Greetings friends !

Once again we find ourselves looking through our Christmas list and wondering how the year slipped by so fast.

Marti started a new job at the end of January with AEtna Life and Casualty in Hartford, working on the "Corporate Model" program which tries to predict AEtna's financial future. This has turned out to be a major task as the model program was completely rewritten by a consulting firm this year. Marti worked many long hours over the summer but now has the system running smoothly. The insurance business is tough these days; while AEtna is trimming back and restructuring, we imagine they will survive and continue to need a Corporate Model.

Marti's job meant a big change for Eric, who started attending full time day care. He found a friendly, supportive environment at "Kids in TRAINing", and loved the fact that Amtrack trains roared by it several times a day. He soon grew very fond of another little girl there, Chelsea, his first sweetheart.

John is still working at Yale on the Haskell project. Haskell is a new computer language which has just recently been developed. Yale is hoping to provide the first complete implementation of this language. The first version should be ready in another month. Interest in this language is very high, and John gets computer messages from all over asking about the Yale system. He has had messages from Australia, Japan, South America, India, and even the Soviet Union. Being research faculty is a welcome change from the situation in Arizona. There are currently about 10 students working under John as well as a one staff member.

Late this year, we were pleased to see Eric's weekend activity class convert to a full time day school for three and four year olds. Eric was just big enough to start, since he will be three December 20th. He is now thriving on a mixture of motion education (rock climbing preparation!), arts and music as a full time "Jumpin' Bean". His day starts much earlier, as he now commutes with Marti at 6:45am. They tell us he often rests very soundly at nap time.

We started 1990 very concerned about Marti's father. He had been desperately ill in Denver, and Marti and her sisters took turns traveling there to be with him. He gradually improved while recuperating with Marti's sister Anna in Houston, and returned home in late spring. He is currently well, but has retired early due to his health.

John's parents continue to do well. His mother retires in January and they plan to devote even more time to their travels and family. They were able to visit this summer and Eric enjoyed having his grand- parents around. We hope to have them visit even more frequently now.

As usual, we continue our travels. Marti's has a hard time breaking away from the office, but we still were able to take trips to Arizona and Colorado. John was able to take two weeks in March to climb in Tucson, Joshua Tree, and Red Rocks. Marti and Eric came later and we all visited Marti's sister Nina and her family. We also hiked the west fork of Oak Creek canyon which included wading and even swimming in icy water.

In July, John and Eric visited Denver to see the family and play in the mountains. Eric spent much of the trip riding as many trains as we could find and playing with the toys his parents used to use. They also drove to Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico to give a talk about John's Haskell research. We were able to find a nanny (our old friend Cynthia from Arizona) to watch Eric during the talk. The highlight of the trip was Eric's first rock climb on a rope at Garden of the Gods. He now understands how to climb safely using ropes and goes with us on same of our climbing trips. Our last week in Colorado was at the YMCA camp in Estes Park where Marti was able to join us. Many of our friends and family were able to visit us at our cabin there and go hiking or climbing with us.

We have also explored the sights near our home in Connecticut. We often visit the Peabody museum at Yale, as Eric loves the dinosaur exhibits. We also frequent the Bronx Zoo and the nearby Mystic Aquarium. We have made short visits to Washington DC (staying with our friends Risa and Sandy), Boston, Vermont, and the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Marti even conquered the third highest mountain in New Hampshire in spite of the "treacherous roots and hollows" the guidebook warned about.

While we don't climb as much as we did in Tucson, John has managed to find several decent rock outcroppings. They are generally quite vertical, but seldom very tall. We pulled out our kayaks for a few short river runs. Eric even joined us on one gentle ride near home, riding on our laps. We may do some skiing again this year, but nothing here compares to Utah powder. We haven't taken up any ocean sports, yet, but we may in time !

Best wishes for the holidays and the year to come,

John & Marti & Eric