Once again, Christmas is sneaking up on us rather quickly as the joy of raising two children (not to mention all the other stuff we try to do) fills our lives to completeness. If this letter is a bit late, we hope you enjoy reading it during a post holiday lull.

The big event of our year was the birth of our second daughter, Lauren Andra, on February 24. She weighed in at a substantial 9.9 pounds. She hasn't kept up this tremendous growth, however, and at nine months weighs in at a nice average 20 pounds. For this we are grateful since she still requires a great deal of carrying.

Meghan turned three in January and is quite fond of her baby sister. She is more frequently irritated since Lauren learned to crawl and get into her things. One day she demanded that we make Lauren stop crawling. Poor girl has no idea what is yet to come! Meghan began Nursery School in September, attending two mornings per week. She was a bit annoyed that Leslie insisted on walking her there (and quite relieved when she didn't stick around). The local program and teacher are truly wonderful and Meghan is thoroughly enjoying her time there. As well, Meghan loves Story-time at the library and is learning to skate with Mommy. Since Leslie had not laced up her skates in fifteen years, they are learning together. The following are some words from Meghan:

I’m special and I love you. I do special things. I play kick ball. I go to nursery school. I play if I want to. I play in the water. I play in the "office". I pretend to talk on the telephone. I go skating and I try to not fall down. I try to eat snow, but it feels cold.

Aside from Andrew's work and our children, we are both involved in a number of outside activities. This leaves us feeling pretty time-crunched at times, but keeps our existence interesting! Andrew is in the second year of his three year term as Provincial Commissioner for Scouts. This is a demanding position that keeps him away from home one or two evenings a week with frequent weekend commitments as well. For a little R&R, he curls in the local men's league and does some woodwork. His latest project was a hydroponics stand that Leslie is using to grow fresh herbs and vegetables that are hard to find in our local grocery store.

Leslie fills several volunteer positions, the foremost being local La Leche League Leader. In this position, she runs a breastfeeding support group and promotes breastfeeding in the area. As well, she is secretary for the Eastern Manitoba Concert Association which presents an annual concert series in Pinawa (seven this year, including Buffy Ste. Marie and The Incredible Acrobats of China), co-secretary for the Cooperative Nursery School Board, and a member of the Pinawa Business Women's Association (she is running a small home business sewing and selling Indisposables diapers and products). Gosh! No wonder we’re always so tired!!

The occasional family vacation is a welcome and refreshing break. We've had several this year. In April we flew out to Toronto to visit Andrew's family and show off our beautiful babe. We had a wonderful time visiting and Lauren was christened by Andrew’s Uncle Peter Barrow in a small family service in Georgetown.

In July, we packed up the van and headed off to Minnesota for a camping holiday. With children, we appreciate a more civilized camping experience, so head for the KOA campgrounds nearest the tourist sites. Meghan is old enough to enjoy the company of other children in the campground while we appreciate being outdoors around a campfire at night rather than cooped up in a motel room. Our nights camping under the tall pines at the Bemidji KOA had the added excitement of major storms. The first night, we were fished out of our tent at 2:00 am by the campground owner and taken to shelter in the KOA store. The second night saw a comparable storm, although no one came out to get us. The thunder, lightning and winds were quite impressive as we lay tense in our sleeping bags while the kids slept. The nearby state park was closed the next day for cleanup as hundreds of trees were down. Predictably, our vacation ended with a visit to
the Boy Scouts of America Camp at Ely. We spent the weekend while Andrew toured their facilities and programs.

Our final vacation was the usual week with Leslie's family in Saskatchewan. We spent most of our time at their Lac la Ronge cottage enjoying the cool damp weather by staying in the cottage playing cards and the like. The weather allowed enough outdoor time to prevent cabin-fever from interfering with our relaxation. And it was great to have an auntie and grandparents to help entertain Meghan and Lauren. Since September arrived with the resumption of our usual activities and the assumption of a couple more, we're really looking forward to our Christmas vacation.

This year we will be spending it in Oakville with Andrew's family, travelling on his birthday as is traditional. We look forward to having lots of eager hands to hold Lauren and plenty of distractions for Meghan so that we can enjoy a little parental down-time.