Blair's Blog

Well the kids are not too excited about heading back to school on Tuesday, so we managed to get a few of the kids favourite summer activities squeezed into the Labour Day weekend.  Despite some rainy and cool weather on Sunday, the rest of the weekend was actually fairly nice.

Brenda’s brother Barry was working in Calgary on Friday and Saturday and staying with us, so we had Barry bring his oldest, our nephew Tobin, down to spend a little time with his cousins.  On Friday, the weather was fine and we decided to head to Heritage Park, a historical village in Calgary that recreates early Western Canadian history.  It’s a favourite place to go as a family.

We got there early enough to have the free pancake and sausage breakfast and followed that up with a ride on the S.S. Moyie sternwheeler.  In fact, over the course of the day we managed to complete the “Heritage Park Trifecta” – sailing on the sternwheeler, taking the interpretive horse-drawn wagon ride and the riding the steam train all in one visit!  It was a great day and the kids had a lot of fun on the vintage rides and eating ice cream and candy sticks for lunch.  (Sorry, Breana.)

When we got back from the day’s outing we decided that it would be a good evening to have a fire in the back yard and roast hot dogs for dinner.  While the fire was burning down to coals, the kids and I put up our little tent in the back yard.  After we’d eaten our fill of burnt hot dogs and sat by the fire til it died down, we got the boys (Steven, Mark and Tobin) settled in their sleeping bags in the tent.  Of course they didn’t rough it too much – Brenda gave them the portable DVD player and they watched a movie before falling asleep.  The night turned a bit chilly and they all drifted in to the basement about 5:00 am to sleep on the couches!  We did feed them a waffle and bacon brunch to put a big finish on the campout.

By Sunday the rain came and the temperature dropped and summer seems to be really near its end – especially when we the realities of returning to school are getting harder to avoid for the kids.  We had them all prepare their school bags today with their pencils, notebooks and other supplies.  Tomorrow Alyssa starts Grade 1, Mark is in Grade 3 and Steven begins middle school in Grade 6!

No Comments »

As promised, here is a little bit about what’s been going on in the past weeks. May and June were busy with end of school field trips and activities as the kids wound up the school year (Alyssa finished kindergarten, Mark finished Grade 2 and Steven finished Grade 5). All 3 kids did well and we are quite proud of how they’ve grown and how much they’ve learned this year.

On the 20th of June we were up to Rocky Mountain House for the Langendoen cousins birthday bash with Brenda’s Mom and Dad, her two brothers and their families. There were 12 cousins in all and we’ve decided that once each summer the kids can draw names and give birthday gifts to each other – it’s much simpler than trying to have 12 separate birthday parties and it’s a great family get together. This year we had access to a boat and held the bash at Cow Lake, so all the kids got to go tubing and had a blast. The next day Brenda and the boys went up to Pioneer Ranch Camp on Crimson Lake for an open house and the boys got to do some wall climbing and horseback riding.

Sadly, just a couple of weeks after the cousin’s bash, Ronny and Carla and their boys experienced a tragedy in the family as their 6th child, a daughter they’d named Cora Grace, was stillborn just 2 weeks prior to Carla’s due date. We made a couple of trips up to RMH, the first 2 weekends in July, just to be together as a family and then to mourn Cora’s passing at a memorial service on 12 July. It was a somber way to begin our holiday to the coast and our thoughts remained with Ronny, Carla and the boys right through our vacation.

Our time out on the coast was spent on Thetis island at Capernwray Harbour Bible Centre, attending one of their Holiday Bible weeks. It was a great time in a spectacular location – the staff there take great care to ensure that everyone has a wonderful time, with lots of good food and great activities to keep the whole family busy all week. Brenda and I had attended school and worked at Capernwray for about 5 months back in 1996 while we were waiting for our Australian visas before we moved to Sydney for a couple of years. We’d been back once for a short visit when Mark was a baby, but not since. It was great to be back and to meet up with some old friends. We even were billeted in the very same cabin that Brenda and I had been in back in 1996! The kids thought that was pretty neat!

Unfortunately for me, I came down with a pretty nasty cold on the Wednesday and only recovered just enough to survive the drive back home on the weekend. At least no one else caught what I had and Brenda and the kids enjoyed the rest of the week. The beach was the biggest hit, whenever we were missing a child we be able to find them down by the water flipping over rocks and looking for crabs and other sealife. Steven got pretty handy with a little net and caught a couple of flatfish and other more elusive prey.

On the way home we spent a day at the Vancouver Aquarium (Yea! more sea creatures!) and saw the 5 week old beluga whale baby as well as the seals, otters, dolphins and all the other great exhibits. It’s pretty easy to spend a day there as a family – the kids really enoyed it.

No Comments »

Yeah, I know that it’s been over 2 months since the last post on the blog. With the end of school for the kids, the onset of serious yard work after a cool, wet spring and, not least, making summer holiday plans – I’ve not been too inclined to sit at the computer. Even the geekly charms of updating the blog software have fallen by the wayside.

However, we have had lot’s going on and will endeavour to get some posts and pictures up over the next while now that we’re back from holidays out at the coast. We spent a week on Thetis Island – the kids loved it. Here’s a little sneak preview.

No Comments »

Shadow

b. 24 April 2001 Brisbane, QLD, Australia

d. 1 May 2008 Strathmore, AB, Canada

A good dog, and greatly missed.

We found Shadow as a puppy on a family holiday to Australia and brought him home in October 2001. He was gentle with the kids and loved his sunny perch on our deck, watching the world go by. He was good natured and we never heard him bark, but he could do a great gargoyle impression. He had more than his share of health problems during his too-short life, succumbing eventually to skin cancer. A sad week at our house.

No Comments »