A Tribute

NORTON, Daniel George
Daniel George Norton passed from this world on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at Foothills Hospital after a long and courageous battle against multiple myeloma. Dan is survived by his wife Tracy Snell; his beloved children Christopher, Nicole and Rachel; parents George and Irene; sister Kim; nieces and nephew Stephanie, Thomas, Allison and Sydney. Dan and his family wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Nizar Bahlis and his team for the outstanding care they provided. Dan's memorial service was held at Parkdale United Church, 2919 – 8 Avenue NW, Calgary on Sunday, May 16 at 2:00PM. Those wishing to make a donation in Dan's memory may do so to the International Myeloma Foundation, online or at 12650 Riverside Dr. Suite 206, North Hollywood, CA, 91607. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca.

"What the heart has once known, it shall never forget."

The oil and gas industry is a small world. There are very few degrees of seperation between geologists and geophysicists-- everyone knows everyone. Or everyone knows someone who knows you.

So when Dan Norton passed away last week after a long battle with multiple mylemoa, the sad news travelled quickly among peers.

I met Dan in 2007 after I graduated from University.

I didn't know him well, but thanks to him, I got some hands-on experience with seismic processing. He was a patient teacher with an easy sense of humor.

Dan spoke often of his wife and kids, with obvious pride. My thoughts are with them.

The world is definitely a little less bright with his passing.

A Mish-Mash of Updates

Update 1: Hawaii

Our plans for Hawaii 2010 are coming together. So far, Ashley, Steve and I have booked our flights. We'll be leaving July 9 (Ashley's heading out a day early), and returning on July 16th. The trip will fall almost entirely over Stampede week. This means that I will miss Aaron Lines at Nashville North, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities to see him in the following years. Jeff, Shauna and Billy are still looking into flights. It sounds like they'll be out on July 10, and back on July 17 or 18.

Update 2: Wedding

I picked up my dress on Saturday! It (of course) doesn't fit, but I was expecting that. Still love it. Still really love it. I'll be getting it altered in July.

Tom and I are doing a cake tasting this coming Saturday. There is a pastry chef that runs her own business out of the wedding venue, so we figured for the sake of simplicity, we'd go with her. I don't want to sell her short though! Her cakes sounds absolutely delicious. Check our her website here: http://whippt.ca/Whippt.html

Here is a list of some of the more interesting cakes that she makes. We're going to sample three. Chocolate, Raspberyy & Pistachio, Roasted Coconut Cream and Red Velvet. Mmmm... Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Chocolate, Raspberry & Pistachio - Layers of pistachio cake, dark chocolate ganache & raspberry mousse

Passion fruit, rum and vanilla - Tahitian vanilla bean cake soaked in light rum syrup, layered with passion fruit curd or mousse

Raspberry & White Chocolate - Layers of vanilla bean soaked pound cakes & creamy white chocolate mousse, bursting with fresh raspberries

Triple Berry - Kirsch moistened sponge cakes layered with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and chantilly cream (subject to season & availability)

Roasted Coconut Cream - Buttery vanilla cake soaked with light rum syrup & layered with coconut cream, toasted coconut & cream cheese icing

Lemon Chiffon - Light chiffon cake layered with lemon curd or lemon bavarian mousse & finished with vanilla buttercream

Chocolate Hazelnut - Light hazelnut biscuit & cocoa cake layered with creamy chocolate hazelnut buttercream

Mocha-Misu - Espresso soaked cocoa genoise with Italian mascarpone rum cream

Tom also took it upon himself to create a design to put on the cake. He's the one smoking a cigarette. I'm the one doing the decapitating. See? I have girl hair.

Tom's wedding cake design -- all rights reserved.

Update 3: 10km

Last week, I ran my first 10km! Or rather, thought that I ran 10km two Sundays ago. I finished in 67 minutes. This is by no means fast, but I was still quite pleased with myself. Then on Friday I decided I would run it again. Only... I quickly realized that I must have been delusional last week because my math was off when I was converting miles to kilometers, and I actually only ran 9.75km on Sunday.

Blast!

But it's okay. I ran the full 10km on Friday afternoon, and I did it in 65 minutes! So I ran further, and faster overall. Seems good to me.

I've been thinking I should sign up for some road races this year... But I'm a bit of a chicken!

Update 4: Hikes Galore

Looks like Tom and I might get to hike up to the Burgess Shale this summer, thanks to the silent auction win that Jill and Paige acquired at the GeoCanada conference.

Plus, we're starting to make a plan for hiking the Juan de Fuca trail on Vancouver Island in July with Andrew and Ashley. We're going to have to acquire a whole bunch of camping and back packing equipment, ASAP!

Update 5: Stubborn Child, Refuses to Say "Hotdog"

As I mentioned in a previous post, a couple weeks ago I was on the phone with my sister, and Dylan said "Hotdog!" on the phone.

Tom and I saw him last weekend, and we tried to coax it out of him again. He refused, stubborn kid that he is. "Dada" is still his descriptor of choice.

Dylan - 19 Months and Counting

Two years ago when my sister, Kelly-Ann, and her husband, Chris, told us they were expecting, I was excited for them. The baby would be the first grandchild in our immediate family, and I would officially become an Auntie.

I have to admit, although I was excited, I was also a bit apprehensive. I personally don't have a lot of experience with babies. I was the youngest in both our immediate and extended family. There was only one baby cousin after me, and when I got old enough to baby-sit, the kids on our street were already in Kindergarten or elementary school. Dealing with kids has never felt natural to me-- I managed to avoid even holding a baby until I was 24 years old!

A new born Dylan (top). Baxter and Dylan (bottom).

Dylan was born on September 20, 2008. He started out life tinged yellow (he was a bit jaundiced) and a full head of hair. And as is typical with newborns, for the first few months, Dylan didn't do a whole lot. He ate, he slept, he cried, he spit up (a LOT) and most importantly, he was immobile. You could put him down in one spot, and he would stay there. Each time I saw him, he could do something new! He could smile, he could laugh, he could hold something.

Dylan at 5 months.

In the photo above, Dylan is hanging out with Baxter. They are playing with their toys together. This photo was taken after Dylan had made his next big achievement-- he learned to roll. Maybe learning to roll doesn't sound like much, but I was amazed by the places he could get to by wiggling himself around on the floor.

Dylan air swims at ~7 months.

Before Dylan mastered the art of crawling, he went through a hilarious phase where he would lay on his belly, and flap his arms and legs up and down. It was like he wanted to crawl, but hadn't quite figured out what to do with his limbs yet. It looked like he was swimming the butterfly crawl on dry land.

But once Dylan figured out crawling... There was no stopping him. Suddenly... He was mobile! Capable of getting into anything and everything. Nothing can hold him back. He has investigated the dust bunnies in the vents at home, and sampled some dirt in the garden. He dipped his feet in Lake Sicome (but wouldn't get his knees wet), and has started watching Flames hockey with his dad.

Dylan at 8 months (crawling). Dylan at 10 months.

Dylan at 10 months with Auntie Amanda. Bullying Uncle Tom.

As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty easy to understand how a kid could become utterly and overwhelmingly spoiled. Dylan has a smile that could light up a room! You can't help but melt when you see him-- even after he's been causing trouble. It even makes changing poopy diapers more tolerable (which I admit, I've only had the pleasure of doing on one occasion).

Even though (at this point) Dylan won't remember much, he's been lucky enough to have a lot of experiences this early in life. Dylan has flown to Phoenix, Arizona, to visit him grandma and grandpa. He's also flown with his mom to San Francisco, and ridden on a bike over the Golden Gate bridge. He's also been camping in a tent!

Dylan with mom and dad in San Francisco. One year old.

Now that Dylan is walking (and running), he is working on talking. For several months he's been regularly using "Dada" and "Uh-oh." Although, pretty much everyone is "Dada," and "Uh-oh" is not always used when an accident has occurred. In fact, a few months ago when Kelly-Ann told us about an incident where she was in the middle of making dinner. She had pots boiling on the stove, and chopping that needed her attention. And then she heard it... An, "Uh-OH!" from the pantry. When she looked inside, there was Dylan. He had squeezed out an entire bottle of maple syrup all over the floor and all over himself! "Uh-oh", indeed!

Dylan has added "hotdog" to his vocabulary, and apparently "Baxter" (but I have yet to hear that one). Every time I see him, he has learned to do something new! He can open doors now, resulting in the purchase of child proof door handles. He can wield a hockey stick. He has a nearly full set of teeth. At the end of an evening out, he'll give you a kiss and wave good-bye. And he has apparently become very attached to his blankie. He'll use it to console himself after he gets in trouble.

Dylan at 17 months.

Dylan's second birthday is less than five months away. I can't wait to see what he'll learn next! Because anything Dylan learns is something I learn too. This little guy is a treasure to our family!

So... now that you know all about my nephew, I leave you with this:

Dylan's first haircut.

Hmmm... I really need a haircut too!