The Madison/Marquesen Family in 2012

That Was the Year That Was, 2012, for the Madison/Marquesen Family.

2012 was another big year for us. As (almost) always, we'll let the photos below speak mostly for themselves.

Dave carried on successfully at the University of Pittsburgh. Extending his interest in the visual arts, he took a week of vacation in Paris, then spent half of the summer term in London on an internship/study abroad program sponsored by Pitt. He lived in Camden Town and worked at Adventure Pictures, the filmmaking home of Sally Potter (best known in the US for Orlando, featuring Tilda Swinton), finishing post-production on her newest film, Ginger & Rosa, starring Elle Fanning. The picture had its worldwide premiere in September at the Toronto Film Festival and its American premiere in October at the New York Film Festival, at Lincoln Center. Dave attended the New York screening. The film also screened in Pittsburgh, as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. Dave and his parents saw it together and cheered as the credits rolled. Dave's name appeared at the very end: production assistant - the lowest yet still critical first rung on the aspiring filmmaker's ladder. You can now find him as "David Madison (VIII)" at imdb.com. Read about Ginger & Rosa here.

In June, Kate completed her coursework for her master's degree in Early American History at the College of William & Mary. Afterward, she moved home to Mt. Lebanon and set to work on her thesis. Holding down two part-time jobs, she finished the first (and most important) complete draft in December, putting her on schedule to receive her degree during the Spring of 2013. Kate's favorite home-away-from-home these days is her position at the Penguin Bookshop, a small independent bookseller in Sewickley, down the Ohio River from Downtown Pittsburgh. Yes, not only are some independent bookstores still around - many of those are thriving. If you're in Pittsburgh, pay a visit to the Penguin. Visit the Penguin's website here.

Never ones to pass up travel opportunities, Susan and Mike visited their children in Williamsburg and in London.

Susan continued her volunteer service as a Penn State Master Gardener and a Penn State Master Food Preserver and traveled with Mike to Palo Alto, London, Munich, Vienna, Williamsburg, Philadelphia, and New Haven. She ran our household brilliantly and continued to tend - and expand - our enormous garden.

In July, Mike concluded his two-year term as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Association of Yale Alumni and was rewarded shortly afterward with a request from the Yale Corporation to serve as the "Alumni Counselor" to the Search Committee for the next President of Yale. That process concluded in November, with the announcement of the President (current Yale Provost Peter Salovey) coinciding with the Board's approval of the AYA strategic plan that Mike shepherded over the last year and a half. Yale service and the opportunities afforded by his legal academic career supported an enormous amount of travel. Palo Alto, San Francisco, Boston, Cambridge, Denver, New York, New Haven, Philadelphia, Chicago, London, Munich, Vienna, Brussels, Montreal, and Hong Kong were on the itinerary for one reason or another. Among the highlights was a gig emceeing an AYA-sponsored benefit concert on Mother's Day for an anti-bullying program in San Francisco, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, featuring the Yale Whiffenpoofs and Broadway superstar (and Frasier and Glee guest star) Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Last, but certainly not least, Lizzie (the "wonder poodle") greeted visitors to our home with her characteristic wit. The smartest and best looking dog around, at nine years of age she is as fit as the proverbial fiddle. As are we all, thankfully.

Here are photos!

Kate and Mike at Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia, June2012