The Year 2009 In Photos

This was an incredible year for both of us! It started with both Theo and Daniel visiting us in Hawai'i...we managed to circumnavigate the Big Island several times...it's not everywhere you can play in the surf one day and go snow skiing the next. I was in P.E.I. during March and April, and was able to be with my daughter, Abby, for her 21st birthday...meanwhile, Katie was doing a “farewell” party at Eden Roc since she was planning to move back to Colorado to be closer to her two boys...at least until Theo graduates. The high point of the year was when I flew down to Arizona for Katie's 60th birthday, and we ended up getting married...and holding the reception at IHOP! From there we took a honeymoon drive through the Canyonlands of Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, and spent May and June at a couple of places near Colorado Springs. At the end of June, I headed back to P.E.I. to open the cottage on Afton Lake (the grass was over a foot tall) and to begin a number of renovation projects that I had been planning all winter. Katie arrived in early August and got really involved in a project of her own...an on-line art group doing a “Gypsy Journal.” Meanwhile, the whole PEI family got involved in finishing the house painting (thanks Abby, Daniel and Clint). Daniel also helped widening the lane and installing a new wood stove. We took a couple of trips in my little RV (XAPEPOD): one to Cabot Beach in P.E.I. and one to the Annapolis Vallet and South Shore of Nova Scotia. Katie went to Arizona for three weeks in October to be with her mother due to a breast cancer scare. Fortunately, all turned out OK. As autumn approached, we traveled to Troy, NY, to visit Vin and his girlfriend Megan at their colleges. We also managed to bring in almost three cords of firewood! With mixed emotions we flew out to Hawai'i in December to close the sale of Hale Hoku Mele, our own little corner of Paradise. We said our “good-byes” to all of our friends there, packed our bags, and flew back to Colorado Springs in time for Christmas. We hope you enjoy these pictures.