Merry Christmas 2013

This winter finds us once again having a white Christmas and Deb’s first Christmas tree at home in three years. With being away and a rambunctious extra-toed cat we were afraid to have one. However, Pat found a very nice looking prelit artificial Christmas tree and so with Christmas carols playing and egg nog in the fridge the tree was decorated in early December.

And here is our year in review:

Mick and Pat did a spring break trip to Oak Ridge, Tennessee with stops in Memphis, New Orleans and the cabin in Kentucky. They had a mandatory stop in Lafayette to pick up a cooler full of frozen Boudin and dry ice to bring home to those of us left behind. It was a last chance tour before Mick was leaving home and they seemed to really enjoy themselves. Deb and Keelan stayed behind (having little interest in marathon driving) and chose to keep the home fires burning, pets happy and Keelan on the ski hill to make up for missing Christmas skiing due to being in Hawaii). The trip was busier than expected as it overlapped with spring break and so they did not have the stops all to themselves. However, they still managed to get in some good food and spend some quality time together. Oak Ridge as people may know was the secret community established in 1942 as the massive production site of the Manhattan Project and first atomic bombs. Mick and Pat spent time touring the various exhibits at the National Nuclear Laboratory and worked really had to ensure that they did not drive into any of the restricted area. We also took a tour of the Lost Sea Caverns – which is the site of the largest underground lake in America. Although the boat trip was amazing, the most memorable part of the trip was the other tourists that we were with (they were from Florida – had four junior college girls with them and were asking memorable questions like “who did the union forces fight”????)

Mick graduated in June and was awarded a couple of scholarships. He was glad to have high school finished and much to his surprise enjoyed attending the dry graduation party with an Arabian nights theme that included dancing, pictures, amazing food, ‘gambling’, temporary tattoos and other games. Not much of a dancer, he and his girlfriend Blair enjoyed people watching and visiting with their friends, it was a great way to celebrate the end of an era.

Archery continues to be a family activity; Cranbrook hosted the indoor provincial championships again and it was much easier being able to build upon our experience last year. Keelan medalled with a ….in the barebow division but found out that he needed to move in to Olympic Recurve if he wanted to compete in long distance shoots. So in July we orchestrated a camping trip in search of a place he could try out different bows and he finally settled on a kaya bow out of Korea. It was very good value for a smooth pulling bow at about half the price of anything else he had seen. He found it in Seattle and was able to get a private lesson the next day with a top level coach. The coach spent nearly 2 hours with him, providing feedback using a delayed motion camera and it was a good opportunity to be coached by an experienced Recurve archery as it is very different from compound archery which is what is common here. He is really enjoying the whole new system and has been steadily pulling up his scores throughout the year.

While we were away, Mick having graduated, was at home job hunting and having his first trial of living independently. He found a job just before we got home and spent the rest of the summer installing in ground irrigation systems and doing landscape maintenance (aka lawn mowing). As a first job, he learned how to work hard and seemed to really enjoy the physical labour much to his (and our) surprise. The boss, who had a history of not being able to keep employees, seemed really pleased with Mick work – and wants him back next year – but I think Mick will look for something else – anything else.

Mom and Keelan went to Dickey Lake and spent time with friends camping for about 10 days. Keelan had fun knee boarding and they were both up early every morning for a game at the nearby par 3 golf course in Fortine. Pat and Mick ended up with the weekend off and joined us for the evenings and we had a trip in to Kalispell to pick up many of the things that Mick would need in the fall at university. Deb and the boys went on their annual trip to Loon Lake in late August. It is always a great time to catch up with Deb’s family and some of the cousins although each year it gets tougher to orchestrate as they grow up and move further away. We combined it with a side trip into Northern Alberta to do some fishing. It was great to actually catch fish even though most had to be released back into the lake we were able to have a couple of fish feeds. Keelan brought his friend Andy along with us and they had fun both fishing and on the golf course.

Eager to head off into University Mick was accepted at the Schulich School of Engineering at U of C. He was lucky enough to secure a single room in residence which has been a godsend with the amount of homework that he seems to have on a very consistent basis. They say that the first year of engineering is essentially a weeding out process and many students do not make second year and we can sure see why. To his credit however, Mick has created a very good work schedule and is keeping up with the work albeit with some stress at times. Mom wishes that he’s take a bit of time to play his saxophone and he has connected with some others but frequently feels that his homework needs override the playing. Any free time Mick has at University, he is busy tracking down cheap culinary adventures (to offset his res food) along with Blair who is attending Alberta College of Art. They have made some great finds, which we get to explore when we go in and visit him. Skype makes staying in touch a lot easier than it was in our days of going to university, however still does not make up for having him around – and it has been an adjustment year for all.

Keelan is busy trying to complete 2 grades in one year – taking only pre-calculus, physics, English, French language and French Socials for both grade 11 and 12. Then it will be off to the College of the Rockies to get his first year toward automotive technician while still theoretically attending high school. Once again, mom is trying to get him to slow down a bit and enjoy high school but he is sure of what he wants and is working hard to get there. He is having some fun participating in intramural sports – the most recent being kick ball where the team he was on got first place even though their team was made up of some of the smallest kids in the school.

In the fall, Pat suddenly found a project he had been scheduled to start was delayed for 2 weeks and with nothing else on his plate sent a plea out to his retired brother’s in law to see if any were up for a quick trip south (he was out of bourbon beer). Randy took up the challenge although he flew down and met Pat in Memphis. Pat, having left a couple of days before, had already stopped for a visit with Mick, his aunt and uncle in Regina, skirted the major October snow storm that killed all of the cattle in the Dakotas, missed tornadoes in Sioux Falls, took in a NASCAR Nationwide Race in Kansas City, stopped at the cabin to unload some supplies, before going into Memphis to meet Randy. Pat and Randy spent one night on Beale Street, an evening in Bardstown at the Talbot Tavern, and a quick swing by to visit the Louisville Slugger – before turning west and heading for Moyie for Thanksgiving with a stop in Deadwood.

Par for the course, Pat’s job situation changed again this fall. There was another minor restructuring in the Ministry that resulted in his team being moved from Corporate Services to the Strategic Operations Unit at the Deputy Minister’s office. This has resulted in Pat being very busy – as his new boss has over committed to the work that they would be able to do and they are under staffed. It also means for the first while Pat is carrying the work of several people and as a result seems to be away from home in Vancouver or Victoria on a weekly basis. This should slow down by end of March, but until then he seems to be living out of a suitcase and doing a lot of extra work. The funny part is that Pat has actively avoided any bureaucratic climbing – believing there was no chance for advancement while living in Cranbrook – and now he couldn’t be much closer.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that 2014 finds all of you healthy and happy and in the company of good friends.