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.