Colin had the best sense of humor and was known for his pranks. On a backpacking trip with his friends, he heard a group of hikers approaching on the trail. "I've got a great idea," Colin said. He quickly hiked off trail, hiding himself in the trees. As the hikers approached, Colin stumbled out of the woods. "What year is it?" he asked the hikers with a crackle in his voice. His hair looked as if he had scuffed it up with his hands. Taken aback, the hikers quickly informed him it was 2015. "Good," Colin replied, "there's still time." He raced back into the forest leaving the hikers in confusion.

Colin was always full of ideas. When his girlfriend asked him to go pick up a plunger from Home Depot, he left in his pick-up truck and was gone for a half an hour. Upon returning, he told his girlfriend he realized they needed a few other items for the apartment. She looked outside at his car to see his truck bed full of plants. "Don't be mad, but..." said Colin, "I thought we could use some new plants for the apartment." She looked at all the greenery with wide eyes, "Fifteen plants? Did you get the plunger?" she asked. "Yeah, I think so," Colin replied.

Colin loved embarking on creative projects. After his oldest sister graduated from college, Colin knew what to do to celebrate. "We should build a theater in the basement," Colin said. "You don't have anything going on." Now that his sister was done with school, what else was there left to do? Colin was right. He took charge and constructed a giant screen out of a white sheet he "borrowed" from upstairs. The two of them rearranged chairs and tables to make a seating area. They tested out the new theater by playing a round of their favorite video game, StarWars Battlefront. It wasn't long before the missing sheet was noticed, and the theater project was discovered. The remodeling of the basement didn't receive a positive reaction, but Colin knew how to fix that. He showed his Dad it was possible to watch hockey games on their new big screen. Thus, it was decided the theater could stay put.

Colin grew up backpacking with his two older sisters. One year, him and his oldest sister went on a trip with their Dad. After hiking up the mountain, they came upon a meadow. Colin's older sister whispered, "I think there's something in the trees." A huge elk quickly stood up about five feet away. The ground suddenly shook. Colin and his sister gripped each other's jackets. A whole heard of elk rose up around them and bolted across the meadow. "All right!" Yelled their Dad. "Incredible!" He took off running after the elk, leaving Colin and his sister in the dust. "Dad!" They yelled after him. They watched him race across the meadow, balancing a huge camera the size of a microwave on his shoulder (it was the 90s). Colin and his sister laughed at the sight of him fumbling around trying to hit record. "He's gone nuts," they both agreed. Later on in life, they recalled that memory with humor and thought it was like the scene from Jurassic Park, when the lawyer suddenly leaves the kids in the car to go to the bathroom.

Colin would leave in a hurry, forgetting to tell people where he was headed. His roommates told him he had to stop disappearing into the wilderness without letting them know where he was going. Colin realized his error, and left a note behind when he embarked on his next backpacking trip.
"My Dearest Steven, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you I'm leaving the house. I will think of you often while I'm gone, remember you fondly, and hope to see you again upon my return. Sincerely, Colin of the year 1892."

Colin’s penchant for pyrotechnics was legendary. When Colin's sister was off at college in Utah, he went to visit her with a few of his friends. Late one night, while his sister and her roommates slept, a loud bang suddenly echoed through the dorms. Colin's sister awoke from the sound. Her first thought was, "Colin's shooting off fireworks." Sure enough, Colin and his friends put on a firework show for the dormitory from the roof of the building. It was never clear on how they got up there, and since it was a pretty exciting show, no one was too upset.

Colin’s curiosity could be a distraction, frustrating his mother as she got three children ready for school in the morning before heading to work. She’d find Colin sitting in the kitchen, breakfast untouched, reading the encyclopedia. When asked why he had eaten nothing, Colin replied that he was interested in learning about the Great Wall of China.

As a teenager, Colin made friends easily and had a tender heart. He could be found in the hallways of his high school, walking alongside his friend who had cerebral palsy, laughing, talking hockey and sharing jokes. During summers he was a favorite babysitter in the neighborhood, a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool and a volunteer at Adam’s Camp.

Colin and his sisters loved video games. As young children they did not own a coveted Nintendo 64 game station. Instead, they combined creative forces and crafted their own version out of cardboard and colored paper, drawing Mario characters that moved around on popsicle sticks across hand-drawn environments. Colin enjoyed bringing his imagination to life. He sculpted creatures and characters out of clay to film his very own stop motion, animated movies, inspired by one of his favorites, “Wallace and Gromit.”