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 of tea, put up your feet and let me tell you what our family has been up to in 2010.

After a wonderful ski season in Ontario, we felt we were ready for tougher terrain and headed out west for 8 days of skiing in the mountains during the March Break. We started our vacation in Fernie, BC. After several days of getting used to mountain skiing, we spent a day at Island Lake Lodge, cat-skiing on the magnificent bowls and in the gladed forests of the BC backcountry. Jack was always at the front of the group, fearlessly flying down the slopes through knee deep powder. It was an awesome, intoxicating experience which we will never forget. We finished our trip in picturesque Lake Louise… there is nothing like a ski vacation!

We loved our time in British Columbia so much that we decided to return for our summer vacation. Our first stop was Vancouver, where we hit the ground running on day one and ran up the Grouse Grind. The reward at the top was a chilly, yet exhilarating zip-line experience over lakes and deep valleys. It was the first of many adventures that trip in which I clenched my teeth in utter fear! We next went to Victoria for a few days, and then made our way to Tofino, one of the most beautiful places in Canada. Our adventures continued, with Paul and the kids renting wet suits and taking surf lessons with Surf Sisters, while I happily walked the beautiful Chesterman Beach. We went deep sea fishing, caught salmon and halibut and learned who in the family has sea legs and who doesn’t. We hiked in the rainforest, hugged enormous ancient red cedar trees and went on a zodiac boat ride at sunrise to watch bears and whales find their breakfast. At the end of a glorious week, we drove to Whistler to see what this ski town has to offer in the summer. One day we went white water rafting in the morning, and snow tubing at the top of Whistler Mountain in the afternoon. We learned how to mountain bike down a mountain (more teeth grinding) and rode ATVs up the mountain for a waffle breakfast at the top of Blackcomb. Horseback riding in Pemberton, long family hikes, snow ball fights, and riding the Peak to Peak Gondola rounded out this fabulous family holiday.

Our year is never complete without a visit to New Brunswick and Labour Day spent with the Wells at their beautiful home on the Kennebacasis River. Sailing in high winds, scenic hikes, delicious meals and relaxing on the beach, made this family time memorable as always.

Lexi is sweet 16 and is in grade 11. It is hard to believe that Lexi is learning to drive, has started touring universities and just had 4 wisdom teeth extracted! For Lexi’s birthday, we went to New York City and stayed at the Gossip Girl Hotel, much to her delight! Lexi has continued to embrace all that Branksome has to offer and is an active participant on many school teams, including qualifying individually for the Ontario Cross-Country Finals.  Lexi has become a school ambassador, giving tours to potential new students and she is a strong voice on the school debating team. Lexi went to Glen Bernard Camp for 5 weeks- her final year as a camper. She surprised us all by getting one of the leads in the camp play, in the 2 week theatre program, earning creativity hours for her IB Program. Lexi is thrilled to be invited back as an Assistant Counsellor in 2011. In the next few weeks, Lexi will begin a weekend job as a ski instructor at our club. You go girl!

Jack is 15 years old and is in grade 10. One of the highlights of Jack’s year was winning the RSGC Terry Fox Race in September. Out of 480 students, Jack placed first! He ran like the wind and surprised many of the older boys as he glided across the finish line, 30 seconds before the next runner. Jack had an outstanding cross-country running season and led his team to the Ontario Finals at Centennial Park. When he is not running, Jack can be found longboarding or biking with his pals, or at his desk working hard on his schoolwork. Jack has the Hill computer genes and is teaching himself how to build a website in his spare time. Jack will ski race at Caledon again this year, while also earning his ski instructor qualifications. Jack is looking forward to next summer when he will go on a challenging white-water canoe while at Camp Hurontario. Run Jack, run!

Ross is 12 years old and is in grade 7. Ross joined his big brother at Royal St. George’s College this year and has not looked back. Ross is thriving with the laptop program (go figure!) and has joined many clubs including the stage band where he plays the trumpet, the Italian club, the Trivia Club and the Debating Club. Ross also plays badminton, and will ski race again this year. The highlight of Ross’s year was his trip to Thailand in March with Nana, Poppa and Cousin Darcy, where he had many adventures including riding an elephant, river rafting, kayaking to James Bond Island and learned how to cook Thai food at an outdoor cooking school in Phuket. Camp continues to be a high point of each year for Ross. He came home from camp filthy and smiling- just the way it should be. Keep smiling Ross!

This year has been a blur of roller coaster negotiations for Paul, as his company Clarity Systems was acquired by IBM in October. Remarkably, this is where Paul’s career started, and two of the companies Paul worked for in the past are also now under the IBM umbrella. Paul is continuing to work hard, yet is wonderful at spending every spare moment with our family and can hardly wait to relax at our chalet at every opportunity in the coming year

As the kids get older, life just seems to get busier, and the nights later.  My newest endeavour is training for a triathlon. I am participating in the Joe’s Team Sprint Triathlon on July 9^th and will be raising money for the Princess Margaret Hospital, once again. The hardest part so far is the swimming. I have joined a swim club and swim 90 lengths every Tuesday morning. I am still playing lots of tennis and was thrilled to win the Boulevard Club Ladies Doubles Championship in September. My day is never quite complete without a walk by the river with our two faithful dogs, Lucy and Happy. My main project the last few months has been overseeing the renovation of the chalet. We can hardly wait to move in for the Christmas season, on December 17^th.

Our warmest wishes this holiday season! Our home email address is [email protected]… Please keep in touch!

Love Lianne, Paul, Lexi, Jack and Ross Hill