As 2011 comes to a close, we are preparing for a Brydon family Christmas in Montreal. We are looking forward to visiting with friends and family and the chance to have a Christmas with my family (and are crossing our fingers for a White Christmas)!
It was a big year in Vancouver (and surrounding areas - as far away as the east coast of Canada I think) for patriotic Canadians and hockey fans with the fabulous Winter Olympics and then the excitement of the Canucks play off run. Although, no longer in Vancouver, the "Olympic Spirit" seemed to be everywhere. Norm had the opportunity to take in one of the hockey games and Lucie and I watched from home and sang O'Canada as often as possible! The playoff run was fun too for awhile, but now far too painful for Norm to talk about.......
As always, our highlights this year have been the food, fun, laughter (and did I mention the wine) we share with friends and family. We just had a wonderful trip to Hawaii, and all did what we love most - Norm played tennis and played guitar and Ukelele, Lucie spent her days with new friends in the pool and hot tub, or with us at the beach, and I read two books, did a bit of yoga and walked the beach most mornings (and saw the breaching and fluting humpback whales!) Going to the summit of the volcana was a wonderful day trip and there was a little excitement at the beach one day after the siting of a 12 foot Tiger Shark. We made some new "holiday" friends and caught up with some friends from Comox as well - it was all great!
We had a great visit from my parents in June, then we spent July (or was it November) and the second half of August at the cabin, and it was a chilly one this year - I didn't swim once in July - but despite the weather, we had lots of fun with friends and family. Lucie's cousins from Manitoba came for a visit to Granny and Gido's and Lucie was very excited to spend time with them.
Lucie has settled in to grade 1 in French immersion, and the days of Norm and I sharing "classified information" in French are quickly coming to an end. Time to learn Spanish I guess! Like her parents, her friends are very important to her and she often asks when the next friend can come over, as the first one is just walking out the door.... She loves swimming and Karate (I have the bruised shins to prove it) and continues to take piano lessons. (She has told me she will not be doing that next year!). She just had her 7th birthday party at the Gymnastics Gym and was thrilled and startled that while receiving the birthday bumps she actually flipped completely in the air. She will be starting up gymnastics again after Christmas.
Norm continues his business and although he has had a few changes in lines, he manages to stay busy and for the most part happy with the way things are going. Sadly, he lost a friend, and the first customer he ever had this year to cancer. Norm continues to enjoy his hockey (Canucks - although he vowed he wouldn't get so emotionally attached this year - so far so good, but we'll see); his music, and he manages to get in a "music night" on most of his road trips to Vancouver and fairly regulary at home too. Norm is a member of the local Recreation Commission and was on TV as their spokesperson in the Fall. Seeing himself on TV with that extra 10 pounds that the camera puts on was a real incentive to him to get more active again. Plagued with the perils of a body that was abused as a youth, he struggled with injuries that limited his ability to play squash but now seems to be on the mend. I keep telling him it's time for Yoga! Fortunately he has found spin classes, which are a great way to get the heart rate up and get that much needed cardio workout (and I like it too!) We also returned to skiing last year after an extended hiatus, and are looking forward to another great ski season.
As expected, my tenure with WorkSafeBC ended at the beginning of last year, and I was surprised how disappointed I was - at least temporarily. I enjoyed about 2 1/2 months of work-free days (that as the best my garden has looked since we moved in) and then was hired as the Executive Director for a non-profit society geared toward improving primary health care. It's an interesting job that allows me to work from home on a very flexible schedule. I'm now working between 15 and 20 hours per week usually for the Division and then helping Norm a little bit. Norm and I continued our Edmonton outings for his trade show, and this past fall we had a great visit with my cousins and aunt and uncle in Edmonton. With Lucie at school full time (not sure how 2:30 dismissal is full time, but I'm just getting greedy), I've been able to be a little more committed to my wellness plan and to some great dog walks with friends.
May your challenges in 2012 be manageable, and the happy times many! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2012!
Hi Janet and Lucie and Stormin'!
Great Smilebox pics and enjoyed hearing all about your busy lives. Hope it snows for you in Montreal!
Goodbye for now. Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and Healthy New Year to Brydon/Cardinal families. See you in 2012 on The Island!! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Pics: Chloë with Steve; Cora Lee with Flamin'; Jake, Nicole's Bichon; "55" candles; original photo-shop snap!
Hello & Merry Christmas!
We are about to begin our Winter holidays and I thought you might enjoy a short note regarding the past year in our lives. Skiing at Sun Peaks is very good and the boys are now skiing on their own! My knees are thanking God for this, as snowplowing all day is challenging at best.
Merry Christmas! Love, Damian, Corben, Ariane & Douglas
November 29, 2011
Dear Friends and Family:
It is hard to believe another year has come and gone. A year ago we were desperately trying to potty train Damian and Corben and now they are in preschool learning numbers, colours, letters, music and even some Spanish.
2011 began with skiing at Sun Peaks and in February a decision to enroll the boys in the Montessori Preschool for two days a week beginning in September. Potty training did not go well, so it was back to diapers or the 2T/3T Pull-ups as the boys were too big for the size 6 diapers. Damian started refusing his diaper in late March so we tried again. It took until late June to be fully “Pee Trained” and then late July and August for the other part of the training to be completed for Damian & Corben respectively. This has to have been my biggest memory for this year as it truly wore me out and I spent most of my days wondering when the next accident would happen.
The boys enjoyed their 3rd Birthday in May and they did a set of swimming lessons during June. They became very good listeners and in July I was able to take them to the pool on my own without difficulty. They enjoyed the water park, a trip to Pincher Creek & Christina Lake, Prince George, time at the Ranch & a trip to Sundre. They enjoyed playing with their cousins and learning to ride big boy bicycles with training wheels.
Birthday parties were also a hit this year. They have started playing more with other children and lately they have expanded their play into the world of imagination and role play.
In late August, our daycare provider decided to find other employment, so we were left scrambling again. Fortunately, the preschool was able to accommodate us for the fall and we have just received confirmation that they can take the boys for four days a week until June.
The boys have also started a music class, so we are racing on Thursday to pick them up and get to a class. They are learning rhythm and practicing skills that promote good piano hands. So being totally out of my mind, I have purchased some rhythm instruments to assist with music practice at home. After two days, I’m shaking my head. After all, who in their right mind would actually provide wooden sticks, hand drums, castanets, and maracas to two boys age 3.5yrs?
The snow is falling and we are starting our winter season at Sun Peaks. The boys are quite excited to ski again and I’m really hoping they won’t need the harness this year. Perhaps a few lessons will be useful for them this year too. As you know parents can only teach so much even if they can teach swimming or skiing!
So we now embark into the Christmas season and the boys are really looking forward to experiencing tree decorating and other activities. They are already accomplished at sledding with the early snow and we hope to have them skating on the outdoor rink at Sun Peaks.
As for Douglas and I, we are busy with work and spend our spare time running after the boys, reading stories and playing little card games of SNAP with them.
I continue to work part-time, but now work 4 days a week this year. Douglas is still in the term-certain world of teaching and is hired one semester at a time. Perhaps he will find another continuing position in Kamloops for September, but he won’t know that until June 2012.
So until next year, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous 2012!
Lots of Love, Ariane, Douglas, Damian & Corben XOXOXO
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Christmas 2011
I’ve only just recovered from the exhaustion of doing my school parent duties of attending end of year school assemblies, getting teachers their end of year presents and the usual chauffeuring jobs, in between working, to find there is only 1 week to Christmas and the days are fast running out to get everything done.
Jessica is now 11 and completed a very busy Year 6. Weekdays before and after school were crammed with activities ranging from basketball and netball, to rehearsals for the school musical, string ensemble and the West Indian steel drum band. I was just grateful her piano, violin and French horn lessons were during school hours and didn’t require me chalking up any more home to school miles. Now, turn your eyes away if you want to avoid the boastful parent part…..We were very proud parents when she was awarded Dux of her primary school, a music scholarship for her school and somehow, a medal for ICAS Writing (despite complaining bitterly about having to do the test all the way to school that day). The highlight for her year (and mine!) though, was their school camp to Canberra and Jindabyne for skiing at Smiggin Holes and Blue Cow. Much to her dismay I volunteered to go along as parent help for purely selfish reasons as I had never been to that part of the world before despite living in Australia for 35 years. The teachers were also more than happy to have a GP along for the trip. Our 3 days in Canberra were packed with excursions to the Australian National Gallery, Old Parliament House, New Parliament House, 2 hours by ourselves at Questacon (Canberra’s version of Scitech/ Science World), the fantastic Australian War Memorial, the National Museum and the Australian Institiute of Sport. Then, it was off for 3 days of skiing and the first experience of snow for many of the children. It is truly amazing how quickly children can pick up new skills and most were competant enough to venture out onto the lovely wise expanse of the Blue Cow green run by the afternoon of day 2 after a few accidents learning how to dismount from the chair lift. I had a great time skiing with some of her classmates who unlike her, were happy to hang around me and not be highly embarassed by my mere presence!
Now with a taste for skiing, we are off to Canada for a month in January 2012- 2 weeks in Vancouver and 2 weeks at Big White, where hopefully we can all learn to ski, and for Olivia and Josh, will be their first experience of snow. So dear Vancouver friends, we are in your lovely city from December 30 2011 until January 13 2012 when we leave for Big White. We are staying with our friends Helen and Peter Nahan in Burnaby and we can be contacted there on 604-435-3305. We would love to catch up with you so please contact me soon to arrange a place and time.
Olivia at 8 cruised along happily in Year 2. She did what might be her last ballet concert recently, (as her dance teacher has closed her studio), and stoked her big sister’s competitive fires when she won a trophy playing the piano at the Bunbury Eisteddfod in June. She is an absolute delight to be with for everyone except her little brother, when the dark side takes over and she finds a way to put him down relenetlessly for whatever he says or does.
Joshua, now 5 and a ½ completed Pre-Primary and is still not enamoured with school and all the “hard work” this entails. A weekend or school holiday is a cause for celebration for him. He gets great satisfaction from beating his family at the card game “UNO”, kicking the footy with his Dad, cheering on the West Coast Eagles footy team and anything to do with Ben 10.
Mike is happy to potter along working only 3 and a half days a week. A new urologist from the UK looks like he is keen on settling in Bunbury so he’s doing Mike’s locum for January and February 2012 – hence our trip to Canada in January. After having the ends of the AC joint in his left shoulder shaved off last year he can swim a bit, but has taken to mountain bike riding since the middle of the year. Once or twice a week, the Ferguson Valley, just east of town, is overrun by groups of middle aged male doctors on their expensive mountain bikes satisfying some primal competitive urges by trying to burn each other off on the sandy hilly tracks.
As for me, after one too many school car park consultations, I thought, I could be paid for doing this! So I’m back to work part time as a GP at a lovely non-corporate practice not far from the school. The extra income justified in my mind, the purchases of a few indulgences, including the most overpriced blender with weighing scale and heating element known as the Thermomix. Even that, was cheaper than Mike’s mountain bike. I also wrote a couple of articles for the web edition of the Australian Doctor (a medical newspaper) though my budding writing career won’t be paying any bills soon. As for most of the last 15 years, I do my 2-3 PUMP classes at the gym per week, but haven’t had as much time or inclination to pursue aerobic fitness. I still do my 2 book clubs - the books give me a window to another world while the meetings provide a chance to catch up on local news and gossip!
After many years of nagging on Mike’s part for us to go to Bali on a family holiday, I finally relented on the condition that he never pressure me into going there again, and with the bait of having a butler, cook, maids and driver at a luxury villa there. I am probably in the minority of Australians who’d prefer to go elsewhere for a holiday. To me Bali was a beautiful island, but lack of money for infrastructure means nightmarish traffic jams day and night, rubbish washing up on beaches and water that’s not safe to drink from the tap, not to mention thousands of Australians out to have a good time, a lot in varying degrees of inebriation. So with great trepidation and my worries about gastroenteritis, malaria, dengue fever and rabies befalling us, we set off in May. And lo and behold on our first day out, Olivia gets bitten by a monkey at the Monkey Forest in Ubud where I had not wanted to visit. No one has yet contracted rabies from a monkey bite in Bali, but the animals are wild and there are no guarantees. And with rabies, there are no second chances if you get it wrong by choosing to observe and do nothing in the initial stages. Once you get symptoms it is too late and invariably fatal. I couldn’t take a chance with my daughter’s life so I had Olivia undergo a series of 5 injections in 28 days for rabies prophylaxis, while Mike thought it was totally unnecessary.
Our next island holiday was a lot more uneventful- 5 days at Rottnest with the Tans, Lewins and Tibballs. The weather wasn’t the best for November but the company was great and it was a few days off from work and school. Next stop after Canada will be Darwin for the urology national conference in April 2012.
We hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas with your friends and families, and that we can catch up with each other in the New Year.
Love Yien, Jessica, Olivia, Joshua and Mike.
Hi Famiglia Pether!
Wonderful pics indeed! Enjoyed hearing all about your busy lives. Guess you will be starting to think about packing by now! Let us know, when you have a moment to be available to visit, have a meal, pop by etc. I've noted the phone number where you will be staying so plan to call this coming week to say hello and "book" a date! Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and Healthy New Year to Yien, Jessica, Olivia, Joshua, Mike and all of Bunbury, Witchcliffe and Perth!. See you in 2012 at The Island Inn!! Cheers, Patrizzio!
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