Hello to all our friends and Merry Christmas,
2009 has been a very busy year for our family as usual. We have been adjusting to life in Winnipeg, MB as that is where Richard has been stationed with his job in Search and Rescue with the Canadian Armed Forces. I do have to say that the temperatures here are something to get used to. Crazy hot in the summer and insanely cold in the winter. HA!HA! However, the wonderful friends that we have made, the cultural opportunities we have been taking advantage of, and the fact that we are now living in a large city with all the amenities that go with it has made up for it. We of course miss our families and friends and look forward to seeing them. We had my mom come out in Feb/09 and then again in Oct/09. It was great to see her and I know it makes it easier to have the separation when you can visualize things better, like the inside of the house, where the kids go to school etc. We also vacationed in Alberta this summer with Richard's parents and had a great time. We drove which was interesting but much more cost effective and then Richard flew back in November to do some hunting with his dad and spend some time in the evenings hanging out with his mom.
Richard is still busy with work. He has had some really neat experiences esecially in the last few months. Just before remembrance day there was a 17 year old Inuit boy from up North that got stranded on an ice flow. Some of you may have seen it on the news or in the newspapers. Richard was actually flying the plane that found him and that the Search and Rescue Technicians jumped from in order to perform the necessary medical treatment. As I am posting this he is just on his way home from a trip to Key West, Florida. He is still very busy with church as the 2nd counsellor in the Bishopric and playing ball hockey on the side. We bought a digital piano for Christmas this year and he is thoroughly enjoying practicing that as well.
Alex is in Grade 2 in a French Immersion Program. He is thriving which isn't a surprise and enjoys his new teachers and friends that he has made. He loves playing outside, riding his bike, running and now with the weather we have snow boarding is his vehicle of choice. He joined the youth choir at school and also really enjoys the craft club. The things he invents and comes home with, made from recycled materials is quite amazing. Great imagination which he definately got from his dad.
Kristin just started school this year and is in Kindergarten. Here in Manitoba it is only 1/2 days so she attends in the morning and then is home with Nathan and I in the afternoons. She is also in french Immersion and is picking it up quite quickly. She loves her teacher and has always been quite social so she is enjoying her new friends too. She is in her 2nd year of dance class taking a combined ballet/Tap class on Friday afternoons and it is a lot of fun. She LOVES to dance and put on plays etc so it is really up her alley. Her favorite games are guess the animal and charades type things.
Nathan just clebrated his 2nd birthday although you would never know it from just meeting him. He has a vocabulary of a 3-4 year old which helps with the communication issues but sometimes is too smart for his own good. HA!HA! He is a generally content little boy who is full of hugs and kisses. He is so busy exploring and following around his older siblings and trying to do everything that they do. He loves to color, play with playdoh, but most especially cars and trucks and trains. He also LOVES babies. He is drawn to them and always wants to hold them. He is also definately a south paw. I have tried giving him his pens/pencils etc in his right hand but he will inevitably switch to his left hand so we'll see how that goes. I read in a Today's parenting magazine that left handed athletes have much higher chances of receiving athletic scholarships so maybe he'll be able to earn his way through college. HA!HA! Only 2 and I already have him at college. HA!HA!
As for me, I am still a stay at home mom. Hardest job I have ever had but also the most rewarding. Some days I think I would trade it to get a days worth of sanity but I only have to spend one afternoon in rush hour traffic or seeing the awful weather outside and I feel so blessed to be able to stay home. I started playing soccer again this summer and had a great time. I have missed it terribly but met some great girls and look forward to playing again next summer. I am planning on taking piano lessons as well and will really enjoy that. I am keeping busy as our Ward Activities Chair at our church which means I plan all the social activities that take place. We just finished with our annual Christmas dinner where we had a full turkey dinner for about 140-160 people. It was challenging but fun too.
Well, I hope this letter finds everyone happy and healthy this year and we wish you all the best of 2010. Keep in touch and we look forward to hearing from you.
Love,
The Kinners
