Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

(Chitza Itza, Mexico. Jan. 2006)

Merry Christmas,

Another year is soon to be over and my website, I have to admit, has not been very well attended to this past year. I guess that I will give myself a bit of lenience, as so much has taken place this year. For starters Courtney and I have left our Colorado home and taken up residence in Toronto Ontario. This move has brought Courtney back to her birth place and I have gone through the immigration process in order to stay here. This move was motivated, not out of disdain for what the US is doing in Iraq although that might not have been such a bad reason, but rather that Courtney was accepted into a PhD program at the University of Toronto. Here she will be taking classes, studying for exams and writing a dissertation over the course of the next 4 to 5 years. As for me I am currently working for Sockeye Solutions, which is located just a short walk from our front door. My current  project is to incorporate Web Services into our collaborative supply chain product.

So I guess that is a summary of where we are at now. However, you may just want to know how we got here. Courtney's search for a PhD program began a year ago and included places in Texas, California, and Ontario. Through a process of elimination the University of Toronto became our chosen destination. Our plan for this year had always been to move out of our Parker house and we feel lucky that the move has brought us to Toronto. With the housing market in a lot of fluctuation this past year, we managed to sell our house while the market was up. The sale of our house could not have lined up more perfectly with the purchase of our new condo in Toronto.

Somehow in the mix of applying for PhD programs, moving, job hunting, and starting back to school, we did manage to have a little fun. We began the year by taking a trip to Mexico, where we sat on the beach, snorkeled, and went on an adventure to Chitza Itza.  In the Spring we went to Las Vegas to celebrate my climbing buddy Tim's 40th birthday. On a more somber note, this Spring we had to say goodbye to our family friend (pet) Copperfield. In the Summer we helped my mom make it to the top of her first 14ner Grays, went on a rainy canoe trip with the Cauthon family, and took a "Farewell to Colorado" trip to Monarch Pass. While in transition between houses we spent some time staying with relatives and sorting and packing boxes in my mom's barn.  This project was made easier with the spare time I gained when my company laid off the entire Denver office. I felt lucky once again when I was able to take advantage of a severance package when I was planning to move on anyway.

We finally arrived in Toronto in late August. It was nice to be here permanently and not just flying in quickly for a condo closing and flying out again. To help settle us here and not miss out on the entire fall camping season we took our first Canadian camping trip to Awenda Provincial Park. This Fall we have been fortunate to have many friends and family come to visit us and share in filling our new home with good memories. These visits have given us the opportunity to explore more of our city and surroundings. We have now been to the Toronto Islands, the Distillery District, Toronto's beaches, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario Wine Country, and up the CN Tower (the world's tallest structure). On our own we have found a Mennonite Church, been to a rock climbing gym, and figured out how to do the important things that allow us to live, eat, manage stress and continue to grow.

Looking to this next year we hope to do more rock climbing, take up canoeing, see theater, and find some special places in the city that we can call our own. For the rock climbing part we have decided to spend more time at the local rock gym, "Rock Oasis". Our plan for canoeing includes buying a canoe in the Spring and paddling throughout the Summer. As for seeing theater,  we might not see much together, but I will definitely see Courtney playing the lead role in, "Still Stands the House" which opens in January. In an effort to find places in Toronto to help us create home, we plan to continue working on meeting new people and becoming more involved with the goings-on in the city.

I hope that your year has been rewarding as well, and I hope to hear back from you.

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday Season from RockCairn.com.

Aaron & Courtney (Courtney's glog and blog)

Copper Mountain, CO	Las Vegas, NV	Copperfield	Summit of Grays	CN Tower