The Christmas season has passed and we were blessed to enjoy quality time together at Darren's family cabin this year. Living on the boat this year forced us to re-create our Christmas tradition a little differently. It was a first for all of us in many ways, and although quite a whirlwind trip we all succeeded in helping to create new, meaningful family memories this year with plans for many more next year!

We are writing this blog today as a time of reflection. 2010 for us was a year of personal growth, reassessment, liquidating excess and getting back to the basics to live a simplier lifestyle. It has proven for us to be one of the smartest moves we have made for ourselves in years. Our motto is too work hard but definitely play harder and we rate how we are doing on the scale according to this. FUN is certainly at the top of our scale with our biking holiday in the U.S., our trip to Mexico and our B.C. summer sailing adventure are all testament to the fun we experienced this past year! It was an epic year for us and one that we won't soon forget!

This fall has found us settling into a new neighbourhood, discovering work opportunities and trying things on to see how they fit. We have been very fortunate to have met some wonderful people along the way and to also rekindle relationships from our younger days! The internet is such an amazing tool for communication, and we continue to enjoy the opportunity to stay in contact with friends and family afar.

Our plans for this year involve making the most of our weekends, while of course continuing to stretch our boundaries with new adventures! With new jobs and plans to work to replenish our cruising/adventure kitty we don't forsee any long vacations this year. Mini holidays are our theme for 2011 and we are getting quite excited at the options they hold! We are living in a new cruising area just waiting to be discovered as well as many bike trails that will call our name once the weather is a little better! We are starting off this month by pursuing rock climbing together, and I am very excited!

We just celebrated our anniversary December 31st by backpacking and snowshoeing at Mt Cain. This Mt holds special memories for us, so it seemed fitting to send our special day there. It was a spectacular day and our best anniversary celebration to date! The sun was shining, we hiked into the back bowl and barely saw another person. It was almost as though this little piece of heaven had been vacated for the day in our honor! It was amazing to marvel at the beauty of our surroundings with untouched powder waiting to be discovered while the sparkles of snow from the sun above guided our way!

In closing, as a couple we really aren't big on making New Year's Resolutions. We will continue this year to value our choices, our lifestyle and the freedom it brings, and our gratitude for our circumstances. We truly live and embrace the road less traveled and can't imagine our life on any other path!

Wishing you love, health and a year full of endless, exciting, challenging, possibilities for adventure in 2011!

Love & hugs,
xoxo