Amanda, Justin, Felicity (11) and Hunter (8)
Rob, Desta, Jordan (8) and Faye (5)
As we reflect on all our blessings from the year just gone by, the Folena family sincerely hopes 2025 was a wonderful year for you and your loved ones … here is a brief review of our year.
In January we went to the Great Wolfe Lodge in Manteca with Amanda and the grandkids. It’s a wonderful place for kids as it has a huge indoor water park with slides, a meandering creek and arcade like water spouts and super soakers. They also offer bowling, a rope and climbing course, miniature golf and even a mining experience where the kids get to experience gold pan mining. Felicity especially enjoyed the climbing course as she worked the course over and over. Hunter and Felicity had a blast.
In February we flew out to Denver to attend an award ceremony: Desta, Rob’s wife, received the 2025 Marden Davis Award that recognizes a combination of legal excellence and civic, cultural, educational and charitable leadership to a Denver attorney under the age of 40. This yearly award is presented in partnership with the Denver Bar Association and the Davis family. The award was presented to Desta by her long time friend Congressman Joe Neguse, current House Assistant Minority Leader. We are all so proud of her.
In March Felicity and Hunter performed in the Mitty High School production of ‘Alice by Heart’ directed by Amanda. They played the young versions of the main characters in the play, Alice and Alfred, and they did a great job. We enjoyed it very much. Kudos to Amanda and her directing skills. Later that month we took a quick trip down to one of our favorite places: Tickle Pink Inn at Carmel Highlands. This wonderful place overlooks the beautiful Big Sur Coast and is a great place to unwind and enjoy a glass of wine (or two).
In May Felicity competed for the 2nd time in the FunKhana Horse Riding Show held by Painted Star Equestrian school in Morgan Hill. She has really taken to horseback riding and everything that goes along with it including the care of the horses. Later in the month Amanda gave Felicity a Harry Potter themed birthday party. Evidently the number 11 is special in the Harry Potter world as that’s when Harry discovers he is a Wizard, so since this was Felicity’s 11th birthday they went all out with the planning and decorating of the party. It was wonderful.
Paul officially retired in June from Tiny Tots and he decided to take a musical trip back to his high school era to celebrate – he met up with his life long friend Joel at the Alameda County Fairgrounds to see Tower of Power. According to Paul there is no greater "funk" band in the world, whatever that means.
July was family time: first we went up to Tahoe with Amanda and her family for a vacation. We rented a 3 bedroom condo at the WorldMark South Shore resort which is walking distance to the lake at Nevada Beach. Amanda and her family had a great time hiking and enjoying the pool and other amenities of the resort. While we were there, Paul and I attended one day at the American Century Golf Tournament at Edgewood. We got to see many stars and athletes from afar, which was fun.
While we were in the Tahoe area, we stopped by to visit my cousin Jerry and his wife Deanne. They have a beautiful multi-story home surrounded by towering trees. Both Felicity and Hunter enjoyed Jerry’s search and rescue dogs who serve the Tahoe and adjoining areas. It was great catching up with him.
Later in the month Rob and his family came out for a visit. Our combined families enjoyed going to Gilroy Gardens, watching Felicity and Hunter riding horseback at their summer camp coupled with other activities, and then we had a reunion at our house with friends and family members. Jim, Joanie, Shannon, Donny and Gianna came down from Lodi and Sandra and Wayne came over from San Carlos. The cousins all had a blast being together and enjoying each other’s company.
Paul and I squeezed in a Giants game at the end of July too. We take CalTrain up into the city to avoid all the traffic and parking. Even though the Giants lost we thoroughly enjoyed the ballpark and the surrounding area.
In August we took a day trip to Filoli Gardens in Woodside to experience the TROLLS: Save the Humans exhibit. Six giant trolls are all crafted from reclaimed wood, blending art, nature, and storytelling to remind us to protect the planet that shelters all of us. The trolls were spectacular and way bigger and more impressive than we had expected.
Our family friend Tina gifted Hunter and his dad Justin 2 tickets to a 49ers football game in September for Hunter’s birthday. We took advantage of the situation by purchasing additional tickets so that Paul, Felicity and I could attend. We had a small tailgate before the game, and we had a fun day watching the Niners beat the Cardinals (barely). Later this month Amanda threw Hunter a LEGO themed birthday party at her home in Gilroy.
In October we took a quick trip up to wine country. We stayed at the Inn on Pine in Calistoga for a couple of days. While we were there we went and visited Paul’s old high school friend Kathy (Tally) Knickmeyer in Lakeport. We had a good time catching up with Kathy and her husband Scott. Later that month we went down to Disneyland to enjoy their Halloween decorations. The first day we were there we were soaked by torrential downpours and still managed to have fun. The highlight of our stay was how they completely transformed the Haunted Mansion into the Nightmare Before Christmas theme. We wish we would’ve gone on that ride more than just once.
We spent Thanksgiving in Colorado with Rob and his family. As a tradition we go to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs together. It’s a beautiful resort with amazing service and amenities. This year we took a quick trip to the US Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs while we were there and found it to be so interesting. The exhibit of all the Olympic torches through history was very cool. After our stay at the Broadmoor we spent Thanksgiving itself at Desta’s parents’ home with all their family members.
Rob flew out with Jordan to attend a 49ers football game with Paul and Hunter in December. He was able to get some club seat tickets from a friend, so everyone got to experience premium seats. They had a wonderful time as the 49ers did their part and won the game handily. Afterward we gathered back home for pizza and chicken wings to celebrate.
Finally, we will be hosting Christmas Eve at our place as we count our blessings and welcome friends and family.
Well, that’s about it in summary. We wish you and yours the very best that life has
to offer – health, happiness and most of all joy in 2026!
