Our themes for 2023 have been small road trips around celebrations, boating, and watching Maisley grow up. Although we all have things we would like to change, our lives are richly blessed and we are thankful.

Our first road trip was to Naples (Florida, not Italy) to celebrate Don and Barbara's 29th anniversary, and to attend a first birthday party for the granddaughter of one of Barbara's good friends (who recently passed away). While there, we rented a boat and toured the waterways around Naples.

For Rachel's birthday, we made a trips to the Keys, enjoyed sunset at Mallory Square, and more exploration around Key West by boat.

If you visit Robbie's at Islamorada, look for Maisley's dollar stapled to the rafter.

Maisley continues to grow and explore as a happy and healthy baby. She loves appliances, especially the refrigerator and dishwasher. She always comes running when we open either of those. She also "helped" Don putting up Christmas lights this year. We got to throw our first birthday party for Maisley in June, and it was well attended.

Sarah hopes to complete her Equine degree at Central Florida in 2024. She continues to do most classes remotely and commutes to Ocala on days when she needs to be present in person. This year she introduced Maisley to "Star," one of the horses she helps take care of.

Sarah wanted to go to Universal Studios and Sea World for her birthday, so off to Orlando we went. It was a special trip because of her love for animals, and she got to "Dine with the Orcas." While at Sea World, Barbara had an unplanned surprise and got to meet Guy Harvey in person.

We made a second trip in May to Orlando to the homeschool convention. Yes, you remember correctly that our girls have graduated, but we all have such good memories from going for 18 years that we went again. Our friend Coach Rick let Maisley hold his Olympic Torch.

Sarah has a new dimension to her life - a boyfriend Hunter. They met online, got to know each other online for months, and finally agreed to meet in person. We all like Hunter and appreciate his attention, love, and respect for Sarah.

In July, we made another road trip, with another stop at Universal Studios, Chattanooga to see Taylor and Travis Law (Don's brother's sons), and Raleigh to see Don's sister's family. We rented a cozy cabin in the woods in the North Georgia mountains.

Don is still happily employed at Magic Leap, and this year upped his in-office Star Wars game by building a Mandalorian. He also continues to take his sunfish out in the ocean, hoping to complete his Coast Guard license in 2024.

Richard continues to work hard and is becoming more valuable to his employer as he gains experience and talent in the marine industry, especially in sailboat rigging and hydraulics. He spends a lot of time at the top of sailboat masts.

Barbara works hard to keep everything running, getting everybody where they need to go, and keeping our home clean and well-stocked. Amid all of that, she still finds time for handbell choir, bible study groups, and weekly prayer groups.