My unusual trip to the dentist

So I had to have a wisdom tooth removed today.  One of the top ones.  Supposedly, one of the "easy" ones (as compared to those on the bottom).  "Fifteen minutes... in and out and you will be done" said the dentist.
 
Well, he froze my jaw and then started at it.  He pulled.... and twisted.... and pulled..... and said "hmmm".  Then he asked for a different tool.  Then he pulled some more.

Finally, I could feel the tooth move.... it hurt a bit but I was glad it was coming out so it did not matter..... so he pulled.... and pulled.... and it kept coming out.... and out ..... and out.... it was like when a magician pulls a bunch of scarfs out of his sleeve or something.... they just keep going and going and going. 

Finally, it was out!  "I have seen bigger wisdom teeth before", he said, "but not many".  He told me that this one had 4 .... maybe 5 roots on it...... and then he said, "The good news is that it all came out at once..... the bad news is that I think it took some of the bone with it" (That won't hurt later tonight, will it???)

Anyway, before going to the appointment I asked Sari where our extra strength Tylenol was just in case I needed it after the freezing came out.

"Here" she said and handed me a bottle of Midol.  "It is in this bottle mixed in with the other stuff".

That was fine.... except for the fact that I never take pain medication and I did not think to ask her which pills were the Tylenol and which ones were the Midol.

The good news is that I have not had any real pain.... and after taking the pills my crampiness is completely gone too!!!

Overall, I feel great..... wait... no I don't!!!  Oh.... yes I am pretty sure I do.... now hold it..... is it hot in here all of a sudden..... I feel sort of funny.... like I want to go buy some shoes or something.

Oh well..... at least my tooth doesn't hurt!  :) 

Video clip of the girls

Rarely seen video of Katie and Megan chatting at the Minot zoo (I think they are saying something nice about their Dad).  Enjoy!  :)

A Question

Look at the picture below and answer the following multiple choice question.....

Does this picture mean that......

a.  Our girls are secretly ninjas (albeit not very scary ones..... or are they??????  Dun dun da!!!!)

b.  They have taken up chimney sweeping (not a very lucrative career - granted - but they may have the market cornered)

c.  That Megan got a job at Pharmasave just like her sister

d.  Some other third thing (yes I know that "d" is the fourth letter but our phrase is "some other third thing" so deal with it).

Comments welcome!  :)

A Happy Day for Megan

Megan got her driver's license today!!!!  So if you see this going down the street......

Chances are you will see a happy girl behind the wheel (until she has to get a job to pay for the gas that goes in it).  :)

Way to go Meggie!!!  :)

Summer Holidays?????

So what have you done this summer?

I know some people who have been to San Fransisco.... some who have been to Calgary.... the Black Hills..... Montana..... the Great Lakes.... lost of fun places.

Where did the Pippus family go this summer?

Our big stop....... Roy's Transmission!!!!!

Well, that is not quite true..... we first went a long way from home (7 hours to Grand Beach, Manitoba) before the transmission on our Acadia gave out.   That distance made the experience even more fun!!! Way better than if it happened at home when the transmission shop is literally three blocks from our house.  What fun would that be???

To make matters more interesting.... I had just taken it to the transmission place the month before because I did not think it was shifting correctly.  The mechanic drove it and agreed that something was wrong but he was not confident that it was "bad".   The only way to tell would be to pull the whole thing at a potential cost of $4000 - 5000.  Obviously, we weren't paying that unless we were sure something was wrong.

Apparently, something was wrong.

On the bright side, the people at Roy's Transmission are very nice.

Just a tip though:  If you do decide to trade your beach vacation for one at "Roy's Transmission", don't wear your swimsuit ..... for some reason they will look at you sort funny.  Trust me I know. :)

PS.  We did have a good holiday at Grand Beach and otherwise.... and I have some stories ... so come back all this week and I will share. 

Random stuff!

I got an email at work today which said....

"Tim, how invested are you.... in you?"

Then it offered me a $699 sermon writing package to make me a more complete person/minister.

Now, I am all for self-esteem and all...... but $699??????

I would not be that invested (or even that interested) in myself unless I was covered in 24 carat gold!!!! 
________________
I jumped on Twitter the other day to let the Estevan Police Service know that, in the last month, I have seen four semis rip through the red light at 4th St and Kensington.  They come off the overpass and just keep coming no matter what.

Therefore, I suggested to them that maybe they ought to sit near that intercession and pick off a few of these guys because if I had not waited, I would have been t-boned by them.

The next day, I got a Twitter notice that said......

"The Estevan Police Service is now following you."

I wanted to write back and say ..... "It ain't the first time the police have followed a Pippus" - but then I thought better of it.
________________
No big updates to give at the moment..... looking forward to holidays soon (I can see them coming).... Katie has been working.... Megan has been babysitting.... Sari has been a whirlwind at home (cleaning, sorting, etc). 

We are heading out to the "Souris Valley Theatre" to see a comedy.  That should be fun......  Lots of stock car racing so far this summer (74 modifies and 130 + cars overall at the races Monday night)..... and there was a fight in the pits - I was standing there but I did not start it.   :)

Lots of updates to come soon..... keep checking back for pics etc.

Happy Canada Day!!!!  What did you do????

Sari and I....... we tore our Acadia apart!!!   Yee haw!!!!

Actually it was fun.... in a sadistic sort of way.  The sun roof started leaking lately (mostly when it rained..... ba dump dump).....  so I tested the drain lines and found that one was clogged.  Finding where they started was the easy part.... finding the part where they end was the hard part.  Let's just say that GMC engineers would be good at hide and seek...... or a game called "You make me so mad with the stupid things that you do that I am gonna......" (I know that is not the easiest name to roll off your tongue but......)

Anyway, after a few hours of trial and error and taking out trim panels and A-post trim etc and goofing around right beside the air bag..... ("Maybe we should undo the battery cable so that is de-activated..... bah!  What could happen?") we fixed it.

Then we moved on to fixing the electronic touch pad that opens the rear hatch (it quit working last year).  Got that out (after tearing the door all apart and spreading it across the garage floor) so now all we need is a trip to the parts store and it will back in business.

The most interesting thing...... we did not argue at all (and for two "first children" that is something).

All in all, it was good.   Oh - and we are going to the fireworks tonight - so we have not completely forgotten what day it is. 

Happy Canada Day!!!  :)

Dad at Grad (part 2)

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..........  oh....... hello!!!

No I am not actually that tired (a little but not a lot).  But even if I am tired, it was worth it.  What a nice day!!

I thought that maybe grad was going to be this big, stressful thing..... but it was a lot of laughs and a lot of fun.  It was great to have our parents here for it.  I loved going to the courthouse and seeing all the kids dressed up (you know my thing about "When I am the Prime Minister I am going to make all women wear ball gowns and all guys where suits, right?)   It was great to share it with a bunch of other people that we know (good thing about staying in a smaller community for a long time, right?).   It was great to see Kendall having fun!   It was great for the four of us to share the day too.

I thought I might cry during the Daddy/daughter dance...... or when they started playing a bunch of sappy music (music always gets me) but I didn't.   It was just the next step and it was a day of happiness and fun.

I even enjoyed helping out with the "Chem-free" celebration...... I did security (kept kids in the building basically)..... loud music pumping..... lots of people to talk to..... it was great.  2:30 am is not feeling so great at the moment (hence the "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"...... I tried to turn on the bathroom light this morning.... it was already on) but other than that I would not change a thing.

Now we just wait a couple of more years and we get to have all that fun again!   :)

Grad Pictures

Just a few... more later:

Grad Picture

A Dad's look at Graduation (Part 1)

So today our oldest is graduating and I thought that maybe I would give you a bit of a "play-by-play" from a Dad's perspective.

First observation:  It is a lot less stressful being the Dad.  I don't know anything.... I have not thought about dresses.... or shoes.... or where people will sleep.... or how we are getting from one place to the next... or who is going to do our child's hair.... or how I am going to do my hair (At this point, I don't have much to worry about in that department).  What I am trying to say is, so far, it has been a very relaxed event for me.

Sari, on the other hand, seems to have a lot more on brain than I do.  She has a lot of stuff going on.

So you can take this one of two ways (or both).....

1.  Sari is amazing!

2.  Guys have it super easy (if they have an organized wife) 

Either way - it has been a nice day (for me) so far.  More reports to come.  :)

Ooooohhh - Shiny!!!

Some pics from the Weyburn car show (just for fun).  170 cars spread around the downtown.  Beautiful day.   What do you like?????

Should I be insulted???

My wife sent me this video and said "Reminded me of you".  I think I am supposed to be insulted, but I am not....... Comments?

Saturday update

Here is what I did yesterday.   I helped my buddy Dennis take this......

And turn it into this.......

1983 Honda Magna and we took it from dead to running like a new one. Nothing says "fun" like spraying carb cleaner in your eye (yes - we did that a few times.... hard to guess where it is going to splatter to sometimes).

So Katie is Ontario at Kendall's graduation..... Megan and Sari just left for a "Mommy/Daughter day" in the great metropolis of Minot, North Dakota...... and I am about to go out to my garage and continue working on the two old motorcycles that I have out there.  Then - if the rain stays away - I will be off to the speedway tonight to help out with the "Super Truck Series" that is coming in.

Sounds like a good day all round, no?  Everyone off doing their own thing once in a while is good - but I am looking forward to everyone being home.  The house is sort of quite without them.

Happy Saturday, y'all.

Think about that, Jack

I usually don't share stuff like this here, but I needed to save it somewhere and thought this place is as good as any.

Being a hero is not always glamorous

So what does it look like when you pick up a turtle off a grid road so that it does not get run over and then it pees on you before you can put it in the ditch????  Well.......

I was not there but my sources tell me that this particular turtle learned how to fly moments later.

Jacques Cousteau - the the landlubbing equivalent of him - would have been proud.  (As too would have the Wright brothers)  :)

A Preaching First

 

So, I think I set a "preaching first" this morning. 

I was asked to do the "Sunrise Service" for the "Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life", so I arrived at about 5:20 am and walked the track with the girls for a while. 

Then they announced, "The church service will start in 5 minutes" so I went to the stage and waited.  As I waited on stage to get things going, the DJ was blasting "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol.  When it ended, I started.

Now I am not sure.... no, check that....  I am absolutedly positive that no one in the history of the world has used "Rebel Yell" as their lead up to preaching.

Maybe it should be my new thing.... my theme song.... and maybe I should dress like Billy in the picture above.  Thoughts?  :)

A Saturday in our life

So, we went and did a family photo-shoot last night with Trinda Jocelyn. It was a "pre-grad" thing.  Here is the only picture that I am allowed to show you of Katie in her dress......

She is being a little secretive..... I am sure you will see some sooner or later.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

Speaking of fun.... I went to a car show this afternoon at a place about 8 miles north of town.  It was a ton of fun too.  Lots of cars.... lots of people I knew.... nice day..... here are some pictures of that just for fun.

First line up of cars..... 

A mud bogger.... just in case you have an old pick-up and don't know what to do with it

They drove the big one over the little one just for fun

 
Does this look familiar, Lenny???  My dad had a car like this only it was a Torino (this is a Mercury Cyclone) but virtually the same car and it is the same colour.  We used to go to A&W every Sunday in that car.  I ate my first "Animal burger" in it (6 or 7 patties... I forget).  We know where Dad's old car is rotting away in a field but the guy won't sell it.  Maybe I will have to buy this one and go to A&W in it instead

They had a burnout pit. Anyone who wanted could come and cook about $300 worth of rubber off of their tires just for fun

Only a small fraction of the vehicles in the back.... or the "field of Dreams" (maybe 500 -600 cars or more back there.  Fun to wander through)

Line up of old "junk" bikes.  Look about as good as the project bikes I am buying only he leaves his outside and thinks they are virtually worthless

And I ran into an old friend.  My 1979 Ford 1/2 ton.  I liked this old truck (till the fuel pump starting giving me a bunch of trouble.  I had to replace it three times and then it kept losing the prime so I had to suck gas up to the carb to get it to work again.... one time I wasn't paying attention and I was being impatient.... took a big suck on the fuel line, sucked gas right out down my throat and it came back out through my nose!  And then my nose started bleeding!!!  And then I could smell nothing but gas for three weeks!!!! And my breath smelled like gas and Sari wouldn't kiss me!!!!   Some people are super picky!!!!!

Come to think of it...... maybe I am glad it is in the bone yard. 

However, it is the vehicle with which I moved everything from our old house to the house we are in now...... even the kid's swing set - just hung it over the edge and went.  Megan was just 2 months old, so Sari was home all day.  She would pack boxes and load the truck while I was at the office and then I would come home and take it to the new place.  Good times!!!  The truck even smelled the same when I opened the doors (which may mean that it smelled like mouse dropping when I had it).... it made me sad!!!  :(

Lenny, your racing dreams start here.  Fuel cell is still in it.... a couple of gauges in the dash ... the tires even have some tread and it is the right colour!!!!  Let's go!!!!

Or you could buy this and relive the old days.  Lenny's favorite stock car when we were kids was an old Ford Torino that was about this year.

While I was out goofing off, Sari was playing in the yard.  She has a couple of vines that need a trellis to grow on, so she decided to take an old screen door that she got from her "secret farm stash" and make a trellis out of it.  I think it will look cool when the vines fill it all in.

And she worked on the front beds too (She told me that I should not post these pics.... that I ought to wait till they bloomed.  I think they look nice though and it will be a good before/after thing too)

And, lastly, the girls are doing the "Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life" tonight.  They are on separate teams but hanging out anyway.  This year (after many years of bad weather - one of which almost froze us to death before it started torrential down pouring on us) they are holding it in the old Civic Auditorium.  I was asked to do the opening prayer and go back and do the "Sunrise church service" at 5:45 (I think). 

Here are a couple of pics from the stage as they were setting things up.  Megan's group is to the left of the chairs in the first pic and Katie's is the group in the lower pic (they were right beside the stage)

So that is a Saturday in our life.  Oh, I went to a farm auction that a friend of mine was having too.  That was up by Stoughton but I did not bother taking pictures of that so you will have to imagine me riding my motorcycle, visiting with a bunch of nice people, seeing a bunch of tractors sell and then riding home.  :)