CATEGORY Happy Tales
Christmas Letter 2022
Dear Family and Friends, A blanket of sparkling, white snow has coated the beautiful Caledon landscape outside our backdoor. Wild turkeys are strutting by the windows, blue jays are perched on the feeder, a red fox streaks by and a porcupine meanders through the woods. We are nestled by the fire, anticipating the Christmas holidays…
Christmas Letter 2021
Season’s Greetings! The tree is trimmed, the lights are up, and our stockings are hung at Hilltop Lodge, our new Caledon home, ready to quietly and safely celebrate the Christmas season with long walks, delicious meals, roaring fires, board games and great debates. As another extraordinary year comes to an end, I am more thankful…
Christmas Letter 2020
The Family Walk
The Family Walk The sun had just risen, high over the park,The dogs were restless and beginning to bark.Mom was racing around, getting ready to go,Our family goes walking in sun, cold or snow. Jack chooses to ride his new silver bike,He leads the parade of our three-hour hike.A blue scooter to go on, is…
Christmas Letter 2019
Tis’ the season to sharpen the skis, bake shortbread, trim the tree and send out our annual Christmas letter! 2019 has been a wonderful year for our family. Our greatest family adventure this year was our trip to Scotland in August, where we hiked in the Highlands, explored our roots and got to see another…
Christmas Letter 2018
Memories are made while on adventures and 2018 was full of adventures for the Hill family. We rang in the New Year, swooshing down the snowy, cold slopes at Sunshine and Lake Louise in Banff, Alberta. In February, we headed to St. Lucia to the Body Holiday where we soaked in the warmth of the…
Christmas Letter 2017
It was the year of adventure for our family. As long as the kids say yes, we will continue to plan family trips and explore the world together. Many happy memories were created while skiing in knee-deep powder in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last February and having an extreme adventure-a-day holiday in Norway in August.…
Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence
In May 2016, I was asked by my friend Jennifer Keenan, a Royal St. George’s College Board Member, to write a letter to nominate Chris D’Arcy for the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Chris D’Arcy was one of the best teachers to teach my sons at RSGC, so without hesitation, I said yes. My…
Christmas Letter 2016
In the spring, Lexi graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, with a HBA in history. As soon as Lexi wrote her final exam, she packed her bags and headed to Asia for a six-week adventure. She visited Singapore, Bali, Thailand and Vietnam. Lexi is now at a fast growing Toronto software company called LookbookHQ…
Lucy- The Story of a Happy Dog
Our dog Lucy was born on June 26, 2001 at Amaranth Kennel near Shelbourne, Ontario. A purebred black Labrador Retriever, Lucy’s full official name was Amaranth’s Lucy in the Sky. We named her Lucille, after a character in the Junie B. Jones book series that Lexi was reading at the time. It also seemed fitting…
Christmas Letter 2015
Lexi is in her fourth year at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, graduating in the spring with a HBA in history. She already has a sales job lined-up with an exciting software company called LookbookHQ. Lexi spends her spare time at Queen’s working for Muse Magazine as the business manager and heading the social committee…
Life’s Little Instruction Book
A few months ago, I was going through a box of old books and came across Life’s Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown. The author wrote the book as a gift for his son who was heading off to college. With two children in university and another heading that way in few years, I…
Christmas Letter 2014
Our year started horribly with the sudden death of Paul’s father, Larry Hill on January 2nd. First an ice storm, then a terrible cold virus which turned to acute pneumonia, and then a phone call in the middle of the night… kind, generous, intellectual, loving Larry died at home at age 72. He is greatly…
Christmas Letter 2013
The lights are up, the house smells like baking, there is snow in the forecast and we are counting the days until the Christmas holidays when our family is reunited at Hilltop Lodge in Caledon. It has been another busy year, and it is time to reflect and remember the highlights of 2013 with our…
Christmas Letter 2012
The presents are wrapped, the skis are sharpened and the house smells like shortbread. We are counting the days until Lexi and Jack are home for the holidays and we are looking forward to spending time as a family at Hilltop Lodge in Caledon. Make yourself a cup of tea, put up your feet and…
Christmas Letter 2011
The skis are sharpened, the presents are wrapped, the house smells like shortbread, and our renovation at Hilltop Lodge should be ready in time for Christmas! It has been an awesome year! Sit back and put up your feet and let me tell you what the Hill family has been up to in 2011. In…
Christmas Letter 2010
The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in the hopes that Saint Nicholas will find us at Hilltop Lodge, our new ski chalet in Caledon. It has been a whirlwind of a year, and I can hardly believe that is December already and time for our annual Christmas letter. Make yourself a cup…
Christmas Letter 2009
The whirlwind of the Christmas season is upon us once again… the shopping, baking, decorating, parties and of course, our annual Christmas letter. We are keeping a close watch on the weather this year, because soon, our ski season begins. This year, we have rented a chalet just minutes away from Caledon Ski Club, in…
Packing for Camp
I delivered my two boys, ages 10 and 13 to their overnight summer camp on Georgian Bay yesterday, after a week of painstaking packing. They are going to camp for 25 days and there is a comprehensive clothing and equipment list that I followed. Everything is clean, neatly folded and labeled. I have sent pre-addressed…