2011 Year-in-Review

Note: This post is AI-generated based on my twitter archive.

If I had to summarize 2011 in a single word, it would be transition. Looking through the 2011 Tweet Archive, it’s exhausting just reading about everything we managed to pack into those twelve months. We fundamentally changed our lives, moved across the country, and tackled some major parenting milestones along the way. Here is the year in review.

The Big Move to Nova Scotia: Right on New Year’s Day, we announced the massive news: we were packing up and moving our family from Ontario back to Nova Scotia. It was a monumental undertaking that involved selling our house, buying a new one, moving everything we owned, and transporting two toddlers 1,900 kilometers. I wrapped up a 11-year career with the Ontario Government and started a new chapter working for the Halifax Regional Municipality.

By February, we had the keys to our beautiful new home in Hammonds Plains. Adjusting to country/suburban living was a fun process. To fully embrace our new lifestyle, we officially became a minivan family by taking delivery of a white 2011 Toyota Sienna. I also had my first-ever crate delivery when I bought a lawn tractor to tackle our massive new lawn.

Family: Potty Training and Kid-Free Escapes: With the kids getting older, 2011 was the year of the potty. Emma started showing progress early, but Drew’s transition to underpants was filled with some classic messy moments, including peeing on the floor and arguably on Mommy. However, he made up for it by executing his first outdoor whizz on the side of the road like an absolute pro. Drew also hit some fun “big kid” milestones, like going to his first movie in theaters (Cars 2) and attending his first hockey game, where he cheered on the Halifax Mooseheads with a hot dog in hand.

Despite the chaos, Alicia and I made sure to carve out some time for ourselves. We finally beat Diablo II together, and in June, we left the kids with their grandparents and escaped for an incredibly relaxing, kid-free vacation to Antigua.

Technology: Boxee Boxes and Apple Upgrades: On the tech front, 2011 saw me officially “cut the cord” again, this time relying heavily on a Boxee Box paired with a VPN to get all the television content we needed. Apple gadgets were also a huge theme in the Kirk household. Alicia surprised me by secretly ordering herself a brand new iPad 2 with a pink cover on launch day. Later in the year, I made a major computing shift myself; I sold my beloved 24” aluminum iMac — my very first Mac — and bought a refurbished 13” MacBook Pro. It was tough to say goodbye to the desktop, but moving to OS X Lion on a portable machine was the right call.

Sports and Staying Active: I decided it was time to drop a few pounds, so I joined a gym. By my second day, I quickly realized I was not a high-performance athlete, as I was left sucking wind and sweating everywhere after just 25 minutes. At least I had football to keep my spirits up. The highlight of the sports year was undoubtedly watching my Pittsburgh Steelers finally beat the New England Patriots in October.

2011 was an incredibly busy, exhausting, and rewarding year. We successfully relocated our lives and set down our permanent roots in Nova Scotia, and we couldn’t be happier.