We've been in Connecticut for ten years now - who would have imagined we would last this long? John is still at Yale where things are as busy as ever. He is still working on Haskell and having a good time.
Marti has been keeping very busy with projects around the house, helping in the schools, gardening, and computer work. She had been active in a ladies group and took a quilting class this year.
Eric, now 12 years old, is in a new school this year. He attends sixth grade at a magnet school now - Wintergreen in Hamden - and is enjoying(?) school much more than last year. This school is run by the Edison Project, a company that manages schools all over the country. They use computers a lot and will be giving Eric his own computer to take home. His school day is very long - the bus ride takes almost an hour - but he doesn't have as much homework and does a lot of reading on the bus.
Eric is still playing trumpet, walking dogs, playing basketball, and all of the other things he enjoys. He also does all of those crazy things with Dad like climbing and kayaking when he's not too busy with other things (like playing Pokemon!)
Jay is almost 7 and is in first grade now. He really loves school: reading and math are his favorite subjects. He's doing very well and really likes his teacher. Jay is also getting to be quite a climber and is now biking on his own - he did a 21 mile trip this fall. He's also started paddling a kayak a bit but just in a lake. And he also has been brainwashed by the Pokemon cult.
John's parents are doing well - they continue to travel all over the world. Grandma had back surgery this fall and we hope she is able to start hiking with us soon. Grandpa is going strong and can still keep up with us on big hikes.
This summer Eric's cousin Sarah came for a visit from Spokane. Sarah proved to be a fearless kayaker and climber and was a lot of fun to have around.
As usual we've been doing a lot of traveling. This summer we visited Marti's sister Nina in Spokane (except John - he was climbing mountains) and saw a lot of friends in Portland. Then we traveled to Yosemite where Grandpa and Brad Dierschow (Eric's 2nd cousin; he just graduated from high school) met us. John tried to intimidate Brad by taking him on a very difficult climb even though he hadn't climbed in years but Brad survived - and even claimed to enjoy it!
Marti and the boys had a brief stop in Denver on the return trip. The boys enjoyed some rest and relaxation at Grandma and Grandpa's while Marti helped a friend with a home improvement project.