2007 DouglasFamily New Year's Card

Well, our New Years card was a little late this year-- but hey, at least it 's still January! Read below to learn about what we were up to in 2006....and why the New Years card was late.

The Background: Our New Kitchen! The house renovations were finally completed in the spring of 2006. Now we have a wonderful new kitchen which is 100% more functional than our old one. It’s a great place to entertain and we have already broken it in a few times.

Jess and her grandmother (above the stove): 2006 was the year of Jess’s 30th birthday and her grandmother’s 80th birthday. To celebrate the occasion, a birthday fiesta took place in August. It was complete with a 5 piece mariachi band! (notice the very inconspicuous mariachi player). A great time was had by all!

Dolphin: As if a birthday fiesta was not enough, Matt whisked Jess off to Mexico for a birthday vacation! She got to fulfill her dream of swimming with a dolphin. Pictured is Izamal, the dolphin that shared a special birthday dance with Jess.

3-Day 2006 logo: From August 6th-8th Jess walked the Breast Cancer 3-day. It’s a 3 day, 60 mile trek to raise money and support for breast cancer. Jess pulled up lame on day 1, but completed the walk nonetheless. Thank you to everyone who supported Jess in her walk both financially and emotionally.

The Kitties: Camden and Hadley turned 7 this year. They too were very glad to have the house renovations complete. No more living in just one room! Now they have many windows to look out and a side yard to frolic in (with supervision).

Matt and Jess and Santa: We were very fortuitous on a shopping trip in December to run into Santa! He was shopping at the same store, who knew? He was very kind to pause in the middle of his busy day to snap this picture. We know he’s real because Jess asked him for a staple gun and Matt asked him for a karaoke machine, and he delivered! Ah, yes, karaoke is now a part of our house party repertoire.

The Punchbowl and "Punchbob": Well, this is the real reason that the New Years card was delayed. After many months (years?) in stealth startup mode, Matt emerged from his burrow to launch a new company called Punchbowl Software. Their first product is called "MyPunchbowl" and is a web based application for event and party planning. You can read alot more about Punchbowl here.

Hope this note finds everybody well. Have a wonderful 2007.