2025

 As I sit here enjoying big fluffy snow outside I'm thinking of 2025 and all that we have to be grateful for this year. I'm on call this New Year's Eve so I thought I'd try to get my Top Ten done early this year.

10) Manigotagan Trip 

This year we did a tried and true trip - our 3rd trip down the Manigotagan River. This time we took our oldest boys on our adventure. It was a new thing to have 2 boats and more gear as well as more responsibility for two other lives. The water levels were particularly low so there was stuff we certainly couldn't run but we had fun running the stuff that we could and checking out new campsites because we didn't quite cover our usual distances. It was lovely to see Charles again - the wonderful river steward who gave us big hugs as we left an we arrived back at his house. 

9) Spongebob Squarepants

Em was the lead in Spongebob Squarepants and she held her own with a lot of dialogue for the hour long show. We were so lucky to have lots of folks come out to support her including Uncle Paul, Auntie Karen and Morgan. So proud of how she continues to push herself. 

8) Our Stay Together Ride 

My little Suzuki has been with us since 2010 (almost as long as Cian) and it has been beyond reliable. With the exception of some brake pads and the alternator last year she never fails me. People mock her duct tape but I think that just gives her character. This summer we were altogether when her mileage turned over to 100,000 kilometres. I had seen a beautiful poem about being together in the big moments many years ago and how this kid's family was together in the car when it reached 100,000 and I wanted to all be together for the Suzuki too. It was lots of fun to roll down the windows, blast music and celebrate that milestone together. 

7) Great Outdoors Comedy Show with Mark and Leslie 

A year in advance Mark and Leslie got tickets to see an outdoor comedy show in Edmonton and gave us first dibs to come. It was perfect cause we were coming to Edmonton and happy to come hang out with them. The comics were hilarious and the weather was beautiful. We enjoyed each other's company and the show ended JUST before the rainstorm. It was a really lovely night.

6) Alice in Wonderland Halloween 

Sam and I have been working through the "classics" on Disney plus with Swiss Family Robinson, Jungle Book, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. He loved the White Rabbit and wanted to do Alice in Wonderland this Halloween. Em and I also enjoyed that theme with our Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea in London. I enjoyed making all the costumes again including our very accommodating Queen of Hearts (despite his terrible fever on the day). Cian made his Mad Hatter Hat have 6/7 on it - a great way to incorporate that piece of pop culture. I also enjoyed decorating the house and it's fun to have little kids coming up to the house already guessing the theme. Halloween is my favourite. 

5) Folk Fest 

This year I volunteered for First Aid at Folk Fest. That was more of a misadventure than I planned with having to do a resuscitation on the forest floor when the ambulance took 25 minutes to get there. I've had to unpack that a few times as I don't think Folk Fest has what it needs from a medical perspective for a group that big. But despite that I did think my first aid crew was amazing - I loved working with them. It was a new experience for me and also a fun way to care for people with a lot less paperwork. It was also Sam's first Folk Fest which was a lot of fun - he loved it just as much as his sister because ALL of us his friends from school were there including one of his great loves, his kindergarten teacher, Vanessa. Our family is still big Folk Fest converts - we are hoping to take Keith next year - Sam thinks we can bribe him with beer. 

4) Rob and Rachel's Wedding 

Rob and Rachel planned a wedding where they could really incorporate their friends and their friend's kids and those kids (especially mine) felt all the love coming in their direction. They spent days preparing with decorating the hall, pedicures, hanging out as girls the night before and getting ready together. They had a dance mostly for Sam as he had been practicing in the kitchen all year. They had a brunch ceremony outside and reception inside the hall. Rachel kept telling us things were "not a big deal" and then we would find out from Rob that things like speeches were happening. We went up for an impromptu speech but it's not hard to speak from the heart when you see your friend be loved so deeply. We spent the whole day with them - preparing, eating, BBQing, talking and dancing. By the time Rachel carried Sam to the van we were all exhausted. My kids were so overwhelmed with happiness that they clutched their floral centrepieces and cried. It was a beautiful. day. 

3) Morrivardson Punta Cana!

In February we went with our friends on an all-inclusive adventure to Punta Cana. We stayed at a beautiful resort and had countless meals, swim up bar drinks, shows and activities. Cian and I went on a fishing trip where we caught no fish but the waves were so big that the only people that didn't throw up was me, Cian and the Navy Seal that was with us. The dads took Abby and Emily surfing and had an incredible time. We all went to see the monkeys that crawled all over you. We had beautiful weather and I fell in love with passionfruit mojitos. We are so grateful to have great friends that like to do these trips with us and are looking forward to our next adventure. 

2) The Girl Trip 

In October I spent two weeks with Em exploring London and Paris. I collated a scrapbook of advice from the women in her life that turned out beautifully and then the two of us went on this girl trip. We navigated the Underground, the Paris metro, a Seine river cruise, countless croissants, many many streets of both cities and saw beautiful historic places. We walked 170, 200 steps and all of them were full of memories and fun with this magical time with my girl.

1) Cosy Christmas 

This Christmas we were interested in staying home and cocooning after a fall (and winter) full of illness. Between the blizzard on December 18th and the continued snowfall it was really nice to be able to not have to go anywhere. We were very grateful that Emily started to finally feel better after Prednisone, antibiotics and 2.5 weeks of rest in her room from the respiratory illness that seems to be plaguing everyone this year. We were still able to have our annual traditions and mostly slow down and regroup for the year ahead. Hoping for a peaceful 2026 full of adventure but also times enjoying home together.