A Merry Family Christmas!

A very happy, peaceful, family Christmas from Chip, Dara. Pip and Tim.

We have a white Christmas here as you can see from this picture of our road. The conditions are also perfect (cold, icy) for Tim to start his first season of ice hockey with a local team at the open air rink in out neighbourhood park (that's him in the orange jersey, four goal hero in his 1st game despite the lack of hockey genes). And of course the Canadian Family Robinson traditional picture taken this morning as we gather around the Xmas tree...the difference this year is that the time of the photo is midday rather than 7 am as in past years, one of the boons of twin teenagerhood...

We are thinking of you all, wherever you are today - Suzhou, Courmayeur, Acoteias, Hook and Indianopolis - and we send our love and we clink our glasses to the most wonderful family in the world; we really are very fortunate to have each other, scattered acroos the globe though we may be. And not forgetting Poppa Jim and Katie Nanna who started all this 69 years and a day ago.

Cheers and here's to 2008!

Merry Christmas from Portugal!!

Merry Christmas to all from us here in the sun in Portugal.......

I'm a new girl at this blog business and it is quite apparent that I have to take over posting messages from this part of the world....I hope you are all well and have some great plans for the Christmas / Holiday period......and for those of you we won't see......lots of kisses from us!

Max was in a Christmas parade this morning though the old town of Albufeira and I've never seen so many little Father and Mrs Christmas's in one area....I'll attach a couple of pics...

Love to all.......Merry Christmas and a happy new year...

Clare (Jamie & Max) xxxxxxx

? Years?

Happy Anniversary, C. and D!

Love, Bev

39 Years!

Happy Anniversary, P. and P!

Love, Bev

18 Today!!!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, Dear Pip,

Happy birthday to you!

Lots of love, Bev XXXXX

It's a white out!

It's officially our first Indiana white out we got 4 inches last night and it's still snowing - this is the view from our front door as you can imagine the kids can't wait to get out and get aquainted with this funny thing called snow!! Tyler was disappointed the school bus made it on time!
Love to one and all Heidi Jamie Tyler and Maddie x

Flowers for Nan and Pop

November 28th

Still missing you so much, Pop.

The Shortest Year

Has it really been year since Pop Jim left us?

A lot of water has gone under the bridge of life since, but it still seems strange not to be able to hear his voice on the phone or visit him at the farm on visits home.

The farm seemed SO empty when I last visited that this was really when it stuck that things would not be the same again ..... No more sleep overs in Nans room listening to the mill...No more "he´s up in the shack"....No more hearing the organ blazing as you open the garage doors.... and certainly no more emptying of car boots full to the brim of fresh salmon, on return from another sucessful fishing trip, with Pop overviewing the whole scene smoking on that Bloody pipe !!

Life is good, but with him around it was always better.

Still missing you

Love Jamie, Clare and Max.

Here's to you Pop

It's been a year which I wish you could have been here for but I know you were keeping close watch. Miss you

This is the first post from the University of Western Ontario, it's not too late for new joiners is it? haha I'm only a year late! All's good here, working hard, playing hard - shifting more towards the work now because my exams start in less then 2 weeks... but on the bright side I'm on Christmas break in less than a month! Hope all is well with family near and far, my thoughts are with you especially today.

Pip

In our thoughts as always

Time goes by and life for us all here still goes on but there is a huge hole left behind that will never and can never be filled. We will be with you all tomorrow in our thoughts and prayers as we all remember Pop and raise our glasses to our one and only 'Pop Jim' lets hope that he is up there with his rod catching all the 'one's that got away!'

We love you chum :-)

Heidi Jamie Tyler and Madison xxxx

The Last Scattering of Jim

The Scattering of Jim

There are strange things durn
With the ashes in the urn
By the Family of which we tell:
The torrents of Wales
Have their secret tales
And the rivers of the Glens as well;
The pond by the reeds
Has seen odd deeds
None odder than happened to him:
He was one when alive
But now he is five
For this is the scattering of Jim.

Now Jim Robin-son
Was from Rushden To’n
Where the cobblers used to cobble;
As a lad in his youth
He sought the truth
As to why a float will bobble,
And also why
A particular fly
Would cause a fish to strike,
And too which spinner
Would prove a winner
To lure the perfect pike.

He spent his life
With Kate his wife
By waters rushing and still;
He dipped his line
In fresh and brine
And the pond beside the mill;
And to the last
And on and past
His life was one with water;
And so it’s neat
That his son Pete
And Bev his only daughter
Cast his ashy line
Just one more time
Upon the waters shining,
Because for a while
We couldn’t smile
But here’s the silver lining:
He may be scattered
But it hasn’t mattered
He’s chuckling in our minds -
He’s now more alive
That one who’s five
So thanks, dear Jim – tight lines.

Hallowe'en in China

Better late than never - am having to blog for China as they're being censored again and can't post anything (well, you know how subversive Isabel can be!!)

Timmy treads the boards

Here is Timmy - "Mike TVee" in the school play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was supposed to be an obnoxious teenager.....a part he portrayed with frightening realism! No snow in Canada yet - we are still raking up bags and bags and bags of leaves.......but there is a definite chill in the air now. Last winter it didn't snow till January - wonder what this year will bring!

Luv C,D,P & T

Snow!

My patio this evening - have we beaten Canada?

November 16th

First freeze of the winter. We still go down every week to feed the ducks and the geese. The other photo is of the old folks' bungalows along the farm drive - almost finished now.

November 14th - 5 Years Old Today!

Happy Birthday, Max!

Love from All at Spratton

XXXXX

A ghostly night...

Happy Halloween to all the little Robinson ghosts and ghoulies......

Love

Chip Dara Pip & Tim

Our little punks!!

Just a view of things to come! Tonight was the first Indiana Halloween and we certainly gave out a little more candy than our Floridian days! fun was had by all we now have a years supply of candy and the trading of favourites now begins! what a pair of punks (rockers that is!) or as Maddie's friend liked to call them pumpkin rockers (guess it was more of an English 'thing'!) Hope all is well where ever you may be. With love and kisses to all Heidi Jamie Tyler and Maddie xx

Where?

Just trying out my new PINK camera - little tiny Fuji with a BIG screen I can actually see without my glasses! Who can be the first to identify where it went for its first day out?

Rock Star in the making!

We had a street party last weekend - beautiful weather and the kids had water fights. Only thing wrong with this idyllic picture. Its Canada. And its the end of October. It should be freezing!!

Pip and his cronies have been the band to provide entertainment for the last few years. However they have all grown up and left home (sob) and Pip was in Montreal playing Rugby (Ivey won the tournament so he made up for the sad English loss to South Africa!). Anyway - back to the street party. Kudos to Timmy who stepped up to the mike and played and sang beautifully for the assembled company.

We can't wait for the Robinson Brothers to make it to the big time and keep us in our old age!!!

Love

C D P & T

Robinson Hall of Fame

Hi everyone

A couple of quick pics to celebrate achievement this weekend.

Pip received his National Scholarship at a ceremony at Western University. And Chris completed the Toronto Half Marathon in 1hr 35 mins, finishing 196th out of 3500 runners, 163rd man over all out of 1736 male runners and 7th out of 158 men in his age group 50 -54. Nice going!!

Love

C,D,P & T

Final Cottage Fling

Hi everyone

Not such exotic travels as some of the rest of the Robinson clan recently... but we had a nice last trip to the cottage for Thanksgiving weekend. Last year we had Pop and Bev with us - and before that Pete & Paul. We raised a glass to all the generations.

This time Pip was welcomed back from Uni and we celebrated Timmy's birthday with some cottage neigbours.

Cottage is now all shut up until maybe we can sneak a week at Christmas.

Here are a few pictures to paint the scene:

Turkey and all the trimmings and a toast to absent friends.....Tim lights the candles with help from James & Riley next door.

And entertains on his new birthday guitar.The boys play Mine a Million (Chip's board game at least 40 years old!) - no TV allowed at the cottage...
And Pip braves the lake - brrr, but spot those Fall colours coming on!

Love to everyone!
Chip Dara Pip & Tim

Back from Singapore

Hi, Everyone,

Just a few pics from a wonderful holiday, and to wish belated Happy Birthdays to those I was away for - Chip, Pete, and Tim. Thank-you, Canada, for my pressie which was waiting for me this morning when I arrived home - lovely!

Am not sending pics of the consumption of Singapore Slings at Raffles because I enjoyed them too much and it shows! So instead I'm posting the highest man-made waterfall in the world at Jurong Bird Park; the cable-car ride over to Sentosa Island; and Izzy on a bumboat ride in Singapore Harbour. Kirsty and Iz had an horrendous flight home on the edge of the hurricane - Kev's not flying till today because his conference hadn't finished, so his flight will probably be affected also. Mine was just long - two hours longer than when I fly back from Shanghai!

Lots of love to All,

B.

Hey one and all

I know that we are long over due to update, so here are a couple of pics one is of our new dog "Cosmo" think we must be slightly mad, but we will figure it out as we go! he is a six month old Springer Spaniel and is everybit the 'puppy' ! The other is of Tyler at his first ever NFL Football game in downtown Indianapolis watching his new favorourite team the 'Colts' beat the Broncos, that smile was firmly placed on his face for the full 31/2 hours he was there! Hope all is well Happy Belated Birthday's to all you Robinsons wherever you may be! (I think the travelling thing must be from the Robinson side!) We think of you all often with much love Heidi Jamie Tyler and Maddie xx

Happy Birthday Pete!

Happy Birthday Pete, from all of us here...This pic is just to remind all that you are able to catch the odd fish occasionally! Hope you are having a lovely time in Portugal and know that the Canadians are all thinking of you on your birthday (assuming Pip has any idea of what day of the week it is: he's having waaaay too good a time being a student!).
Love, Chip, Dara, Tim and Pip

Happy Birthday Sis!

From Canada to China, our birthday wish: have fun

But just how many times can a girl turn twenty-one?

All our love & happy birthday Bev,

Chip, Dara, Pip and Timmy

SHOULD HAVE BEEN WIV THE PHOTOS....

JUST A COUPLE OF SHOTS OF OUR WEEKS FISHIN ON THE TAY.......WE HAVE RENAMED A BRIDGE OVER IT .. JIMS BRIDGE .... AS WE TOASTED HIS LIFE WITH A WHISKY AND FLOATED SOME OF HIS ASHES FROM THE BRIDGE INTO THE FAMOUS TAY....JUST AS A REFERENCE IT IS NO MORE THAN 200 YARDS FROM THE FAMOUS MEIKELOUR BEECH HEDGE THAT CONTINUES GROWING EVER SKYWARD. SCORE FOR THE WEEK PETE AND BRIAN NIL ..JAMIE FOR THREE DAYS ONE....HOW THOUGHTLESS CAN THE BOY BE ! ! ! HOPE EVERYBODY IS WELL AND PIP HAS HIS NOSE TO THE GRIND STONE......(I BET ...) LOVE TO ALL KIRSTY KEV AND IZZY WE WILL MAKE SURE MOM GETS TO YOU ON TIME HER FEET DONT TOUCH THE GROUND THESE DAYS HUH ?

LOVE PETE AND PAUL ETC.

TRIP UP NORTH......

Not bad for 50!

Here are some pictures from Chip & Dara's romatic getaway to Stratford (Ontario - but still on the River Avon).

Lovely Victorian architecture.....no thatched cottages here!

Note the stylish birthday top and necklace - thanks Pete & Paul!

"Western University Mom" T-shirt in honour of Pip...

All dressed up for the theatre and on our way to see King Lear.....

Hope everyone is well and happy.

Love C,D,T and P in absentia