Home with a sick kid...

Well, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner this season, since he's so darned active, but Willy finally had gotten the bug that is going around. He woke up with a fever this morning, freaked me out as it was so high, so I stayed home from work to keep an eye on him. He missed his first travel team lacrosse practice tonight and I'll be keeping him home from 6am hockey and school tomorrow as well. He's also got a sore throat and is all stuffed up... If his fever is still high in the morning, off we go to the Dr...

The boys had their playoff games against William's Lake this past weekend. The boys won Saturday night 9-2, then finished them off on Sunday morning, 16-0. The poor guys from WL were so defeated... it was disheartening to watch. So good news is, we're off to Provincials...

Dylan has also achieved his fundraising goals for Aboriginal Team BC... he got the last cheque in the mail today from Great Grandpa Moston to put us over the top! Thanks to everyone who contributed to his campaign... we were worried about how it would go, but with donations coming in from as far as New York, USA, we were able to do it! You guys are awesome! :o)

Not much else going on here... the girls had dance today, Donovan is taking a coaching class at the high school and will come out of it with his NCPP(?) so that's exciting. Kirb is plunking along and getting his stuff organized to apply at CNC for his Welder/Fitter course.

That's been my day... hope tomorrow's better! Night! :O)

A day at the Dentist...

Poor Donovan... experiencing the ups and downs of being a teenager this week... the high of getting his driver's license and the low of getting stuck with a mouth full of metal!!

Here are some highlights of his day at the dentist...

The before picture:

Tools of the trade:

That's going in my mouth???

After two hours in the chair... Am I done yet?

What a big brave boy ~:o)

Have a good night...

A taste of Freedom!!!

Donovan passed his driver's test today and is now the proud owner of a "N" driving license... I don't know who's more excited? Him or us! LOL! Congratulations bud!

Here's a couple of pictures of him leaving for work tonight... his first solo flight!









And time just keeps marching on...

Happy Valentines' Day & Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Well, I'll never forget my parent's anniversary... how could you on the most romantic day of the year?



37 years and still going strong!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone else... Blaine and I went for dinner, no where romantic, but where we both enjoy the food and the big screen TV's to watch the hockey games! LOL! Not everyone's idea of an ideal evening, but I love it!

The kids had dentist appointments in Quesnel this afternoon. Left here by 1:30pm and were back by 5pm, so that's not too bad. Dakota and Willy had small fillings done, and Donovan got his spacers in for his "braces" appointment next week... It's going to be weird having a brace face in the family! LOL!

Anyhow, I'm off to watch Friday Night Lights... can't get enough of this show! Till next time...



HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

848 kilomtres to go!!!

So far, we've raised $452 in pledges for Dylan... WOOHOO! WTG friends and family! We're waiting to hear back from a couple of corporate sponsors, and we'll keep counting down the kilometres... Everyone has been so awesome and generous! I'll keep ya posted!

En Route to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan...

As a member of Aboriginal Team BC, Dylan and the team will be fundraising part of their fees through the fundraising program, En Route. This opportunity is for Aboriginal athletes selected to represent British Columbia at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, April 29 to May 5, 2007.

Dylan's one way trip from Vancouver, BC to Prince Albert, is approximately 1300 kms. For as little as $1 per kilometre, you can support Dylan's journey to excellence! Team members are encouraged to raise pledges from their families, friends, community members and local businesses in our area. Supporters can pledge portions of the total distance.

En Route is an excellent opportunity for members of Aboriginal Team BC to again express their dedication to their sport, to their own experience and to encourage the members of their community to take pride and support in their accomplishment.

Please join us in this opportunity. We thank you for your time and consideration...

More hockey congratulations!!!

W*T*G Willy on making Aboriginal Team BC Under 18 team to compete in Prince Albert, Sask at the end of April, beginning of May! What an honour!

We're proud of you bud! :o)

Happy ~17th~ Birthday Donovan...

Love you!

And we're off to Salmon Arm...

bright and early in the morning! Keep your fingers crossed for Willy... I'll post an update when we're home!

TTFN! :o)

Exam week... what a PITA!

The boys are in full swing exam mode and it couldn't be more of a pain in the you-know-where now that I'm working... Dylan and Kirby were both done their exams this morning by 11am, and had to hang around the school until I got there just after two! Thankfully, Donovan has two exams tomorrow, but Kirb only has one in the afternoon, so he'll have to spend the morning studying some more while waiting for his pm test to take place... the joys of acreage living I suppose.

Blaine and the girls are on their way home from dance class. Kelly got them there, and he picked them up on his way home from work.

The days have been filled with sunshine around PG! It's a little cooler this week, but beautiful none the less!

The hockey team had an awesome fun-filled weekend of 3 on 3 hockey with the William's Lake AAA team. They played two ice times in WL and two times up here. There were wild and wacky prizes at the end of the weekend. Some boys even got "pie in the face", which was good for a few laughs! Dylan put on the goalie gear for the weekend, and had a blast playing in net for two games... Fun times all around!

We're off to Salmon Arm early on Friday morning. We're dropping Devin in Quesnel, and Dakota off at Nana and Papa's. Then Dylan and the rest of us will continue on for his Aboriginal Team BC tryouts. So far, the weather forecasts are great, so hopefully the rest of the week stays that way! I hate driving in the crappy stuff!

Not much else is new... Devin and I got haircuts yesterday. Dakota partied all weekend long and was one tired chickie last night at bedtime! Kathy and I made it out the CN Centre once last week... hopefully we can hook up once or twice this week too!

Off to make dinner and watch Hero's on the tube tonight! WOOHOO! TTFN!

Rain, Rain... Go away!

Yes, RAIN! Can you believe it? It's been raining here on and off for the last two days and the temperatures are expected to reach plus 9 by tomorrow... Bye bye snow! Problem is, it's melting rapidly and there is no where for it to go except sitting on top of the frozen ground which is making for some rather large mud puddles everywhere! Very weird weather I tell ya!


Not too much to report from here... Back to the grind and the normal routine this week. Busy weekends coming up though. Dylan's got four games with Williams Lake this weekend, then the weekend after we're off to the Provincial camp for Aboriginal Team BC tryouts in Salmon Arm.


Dylan made the Hinton newspaper this week... here is a link to the article if you haven't seen it already http://www.hintonparklander.com/Sports/282259.html Pretty cool hey?


Dakota's got two birthday parties this weekend. Donovan starts his classroom sessions for driving school, Devin and Kirby are just hanging out, Dylan will be at hockey and we'll just be driving everybody everywhere... as usual!


I forgot to mention that the girls had their very first day of down hill skiing last Saturday, and they both did very well. Dakota took to it like a duck to water, and I think Devin was a little more concerned about "looking good" than the whole experience of skiing! LOL! Oh to be almost 13 again... NOT! Here are a couple of pictures to show you their first day... Enjoy!

The joys of not running around...

Sweet! We're enjoying a "relaxing" evening at home, when we should be out the door rushing to hockey practice. Dylan and team made it to Edmonton around 4:30 our time, and had good roads the whole way. The team was quite excited to learn that they were riding on the WHL Cougars bus for this tournament! What a way to arrive in style! They play tomorrow morning at 10:30am, and as far as I know, Grandma and Grandpa Willick will be there to watch him. They're pretty good about taking some pictures for me too, so that will be nice. And Esther's there, so she'll look after stuff too if need be.

Donovan has the night off. He's worked the Tragically Hip concert, then our tournament, then Snoop Dogg, and then a Cougars game, all since this past Friday. Tomorrow he's got New Wrestling Nation, two Cougars games, Friday and Saturday, then the Rankin Family on Sunday night... no wonder he's fast asleep on the couch down stairs! You know my boy is tired when he sleeps through a hockey game, and it's the CHL prospects game too! He's started his driving lessons as well, so he's cramming it all in!

Kirb and the girls have just been chillin... Kirby's quite happy with all the snow we have, and has been making jumps for his snow board and using the cross country skiis as well. Him and the girls will strap on their stuff and head out in the sunshine for some exercise.

Devin wants me to mention that she has been sitting at the kitchen table working on her science project for the last two hours... poor girlie! Her project is on number memorization. Should be an interesting topic.

I had to include this picture of McTuff... I don't know why, but I love this picture! He's too cute!

Not too much else to report from here... I'll update with game results as I have them!

TTFN! :o)

Time to take a breath...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh......

Well, another tournament has come and gone! Bummer that the boys only came in second, but Dylan tied for 3rd place overall with 11 points in round robin play! Here is a picture of him receiving his medal. He was also named Game MVP twice in the tournament... very cool! Not too bad... :o) It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! Now the team is off to St. Albert on Wednesday morning, and he'll be gone until Sunday or Monday, depending on how they do.

For the rest of the family, we'll take the week "off" of hockey and get some down time in there and get caught up. Hopefully I'll be scrapbooking the weekend away at Esther's house with some of the other hockey moms...

Back to normal at work this week... Rachel's home from Mexico all tanned and rested! We're all jealous! LOL!

Not too much to report tonight... Off to do some chores! Night!

In the home stretch...

for our home tournament!

Here is the link to our tournament webpage so you can follow along with us as we go...

www.esportsdesk.com/leagues/front_pageesd.cfm?leagueID=8047&clientID=3078

I will be scarce at home as we end up practically living at the rink! I'll update when I can!

Have a good weekend! :o)

Go Willy, Go Willy!!!

Well, we made it home from Mackenzie last night and I was too tired to log on and post, but huge CONGRATULATIONS to Willy for making the BC Best Ever Under 16 team! He'll be competing in the BC Cup towards the end of April in Mission, BC. He is one of nine from his AAA PG Cougars team that made the team and is joined by kids from Williams Lake (3), old team mates from Quesnel (3), Fort St John (3), Dawson Creek (1) and Whitehorse, Yukon (1). He's very excited and proud to be representing PG and playing on this team... I've got a tournament meeting to head to, so I'll sign off for now! TTYS! :o)

**Edited to add a blurb from our local newspaper**

Tuesday, January 9, 2007
U-16 team filled with P.G.’s best players
This season’s Under-16 regional hockey team is loaded with local talent.During a weekend B.C. Best Ever camp in Mackenzie, nine Prince George players were chosen for the club. They are Isaac Haack, Brett Connolly, Jordan Duncan, Brett Bulmer, Chris Allbee, Michael Jorgensen, Daniel Gibb, Dylan Willick and Stefan Bazar. “The P.G. kids had a strong showing,” said head coach Brad Crossan. “Nine kids out of 20 (roster spots) is exceptional.”Ice sessions were held Saturday and Sunday. The team is rounded out by players from Williams Lake, Quesnel, Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Whitehorse. In late April, the squad will compete at the Best Ever tournament against teams from B.C.’s seven other zones. The tournament will be held in Mission.

Sorry... I've been remiss...

in getting to my blog to update it, however, it doesn't mean that I haven't been slaving away in front of the computer for the last several evenings in a row! Working on the program insert for the boys tournament is no easy task, even if I have already got the templates I used last year stored in the computer. It still takes time and patience and a lot of tweeking here and there! Oh well, the final result will be well worth the work and energy spent getting it ready!

On top of that, I've been burning the Game MVP CD's with the latest and greatest rock songs of the year... thirty in all will be done by next weekend! We finally got our game schedule and I'll post the link to our team's tournament website so you can follow along on the boys journey! We look forward to hosting teams from Penticton, Fort St John, Williams Lake, Quesnel and Grande Prairie. While the tournament is a lot of work, it's a lot of fun too! Can't wait until it's all said and done though! LOL!

I got a king sized memory foam for our bed yesterday at Costco! OH MY! I totally love it! Blaine said even his hips weren't sore when he woke up this morning, and he usually has sore hips from sleeping on his side, because he snores on his back, then I can't sleep and have to poke him! ROTF! No poking last night though!

We're off to Mackenzie tomorrow after work. Blaine is bringing his laptop, so I may be able to sneak on and post an update from there... if not, I promise to get on for a bit on Sunday night! Till then... TTFN! :o)

Happy New Year to those far and near...

It's been a busy week since my last post! I've been to Burnaby and back for Dylan's hockey tournament, un-decorated the house, We spent last night fonduing with the kids... fun times! And celebrated New Years nice and quiet at home with the people who matter most in our lives, and spent today in my PJ's... a nice way to start 2007 I think! LOL!

It's back to the real world tomorrow, work for both Blaine and I... but don't tell the kids; I'm actually looking forward to getting out of the house and back to the office for a few hours a day! A nice short week to start things off right and I should have a bit of work to catch up on since Rachel was in last week and I wasn't... plus, she's going to be teaching me a bit more things on the computers etc, since she's leaving for Mexico next Saturday! I'm sure the next two weeks are going to FLY by and I won't have much time in the evenings!

We've got the BC Best Ever tryouts in MacKenzie this weekend coming up, I've been busy working on our tournament insert as that happens Jan 12th weekend, then the boys are off to St. Albert, Alberta for a tournament, then we have four league games in one weekend both here and in William's Lake, then the first weekend in February, we're off to Salmon Arm for the final Aboriginal Team BC tryouts for Willy! See what I mean about January flying by! I'm already planning into February and we haven't even had a break yet! Are you tired just reading that? I'm tired thinking about all the traveling! YIKES!

Donovan and Kirby are going skiing tomorrow. Nate is here having a sleepover and him and Willy have been paintballing non-stop. The girls are chillin', but getting bored at home. I've got to arrange a play date for Miss Dakota with Morgan still this week, and Devin is content to stay at home working out on the new gym equipment... All in all, it's been a good holiday so far! But the kids don't go back to school for another week yet... I think we'll all be ready for the return to normalcy by January 8th!

I also haven't made a single resolution for this year... I guess I'll do what I feel like, when I feel like it! So how's that for a statement for the new year? ROTF!

I wish you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2007! Cheers!

Happy Birthday Jesus... and Merry Christmas to all!

Well, the morning has come and gone... the smell of turkey roasting in the oven is wafing through the house, the kids are all off playing with new toys and building gadgets with Blaine. Everything is ready to go for turkey dinner, veggies are peeled and cut, and we're just snackin' all day long!

Santa was good to everyone at my house this year! Blaine got a big air compressor with tons of attachments and tools, I got TWO new cartridges for my Cricut and a remote starter for my van, and Donovan bought me a foot spa/massager... I think it was more for him than me, because he is the BEST foot massager on the planet, so now he figures he gets out of it! LOL!

The boys are outfitted from head to toe with paintball guns, gear and ammo! Too bad we didn't read until too late that the CO2 canisters aren't filled, and they need them filled in order for their guns to work... bummer! Oh well, they're busy putting together the gym equipment that Grandpa Moston got them for Christmas.

The girls have so much stuff I can't even begin to tell you what they got! Some highlights include the Biggest Little Pet Shop for Dakota, a nail spa for Devin, a VCR/DVD combo for their room, tons of clothes, make up, and X-box games...

Here's a few photos to share from this morning:

Before the paper was flying!





It's a beautiful day here today... sun is shining, the birds are singing and all is well in our world! Another reminder to remember the reason for the season! Praise and thanks to our Lord God for being so good to us this past year!

"Twas the Night before Christmas...

and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... Isn't he cute? I couldn't resist! :o)

Well, not everyone is in bed yet! We just finished watching the original "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" movie. Grandpa Moston and Blaine are watching the end of Scrooge. Willy's crackin' nuts in the kitchen... the girls are already snug in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancin' in their heads... Donovan and Kirby have already gone to bed, but I doubt they're sleeping! I have presents to wrap and stockings to fill.... as usual, a whirlwind Christmas eve!

Early today, we hit the tobogganing slopes with Auntie Kathy, Uncle Serge, Morgan and Brandon. The kids had a blast, regardless of the fact that the hill was pretty well sheer ice and the dads had more fun than the kids did I'm sure! Kath and I laughed ourselves silly at the kids and their dads sledding down the hills, screaming their heads off... Morgan and Dakota had the best time... I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow... for some reason, it's not letting me add another one right now! :o(

After supper tonight, we drove into the city to drive through Candy Cane Lane and take some pictures of the lights. As usual, the residents in this area of the city did a great job of lighting up the streets and their houses. Grandpa was quite impressed by the show of lights...

The kids opened up their Christmas PJ's from Great Grandma Ashe... a Christmas eve tradition in our house since I was a child. Everyone was quite happy and surprised (Do ya think Kirby was playing to the camera a little bit? LOL!) with their new Christmas PJ's...

And so it begins... the mad rush in the morning, the paper tearing, the squeals, the smiles, the laughter... I'll leave you with the words to my favorite Grinch Christmas song...

Fah who for-aze! Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome Christmas, Come this way!
Fah who for-aze! Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day.

Welcome, Welcome
Fah who rah-moose
Welcome, Welcome
Dah who dah-moose
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp

Fah who for-aze!
Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome, welcome Christmas
Welcome, welcome Christmas Day

So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

My bad....

So sorry for not posting in the last few days! The days before Christmas always seem to go by in such a blur! Last minute shopping, gift wrapping, baking... all to be done and so little time to do it in! I never imagined that working part time would take away so many hours I spent doing other things! C'est la vie!

Lots going on lately... Donovan went to the dentist in Quesnel today. We thought for a pre-op for his braces, but I guess it wasn't because he had two fillings done and I wasn't happy because they put SILVER fillings in and all my kids have the white kind! I guess that tid-bit of info got lost in his file, because when the receptionist checked, all the other kids are noted. So now, he gets to have them out and re-filled on February 14th, when he gets his spacers in. Then on the 21st, it's the big day! BRACES! But not to straighten teeth - his are straight. He has a pretty bad overbite that is causing damage to his lower teeth fronts so they'll correct that. It will be a big adjustment for Mr. Popcorn lover!

Hockey is marching along... as well as the never-ending fundraising! We were supposed to have this weekend off, so I scheduled Dylan for a lacrosse event on Saturday, and then it's decided that the team would be doing one more day of firewood before the holidays... but, we won't be there as I've already paid for lacrosse. We still have TONS of darned tickets to sell... anyone want to buy one or even two???

The girls Christmas concert is tomorrow... that always signals the start of Christmas for me! Nothing like all those kiddies singing their little hearts out to get me in the mood! Then they're going roller skating and have pot lucks on Friday and then school's OUT! Woohoo! The boys are more low key at school in regards to Christmas, but they're glad to have a bit of a break coming up. Kirby wants more snow for boarding, and Dylan wants the temperature to plummet so that the ice rink in the back yard will take and he can skate on in it in the new year!

I won a new cartridge for my Cricut on Ebay last night... $54 CAD in comparison to $99 up here! And that included the shipping and exchange rate! Woohooo! I can't wait to really get in there and play with it. I just haven't had the time yet to fully appreciate all this baby can do! I have visions of layouts dancing in my head... can't wait to get them down on paper soon!

Well, my eyes are crossing... time for bed and bath! Or rather, the other way around I guess! LOL! Night!