Merry Christmas

It's hard to believe that it's this time of year again.  I hope you are all well and that you have had a happy prosperous year.  We have been very busy as usual. We started the millennium in a strange fashion at the City Water Pumping station watching for Y2K bugs. Fortunately we didn't find any.  I have to say there are better ways to spend New Year's Eve, and I am looking forward to having a little more fun this year.  Here are each of our stories.....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Ted Laura Spencer & Louise
Spencer
Spencer turned 8 on March 14, and is now in Grade Three.  Spencer says that school is fun this year, (mostly because of his new teacher, Mr. Herridge), although recess and gym are still his favorite subjects.  Spencer had a great time playing soccer this spring on the "Killer Bees".  He was asking the other day if there was a league which allowed tackling....We told him he would have to wait for high school where he could play football. This summer Spencer started water skiing and was blasting back and forth across the wake by the end of the summer.  Camp fires and wieners are still favorites.  This fall we cleared the ice for a skating rink in front of the house again, and Spencer is down their every day playing hockey.  Too bad all the neighbour kids are girls.  

Killer Bee's

Spencer's first Ski!

Spencer loves to Kick the ball!!

Spencer Swimming 

Our House in the background on the Left.

Spencer with Marc & Tina's new son, Carter

Spencer on the Rink in front of our house!

Laura
Laura turned 11 on November 30, and is now in Grade Six.  I can't believe she will be in Junior High School next year.  Laura is turning into quite the musician.  She is really enjoying her piano lessons (third year) and has taken up the trumpet with the school band.  She is practicing the Winnie the Pooh Theme song for the Christmas concert.  Laura has definitely reached the point where it is a pleasure to listen to her play.  This summer Laura really improved her water skiing.  She learned how to drop a ski and ski on one ski.  While she hasn't learned how to put her back foot in the harness yet, she can go a long way on one ski.  I am told that I used to ski with my back foot up in the air too when I was learning.  

Laura tried windsurfing again at Nitinat this summer and got quite good at going back and forth in the calmer winds.  She even started to come back to the same point where she launched.  Should be lots of fun next summer.

This winter Laura is having lots of fun skating.  She has a couple of really close friends, and they have a great time having sleep-overs at each others houses.  It works great as one has horses another raises puppies, and we have the lake.

Laura Windsurfing at Nitinat
 

Laura and Amy playing the Piano

Laura, Andrea and Friends

Goof! Laura pulling Spence on the road behind the house!
Louise
Louise is still Craft Crazy, and a confirmed Rubber Stamping Addict.  Her hours at Sifton School were increased slightly this year, and we are still hoping that something more permanent will open up there soon.   Louise works harder than any of us trying to keep everybody organized on top of her two jobs and crafts.

Louise is getting to be quite a good windsurfer. It's sure fun sailing together.  We went to Nitinat earlier than normal this year, so we had a few weeks of great weather at home after we came back.  The kids always seemed to have friends over, and Lou was kept busy with keeping an eye on the kids swimming or paddling back and forth from shore to our raft on the lake.

I think she is going to hit me!!!

Spencer, Mom and Laura at Greystone Falls

Lou & Spencer taking Laura for another Ski!

Lou at Belhumeur's last New Year's

Laura and Spencer swimming in front of the house
Ted 
While 2000 wasn't quite as hectic as 1999, it was still busy.  My duties with the CWWA (Canadian Water and Wastewater Association) are considerably reduced now that I am the past president, although I did get to go to Ottawa a couple of times and to Yellowknife to give a presentation.  Yellowknife was very interesting.  Lots of snow and a little colder than at home, although not much colder.  It's about the same size as Camrose and very friendly (although they also have a transient crowd that you have to be careful of).  It would be a beautiful place in the summer.  I hope I can go back some time.

Camrose has really been growing, which has kept me very busy.  One of my pet projects is the Camrose Home Page.  In the Engineering Section we keep tabs on Developments and Construction Project status.  It was a fair amount of work, but I think the citizens appreciated being able to keep track of what was going on.

Spencer, Dad & Laura

with CWWA Chain of Office

(Before I had to give it back)

YK Center in Yelowknife

(Yes it does say 87.9/litre!!!)

Franklin Avenue in Downtown Yellowknife

The sign says -22c
Andreas Dahle (my sailing buddy) and I started a small business, "West Wind Sports",  representing some windsurfer products (Seatrend boards, and Dynafiber masts & booms).  I still can't believe I talked Louise into letting me do it.  Essentially we have to have new equipment each year, and travel around to all the local events to show the stuff off and let people try it.  We even competed in the Canadian Speed Trials at Keho Lake, and WIRED at Nitinat Lake.  Tough Job! In return we get a great deal on the equipment (should be able to sell the used stuff for about what we paid for it), and we get a cut on whatever is sold in Western Canada.  We didn't make much in 2000, but 2001 is looking better already - although I don't think we are ever going to get rich doing it.

We also HAD to go to Hood River in June to visit our suppliers and try out the new equipment.  Of course we ran into Wayne & Lori again.  I think Wayne & Lori are engaged, and living in Maui now but nobody has heard from them.  EARTH to WAYNE - where are you???  Have you set a date??

Ted at Nitinat

.

 Work this fall has been very busy, but now that our budget process is finished I hope that things will slow down and I can spend more time at home.  I'm still playing Volleyball one evening a week in Edmonton with some friends.  Its my only chance to burn off steam and get some exercise.  We are the second oldest team in the league, but are still fairly competitive.  It's always fun beating all the 20 year old kids!!

We're hoping for lots of snow, this year, so we can use the skidoos, but so far it has just been cold with no snow.  Last year we had hardly any snow so we didn't use them much.  Spencer thought I was really lucky going to Yellowknife, because they have about a foot of snow!

Nitinat Lake - Vancouver Island
 
Family Day 2000
We had a great time again on Family Day.  Brian &  Paulette came down for a few days, with the kids and the dogs.  Too bad Micky, Darcy, Kit, and Annie couldn't make it; but  Mom & Dad, and Patty & Ross made it out.  We're looking forward to trying it again in 2001.  

Fallon, Spencer, Brian, and Devon

Grandpa and Grandma
Summer Holiday
We had a great holiday again this year at Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island, visiting many friends as well as making new ones.  Thanks to the Carlisle's for putting us up on the way down, and Liam and Cathy for the "Air Show Weekend" on the way back.  We had lots of fun and did lots of windsurfing, in spite of 600mm of rain over three days in the middle.  I guess that's why they call it a RAIN forest.  There didn't seem to be many kids of Laura & Spencer's age at first,  but after the first week, they had lots of friends.  As always, we gained many new friends like Mark, Toni, Jonathon, Owen, Dennis, Joan, Katie, Nicole, Paul, Joanne, Wendy, Nick, Chloe, Aiden, Timo, Dana, Kit, Jonah, Bryn, Ian, Sheila, Jessica.... and many others.  Sorry if I have missed you or mis-spelled your name.   I have included a couple of pictures here, but there are more on our web page at http://lighting.prohosting/~iamted/holiday00.

Spencer, Laura, and

Caitlyn & Jennifer Carlisle

The Cast!!!

Toni, Johnathon, Owen, and Spencer
Other Stuff!

Carmen's 60'th Birthday

Paulette, Laurel, and Carmen

A visit from Belhumeur's and Convey's

Relaxing with Neighbours Ron and Viv

down at the lake one evening.

Louise with Marc's new son Carter Joseph

10/23/2000 3:00am 7lb 12oz

Congratulations Marc and Tina!!!

Hope we see you soon!!!

Ted , Louise, Laura and Spencer