Completed July 10, 2018 @ Beaver Flats Campground, AB
I began this goal on July 11, 2013 quite haphazardly on the 5th anniversary of our family’s return trip from Guatemala to Alberta. We had just moved in with the Robillard family one year previous and the Calgary flood had happened a month earlier coinciding with the crumbling of our cohousing project.
I journaled using the DayOne app on my iPhone. It automatically tracked the location and weather, but it also allowed me to add a photo to each entry too, which was the most fun part of the process. 1826 entries later and I completed it.
The benefit to having these last 5 years logged is that it was a time of great transition for our family and for me.
- moved from living with the Robillard family to living with our Dragonstein Cohousing group in Bridgeland in a 700 sq ft condo
- moved from working at Bearspaw Christian School to working with Calgary Christian School
- completed my masters degree over the final 3 years
- began home brewing beer to the point where I keg my brews
- I ran a couple marathons
- started teaching high school physics
- I cannonballed across Canada with friends
- we lost Kaiden, Aunt Betsy, Uncle Danny, Grandma Bennett, Grandpa Reding, colleague Richard Abma, Brian Townsend and step-mom Sandi
- We gained nephews Aari and Beau
- New Hope Church merged with Hillside Church and became The Road Church
- the kids became pet owners
- a bad UTI, cellulitis on my ear and orthotics
- I turned 40 at around the half-way point of this era
- dramatic government changes in Alberta, Canada, and United States
- craft beer explosion in Alberta
The constants in our lives
- married to Amber, father to two great kids
- final 5 years of homeschooling the kids
- our trusty Toyota Matrix
- lots of board games, movies, concerts, shows, beer tastings
- regular trips to Montreal, Squamish, Prince George, New Brunswick, and Pickardville
- Nenshi as mayor of Calgary
- teaching high school math