Let the new decade begin....

Well, the first decade of 2000 has certainly been eventful for the SD Clan and 2010 certainly had its highlights and some definite lowlights as well...let’s start at the top of the year...

Winter is never an excuse for us to stay in and out of the cold, and Stratford really knows how to do it well with our annual Winterfest. The boys always have a fantastic time going down the ice slides, taking a train ride (really, a converted tractor, but who’s going to tell them that truth!) around Lake Victoria and playing all the winter themed games.

Waiting for our turn to get all aboard!

Sitting with Dad on a trip around L. Victoria

2010 was especially sweet in the City as Stratford was also host to Hockey Day in Canada.  It was amazing to see thousands of people playing around on the ice...

Mum & Ethan on the ice...

Kewlest ice design in Stratford...evah!

Never one to let an opportunity go by to improve the house, we had our jack of all trades friend come in and build an inset bookshelf in the attic, which has really helped me to see all the books that I continue to buy and never seem to get enough time to actually read (new 2011 resolution is to read at least one book every two weeks, or 26 books this year, an idea I found via Twitter)...

As the work was just finished...

All set up again...yah!

February saw Victor and I once again take the Family Day weekend to ourselves (our rationale is “happy Mummy & Daddy makes happy family!”) and we took off to Blue Mountain for our annual get away weekend with one another, except this year it was a bit different as I had arranged for a surprise birthday party up at Blue for Victor’s 40th.  He really had no idea that anything was planned for his birthday even after he read that our cousins Melissa, John & the kids would also be at Blue during that weekend (“How serendipitous is THAT?!”) or when we walked into the restaurant and he saw, first his old friend James Bishop, then his old friend Tracy Foreman, then his sister...then, then...oh, then it finally hit!  The only lowlight of that experience was poor John getting sick, awfully sick, and not being able to enjoy the weekend as much as they’d hoped for.  It was amazing to see all of Victor’s brothers and sisters and his dear friends make the trek to Collingwood to surprise him and I was so happy to see the smile on his face...

When he's happiest...at the slopes...

We don't usually get a pic of us together...

March was likely the month that topped the list of BEST for Victor’s experiences this year as during the Gallery Stratford “I Love My Gallery Auction” I had bid on and won for him the title of “Grand Marshall” for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Stratford.  For those who don’t know, Paddy’s Day is the only day of the year that Victor is fully “off-duty” and expected to be hungover the next day and also the anniversary of the day that he asked me to marry him...there may be a correlation, I dunno!...

Victor loved holding court for the entire day wishing everyone well on the parade route and then pulling the first pint at the local Irish pub, Molly Blooms.  There’s likely not been a Grand Marshall like this honourary Irishman before in Stratford and it’ll likely be a long day before our fair city sees another like him again...as Victor said to me that day, “I win...you bought me a PARADE!!”

Holding court...

Grand Marshall & his special helpers...

March brought other amazing experiences to our family this year.  Although my birthday trip to Paris was originally planned for April with my best boy-friend Jason, that date had to be delayed due to the wonderful news that Jason and Brian would be adopting a baby girl.  They had been contacted by a family (who weirdly enough had a tangential connection to me via a mutual friend, which was only realized once we connected via Facebook) who were looking for a loving family to be a part of an open adoption.  Jason and I had booked the trip in January, and literally two weeks after we confirmed our flight, the news came that their long time dream was coming true; the baby’s due date was March, which meant that if we were to leave as originally planned in April, Jason would be leaving a newborn, which I knew wasn’t likely to happen.  Gawd love him for even contemplating sticking to our original plan, but it just wasn’t manageable.  And as my husband said to me, “less time in Paris with Jason is better than more time in Paris without Jason.”  The only thing that could stop me from getting to Paris as originally planned was the joy of watching Jason, who was meant to be a parent as much as he was meant to breathe, welcome his baby daughter, Riley into this world.  I was honoured just to be present to be witness to their excitement...

Waiting for Miss Riley...

...and the reality once she was here...

April brought an Easter time visit from Poppie and Dad, which was sadly to be the last time we would be seeing our Poppie who died in September of this year at the age of 97 in Rockaway Beach, NYC. Jack Schulman was a beautiful, loving, vital man who would do just about anything for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  There were three things that made Poppie happy, especially in his later years.  The first was his wife of 76 years, Shirley.  It was a devastating blow to Poppie when Nannie passed away almost 18 months prior to him and we all knew that he was just waiting for the day that he was to join her again.

Poppie on the right with his hand on Nannie's lap...lookit those shoes on him, man!! Now I know where I get it!!

Nannie & Poppie at the front of the table...not a surprise that they're right beside the dance floor together...

The other two things that made Poppie happy were his volunteering at the Peninsula Hospital (see page 6), where he received many accolades for his work in the Emergency and Inpatient wards where he volunteered for over two decades and lastly, he was most happy when he was surrounded by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, easily the lights of his life...I miss my Poppie so much and still play his voicemail to me every time I check for messages at home.  I was grateful to be able to reconcile with some of my extended family members at his funeral and sadly enough, also realize some others for whom they really are.  They always say that you really find out what people are made of during weddings and funerals, and my extended family is not immune to that truth.

Liam, Poppie, Ethan & Madeleine in April

Poppie is happiest when he's with his beloved...

May was a big month for Rae this year as her struggling OBA team caught some real fire and finished their season with a Division 5 championship at the provincials. This was really a harbinger of things to come for Rae and basketball this year...

OBA Division 5 Champs...Stratford!!

June was an amazing month for Rae.  Not only did she graduate from high school as an Ontario Scholar, but most importantly for her, she was named the Top Female Athlete of the Year for her high school.  I cried watching her bound through the door with her cup and I loved celebrating this important win for her along with her.

I can hear that laugh from here...Rae with adopted
daughters Kim & Ki...

Commencement in November with some amazing
young women...

Rae's nomination speech by her Coach

The article in the local paper...

July was ALL about PARIS! Paris, Paris, Paris (well, for me at least...for my husband it was about double duty at home)!!! It was absolutely a dream come true trip and I am so grateful that I got to experience it with my Jason.  We did so much and still, there is so much more to experience in this amazing city.  We saw the Luxembourg Gardens, spent eight hours at the Louvre, was in awe at the D’Orsay, bee-lined it for Shakespeare & Co., walked all the way up the Eiffel Tower (and drank champagne at the very top), walked to the top of Notre Dame, visited the bowels of Sacre Coeur, ate in front of the Sorbonne, frequented famous cafes such as Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots (where we sent back a steak), crossed many, many bridges (including of course Pont Neuf where we left a lock on the bridge), went shopping at Yves Saint Laurent, was amazed to touch the some of the pieces at the Dali museum, took a boat cruise along the Seine, almost died riding our bikes up the Champs-Elysees (and was totally cursed at by a really pissed off Parisienne woman when I crashed into her with my bike because she wasn’t listening to my bell warnings!!), was left breathless by the Monets and Modiglianis at the L’Orangerie, walked through the Tuileries, had one of the best meals of my life at the Pompidou and was blown away by the artwork there, was at peace at Pere Lachaise, spent way too many euros on an umbrella at Versailles, but was happy to have spent the money to enjoy those luxurious gardens even in a torrential downpour, drank champagne literally every day as well as a tonne of wine, ate incredible breads, cheeses, crepes, soups, creme brulee) (at the oldest “coffee house” in the western world), overdosed on charcuterie and terrine, experienced an incredible market in the middle of the city, rode the Metro, visited the Moulin Rouge and the Montmarte museum, walked at least one hundred kilometres in 10 days , rode the Velib bikes all over, and thanked my lucky stars that I have a best friend to enjoy it all with and a husband that completely enabled the trip for me...

I could post pages upon pages of pics from that trip and it’s so hard for me to choose just a couple that represent the trip for me, but I’ll share these two...

I share this one because even though Jason hates heights,
he made the trek up to the very top of The Eiffel Tower for me ,
just so we could share a glass of champagne together...
I am so loved and so blessed...

and I share this one because I literally cried the moment I walked through the arches into this courtyard at The Louvre...this was finally a reality for me after all these years...

The final long weekend of the summer of course saw us visiting Mom & Dad in Wiarton and taking a couple of tourist trips this year.  We visited Flowerpot Island and did the Tobermory Sunken Ships tour as well, which was a tonne of fun for all of us.  It was great to have Meme join on on this adventure day as well...we’re thinking of taking the post of lighthouse keepers for a summer in a couple of years on Flowerpot Island...what an adventure that would be!

Finished with the sunken ships and
off to Flowerpot Island

Hiking around the caves on Flowerpot Island

The rest of our summer was pretty quiet and we readied for the first day of school.  The boys started French Immersion this year and after only their first week of school, were riding their bikes with us around Lake Victoria and every time they came upon someone on the path would yell out “Excuse moi! Excuse moi!”  as we rode our bikes past.  It’s obvious that they’re taking to a second language easily and we’re hoping that they remain as engaged and excited about it as they are now for years to come. Liam and Ethan also started with piano lessons this year and are enjoying finally knowing how to play versus just banging away on the keys.

This is why I call them "Lethal"...

At the end of September, Debra, Madeleine, Terry and I traveled to Rockaway Beach, NYC for what will likely be our last time there. I was so sad and melancholy to not only say good bye to my Nannie and Poppie, but to say good bye to a place that has left such a huge, huge impact and imprint on my life and my soul. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world to me and I miss it already...

The jettys...

The surf scene really grew over the last 20 years...

Madeleine & I near the water...

Always so many shells...

Remnants & reminders...

Fierce beauty....

This door...46 years occupied by J. Schulman...sounds, sights & memories that I will never forget...

As September turned to October, we had a special birthday celebration for the boys’ 6th birthday as Grandad and Terry were able to join us at Snyders Family Farm along with Auntie and Miss Madeleine...

Running through the corn mazes...

Grandad!!!!!

The birthday boys...

The fall was pretty chaotic for the whole family, but it was especially busy for Rae.  In October, Rae was the recipient of the Julia Wilkinson Young Women in Sports Woman of the Year Award. Her accomplishments are many and Rae was a well deserving winner in her category.  I was immensely proud watching her receive her award from our local MPP John Wilkinson and the recognition for all of her hard work over the years.

Julia Wilkinson Young Women in Sports Woman of the Year Award Winner 2010

November was an intense time for Rae and the Central Rams Senior Girls Basketball team.  Going up against their arch rivals, St. Mike’s, in the final game of regular season both teams were undefeated.  St. Mike’s handed the Rams a resounding loss during that game, but the teams were still facing one another in the Huron-Perth final.  It was an incredibly tight game, but the Rams were able to play smart and strong and beat the St. Mike’s Warriors 34-33 with only 3 seconds left on the clock, making them champions again, the second year in a row. It was a game like no other and I’ve told Rae that I don’t think I could ever handle it if she ever did go pro.  You can see the remnants of tears in all of these girls eyes after this game. It has been amazing to watch these young women bond over the last few years and it was sad knowing that as a school team, it would be the last time that they would all play together.  What a great note to go out on...

You can still see the tears in their eyes....amazing women....

A couple of weeks later and it was off to WOSSA, where the girls took Bronze another tightly contested matchup...

Post-win huddle...we love each other!

The Bronze winners at WOSSA!

I’m always amazed and a bit envious whenever I watch Rae with her team.  Not only is she a natural leader, but she’s a fierce and smart competitor.  More than all of that though is the love and adoration that these girls have for one another. They truly become a family and I love being witness to that experience in her life...and I wholly love those girls for what they've created and what they’ve brought to Rae’s life (and vicariously, to mine as well)...

November was a big month for me as I helped drive the realization of Stratford’s first Ignite event.  There were amazing speakers, all sharing their insights and passions with a packed house at Factory 163 and it took the effort of so many locals to make this event happen and I was honoured to be a part of it.

When the speakers started, it was standing room only at Factory 163...

The creations during the contest were simply outstanding!!

The highlight of November though was of course the arrival of the beautiful Miss Olivia Maria Robertshaw. We’d waited a long time for this little beauty to arrive and I am so happy for my best girl-friend Johanna to finally have her little girl in her arms.  I cried with joy the first time I saw Olivia in her mother’s arms, the most natural scene for my Joh, ever...

Miss Olivia Maria...

December of course finds us all way too busy (which is why this posting is a few days into 2011).  Victor and I have been able to get away to spend some together with the boys doing some tubing and even had an overnight together in Toronto, but those days are rare. Something that we’re trying to change for 2011.

As we head into January, Rae’s still working on three jobs (Dunny’s Sports, Tim Horton’s and reffing for Hoops for Fun), and has just recently submitted her applications for University.  Ethan and Liam are newly fascinated with Liam’s wiggly teeth (which Ethan is apparently somewhat jealous of, to which Liam responds “well, you can whistle!”) and right now they’re pretty fascinated with the story of the Titanic after joining me for a visit to The Museum in Kitchener this past weekend. Victor and I are actively trying to be more aware of our time and energies and where we spend them and trying to focus those energies more towards one another and ourselves by visiting the gym more consistently.  Victor’s better at it than I am, especially because I’ve been completely entranced with my new MacBook Pro.  Yes, my husband loves me more than I probably deserve. 

So, that’s been our year pretty much...thanks for being a part of it and here’s hoping that  the updates will happen more often (didn’t I say that last year?)....

Happy 2011 to you all!!