We have had a very good year of health, family, and travel! And, hope all is well with you and your family.

Our big trip this year was to Rwanda in the middle of Africa. Our brother-in-law, Roger (Anne) Powell, was the founding Chairman of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in 2004. The purpose was to educate and train veterinarians in a 3 country region of Rwanda, Uganda, and Republic of the Congo to protect the health of the only population of Mountain Gorillas. They have had great success with the project and population is growing nicely!

We jumped on the chance to join them on their trip as did our daughter, Liz! We were in the country for 8 days and trekked to find the gorillas twice. They live exclusively in the volcanoes region of the three countries. We had armed trackers, guides, and porters for the strenuous hikes straight up the side of volcanoes and through the thick jungle--it was worth it! The times with the two gorilla families we saw were incomparable. We were within feet of many of the 40 gorillas with nothing between us and them. One actually hit Brooke in the leg (accidently-no damage!). We also took a safari into another part of the country and saw, leopards, rhinos, hippos, elephants, giraffes, and many other African animals. The wildlife was just spectacular! And, we were surrounded by their noises all night long in our "tent-like" accommodations!

We have had several trips to visit Liz and family in Charlotte. Cate is the eldest grandchild and she is thriving as a sophomore at UVA. She spent 3 weeks in Maui (someone had to go) training to become a yoga instructor! She is doing great in school! But, she and her school were traumatized by the recent shooting of the football players.

Paige is a HS senior and is the co-student body president of the largest high school in NC. She's been very busy with her studies, student government, and applying to colleges. She's also been to many UNC football games as her close friend is on the team.

The twins, Will and Sam, are tenth graders and have both gotten their learner's permits to drive! Sam needed elbow surgery due to baseball and it was a tough summer of recovery! He's back playing baseball and growing like a weed-tallest in the family now! Will's movie, "Where the Crawdads Sing" came out this summer, and, of course, we think he was great. He plays little Jody, the closest brother to the main character. He has a number of speaking lines and the movie is now available on Netflix after completing its movie theater run. Pursuing acting/singing/dancing are his goals.

For the summer, Paige brought her friend, Ava, to work with her at the Carolina Yacht Club. We loved having them both here for most of two months while they worked a wide variety of jobs.

Brent is finally back in the office 3 to 4 days a week at Wells Fargo. Liz is crazy busy with the kids and teaching/taking yoga most days.

We spent a few days up in Blowing Rock/Boone hiking in late September with Liz. Except for getting caught out in a thunderstorm and somewhat lost (a good story!) during our first hike, we had a great time in the beautiful outdoors. The leaves were just beginning to turn.

The winding roads of the NC mountains helped prepare us for our October trip to the hilly US Virgin Islands with bother-in-law Joe and Barbara Jamison. We saw beautiful beaches and coves, snorkeled, had great food and a wonderful sunset cruise on 60' catamaran!

We both walk almost every day and go to the gym frequently. Brooke plays golf 3 days a week and Cathy is trying to get back into it after fully recovering from hip replacement. Brooke skied again in Aspen in January with his good friend.

Best wishes to you and your family. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Cathy and Brooke