The Simsbury Charlie Brown Tree - Hopmeadow Street

The 2011 Year End Letter

I have procrastinated writing our traditional year end letter long enough.  Typically these things follow a simple formula: opening paragraph, any important events, updates on each family member, and closing paragraph.   Some of it is usually true. Some.  Readers, all five of them, get about halfway through before nodding off to sleep.

I vowed that this year's Boulden letter would be as different as 2011 was.  Big events, and there were plenty of those, will form the main course.  Freakishly weird weather, and there was plenty of that too, will be the garnish.

January Snowstorms

Hannah and Sadie Roughhousing

It all started with a bang!  More snow fell in the first two weeks of January than I have ever seen in my liBallroom Travelsfe, including the big winter storms in the mid 1970's.  In fact, it was the most since 1945!  All told, almost 60” fell in a few weeks.  That's five (5) feet of snow clogging the roads and caving in roofs.  Houses were completely obscured by large banks left on the side of the road by the plows.  At the end of the day, I think school was canceled for what seemed like a month!

Here's a shot of Hannah playing with Sadie in the snow.  In a related story, I had to shovel walkways in the snow so that the dog could use the bathroom.  Clearance, was clearly an issue for her.

Ballroom Travels

Spring, the short season in between snowfall and blistering heat, was filled with trips to Ballroom dance tournaments.  Expeditions were made to Boston for the large MIT tournament and the Harvard Invitational.  We also visited Troy, New York for the Renesselear Polytechnic tournament.  An active dancer for years, Hannah has cooled a little on ballroom lately.  Cheerleading seems to have replaced it as the major focus of athletic endeavor. 

Gastric Bypass Surgery

My father, Larry Boulden, underwent gastric bypass surgery this April.  “ No more insulin, no more testing.  This is what I want.  If I become a skinny, sexy new me, I can handle it.  But my first goal is to whip diabetes,” he said in a March blog post.  Beat diabetes he did.  Dad is now 93 pounds lighter and no longer takes insulin or blood pressure medicine.  Way to go Dad!  To learn more about his journey, visit http://surgicalpathtoslim.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html.

Mother's Day

Ordinarily Mother's day doesn't get a special mention in the blog.  I mention it this year, because I put together a cool video for Susan that includes tons of pictures of the kids as they've grown up.  If you're interested, watch it here: http://bouldenfamily.blogspot.com/2011/05/happy-mothers-day.html

July 4th Weekend

Out of nowhere, Dave and Jackie Moore asked us to join them at their beach house near Narangansett, Rhode Island for the 4th of July holiday.  We spent the days walking along the sea shore and the evenings watching the beautiful sunset from their balcony.  A wonderful time.

On the Sunday morning we were to leave Dave asked us to join his family for some jet skiing.  Now, it's been a good 15 years since I have been on a jet ski.  It would be hard to describe what I was thinking as Hannah took me out for the first ride and nearly hit 60 mph.  I think it sounded like.  Oh &%(@) and Oh my )&%.  Why don't you *^#(ing slow down.  Really felt like an old guy.

I should add that we attempted to repay their kindness by cooking a nice meal one night.  Boy did I flame out.  The sauce was burned.  Almost inedible.  In fact, I have included a picture of their sauce pot.  Really sorry about that.

Dave, Jackie, Sara ….. thank you very much for your hospitality.

Erick and Evangeline's Wedding:

Without doubt, the biggest event of the year was Erick's marriage to Evangeline on August 6th at the Pilgrim Covenant Church in Granby, Connecticut.  The kids met at the bus stop on the first day of school in September 2005.  From that moment on they were pretty much inseparable.  Watching the two of them exchange vows was one of the highlights of my life.  Susan alternately smiled and cried throughout the ceremony. 

The reception was held later that afternoon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Unionville, Connecticut.  Thank you Arlene and Steve for running the grills and keeping everyone fed.  Thank you  Dave and Jackie Moore; Jackie, you can run a kitchen for me anytime.   Thank you Marisue, Carolyn, Mom, Dad, Laura, Jess and everyone else who helped make the day a success.

Click here to view the album

Bob's 75th Birthday:

Susan flew out to Empire, Michigan for her father's 75th birthday party at the cottage.  Her family has   visited the cottage together for more than 40 years.  Returning there to reconnect with family and spend some time with her father was a special treat for her.  Given Bob's cancer diagnosis, it meant the world to Susan to be able to share the day with him.  I heard that it was one heck of a party.

For those of you who don't know.  Bob and Barbara have a cottage on Lake Michigan in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore.  The area was voted America's most beautiful place by Good Morning America this year.  It is simply stunning.

Hurricane Irene:

Hurricane Irene crept up the East Coast of the United States in late August, hit Long Island and then center-punched Connecticut before ravaging Vermont.  Much of Connecticut was without power that day.  We were lucky.  Power was out for less than 24 hours.  Our basement did flood though.  At one point we had close to 7” of water down there.  Susan asked me to reconnoiter the damage.  Dutifully, I walked halfway down the steps before a box of Christmas ornaments floated by like a barge on Mississippi.  Yeah, it was ugly.

Dad's 70th Birthday Party:

My mother hosted a big party to celebrate my father's 70th birthday at their home in Westlake.  We all, with the exception of Gavin who had to work, were able to pack up and drive in for the party.  We had a great time celebrating the day with him and meeting many of his friends for the first time.

Winter Storm Alfred:

Homecoming weekend in Simsbury started ominously with a Simsbury loss on Friday night.  There was some mild speculation that Homecoming might be canceled due to the impending storm the next day.  No one took it seriously.  The next day much of New England got smacked by Winter storm Alfred.  More than 12 inches of heavy, wet snow fell, pulling down trees and knocking out power lines.  Homecoming was canceled as we descended back into life without Electricity.  Power was out for nearly 6 days at our house.  A woman that I work with had no power for 12 days.  The sheer scope of Alfred's destruction is hard to believe.  Widespread power outages effectively kept you shut up at home.  For the first few days no stations could pump gas.  Charging cell phones in cars would burn precious fuel.  Stuck.

However, we did take the opportunity to connect as a family.  I am thankful for that.  Hanging out together, sharing chores, cooking our meals over the fire pit.   No one froze and everyone had a hot breakfast and dinner each day.  I probably like camp fire pancakes better than regular pancakes. Strangely, we have had no significant snow since Alfred.

That was really pretty good stew!

Skylar's First Birthday:

Little miss Skylar turned 1 on November 1st.  The power outage and travel restrictions prevented us from holding her party until the 6th.  On that day we had family and friends stop by to celebrate with the cute little girl who wore a pink and white polka dot dress.  It's really hard to believe that it has been one year since the little angel came into our life.

The Robert E. Morris Company Christmas Party:

I just had to find a way to include this picture of Susan and I, taken at The Riverview in Simsbury on December 16th.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  May god bless your family with health and happiness.  May fortune smile upon your endeavors. 

Thanksgiving

A fantastic Thanksgiving: My parents, Larry and Virginia, drove in to spend the long holiday weekend with us.  Erick, Evangeline and Skylar joined us for a relaxed dinner.

We spent the morning watching the Macy's parade and preparing for the big dinner.  Mom peeled apples for pie and help put together the pumpkin pie.  Susan made a fantastic Waldorf salad.  The smell of roasting Turkey filled the house.

Yesterday, we pulled up the Christmas boxes from the basement and decorated for the big holiday before heading to the playground with Skylar for the afternoon.

Skylar's had a ball on the swing with great grandpa pushing

Granny took her favorite great grand daughter down the slide

Mom and Dad mugging for camera at the park entrance

Toodling out near the amphitheater!

Random November Thoughts

The past week in Connecticut has been fair and unseasonably warm.  Today was no exception.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to rake the leaves and clean up the yard a bit.  We continue to clear tree branches from our yard, putting them out by the street for the city to come get them.  Simsbury says that they're up to the task of gathering all the stuff left by the storm, but I doubt they will actually get everything collected before it snows.

Ah memories.   Here we are gathered around the firepit cooking stew!

Hannah celebrated her 17th birthday with a small party for friends.  She tricked out the downstairs with a strobe light and invited a friend to DJ the event.  They proceeded to crank the volume until his subwoofer just gave up the ghost and quit.  I felt bad for him.

Skylar started walking suddenly a few weeks ago.  This is traditionally the way that it happens but surprising anyways.  Overnight she changed from a crawling baby to a toodling toddler.  Now would probably be a good time to really make sure that the house is really baby proofed.

Skylar also celebrated her first birthday on November, smack in the middle of the power outage.  We had a small candle light celebration for her.  A large one with electricity and heat was held on November.  Susan and I gave her a 4' tall mini mouse.  It was just one of the cool things that she received; the kid made out like a bandit.

My mom, who also celebrated her birthday on 11/15, and Dad are coming up for Thanksgiving.  We'll have a good time.  Hopefully we'll have a chance to spend a little time at Simsbury Celebrates, the traditional local kick off to the holiday season.

October Storm 2011

This past week has been one for the record books.  12 inches of heavy wet snow fell last Saturday weighing down trees that had not lost their leaves and snapping branches.

Power lines fell as trees crashed down.  More than 700,000 customers lost power.  Grocery stores went dark, gas stations could not pump gas.  It was bad.  Thank god we had a fire pit and camping gear. 

Erick, Evangeline, and Skylar came over.   All told we were without power for almost six days with evening temperatures in the low 20s.  I'm proud to say that no one went hungry.  We used the dead wood that fell in the fire pit to cook breakfast and dinner.   We had pancakes, coffee, stew, mac and cheese, and all kind of other yummies.

In the evenings we sat around and listened to the hand crank radio.  Most nights we were in bed by 8.  Something about cutting wood, tending fires, being perpetually cold and no TV makes you tired. 

The town opened a shelter at the high school where folks could get warm, eat, shower and charge cell phones.  Susan and Hannah went there for showers daily.  Ladies showers were private, the men's public.  I took baths in buckets of water heated over the fire.

We have power tonight but do not yet have cable, internet or phone.   Many in Simsbury are still without power.

Visiting Charleston

I had a chance to spend a few days in Charleston, South Carolina earlier this week for a conference. The organizers did an excellent job of balancing work and personal time; this left me with a fair amount of time to get out and experience a wonderful historic city.

Charleston is one of the oldest cities in America. As a cradle of the secessionist movement it was bombarded and captured during the Civil War. The aftermath of the war and Reconstruction brought about 100 years of economic stagnation. Lacking substantial economic development funds the beautiful old buildings and homes were never replaced. When things started to grow in the 1970's the conservationist movement was in full swing. A visitor today can easily step back in time and walk among hundreds of homes, churches and buildings dating dating back more than two centuries.

On Friday afternoon, I walked through the city's French Quarter on my way to the Water Front park. Lined by historic homes one side and the ocean on the other, the waterfront park is a treat for visitors. Passing people sitting on benches or talking on the seawall, I was struck by the number of different languages that I heard. Ultimately, I walked all the way down to the White Point Gardens, another neat park containing memorials for Moultrie's Victory on Sullivans Island in June of 1776 and several period cannons. A treat for a history nut.

Moultrie memorial and old cannons

Historic homes along Water Front Park

The inscription on the Sullivan's Island memorial.  The Society
of the Cincinnati was started by Henry Knox after the Revolution.
Membership was limited to officers of the Revolution and their
descendants.

A cool old tree in the White Point Gardens

Our final dinner on Friday evening was held in the Charleston Library Society, one of the country's oldest membership libraries and a veritable treasure trove of historical information.  Today it is both a site for research and a modern lending library.  To prepare for our dinner the staff brought out old texts relating to machinery and manufacturing.  Pretty darn cool!

Skylar Visits the Playground

The sky was clear and blue yesterday. A beautiful Indian Summer day, the temperature hung around 80 degrees until well in the evening. Susan, Hannah and I were watching Skylar so that her Mom could study and dad could work.

A day at the playground was almost a must. So, we tamped Skylar full of macraroni and cheese and then ran out the door. When we got there, I took Skylar down the slide with me. Hannah, who is familiar with the playground neglected to mention that the slide had a bump or two in it. They probably provide a little jump for a small kid. For me, they resulted in spinal pain. Evil. One could make the point though that 41 year old dudes shouldn't be going down the slides. Oh well.



The most memorable part for me was an encounter that Skylar had with three other little girls in the shade of the cement tube. They colored, or rather Skylar tried to steal their ink markers. Each talked to her, had her touch a shoe of give a high five. Skylar was so excited that she sat there and just squealed with happiness. One of the little girls asked Hannah if it was okay to pet Skylar's head.

The swings were another fun time. Little Sky was just laughing and laughing as auntie Hannah pushed her back and forth. I took the opportunity to sneak up behind and catch the swing on the back swing - confused the snot out of the poor kid.


Finally, check out this photo of Skylar walking around with Hannah and Grandma. She's so close to walking. I would not be surprised if she takes her first steps on her own in the next week or two.

The Hurricane's Mild Aftermath

Well the wind picked up a little but was really nothing serious at all. A few branches were knocked down around our home. We didn't lose power so we were lucky. Many of the folks that we're talking to in Simsbury and surrounding neighborhoods did lose their power. Here's what our yard looked like when it was all over. We're pumping the 6.5" of water out of the basement now. Will see how long that takes. Good thing most everything was up on pallets or shelves and off the floor.

Hurricane Irene Updates

So Hurricane Irene has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It's reported that the worst will have passed us by noon. One weatherman has even hinted that we could see some sun later this afternoon. Amazingly, we still have power. Three other families that we know in Simsbury are without power now. We have had about 7" of rain. Almost everyone of them has found their way to our basement. Here's a quick little video.

Video Doesn't Display? Watch it Here

Hurricane Irene Just Hitting Now

The center of Hurricane Irene is just passing through Northern New Jersey. The news media is reporting wide spread power outages in Southern Connecticut; almost 200,000 people without power. Storm surge is to hit soon. I made sure to make coffee immediately when I woke up so we could at least have one hot cup before we lose power.

The rain has picked up significantly and the wind is just starting to be an issue. We are still safe and dry. I will continue to post as the storm progresses

Check out these shots I took of the street in front of our house and our back yard. I'm really glad that I took the time to dig and brick that drainage trench earlier this summer

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Erick and Evangeline's Wedding

Unfortunately, it's been a little while since I posted something to the blog. I had imagined a more detailed post about Erick and Evangeline's big day including a video of the ceremony for those who couldn't be there and photos. (A number of the photos are already showing up on Facebook.) Hopefully, Susan and I can add a few more to those when we're done sorting and tagging.

So as not to delay too much, I thought I would post a video of the ceremony now and then follow up with other posts.

The upcoming wedding

As you all no doubt know, Evangeline and Erick plan to marry on the Sixth of August. It goes without saying that we're very excited for them.

Invitations will mail soon. We just need to make sure that we dot our i's and cross our t's before mailing them. Susan, Evangeline, Laura and Hannah have just taken over the process. I just smile and nod occansionally. Should I have expected anything different?

The occasion has brought on a rather incurable case of nostalgia in the household. Susan and I remembering our wedding in the stories that we tell our kids. Yes, that was really Lizzy Unna shouting 'oh my god, you're married' as she jumped up and down in the receiving room of Plymouth Church. Yes, Susan did choose a hot dog with a side of hot chocolate in Public Square over surf and turf room service. Would do it all again if I could.

My mother also shared with me a rememberance that she wrote of her wedding day. It's funny, but somehow I had never heard the story before. Mom, thank you for sharing. My parents Larry and Virginia Boulden are pictured with Kim Opitz (Chase) and Jamie Gilliland (Chase). Can't remember who the best man is.

Happy Mother's Day

The other day Susan gave me a quick glimpse into the multifaceted nature of being a mom when she said "a mom is someone who can be tugged, bugged, and hugged all at the same time." For most men, who struggle to do one thing at a time, this level of multitasking is difficult to understand.

With that in mind, I would like to thank all of the mothers in our family for the wonderful things that you do. We appreciate your patience; marvel at how you instinctively know what a child needs; and appreciate your ability to look after everyone's well being -- usually before your own.

Thank you Mom for not laughing too hard before you spanked Monica and I for playing darts inside the house with rocks from the driveway. Thank you Marisue for always helping us make our house a home. Barbara, thank you for all those meals you cook for 25 at the cottage - a tough job to be sure.

Thank you Lizzy, Monica, Lisa and Liz for being great mothers. Thank you to Evangeline for bringing little Skylar into the world and being such a great mother. We love you all.

In commemoration of this day and one very special mom, Hannah and I put together the following video:



We love you Susan.

Gastric Bypass Surgery

My father had gastric bypass surgery Wednesday, April 20th. A growing number of patients, and doctors, have found it to be an almost a miracle cure for type 2 diabetes. Many patients are able to stop insulin treatments before they leave the hospital.

My Dad has struggled with type two diabetes for almost 25 years. Weight loss, a low sugar diet and exercise have helped him effectively manage the disease that has significantly affected his life. This surgery offered a chance to beat diabetes.

The path to gastric bypass surgery was filled with a number of roadblocks, including recommendations from doctors, meetings with a nutritionist, psychologist and test after test. We are proud of the determination that he has shown to throughout the process.

The surgery itself went off without a hitch. There were a few minor post operation snafus that pushed his release into the next week. He is now recovering at home and quite happy to be out of the hospital. I have made a point of pestering the snot out of him with daily requests for updates.

As of today “my body is regulating blood sugar on its own after 20 years or so of medical control,” says my Dad. He's still not out of the woods yet, but his blood sugar levels are expected to continue falling. He'll see the bariatric doctors again next week to review where he is and discuss any necessary adjustments.

We're excited for him and wanted to share the news with friends and family. If you would like more information about the surgery or any of those roadblocks leading up to the surgery, please visit his blog at: http://surgicalpathtoslim.blogspot.com/

MIT Ballroom Competition

Okay, it's been forever and a day since I last posted to this blog. In most cases, I've communicated through Facebook and Email. That said, I felt like the blog was the best place to share a few videos of Hannah and her partner Saira dancing at the MIT Ballroom competition.

This is one of the larger competitions with oodles of talent. Unfortunately, they didn't place. They did make it to the quarter finals several times. Susan and I were wiped out. We had to get out of bed at 4 a.m., leave the house with a group of kids by 5 a.m., and arrive by 7:00 a.m. I do not think we returned until well after 8 p.m. Yikes.

Here's the Swing video. I think they were disqualified for the hand slapping. Hannah could tell you for sure.



Here's the Rumba video. I apologize for the quality. I filmed them on my Droid.