Our Family Newsletter

Happy New Year! We hope that your Christmas was merry!

From Thomas, Malou, Adrian, Brian, Alicia & Amy

The year that was

Teen-agers in the house! And a college student, to boot! Life with teen-agers is not as bad its made out to be. We are blessed with three well-adjusted young adults who genuinely like spending time with each other - which is a big plus on long road trips. We did some family visits this year, starting with our annual Easter trip to Montreal to see Thomas family after hearing mass at St. Josephs Oratory. In the spring, a trip to Niagara Falls, US, was merited to rendezvous with Malous brother and wife who drove up from Chicago. That trip was highlighted by the ride aboard the Maid of the Mist, which never ceases to amaze, no matter how many times you go on it! Summer saw the family in Nova Scotia, spending time with all of Thomass siblings as his brother and his family from the Czech Republic were also visiting. All of Grand-mere LeBlancs grandchildren were present! Proudest moment of the year, of course, was Adrians graduation from hig h school in June, and the receipt of acceptance letters from prospective colleges. The beginning of autumn saw Adrian attending Algonquin College in Ottawa, taking (ahem) Civil Engineering Technology. He commutes in his trusty VW 2002 Jetta, which he named Jane. One term down, and he has brought home some very impressive grades! He continues to work on weekends and still finds time to tinker with his car, under Dads expert guidance. Turning 19 in January, all he wants for his birthday is a gift card from the liquor store! Brian is 15 and is in 10th grade. He is still active with the school concert band, perfecting the alto-sax. A big trip has been scheduled in May for the band to visit Chicago, complete with musical and cultural tours and attendance to a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a Broadway production. He continues to take piano lessons. He has started working part-time at our local grocers, zoning and facing (shelving and stocking in laymans terms). Alicia turned 13 (!!) in June. She is in eighth grade and is on the honor roll. Turning out to be well-rounded girl, she continues to improve her figure skating skills, now landing her axels consistently and currently working on her double jumps. She competes occasionally and have won a few gold medals in her flight. In the summer, she played a convincing Greylag in the summer drama camps production of HONK! Aside from parenting, Thomas and Malou continue to enjoy their respective paid jobs. Thomas will have been with the RCMP for 6 years this coming January and is still designing and building weird electronic gadgets which he still loves doing. Malou thoroughly enjoys her 2-minute commute, glad to be still with Kollaard Associates in Kemptville, gaining much experience in Civil Engineering and hoping to get her technologist certificate before she retires.

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