As referenced in last years newsletter, this year started with the trip of a lifetime...Africa! Bill had to go to Nairobi for a conference, so it made sense to take advantage of the situation and go on a safari. With a limited sechedule, Bill worked with an agency to spend five days each in Rwanda, the Masai Mara (Kenya), and the Serengeti (with a quick trip to Ngorogoro).

Flying into Kenya, Bill did his conference at the Windsor Golf and Country Club, with Carrie joining him a few days later (starting her three month sabatical from work). After the conference was over, they left for Rwanda to spend some quality time at the Gorilla Nest Lodge, visiting with mountain gorillas (where they learned that there IS a reason that word "mountain" precceeds "gorilla"....above 11,000 feet...geesh!). Simply amazing experience. From Rwanda, they flew back to Kenya, where they stayed at the Mara West, and jumped right into the safari experience. As they were checking in, the tallest giraffe either had ever seen wandered within a few yards of Bill and Carrie. Wow! The Masai Mara was amazing - elephants, the Mara River (scene of the NG Great Migrations crossing), hippos, water buffalo, elephant herds, capping off with a great sunset with a lioness keeping an eye on things.

From the Masai Mara, they ventured to Tanzania to hit the Serengeti. Bill and Carrie first stayed in Kensington Serengeti Tented Camps, putting then in the middle of the action (literally, turns out. A leopard hit a water buck at 4am, just yards from their tent!). They got to see their first cheetahs, and quickly learned that it's wise not to look like lunchmeat in the Serengeti - nor to get too close to the action. Bill and Carrie then moved on to the Lemala Ndutu (think Ritz in a tent). They continued to see incredible sites and colors, soaking in the experience. They wrapped up their safari with a trip to Ngorogoro - a unique crater in the middle of the Serengeti - for some reason, the same animals that are very skittish outside the crater are very approachable inside the crater.

All in all, a fascinating trip that was far too short. The day after Bill and Carrie returned home, Bill was off to Barcelona to attend a conference, taking off one day (on what felt like the wettest day of the year) to go see some of the sights of Barcelona, including the Columbus Statue and Gaudi's infamous Basilica de Sagrada Familia.

Carrie did an incredible job of creating a very extensive travel diary of the trip. It can be found here - and shows how exhausting, and how exhilerating, this trip really was.

More pictures of the Africa trip can be found on Bill's Flickr site, with Rwanda, Masai Mara, Serengeti, and Ngorogoro all covered. More pictures of the Barcelona trip can be found here.

February ALSO brought about Austin's fifth birthday, where he got his first bicycle! Fast forward to April - Bill and Carrie were off to Maui to the condo - hosting his Mom, sister Sandy, and nephew Jed for a week, taking in the sights of Hawaii, including a luau, where the stories of Hawai'i are told through music and dance. Bill's Mom also finally joined the digital world with an iPad. She worked with the girls to play a practical joke involving tattoos on the family back home. It was a great week!

As Bill's family left, Carrie's dad and Ryan came in to spend a week, visiting a pineapple plantation,the gardens in the Ioa Needle, the blowhole at Makena , and the Surfing Goat Farm. Carrie and Ryan even got a bit of diving in, and Ryan and Carrie's dad spent some time in the Banyan Tree. More pictures of this years trip to Maui can be found here.

In May, Bill and Carrie had a conference for work outside Miami, and decided to spend a few extra days in Key West. This trip included a trip to Fort Taylor (which used to sit 1/4 mile off shore, and is now inland), and Fort Jefferson (the true southern most point of the US, 70 miles southwest of Key West) via seaplane - quite cool! Fort Jefferson was used as a prison for a while, holding the infamous Samuel Mudd there - it's also the largest brick structure in the world. More photos of this Key West trip can be found here. In May, Bill also got the interior of the MG restored. Next year, it's the exteriors turn.

June brought about Shaylee's third birthday, loading her up with cake and presents! July was a fun month for Bill - he flew to LA to do "Fighter Pilot for a Day", doing a series of dogfights off Palos Verdes- and the following day, joined his friend Steve for an incredible tour of the LA Basin in a helicopter! Parts of the trip were pretty touristy (like flying over Will Smith's house), but other parts included flying over Dodger Stadium and the Hollywood Sign. More photos of this fun trip can be found here. Also in June, Bill and Carrie joined their good friend Alan with a circle of friends from around the world for a weekend in San Francisco, celebrating a milestone birthday. Alan arranged for some great activities for the group, including a scavenger hunt (which Bill and Carrie failed miserably)..

July finished up with a project Carrie had been working on with a few family members - a full reunion (almost 100 people showed up!) outside of Denver. People who hadn't seen each other in a long time caught up with each other, including all the Garlands. The trip also included a smaller reunion of close family members, enjoying time spent together (and a good cigar). More pictures of the reunion can be found here (note that you'll need a google account to view the pictures)..

In September, Nate returned to Northern Arizona University, and Austin started his first day of kindergarten. Bill and Carrie joined their motorcycle club on a trip to Street Vibrations in Reno - a great ride with a great group of people. More photos of the trip can be found here.

In October, the family decided to go to San Diego to celebrate Carrie's birthday along with her Dad's. Almost all her brothers and sisters made the trip, along with Amy and Ryan. The weekend included a day in Old Town San Diego, where Carrie, Amy, Missy, Brian, and Carrie's Dad all celebrated Dia de Muertos in style. They finished up the trip at the Wild Animal Park, finishing one heck of a birthday party. More pictures of the San Diego trip can be found here. Bill and Carrie returned to Key West to celebrate her birthday the last weekend of the month, exploring nooks and crannies that they overlooked in the past.

December brings the holidays, with Bill and Carrie joining Amy and Danny's family at their cabin for Christmas, and wish all of you the best for 2012!