Best Birthday Gifts Ever!

WHL game in Edmonton

To celebrate hockey crazy boy's 12th birthday this year we took him and one of his friends to a WHL game in the city days before our holiday.  It was a good game which he enjoyed it immensely.  Unbeknownst to him the REAL gift was wrapped up on the table upon our arrival home from this game.   Two NHL tickets for the Anaheim Ducks vs NY Islanders, Nov 5th in Anaheim. 

He was beside himself with joy.  The best part was yet to come.  The tickets I got (thanks wonderful wonderful StubHub) were 3rd row from the ice, right beside the Anaheim bench.  I wish the boys remembered to take the camera as they would have got some wonderful pictures. They were so close to the bench that they could hear the players and coaches talking. Alas the only picture I have is this:

Post game Anaheim

The boy holding a game puck from first period! 

It was flipped over the boards during the game by Ryan Kesler.  Can you believe that?!  The boys first NHL game and he gets a game puck!  Daddy said it was the best and craziest game he has ever been to.  It went into overtime, with two reviewed goals, shots on goal even throughout 2nd and 3rd period.  He said the stadium was electric.  I think it was daddy's best birthday too!

disney girl

Special mickey ears and her first lobster.  (not on site of course!)  She is actually the reason we went on this trip.  She scraped together $1000 for the trip by babysitting and doing other odd jobs this summer.  How could we say no!?

Oh my goodness!

Apparently my Halloween candy picture is suffering from Elmoititis.
Not sure what happened : )

Pre-vacation: Halloween Fizzle

This year I made a special effort with my Halloween treats.
There are 4 children that live close to us whom I thought would come by for trick or treating.
Last year I wasn't expecting them so I was grabbing anything possible to throw in their bags.
This year I was ready.....

.... and this year they didn't come !  : (

A new member of the family.

The girl and I are not rollercoaster fans, so we let the boys go to Knott's Berry Farm (rollercoaster mecca) on their own.  We waited and waited for them to come back early afternoon so that we could go to the Disney parks together.  When they failed to show up, the girl and I decided to head to the park on our own with meet up instructions.  On our way we ran into the boys plus one.

Ball Throw Win


The big news is that Elmo came home with us!  I unstuffed his head and body and shoved him in our suitcase.  He is looking a little flat at the moment, but will be back to his life sized vibrant self with the help of some derelict pillows.

Elmo Photo Ops

 

Splash Mountain Misdemeanor

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Disneyland.  Pictures and stories forthcoming, but thought I would start with our favourite ride Splash Mountain. (the log ride)  One evening Splash Mountain was basically walk off walk on.  We went on it 5 times in row!  They boys kept trying to switch up the pictures.  On the last take they took off their shirts, which unbeknownst to us was a no-no.  I am so glad that I took a picture of the exit board, as when I went to purchase the picture it had been "washed away".  Anything not Disney family friendly is deleted.

CENSORED

SOAKED

SOAKED

My Bike Story

(alternative title: Middle Child Syndrome)

Way back in 1984 I had a bike .... a beautiful bike.  It was a silver CCM ten speed, with a big "Joe's Cycle" sticker on it ... a beautiful, beautiful bike.  One fine afternoon I was asked if I would consider giving my bike to my little sister, and in turn I would get a new bike.
2014 ~ 30 years later.....

BEHOLD, MY BIKE;

As my Slovak friend would say... "I'm exciting!"
I am so exciting.  It's the most beautiful bike.  I have been having a grand time biking the trails around our farm.

An aside:  I wasn't going to purchase a bike until next spring.  My friend took me to Mountain Equipment Co-op last month where (unfortunately $ - fortunately see above) they have the best bikes.
After trying out 3 other bikes, I sat on this one, and knew it was "my" bike.  No other bike would do.  I resolved to wait until the new year for when 2014 stock went on sale.... hopefully. 

This past week I was in the city for meetings ... I went to "visit" my bike.  (seriously)  What I didn't expect was to see ONE of the 3, on clearance.  My jaw dropped and I grabbed an attendant... I asked why this particular bike was on sale.  He said, "Oh, all of them are on sale.  They just don't have the tags on them yet."  MY BIKE WAS ON SALE! 

The rest is history.  It is the most amazing bike : )

Old Man Winter? Bring it!

WE. ARE. READY.

 

Captain Never Happy approved recipe (and that's saying a lot!)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/pork-tenderloin-with-seasoned-rub-recipe.html

the benefits of getting lost

Groovy things are found!

Being directionally challenged, I tend to get lost ... a lot.   This is not without benefits.

The girl and I ended up in a very different area of the city today, unintentionally.  Snaking our way back to a main artery we saw a Latin American grocery!  I have been looking for (the above) chili salt spice FOREVER so we stopped to check if they had it. Chili salt is sprinkled on fresh fruit and cucumber. They did (!), amongst other delightful things including -  orange blossom honey with honeycomb, in an aesthetically pleasing jar. 

 

It was the best kind of lost.  Grocery store location noted for future reference.

 

If you can get a hold of some of this chili spice, do it!  I was introduced to it at a fruit stall in Los Angeles, and have been an addict ever since.   



extreme anglers

Regarding last post ...Okay, I got it wrong... .it's not a WWF voice, it's the MONSTER JAM voice.

Tonight "Captain Never Happy" was pretty happy : )
The boys have been going fishing
Every.
Single.
Night. .... to keep Never Happy, Happy of course.

This was their score this evening!  Smiles all around.
(oh and they have been saying they are "Extreme Anglers" in the Monster Jam voice of course)

A most interesting day.

In our family we have WWF (world wrestling federation) nicknames for ourselves.
They are as follows; (must be said in WWF aggressive gravelly voice)

the boy - "Captain Never Happy"
the girl - "Truth Stretcher"
daddy - "Dream Crusher"
myself - "Joy Killer"

Joy Killer reared her ugly head today.

My daughter bless her heart, has an out of control entrepreneurial spirit. 
She wants to make money.
And she wants to make it now.
Target date : August 9th, local rodeo garage bake sale table.

I of course am caught up in the hurricane of her schemes ... and can not stop her.
I am along for the ride, whether I like it or not.
In the last two days, I was host to 17 dozen cookies, a bazillion cupcakes, 20 gallons of icing, cake sprinkles sprinkled across my floor....  and needless to say I was a little bit grumpy.  My grumpiness was killing her joy.  She was indeed joyful as she toted her baked goods to the truck, and dreamt of the cash she would make.

I knew my heart wasn't in the right place, and when we prepared to haul the goods into the hall, I sighed a quick prayer, "Lord please let me have the right attitude towards this."

We had to go back and forth between truck and hall, and a gentleman stopped and asked if he could help me carry anything.  Exasperated I looked at him and said, "Yes."  As we walked to the truck I gave him a quick briefing .... "It's my daughter.  She wants to make money to go to Disneyland." 
"Oh that's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "She's a little entrepreneur!" 
I told him how I did not have the right attitude and he went on to say, "Oh no, if she has that drive it has to be encouraged.  The entrepreneurial spirit is what has got me through life.  Please encourage her."  I wanted to tell him right then and there that this encounter was an answer to prayer. 
(An almost immediate answer to prayer.)

I don't know how or in what order his story came tumbling out, but he mentioned that his family got to go to Disneyland and important that was for them, as 3 months after the trip his 11 yr old sister was killed by a drunk driver.  He treasured the memories of his time in Disneyland with his sister. 
It's pretty cool the unexpected ways that God shows up.

I was able to shake Joy Killer, and encourage my daughter as I should have been doing all along.
She made $105.  From experience, if you ever endeavour a bake sale table.... cookies and rice krispie squares - YES - cupcakes NO.

gramps

 

 

 

 This evening.

 

Now I have seen everything.  Gramps wearing a rainbow loom ring.

 

 

 

 

VBS week

The girl headed for the coffee pot this morning at church.  What? Coffee?
 She walked up like she owned the coffee.  13 and drinking coffee. 
"Pick your battles.", comes to mind.  She is 5'9 so I can't tell her it will stunt her growth. 

VBS - "Weird Animals", hence the tutu and pink nose.

If I could post a picture of a random child, it would be the little girl who walks up to me and stares me down up - every -single -day, all without flinching.  It's hilarious.  "Okay, go join your group.  They are over there." (me pointing)  Nope.  She doesn't move a muscle, staying put, and staring me down.

my amazing girl

My 13 year old daughter spends hours and hours watching Cupcake Wars etc. on YouTube.... it drives me a little crazy.  However I am starting to think there is a pay off.  This is the cake she whipped up today.

There actually should be another picture here.  I lament not taking a picture of my truck after aforementioned 13 year old went to "check cows" with it. 
"Check cows" must be code for going 4x4ing.  It was covered in mud, grass and straw, from top to bottom ... and was indeed in 4x4.  (sigh)  I had drive to the car wash to clear all the mud. When she wanted to check cows again this evening I nodded towards daddy's truck.  My truck is now off limits.

Fav Rhubarb Cake

I am up to my neck in Rhubarb. 
I honestly shake my head when I see small bundles of rhubarb at the grocery store for $$.

Since I am sure everyone else is in the same predicament I thought I would share my favorite rhubarb cake recipe.  I got it out of a Bed&Breakfast cookbook, but no longer have the source
(ie: the book or the name of the BnB that contributed the recipe.)

note:  I am getting old and I may have posted this in the past.  Laugh along with me, not at me.

Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

***

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 generous cups rhubarb cut in chunks
1 cup sour cream
freshly grated nutmeg

***

whipped cream


Grease a 9x13 inch pan.  In a large bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking soda.  Stir into the butter mixture.  Add the rhubarb and sour cream.  The batter will be stiff and can be mixed by hand.  Pat into the prepared pan and sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. 

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes.  Serve warm with whipped cream.
(we have never tried it with whipped cream)

Summer : )

My cat Greybobs.  With the snow gone I have no excuse not to go for morning jog. 
Would Greybobs not letting me have my shoes be legit?

D's Outdoor Ed class trip.  They take a three day river canoe camping trip in June.  This year we pulled boy out of school so that he could join daddy on the trip. Boy was enamored with the high school boys antics and got a little too proficient at joining in with their practical jokes.  He seemed older and looked older when he got back from his trip.  D is a certified canoeing instructor.  The reason he is part of the Outdoor Ed program at the high school  Anyway, this year's trip was a great success, and enjoyed by all. 

The winter that was...

...SNOW FILLED!   Girl up on the roof measuring the snow.  I think it was a  36" accumulation at this point.
Several roofs collapsed in our area.

D chaperoned the annual Jasper x-country high school ski trip.  Thirteen km ski in with a stay in a cabin overnight. 
He has taken the trip 3 times.  It's his winter highlight.

The deer!  Oh the deer!  We had a herd  (over 30) who took refuge in our yard, hay bales and silage pile. 
They found a good reliable food source here during this difficult winter.

winter flash back - pictures I meant to post

 

Only in Alberta?

Loving Goalie.

Boys one track mind.... hockeyhockeyhockey. 

Track and Field

One of my fondest memories of my mother was when she let me skip Track and Field Day at school.  There was nothing I loathed more than (breaks into song... "All eyes on us... all eyes on us). Track Day.   I, in honour of my younger traumatised wall flower self, always give the option to my kids.  "Do you want to stay home?  I'll let you stay home if you don't want to go! "  No, no, they are eager to go to Track Day.  I can't relate, both kids love Track.  When I was forced to go to Track Meet, I would come home with a fist full of participation ribbons.  This year boy came home with 5 firsts and a second.

Ahh Summer!!!

And along with Summer comes summers storms.  (which I love)
We were awoken by a loud crack from lightening yesterday morning. 
We found a tree up the road split from top to bottom, the bark stripped off, splinters strewn across the road.

WW1 photos

These are the most incredible pictures I have seen from WW1.

http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/westernfront2/

The perfectly good ditch hat.

 

 

One of my favourite Corner Gas episodes is when Oscar finds "a perfectly good pair of pants" in the ditch.  Behold our "perfectly good ditch hat".  I haven't been able to let go of it quite yet.  I found the perfectly good ditch hat while walking the dog that we were housesitting for in Australia.  It was the day after Australia Day ... I found out that these were the terry towel hats that they put in beer cases, I guess to celebrate Australia Day (?)  I found it wildly funny and therefore kept the hat after I washed it several times.  Only in Australia would you get a terry towel hat in a case of beer.  I assume it is to wipe up spills.  Who knows.... but our perfectly good ditch hat remains and is a treasured token of our trip Down Under.  (2008)

 

(recent picture of girl - 13 and now over 5'8")

"Lost and Found" Part 1

Ditch Pants - 3:23 to 5:40

confession

I couldn't remember the name of my blog.
It took me a bit of searching : )

This is for Elaine...

Elaine is the mother of one of my high school friends.  She writes a lovely blog and she has encouraged me to get back to writing on mine.  I told her I was going to post a hockey picture. 

A couple of months ago my boy's hockey team had what they called their "Heritage Classic" - a hockey game on an outdoor arena.  I didn't get really great pictures, but I have to say it was a fun (cold) evening.  We huddled under blankets on the outdoor stands, drinking hot chocolate. 
(I have to say that I am glad that not all of their games are Heritage Classics!)

pre-game planning

I'm back...

I am honestly going to start writing again.
I need to get my groove back....

I had to smile this evening as I put away groceries.  Grocery shopping for me looks like this;

 

        (a lot of our foods decorated with fancy stickers : )  

 

I asked the kids to take a basket themselves and pick out some food for their school lunches.  I had to smile when I took out the box of melba toast they picked out (upper right box) ..... I hadn't noticed the 50% off sticker.  They instinctively looked for discounted food. Oh the stories they will have about their mother.

a friendly warning

It has been so long since I have written, that sadly I almost forgot my blog address. 
I am sure everyone else has as well.
A new year and I am ready to write again.
I will ease in slowly.

A quick short informative post and warning.....

Don't, just don't;

 

It is our New Years Eve tradition to snuggle up on our couch, watch a movie and eat treats.  I do not know what I was thinking when I picked up a bag of Maple Moose flavoured chips for the festivities.  They were horrible.  Could it have been the taste of maple flavoured moose meat?  They ended up in the garbage, and all of us feeling quite ill. 

We were watching the movie "Brave" (Pixar/Disney), and daddy has not stopped saying from the movie, "Maybe it's time to break from tradition." (all with a Scottish lilt)  Indeed. 
Next year treats are going to be a vegetable plate.... no moose ... no maple.

(ps the movies "Brave" as well as "Frozen" are wonderful movies for young and old.  Speaking of old.....)