Aaron has had a tough year. A badly planned and executed city project redirected rainwater from a green area directly into his back yard and damaged the foundation of their home. He is working hard to repair the damage. Since he had to do some heavy construction, he decided to add about 1000 square-feet and many decorative improvements. He also started his own company. River City Tools repairs industrial tools, especially tools used in oil fields. For some brands, he is the only certified technician in San Antonio, and in some cases the southeast.

This was Evan's last year playing Pop Warner football. He had to lose 20 pounds to make the team this year. Next year he will be too big. His team didn't make it to the finals this year, but they came close. They got beat in the quarter final round. Hunter focuses on his music and the band, and he has his first girlfriend. He's now taller than his father and towers over everyone in the room. It's hard to believe he will be learning to drive soon.

Debi and I spent a lot of time traveling this year. We started with trips to Washington to deal with Erich's final days. Debi stayed on to help while I returned to work on more projects. Then we were off to Scotland for a 9-day country roads tour. We got to see most of northern Scotland including, Lock Ness, Lock Lomond, Eilean Donan Castle (the most photographed castle in Scotland), and Skara Brae, a 5000 year old Stone Age village. The stone circle near Skara Brae predates Stonehenge by nearly 500 years.  During the tour we got to attend a ceilidh (Kay-Lee), which is a social event with Scottish folk music, singing, and storytelling. Everyone knew I carried a small travel guitar onto the bus each day, so they invited me to participate. After the tour, we spent time in Dunfermline to research Ron's roots. Pitfirrane House, which is now the clubhouse for the Dunfermline Golf Club, is the birthplace of Andrew, Ron’s 10^th great grandfather. We finished the trip with a few days in Edinburgh. For more details and a lot more pictures, visit our Scotland trip page: https://rhackett.net/scotland

We spent a week in Florida with my father and sister when we got back. We finally got the RV back on the road in October for a 10-day trip. We ended the year with a week in San Antonio to celebrate Thanksgiving. Candace, Ben, and the girls flew in from Washington, so we had all the kids and grandkids together for the holiday.

Some of you may have heard that I had a serious shop injury earlier this year. I lost the tip of my left middle finger to poorly planned table saw cut. Although it required surgery to repair, I only lost about a quarter-inch. It took about 3 months to fully recover, but it hasn't limited my guitar playing ability. My injury happened the day before the doctors told Candace and Erich there were no more treatment options, so I had to delay my trip out west by nearly 6 weeks.

Dad and my sister Donna are doing well in Florida. Dad turned 88 this year. I try to get down to Florida as often as I can, and I plan to visit soon for Christmas.

Hope all is well with you and yours. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!