Igor at dusk with a view of the lake at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun on December 17th!

Friday, September 18, 2015

Family update

Sorry for the boring post...but sometimes we must put things up here just for ourselves!

Daughter Lindsey with her husband Justin and the two kids moved back to Ottawa in June, and they've been living at Ruth's dad's place ever since. Still a temporary situation, but it's less temporary than they expected it would be.

Pretty sure that Ruth's dad would prefer to have his peace and quiet back, but by the same token I'm sure he's enjoying being able to spend some time with his great grandchildren. A lot of people never get to experience that.

Ruth's dad, out for a walk with our granddaughter Sadie (2).

Lindsey and Justin have been trying to buy a house, but housing is so expensive in the Ottawa area. Even looking 45 minutes outside of the city it's tough to find anything half decent for under $275,000. Plus, because they're both at new jobs they needed to go through "probation" with a mortgage approval, despite having great credit and a decent down payment. 

Anyhow, Justin did find a great job at what appears to be a great company and in the field he's working in. So at least there's that. Lindsey is working as a cook at a retirement home, but only part time.

Our grandson Cameron (4 1/2) and granddaughter Sadie (2).

Our daughter Lindsey, with her kids Cameron (playing camera shy) and Sadie.

Our son Alex is still working at an actuarial firm. He's studying for his 4th actuarial exam. I think there are seven exams which you take while you're working. Each exam requires about 400 hours of study time.

Here is a sample of the types of questions on the exams...

You are given P[A∪B] = 0.7 and P[A∪B′] = 0.9 . 

 Determine P[A] . 

 (A) 0.2
 (B) 0.3 
 (C) 0.4 
 (D) 0.6 
 (E) 0.8 

Hey. At least this one is multiple choice. I know enough math to figure out that I'd have a one in five chance of getting it right.

And, he's excited about next weekend. He and his buddy Matt are in the National Finals in the City Chase Canada event. They've been training hard for this competitive event which is an 18 hour race against 20 other teams from across Canada!


Looking forward to seeing them all in less than two weeks!

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33 comments:

  1. Housing is cheap in Smiths Galls, nice little town, 40 min from Nepean.

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    1. They feel that Smith Falls is too far away for them, it would be about the same distance or more from where they are right now at my Dad's and they think that is too far away. Justin works 12 hours a day, except Fridays and adding almost another 2 hours to his day is just too much, he would never see the children during the week.

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  2. Oh man, that actuarial stuff would certainly boggle my pea brain. Lucky for the "kids" they can hang out with Ruth's Dad. Better that than trying to find an apartment etc. They'll sort it out in due time I'm sure.
    Moving is never that easy with kids (I mean the little kids) BUT, at least they're not in school just yet.

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    1. Yeah, I am not quite sure where Alex got the brain for those kinds of figures, it certainly wasn't from either of us. ;-)

      It is lucky but neither one thought that it was going to be for this long. I hope that they are able to get a place soon so they can settle down on their own and get into a proper routine. Cameron actually is able to go to school now but Lindsey didn't want to put him in a school only to take him out down the road and move him to another one, after all it is only kindergarten at this point.

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  3. Nice to see an update on your kids and grandkids. Terrific pictures. Love the one of Sadie and great-granddad. Nice that he has the room to house them while they hunt.

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    1. Thank you Sherry! That picture is also our favourite too, we really love it!

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  4. Ahh, set theory! Fun stuff. P[A] = 0.6

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    1. Alex says that was a beginner question. Try this...

      Your company currently offers a whole life annuity product that pays the annuitant 12,000 at the beginning of each year. A member of your product development team suggests enhancing the product by adding a death benefit that will be paid at the end of the year of death.

      Using a discount rate, {d}, of 8%, calculate the death benefit that minimizes the variance of the present value random variable of the new product.

      (A) 0
      (B) 50,000
      (C) 100,000
      (D) 150,000
      (E) 200,000

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    2. The answer is always D. In this case, 150,000.

      Delete
  5. I would be wildly surprised if I got to see any great grandchildren. I bet he is enjoying it while looking forward to some peace and quiet to:) I have those mixed feelings weekly:))

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    1. Yes, I am sure that some that he is enjoying it but I also know that he is missing that peace and quiet. He will sure notice it when they do find their own place and will have his house back, that's when he will find that he really liked having them there. It seems you always appreciate things more when those things/people aren't there anymore.

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  6. It is also good for kids to get to spend time with older people, so many don't get to do that these days.

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    1. We totally agree with you Cheapchick! I read an article somewhere, where they put a daycare centre into a nursing home and the children and adults got to mix a lot of the time and the results for both were amazing.

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  7. We do love the time spent with our grands, but they sure wear you out.
    It is so hard to find affordable housing these days unless you are making big bucks, something we never did.

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    1. Yep, I remember how worn out we were when we looked after Cameron and Sadie in April for a week but that time with them was so worth that totally beat feeling.

      That's one of the reasons that they are looking a little further out from the city to try and find a house that is a little more affordable but it is still hard.

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  8. the photo of Sadie walking with great grandpa is soooo adorable. We Natives depend on elderly to teach young ones lessons learned and don't mind living with extended elderly family members. My grandmother taught me survival skills i.e. what plants to eat and medicinal purposes, what plant to chew to get hydrated,, how to keep warm if caught in a storm, etc. I handed those down to my children. Recently my daughter identified herbal teas and harvested these wild plants to brew...these herbal plants are also medicinal. I was amazed she able to identify the herbal plant even tho the lessons given her were when she was a child.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yep, really love that photo, definitely a keeper!

      Sounds like you learned a lot from your grandmother, I sure hope that we can teach our grandchildren lots as well but maybe not quite to that extent though, seeing I could never tell you about all the different plants. ;-) I hope that some of these memories that Cameron and Sadie will have will stay with them, maybe not Sadie at the moment but at least Cameron.

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  9. Kevin, you forgot to mention that Ruth's Dad also gets all his meals cooked for him which is a plus!!! Love the picture with Tony and Sadie!

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    1. Yes, does get his meals made but they aren't always what he would like to have! ;-)

      That is one of our most favourite pictures, we really love it too!

      Delete
  10. If in doubt, pick "C"! ;c)

    Great picture of Ruth's dad with Sadie! Adorable!!!

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    1. I think we would be in doubt on all the questions and they can't all be "C"! ;-)

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  11. Those are such sweet photos of your wonderful family.

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    1. Thank you Grace, Lindsey did a great job capturing them!

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  12. All the pics are good, but I love the one with the kids at the lake. Boy that math stuff boggles my mind. Glad your son is up to this.

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    1. Yes, that is a really nice one too!

      We are glad that he can do, and that he loves this type of stuff because we would be useless at it.

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  13. Replies
    1. Now did you REALLY know the answer or did you cheat and look at Dugg's answer! ;-)

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  14. Great photos Lindsey. Thanks for the update.

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  15. Grand kids are the best and you sure have some cute ones. Precious photos! Wishing your kids all the best in their endeavors. I've never heard of actuarials, so I have no idea. It sounds like a lot of hard work. Best wishes for your son & his friend in their race this weekend and for your daughter and her husband in finding a home. It sure is tough for young people these days. Housing costs are ridiculous. Maybe we will end up like the early generations who often (& many still do) have several generations living under the same roof.

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    1. Yes, the are the best and we can't wait to see them in about 1 1/2 weeks from now!

      We never knew what an actuary was either until Alex told us this is what he wanted to do as a career. He loves numbers and he loves a challenge and this job is both of those.

      It certainly seems like it is harder today to afford a house then when we were at that stage in our lives but I expect it really isn't that much different seeing that wages have gone up as well as housing prices. I think what has changed a lot, is that people seem to want to have everything right away and then they end up in debt. Lindsey and Justin aren't like that and been able to save. We are sure that they will find what they are looking for soon enough.

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  16. Always enjoy seeing pics & hearing how family is doing. Sadie and Great granddad photo is adorable.

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    1. Thank you Connie and Barry! As soon as we saw that photo we loved it too!

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