Another year has come and gone and it is time once again to update the web site. I feel kind of bad that it has been a whole year since we’ve posted anything here, but then again at least it leaves me with something to say.

2009 was a fairly busy year for us, we seemed to manage to get in a fair bit of travel, starting in June when we went down to North Carolina to visit John just after he got back from Afghanistan. Happily he managed to survive the experience in one piece and currently there are no plans to send him back. We are all hoping that his next deployment will be to a nice boring ship where he will get a chance to see a bit of the nicer parts of the world. He is currently being told that he may be deployed to the USS New York.

This summer Barb, Alec and I when to Scotland to visit with Tim, Lucy, Isla and Becca. We had a really nice visit and really loved Scotland. A big highlight was the Isle of Skye which is breathtakingly beautiful. Tim makes an excellent tour guide and for a Canuck in Europe, has a great deal of knowledge of the area and history.

When we arrived back from Scotland, we had a day at home and then drove up to Baysville to visit Mom and Dad and to attend a get together with my University room mates, Carol, Ann and Liz. It was great to see everyone again and I think we were lucky enough to hit the only nice week of the summer in Muskoka this year.

This fall, Barb continued the travel adventure when her good friend Amanda took her on a Caribbean Cruise. They had a great time shopping, snorkeling and eating. I think that some day soon Alec and I will go down there to practice our scuba diving as we both got certified this spring.

Alec is currently in grade 11 and is thinking of going to Rutgers University, though for what he has not yet decided. I am still working for that big Wall Street bank and contrary to what you hear in the news, am not responsible for the financial meltdown. Barb is still quilting up a storm and has been doing a lot of yoga (but not at the same time).

Well that’s our year in a nutshell. We hope that everyone who reads this has a great Christmas and a better 2010.

Barb, Steve, John, Alec & Pippi