Finally

Kevin finally got my top off.............of the jeep that is. Summer finally feels like it is here. I got to spend some time cruising around town in the jeep on Saturday. I am looking forward to some more of those days in the future. Here is my new t-shirt that I got to celebrate the occasion. I missed the official date, come to think of it we probably had snow then!!

Grad

I had the opportunity to attend the CHS grad ceremonies last night. It's only been 21 years for me but in some ways it still seems like yesterday. Except I don't think I could fit into the dress anymore!!
The six girls in the picture with me are the seniors from the basketball team that I have coached since grade 8. What a great group of girls and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to watch them grow up and become the awesome kids that they are. Definitely one of the upsides to coaching is the relationships that you build with the kids.

Busy Week

The kids have kept me hopping this week. First the 4-H sale and then divisional track meet. The sale could have been better, the kids won't put as much in the bank as last year, but I guess that is the reality of ranching. It is a valuable lesson to learn I think. Now I can plant those subliminal messages of "you need to be grow up to be a dentist/doctor".


It was Shane's divisional meet today and he did pretty good. I was working but was able to slip out and watch him do most of his events. The downside was that I had to run up the Lion's Park hill 3 times today. I managed to actually run up it twice but by the third time I was walking. Definitely got my exercise for the day.

Scuba

Thanks girls for the fun evening out last Saturday night. I'm glad we all got together. You all are way too funny, and I enjoyed reliving some of the 80's with you.

On Thursday I got to take my class to the university pool and do some scuba diving. I passed all the skill testing (see you can teach an old dog new tricks) and was able to finally make it to the bottom of the deep end. My ears were killing me and it took me a while to get down there. The kids were of course way more adventurous and made it to the bottom long before me. It was a bit unnerving to be rely on a tube for your oxygen but it is something I always wanted to try.

I was able to finally barbeque tonight. The first time this year, just did some burgers but they always seems to taste better especially with lots of Montreal Steak Spice. And better yet no dishes to clean up. The kids are getting ready for the 4H Show and Sale on Tuesday. The calves have to be clipped and washed off on Saturday, then they will need to lead them around to make sure they will behave in the ring. It is always an interesting sight to see a 80 lb. young man trying to coax a 1200 lb. steer into following him just by tugging on a little rope. In the beginning the steer usually wins the tug of war, but by sale day we usually have them all ready to go. The kids look forward to it because that is when they get to see how much $$$ they will get for all their hard work. I will post pics of the show next week. Colton and Rylan have a calf this year but Shane doesn't cause his always chased him over the fence, so he got an early ride to the auction mart. He was mean right from the start.

Multi-Tasking

I remember fondly the days when I had time to stand by the toaster and wait for my bread to be toasted to perfection. Now it seems that today and many other ocassions over the last couple of years I seem to get side tracked whilst making toast. I am not sure if I am just trying to do too much multi-tasking or if it is a sign of old age and I just can't remember from one minute to the next what I am doing. I really hate eating cold toast. Just had to vent about that for a bit.

As for the long weekend of camping, it was fabulous. We all came home without any broken bones which is good considering the horseback and the quad riding that we did all weekend long. Not much snow left just a few banks in the trees and I even managed to get a sunburn. Here are some shots from the walk we took on Sunday.

I am Sensing a Trend

So I get up to get ready for work this morning and look out the window to see this.....

I am sure Al Gore has never visited Cardston in May cause then he would have to retract the whole global warming thing. Despite the depressing view this morning I am still planning on going camping this weekend. I get a 4 day weekend. Going to go fishing, kayaking, lots of reading, and hopefully not too much cooking. The boys will have to fend for themselves. Hopefully the furnace works in the trailer cause we may need it!!

Learning to Embrace

I am learning to embrace the spring that is winter or is it the winter that has yet to become spring. I am a bit confused. Either way, the precipitation is in the form of snow. Time for a good old fashioned snowball fight tomorrow, the snow is going to be perfect.