax returns. To spoof Santa in the movie, Elf, "It's time to start preparations for next tax season!"

Misty and Ollie get along pretty well. They are often together, usually with Ollie tagging along behind Misty. They like to wrestle in a playful way but Ollie, who has trouble with social cues, doesn't realize (or doesn't care?) when Misty has had enough. Misty grooms him and occasionally he returns the favor. Misty is on some meds to help with over-grooming which unfortunately makes her less active, but we are hoping it helps with some bald spots she has developed. Ollie will eat anything and everything so we have to stash everything away in the pantry closet where he cannot get to it.

Mochi and Matcha adjusted to the new house fairly quickly. But, when they first moved in, Mochi and Matcha were quarantined to the master bedroom to acclimate. Mochi managed to slip out in the first few days and was subsequently terrified, ran back in, and was very content with the bedroom after that. Now, they love having the bigger place to run around in. Matcha especially enjoys having more places to hide, some of which Zack and Sarrah are still figuring out! They were, however, disappointed to not find any mice to chase in this house.

We were able to coordinate taking a big family vacation this year right after Jackie's graduation - a Mediterranean cruise including Italy, Montenegro, Greece, and Croatia! We also all went to Washington state to visit Sarrah's brother. We had fun visiting with friends and family throughout the year and hope to see more in 2026!

Well, that's the latest with us. What's new with you? We would love to hear from you!

Best wishes for a wonderful, happy, & healthy 2026!

Love,
Peter, Charlotte, Zack, Jackie & Sarrah

Check out our previous newsletters:
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007