Last week I tried to "encourage" my family to post to this blog. I sent them all TERRIBLE pictures of themselves and threatened to post them here if they didn't post their own. Although they all responded soon enough to my threat, nobody has updated this blog yet. To be fair, this sort of thing is easier for me to do so I'll give a general update on the family. I won't post those nasty pictures just yet, because I'm sure there are some of me floating around and I don't want to start a war.
You may remember there are 6 kids, in order of age: Mark, Colleen, Paul, David, Kathleen & Kevin. Hearing it listed like that reminds me of being called for dinner. :)
Mom and Dad (Maureen and Al) are both in good health and living in that big house you remember in Ancaster. The house and property itself would look very different to many of you as my Dad's projects have really transformed the place. There are no more big willow trees (and no more treehouse!) :( . The front yard has a waterfall and gardens and the backyard also has many more trees and gardens. Inside they've been upgrading consistently.
Mark is working at the CBC fulltime as a video camerman. He's also worked in the film and TV industry for years as camerman, grip, and bestboy. In recent years he's directed his own short films and documentaries that have been shown at film festivals around the world. Mark always has great stories about the movie stars he's had the pleasure to work with. Mark is engaged to Sandra, a beautiful Swiss girl, from a town near Zurich. They plan to be wed in Switzerland this fall. Sandra is a team lead for an investment banking firm. She can use the phrase "I just need to transfer funds from my Swiss accounts" and not be kidding. For some reason I just think that's cool. Mark and Sandra bought a great house in the Beaches area of Toronto.
Colleen is married to Leo Forte. Both of them are teachers (that's how they met). They have two gorgeous kids Amelia (3.5 years) and Christopher (2 in May). Colleen and Leo live in Waterdown (a town near my parents house in Ontario). There house has a great big backyard which is great for BBQs and family get togethers. Leo enjoys photography in his spare time and, you know what, I don't know what hobbies Colleen has. Luckily I haven't picked her name out of a hat at Christmas in the last few years. Well - I know she loves playing with her kids. Colleen - perhaps you can comment and let me know what you do with your spare time. :)
Paul lived in Florida for many years but has been back in Ontario for about 2 years now. He lives in Ancaster now and is a Respiratory Therapist. I know he keeps crazy hours at work but I get to see him quite a bit on the webcam. It's too bad that Paul decided to move back to Ancaster only AFTER I moved to Singapore. I'm not sure if that was planned...
David (me) has somehow managed to keep his good looks and chiseled features all these years (and wise-ass sense of humour). He enjoys playing with his kids, movies, reading, computer games and talking about himself in the third person. He works at Microsoft in Singapore. He's married to Carol, the stunning Brazilian that captured his heart 15 years ago. Carol took a break from architecture to become a full-time Mom. David and Carol have 2 kids, Noah (2.5 years old) and Ella (14 months).
Kathleen is a nurse who enjoys traveling the globe and working in remote and sometimes dangerous places. She actually knows what shrapnel looks like, has delivered a baby (from someone who didn't know she was pregnant - I don't know, ask her!), and knows what it's like to live so far north that there are no trees and it's dark 24 hours a day. She recently married her long-time boyfriend Dave. Dave works in IT, and can configure your PC and setup your business phone system faster that you can say "open-source software" (he'll find that funny). They got married just this past October and I've attached photos below. They visited us last year in Singapore and we really had a great time. They just bought a new house in Brantford, Ontario.
Kevin is now a full-time police officer and part-time firefighter. This should come as no surprise to anyone who ever played dinky cars with Kevin or tried his go-kart as a kid. Kevin has the best resisting arrest stories of anyone I know. Well, actually, I don't know anyone else that can arrest people so maybe that's why. He also recently married (1 week after Kathleen!). His lovely wife, Alison, was a teacher for a number of years but now works for a government department that promotes health and wellness in youth. They just bought a new house and moved in officially last week! They live in Ancaster, Ontario.
Congratulations to Kevin & Alison, Kathleen & David, and Mark & Sandra for your recent and upcoming marriages!!! 3 weddings in 2 years? Makes me wonder if Mom&Dad are providing some kind of marriage incentive plan I'm not aware of.
There are two recent photos below of my siblings and the Bochsler Grandkids. These were taken at Kathleen and Dave's wedding. The last one is from My parents visit to Singapore 2 years ago.
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Back Row (left to right): David, Kevin, Paul, Leo (Colleen's husband), & Mark
Front Row (left to right): Carol (David's wife), Alison (Kevin's wife), Dave (Kathleen's husband), Kathleen, Colleen, Sandra (Marks' fiancee)
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Bochsler Granchildren (back to front): Amelia, Noah, Christopher, Ella
Mom and Dad in Singapore, May 2005.
Left to Right: David & Noah, Maureen, Al, Carol
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