Floating by the open window

What does this mean???

2010-04-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is where Oscar decided to lay down one day. Under a table in our office amongst all of the junk that we need to clean up. Hmmmm.....

Singin' in the Rain

2010-04-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

So let's face it....we will never catch up on the past couple of years worth of posts. So I'm voting that we just start over again and go from here. If we actually have things to post about other than Finn, that is. And I think we might....he's a HUGE part of our everyday existence, but every once in awhile we might have something to comment on other than Finn.

Tonight, for instance....

Tonight I think I have the best dog in the world. He hasn't had a walk since Monday afternoon. It is now Wednesday night. He is typically a two-walks-a-day-kind-of-dog. Yesterday he had his hair cut, but due to rain and Finn being Finn and James being sick he did not get any walks. While hair cuts are stressful enough to tire Oscar out, we do still tend to give him his walks on hair cut days. And then there was today - thunderstorms, hail, pouring rain, cranky baby and a still sick James. Finally around 10 p.m., Oscar and I went out for a wander in the rain. And he was the best behaved dog around. No pulling me around, just wonderful walking beside me - sooooo fantastic and made me love him even more.

Tonight I saw more overweight worms in our neighbourhood than I have ever seen in my entire life. Do worms actually get overweight? What causes some of them to be fatter/juicier/plumper than the rest??? So bizarrre. But with all of this rain it was a little crazy trying not to step on them. Thank goodness Oscar is past his worm hunting days.

Tonight I am SO happy that I bought a rain suit at Costco. It was officially worth every penny. Even if I only use it this once. Not only did it keep me perfectly dry but I did not overheat! No small feat considering the difficulties I have in regulating my body temperature (I tend to overcompensate and therefore overheat and overcool rather quickly).

Now all I need are some rain boots and I'm all set!

Devin & Michele Get Hitched!

2007-11-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

If rain on your wedding day really IS good luck, then Devin & Michele were truly blessed on that rainy day in October.

This was our table:

(Bubba Makes Friends)

Andrew doesn't look terribly excited about making new friends

but it was wonderful to have all of the Bubbas together again :)

It would have been even better if James had remembered to wear HIS special watch

but hopefully Sean has forgiven him! James looks like he's feeling better about the whole situation already.

We had an absolute blast at the wedding (thanks Devin & Michele!!!) - it isn't every year that we get to see our Lake friends outside of the summer months! Perhaps that's what made us all a little punchy during the who-gets-the-centre-piece game...

I say Pam wins for having the most pieces of silverware stuffed in her cleavage... ;)

We are quickly running out of friends from the Lake who are not yet married...I guess that might push us to find other reasons to get-together during the not-summer months.

Papa Oscar

2007-09-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

This summer we ended up with baby bunnies in our backyard. Apparently Mama Rabbit had not been home in quite some time because these little cuties were fumbling around our yard with their eyes closed :(

Oscar was very intrigued by the baby bunnies

but let them climb all over him

What a good dog!

Labour Day Weekend 2007

2007-09-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

Over Labour Day weekend we decided that it was high time for some of the Lakers to make their way to the S-T dot T dot (aka St. Thomas). Liz, Jeff, Sophie and Kenny made their way here and we did allow one non-Laker (Erin) to join us.

Oscar looked after The Soph

while the rest of us played Wii...

...Liz is so good she doesn't even have to watch the screen!

Talk of the Neighbourhood

2007-08-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

This summer I planted sunflower seeds (thanks Harvey!) in my mostly-herb-garden. They turned out to be absolutely stunning and the talk of the neighbourhood.

What else do you use herbs for???

2007-08-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Last summer I attended 'Presentation Bootcamp' at work. Over the course of our week-long bootcamp we learned lots of important things that are necessary to being a good presenter. At the end of bootcamp we each had to do a mini-presentation. One of my colleagues presented on herb gardens....and I was hooked! Living in a new house, having lots of 'unspoiled' yard that is in dire need of gardening - I thought this sounded like a great idea. Why not grow things that you can actually use for cooking? My mother-in-law happened to attend our presentations that day (being very supportive and willing to give up a morning of her life to listen to us chat about totally random topics)....the LAST time she lived in London she had wanted to plant an herb garden, but they quickly moved. Now they are back and apparently there are no more dreams of herb garden greatness for their yard....BUT she had purchased this amazing book that tells you just about everything you need to know about herb gardens, complete with sample plans about which herbs to plant in what formation....which she kindly gave to me so that I could plan an herb garden of my own. Now it is growing and doing quite well...and what else would one use herbs for other than to make the world's best nachos ever???

Cottage 2007

2007-08-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Oscar was happy to spend more than a few days at the cottage. After he realized we were spending more than 48 hours there, he actually stopped to relax and enjoy the view...

The rest of the time we spent at the cottage

involved enjoying beeeeeeeautiful sunsets

and introducing Troy & Becky to the wonders and craziness of life at the Lake....such as:

...jumping off of high platforms and tearing open your bathing suit....

...relaxing on the dock with loved ones...

....whooping it up at the August party....

...having Ken-the-sweet-talker-Hatcher steal shirts off of the greatest Reggae band ever (aka Jab Jab for those of you who don't know)...

....finding a kid's sweatshirt in the woods to keep you warm...

...wearing a silly hat at the after party...

....and then snuggling with friends and blankets to keep warm....

James Turns 30!

2007-07-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

So we are WAAAAAAAAAY behind in our posts so I thought I would take a crack at getting us back on track.

I'm sure a few of you remember that James had a big birthday last year. The birthday boy decided on a party at the cottage and so it was....complete with:

....30th birthday themed decorations....

(not that James was always IMPRESSED with the decorations)

....hotdogs and hamburgs grilled up by Bubba (aka Sean)....

...a sneaky doodle scouting out said hotdogs and hamburgs....

....clearly labelled cups to avoid confusion....

...30th birthday themed cupcakes....

.....lots and lots of friends.....

....and a beautiful moon.....

To top off the night, Uncle Donnie's mannequin legs were set afloat....er...adrift?

....which not only led to "the legs" being the talk of the Lake, but also attempts at imitation legs popping up all over....

Brian & Meaghan's Wedding

2007-06-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

My friend Brian got married down south and then had a reception in Leamington. Check out the hotties who showed up at his reception:

Thanks Meg, for making us look even better than we already do!

2007-06-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

In May, I was lucky enough to go to a conference in San Diego. The conference was AMAZING and we got to stay at the.....

which was rather lovely - very cool rooms if you ever have the chance!

My colleagues and I managed to find a little bit of time to do some sight-seeing so we went to the zoo...

wandered around the historic Gaslamp Quarter, during the day...

and at night....

they have some GREAT restaurants if you're ever there!

A couple of us took the Trolley Tour

(which I would highly recommend)

and wandered around Old Town too....

Words of advice - if you are really hungry when you get off the trolley in Old Town, make sure you actually go into the REAL Old Town and get yummy mexican food instead of going into Sketchy-Mexican Town and eating *&^@#! mexican food.

We also ran down to the mall one night so we could see what all the hype was about (not to mention that Bath & Body Works was having sale on their soap!)

very cool that you get to walk around outside - they have incredible weather down there...just try not to go during Gray May or June Gloom as this is when they have their 'worst' (greatest number of cloudy days).

And when we weren't filling our brains with a ridiculous amount of new and exciting information or running around getting sore feet from trying to see all the sights in 1.5 days, we enjoyed the views from our hotel and the hotel where the conference was held

Here you can see the bridge to Coronado Island...which isn't really an island and Tijuana, Mexico...but it's hard to take pics through windows so sorry about the quality!

This is the Padres stadium which is right next to the Omni Hotel where we stayed. There was a game almost every night that we were there so we could hear the cheers and got to try and wade through the crowds to get back to our hotel after our late-late dinners.

The New and Improved Family Room

2007-03-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

YES it has been a looooong while since we have posted anything...so tonight is about trying to get a bit caught up. Back on March Break, Tepperman's had a sale. Well, there was some decent looking furniture in the flyer for a steal of a deal - so we went to check it out and now it's ours. This purchase was more exciting than your usual furniture purchasing experiences might typically be, due to the fact that we have been living with the not-altogether-comfy-hand-me-down furniture from James' parents since we were married. We are very grateful to have had hand-me-down furniture (seeing as it saved us from having to purchase family room furniture sooner), however, it was becoming rather filthy and worn and the time had come to replace it. So, without further ado....here's our new family room!

Mutt Lucks

2007-02-24T19:03:00.000-08:00

After one of the first big snowfalls we realized just how much salt gets dumped on our sidewalks...and how much all of that salt can hurt doggie feet. So we invested in some very fashionable 'Mutt Lucks'. Similar to buying footwear for yourself, it was necessary to have Oscar's feet sized. There was a foot sizing chart on the floor of the pet store. Along with the size, the chart gave examples of different breeds with the same size of feet. The only breed with feet bigger than Oscar is a Great Dane.

BNL comes to the L Dot

2007-02-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

I had known for quite some time that the Barenaked Ladies were coming to town. I REALLY wanted to go to the concert as they are probably my favourite band. So I dropped hints that I wanted to go thinking that perhaps my husband would surprise me with tickets for my birthday.....but nooooooo, there were no surprise tickets (NOTE: James has since redeemed himself with tickets for Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat for my birthday! WOOHOO!). Valentine's Day came and went (the last possible moment for the tickets to appear). As I drove home from work on the 15th (DAY OF THE CONCERT) I started to think, "What am I doing??? I LOVE the Barenaked Ladies and I'm not even going to go to the concert when they're playing in London?!?!?" When I got home I went online to see what kind of tickets were available and VOILA! Check it out!

In case you are unsure of what 'BENCH' means...the seats were where the benches usually are for the hockey players. For a full visual you can go to http://www.johnlabattcentre.com/seatingmap-general.html (the BNL thing isn't up there anymore but you get the idea!).

Now it's not much fun to go to a concert on your own, soooooooo I called up my dear friend Jen B to see if she wanted to go as a) James wasn't yet home from school, b) James does not enjoy the BNL nearly as much as I do and c) Jen DOES enjoy the BNL! And this is how happy she was that I called...

...she'll do anything to get out of making dinner ;)

So off we went and I would have to say that fun was had by all!!! Here are some pics from Jen's camera phone

I realize the quality isn't super (but dude, it's a CAMERA phone)...and all you really need to know is that it was a rockin' good time with amazing music, funny guys and a funky cool set with trippy lights. Thanks again to Jen who really IS the best for putting up with my super-over-excitement all night long.

Doggie Heaven

2007-02-13T06:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Shana, Andrew and Brie (their dog) came to visit. We met up at the dog park (aka Doggie Heaven) so that the dogs could play and get reacquainted. They played and played and played and played. When we got back to the house there was a little more playing (NOTE: They are actually playing tug...a game dogs typically reserve for humans)

and then a lot of sleeping....

There was also much Wii playing but apparently we don't take pictures of people anymore.
p.s. Wii = SUPER FUN!!!!

Frozen

2007-01-17T06:42:00.000-08:00

(Freezing rain + temperatures below zero) x one week = lots of frozen stuff!

Poor Fred-the-tree! Thank goodness he went back to his usual only-somewhat-bendy self! (other trees in our neighbourhood weren't nearly as lucky and have been left permanently like this)

Playing in the Snow

2007-01-10T06:41:00.000-08:00

Back in December we had the first big snowfall of the season. As soon as Oscar saw all of the snow, he ran over to his friend Ben's house to see if Ben wanted to come out and play

Ben said yes (woof) and off they went

Here is Oscar post-playdate

Christmas 2006 - Part II

2006-12-29T05:50:00.000-08:00

Charlotte practiced ballet with her new video and 'kit' (with a girl that sang 'Right foot, left foot, bend return. That's an easy way to learn')

Mia spent a lot of time dragging Oscar around my parents' house (as much as a little girl can drag a 70 pound dog). Oscar loved every minute of it!

Everyone helped Emily make pop with her pop making kit (including Oscar)

The adults who were priviliged enough to sample the pop reported that it was a wee bit tart. All of the children who sampled it reported it tasted great....hmmmm....

Overall, I would have to say that fun was had by all!

Christmas 2006 - Part I

2006-12-29T05:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Oscar and I getting into the Christmas spirit:

I think if there hadn't been bells on the antlers, the whole getting-Oscar-to-wear-antlers-for-the-nieces-and-nephew project would have gone much better but he kept shaking his head to figure out what the jingling was, thus, dislodging the antlers completely....things to remember for next year!

When we went to Wheatley for the Konrad Christmas we were greeted by Aurora (not just any princess) and Peter Pan

Uncle James kept Jakob and Emily busy making a Gingerbread House

Here is the result of all their hard work!

(who knew it was so tricky to make the walls and roof stick together???)

Emily did some scrapbooking with her new kit

Special times indeed! How much longer will she want to hang out with me?!

Halloween

2006-10-31T21:23:00.000-08:00

This year Oscar joined us to help choose the best pumpkins for carving. However, it was very cold (and muddy) so we chose the pumpkins closest to the edge of the patch. Here are the results of James' hard work:

Verrrrrry scaaaaaarrrryyy

Leaf Cookies

2006-10-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

Last Christmas we bought a book called 'The Cookie Bible'. The main reason for this purchase? Leaf Cookies. Imagine Mel's excitement when it was finally fall and time to bake the much anticipated Leaf Cookies.

Here they are ready for the oven....

All iced up and ready to eat!

Oh yes, life is very exciting at the Konrad-Henderson household.

Sean and Adrienne - Party Time

2006-09-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Alright... time to get down.

First, Sean and Adrienne danced...

... then more people danced.

... heck, even "the moose" got loose...

... and the wait-staff decided to join in.

We continued the party on the bus home.

Looks like Brendan is feeling better.

What was that sound???

Oh, Kenny, you found the giant wine glass (see previous post). Good for you.

Okay, time to get off.

Sean and Adrienne - The Reception

2006-09-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Please note the big, giant wine-glass for a future post...

The bubba-mommas

Sean and Adrienne - The Ceremony

2006-09-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

"I know I'm getting married in 10 minutes, but there's just

one more thing I have to do!"

Okay everyone, time to get married. Onto the trolley!

The Cunningham women (soon to include Adrienne)

She walks in with her charming father...

... and walks out with this guy.

There's an Emma in that carriage.

Yes, the fifth wheel does weddings too.

Labour Day 2006

2006-09-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

We had Jakob and Emily stay with us the friday night of the long weekend. We had pizza AND hotdogs for dinner, drank WAY too much coke, and took Oscar to the park in our neighbourhood. His cousins even convinced him to try his hand (uh... paw) at the slides.

Taming the puppy

2006-08-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Oscar was nuetered on Thursday (on a not so unrelated note, we had Sean's stag party this weekend in Ottawa) and in order to heal, he can't run around and play or go for any extended walks.

Keeping a puppy calm and UNactive is not an easy thing to do with a little wiggler like ours. To reminesce about the good ol' days when wrastling was allowed, I will post some Oscar vs. Ben battle pictures. (It doesn't look this scary when you are watching it happen live!)

Oscar and Marley

2006-08-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Dev sent me this picture of Oscar and Marley taken in Dev and Michele's backyard in Montreal. (One of the few times they were sitting still).

Cottage 2006

2006-08-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Right before we came there was a huge storm. Therefore minor flooding when we arrived. Hence, no power. Thusly, loud generator. Ergo, no August party. Yes... it's true. No August party! Thank goodness we were not going just for the weekend. And a double-thank goodness the weather was awesome the entire time we were there.

Oscar was spoiled rotten on our first vacation with him. I'm sure he thought he was in puppy heaven. Tentative at first, he ended up loving boat rides (he was very helpful keeping Mel warm in those late-night rides back home)

He got to play/wrestle/swim/walk with his new friend Marley (Devin and Michele's pup)

He got to nap everywhere (even with Uncle Donnie... "king of Naps")

We didn't crate him at night and he spent most mornings (and even one night) cuddling in bed with us.

I think his favourite part (other than stealing food from the little poodle next door) was the swimming. Lying in the cool water. Biting the waves as they came in. Learning how to chase tennis balls with Mocha. Chasing Mel as she swam out to the rocks and back (FYI: if you don't want to get severely scratched your only hope is to submerge under water when he is chasing you).

Backyard Bash

2006-07-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

The 2006 McBain line backyard bash. When the rain let up it was time to eat food, mingle, and listen to the Hot Tub Hotties. Fun time!

Goodbye Pick-Up

2006-07-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we had to get rid of the pick-up. It was becoming a little inconvenient. I mean, sure, if you need a yard of topsoil or are buying a riding lawn-moxer it is super convenient. But with the little turkey and all his stuff to carry around there just wasn't the room in the ION. (Besides... I may not be 30 yet, but there a certain parts of my body that do not agree with a 9 hour drive to the cottage in the little sedan).

Now the truck was definitely the coolest automobile I have had (I don't say "owned" because it was technically TD Bank's truck). I am happy with the new van, though (NOTE: we don't say minivan.. too yuppy-ish). Oscar is a big fan, too. He get's his own seat!

Do we take pictures of anything else anymore?

2006-07-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

Y'know how hard it is to take a picture of something who's immediate impulse is to run directly at the camera?

I'll guess we'll have to get use to a lot of pictures like this

Favourite napping place #1: right on the air conditioning vent

Oscar's first bath

2006-07-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed! When you have a new puppy, even something as menial as giving them a bath is worth posting about.

Oscar the Dog

2006-06-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is the first of what will no doubt by hundreds of posts about Oscar the Dog. Oscar is a Golden Retriever X Poodle... A Goldendoodle (or "Poo Retriever" according to Andrew Zinck). The cuteness of a Golden with the Hypoallergenicity of a poodle. He has a rose nose and lovely green eyes. Smart little feller.

We picked Oscar up Friday the 16th at a breeder in Mount Forest (which has the coolest motto of any small Ontarian town I have seen).

At only 3 1/2 months old, Oscar is already the biggest dog I have ever had.

As I said before... more to come.

Engagement Party - Part Two

2006-06-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Sean + Drunk = Dancing

It's the attention to detail at this party that I am most impressed with.

Wake-up, Mel!

Sean? You won't be too hungover to bring us breakfast in bed, will you?

Engagement Party - Part One

2006-06-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, the Royal Couple languishes in our adoration.

Mel, James and Koo sit by the stairs looking mysteriously sexy

Cuddling

More cuddling.

Sean, Sean, Sean! Never ask a married guy "What's it going to be like?"

The Twins Dance "Reheisal"

2006-06-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Rainy-day Bellerinas

In case your wondering, Charlotte put her own lipstick on this morning.

"Oooo, What a feeling!! Beats Believing!"

Relay for Life - Burlington

2006-06-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Mel and I joined Team Barker at the Relay fo Life this year. Our amazing team raise more than $3000 for cancer research!

We had a Hawiian theme, a LOT of candy and very little sleep.

A very inspiring 12 hours.

The Cult

2006-05-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sean and Devin made the long trip down to the St dot T dot to attend the Cult concert at the JLC. The day before the concert they helped me build my BarBQ deck...

... and then we partied like Rock Stars (only instead of Booze, Strippers, and Drugs we had Booze, Neighbours, and Shish-Ka-Bob).

By the end of the night, Dev had some trouble with his lawnchair...

... he did manage to get up in time to "help" Becky out from under the swing.

A late night towel snapping challenge ensued.

James unleashed what we would call a "zinger" on Sean.

We didn't bring a camera to the show on Sunday, but here's a taste of what you missed (+ or - 20 years)

SET LIST
Lil' Devil- Sweet Soul Sister - The Witch - Electric Ocean - Revolution Spiritwalker - Rain - In The Clouds - Wonderland - Edie (Ciao Baby) - Fire Woman - Peace Dog - Rise - Wild Flower - Love Removal Machine

ENCORE The Phoenix - She Sells Sanctuary

May 24th Weekend

2006-05-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

This long weekend, Mel's family came over and we had a belated birthday celebration for Emily. There was the typical hotdogs, hamburgers, chocolate cake, dressing up like princesses (actually I do that EVERY long weekend).... But then Mel and I had a great idea...

... let's let the kids visit the neighbours dogs (thanks again Troy and Becky!)

Lil' Ben was a big hit.

Even snortful Abbey got some TLC.

For whatever reason, holding the leash was a BIG deal!

I've never seen it done with such passion...

... or committment!

EastDell winery

2006-05-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Sean and Adrienne invited us down to the quaint winery in Niagra where they will be getting married to "help" them try the food and wine.

We easily cleared room on the calender!!

Yeah. yeah. It's all very beautiful. Now where the hell is the free food?

Looks like a "maybe" on the salad dressing (lacks Va-VOOM).

The squash soup rocks!!!

As does the salmon.

Sean samples an entree left over from the Flintstone-Rubble wedding

After eating we walked around the grounds and checked out the mode of conveyance the wedding-goers will be taking down to the ceremony.

Hmm... romantic. But what could make it MORE romantic?

There we go!!!

Shakelton's Farm equipment Auction

2006-04-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Not exactly the SmartCar crowd.

Keep your eye on the prize...

Our ticket to poverty!

Mission accomplished!

Good Friday... uh... Eve at Dan & Emily's

2006-04-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

So, who gave up alcohol for lent this year?

Not so fast, Tim.

Earle is a "no".

James?... hmm... sorry for asking.

Brent: "I absolutely did! I swear!"

(Lynzay wisely prepares to be struck by lightning)

Linda & Brian's new pad

2006-04-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Corner lot in a quiet and respectable neighbourhood

Finished basement with beautiful fireplace

but still lots of room for storage!

Nice wrap around kitchen

Main floor laundry (woo hoo!!)

flagrantdisregard.com

2006-04-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for "Amazing"??

2006-03-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

We decided to paint our master bedroom Amazing (04YR 11/537) Red. The paint girl at Rona seemed very concerned as to whether or not we were "ready for Amazing". But ready we were.

Even though we had to prime the walls in our bedroom with a completely hideous pink.

And set up camp in the living room for the majority of the week.

We were lucky and got away with only needing 3 coats of Amazing on top of the primer.

We're quite happy with the results.

Even though the room looks like a White Stripes alblum cover

(thanks for pointing that one out, Conan).

Lil' Ben

2006-03-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

Our new little neighbour arrived this weekend.

Ben's first bath.

Promptly followed by his two thousandth nap.

Mel and I bought Ben a little sheep friend (if he was awake, you would

be able to see the appreciation on his face)

Abbey did a great job sharing her toys with her new little bro.

Mel's Birthday Party

2006-03-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

The girl of the hour opens her presents.

People start to get silly.

Cake time!!!!!!

Congratulations Sean & Adrienne !!!!!

2006-02-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

Next time you cuddle on the beach it will be as married folk!

Merry Christmas

2005-12-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

Mel got her long-awaited KitchenAid mixer!

Sticking with the kitchen theme, James got a Garburator.

James is decorating cookies. (And, evidently, losing his hair).

Plenty of time this Christmas vacation for cocooning on the couch.

Tabogganing at the Braun's

2005-12-14T19:01:00.000-08:00

Mel and Emily carving some powder.

"Torino here I come..."

"Is 'Torino' that new Dora the Explorer character?"

Meghan and Uncle Dave.

Barker cottage in the Fall

2005-11-11T10:58:00.000-08:00

One last visit to the Barker cottage before the year is through.

Of course, Beer pong is in order.

James watches on the edge of his seat...

The competition is spirited...

Cooling off outside only leads to more falling down.

Nothing like swinging on the beach in November

Pumpkin carving

2005-10-31T19:32:00.000-08:00

We went to the local farm for our pumpkins this year.

They had a pretty cool corn maze.

Really scary, eh?

Andrew's visit from the North

2005-09-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Andrew had to come down from Whitehorse to do some job training in Toronto. He manged to get down to our place for the weekend. Ken, Dev and Michele decided to make the trip from Montreal to visit him and see our new place AND get a chance to play basketball at the Air Henderson Centre.

luck had it that the municipality informed me the day before everyone was down that our yearlong battle to remove the giant pile of dirt in the middle of our yard was going to be settled at 7:00 the next morning.... oh and by the way, the new plan involved putting "fill" in the "flood plain" (where it was impossible to put fill previously). This, unfortunately, meant that the Air Henderson Centre had to be dismantled.

It also meant that the Good shed had to be relocated.

I wonder if the Egyptians drank 8 beers before they built the pyramids?

After all the work was done, we settled in to party and let Andrew know what we thought about him moving to the Yukon.

Children playing with dogs.

Less mature children playing with dogs.

Throwin' some shoes.

Those horseshoes really tend to skid on the hard-packed clay, don't they Dev?

Labour Day Horseshoe Tournament

2005-09-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

The first (possibly anual) Labour Day Horseshoe Tourney had everything...

The textbook fundamentalist...

The passionate rookie...

The savvy veteran...

And the consummate braggart.

Well also took a little time away from the pits so Lily could

Shaq-attack Greg on the basketball court.

Bubba's 30th

2005-08-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the evidence is in... an ugly shirt equates to a badly poured pitcher of beer

Actually, Dev, it's Sean's birthday... not Adrienne's.

I don't understand why you think you wouldn't be a good father, Bub.

Oh...... I see.

Buffin's cottage

2005-08-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

We did the typical stuff at Buff's cottage this time around...

Paddleboat adventures....

Drunken basketball...

Eating sticks of meat...

Hitting each other with hammers.

And, of course, I had to show everyone my new wakeskate moves.

Brent was thoroughly impressed.

Fishing trip reunion

2005-08-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Mel had told me all about the fishing trip but this being my first time I had no idea what to expect...

...didn't anticipate such hospitable people....

... and the cutest kids.

I couldn't fool them though.... they had me labelled right away.

August Party - Blues night

2005-08-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have ever seen guys who look more "blues".

Mel still has a Jamaica-tan

(That's why I married her... cuz she's so stylish!)

"ROSIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jamaica #4 - Local Horticulture

2005-07-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Jamaica #3 - Hurricane Dennis

2005-07-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Dennis was bearing down on us (fortunately after the wedding ceremony was compete). you could actually feel the anticpation from the people working at the resort (clearly hurricane Ivan was still in their thoughts).

Pssstt... somebody tell kenny the fake hurricane is blowing from the left!

What do you do at a resort in Jamaica when a hurricane is coming towards you?.... well you just keep partying....

.... and eat Japanese food (naturally).

Jamaica #2 - The Wedding

2005-07-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Devin says that when he gets married it will be "via sattelite from a sweat-proof room".

Jamaica Post #1

2005-07-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

We had the WONDERFUL opportunity to travel to Jamaica for the wedding of our good friends Andrew and Pam. It was a delight.

The Air Henderson Centre

2005-06-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

The very back of our property is designated as "flood plain". We have been having an ongoing battle with a "landscape festure" (read: giant topsoil stockpile) in our backyard. The solution of flattening the "landscape feature" out towards the back of the property is impossible because no fill can go in the "flood plain"...... so naturally we decided a basketball court could go there. (I do not consider 24 2x4's and 5 yards of chips and dust as "fill").

The court is 24' x 24' with a 36" acrylic backboard on an adjustable post. Beauty.

The Barker Cottage

2005-06-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

A perfect venue for beer pong.

Someone is clearly losing the match.

Again with the falling down.

Unfortunately the most spectacular drunken spill was not captured on camera. We'll always remember you old drunk dude.

Our new house!!!

2005-05-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

Moving into a new subdivision is a unique experience. When you finally get grass you WORSHIP it.... every day is spent considering how YOU can improve the life of your lawn and protect it from the big bad dump trucks and bulldozers.

You do strange things like Bar-B-Que in the garage because it is the cleanest, most civil place on your property.

There is a noticeable lack of mature trees. (Hopefully the $10 jobbies we purchased from the little house with the giant stairs in West Lorne will thrive on the blank canvas we have provided for them).