The first major event in our year was a ten day trip to Hawaii in February and March. As a bonus, we stopped in Vancouver overnight and had a nice visit with Darren and Sue. We had never been to Hawaii before, so we elected to take a package tour that covered three islands. We flew to Honolulu and stayed on Waikiki Beach for four nights. We visited Pearl Harbour, took an island tour, and rode in a submarine to a reef off the coast. We then flew to the big island of Hawaii, toured around the volcanoes and spent two nights in the town of Kona. Then we flew to Maui for three nights. We took in a luau and a whale watching tour there. We saw lots and there was plenty of relaxing down time built in too. We liked Maui best and would probably go back there again.
The biggest event of our year was Darren’s and Sue’s wedding in April. As it was held in Vancouver, our crowd was a little smaller than at Carla’s and Tyler’s Regina wedding, but we had great representation from immediate family in Regina. We all stayed in the same hotel and we rented a penthouse where we could all hang out. We all had a lot of fun. The wedding ceremony was outdoors on the shore of English Bay with water, ships, and mountains in the background. It was a beautiful setting, although rain threatened until almost the last minute.
The next big event was Celeste’s retirement! Ever since Glenn’s retirement, we have discussed when Celeste’s time would come. This spring seemed like the right time so she gave her notice and, as of June 18th, she officially retired. She is enjoying herself and has adjusted to the extra time off by becoming a Wikipedia junkie on the computer. Having her home has allowed Glenn to make some progress on his family history and on projects for his genealogy association.
We also made an overnight trip to Saskatoon for Laura’s graduation from Pharmacy in early June. That was followed by a two week visit from Carla and Tyler. It was great to have them back home again, but the time passed too quickly. We also made a short camping trip to Eastend, Saskatchewan and area. We had always been curious about the dinosaur skeletons discovered down there, so we took in the T. Rex Discovery Centre and some of the other attractions in the area.The first week in August we went camping at Waskesiu. Celeste’s sister Angie and her family came out from Ottawa by motorhome and most of the Kuntz family made it up there for at least a couple of days. We went biking and swimming and did lots of visiting. Once again, a good time was had by all.
In early September, we left on a three week trip to the west coast. The objective was to attend a genealogical conference in Mt. Angel, near Portland, Oregon. But a secondary objective was to do some visiting on the way there and back. We had a great visit with the Wades in Calgary on the way there and back and another with Celeste’s aunt Elaine in Kelowna. Of course, we also spent a few days with Darren and Sue in Vancouver.
One other minor event that we took in was the Laughing Gas Comedy Festival in Regina in October. This entailed six comedy shows over three nights. It was great fun and we will likely do it again next year.
To close out the year, our Saskatchewan Roughriders won the Grey Cup (with sympathy to our Manitoba friends). It was pretty exciting around town and throughout the province. We stalled around for a while after the game before finally going downtown at 11 pm to take in the festivities. Although it was two hours after the end of the game, there was still a huge crowd partying in the street at the corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue, despite the frigid temperature. The next day we took in the victory celebration at “Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field.” That is a mouthful! Despite a -36 degree wind chill, about 8,000 people attended. We skipped the parade the next day though.
Meanwhile, our kids have been busy too. Carla and Tyler are still in Japan teaching English. As mentioned above, they were home in June. Tyler’s brother and one of his cousins got married on consecutive weekends. They had so much fun that, for the first time, they were sad to go back. They have decided that the end is near. Tyler’s contract is up in March, after which they will do some touring, and then come home via London, where Tyler’s brother and his new wife are attending school. They intend to be home by June for the wedding of Tyler’s cousin and the July 12 wedding of their best man.
As mentioned above, Darren and Sue got married in April. They also bought a townhouse early in the year. It is a two bedroom, two storey south of False Creek with a view of the downtown and north shore. They got a pretty good deal on it because it needed a little updating. They are in the process of renovating now. Sue still works on water projects for Earth Tech and does some traveling around BC for work. Darren has been doing some traveling too. Early in the year he went to Columbia for a week of anti-kidnapping and survival training in preparation for future trips to Brazil. He didn’t think to mention that to us until he got back. In October, he spent two weeks at the remote site in Brazil where his company is supervising the construction of a processing plant. He will be going back in the New Year for about six weeks and will have to make other trips throughout the year.
Laura finished her Pharmacy classes last December and spent the first part of this year interning at the General Hospital and two pharmacies. She then wrote her finals and licensing exams and started work at Superstore in June. Although she had no plans beyond living at home after graduation, the hot housing market caused her to make a deposit on a new home a few blocks east of us. She was able to lock in the price on a home that won’t be built until late next summer, allowing her to save for her down payment and furnishings while she lives at home. She has already gained substantially as the market has continued much higher since her purchase. Her boyfriend, Brett, is pursuing his Masters degree while working as a Teaching Assistant at the U of R and an Editorial Assistant at the Canadian Plains Research Centre at the U of R. Baseball, hockey, and other sports fill his spare time.
That pretty much covers our year. And here is our wish to you for a joyful Christmas season and a happy and prosperous year ahead.
Glenn, Celeste, and Kids
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