Dear Family and Friends,

It’s been a unique year at the Canfields. Deb started the year with the Disney World Marathon in January, and we made the trip of a lifetime to New Zealand and Australia in June and July. As a result, Chelsea gained (valuable?) experience on the pros and cons of a house in the country.

Deb’s marathon was a fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, honoring her good friend Joyce Nelson’s daughter Taylour and her cousin Jill Haydon’s son Matheson. She is thankful to many of you for helping to raise six thousand dollars for that cause, and proud to have been able to go such a long distance with Haydon legs! She continues to be active in tennis, both as a player and as President of the Bozeman Tennis Association. This year she has taken on another activity, pool therapy for people with disabilities who are served by Bozeman’s outstanding Eagle Mount exercise therapy Program.

This has been a frustrating year for Chelsea, since nursing programs in Montana are oversubscribed by a factor of two. She has been able to get some of the required pre-nursing courses out of the way, but there is little more that she can do until she is formally admitted. Her nephew Aidan – John and Karin’s son – was in Bozeman at Thanksgiving to cheer her up. Chelsea’s job at a local restaurant is working out well, so she has been able to add quite a bit to her car savings account. Dad made a tactical error when he replaced her old 1985 Jeep Cherokee with one that is more comfortable and reliable, so he may be riding his bike a bit longer.

Deb and Dick took advantage of a professional meeting to see old friends and new places in Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand we stayed with friends and enjoyed B&B’s throughout the northern half of the North Island, from Waitomo Caves to Cape Reinga. The fluffy comforters and friendly people helped Deb warm up for at least a few minutes each day. In Australia, we rented a Toyota camper van and drove 5000 km from the tropical forests north of Cairns through the spectacular expanse of the outback to the big-city atmosphere of Sydney in just over two weeks. We got a chance to see everything from the Great Barrier Reef to aboriginal art and wallabies, met lots of nice people, and managed to stay on the correct side of the road. The poor Toyota endured more than one uncoordinated left-handed shift, but proved to be a great way to see whatever we wanted, on our timetable. Sure beats working!

Speaking of work, Dick’s still at it. Nothing on the national news, but some fascinating science results if you’re a geek, and subscribe to the right journal. Between working full time and leading the Eagle Rock Reserve Owner’s Association – herding a bunch of Type-A cats – there has been more than enough to do this year.

There is never enough space in this Christmas letter for all the good pictures – the rest are on Dick’s family web site: http://solar.physics.montana.edu/canfield/family/. We look forward to seeing you and yours in the coming year!

Dick, Deb, and Chelsea