We have had a sweet year in relation to family with big catchups and visits after not seeing some people since before COVID, and others we had not met before. Luckily, we have rental rooms in the condo that got a good workout during the year.
We were lucky enough to have both our boys visit, with Ryan being here for three Western Canada Bowling Tour events encompassing tournaments in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer.
Sean and Nicole came for a week in August along with grandchildren Chloe, Liam, and Bradyn. In addition to visiting, we managed to include swimming, miniature golf, bowling, and arcade trips.
Nicole continues her career in the insurance industry while Sean is still with Triovest a Canadian commercial real estate company.
See Chloe get a hit in her softball game, also a talented arcade player and very energetic.
See Liam’s Piano receital who entertained some of the inhabitants with performances in the common room of our condo
Bradyn is in baseball and is a talented artist. He has done drawings of some of the MLB players that are very good. He also likes any kind of See the Rubic’s Cube video.
I play checkers online with Bradyn most days, where he regularly trounces me.
We were lucky enough to have Athena come from Winnipeg and visit for a few days. She bought a house! Seems that she was smart enough to realise that it was cheaper to own a house than to rent an apartment. The house does need an overhaul, but she will get it done little by little.
Athena’s friend is Cooper.
Athena is waiting to get into a paramedic course. In the meantime she works in a government liquor store. An interesting job, as Athena does not drink, except at work where she has to be knowledgeable on the products they sell. During her visit we went to a liquor store and she pointed out what wines were good and what I should stay away from.
Athena also took part in a bit of activism this year.
Zoe is working on her nursing degree, taking her training in Thompson. She lives in Gillam with her boyfriend Rowan, and works at the Gillam hospital during breaks from school.
Rowan and Zoe are coming to visit on Boxing day, after visiting Zoe’s grandparents in Rocky Mountain House, about an hour west of Red Deer.
In addition to bowling in events, Ryan also came for Canadian Open championship as a spare for the Manitoba team. However, the primary reason for the trip was to be present for the induction of our friend, Nick Di Virgilio, into the Canadian Five Pin Bowlers Association Hall of Fame after a distinguished career including several Canadian championships. I was lucky enough to also attend and celebrate with Nick.
Rachel continues teaching at R.D. Parker, while volunteering all over the place, all the time! Rachel also toured in Italy during the summer.
Ryan is now a hoistman in the head-frame at Thompson Mine. He runs the cage that delivers miners and supplies to the underground operations.
My Sister Fiona and her boyfriend Greg came from Australia during the summer for her first visit since 2015. It gave the opportunity spread my mother’s ashes in the mountains as she desired. We took a trip to the Drumheller Dinosaur museum, and even had time to visit the Gopher Hole museum.
With Fiona here, my brother Michael came from Ontario and we had a family reunion with my brothers Sean and Brendan in Edmonton. Had a great day sitting out in the yard in the sunshine, and a lovely meal prepared by Valerie and Brendan at their home.
Michael’s family from Ottawa came too, giving us a chance reunite with Conor and to meet Lam and Jana, the undisputed star of the afternoon.
