....our life journey

What went on in 2008…

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Looking at the Calendar I just noticed we are over half way through December and we haven’t even got our Xmas letter out! I’ll make this a quick one and maybe put a more detailed one on the family blog for those with some time to kill. It’s been a busy year as always so I won’t bore you with all the details. I’m sure you’d all love to get back to looking over your financial statements and seeing all the wonderful returns you have made over the past couple of months.

Kyla

Kyla is continuing with her resource job 4 days a week at a couple of the local schools and a private Lutheran Christian school. She’s enjoying it and I’m enjoying the fact that she doesn’t have any prep. If we were both teaching full time, managing the family and working would probably overwhelm us.

One of the highlights of the year was getting to see Stuart Maclean live. She’s been an avid fan for many years so it was a real thrill to have the opportunity to see the real thing. In her very limited spare time she has joined a book club and a ladies dinner group; yet in between everything she manages to squeeze in some hiking, biking, skiing and whatever activities we can drag the kids out to do.

Phil

I’ve just had my hardest term since first year so the last few months feel like somewhat of a dream. I finished with the marking yesterday, but it still hasn’t quite registered that I might have part of my life back now. Our enrollment numbers improved dramatically this year and with the recession kicking in things will likely just get better for us on that front.

For recreation I bought myself a recumbent bike at the end of the summer that I hope to take advantage of when the snow comes off and fit in some ultimate Frisbee. However the highlight for me was the Iron Maiden concert in Vancouver. Fortunately I was able to time it with panel I spoke on concerning Municipal Broadband access. (Geek speak for “can someone please make it so that we can get some competitive very high speed internet access in this country!”)

Cass

Cass is now in Grade 4 and if we are to believe the report card seems to be excelling. She is a chip off the old block so we really don’t have much control over her any more. She’s 9 going on 16! She’s done the usual array of activities that we all seem to have our kids into, but finishing her Grade 1 Practical and Theory were probably her biggest accomplishments. She’s now taken up Violin so she may go hard core with that instrument as well. Cass is still a vivacious reader, unfortunately her night owlish nature (not sure who she gets that from) means it is usually at the expense of sleep!

Dane

After three years Dane has finally graduated from Kindergarten <HAHAHA>. Ok, so he inherited his mother’s brains and is sailing through Grade 2. His primary concern is which girl he is going to be a clown for that day. Webkinz and Pokeman seem to have taken a back seat recently, but Bakugons are still going strong (kids speak for cheap plastic toys from china that roll around like marbles and burst open like a jack in the box). He has burst on the scene with his piano and his skiing picked up dramatically last year, but I would say his major accomplishment was getting his yellow belt recently in Tae Kwon Do. He keeps trying to get his Dad to dust off his black belt and get back into it, but Dad can only think of the aching joints and torn muscles that go along with it. Dad is thinking Yoga and tea is more his style now.

Miscellaneous

Our holiday this year took us on the usual trek around the province. We visited with friends and family in Victoria, Courtenay and Tofino and camped all over. I managed to squeeze in a multi-day hike round Strathcona Park which took a while to recover from. I will get in shape this year! In return Kyla spent a day at the spa near Courtney with Sally, an old friend from Prince George.

For whatever reason we also decided to throw some stairs off of our back deck toward the end of the summer. These things always cost more than you think, so we haven’t bitten the bullet and put on the metal railings. I need these Trades guys to get desperate for money and the aluminum industry to tank.

As a family we have also got into this ‘geeky’ side hobby called Geocaching. It’s kind of like treasure hunting with a GPS. You go to http://www.geocaching.com, find the caches in your area, get the GPS coordinates, and then get out tracking. Kyla and I spent our 14^th wedding anniversary on a sail boat in Penticton and the Geocaching was an awesome way for us to see areas of the city we could never have known about otherwise.

We have seen a few visitors out this way as usual including my cousin Fiona, who I haven’t seen since she was in diapers, came out from England. She’s quite a few years out of diapers now and just started University. We enjoyed getting to know her and showing her around.

So there you have it; short and sweet. We still maintain a rigorous social and active lifestyle and are simply thankful we are healthy and employed to enjoy it. The Grandparents are still healthy and a major part of the children’s lives. (Even though Kyla’s parents have retired and turned 60 this year, they still seem to be just so busy!) These kids really have no clue how good they have it do they?

Anyway I hope this post finds you all in good health and we wish you all the best for yet another rapidly approaching Xmas and New Year.

What went on in 2007....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:55:00 +0000

Dear family and friends,

Xmas time is almost upon us. Kyla and I are both ready for a break. Although this hasn't been a particularly hard term for me, the end of term is always a crunch. I was teaching a new fairly technical course, so it always takes a bit of time to ramp up and be confident enough with the material to teach and assess. Kyla has been busy running around dealing with the fall out of report cards and juggling between the little time she has at the three schools she works at. Xmas will be busy, but a different kind of busy!

The kids have just finished their swimming classes for the year. They both did really well! Cass is now moving into level 7 and Dane will be in level 4. Although Dane is getting there, I'm now confident that Cass won't get into trouble if she falls out of the boat on the lake or into a pool.

All our Xmas decorations are up and the kids are in the X-mas spirit. They have an advent calendar that is visited by a little 'elf' each night and drops them a tiny gift (pens, supplies etc..;)..). They just love it. Usually we have trouble getting them out of bed in the mornings, but this little brainchild has them jumping out of bed in a flash! Although no matter how early I start trying to get their butts out the door, we are still racing down the hill and arriving with 2 mins to spare! Thank goodness they can do their own seatbelts up! For those of you still in the 'little ones' stage, you'll just have to imagine how awesome that is!

We've had a great year so far. In July and August we did a whirlwind trip. We drove down to Winnipeg for a High School reunion, flew to Toronto to visit Mandy & Eric and lots of family, flew down to Anaheim for a Cisco Networkers conference I was to attend, stayed there for 10 days, and then flew back to Winnipeg to spend some time at Heather & Ron's cabin in the Whiteshell. We managed to get our three days of Disneyland in and I even got see KISS live for the customer appreciation event at the conference. It was awesome! On the days I went to the conference Kyla and the kids made it to SeaWorld in San Diego as well as taking some down time on the beach. We had a blast and the whole trip went remarkably smoothly considering the amount of traveling and organizing that had to be done. Kyla did most of the organization since I was training for the month of June for a Cisco certification, but the success of the trip is a testament to her hard work on that front. Anyway, if you want to see some pictures I have added them to my Facebook profile, but due to the privacy restrictions I've placed on the account you'll have to e-mail me separately and ask me to add you as a friend. As an instructor at a public institution I do have to cover my rear a little! However you can add Kyla as a friend directly within Facebook by going to her profile.

Kyla's sister, Laura, got married to Neil on the May long weekend. It was a small wedding with just family so the ceremony and reception was held at Kyla's parents house. The weather held out and the night ended with us shaking it up to some tunes in the living room. They are living together in Vancouver with their new dog Mogey

Cass is doing her last level of Music for Young Children. She will be taking her Royal Conservatory grade one exam (theory as well!) which is very exciting. However she now has to practice at least 1 hour every night. Consequently we have taken the plunge and now have an upright piano. I must say it has definitely made the kids more enthusiastic about playing. As far as school is concerned, Cassidy is in grade three and Dane is in grade one, both French immersion. It is always amazing to see how quickly the kids pick up a second language. It is also nice to be out of the kindergarten age because trying to manage your day around the half day classes makes things very difficult. They are both doing well in classes. We got to witness their French in action this summer while staying with our Francophone friends in Winnipeg! Very impressive!

Kyla has taken some more hours with the school district as well as a 0.2 with a Lutheran school as a Resource Teacher. This has brought her total work time to 0.8 (4 Full days a week) which means that I have had to pick up the slack at home and the grandparents have had to help with picking up the kids once a week. This leaves Kyla with one day a week for a crazy errand day. We've established a routine and things appear to be running quite smoothly. I must say the extra money has been helpful in paying off the trip we took in the summer!

I am still working at Okanagan College teaching in the network and Telecommunications Engineering Technology program. We now have a four year degree that we are offering which has made things a little more exciting. Although we had a bad intake last year, this year we managed to fill our seats. We are still having a problem attracting females to the program, but I think that is the same for the whole computer science and information technology programs across the continent. I still love the teaching and work with an awesome department, so either way we are having a good time.

Last year was the first year that we were able to ski together as a family. Kyla and I no longer had to take shifts to cater to the different ski levels of the kids. I am still ski patrolling which means we get a family pass for the cost of the tax. Every time the training comes around and I don't feel like doing it, I just have to look at the cost of a full season pass and know why I am doing this! The other benefit of course is that we get to stay in the ski patrol hut.....oh yes....and help those in need of assistance on the hill....:)…Of course we would love to have our own condo up there, but the cost is a little beyond our means until that winning lottery ticket comes knocking, or one of us changes our career! It's an age old problem, if you have a job where you can afford these things you don't have the time, but if you have a job where you have the time you probably don't have the money! However I wouldn't give up the time I have been able to spend with my family over the past couple of years for anything. Getting out of the rat race of working in an IT department was definitely a decision I will never regret. When I talk to some of my old colleagues and contacts it only increases the confidence I have in the decision I made and the decision not to jump back in to the fray.

My mom is still living with us and enjoying life whether it is out in the garden or chumming with friends. In July, she took a trip to England for my cousin's wedding and in November went to Toronto to visit my brother, his wife and 2 boys. We also visited my brother while we were in TO this summer so I got to see my two nephews, Ben and Charlie, for the first time. The kids were really excited to meet their cousins. We had a great visit with them.

Well, we have taken enough of your time! It is nice to touch base with so many friends and family members this Christmas. We wish all of you a joyful, happy season full of love, laughter and good times!

We just got our family pictures back along with the school pictures of the kids. So I thought I would throw them up here.

These are the kids school pictures:

These are the family Pictures:

A great bunch of pictures. I'll post them to facebook as well.

We're having a good year so far.

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:23:00 +0000

Well, we've had a great year so far. In July and August we did a whirlwind trip. We drove down to Winnipeg for a High School reunion, flew to Toronto to visit Mandy & Eric, flew down to Anaheim for a Cisco Networkers conference I was to attend, stayed there for 10 days, and then flew back to Winnipeg to spend some time at Heather & Ron's cabin in the Whiteshell. We managed to get our three days of Disneyland in and I even got see KISS live for the customer appreciation event at the conference. It was awesome! On the days I went to the conference Kyla and the kids made it to Seaworld in San Diego as well as taking some down time on the beach. We had a blast and the whole trip went remarkably smoothly considering the amount of traveling and organizing that had to be done. Kyla did most of the organization since I was training for the month of June for a Cisco certification, but the success of the trip is a testament to her hard work on that front. Anyway, if you want to see some pictures I have added them to my Facebook profile, but due to the privacy restrictions I've placed on the account you'll have to e-mail me separately and ask me to add you as a friend. As an instructor at a public institution I do have to cover my rear a little! However you can add Kyla as a friend directly within Facebook by going to her profile.

The kids are back in swimming and music. Cass is now Level 6 and Dane is Level 3. They both get to pick one sport per session and both decided they wanted to do swimming. Cass has never really been into any of the team sports, but she has really taken to swimming and seems to be quite good at it. Cass is also in her last level of music for young children. She will be taking her royal conservatory grade one exam which is very exciting. However she now has to practice at least 1 hour every night. Consequently we have taken the plunge and bought an upright piano. I must say it has definitely made the kids more enthusiastic about playing.

As far as school is concerned, Cassidy is in grade three and Dane is in grade one, both French immersion. It is always amazing to see how quickly the kids pick up a second language. It is also nice to be out of the kindergarten age because trying to manage your day around the half day classes makes things very difficult. They are both doing well in classes which of course makes it much easier on us. As it is we barely have time to have dinner, practice music and get ready for bed....if we had to help the kids academically as well it would kill the whole evening!

Kyla has taken some more hours with the school district as well as a 0.2 with a Lutheran school as a resource teacher. This has brought her total work time to 0.8 which means that I have had to pick up the slack at home and the grandparents have had to help with picking up the kids once a week. This leaves Kyla with one day a week for a crazy errand day. Although we are only a month and 1/2 into the school year, we've established a routine and things are appear to be running quite smoothly. I must say the extra money has been helpful in paying off the trip we took in the summer!

I am still working at Okanagan College teaching in the network and Telecommunications Engineering Technology program. We now have a four year degree that we are offering which has made things a little more exciting. Although we had a bad intake last year, this year we manage to fill our seats. We are still having a problem attracting females to the program, but I think that is the same for the whole computer science and information technology programs across the continent. I still love the teaching and work with an awesome department, so either way we are having a good time.

Last year was the first year that we were able to ski together as a family. Kyla and I no longer had to take shifts to cater to the different ski levels of the kids. I am still ski patrolling which means we get a family pass for the cost of the tax. Every time the training comes around and I don't feel like doing it, I just have to look at the cost of a full season pass and know why I am doing this! The other benefit of course is that we get to stay in the ski patrol hut.....oh yes....and help those in need of assistance on the hill....:)Of course we would love to have our own condo up there, but the cost is a little beyond our means until that winning lottery ticket comes knocking, or one of us changes our career! It's an age old problem, if you have a job where you can afford these things you don't have the time, but if you have a job where you have the time you probably won't have the money! However I wouldn't give up the time I have been able to spend with my family over the past couple of years for anything. Getting out of the rat race of working in an IT department was definitely a decision I will never regret. When I talk to some of my old colleagues and contacts it only increases the confidence I have in the decision I made and the decision not to jump back in to the fray.

My mom is still living with us and enjoying life whether it be out in the garden and chumming with friends. In July, she took a trip to England for my cousin's wedding and is planning on going to Toronto to visit my brother in November. We visited my brother while we were in TO this summer so I got to see my two nephews, Ben and Charlie, for the first time. The kids were really excited to meet their Cousins. We had a really good visit with them.

We finally got around to putting in a water filtration system for the house and another for drinking. Not sure if there is any proof of whether this improves your health, but it certainly makes a difference having a shower without the smell chlorine!

Last week and we had thanksgiving at Kyla's parents along with Kyla's brother and his girlfriend. We had the usual generous helpings of Turkey and stuffing. Speaking of birds, I am supposed to be going over to a friend's place on Thursday to kill some chickens. I've never actually done it, but I'm going to bring a friend of mine over with me to help. I'll try to take some pictures as I'm sure it is going to be an interesting experience.

What went on in 2006....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:20:00 +0000

Like everyone else we had a busy year with the usual run of activities and trips. We made a trek to Drumheller and met up some friends from Winnipeg which was well worth a visit. We got to take in Calgary Zoo and visited Kyla’s Uncle and Aunt. While on the trip we were also introduced to the low prices of wine and liquor in Alberta! Needless to say we loaded up the trunk before heading back. Throughout the summer we managed a slew of camping trips and beach time with friends. Gotta love having a lake in the city!

Cass is now 7, almost 8, in grade 2 and with each passing day it seems harder to pick her up. However that could also be the fact that exercise has taken a back seat in our lives. We’ll work out this year for sure <cough> <cough> <sputter>. We have had her in a variety of activities from skiing to swimming. I don’t think she is going to be an Olympic athlete, but she has fun. Her most recent foray was on the soccer pitch. I’m pretty sure she’s figured out which direction the ball goes, but sometimes I’m not totally sure. She loves her reading, music and crafts for some down time, and school is a breeze for her so we have been lucky there. It still amazes me how quickly these kids pick up music and foreign languages. Back in grade 1 I remember going into her class having no clue what the teacher was saying. Somehow I’ve got to get her into some Mandarin classes so we can start negotiating at the Chinese market.

Dane is almost 6…OMG! He’s still our little guy…literally! Not surprising considering I was only 4’11’’ in grade 11! So he has the genes going against him there. He has also been enjoying the usual array of activities. His last one was drama which played into his need to be the clown (who did he get that from?). He is constantly struggling between which girl he’s going to marrying, play with or entertain. I’ve come around the corner a few times and seen him chiming away in front of laughing and giggling girls. Just a heads up if you have daughters, this one is going to be trouble when the hormones start kicking in!

Kyla has now taken the plunge back into the school division. Her special ed training, and the past few years of working with Autistic kids put her in excellent position to accept a job as a resource teacher at a local elementary school Her workload is a reasonable .4 which allows for enough time to keep up with the day to day household needs. She still occasionally does some special needs supported childcare on the side and is now into her 4^thyear of classes teaching parenting. Now don’t get all defensive when Kyla’s around and you are having a bad parent moment…..we said she taught it, not practiced it! <smile>….we do try but we all know that once in while you just got to go and beat up the pillow! She managed to get away on a girls trip to Hawaii back in June. She let her hair down a little and imagine my surprise when she took off her top that night and a turtle was crawling on her back! Yep…a tatty! What a rebel!

I am still ski patrolling on my snowboard and keeping my end of the bargain up by providing the free season ski passes. As much as we would never wish our time away, it is nice to be all skiing together now. No more trading on and off! Woohoo! We don’t have aggressive kids, they are quite cautious, but we manage to get up and down in one piece. I did manage a backcountry ski trip recently for a few days with 11 guys and discovered the different equipment I now need…goodness knows how we’ll afford it when the kids decide they want to go backcountry as well. I didn’t have a Masters hanging over my head this year which made for a much more relaxed academic year and holidays. PhD is certainly out of the question if I still intend on staying married. However next year will be a little more taxing since my department has just been approved to offer a Degree, so I will be teaching some more advanced courses.

Kyla’s parents are still doing well having done lots of traveling. Her Dad just retired from Sun Rype, so he is now able to spend a little more time with the kids. The best thing about moving to Kelowna has been the incredible family network we now have. The kids have no idea just how lucky they are to have their grandparents spoiling them all week! My mom is still sharing the house with us. She is very well and keeping busy with all kinds of activities. Kelowna has been very good for her as well. She has some nice friends who shop at her pace as well as drag her out on her ear when she starts becoming a hermit.

We have the whole fam-damily of McGowans coming into Kelowna for Xmas which will be the usual enjoyable chaos. My dad is still in Singapore and my brother in Toronto pregnant with their second child. We are hoping to get out to see him in 2007 if all our plans work out, and will try to make it to see my dad in 2008. Kyla’s sister Laura is making the plunge again into married life. She is planning a wedding for sometime in August, which will bring a close to an already very busy summer. Kyla’s brother is now an Actuary in Vancouver and Shauna is still mulling around between BC and Alberta trying to find the Holy Grail of careers.

Well, time is moving on, grey hairs are starting to rear their silvery sparkle, but we are certainly enjoying ourselves. We’ll start ramping into some more adventurous backcountry trips with the kids next summer, although t hat will be in between a trip to Winnipeg, Toronto and Disney Land. You’ve got to love those milestones with which you measure a kid’s independence, getting out of diapers, first start putting their seatbelts on, get their own food, lay the table and sweep up, call their friends and arrange their own play dates etc…Although each stage has it’s challenges, we are finding our lives have a little more time to socialize and do a wider range of activities.

Time to sign off. We still have the usual run of stopovers by friends here in Kelowna. It is always great to see everyone again and we always have a pot for you to sit on. All the best for the holiday season to you and yours! Have a great 2007!

What went on in 2005....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 18:27:00 +0000

And another year has past! I’m sure you have all had a busy year like us. The kids are still keeping us hopping, but they are old enough now that we are finding time for other things beside child minding!

I have finally finished my Masters! Yayyyyyyyy. It was quite a balancing act between a new job and family, but we made it. However I have had to swear under oath that I will not attempt my PH.D, but ohhhhhh…the temptation to be called Dr. Phil! Without having to study for my Masters teaching at the college is much more relaxed. There was a bit of an upheaval earlier in the year as the Okanagan University College was split up into two institutions, Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan. UBC Okanagan is now a campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, although I think they were all a little under the illusion that they would be their own boss! But we all know what happens when Goliath chews you up. Fortunately my area was passed on to OC (Okanagan College). It is much better being a big fish in a small pond! On the side I have managed to fit in some consulting with a credit union and Sun Rype which has helped foot the bill for the Masters, and I have just received a time release for next term to head up a regional fiber infrastructure project which is very exciting.

Kyla is still teaching parenting classes and doing supported childcare for special needs toddlers. Both are rewarding and give her the flexible time needed with our kids having to be driven and picked up from school and activities. She is no longer doing her private autism intervention program as it was becoming a little too demanding with everything else going on. Instead she is now looking after the daughter of friend of ours, as well as their son after school, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Kyla and Phil both got some needed out of country vacation time this summer, albeit separately. In the spring, Kyla went to Barbados with some girlfriends and in August Phil went sailing with a friend in Thailand and Malaysia. They were both tremendous trips with lots of stories. On a more tragic note, Kyla managed to get out to Winnipeg a few times this year…no that wasn’t the tragedy…unfortunately her grandma’s health started failing earlier this year, and after battling the aftermath of a stroke for over a month, finally passed on at the age of 90.

At the end of June, beginning of July, we had a visit from Phil’s cousin, Wendy, her husband Dave and daughter Amy, from England. It was the first time they had been to Canada so we wanted to give them a big tour. We picked them up in Vancouver and did the tourist thing, then after a week’s rest in Kelowna, we did a trip ‘round the Rockies. We got lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed their visit. I can still hear little Amy’s voice saying “’allo pip!” in her southern English accent.

Cassidy just lost her two front teeth the other day and looks very cute! What is scary is that she is now almost seven and reaching an age that I can start remembering what I was doing! It really does happen fast! Dane is still our little guy, but we think he is inching a little taller.

Cassidy has been focusing on swimming and Soccer. Her class is mostly older kids and she looks so small compared to the rest of them. (However when she pulls out in front of them doing the front crawl I think she gets a little respect.)

Dane has been a little tentative with his selections, although he did do some soccer during the summer and is doing very well in gymnastics and having fun in art class. They are now both taking music classes and enjoying them tremendously. It is parent participation and both parents are beginning to find it challenging to keep up.

Cass is now in full swing in Grade 1 French Immersion at the local school and thriving. She is so social that we hear nothing about school, just the soap opera that goes on during ‘big recess’. Dane is enjoying pre-school three mornings a week. His now able to write his letters and last week started reading by himself for the first time. He is very excited and progressing nicely.

I am doing ski patrol for my 9^th straight year. As a result we are able to get family ski passes. You wouldn’t believe how much those things cost now! Anyway, we are hoping this will be the first year where we can all ski together. I think I can count on one hand how many times Kyla and I have skied together in the last three years! We almost managed it as a family for a run last year, but with a few more lessons Dane should be well on his way. Cass is on her last junior level and can do all the green and blue runs which is a lot of fun. Kyla has made up her mind to try snowboarding, so I am going to take on the risky marital task of helping her.

My mom has settled nicely into her half of the house, but has decided to spend Christmas in Australia with her sister. We will miss her, but did manage to get an early Christmas dinner with her before she left.

Take care and all the best for the holiday season.

What went on in 2003....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Mon, 01 Dec 2003 18:45:00 +0000

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope this finds you in great health and good spirits! What follows here is a little account of our year. So read on if it interests you!

We celebrated New Years 2003 in Toronto at Phil’s brother’s house, Stu, but without Stu there! He was on his honeymoon with his new wife Kelly. They are doing well and have wasted no time in conceiving Cassidy and Dane’s first cousin. The much-anticipated arrival is in March 2004!

January was busy with our move into our new house. Kelowna had very little snow last winter, with exception of the day we moved! We are loving our new home and have loads of room for those who want to come for a visit!

Dane turned 2 in January and Cassidy 4 in February. We had them both up to the ski hill a few times, but they spent more time tubing than skiing! This year we have bought them skis and we intend for them to use them! Phil is ski patrolling again. It is his 7 th year; his 2^nd at Big White.

Summer was beautiful with no rain at all from May – Sept. (of course, the repercussion of this was devastating. More on that later). Between Phil doing his masters and me working a little, we enjoyed the beaches, water parks, and hiking/biking trails (although these closed because of the lack of rain sometime in August). We also were able to spend some time in Vancouver and Whistler. Whistler is great in the summer. There are wonderful beaches, hiking trails, and extreme mountain biking parks. We also lucked out on the weather there; it was 30 and sunny all week.

Then August hit with the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire. There were days we couldn’t see across the street with all of the smoke and soot. Phil and I had packed the car (including photo albums) to flee to Vancouver but then Mom and Dad were evacuated, along with a third of the city. They came to us in time to watch their house burn from the top the mountain we live on and then got a first hand account from the Firefighter 2 doors down from us. It took about a month for everyone’s life to return to some normality. Mom and Dad are now in a rental house and dealing with house plans and insurance lists. They are doing well, although quite stressed.

Cassidy has started French Immersion Pre-school, as well as dance and piano lessons. Dane has begun his first play school and will do gymnastics in January. Phil is busier than anyone should be with teaching at the College and taking his masters. I am working 2 – 3 half days a week subbing for the Autistic toddler program as well as supporting special needs students in daycare or pre-school situations.

In November, I was lucky enough to get to Winnipeg to see my Grandma. She is doing well and loved seeing her Great-Grandchildren.

Christmas this year is in our new house for the first time. All of my siblings and my Mother-in-law, Pat, will be here! We are looking forward to lots of laughs and good times. It will be a different Christmas for Mom and Dad, but with everyone here it should still be a warm one.

We want to send all of you our most heart felt joy and love for this holiday season. No matter how you spend it we hope it is full of laughter and good times!

Love Kyla, Phil, Cassidy, and Dane Ashman

What went on in 2002....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Sun, 01 Dec 2002 18:47:00 +0000

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this finds you all well and looking forward to a holiday season full of love and laughter. We have had a year of change! In January I went back to work half time for the school division doing ESL (English as a second language), and Dane turned 1. In February Cassidy turned the ripe old age of three. We spent our spring visiting friends and relatives and working hard on the house to ready it for sale. Phil’s Mom, Pat, arrived back from Australia a week before we moved to Kelowna!

July was a sad month of good-byes as we planned our move to Kelowna. We miss our house and friends dearly; Cassidy still talks about her friends and Vega St. However watching the children with their Grandparents day in and day out has reaffirmed the lifestyle and priorities we have chosen. In addition, being near to Vancouver allows us to see my sisters and brothers more often. There is also the great Kelowna weather with a “lousy” summer- sunny and 30°C everyday and no rain for a month at a time! Unfortunately, there is no snow here yet, but we do need gloves in the morning! The lack of Snow has meant Phil has not been able to start his ski patrol, but people are still golfing…….In Kelowna one only has to miss 3 months of golf.

I always prided myself in moving out of my parent’s home and never going back. Well….. be careful of pride…….things change. From PG we ALL (Pat included!) moved in with my parents! They went from a quiet house of 2, to a not-so-quiet house of 7. We have taken over the basement (for those who have seen the basement- I know you don’t feel sorry for us!) and share the kitchen and the rest of the house. Surprisingly, Mom and Dad are still here too! A little grayer maybe, but happy to have the Grandkids so handy! Phil is also enjoying his new job teaching in the network and telecommunication engineering department at the college. It is both challenging and rewarding. And I have just received a new part-time position doing early intensive intervention with Autistic toddlers.

In August Pat left for Ontario to see Stu, and meet her future daughter-in-law, Kelly, in their new home in Cambridge, Ontario. Pat had the daunting task of sorting through her possessions from the condo. In order to procrastinate she headed to England to visit her sisters. She is now back, sorting and helping with wedding preparations.

Just a couple of weeks ago the kids and I headed to Winnipeg to visit my Grandma McGowan and my friends. The kids were great on the plane- very excited, but a little upset with time change and new places. I dragged them around at a frenzied pace since we were only there 4 days. We loved seeing everyone and had a great time.

In this last year we have seen Cassidy grow to become a very verbal, funny, strong-minded, little lady. She loves her family and friends, her activities, and is looking forward to learning to ski, both downhill and cross-country this year. Dane has changed a lot. He is a happy, very loving, cuddly one year old, learning to talk and do all a “terrible-two” year old does. And Phil and I? We don’t change much……….just a little older and a little more tired. (That would change if Dane started sleeping through the night I’m sure. He is cuddly even then!)

We are looking forward to spending the holidays in Ontario, visiting family and friends, and being a part of Stu and Kelly’s wedding. Cassidy will be a flower girl for her third time, and Phil a best man. Stu is probably already worried about the speech!

Please accept our wishes of a wonderful holiday season no matter how you celebrate it.

Love and hugs,

Kyla, Phil, Cassidy and Dane

What went on in 1999....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Wed, 01 Dec 1999 18:54:00 +0000

Well…..here we are at the last Christmas of the millennium…(aren’t you getting sick of hearing about everything being the last one before the millennium..?). We hope this letter finds you all in good health and enjoying life.

Our life of course has been the usual….sleeping in, lazing around, spontaneously partying our lives away……..oh….and we also own a mansion in the Bahamas! Yes life has been turned upside down with our new arrival in February. We now have a new ruler of the Roost! All our waking hours (and few sleeping one’s of course) are now in the hands of Princess Cassidy. No, honestly we have had a great year and are enjoying her immensely. It’s been a new dynamic to our lives, but a good one.

As we write this letter, Cassidy is just past nine months. She’s crawling around getting her mitts into everything, and pulling herself up on just about anything that’ll give her some leverage. We don’t think it’ll be long now before she’ll be running around…when that happens I’m sure it’ll mean we won’t need to spend any time at the gym for the exercise. Phil’s spent the past three months working half time in the mornings as part of his Paternity agreement with work, while Kyla picks up the afternoons, spending her morning teaching grades 2&3 at a local elementary school. Phil will go back full time in January, at which time Cassidy will be spending a few hour Monday, Wednesday & Friday mornings at a daycare. Since Kyla is done at 10:30am on Tuesday and Thursday, Phil will probably stay at home for the couple of hours on those days. Everything’s working out quite well on that front.

Cassidy’s already been on a couple of mountain hikes, as well as twenty-one flights around Canada. We’ve had a very busy year, traveling to Winnipeg twice for two weddings, back and forth between Prince George, Vancouver and Kelowna, and then finally spending a couple of weeks in both Toronto and Halifax. We’re taking advantage of the fact that kids fly for free while they are under two, because you can be sure that once we have to start paying for her the traveling by plane will slow down a little.

We are both enjoying our jobs so plans right now are to stay in Prince George a little longer and enjoy life. It’s been a good sized town for us. It’s incredible how quickly you get used to the five to ten minutes travel time to just about any part of the city. It’s always a shock to the system when we have to drive around the cities of Vancouver or Toronto.

Well that’s all the news for this decade…8)…..hope everyone has a great Xmas and New Year.
We always have a spare bed for anyone passing through this way.

Take care

Phil, Kyla & Lil’ Cass.

Our family journal goes online....

noreply@blogger.com (Subnivean) — Fri, 01 Jan 1999 18:59:00 +0000

Just thought I would start something so that friends and family can keep updated with what is going on in our lives. I've been journalling at many different levels trying to find the right balance, but there really is no way of getting around a personal journal, a journal for friends, and a business journal.....the question is how do you keep it all up? So I've decided that this blog will a journal for friends, not as detailed or philosophical as my personal journal and not including all the techy stuff I throw into my business journal. I probably won't update it as often either otherwise I'd spend my whole life journalling, but more just a quick update on what's been going on in our lives. Kind of like a xmas letter, but a little more often and spontaneous. Maybe in our xmas letters I'll just post a link to this blog.....that'll be some time I get back.

Anyway, I've backdated this post to 1999 (even though it is November 2007) so it is the first post in the blog. I decided to take all our christmas letters and post them online. The cool thing about this is that if I meet someone I haven't spoken to in a long time (which is becoming more and more often now that the facebook era is upon us) I can just point them to this blog and they can get a quick dialogue of what we've been doing with ourselves. Why am I deciding to do this now you ask? Yes, once again I am procrastinating from doing what I should be doing....marking!