November rolled around quick and before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving. But, in Canada they celebrate Thanksgiving in October , so I couldn’t get home for the holidays. My mom, dad, sister and girlfriend all flew up and joined me in Canada instead. We had a great time. We decorated my Christmas tree, cooked up a big pot of chili and I even got homemade pies and banana pudding. We spent the day with Uncle Alex and Aunt Pat. We all pitched in on dinner and celebrated our family with fine wine and great food. I think Uncle Alex was pretty impressed with my carving technique.

In December production shut down for two weeks and I was on the first jet home. Christmas at our house is so good. There’s always a big family New Year’s Eve party with great food, music, family entertainment and games and the usual gift frenzy. The best gift I got this year was a Tournament Foosball table, for me and my dad , from my mom. With enough practice I just might beat him someday. My dad made these awesome blow guns out of PVC pipe that launched marshmallows. He even spray painted them with a camo look. When the war was over there were marshmallows everywhere, in my sister’s hair, stuck to the wall and in the carpet. Don’t underestimate the power of a marshmallow to inflict injury. My cousin Christian even had a war wound on his neck to prove it. It was all good, clean, all be it sticky, fun!