The family.

It's been another good year for us in spite of the massive losses in the stock market (Who wants to retire anyway?). We have been fortunate to have, several extended family members move into the DC area - all those new babysitters... It is great to have family nearby! We wish all our friends and family a Happy Holiday Season!

A New Family Member!

Model home of new Mudd abode.

Blanca, a one-year-old Russian Blue cat, was rescued from the D.C. Animal Shelter to become the newest member of the Mudd family. She is a wonderfully calm and friendly cat, putting up with all sorts of handling from a six-year old without complaint.

Patti - Hard Work Pays Off - Again!

In breaking news Patti has just been promoted, this time to Supervisor of Load Research, with an official start date of Dec. 1. What a great Christmas Present! Patti will be supervising the team that initiates Pepco's daily settlement runs. Patti is working with a great team and is very excited about the new position. She is also working on implementing a new settlement database system that will allow Pepco to estimate the energy usage for each transformer and grid location.

Doug Goes to Saudi Arabia

Another busy year for Doug at work capped off with a ten-day trip to Saudi Arabia! The year began with interesting possibilities on several fronts; an exhibit due to open in May, a promotion, teaching a class on numismatics for museum professionals, and an opportunity to work on a coin website project with the Saudi National Museum. After a few false starts the exhibit opened Nov. 27 (see the web page at the National Museum of History website ). In between all of this Doug was able to finish two more classes, head-up the reorganization of the NNC security systems, present a slide lecture in New York, finish two new web pages, and participate in the planning of two potential exhibits. Whew!

Loren's in Colorado.
Loren Begins 1st Grade at Blessed Sacrament

Loren has now officially begun her climb up the educational ladder! She is currently enjoying her classes and learning to read a little better every day. Loren has joined the chess club at school and is having fun playing chess with the other students.

New Patio and Door for Mudd Residence

Patti and Doug began their kitchen renovation with the installation of a new brick patio and back door! The experiment has been highly successful and has enabled the planned kitchen renovation to incorporate a new traffic pattern - the new French door is in the dining room - the old back door will be covered over to make more room in the kitchen. The work should be finished by mid-January.

The Mudd's on the Move

The Mudd summer was jam-packed with travel beginning with a quick trip to Texas for Patti and Loren. Then Patti and Loren flew to Colorado to join Doug in Colorado Springs for the end of Doug's class at the ANA. The family traveled up to Denver for a short stop at the local Six Flags Amusement Park then on up into the mountains to visit some good friends

Loren's in Colorado.

Steve and Rebeccah - never rent a 4 cylinder to drive in the Rockies. Then came a joint family vacation with the Kirkups in Ocean City NJ. To top it all off Doug, Patti, and Loren hopped a flight to Rockland, Maine for a mini Mudd family re-union. Scott (Doug's brother) was there with his new wife Akiko - it was also Scott's first meeting with his niece, Loren.

Doug Graduates With M.A. in American History!

Doug finally graduated from George Mason University's graduate program in American history. He can finally get back to reading for fun and relaxing on the weekends! Patti is happy to have her husband back and hopes he will step up and take back his old responsibilities as father and assistant house-cleaner...

Loren's foot.

Happy Holidays,

Loren, Doug and Patti

P.S. If you want to see more photos check out our website at http://users.adelphia.net/~muddster1/ or contact us at pcostello5@comcast.net