2022 in Pictures | The Sweet Family

Is it cake?

One of these is a real cat, and one is a cake. Can you tell which is which?

Welcome home, Mia!

Mia’s first day with us in Halifax.

Gymnastics

Charlotte joined a gymnastics club this year. She’s taken to it like a fish to water.

Are you my mommy?

Stuart loved the Roomba when he was really little.

Pat Sweet or Daft Punk?

Hard to tell. Either way, I love my new Vespa helmet with built in shades. (Yes, I know I’m a nerd.)

Mouse sighting

Battle stations! All hands on deck!

Jazz cat!

Stuart loves the piano, which is cute, but makes it hard for Vanessa to play when he’s standing on the strings and chasing the hammers.

Painting the door… finally

When we moved in to our home, Vanessa was insistent that we paint the front door or else she wouldn’t move in. Well, here we are, years later, finally making it happen. Remember, kids, a goal without a deadline is just a dream.

Preparing for Hurricane Fiona

Confession: I was actually kindof looking forward to the power outages to justify eating all this food. I’ll admit, though, that the novelty wore off pretty quick.

Snack time!

Little known fact: The Nova Scotia healthcare system runs almost exclusively on Häagen-Dazs.

Nap time

These two are never too far apart from each other.

Vanessa at the organ

Our church has a beautiful, but woefully underused organ. Vanessa started taking lessons this year and has gotten really good really quickly.

Our cat thinks he’s a parrot

And Charlotte doesn’t seem to mind.

Tiny Buddha

Do all cats sit like this? I think not.

I’ll just rest here, ok?

Stuart became a wonderful office companion for me as I worked and studied from home. Sure it was annoying that he ate by books and covered up my work, but seriously, how can you stay mad at this??

Daniel with Stuart

Our neighbour Daniel loves our new kitten Stuart in a way that’s hard to describe. I’m not sure the feeling is mutual, but that doesn’t bother Daniel.

Being a good big cousin

Nora loves Charlotte, especially when she allows herself to become a playground.

Busted

I can’t remember what she got in to this time… styrofoam? Kitty litter? Whatever it was, the innocent eyes here are a complete ruse.

In the zone

Nothing focuses Charlotte like working on a drawing. The girl has a real talent.

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Sitting still is hard

Seriously, I think we wasted a lot of money on seating. A big open room with pillows and blankets would have worked just fine. And maybe a bouncy castle.

Story time

Charlotte snuggled up with her cousin Thomas for a story. These two have both grown up so much this year.

Wanderers Game with Mom

Mom came with us to a Wanderers Game. Chris, our local soccer encyclopedia and amateur colour commentator couldn’t help but jump in.

Chef Charlotte

Charlie learned to make herself Kraft Dinner. She’s now an official Canadian.

Surprise Attack!

Massey’s ears are just too floppy for Stuart to help himself. Luckily, Massey is a pretty good sport about being treated like a snack. I suspect Stuart would be less tolerant if the tables were turned.

Bartender Pat

I learned how to make a mean whiskey sour for Vanessa this year. This is almost too pretty to drink.

The Sweets at the Waterfront

Quick selfie outside the Sea Smoke restaurant.

Story Time in the Hammock

Charlotte and Harlowe reading in the back yard under the cherry trees. These two are painfully cute. Also, Dog Man is awesome.

A day at the waterfront

Everyone looks like they’re having fun here, but it looks suspiciously like Vanessa’s about to toss Charlie into Halifax Harbour.

Charlotte and Pepere

Charlotte and Pepere watching videos. Hard to believe that Pepere would have grown up without a telephone in his childhood home while Charlotte still has a hard time when a screen isn’t a touch screen.

Clowning Around

Of course Uncle Troy had a bag of two dozen clown noses at the ready, just in case. +100 uncle points, my friend.

Everyone reads like this, right?

Seriously… how does she do this?! And maybe more importantly, why??

School Play

Charlotte played a very convincing French leopard in the school play this year. It was a lot of fun to see her and her classmates.

Safety First!

Charlotte all geared up for a trip on the Vespa. What you can’t see is the body armour covered up by the jean jacket. She’s essentially a Brinks security guard right now.

Vespa Trip

Off to cruise on the new Vespa. Again… I don’t think Charlotte’s face ever deviates from this when she’s riding.

Vespa!

Charlotte loves riding on the back of our new Vespa. I’m pretty sure this is her “riding face”. She reliably shouts “WOOHOO!” whenever I cross over 52 km/h.

Charlotte’s First Communion

We managed to stop Charlotte for long enough to take a picture of her in her first communion dress. For anyone who knows Charlotte, you know hitting the pause button is an accomplishment! She looked beautiful that day, and so grown up.

The Sweets with Fr. Irek

Here we are with our dear friend, Fr. Irek at Charlotte’s first communion.

Charlotte and Vicki on her First Communion

Charlotte with her godmother/ aunt/ partner in crime Vicki at Charlotte’s first communion.

Talk at COVE

Pat was invited to give a leadership workshop at Dartmouth’s Center for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship. I promise people eventually showed up lol!

Who do we sing for?!

WE SING FOR THE WANDERERS!! Charlotte is always up for game day.

Pat at the Inn

Me, waiting for a meal at the Fogo Island Inn, but very much happy to be patient and enjoy Vanessa’s company. Lucky for me, there was no dress code.

Vanessa at the Inn

Here, we’re waiting in the Inn’s dining hall, where 80% of the ingredients came from Fogo island, which is incredible given how the island is essentially just a big rock. The food was just awesome.

Rugged Beauty

With surroundings like this, I can imagine why Flat Earthers decided that this must be one of the four corners of the world.

Dinner and a show

Vanessa discovered, much to her delight, a piano tucked away at the Fogo Island Inn. Behind the glass and down a level is the Inn’s dining room, where they served awesome local dishes. I was pretty under the weather, so while I napped, Ness was able to play.

Fun on the waterfront

Taking time as a family to enjoy Halifax’s incredible waterfront.

My girls

Charlotte and Vanessa being cute as buttons.

That face

I honestly don’t remember what was going on here, but what I can tell you is that Thomas’ face made me laugh coffee out my nose when I saw this picture, so I had to share it.

Beautiful

Vanessa photobombing my attempt to capture the rugged beauty of Newfoundland, totally throwing the focus of the picture out of whack. Brutal.

Happy Birthday, Oma!

Celebrating Sherm’s 60th birthday with her grandkids. We shot a series of Sherma-inspired videos to celebrate Sherm’s life, accomplishments, and… peculiarities. Contact us directly for a copy, as we should probably not post it to the internet.

Looks like rain

A pretty incredible storm rolled in while we were out exploring Fogo. Our guide for the day, a local Fogo Island resident, kept us dry by calling her husband to bring along some rain gear for us. Fogo takes Maritime hospitality to the next level.

Fogo Island Inn at Dusk

The incredible Fogo Island Inn at sunset. If you look closely, you can see Vanessa sitting off to the left near a fire pit. The staff set it all up for us, brought blankets and marshmallows to roast.

Anniversary at Café Lunette

We celebrated two anniversaries this year! Our actual 11th (and a belated 10th!). Here’s me and my very loud party shirt enjoying a great meal with the best wife a man could ask for.

Backyard Paradise

Vanessa’s flower beds levelled up this year. Her effort over the last few years is really starting to pay off.

Visiting The Patch with Anna and Daniel

Vanessa’s sister Meredith and her husband Alex run a fantastically popular pumpkin patch, The Patch. Vanessa and Charlotte went out one day to pick pumpkins and happened to bump into our dear friends the Parafianowicz-Doyles. Here, Anna and Daniel are goofing around with Charlotte amongst the hay bales.

Pizza Night!

Harlowe joined us for a meal at La Piazza, one of our local favourites. The girls are smiling despite a long walk from The Armview restaurant, which is where we tried to go first but couldn’t get in (it’s OK, Armview. We forgive you).

Yet another frog

True to form, Charlotte found a Keji frog almost immediately.

Campsite 30, Keji

Our awesome site at the end of a long trek. Warm beer never tasted so good.

Setting up camp

Charlotte scanning the horizon for wildlife. She saw a family of loons, which she dutifully reported to park staff when we left. We also crossed paths with a dear swimming across one of the lakes, which was pretty incredible to see.

We survived!

On our way back from our waaaaay back country trip. Charlotte was a total pro and helped paddle back (which is good, because clearly Vanessa is preoccupied with a camera here LOL!) If you look closely, you’ll see the zip ties we had to use to compress the portage cart tires so that they would stop falling off. Zip ties are the new duct tape.

Sunrise on Fogo Island

This is the view from our room at the Fogo Island Inn, just before 5AM. This is one of the few places on Earth beautiful enough to be happy to be awake before 5AM.

Pat at the edge of the world

Vanessa and I took a trip to Fogo Island for our tenth anniversary (OK, OK, we were one year late. Thanks, COVID). According to some flat Earth maps, Fogo is one of the four corners of the flat Earth. I’m smiling here because, despite many hikes and adventures, we both managed to avoid falling off the edge.

Halloween at the Rosebud Motel

Vanessa and I decided to dress up as Johnny and Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek for Halloween this year. We all agreed Mia could just wear her regular clothes and could be a pretty convincing Alexis. Charlotte, always the team player, decided to go as a cat.

Jumping over the waves

Charlotte and Leone jumping over waves at Ingonish Beach.

Professor Sweet

I taught my first university course this year at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. It was an online course, so everything needed to be recorded. It was an awesome experience, and I learned a lot. You wouldn’t believe how many masters students *still* have their homework eaten by dogs…

Klask!

Charlotte and Harlowe in an epic Klask battle.

Getting geared up

Packing up our bags for our first big camping trip with portaging. In this moment, we’re feeling optimistic, light, and hopeful. If we knew what lay ahead, for sure one of us would have feigned having the flu to stay home 😀

Why are these girls happy?

Happiness is camping… or at least being done portaging.

Our first portage adventure

“Portaging is fun!” – Nobody ever Our first camping trip involving portages presented some real learning opportunities. Lesson 1: book the right campsite, the one with a 2 portages (Site 31), instead of 6 (Site 30). Lesson 2: Book a light canoe, not a 75lb, 16’4″ monster designed to double as a bomb shelter. Lesson 3: If you do decide to quit and give up, do it before you lose cell reception so that you can come up with a new plan Lesson 4: When the kind staff at the equipment rental place look at you with pity in their eyes when you share your camping plan, make a new plan.

Shave Ice at the Wanderers Grounds

Charlotte claims that the day she got shave ice in Hawaii was the single best day of her life. Tragically, getting shave ice in Halifax didn’t even crack the top ten. Still, it was pretty good.

Charlotte and Juri

Charlotte starting taking her first steps toward becoming an alter server. Here, Juri, is showing Charlotte the ropes. Today’s lesson: candle carrying 101.

Ingonish Open Cup

Charlotte discovered a love of tennis this summer. Here, she and Leone are locked in an epic duel. Watch out, Serena Williams!

Petting the goats

There’s a little hobby farm near Ingonish where you can pet the goats. Charlotte absolutely loved it here.

Charlotte and Ness in Cape Breton

Can you tell it was a bit windy??

A Seaweed Creature

Charlotte, using whatever she could find on the beach and powered by imagination, cobbled together this little creature. I’m just glad we left before the seagulls got to her.

Charlotte catching frogs

Charlotte caught quite a few frogs this trip, but this one was more than happy to pose for the camera.

Swimming at Keji

It might seem like there are a lot of pictures like this one from our trip. Well, there are. This pretty well sums up what the trip looked like. We actually had to tie Massey to the canoe so she wouldn’t swim to the other thousand islands dotting Lake Kejimkujik. Luckily, Charlotte actually comes back when we call so we didn’t have to tie her up, too.

Enjoying the sunset…

… and playing fetch with Massey (and probably Charlotte!)

Sunset over Lake Kejimkujik

Charlotte and Massey in their natural habitat as the sun sets on a perfect day at Keji.

A fair classic

Charlotte and Harlowe enjoying the merry-go-round at the fair. Literally nothing would have been able to dampen their spirits that night.

A girl and her best friend

Charlotte and Massey taking a *very* brief break from splashing in the water while on a trip to Keji. I don’t know that either of them dried out completely for days.

Stealing a kiss in Keji

A perfect night in our favourite place on Earth.

The perfect summer night

Harlowe and Charlotte got lollipops at the fair. They both had this permanent smile plastered on their faces the whole evening.

A trip to the fair

Charlotte, Harlowe and I getting spun around in ways that makes it hard to believe nobody threw up.

The Keji Frog Hunt Continues

Charlotte has made it her mission to catch at least one frog each time we go camping. She’s got a perfect record so far.

Canada’s Wonderland

Felt more like Canada’s Waterland on this day – it absolutely poured. We still had lots of fun though. Charlotte was a champ on some pretty intense roller coasters.

Charlotte and Emery

Here’s another shot of Charlotte and Emery having fun at the wedding. Are they making a break for it??

Looking sharp!

A quick family picture before Amy and Oliver’s wedding ceremony along the shores of Lake Huron.

Bringing Massey Camping

We brought Massey to Keji this summer. I’ll admit, I was really worried about how the paddle to our site would go, but the weather was perfect and Massey settled down once we got going.

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More silly games at the wedding

Charlotte and I goofing around at Amy and Oliver’s wedding. We had an absolute blast.

Welcoming Mia to her new home

Charlotte made a sign to welcome Mia to Canada. We were all so excited to finally meet her.

A stroll downtown

The girls enjoying the city after we took Mia to the city’s “best” Mexican restaurant. Apparently, the food wasn’t quite like back home. I can attest, however, that the tequila was fantastic.

Houston, we have a problem

Protip: power meters should *not* look like this. This is why we were lacking power for 10 days after Fiona.

Hurricane Fiona

All in all, the damage to our house was minor. The only significant issue was that the power lines to our house were taken out, meaning it took a long time to get our power back compared to the rest of the neighbourhood.

Just another normal day

In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, I invited the girls in for a quick bite to eat while the clean-up continued outside. Not sure what precipitated this Xena Warrior Princess power scream, and apparently neither does Charlotte.

Massey has swamp paw(s)

We decided to bring Massey along to enjoy our favourite back country camp site, complete with our own little private beach. Massey loved it… too much. She spent FAR too much time in the water, and ended up with some very sore paws, thus the protective socks.

Trip to Toronto

Here’s Charlotte holding a balloon dolphin after our trip to the Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto.

Garfield by Candlelight

Here Charlotte is enjoying some Garfield with the power out after Hurricane Fiona. As much as being without power was a drag, the lack of screen time was really quite nice.

Ice Cream in Toronto

We visited our good friend Darryl in Toronto, who became our *great* friend when he took us to this ice cream shop. Awesome stuff.

Charlotte and Emery

Charlotte and Emery got a lot of quality time together at Amy and Oliver’s wedding. Grass stains and chasing bugs is what summer is all about.

Hot Tub Time

Charlotte chilling (or… heating?) in the hot tub at Oma’s and Ola’s with a beautiful sunset in the background.

Big smiles at Amy and Oliver’s wedding

We had a ton of fun at Amy and Oliver’s wedding this summer. Not sure who cracked the joke here, but the girls are in stitches.

A day at On Tree

We spent a chilly day on the rope courses and zip lines at On Tree. Had a blast, and everyone made it back in one piece.

On the Skyline Trail

Mia and Vanessa posing for a picture. My recollection of this trip is that it mostly involved us a) goofing around far too loudly, and b) being seriously concerned that the scenery we were hoping to see would be covered in fog. Luckily, the fog cleared, and nobody asked us to leave for being too silly.

Along the Cabot Trail

My favourite picture of the girls on our trip to Cape Breton. This is from the end of the Skyline Trail, looking back at the highway.

At the Wanderers Grounds

We spent a lot of time at Wanderers games this summer. Mia tells us the level of play is… different from in Mexico, but we still have a lot of fun.

Snuggled up with Stuart

The girls hanging out with a very sleepy kitten.

Beach Art

Charlotte fashioned a gnome in the sand using a stick she found on the beach. The whole world is this girl’s canvas.

A warm meal in Ingonish

We visited our dear friend Leone at her cottage in Cape Breton. As always, the food was incredible.

First Day of School

The girls on their first day of school.

First Day of School

After a long wait, it’s finally Pat’s first day of school for his PhD at Saint Mary’s. He was *definitely* happier about going back to school than the girls were!

First Day of School Milkshakes

Per Sweet Family Tradition, we took the girls to The Armview restaurant for milkshakes at the end of the first day of school.

Feliz Cumpleaños!

We celebrated Mia’s 15th birthday in October. Vanessa made her a cake that looks just like Stuart – her best buddy 🙂

Halloween Break

Here, Charlotte and her best friends Maddy and Harlowe are taking a quick breather from trick-or-treating. having a snack will give then energy AND lighten the load. Win-win.

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Post Sleepover Breakfast

The girls wanted blue chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and I delivered.

First Communion

Charlie hanging out with her cousins at her first communion.

Watch out, Griswalds! Here come the Sweets.

Each year, we try to go a little bigger with our Christmas lights. This year saw the addition of programmable LED lights for the cherry trees, which hopefully we can keep up all year.

Mia and Charlotte

The girls stopping for a picture in Cape Breton. Based on jacket choice, you can probably tell which of the two was born in Mexico…

For one night only: Vanessa at the Spatz Theatre

Vanessa had the incredible opportunity to play “Linus and Lucy” at a fundraising event for the Dartmouth General Hospital. She did wonderfully and was a crowd favourite. It was pretty wild, given that Ness and I had seen Jerry Granelli, the drummer who played with Vince Guaraldi on the original recording, play that song on the same stage just a few years ago.

Charlotte can fly!

Here we are on the Skyline Trail just off of the Cabot Trail over Thanksgiving. Naturally, instead of taking in the natural beauty that surrounds us, Charlotte and I are goofing around. I’m thinking this must have been an attempt to reenact that scene from the Lion King.

Sprained Ankle

Mia got to check out the Canadian healthcare system from the inside after spraining her ankle quite badly playing soccer. That wasn’t going to stop us from watching World Cup though!

Thanksgiving in Cape Breton

Mia, Charlotte, and our dear friend Leone at Cape Smokey. The new gondola system is just visible off to the right.

Girl Stuff

Not sure what’s going on here, but the girls were in absolute stitches. This must be one of those “parents just don’t understand” situations.

Volleyball at Sacred Heart

Mia represented Sacred Heart on their volleyball team and was excellent. She was, in my humble opinion, the best passer on the team. It was a joy to watch her play.

Glow Bowling!

We all went out for a night of bowling. We all had a blast, despite different skill levels… (Mia swears she’s actually pretty good when she doesn’t have to use our strange Atlantic Canadian small ball/ ten-pin system. Sure, Mia. We believe you.)

Christmas at the Forum

The girls all went to the annual Christmas market at the Halifax Forum. Here, Charlotte’s cousin Nora is enjoying premium seating courtesy of Mia. (Seriously, these two are inseparable).

Movie night cuddles

Charlotte and Mia cuddled up for movie night. I don’t remember it being a scary movie or anything… these two are just two peas in a pod.

Gymnastics Birthday Party

Charlotte hosted her 8th birthday at her gymnastics club. The girls had a blast – you might even say Charlotte flipped out over it.

SLEEPOVER!

Charlotte had some of her closest friends over for a sleepover for her birthday. The girls had a a riot 😀

Bottle Cap Collection

Vanessa has been collecting the coloured caps from drug vials at work for… a long time. Here’s the organized collection waiting to be used to build a mosaic. Stay tuned for progress!

Physician Parking

One of Vanessa’s new favourite games is to drive our 2007 Toyota Yaris to work when she’s on call, park in the “Reserved for On Call Physicians” spot and see if she gets a ticket for “clearly not being a physician”. The juxtaposition here next to the Maserati was just too much not to capture.

Nutcracker Night

As per annual tradition, Ness and Charlotte went to the Nutcracker at the Rebecca Cohn Theatre, and got to take Mia, too. The guy in the back is clearly loving the show as much as the girls are!

The Wise Woman

While theologically questionable, we really enjoyed seeing Charlotte portray one of the three Wise “People” in this year’s Christmas concert. Charlotte has always been wise beyond her years, so the role was fitting.

Beach day with Oma

Charlotte is with her Oma and her cousins Thomas and Rosie visiting the beach on PEI.

More Cape Smokey

A beautiful shot of our family, including our lovely homestay student Mia.

Cape Smokey

This is from our Thanksgiving trip to Ingonish, Cape Breton. We’re standing near the top of Cape Smokey. You can see Ingonish Beach in the distance.

Candlelight dinner, courtesy of NS Power

This is one of many candlelight dinners NS Power treated us to in 2022. Truth be told, this was a really lovely evening with Ness.

Blanket Fort 2.0

Little known fact: The Halifax Citadel is actually the product of a British solider’s children’s blanket fort gone way overboard.

Skating at Chocolate Lake

We went as a family to skate at Chocolate Lake in Halifax. Despite what you see in the picture, Charlotte had exactly the same number of teeth at the end of this adventure as when it began.

Lights, camera, action!

Pat recorded a course for his business early in 2022. This is a shot of his improvised home studio. (Family and friends discounts available!)

Snuggles with Ness

Charlotte and Rosie having some quiet time with Ness.

“I don’t even like cats.”

This is my proof that Vanessa lies to me. This is her getting “not at all excited” about maybe getting a kitten. (Spoiler, we got the cat).

Stuart is into vinyl

When we first got Stuart, he discovered a cozy little napping spot next to my records. His favourite was the Random Access Memories box set from Daft Punk. Great choice, my friend.

Knitting is better with a fire and a dog at your feet

… unless the dog at your feet is on fire. That’s bad for knitting.

Knitting Project #213

Vanessa knit a gorgeous winter set of mittens and a hat to match. She’s not just beautiful, folks. She’s *warm* and beautiful ;-D

Hockey Teeth

Charlotte showing off her newly gummy smile.

Can you photobomb yourself?

Charlotte has proven that yes, you can. Here we are at one of our favourite restaurants, Brooklyn Warehouse.

More Winter Games

Snow day escapades continue in the back yard. I thought I had bought a fire pit… turns out it’s actually a snow-and-rocks pit. Huh.

Winter Games

The neighbourhood kids ended up playing in our yard one snowy day. Here they are keeping a watch on the path and no doubt scheming their next moves.

Girls Night

The girls ended up at La Piazza, one of our favourite Italian places. That’s a virgin cocktail, right, Charlotte?

Bubbles at the Discovery Centre

One of the greatest places on Earth is Halifax’s Discovery Centre. Here Charlotte is trying to trap herself in a bubble, which, while almost certain to result in soap in her eyes, is going to be *very* cool.