Catching up

As promised here's that update on what we've been up to since we last posted:

In July, the kids convinced me to go to Toronto for an extended weekend during the Pan Am Games in July (Aeroplan points and Air Miles are great things!)  Anyway, we took in some beach volleyball and soccer and also spent a day exploring Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake, as well and some time out and about in Toronto.

Of course, we also spent most weekends from May to October at the lake, along with a couple of weeks mid summer.  We spent lots of time in the boat, with the kids skiing and wake boarding – Kris improving his skills, and Jen achieving her goal of dropping a ski.  And it’s always good to be close by with Bob and Cathy while we are there.  This summer seemed to fly by and before we knew it we were closing things up for the year.

That’s been a common theme this year – time flying by – as we always seem to be on the go!

Jen headed off to high school in September.  It’s been a big change but she seems to have embraced the high school life and settled in pretty well, making new friends and trying new things.  Music is still a big part of her life - at PTV she’s moved to the senior choir where she’s just finished Christmas concerts with the MB Chamber Orchestra and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.  At school she’s joined the Concert Choir as well as the Vocal Jazz group.  In November, Jen got to participate in Take Your Kid to Work Day.  She went to St B with Lise, which she really enjoyed.  She is still curling, skipping her team.

Kris is enjoying some new space at school now that his sister has moved on!  He has continued his focus on music and sports.  On the music front he continues in the Band as the sole percussionist.  Sports wise he’s continued with volleyball this year and basketball is just starting.  Kris is once again a class rep for the Student Leadership Team, where he’s played a big role in organizing events for the school.  This past summer he went to camp and had a great time (and came home with a nice cut under his chin – a souvenir from the skatepark!).  Kris is also continuing with curling.

That’s about it but as you can likely imagine these are only the highlights.  As always it’s great to visit with friends and family so if we haven’t seen you in a while, hopefully we’ll catch up in 2016!

A Prairie Christmas

It's hard to believe it's December and the Christmas season is upon us (especially given the weather we've been enjoying!) but it certainly is here and as this weekend winds down it seemed like a good time for a post (yes, it's been a long time and we'll catch you up on the last few months in a separate post in the next few days, I promise).

We started out the weekend with a pretty big and successful Christmas shopping trip and then today Kris and I sat back and enjoyed A Prairie Christmas with the WSO, which again this year included Jen's PTV choir.  We had lunch with Maria, Lisa and Sandy and they joined us at the concert.  It's the third time in 4 years that PTV has been part of this WSO tradition and it struck me part way through the performance that it's a tradition that Karen never experienced.  Jen had told me at breakfast that last night she had dreamed her mom had been here today and seen her in the long sleeved dress she now wears as part of the senior choir.  (Some of you have heard the story of how in grade 2 when Jen participated in her first PTV choir concert she told me she would one day wear the senior choir dress.)

It's an interesting evolution as time goes by - there are more and more things in our life that Karen wasn't here to be a part of  - not just WSO concerts, but high school, sports teams, travel and yes boys with facial hair and girls with make up and heels, not to mention new fashion considerations for both!  Of course Karen is a part of all of them, her mark is very clearly on both kids and her influence comes through in most everything we do, just not in that in person way we sometimes long to experience.

Last weekend we spent a night in Altona and attended Lisa's play (the Beverley Hillbillies) - it was great to spend time with good friends and share Lisa's acting accomplishments, just as it was great to have them share in Jen's choral achievements today.  In all of it we felt Karen's presence, and talked freely about her.  Tonight Jen's friend Kaden invited us to his hockey game at a nearby arena.  Again it was nice to spend time with good friends who know us well.  The kids, particularly Jen, have experienced many new things this year meeting new people along the way and sometimes its really nice to spend time with old friends who know us well and share our love of Karen.

We'll tell you more about our summer and fall in that post I promised at the beginning and we'll also tell you about what's coming up as Christmas approaches.  In the meantime, to all of you who share our love of Karen and share our good fortune of having had her be a part of your life, please know how much we love having you as part of our lives!

Take care and have fun preparing for Christmas!
Love as always
Doug, Jen and Kris