Costumes......

Lucy from "The Chronicles of Naria"

Megan from "The Chronicles of Estevan" (along with her nerdy friend Tayler)

And, of course, Mary and Katelyn Poppins.....

The girls did their own costumes this year..... and I think they looked Super.... califragilisticexpialidocious!  :)
 

One more GBS video (not the best quality but interesting song/harmonies)

A Great Date Night That Costs Nothing!!!!

Sari and I just had the best "Date night" ever and it was super cheap!!  Here is how you can do the same......

1.  Have some very nice friends give you, as your Christmas gift, a free night at the spa in Moose Jaw.  This should include both the jacuzzi tub for two (with the rubber ducky that sits on the edge of the tub) and the breakfast for two the next morning!  For all the times we have been to Moose Jaw (of course my family lives there) we have never been to the spa so that was super nice!

2.  Go out for a nice supper (unfortunately you will have to pay for this part).

3.  Get your wife to win tickets on the radio to the "Great Big Sea" concert that is in town.  Go.... yell.... scream.... cheer.... jump up and down.... act like an idiot and have a great time (just because it is a ton of fun.... more about this in a minute).  Stand for the entire show!!

4.  Watch all the interesting people around you like the guy two rows ahead who knows and sings every word to every song (literally) and the girl with the long blonde hair who is "Irish Step Dancing" in the aisle. 

5.  Make sure the band plays for over an hour in the first set.... does an intermission.... comes back and plays for another hour plus..... goes off.... comes back for an encore and does two songs.... leaves....then comes back for a second encore!! 

6.  Make sure that the band tells some funny stories and sings a good mix of their songs and some of the old Irish drinking songs..... both with each of them playing several different instruments and also singing acappella in a way that I have never heard before!  Amazing! (More later on this too).

7.  After concert.... go back to hotel...... make up your own details here.

8.  Breakfast in the morning..... visit some family..... head to Regina and shop and bit and then come home after supper.

Now - granted - it may be hard to arrange the free room, breakfast and concert tickets.... but I highly recommend it.   It was a great getaway!!!!  :)

PS.  We have liked GBS for a long time.... but we have never seen them in concert and therefore have been unaware of how incredible they are live.  Not only do each of the guys play several instruments each, but they do several acappella numbers with super tight harmonies and rumbling bass lines.  Growing up in church, both Sari and I have heard tons of acappella singing and acappella groups.... but their are very few - if any - that match these guys.  Even in a big arena with so-so sound, they were really impressive.  Here is a sample (though not done quite as well as last night eve).  Listen for the bass line.  Sari liked that best!!!

PPS.  This is the set from last night too.

PPPS.  I had never heard this song before and I really liked the sound and the harmonies.  Enjoy!

Who doesn't love Minions????

Challenge Day

Today I (TKP) spent the day at the high school taking part in "Challenge Day".

Challenge Day is an "good self-esteem/anti-bullying" program that is presented to the grade 9 students at the Comp in the hope that if you change how they see people in their first year, it will change how their entire high school experience goes.


It is a highly intense day.... both physically and emotionally.  Physically because the theory is that more silly and fun you can be at the start, the better chance that the kids will open up at the end of the day.  Therefore, the day starts very loudly with games and "bad dance moves" (I excelled at that).... by the end of the day, kids are talking about stuff.... crying.... hugging.... apologizing to others.... and generally dealing with things they haven't talked about much before. 

 Two facilitators from California come in to do the presentation and they are aided by approximately 25 adult volunteers and a handful of older students who have been through the program before.  Sara and I have participated in the first two years it was here..... I did it today..... Megan is helping out with it tomorrow.


It is a very cool program and if you ever get the chance to participate.... go do it.  Just make sure you get lots of sleep first!

 

Speedway Supper

As most of you know, our family volunteered out at the "Estevan Motor Speedway" this past summer.  Last night was their awards banquet and volunteer recognition night, so we went and here are a few pictures (By the way, these are courtesy of of "Byron Fitcher Fotography".... if you like racing photos check out his Facebook page here).  Anyway, on to the pictures......

This is the contingent from Minot.... they decided to "class up the joint" for us......


This picture is just odd..... the "runners up" in each of the three divisions.... an eclectic mix of looks, no?


One of the guest speakers..... former NASCAR driver Randy La Joie


Random shot of the crowd.....


Look past the track president and Mr. Beeter and see who you see peeking in-between them (I even got to do a speech at this thing..... no picture of me...... but Sari and Megan get in one!  What does that tell you??????)


So that is it!  Sadly the year is officially over!  But it was a great time!  If you live in the area and have ever thought of volunteering at the speedway - do it!  It is a great group of people who are a ton of fun to work with (and next year you too could wear a pink tux to the banquet!)  :)

Introducing the "P.A.T.A.I.C.S.P"

So I am forming a new action committee called the "P.A.T.A.I.C.S.P" which stands for ..... "People Against The Anti-Inflation Crime Stoppers Payout".

Why is the payout for turning someone in still $2000???? 

It was $2000 when it started back in the 1980s.  What about inflation????  The $2000 that you get paid now would have been like getting paid $13 985 back then.

So they expect me to turn in my relatives for way less than I could have turned them in for back in 1984????  Why would I do that????  Shouldn't I get paid even more to turn them in now because of all the other stuff they have done between then and now???  If they are more wanted now, shouldn't that add up to more of a payout?????

Is it set up as a trust and that is the upper limit for all time's sake???? 

Seriously, if someone knows the real answer here, let me know.  I am confused!

PS.  If you are interested in going the "P.A.T.A.I.C.S.P", please call "(306) CASH"... you will not have to give your name and calls are not traced or recorded.  If your call leads to you becoming part of the group, you could receive a cash reward of up to $2000 (in 1984 monetary values!).  This message is a public service message and is broadcast on this station to show support for "P.A.T.A.I.C.S.P".

PPS.  I actually had the Estevan "634" extension on the front of the number above, but then I checked and it is actually someone's home phone number.  Please do not call it..... I don't think Joanne will know what you are talking about and she may call "Crime Stoppers" on me.  :)
__________________
In other crime related news......

My kids sit in the living room with the curtains open at night!!!!

Don't they know that is the easiest time for a sniper to get a bead on you??? 

I tell them that every time I close the curtains!

How to know when you are raising middle-class kids, hey????

Back in the hood, you don't have to teach this stuff.... kids just know!   :)

A big announcement

So we woke up this morning to a cold house. Our two year old furnace had quit.  After some investigation, I decided that the pressure switch was cooked and we had to call the plumber.

Sari met him here.... he was here for 10 minutes.... changed the pressure switch.

Sari asked, "Why would this go bad on a furnace that is 2 years old?"

He said, "Pressure switches on these things last 6 months to 2 years.  If you got 2 years out of it, you are doing good!" (Sad - no?  Old furnaces ran for like 40 years with no trouble!)

Sari asked, "How much is the part?"

He said, "$50"

"How much is your time worth?"

He said, "$105/hour!  And they will likely charge you for the whole hour!"

Now, remember, he was here for 10 minutes (literally) and I diagnosed the problem for him!!! (Yes, I know about "shop time" and "driving time" and that the shop takes most of that money and blah, blah, blah..... but come on, man!!!  10 minutes!!!!)

So - the big announcement....... the girls are going to become plumbers!!!!

Only three things to know, right? 
1.  Stuff runs downhill
2.  Don't lick your fingers
3. Payday is Friday

Actually - I am not even complaining..... I have a warm house.... I have the money to pay for it (we do have the money, right Sari????  Not like when we were first married and a $200 bill would upset our whole world)..... and they fixed it within hours...... what is not to be happy about?

Oh - and the kids found their career path!!   Win-win-win!

Weird stories and some other junk (30 of 30)

I am not sure why, but it seems we have been super busy lately.  We were away on the weekend and then every night this week has something going on.  Yikers!  Anyway, none of it is really all that "blog worthy" (unless you want to hear a detailed account of my tearing apart of the carburetor on my snow blower last night - twice..... no real improvement...... anyone wanna buy a snow blower?????)

So, for the time being, here are a couple of things for you to consider.  Read and discuss........

Just in case you get lost in the woods somewhere, 21 survival tips you need to know (I thought #18/17/15/6 were particularly interesting.

As well, there is this.......

Who wouldn't want a 7 foot Spongebob gravestone (or two of them) in their cemetery???? 

Ps.  I know this is the end of the 30 days/blogs but I will keep writing - as long as someone keeps reading.

A Little Eye Candy for you (29 of 30)

So I found this website a while ago..... extreme closeups of people's eyes.  Cool or gross.... you decide!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quick Update

I am not going to count this as one of this "30 blogs in 30 days"(ish) as it is more of a weekend update and an explanation of why I have not been writing the past few nights.

On Friday night, Sari and I went to Weyburn for the start of a conference at the church there.  You will note that it was just Sari and me and that is b/c the girls were in MJ playing their last soccer game of the season.  Since we were alone, we decided to make a night of it and went up for supper ahead of time (the pizza at the "Town and Country" is pretty good).  Nice to see a bunch of people from other places and times in our lives up there.  It was good.

Saturday morning, I was on the road at 8 to go back to Weyburn as I was teaching three classes throughout the day.  The soccer kids slept in and then Sari put them to work raking leaves and cleaning up the yard all day.  I got home after supper and we watched the Rider game and hung out.

Today (Sunday) was good.  A buddy brought some kids down to get some clothes from our clothing outlet.  They loaded a trailer and they are handing the stuff out in North Central Regina tomorrow.... a really good thing to be part of.  Class tonight went well and the weekend is over.

I am hoping my week is a little slower this week.... I have more days in the office and much less to prepare for so I am hoping for a good week of reading, study and maybe even some time to hang out with some people.

Anyway - if you have been wondering why I have not written... there is your answer.  Have a great week!

This is something.... have a look!

Dude survives a parachute failure from 2 miles up.

Bahh hhaaa Haaaaa (Blog 28 of 30)

After the last post, here is a less serious one for you.  Have a look at this picture and tell me what is wrong with it........



Apparently the NHL is making its Zamboni drivers wear hockey helmets whenever they are on the ice, including when they are driving the actual Zamboni.

Are you kidding me?  What is our world coming to here?  I understand wanting to be safe and all that, but seriously????  If you can't walk on ice (or drive on it) maybe you should not work at a hockey rink (or live in Canada in the winter for that matter).

What is buddy going to bang his head on while driving the Zamboni at 4 mph?????   Is this true? Anyone been to a game lately and can confirm this?

Lenny and I used to jump our bikes over ramps that were ready to fall apart, while carrying scissors, as we tried to light a fire using an old gas can..... and that was before breakfast!

People are pansies these days!  

Ummm - that was a little too quick (blog 27 of 30)

So we went to our first grad meeting tonight.  Wa????

I kept looking around the room and seeing all these people that we saw at the hospital when we were having babies.... wasn't that like a couple of months ago????  That is how it seems anyway.  How did all this time go by so quickly???

One of the nice things of the night was the fact that we got to spend a little bit of time with some of Katie's buddies.  We used to worry a bit about high school and how it would go for our kids, but both of them have found really, really good friends that have been a true blessing to them.  We are very thankful for the good kids that our kids have found. 

So we got signed up on committees and we heard what is going to happen over the coming ten months or so..... we are starting to get ourselves prepared for the inevitable sniffles and cry-fests that are bound to come (both from the younger two and the older two in this house). 

Growing up can be hard at times for both kids and parents - but we have enjoyed every stage along the way and I expect this one will be good in its own way too.

And since I have decreed that neither of my girls can marry until they are 28, there is no hurry for anyone to move out anyway.  :)

Back to blogging (26 of 30)

I missed a couple of days of blogging because we were not here.  As has been our tradition for more than 10 years, we spent Thanksgiving with our friends Jen and Justin Mooney and their boys.

On Saturday, we went out to the little town of Lebret, a little town in the Qu'appelle valley northeast of Regina.  What a nice place.  Here are some pictures to prove it.

(Ps.  If you are wondering why Katie is not in the pictures, there is a simple explanation.... she was not there.  Instead, she was visiting her boyfriend in Ontario..... you can supply your own pictures for that part of the weekend!)

Say "yes" to the free dress (Blog 25 of 30)

So - somehow I have a reputation of being a little cheap.  I am not sure where that comes from..... I think it has to do mostly with other people's jealousy.

Anyway, I solved a huge problem today.

Once in a while, my girls (being girls as they are) spend time looking at wedding dresses.  In fact they talk about Victorian waistlines, trellis ruffles and cascade veils all the time (Ok - truth be told - I just made all those terms up because I never actually listen when they talk about these things - but the few words that I have caught sound something like those anyway).

So the other day I am carrying some stuff down to our free clothing outlet at church and I open this box and discover...... a wedding dress!!!

Now I have no idea what kind of waistline it has..... but it is frilly, it has a veil and it is white(ish)..... what more could the girls ask for?

No more wasting time looking at dresses on Pinterest...... no having to drive from here to wherever looking for the "perfect dress"..... no worries..... the perfect perfect dress is sitting right in my office!

And it has been used before, so we know it works!  :)

All the girls have to do is wait until they are 28 (the proper minimum marrying age for a Pippus daughter) and they can have it for nothing.  I will just give it to them.

And you thought I was cheap!  :)

It's alive!!!!! (Blog 24 of 30)

Ok -so maybe the Frankenstein's monster thing is a little over the top considering the fact that the technician was not trying to bring some inanimate object to life.... he was only trying to re-start our dead computer.... and all that required was a new hard drive and a salvaging of some of our info (If you think we don't like you anymore because we have stopped writing to you... you are likely right .... but it could also be due to the fact that we lost all our email contacts..... please write to us!!!!)

So, it is a good thing that we were able to recover the 15 000 + pictures that we have on this machine (seriously..... what are we going to do with all these pictures?????  We could not look through them all in a year).

We also have a brand new hard drive that is HUGE!!!!!  In fact, we are only using 1/8th of it currently.  We are like the old grandpa that keeps getting bigger and bigger cars while he himself is getting smaller and smaller...... "Get out of our way Sonny!!!" (I am not sure what that means or how that analogy works..... but it allowed me to write in my "Old man voice" - I hope you heard it that way!)

On top of that, I had the privilege of driving my girls and some of their soccer buddies to Weyburn again today.  To some Dads, that would be the equivalent of asking them to drive a truck full of TNT down the potholed streets of Estevan..... you may get them to do it, but they certainly will not be comfortable with it or happy about it.  I, on the other hand, find it very fun and amusing!  My girls and their buddies are great..... they are funny and they even talk to me (something that most teenage girls did not do when I was a teenager).  Anyway - it was a fun afternoon of watching soccer, eating at DQ and listening to them sing Disney songs at the top of their lungs all the way home..... I will miss that some day soon...... and it was nothing like a load of dynamite!

Ouch! And a video (Blog 23 of 30)

The "Ouch" part: Our computer hard drive has corrupted.  No big deal except that the computer will not boot up (even after using the recovery disk and trying several "fixes" from the internet ..... I am on the church's computer currently) and the fact that Sari has literally 15 000 pictures on there (some backed up and others not!).

We will take it somewhere on Monday..... let us pray!  (I say that sort of facetiously - there are bigger issues in the world - but those pictures are important to us too!)

In other news.... Estevan is bidding for the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer games..... here is the video they produced to sway the vote.  The old place does not look too bad..... but the voice over dude says one word a lot and sort of strangely..... what is it?  Put your answer in the comments section.  Thanks!
 

It is must see TV (Blog 22 of 30)

Oh how I wish I lived in Norway!

Norway to show hours of knitting live on TV in world record attempt

The Associated Press
Fri, 4 Oct 2013 09:44:00 CST

STAVANGER, Norway - In its latest experiment with live coverage of mundane events, Norway's public broadcasting network plans to dedicate five hours of air-time to an attempt to break the knitting world record.
The NRK network says the Nov. 1 broadcast will be preceded by a four-hour documentary on how the wool off a sheep's back turns into a sweater.
NRK producer Rune Moeklebust said Friday that "it's kind of ordinary TV but very slow, although they'll be knitting as fast as they can."
The Norwegians hope to break the current non-stop knitting record of 4 hours 50 minutes, held by Australia.
Live TV in Norway has already enticed viewers with minute-by-minute salmon fishing, a five-day broadcast from a cruise-ship, and several hours of watching a fire burn itself out.

____________
Ok I have been gyprocking a bathroom all day, so that is all you get.  Home you enjoyed it!  :)

Car Horn law (Blog 21 of 30)

 

I heard this on CBC radio today.... better get studying!

Gov't says Canada needs a universal language of car horn honks

 In Canada, it is required by law that all motor vehicles have a horn. However, the message being communicated when someone honks their horn can vary greatly. From a friendly "hello" to an aggravated warning, the intention of a honk is not always clear.

According to Bob Crisp from the Canadian Automobile Regulatory Commission, "For too long people have been honking their horns however they want, whenever they want."

He went on to say, "Two short honks followed by a long honk may mean one thing to one person but something entirely different to another. It's time we all start speaking the same horn language."

Canadians will by required by law to learn 54 horn commands as of next spring.  New drivers will be tested at the same time they take their driver's tests.  Current drivers will be tested at random.

(Oh - maybe I should mention that I heard this on the CBC radio show "This is That" - a news satire program.... it isn't true.... but it had you worried for a minute right?)  :)