2011 is coming to a close and what an amazing year it was for our family. We had an epic year of fantastic experiences that all began on December 14/2010 when we hopped our first of many flights out of the cold bleak Alberta winter and 20 hours later arrived in beautiful hot and sunny Australia! Darren took a year off teaching and after finishing all his fall term post-graduate courses, we all set off on an adventure of travel in 2011. We had been saving money/air miles for 10 years and were bound and determined to use it all up this year!
We arrived in Sydney and stayed with Krista’s sister Melissa and family for 2 weeks with a quick trip over to Adelaide to see George/Melissa and family. On New Year’s Eve day, we headed to Christchurch New Zealand to stay with all of Krista’s cousins for a couple weeks as we traveled north across both islands for many adventures too numerous to mention. The boys had an amazing time swimming and meeting family we hadn’t seen in a long time. Krista grew up in New Zealand and was eager to show us her old stomping grounds. We saw where she went to school and even met up with an old friend she has kept in touch with since Kindergarten!
We returned to Sydney for a few days before flying home to Calgary. It was a shock leaving +35 and arriving to -24 but we will always have the memories.
As soon as we arrived back, we were thrust back into routines of school for all the boys (dad included) and work. Darren’s Ukrainian band played the usual Malanka gigs throughout Jan/Feb (www.absolutedanceband.com) as well as worked many Flames games at the Saddledome through to April.
Nicholas continued with his rigorous indoor soccer schedule and Jacob gave basketball a try. We had a great soccer tournament in Red Deer despite the -35 degree weather in late February. Both boys continued piano lessons right up until June.
March brought us into birthday season with Krista, Nicholas and Jacob in early April and lots of celebrations. Darren’s mom and dad got away to Arizona for six weeks and made a stop in on the way there and back. Krista’s mum stayed in Australia/NZ until mid-April as well.
As Darren wrapped up all his papers and exams in late April, we had the opportunity to get away to our time share in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico with our good friends Randy/Caroline for a week. We had a fantastic time with lots of swimming and visiting and eating/drinking of course! We arrived back to our new nephew/cousin Micah (Andrew/Bobbi) being born in late April! Awesome!
Jacob received his first communion at church as was very excited to be able to partake with the rest of the family! Krista wrapped up her very successful season of netball in May. Nicholas performed his solo at two Ukrainian dance festivals and received Gold for both performances!
In June, Darren got away to Saskatchewan with his Dad, brother Patrick and brother in law Neil for a five day fishing trip way up north. We had fantastic weather, caught hundreds of fish and had an amazing week! Thanks Dad! Darren wrapped up his four year term as Vice President of the Alberta Teachers Association local as school wrapped up with some great report cards.
We headed into summer beginning with swimming lessons with Grannie while Darren bartended a bit and played 4 weddings with the band in July.
Time flew into August and we were off again on another adventure to Maui/Kauai in Hawaii for Jessica/Dan’s wedding! We spent a few days in Maui being tourists and going to the Dole Pineapple plantation as well as Pearl Harbour. Darren’s highlight was renting a 2011 Red Camaro and driving all over the island for a day – one of the top things on the bucket list of travel for 30 years!
The wedding was amazing on the beach and we got to see all of Krista’s family for a week as we had many adventures on the beautiful island of Kauai. We arrived back in Calgary for a couple days and then Darren and the boys headed to Saskatchewan for ten days of camping and visiting with Grandma/Dido. The weather was spectacular as we got to Porcupine Plain, Greenwater Lake, Martensville, Saskatoon and few days camping in Leader before heading back to Calgary to being school in late August.
School start-up was great for all the boys, Darren headed back to Grade 5 at St. Sebastian, Nicholas in Grade 5 also and Jacob in Grade 3. Nicholas has his dad for Science and Physed and it’s an adventure for both every day! Both boys signed up for competitive soccer so mom and dad are driving everywhere.
Thanksgiving was in Calgary with Krista’s family as we enjoyed an amazing fall of weather! Darren got away to Vancouver for a couple days with his sister Leanne to celebrate brother Patrick’s 40th birthday! We had a fantastic time catching up with all of Patrick’s great friends and Mia/Lucas of course! We were getting the travel bug again, so we dashed off to Banff with some friends for a night at the Banff Springs Hotel. We absolutely love the history and the heated outdoor pool! The following weekend, Krista’s mum watched the boys while Krista and Darren whisked off to Las Vegas to do some shopping and visit with Krista’s cousins Antony/Sebon from the Cook Islands! The weather was super and we got almost all of our Christmas shopping done!
Krista’s mum headed back to Aus/NZ for 6 months when we returned. Both boys decided they wanted to try new music lessons as we had promised them they could after a couple years of piano. Nicholas chose drums and Jacob electric guitar. Oh boy… We found some great electronic drums and are hoping the headphones will save us through the Christmas season. Jacob is jamming on his ¾ Strat and has the ‘Smoke on the Water’ riff down already!
December is upon us as school comes to a close and we reflect back on an amazing year of travel and too many blessings to count. We are off to Martensville, Sask. to Darren’s parents for 4 days with the whole family travelling from Vancouver and Calgary. We will be home in Calgary from the 27th on as Krista is back to work and Darren works a bit at the World Junior tournament. We are hoping to get out and do some snowboarding/skiing in the New Year as the boys are eager to try out their new snowboards.
We wish you all the best in 2012. May God bless you with amazing health and happiness in the coming year. Travel safely throughout the holidays and keep in touch! Darren, Krista, Nicholas and Jacob.
