2025 Greetings (and '24, oops)

We're back! At least for this year... can't guarantee we won't need a year off again some time in the future!

Not too many massive updates to share - we are still living at Barley Point in the summer and Colts Neck in the winter. We've been enjoying the 30 minute commute between homes as opposed to the 30 hour Texas to NJ commute!

Laura jokes (cries?) that she has four jobs right now: real estate agent, Camp Ma-He-Tu Business Manager, Etsy shop owner, and Epic consultant. It's a bit of a juggling act, but as they are all part-time and ebb and flow seasonally, it's rare if more than 2 of the jobs need her attention at any given time! I will shamelessly plug all of my jobs now, ahem:

• Need a real estate agent in NJ or have questions about the market? Look no further than Sell with Shakespeare and connect with an expert today!

• Looking for a poster-sized, continuous layout calendar to plan out your whole year? Head to Bea and the Bard to order now!

• Searching for a traditional summer camp experience for a young girl in your life? Visit mahetu.org to learn about our two-week overnight sessions!

• Are you a director in health information at a healthcare system that uses Epic? Hire me for your next project (I don't have a fun website for this one)!

In addition to jobs for pay, Laura recently got involved with the Sandy Hook Young Professionals group - an arm of the Sandy Hook Foundation (the official friends group to the National Park Service at the Sandy Hook unit of Gateway National Recreation Area) and has also joined a book club.

Jon is still working for Trek, and has been taking several trips a year back to Wisconsin to get into the office, as well as trips to Asia, Asheville and Kansas! Jon's big hobby this year was rowing on his new "innovative high-tech forward rowing system with oar blade feathering" inflatable row boat/SUP thing - rowing/hiking/biking - getting all the outdoorsy hobbies going in 2025!

Laura tagged along for the Asheville trip, which we turned into a fun little get away. She joined Jon in Wisconsin too, for a trip down memory lane. We took a cruise earlier in the year (which Laura thought she'd hate, but enjoyed more than she wants to admit). Jon's mom and Steve also came to visit us at Barley Point for Ellen's 70th birthday celebration.

Bea has been working really hard to overcome her fear of the water and now regularly goes in to retrieve her frisbee/ball. "Beach" is her absolute favorite word. She is still working up the nerve to ask her dog-next-door-crush, Griffin, out on a dog date... She's a dog, so we don't have many other updates. She is up to date on her rabies vaccine, though, so that's good.

So far, 2026 planning has been minimal. There are a few trips in the hopper, but nothing official yet. In fact, it's wide open - why don't we get you on the books? Come visit us at Barley Point any time between June and September! Just give us a heads up!

All our love and see you soon!

Laura, Jon, and Bea