Greetings from the Gilbertsons, 2005!

Bonita Olson Gilbertson piloting the new pontoon.

Happy Holidays,
What an interesting year this has been. After a few years of planning, Dave finally took the plunge and retired on Feb. 16. We flew to Jamaica three days later, had a great time, came home and, as Dave says, “now EVERY day is a vacation day :( (For him anyway, I’m still employed).
His first retirement project was shopping for a pontoon. The two Norwegians, Frick and Frack, (also known as Dave and his brother Tom) set out to find the perfect one. In other words, the best deal. For several weeks they went to every boat show and marine showroom in a 70-mile radius. They not only got to see all of the neat boats but ate FREE hot dogs too! It just doesn’t get any better than that.
We really enjoy the pontoon and use it more frequently than we thought we would. Even though I’m a big chicken, I took it out a few times without Captain Dave along. (A few gals and I survived the “high wave adventure” but that’s another story.)
We move out to Lake Miltona as soon as the weather gets nice. We both just love it! This year was one of the best for a couple of reasons; it was hot and it stayed nice into the fall. It was our kind of summer. We didn’t close up until the third weekend of October. In our bedroom, we have a picture of the sun rising over the lake that was taken from our deck and we sigh over it frequently during the winter months.
Spring for the last 40 years has meant stock car racing. Dave no longer drives but son, Scott, has driven for us for the last 13 years. In 2005 we didn’t have a very successful year. The words handling, suspension, blown motor and etc. were mumbled along with other words that I won’t repeat. We seemed to be plagued with bad luck but we did get through the season without anyone getting hurt, had some fun and ended up in the top ten. Next year is bound to be better (or so I’ve been told).
In August, my 40th class reunion was held. I didn’t want to go but was talked into it, went and had a great time. I recognized most of the women. Some of the men were harder to recognize. Hey, what can I say, there were 267 kids in our class, my memory isn’t what it used to be AND they used to have a bit more hair! One of the bonuses was that I reconnected with a childhood friend whom I hadn’t seen in years and we’re keeping in touch. What a gift!
Our grandkids are doing great (naturally). The oldest girls, Sheanne (20) and Tessa (19) are in college and busy, busy, busy. Tanner just turned 16. Yikes, he’s of driving age! Brittney is going through all of the joys and traumas of being 14. She’s involved with figure skating and recently hockey. Cameron is six and is in Kindergarten full time and is quite the little scholar. He is also on the ice as he plays hockey too. Little Lily, three is in preschool and is getting to be such a little lady. She loves her dolls and is good to them most of the time. Of course, our grandkids are the smartest and cutest…just ask us.
In closing, we want to wish a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.
Here’s to Health, Wealth and Happiness in 2006!
Bonita and Dave Gilbertson