I have an incredibly nice and understanding wife

I know that you likely know that already (She would have to be to put up with me, right?), but that was proven even more this past weekend when she let me go out and buy this....

That is a 2008 Suzuki Boulevard M50 (an 800 cc bike - for those who care). Shaft drive, fuel injected, all blacked out... I looked and looked and finally decided that is what I wanted and she was nice enough to say "Go buy one".

Well - she actually said, "If you don't stop talking about buying a bike and just go do it, I am going to kill you!!!"

One of my buddies pointed out that I am the only guy he knows who had to buy a bike to save his marriage. :)

I was looking for something that would dependable and have low kms and this fits the bill. My brother (aka "Lenny") is wanting us to go on a big trip sometime next summer - so "Miranda" (as I am calling here - or "Mandy" for short.... it is an "M" 50, right?) will eventually get saddlebags and a windshield etc.

A nice, light bike that is fun to ride around town, easy to move around the garage and yet big enough to hit the highway..... look what you get when you marry well! :)

This last pic is not of me (of course) - but it gives you the idea.

My Weekend

So here is what I did with my weekend.... what did you do with yours?



Ok - that isn't me.... but that is insane.

Anyway - I did do something bike related this weekend... I bought a 2008 Suzuki Boulevard M50 (an 800 cc motorcycle). I will post pics and tell the story (b/c there is a story) later, but not now.... I am working here!! :)

A Day at the Farm

About a month ago we had a chance to go to Mom and Laurie's farm. As part of that, we were got to help with the calves... tagging, immunizing and "ringing"... MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! (Sound effects are free... you have to imagine the smell yourself)

Here are a few, non-graphic, photos.

Megan holding a rope that is holding a cow
Megan and me (I am wearing - "Fashion du Lenny"... in other words - my brother's work clothes. I did not wash them, but I am sure that stuff will come off when they dry).
Sari taking a well deserved break (She smiled like this most of the day.... happiest I have seen her in a long time... you can take the girl off the farm but......)
Grandpa Laurie with his groupies
Grandma Farmer (she really is a farm wife now... I am completely and totally impressed - she was telling me about farm things all day).... You can also see Sari working in this one too (at the right of the pic)

All in all - a very fun day (except for the "baby boy cows" - but we will not think too much about that.... MOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!) :)

Rafferty Water Release

I have never seen these outlets used and the field that is full of water is usually dry as a bone. At one point they were letting 200 cubic meters of water out of the dam every second.

Some Gravelbourg Pics

The crew of kids

Something we had never tried before.....

A description of it is here (read down the wikipedia page to the picture of the pan that is used)... and here we are doing it..... mmmmm!!!!

The Divas... as Jeff called them
I am not sure this is her having fun... or how she got through the weekend (it is only punch by the way)

A Nice Long Weekend

Ah - what a nice weekend!

On Friday night we headed out to Gravelbourg to spend the weekend with Jenn and Jeff Jacobs (and their kids). It was really nice! Not really enough sleep... but tons of laughs, good food, fun, a trip to the "Snack Shack" for ice cream and rain (Ok - maybe we could have done without that last part - especially after getting caught in two huge storms while walking downtown after Jenn said, "It is really nice outside".... but those will be good stories later too).

It was also a "preacher swap" so I got to preach there. If you would like to be encouraged about a congregation in a small town that is bucking the trend of churches that are getting smaller and closing shop.... check these guys out. They have not only expanded their building but are welcoming all kinds of new people. It was a fun morning. My mom and Laurie came to church too (their farm is not that far from G'bourg) so they got invited to Sunday lunch at the Jacob's home too. We came home Sunday night, but wished we could have stayed longer.

Today we worked in the yard (first time this year we have had a chance between doing other things and rain), so that was nice too. Ended the night with a BBQ and a drive.

All in all - tons of fun! We will definitely do the "drive to the end of the world" (as Sari calls the trip to Gravelbourg) again soon.

(Pics to follow.... and I mean it this time. Check back for those)

Ok - I know.......

Ok - "30 blogs in 30 days" did not really work.... and neither has posting pictures of Crunchy's play etc.... but I have some good excuses!

1. I am not allowed to touch Sari's camera without permission (that is somewhat true) so she is going to have to post the pics.

2. We have been busy/away....
a. We went to MJ for Easter. Actually first we went to my mom's farm and played with the cows (ear tags and some other - more nasty - things)

b. Then we we went to MJ and hang out. I preached there on Sunday... we had a picnic in Crescent Park and then walked around Wakamow with most of the family - went and watched hockey at my brother's.

c. Then we came home - got the van fixed (no big deal) - and headed for Minot. We had a really nice time (After we got through the "Hotel reno"... that resulted in a new room and a discount of about 1/2 price - so that worked out). The girls went shopping on day one.... we had a "Tim Day" on day 2 (Went to motorcycle shops, went for a drive, walked around a park, played catch with a football, it was beautiful outside - like 22 degrees... I had to rescue a soccer ball from the river after SOMEONE kicked it in there - had to tightrope walk out on a fallen tree to retrieve it). Came home after a couple of nights and several hundred dollars spent.

So now we are enduring the worst snow storm of the year (believe it or not). Seven inches of really heavy and wet snow... not sure how we will get to church tomorrow... we will see I guess.

So there you go. A quick update. Hopefully pictures soon. Thanks for reading. I promise I will write more consistently - I hope. :)

Cars, concerts and Crunchy (27 of 30)

So I have not blogged lately b/c we have been a little busy. Here is a quick recap (in reverse chronological order).....

Today (Saturday) I went with Dennis Jocelyn to the Majestics Car Show in Regina. After that was over, we toured every motorcycle shop in the city, sat on and drooled over bikes for a while and came home. It was fun!

Last night (Friday) Sari and I went to the Grand Opening concert at our new hockey rink in town. The acts were Tom Cochrane and Kim Mitchell... neither of which are my favourite dudes in the world... but it was a live concert in our town and if you don't support what comes maybe nothing comes, right? It was ok... fun to be out with Sari, fun to run into people that we know, but it will not go down as the greatest concert in the history of the world (at least not in my books anyway). Good crowd though - and a really nice rink (I had not been in it before that)

The night before (Thursday night) was Megan's (One of her nicknames is Crunchy - just in case you were wondering what the title of this thing meant) yearly school play. It was fun to see her in that and nice again to see and visit with a bunch of people. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have some pictures up.

So there you go.... more updates to follow.

"Brothers from Different Mothers" (the dudes we saw last night)

A fun night out (26 of 30)

Sari, the kids and I had a fun night tonight.... we saw a couple of guys who call themselves "Brothers from Different Mothers". They juggle and do comedy.... they were here as part of the "Koncerts for Kids" series, but it was a good show for the adults too.

I would embed some video on here but the best video had its code removed... so if you want to see a bit of what they do click here.

They are touring through our area.... if you get the chance, go and see them. You will be glad you did.

PS. Thanks for the tickets Mariann! :)

You know you live in Saskatchewan when.... (25 of 30)

You go to the beach and then head home to shovel the rest of the snow off of your front yard. :(

That was our experience this afternoon.... Katie wanted to go for a drive (hence the beach.... but it was not swimming weather for sure)..... then a drive through the valley and back home to get the remnants of the snow fort spread around the yard so that it is not there until July.

Spring is coming right?

Well it was like a homecoming (24 of 30)

So we just got back from Regina and Sari's "something more than 6 year homecoming" (ok - 6 plus 14 or so - just in case anyone is trying to guess..... I was trying to be discreet there but you would have guessed anyway). She went over and made an appearance on Friday night and got to see most of the people who were coming (missed a few who did not show up until today).

The girls and I did not go to the school, we just hung out at the Mooney's place.... but when you think about it that is like "Homecoming" for us (we have spent so much time with them over the years that we have joked about buying a house together so....). It was fun to see them, play with the boys, stay up too late, go for a walk this afternoon..... it was the best homecoming ever! :)

And why didn't somebody tell me? (23 of 30)

How did I miss out on this?

The "Suspended" is killing me (22 of 30)

Get it? The "suspended".... Sari and I spent the day putting up a suspended ceiling in Katie's room. That is the first one we have ever done.

It looks nice. It was easy. And we did not fight at all (which is possibly a record for two "oldest children" who both think that their way is the right way).

Anyway - a good project on a snowy day.

Growing up (21 of 30)

We were with a group of old friends tonight (or maybe I should say "longtime friends") and it was interesting to watch the girls interact with them... we could barely get a word in edgewise - but it was fun none-the-less.

When your friends become your kids friends... that is pretty nice. Lots of laughs - lots of stories - a fun night! :)

Good memories (20 of 30)

One of my favorite stories from our dating days, comes from a time when Sari and I were not even dating at all.

Sari had been dating this guy, but they broke up. She had been planning to take said boyfriend of hers to see "The Nylons" at the Center of the Arts in Regina, but when they broke up she asked me if I wanted to go with her instead (We were buddies - why not right?).

In the meantime, before the concert date, Sari and her ex-boyfriend became "un-ex-boyfriend and girlfriend" again. When I heard that they were back together, I went to her and offered her ticket back... after all - she bought it planning to go with the "ex-non-ex-boyfriend" in the first place right? To my surprise, and I am sure to his surprise, she said, "No! I said I would take you and you and I are going".

The night of the concert, the car that we were going to take died. We needed a vehicle fast and could not think of anyone who would loan us one on such short notice. Then Sari said, "I know where I can get a car". She found her boyfriend and we had a ride.

So I went to a Nylons concert with another guy's girl, on his ticket AND I drove his car eight hours to get there and back! Nice, huh? :)

But that night was great! I had never been to the Center of the Arts. I had never been to a real concert. I had never gone to a concert with another guys girlfriend, in his car, on his ticket either.

As we drove home, we looked at the stars... we listened to the tapes we bought... we talked and talked... eventually Sari fell asleep against me.... and so the music of the Nylons has always been special to us.

This week, while sick at home, I found a whole bunch of old Nylons concert footage online. There used to be nothing but they have just re-released all their songs and videos under a new label.... so Sari and I spent part of tonight watching footage from the same tour we went to... we recognized their costumes... the sets... the choreography... it was really cool.

It was just like being the Center of the Arts in 1990 again... except that, at the end of the night this time, there was no other guy waiting for his keys.... and his girl. :)

Cash-a-polooza(19 of 30)

Shhh - Sari is doing our taxes (Seems to make sense that she looks after this part of our life... after all - most of our money goes through her.... ba dump bump!!!) :)

Actually - I am very proud of her. She has been working at the kitchen table for more than two hours and I have not heard one angry word spoken or one pen fly across the kitchen yet (Mind you... after what happened last night during tax preparation time - I have been hiding downstairs in the fetal position crying like a baby so.....)

Sari does a great job of not only holding down a full time job, but running our house, keeping track of the bills, being both the secretary and the accountant.... it is amazing actually.

I just hope that she does the taxes right and does not end up in the pokey. It is a long drive up there for me... and who would cook when she is gone? :)

To quote one of my kids... "I has a Freezer" (18 of 30)

How do I know when I am actually sick? I can stay in the same room basically all day and not care. I don't want to go outside. I don't want to move. I don't want to do anything.

I started running a fever last night and when I woke up this morning I said, "Ah - forget it".

I think this is about the 7th or 9th (or something like this) sick day I have taken in 21 years... so I am hoping I feel better soon... I am running out of motorcycle magazines. :)

When I grow up (17 of 30)

When I grow up I want to be Dave Hatch!

Who is Dave Hatch you ask? Well, he is sort of a dork (so I should fit in well) but he hosts what is maybe my favorite show on TV - a thing on TSN called "Motorcycle Experience".

In fact, there is really only one part of the show that I look forward to... the "Ultimate Ride" part. The rest of the show is ok - but this is the best part to me b/c every year Dave and a buddy of his take a week or two and go ride some really scenic and interesting road somewhere and film it. This year they are doing the "Blue Ridge Parkway" in North Carolina... it looks really nice, really pretty and really fun to ride.

So why I am I telling you this.... well a few reasons....

1. I am not feeling that great tonight and (in spite of having a really good day at church) did not really have anything interesting to write about.

2. Just as I was going to bed, "Motorcycle Experience" came on - so I thought I would mention that I am jealous of Dave Hatch (confession is good for the soul right?) Dude, has ridden across Canada more than a dozen times.... that would be fun, no?

3. Seeing guys on motorcycles makes me think - even just for a second - that Spring has to be on the way (It has to come sometime.... right?)

North Dakota still exists (16 of 30)

For (literally) 8 weeks, we have been trying to get to Minot and yet one thing or another (all much more important) stopped us. However, today we made it.

The girls bought lots of stuff (they have not forgotten how to shop - fortunately - whew!!!!.... where is the "sarcasm" smiley here????) and I went to a couple of motorcycle shops (just to look around... I found one that I really liked the look of... research is on-going).

Anyway - we had a good day.... nice visits (long car rides are the best place to talk - no distractions, no phones ringing etc).... and (nicely) when we got to the border on the way home the nice lady took our info and then said, "Have a nice night" (no duty for us!!! Woo hoo!!!)

So - there you go. It was fun and we finally proved that Minot still exists... we saw it with our own eyes. :)