Christmas Update

Our baby, Cameron turned ten this year. (Wait, it gets worse.) Now that he’s old enough, he likes to hang out at the Youth Centre up the street and play Guitar Hero. He’s in his final year of Cubs, where he’s a sixer. He’s a downhill skier, and last winter he mastered the art of going up the T-bar. He started curling last winter and is steadily improving at the game. He and his brother attended a curling workshop in Bonnyville earlier this fall and met Brent McDonald and Carter Rycroft. Despite his fear of public speaking, he performed a poem in the Cold Lake Music Festival. Although he was registered in the wrong class for piano at the festival, but he rose to the occasion and played his piece with skill and self-confidence. He’s currently working towards the Grade 2 Royal Conservatory piano exam. Cameron has a wacky sense of humour. He’d be the class clown if he wasn’t homeschooled.

David is now 13, so we are also the parents of a teenager.
(I told you it gets worse). He hangs out at the Youth Center too, where he’s on the Steering Committee, and a volunteer DJ/Light Operator. He’s also a member of Teen Central, the city library’s teen advisory board. They have food at every meeting, plus he’s the only guy, you do the math. Actually he does a lot of volunteering with Teen Central, including making cotton candy at various events. Last winter, David decided that skiing was more fun than snowboarding, although the fact that he has skis but not snowboard gear, probably had something to do with the decision. He’s been curling for the past three seasons. Maybe in a few years you’ll be hearing about the McGuire Brothers rink. In June, his Scout troop went on a canoe trip along the Beaver River. He and some of his fellow Scouts earned their Flatwater Canoeing A certification from Paddle Canada. In the Music Festival in March, he earned the Woodwind Certificate of Excellence and performed in the final concert. He’s also preparing for a Royal Conservatory exam, on flute.

Mark is still (!) working at the LOX facility on the base. In September, he spent 3 weeks in California learning how to operate a liquid oxygen/liquid nitrogen generating system. It wasn’t all work, he went to Huntington Beach, toured a winery, caught an Angels game, and visited Universal Studios. Between the trip to California, air shows, and LOX escort duties, he spent less than 2.5 months at home between June and September. At least he’s not been deployed to “an undisclosed desert location”, yet. Mark just started his third year as a volunteer with the CSPS (Canadian Ski Patrol System) at Kinosoo Ridge. He’s an assistant patrol leader this year. He patrolled at least one day almost every weekend last winter. This fall, he stepped down as Troop Scouter for the Medley Scouts, although he’s still a leader. He also volunteers at the Youth Centre as a chaperone and for the MFRC, and helps coach curling. In his spare time he likes to make wine.

I started a fantastic new job, part-time circulation clerk at the local public library, in March. I'm like a kid in a candy store! I turned my love of rubber stamping into a business, and became a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator in June, or as a friend said, went from user to pusher. I still play alto saxophone in the 4 Wing Band. There weren’t any big trips or recording sessions this year, but the band played their final concert in support of the Great Escape Memorial Project, in June at the Vic Juba Theatre, in Lloydminster. I didn’t ski quite as much as the guys did last winter but still spent a fair amount of time out at the Ridge where I skied every run except the Terrain Park at least once, including The Bowl and didn’t fall, ever. I'm feeling a little old though. I attended my high school reunion this summer. It was great to see so many of my high school friends, not so great to realize it’s been 25 years since graduation.

Piper took her first major trip this year, to Fort Smith with the rest of the family. She proved to be a great traveller, and reacted to all the strangers very calmly. She got a nasty surprise when she drank some water at the Salt Flats. She’s very much a comfort-loving dog; we are forever kicking her off our beds or the couch. She hates loud noises like thunder and the smoke detector. Funny thing though, jets don’t bother her.