Green & White!

Well I know what your going to say... You... a football fan?!? Well the fact is it's not about being a fan, it about a "fan"tastic experience. Grey Cup weekend has been a tradition at the in laws for about as long as I can remember (which for those who know me might be just last year since I tend to forget things). This year was probably the most anticipated since Dora's dad is a Saskatchewan import and as members of LOMAH, I'm sure you'll agree there's always something about where you were raised that stays with you!

Well, we love to support Grandpa, so here we are all dressed up up for game day!

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2 for 2!

I can't believe it! I actually made it out to Waterton for two weekends in a row. Athough one could argue that the level of activity is not up to my usual standards, I must say that if your feeling old and weak, then this is actually not so bad!
We grabbed the baby carrier and did Lineham falls. It's a nice 8km hike round trip that has a nice gradual incline for the first half. Nice if your not carrying 20 plus pounds of kid on your back. It's not that I can't lug the load, it's just that I feel like Rocky after a few rounds with Apollo Creed. I can do it, I just don't look so good.

It was a pretty nice hike and Dora and her mom were along for moral support. "You can do it!" they would chant as I slogged my way to the falls. There was some neat slide activity over the winter or spring as evident from the picture.


In spite of my endless whining, I got my second wind just in time to let Logan out the walk the last 10 seconds. I think I'm ready for another hike!
Oh wait I did go for another hike! My good buddy king daddy corn stalk came back to LOMAH for a visit and wanted to go for a hike.
We debated the choices of boundary bay and Rowe lakes. Flat one. Not that it wasn't a difficult hike as it was around 12km which is no walk in the park, more like a walk around the lake. It was a great time and I enjoyed the discussions about; gear, watches, more gear, the merits of old man muscles and our dislike of bears. Which of course was even more interesting when the dog got spooked and my bear spray accidentally leaked. Luckily it was minor and no tears! I will say that it does taste spicy!Nothing like a bit of adventure to finish a hike. I'll leave you with this closing shot and if you look closely you can see the gear! Mammut pants from Switzerland, somewhere rugged I suspect.

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Halloween

Well our first Halloween has come and gone and I must say that at least 2 people in this family can pull off some wicked costumes!
I sadly did not dress up unless you count looking like I'm unemployed as a costume. Dora and Logan looked stellar I must say and should have won a prize, not that either of them should have candy...

We took a trip out to see the folks and they were excited to see the "little monkey" as usual. He did slow down enough for a few pics.
We also zipped out to see Dora's folks and of course the Marj was dressed to the nines! I personally thought she looked like Michael Jackson in smooth criminal but I was wrong.... again.... She is the missing blues brother! Can you tell?

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Logan's Birthday

Well a year has come and passed and I am happy to say we all survived! Raising a child was a little harder than I expected and I'm sure those of you out there with kids will agree... It's a good thing they're cute sometimes! The first year highlights are many but here are a few that I remember quite well.
- the first time he peed (it was on me)
- the first time he fell asleep in my arms (he was so small)
- his first poo (not a pretty sight)
- our first outing (went x-country skiing)
- the first time we shared an espresso (OK he just had a cup but it was still fun)
- the first time we slept in a tent (can't wait till next summer)

It's been the best of times, it's been the worst of times. I have to thank the many folks out there that helped us along the way, especially the family on both sides that made sure we didn't crawl into a corner and cry ourselves to sleep. WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Here are a few pictures from the birthday party.

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A Quickie

Well I must be busy as I noticed no postings for the month of September. So here is a quick one so that I don't have to worry about missing October.

- Logan is now 1 year old!
- Dora is back in school teaching (Maternity leave is over).
- I am a stay at home dad, still working on my Masters.
- Dora ran an 8k in Victoria and had her best time yet!
- I'm hoping to do a better job keeping this blog updated.

I'm quickly posting a few pictures from a group birthday party that Dora had with her baby group. I'll be posting a few shots soon of Logan's party as well.

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Monkey see... Monkey do

So a funny thing happened the other day....Yup the three bro's got together for a little bike trip. No wife's, no kid's, no adult responsibility. Just three not so bright men with little regard for consequences, bodily aging and the effects of alcohol. Three brothers who use lines like "hold my beer and watch this" regularly. I'm surprized they let us out of their sights!
As you can see from the two time lapse photos, middle bro is getting the bigger air while the old bro is lucky not to crash. Oh don't worry... I do crash and yes... It leaves a mark. But hey what I lack in skill I make up for in shear disregards for the ravages of time. Meaning I still don't act my age. luckily little bro is no smarter, so I have someone who still thinks my ideas are good ideas "Oh yeah... I think you can make that. Easy!"
Even though we all got a few battle wounds from our bike trip, I must say that it truly was a blast. I expect that we'll be back out next year for a few trips instead of just one. I've already been negotiating with Dora on a new bike for next year.
On that note, if anyone can help me with that it would be greatly appreciated. I lack.... good negotiating skills at times. Jumping up and down and screaming "why not?" several times just doesn't seem to be cutting it.

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August - Full on Fun!

Well I had to get in at least one post for August. I figure the best place to start is the August long weekend. We took the "boy" camping, our first outing since Chris and Anne's wedding. We were a bit more remote, in Kananaskis Park, but we still had a few comforts from home; the high chair and dog.
Actually, we also had my brothers trailer. It was one of those comforts that we got use to on our last trip. It did however look a bit different by the end of our trip this time around.
I can honestly say that I don't think it was anything we did... No REALLY!! Regardless, your looking at the beginning of a $600 tow and a $600+ repair. There goes the drinking fund! My brother was gracious to say he didn't want any money, but we kicked in a few bucks to ease the pain.

Speaking of brothers, we managed to get out climbing on the weekend. My other brother came along with his family for a bit of climbing. Check out what a cute family they make, you can't even tell how dysfunctional they are!
Awe, who am I kidding, we're all a bit messed up. Neat, orderly, between the lines... what fun is that?!
We managed to squeeze in a few special climbing moments on the trip. Hailey did her first climb outdoors and didn't cry that much. Dora did a lead climb and didn't cry that much either. It was the first time in ... actually I don't even know when the last time Dora did a lead climb. Guess you'd need to ask her.
Dora was climb pretty good for the first time out on rock in maybe two years? Pregnant last year, so at least a few years. But from the pictures, you can't even tell and a picture tells it all!
To finish off the day we hiked back out. Bro and Hailey took the scenic route back, through the creek. Then of course Hailey fell in the water, the wife got upset, and bro was truly up the creek!

Well, to finish off, I'll have the kids sign off with the parting shots.

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Belated Wedding Upate

This of course is not our wedding! Although we did have our 4 year anniversary on Thursday. This update is for Chris Goble and Anne Viel. We went to the wedding in early July, in Waterton. It was a wonderful wedding of course and Chris looked awesome ;)
Oh yeah the bride looked pretty stellar as well. For the bachelor party we woke up early (the day of the wedding!) and headed out to climb bears hump. After that we did a quick decent, grabbed our kayaking gear and did a quick run down Cameron Creek. Then Chris goes "Oh I better go get in my Tux, the wedding is in 1 hr!" Man.... to be Chris and live.... Either he's brave or dumb. I'll let you decide.
Long story short, their married, it was beautiful and food was good. We were done by early evening and retired back to our accommodations, my brothers trailer that we borrowed that was parked at the back of Chris's cabin. Yeah I know, we were THOSE TRAILER PEOPLE! With the AC unit running as well! Heck we don't even have AC at home! It was pretty sweet, I think I foresee a trailer in our future someday...
We gave Logan a bath that night in his new camping tub! He liked it a lot ;)
The next day we took Logan and Denali for a hike to Summit Lake. It was sooooo hot, but the hike was mostly in the shade and we brought lot's of water. Afterwards we headed back to Cameron Lake for a quick dip. All in all, a pretty good trip.
Anyways, I thought it would be nice to post a few pic's from the wedding for all the friends who missed it.

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