Wow.
Whirlwind for sure, seems that this summer was filled to the brim with trips and socializing. So much so that it has whipped right past our eyes and as I look out the window of my home office as I am typing this the tree across the street is showing signs of fall......that can't be right it is too early yet isn't it? The kids are back to school and life will once again take a turn for us out here, back to school means back to swimming, tennis, ballet, piano and quite possibly back to work for me. Yup seems like my vacation is over, 18 months ago I took a little sojourn to take care of the kids...........now with Piper in school half days it seems my respite is up. We will see how it goes in my mind it is somewhat bittersweet, I have had an opportunity that not many people (let alone men) get to have, I have been able to enjoy being at home with my children and interacting with them every day in all ways. While it was not always days of sunshine in roses, I don't regret a minute of it and will cherish the memories well into my old age.
But as usual I have sidetracked myself......those things have yet to come so we will await another post to reminisce. For now it's about what happened in the month and a half since the last time I climbed into my chair and informed you of what is, or rather has, happened.
There was BBQ's with friends, the Clarks joined us for a day of Hillbilly Slip'N'Slide and just general enjoyment of one of the few great days in Calgary's rather lacklustre summer.
Of course no summer is complete without a project or two.........not too many of those got done around our house this summer, much to Tammy's chagrin I am sure, but I did spend a day helping a good friend tear down his old rotting deck and replace it with a new one. Lou and Alex and I spent the day working away at the deck and also just generally enjoying each other's company.
Ahh and then there was our trip to Sudbury. It was 3,200 km in the truck and 3 days to get there. The kids and dog travel extremely well and the driving weather was pretty much perfect so the actually travel part was relatively painless other than a certain someone who felt the need to ensure I was awake but asking me if I was.............well about 1 time ever 5 minutes. Which if you work it out over approximately 30hrs at the wheel and there and back as well as 6 hrs to Wonderland and back makes for 66 hrs or 792 "Are you tired?".
The trip was full as trips to Sudbury always are. We spent a week with Tammy's Parents and a week with my Parents and it was a whirlwind of activity the whole time from Plane rides, to Quad Rides, Fishing to Fireworks, Steam Baths to Swimming Pools and of course Tubing, Waterskiing and Kneeboarding, A day with Steve, Christina, Brendon, and Anika at Canada's Wonderland. Oh and of course just general hanging with family. While the trips are exhausting it is always great to get to see family that we miss very much and don't get nearly enough time with. After almost 5 years we finally got to meet Tyler and Simon (Nephew and Cousin) and they all got to meet Piper.............being far away can suck sometimes.
Some memories from our trip.
Bass fishing
The fireworks we let off at Fairbanks (I am such pyro)
Just hanging by the lake
My Favorite Building at Fairbank Lake (The Steambath)
A ride in Uncle Steve's Airplane
Me carving the waves
Maybe I got a little cocky J
The boys having a blast on the Tube
Just hanging in the pool
When we got back I hosted the a Herf in the back yard. For those that don't know what a Herf is it is a gather of Cigar Enthusiasts to enjoy a good cigar and each others company. I belong to a group that has members across Canada and they came from all over to attend the event in Calgary which was two days, one at my place and the other at Lou's. We had over 30 guys from across Canada.........Calgary, Red Deer, Nanaimo, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Richmond, etc. It was a great day and night here. We started around 2pm and finished in the wee hours of the morning. The BBQ was awesome if I do say so myself and it took 80lbs of charcoal and 15 kilos of Pork Shoulders (Pulled Pork), 6 Full Racks of Beef Ribs, 18 kilos of Chicken Wings (BuffaQue Wings), 14 Rack of Pork Ribs (SweetNSmokey St Louis Style) and about 4 gallons of baked beans to feed them all.
Then a few cocktails and sitting around the fire just enjoying each other's company and swapping stories. It was a great weekend and an event we are hoping to have annually.
That somewhat winds up the summer's events. Now it's on to the job hunt. Hopefully a few more timely posts as well. I am also back at my fitness with a focus more on weight training than biking.....hoping to put a little more muscle on my frame so that I can up my metabolic rate. The plan is to be on a maintenance plan by Christmas..........which would effectively make an entire year of getting me in the shape I want to and should be in.
Hope your summer was as good as ours.
