Natalie was the star of this year's family drama, heading off to England to stay with her aunt and uncle and get a taste of the "Harry Potter" Xperience at a British school. She came back for a winter break but is going back to finish out the year. Then she'll pick up with her sophomore year at Bellevue High.

Tonia was Xcited to finally get the kitchen remodeled, complete with brand new cabinets, skylight and new appliances. Click here for a peek.  As an Xtra bonus, our contractor added a deck off the living room, known as the "West Wing," and made the attic more accessible for storage.

Evan passed over the Xbox in favor of a new Nintendo video game system, and he's also doing Xtremely well in fifth grade. Next stop: middle school.

Alan is science editor at MSNBC.com. During 2001, he took on one Xpedition to Moscow to write about the Russian space program, and another to Hong Kong to write about the newspaper industry for the World Association of Newspapers (sort of an Xtracurricular activity).

Toby, our Norfolk terrier, made his mark an Xpert hunter, actually managing to catch a rat and a squirrel or two. We also acquired a pair of lovebirds, named Julio and Mango, and played host at last to a couple of hummingbirds.

Here's wishing you an Xtra measure of success and peace in the year ahead.