It's been a long time baby!!!

Sometimes, I come and look back on my blog and wish I had more time to do the things I used to do before I worked full time. Sometimes, I have the time to sit and write in my blog but don't do it because I don't feel like it. Sometimes, I just sit and DO IT... like now! LOL!

Things have been going at Mach 3 around here with Dylan's hockey career. He's been listed as a protected player in the WHL by the Kamloops Blazers and he's pretty thrilled with it all. We all are very proud of him, he's been working hard to get there and he deserves everything he has coming to him. He's in the middle of semi finals in the Major Midget league and we're waiting for game updates. Fingers crossed that they win again tonight and we'll be in the BC Championships...

Everyone else has been plunking along, doing their thing... Donovan and Kirby work, ski, work, wait for the snow to quit falling so they can get their bikes out and catch some air. Donovan is in college this year, and Kirby will be graduating in a few short months... hard to believe how fast time flies sometimes!

Devin and Dakota are busy with school, friends, socializing... Devin applied for a Quebec exchange so we're hoping that she'll be accepted and off to explore Quebec this time next year. Dakota got her chin cut skating with her class yesterday and isn't happy that it hurts! =0)

Blaine has written his last two exams for this 1st Class power engineering ticket. I'm so proud of him... it's been years of studying and patience, but he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I am enjoying working for BC Housing and all it has to offer. I find it rewarding work and enjoy the office staff who have become like family over the last year and a half!!

There, I did a little update, it didn't kill me and now I'm going to watch hockey on TV to help pass the time waiting for game updates from Dylan's game in Vancouver...

Later! =0)

Don't ya just hate when you forget passwords???

And you can't get on your blog to update because you're too lazy to go through the process again? LOL...

Well, that's been me, but I'm back in!

Lots to get updated on for sure... will work on that this weekend, I promise!

Anyhow, it's good to be back, feels like I've come home again!

I almost forgot how to log on to here!!!

Well folks, it's been a long time since I updated my blog! I was reminded that I do have a blog and some people do read it, don't I know? LOL! So my apologies to those who read and those who come to check in and see what we've been up to at the Willick household! I have gotten caught up in the Facebook craze and love being able to keep up with friends and family "in real time" over there. But, looking back over my blog, I realize that I miss my "journaling" of our lives on here, and that I should make a better effort to get on here and keep it up to date.

Anyhow, no surprise, but I have to head out the door ASAP to take Dylan to hockey. I will try and get back on here and post some recent pics and stuff real soon!

TTFN!

Sorry people... I've been a bad blogger!

Opps... been a little bit caught up in Facebook and haven't been updating my blog! So sorry to those who have been waiting for some updates! (Thanks for the reminder Debbie!)

Let's see what I can think of in a few words... Summer is almost over and school is just around the corner! Can't believe that Donovan is going to be starting grade 12 this year! YIKES! The three boys had summer jobs at the tree nursery down the road from us.

Dylan participated in the lacrosse provincials down in New Westminister and the boys took the silver medal... lost the game in OT! That BIT! Devin and Dakota spent lots of time at Auntie Kelly's and they're heading down to Nana and Papa's for some R&R while I take Dylan to Medicine Hat for the WHL rookie camp this upcoming week/weekend. I am hoping to be able to catch up with my cousin and her family while we're there. Dylan is in the middle of tryouts as well for the major midget hockey team, the Cariboo Cougars. He's made it through two rounds of cuts and we'll see if he can hang on for the last one. It is a team made up of 15-17yr olds... mostly older kids and he's still 14... not 15 until October. Chances are slim, but he's doing awesome!

Kirby and Donovan spent TONS of time on their mountain bikes, wiping out, fixing things and getting back on the seat and having a blast.

Anyhow... if you're not the facebook wagon yet, why not? It's a blast hooking up with old friends and new ones too... hope to see you there soon! :o)

Happy Birthday Dear Devin...

Gosh... can't quite believe my girlie is now a teenager... where does the time go? Here she is just before her 1st birthday... love it!



And now, she's all grown up! Here is a layout of her and Anesha at the make up studio getting all dolled up...



A funny thing happened to her on Saturday night when we were at Boston Pizza in Quesnel to celebrate with our friends down there. The waitresses brought Devin her birthday dessert and made her stand up on her chair and the whole resturant sang her happy birthday... but THEN, a group of seven young men got up from their corner booth, and came over to our table. They told Devin that they had a "crush" on her and wanted to sing to her for her birthday too... WELL... they opened their mouths to sing, and out came the most wonderful acapella rendition of "I've got a crush on you"... I almost died! Turns out, they were part of the high school musical group getting ready for their "Swing the Mood" musical... I couldn't have scripted it any better if I had paid to have had that happen!!! She was dying of embarrassment, but hey, how often in your life can you say that happens for you? I of course, had to go out to the van to get the camera and the boys were more than happy to pose for a picture with the birthday girl and her best friend... she'll thank me for that one day!!!





Catch up with me on Facebook... I'd love to hear from you and be your "friend"

TTFN!

Settling for Silver...

Dang... once again, Nanaimo came out on top, but this time, it took overtime to settle the score! They won the gold medal 5-4 yesterday at the 9th Annual Matt Underwood Lacrosse Tournament. We should have had the game in the bag because we were up 4-1 at the beginning of the third, but the boys just couldn't hold off Nanaimo's offense. It was a great game and we can't wait to see them at Provincials to settle the score on the floor!

Well, the underdogs strike again!

Somehow this team manages to squiggle their way in to semi's and finals through the back door. Thanks to a better goals for/against average, we managed to place 2nd in our pool and will be playing in the semi finals in the morning at 9am. If they win that, they'll go directly to the finals at 3pm. If they lose, they play for 3rd & 4th at 3pm as well... which means the earliest ferry we're going to catch is the 7pm, and man, it's going to be a long, long drive home!

I'll try and post again tomorrow but probably not until we're home in PG sometime on Monday...

Wish us more luck! TTFN!

Hey from Victoria...

Well, as the team sits at the Matt Underwood Tournament, the boys are down two games, to Nanaimo and Victoria, and beat Cowichan this afternoon. We won't know until after the North Shore game where we've placed. We'd either be 2nd or 3rd in our pool, and that will determine where we play.

Uncle David will be bringing the kidlets down here tomorrow... and then we'll catch the ferry and head up to Nana's then home the rest of the way on Monday.

TTFN!

One more "spring cleaning" chore completed!

Got the outside windows all washed and sparkling today! There is nothing better than looking out sparkling clean windows!!! I also got all the upstairs windows inside washed and the window ledges and sills mildew free. I hate that black gunk that accumulates over the winter with all the condensation in the house. Now we'll see how long it takes for the poor birdies to get confused and smash into them... I hate when that happens! Poor babies! But then I hate the feather mess that's left on the windows too!

I caught our resident squirrel in my May Day tree today and took some great shots of the little gaffer. Dylan had some peanuts left from his trip, and the squirrel gladly came down the tree to retrieve them. I think with a little more time and patience, the squirrel would have taken them right from his hand! Oh well.. enjoy the pictures!








Doesn't he look like he's smiling and saying "Thanks for the treat?" Too much fun!

Hope he made you smile! :o) TTFN!

The boys are bringing home a silver medal!

They lost in a nail biter to Nanamio, 11-9 this afternoon. Sounds like no one was expecting our team to be as strong as they are. It's going to be a long drive home and an even longer night waiting for him to get home!

Blaine and I got the garage dunged out, washed the deck and cleaned it off. There was pollen everywhere, on everthing! The water was yellow that was coming off the deck furniture. I am so thankful that no one at my house has allergies to pollen! I couldn't imagine how awful people feel... After all that cleaning, I hosed down the driveway and sidewalk to the front door. Now I really feel like I got my spring cleaning done!

Tomorrow I hope to get the outside windows washed...I know, I said that was today's job, but we just kinda got started in the garage, and decided to finish it up. I should have a nice peaceful day tomorrow while the kids are at school and Blaine is at work... And the weather is supposed to be nicer too... it was chilly this morning, but warmed up pretty good this afternoon. Now the wind is starting a bit, and it's cooling things off.

Anyhow, hope you had a productive weekend! :o) TTFN!

The boys are doing great!

They won and tied their games today, which puts them first in their pool. If they win tomorrow's early game, they'll go on to play in the final at 4:45pm. Which means it's going to be an awfully late night getting home... keep your fingers crossed that they bring home the gold!

The PG Posse are off to a good start in Chilliwack...

YEAH! Dylan and the lacrosse team won their first game against Juan de Fuca today, 10-7. He said all went well and they are pretty confident in themselves. They play Chilliwack in the morning, and one of the three Kamloops teams in the late afternoon. As much as I am enjoying staying home, I always feel like I'm missing out when I don't travel with him and the team...

Got lots done today. I planted all the outside planters, got the corn and broccoli and the herbs into the vegetable garden, and have some flowers left over, so I'm going to pull out a couple more planters and go to it again tomorrow... my back is killing me after all that bending over... as much as I love to garden, the next day is a b*tch because I can barely walk! LOL!

I bought a new weedie wacker today too... an early Father's Day present for Blaine since he kept "forgetting" to buy one! Nice me hey? Donovan used it though and the yard looks awesome. Just wish the dandelion killer would actually kill all the damned things instead of just wilting them a bit then they spring back.

It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow, but I sure wasn't complaining with the +25 we had today... lovely weather! But I do need to wash the outside windows, so cloudy and cooler will be good for that... The girls are sleeping out in the tent trailer tonight with the dog, so I hope they're warm enough.

We have TONS and TONS of birds visiting the feeders and nesting boxes. We have a pair of pileated woodpeckers that live in the forest behind us that come out every once in awhile to check out the feeders. They're so big and beautiful! Here are a couple of pictures I took of them last year...




As for other birds at our feeders, we have: house sparrows, evening grosbeaks, pine siskins, purple finches, common redpoles, red winged blackbirds, junco's, chickadees, robins, stellar jays, red-breasted nuthatches, northern flickers, downey woodpeckers, swallows, and three kinds of hummingbirds to name some of them. We love watching to see who's doing what and when.

Hope you're all having a great start to your weekend! TTFN! :o)

Much better day today!

We got a ton of stuff done around the acreage today... raked a ton of leaves, burnt them with all the branches and twigs that had accumulated over the winter, picked up the bits and pieces lying around the yard, tidied up the toys and sports equipment, did the mowing around the trees and shrubs, and Blaine got the stereo into Donovan's car... all in all, I'd say we had a fantastic day! :o) Papa's tired, he's in bed already! LOL!

Dylan got in an hour and a half at the outdoor box with the penalty kill boys from his lacrosse team. While he did that, Pa and I hit Costco and Superstore and then watched the boys for a bit before coming home for a BBQ.

Dakota had her friend Lindsay over for a sleepover last night, and considering it was her first sleepover, she did awesome. She fell asleep while Dakota was reading her a story... too cute! She's only 7 to Dakota's 9, but they're such good buddies!

We're hoping that the weather holds out for one more day, so we can get a bit more outside stuff done. I really want to put my annuals into my containers, but I think I'll hold off for one more weekend, in case it frosts.

Hope you're all having a fantastic long weekend! Cheers!

Rain, rain go away!!!

I guess we shouldn't expect more for the May long weekend, but they weren't predicting a torrential downpour either! In between thunderstorms today, the girls and I got the vegetable garden seeds sown, and we made a quick trip to the greenhouse in between down pours. I bought some new potting soil to top up all my outside planters. Blaine went to the composting station this morning and brought home a few bags of compost to add to the garden before we seeded. I have some pre-potted herbs and vegetables to go into the garden, but they need to acclimatize a bit first. We got broccoli and corn to go in, and for herb pots we got parsley, sweet basil, chives, sage and cilantro... mmmm, mmmm!

We bought a couple of dandelion bars to run over the lovely patches of yellow flowers that are taking over the lawn... the joys of acreage living! No golf course greens around here... UGH! Too bad there just wasn't enough time to get out there between showers. The worst is keeping the dog off the front lawn for a day or two.

My dad is coming up tomorrow, and we're hoping the weather is better, because he's going to bring his chainsaw so we can do a bit of clearing in the back '40 and clean up the yard a bit... How come the weather never cooperates???

I worked a bit on some thank you cards for the people who contributed to Dylan's fundraising campaign to get him to Prince Albert for the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships. Here's what they look like so far... what do you think?

Well here's to hoping tomorrow has a bit more sunshine so we can get something finally done out there! :o)

Well, what an exciting day at our house! Dylan received an invitational letter for him to attend the current WHL Champions, Medicine Hat Tigers, rookie camp in August!!! He grinned from ear to ear when I tracked him down at school today at lunch to give him the awesome news!

Since the Bantam Draft didn't quite go how we were hoping, this is an awesome consolation... he gets to attend "unrestricted" and probably has a better chance at going somewhere than the kids who were drafted so late in the rounds.

So now we have a new team to cheer for in the 2007 Memorial Cup... GO TIGERS GO!

Sun shiny day...

Well, we made it home before Survivor started yesterday. The boys were 8th going into the final game, and managed to cream Kelowna 14-3, to end up placing 7th overall out of twelve. So not too bad for their first tournament of the year!

The kids are at school, Blaine is at work, and I am in jammies puttering around the house. I plan on trying to get some stuff done in my garden today. And maybe going for a bike ride, but a walk at least down to get the mail.

Happy be-lated Mother's Day to all you out there!

A tie and a win in today's games!

Well, the boys are improving as we move through the tournament. Willy got 1 goal and one assist in this mornings game and was named Team MVP for that game. This afternoon, we beat Mission 12-6 and Willy scored 1 goal and got two assists. Not too bad of a day.

Gretchen and I went scrapbooking shopping at the local store, but it's not the best store and we had better luck at Michaels finding cool product than at the LSS...

We have NO IDEA where we've placed in the 12 team tournament, and only the top four teams advance to the semi's, so hopefully we're in the mix! We'll see... I'll update tomorrow!

TTFN!

Hello from Kamloops!

Well, we won our game in Quesnel last night, 12-2. Willy got three goals and two assists. He played well and so did the team.

Too bad that didn't continue over to our first tournament game in 'Loops. We lost 11-4 against the Edmonton team. The boys had a hard time figuring out their line positions and who their line mates were as we're carrying extra players right now and have more than four lines. It's going to be a bit of adjusting to new players and who plays well with whom, but there is always tomorrow...

I'll try and post an update tomorrow night so that you know how the games went!

TTFN!
Melissa

And we're off again!

This time for lacrosse... Dylan has a game tonight in Quesnel, then we head down to spend the night at my moms. Tomorrow morning, we're off to Kamloops for our first rep lacrosse tourney of the season.

I'll post when we're home! :o)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Momma bear and her three cubs...

See what we saw on our way home today... Momma bear and three cubs were about 45 minutes north of McBride. They were so active and funny! We were in stitches in the van. Of course, I didn't get out of the van to take any pictures, just rolled down the window and shot out there. Momma was very calm considering we were feet away, and in no way did she act like she was threatened or concerned about me talking to her or taking pictures of her family. It was an honour to have been able to see her this close up with her new babies!


Ahh... nothing like a good back scratch!

Not quite sure why Momma has a bald face... we're waiting to hear what Uncle David has to say.


Baby Bear Attack! So sweet!



This baby wanted nothing to do with the tussling going on with his/her siblings!


Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as we enjoyed watching them!