This is a dark day indeed. I should be wearing a black arm band today because I am in mourning. Yes, I mourn a death...the death of a dream that our country would rise up to defend its Hockey title. But that dream is dead. No medal, no honor, no glory. Just a quiet plane trip home and 4 years to contemplate what happened.
Oh, the good days, just a few weeks ago, when our hopes were high and our spirits soared with the thought of a team that could do no wrong. It was said that this was the year that Canada had such a long list of players that were worthy to play, we could've sent two teams to compete on an Olympic Stage. The Selection was a highly celebrated event which all of Canada eagerly anticipated. The Heroes would be chosen. The Team was assembled. And under the guidance of our very own Hockey Guru, Mr Gretzky, we sent the team off with the well-wishes of an entire nation. Oh, the good days...
It was with baited breath that we watched Canada skate out to their first game to pull off a 7-2 win. The goals came fast and hard, with Calgary's very own Jarome Iginla scoring Canada's first goal. It was a win, albeit, a jet-lagged win.
Then came Germany. Another win with 5-1 the end result. Canada's sights were set on a podium already. But then, the cracks formed in our concrete chimera. The Swiss pulled off an unbelievable win against the Czechs, and were next due to face up against Canada. No one doubted the Swiss were good, but did we underestimate? Canada struggled, and lost.
The next two games, Canada were visibly shaken, not posted a single goal in both games. If Hope floats, these were the needles in our liferaft.
One last effort was made and Canada looked breifly like it might pull it together again, posting a 3-2 win against the mighty Czechs. But not when it counted.
Canada could not manage to score a single goal in our last game against the Russians, losing not only the game, but the vision of once again coming home the Golden Boys.
What went wrong? Ours is not the right to ask that question, but to look to the future. If I could ask one thing out of this tragedy, it would be that we do not stoop to making excuses for our team, but display a graciousness that becomes us as Canadians. We will look to the future. We will train harder. We will not be shaken again.
So this is my eulogy. It is a dark day in Canada, but every dusk has its dawn. And I for one, will continue to cheer on our Canadian boys.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Friday, February 17, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Great news, in about 10 days we will be having a new car delivered to our home! This is the link you can check out to see what kinda car we're gonna get. You need to go to the "Image Gallery" cause we have the Sedan not the Hatchback. We've ordered a nice black car and we're gonna be in heaven cause we've never had a car with power steering, air conditioning, CD player & central locking, so we're VERY excited!
http://corolla.toyota.com.au/toyota/vehicle/HomePage/0,4666,1661_562,00.html
Hope you are all well,
Love Meg & Jer
http://corolla.toyota.com.au/toyota/vehicle/HomePage/0,4666,1661_562,00.html
Hope you are all well,
Love Meg & Jer
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
3 days to go!!!
It seems I always start off my blogs with an apology...sorry I'm not able to update this more often.
Well, as my title has already informed you, it's only three days to go until the Winter Olympics of 2006 start up in Torino, Italy. I can't say my enthusiasm is shared by everyone here. Winter Olympics don't mean a lot to a country that has only 41 competeing atheletes, including one ex-Canadian. Its funny to hear him say, in a thick Canadian accent "I'm really proud to represent Australia at these games." I like to boo him. You know what he is? He is somebody who couldn't cut it in Canada, and so he moved to Australia because he looks amazing here. You know, if I go to a golf course with Tiger Woods, and play a round with him, I'd look ridiculous, but when I play golf with three year olds, I'm a legend! It's like the local hockey team here. They're all Canadians who flunked out of hockey school, so moved down here to make a career out of it...it's very funny. Nate, you could take any one of these guys on.
...compared to Canada's 200+ atheletes..not including coaches, trainers, team managers, chaperones...But i heard some sad news this morning. they were going over all the games that would be shown or highlighted during these games...and unfortunately, not one mention of Hockey was heard. Can you believe it? Not one mention. I still am getting my hopes up that since no one would watch hockey during prime time, they'll show the games at early hours of the morning...I've already put the hockey schedule on my fridge...so I'll be up at 3AM if I have to.
Speaking of hockey, I don't think any team besides Canada is going to really be competing for the gold. The Czechs and the Finns aren't too bad, but the Americans are certainly NOT going to make it to the medal round. Out of the 27 players selected to the team, they have 12 players who have never been to the Olympics before. International rookies...including their three goalies, New York's Rick DiPietro, Tampa Bay's John Grahame and Philadelphia's Robert Esche.
WHO?!?!?! I ask that same question. When two of the netminders sit at the bottom of the goaltending list during shootouts, you look to the other goalie to do something for you. Now, I quote the coach of the US Olympic team when he commented on DiPietro,
"If there's one save to make a game, he'll make it"
Now, I'm pretty sure that during an average hockey game, a goalie would have to make between 25-40 saves...but don't worry, Ricky, if there's only one save to make, you'lll make it...the other 29 shots can go in though.
Ok, I have to concede that the American's Key Player is Chris Chelios, a man with some experience. Of course, you'd expect that from a 44 year-old. Did I mention that he made his Olympic debut in 1984? 1984!!! That's 22 years ago. He'll go down in the record books as not only the oldest Olympic hockey player, but the only hockey player who's using a modified hockey stick as his walker on the ice. He'll have a lot of fans though. I heard all the senior's homes are all geared up.
GO TEAM CANADA!
hehehe...I am funny.
Well, enjoy the games!
Well, as my title has already informed you, it's only three days to go until the Winter Olympics of 2006 start up in Torino, Italy. I can't say my enthusiasm is shared by everyone here. Winter Olympics don't mean a lot to a country that has only 41 competeing atheletes, including one ex-Canadian. Its funny to hear him say, in a thick Canadian accent "I'm really proud to represent Australia at these games." I like to boo him. You know what he is? He is somebody who couldn't cut it in Canada, and so he moved to Australia because he looks amazing here. You know, if I go to a golf course with Tiger Woods, and play a round with him, I'd look ridiculous, but when I play golf with three year olds, I'm a legend! It's like the local hockey team here. They're all Canadians who flunked out of hockey school, so moved down here to make a career out of it...it's very funny. Nate, you could take any one of these guys on.
...compared to Canada's 200+ atheletes..not including coaches, trainers, team managers, chaperones...But i heard some sad news this morning. they were going over all the games that would be shown or highlighted during these games...and unfortunately, not one mention of Hockey was heard. Can you believe it? Not one mention. I still am getting my hopes up that since no one would watch hockey during prime time, they'll show the games at early hours of the morning...I've already put the hockey schedule on my fridge...so I'll be up at 3AM if I have to.
Speaking of hockey, I don't think any team besides Canada is going to really be competing for the gold. The Czechs and the Finns aren't too bad, but the Americans are certainly NOT going to make it to the medal round. Out of the 27 players selected to the team, they have 12 players who have never been to the Olympics before. International rookies...including their three goalies, New York's Rick DiPietro, Tampa Bay's John Grahame and Philadelphia's Robert Esche.
WHO?!?!?! I ask that same question. When two of the netminders sit at the bottom of the goaltending list during shootouts, you look to the other goalie to do something for you. Now, I quote the coach of the US Olympic team when he commented on DiPietro,
"If there's one save to make a game, he'll make it"
Now, I'm pretty sure that during an average hockey game, a goalie would have to make between 25-40 saves...but don't worry, Ricky, if there's only one save to make, you'lll make it...the other 29 shots can go in though.
Ok, I have to concede that the American's Key Player is Chris Chelios, a man with some experience. Of course, you'd expect that from a 44 year-old. Did I mention that he made his Olympic debut in 1984? 1984!!! That's 22 years ago. He'll go down in the record books as not only the oldest Olympic hockey player, but the only hockey player who's using a modified hockey stick as his walker on the ice. He'll have a lot of fans though. I heard all the senior's homes are all geared up.
GO TEAM CANADA!
hehehe...I am funny.
Well, enjoy the games!
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
I have a couple of spare minutes before I leave work, so I thought I'd write on here. Jeremy's just phoned me from his work to let me know that Dad's friend, Jeff, is going to Sydney for 3 weeks and he's lending us his car! Praise God! Jeff floats between here and Sydney so it was real nice of him to lend us his car....so we have wheels for 3 weeks....SO EXCITING! You never realise how much you rely on a car until you dont have one! But we're still believing for one. Need to get a computer at home too with the net so we can keep in touch with everyone more often!
Well I'm gonna sign off, thanks for your comments :)
Well I'm gonna sign off, thanks for your comments :)
Friday, January 27, 2006
stinking hot still!
I have to apologize.
This week has been a pretty crazy week
Actually, ever since we go back from Canada, we've been preety busy. From work to social gatherings (what can I say? People love us!) and having no internet at home, we can't get to this as often as we'd like. Oh well. There hasn't been a whole lot to report anyways. unless you want to hear about the cricket, a topic on which I could write a few more paragraphs. And my brother happened to mention to me that the Oilers lost again to Calgary. Nathan seems to be under the mis-guided impresssion that the Flames are the better team. I have only one word in response to that...Conklin. Ty "stinking" Conklin. You know what I'm talking about. If you're a Seinfeld fan, you'll know that whenever something went wrong, Jerry always said "Newman!". Kind of like the Seinfeld-ian swear word. Now if anything bad happens to me..."Conklin!"
Stubbed my toe? "Conklin!"
spilled my drink? "Conklin!"
Oilers lose? "Conklin!"
you get the idea.
Well, gotta get ready for church tonight!
This week has been a pretty crazy week
Actually, ever since we go back from Canada, we've been preety busy. From work to social gatherings (what can I say? People love us!) and having no internet at home, we can't get to this as often as we'd like. Oh well. There hasn't been a whole lot to report anyways. unless you want to hear about the cricket, a topic on which I could write a few more paragraphs. And my brother happened to mention to me that the Oilers lost again to Calgary. Nathan seems to be under the mis-guided impresssion that the Flames are the better team. I have only one word in response to that...Conklin. Ty "stinking" Conklin. You know what I'm talking about. If you're a Seinfeld fan, you'll know that whenever something went wrong, Jerry always said "Newman!". Kind of like the Seinfeld-ian swear word. Now if anything bad happens to me..."Conklin!"
Stubbed my toe? "Conklin!"
spilled my drink? "Conklin!"
Oilers lose? "Conklin!"
you get the idea.
Well, gotta get ready for church tonight!
Friday, January 20, 2006
a quick sentence or two
well, we've had a week to ease back into it, but the heat has hit us like a punch in the face.
For the last few days, we've been sitting at 34 each day...and this Sunday, it's supposed to climb up to 41. Can you believe it???? I can't...and i don't even have an air conditioner to lessen the load. ARGH!
I just thought I'd share that with you. Happy?
Good
See ya!
For the last few days, we've been sitting at 34 each day...and this Sunday, it's supposed to climb up to 41. Can you believe it???? I can't...and i don't even have an air conditioner to lessen the load. ARGH!
I just thought I'd share that with you. Happy?
Good
See ya!
Friday, January 13, 2006
We made it!
Well, we made it home safe. And our journey was not without dramas, let me tell you.
The last thing you want to have to deal with when you fly for hours on end is any sort of hiccup. When we landed in Singapore after about 20 hours of flying, we had a hotel room booked for the night because our flight to Melbourne wasn't going to take off until 10 AM the next day. Oh, Meg and I were looking forward to a nights rest in a bed, and a nice shower...well, we never quite got there. Once we arrived, we went to the Singapore Stopover counter to get our transfer to our hotel. But the guy told us that what we had booked was not with them and we would need to return to our luggage belt, because someone would be there with a sign saying "DYCK" to pick us up. The problem with this was that we had already left the security area of the airport, so we tried to get back in to where our luggage belt was. We were told at first to go upstairs, so we did that. Once we got there, we were told that we needed a boarding pass to get in and we needed to go back downstairs. We went back downstairs and pleaded with the security guards to let us back in so we could find this guy. They let us in but we found no one holding any sort of sign. We went back out again and called the hotel to see where this guy would be. At first, they told us they had no record of a booking for us that night, but then they found it but told us it was not their responsibility to arrange pick-ups from the airport. That was the responsibility of the flight agent. Newman! If you have been an avid reader of our blog, you'll know the flight agent and us haven't been getting along very well.
So, we were told we had to find a taxi, which would've ended up costing us $70 there and back. I don't think so! So, we had to stay the night at the airport. Now, I know that sleeping in an airport is supposed to be glamorous and exotic, but don't believe everything you read. After a couple hours on the ground we did manage to find these "napping" chairs which were fully reclined and had a vibrating alarm in your headrest.
But after all that, we managed to make it home safe and all our Kraft Dinner made it through customs. That's the most important part!
They say that if you have a good experience with a company you, on average, tell three people about that good experience who, in turn tell three other people...and so on. While, if you have a bad experience, you tend to tell at least ten people about the negative experience that you had. Well, I know for a fact that there is more than ten people reading this blog and our church has a few hundred people in it. I intend to let everyone know just how terrible our experience with Flight Centre was. Meg and I are still deciding on a course of action, but we intend to take this to the top. So, the next time you walk by a Flight Centre in a mall, or down the street, give them a dirty look for us...
Well, there you go, that's our Canada holiday all wrapped up. Now on with the real world, I guess...
The last thing you want to have to deal with when you fly for hours on end is any sort of hiccup. When we landed in Singapore after about 20 hours of flying, we had a hotel room booked for the night because our flight to Melbourne wasn't going to take off until 10 AM the next day. Oh, Meg and I were looking forward to a nights rest in a bed, and a nice shower...well, we never quite got there. Once we arrived, we went to the Singapore Stopover counter to get our transfer to our hotel. But the guy told us that what we had booked was not with them and we would need to return to our luggage belt, because someone would be there with a sign saying "DYCK" to pick us up. The problem with this was that we had already left the security area of the airport, so we tried to get back in to where our luggage belt was. We were told at first to go upstairs, so we did that. Once we got there, we were told that we needed a boarding pass to get in and we needed to go back downstairs. We went back downstairs and pleaded with the security guards to let us back in so we could find this guy. They let us in but we found no one holding any sort of sign. We went back out again and called the hotel to see where this guy would be. At first, they told us they had no record of a booking for us that night, but then they found it but told us it was not their responsibility to arrange pick-ups from the airport. That was the responsibility of the flight agent. Newman! If you have been an avid reader of our blog, you'll know the flight agent and us haven't been getting along very well.
So, we were told we had to find a taxi, which would've ended up costing us $70 there and back. I don't think so! So, we had to stay the night at the airport. Now, I know that sleeping in an airport is supposed to be glamorous and exotic, but don't believe everything you read. After a couple hours on the ground we did manage to find these "napping" chairs which were fully reclined and had a vibrating alarm in your headrest.
But after all that, we managed to make it home safe and all our Kraft Dinner made it through customs. That's the most important part!
They say that if you have a good experience with a company you, on average, tell three people about that good experience who, in turn tell three other people...and so on. While, if you have a bad experience, you tend to tell at least ten people about the negative experience that you had. Well, I know for a fact that there is more than ten people reading this blog and our church has a few hundred people in it. I intend to let everyone know just how terrible our experience with Flight Centre was. Meg and I are still deciding on a course of action, but we intend to take this to the top. So, the next time you walk by a Flight Centre in a mall, or down the street, give them a dirty look for us...
Well, there you go, that's our Canada holiday all wrapped up. Now on with the real world, I guess...
Friday, January 06, 2006
CANADA WON GOLD!
Good news everybody!!!
Canada won Gold! Since Dec 26th, we've been watching the World Juniors Hockey championship. It started off with a round robin, playing Finland, Switzerland, Sweden and the US. Canada, of course, defeated all those teams. The USA were the favorites to win the game, and they funniest thing is that they didnt even get a medal! Canada ended up playing Russia and beat them 5-0. It was the second consecutive year that Canada has won Gold at the WJC.
What else has been going on? Not a great deal actually. After we came back from Toronto, Dale & Cathy (Jer's parents) had to go back to work. So Jeremy and I have just been hanging out at home, shopping and just starting to pack for the big trip home.
Poppa & Grandma took us to the Calgary Zoo on Monday which was pretty cool. We got to visit the "Australia" section at the zoo. It's soo funny to see Emus and Cockatoos in there and people standing and watching them in amazement.
Tomorrow is a big packing day before the weekend cause we'll be doing family stuff on the weekend seeing as we leave here early Monday morning. We fly from Calgary to San Francisco and stop there for about 2.5 hours then from San Francisco to Korea stop there for an hour and then from Korea to Singapore and we're there for just over 9 hours. And then the final stretch from Singapore to Melbourne. I'm so excited to get back home it seems like we've been away for so long but at the same time it will be sad to leave our family cause we dont know when we'll see them again. Maybe Jeremy and I could live in some country that's in the middle of both Australia and Canada that way we wont be so far away from one side of the family?!?! hehe....
We just wanted to say "thank you" so much to all our friends and family that have been emailing us and posting comments on our blog since we'ce been away. It's so nice to wake up in the morning and see who has written to us, it's nice to know we're being missed. And just to let you know we're missing EVERYONE so much too...
I'm excited to get back and see my little friend Azhia and her new pet fish "Frankie!"
I guess we'll be seeing all the Bendigonians next week. Have a great weekend :)
Canada won Gold! Since Dec 26th, we've been watching the World Juniors Hockey championship. It started off with a round robin, playing Finland, Switzerland, Sweden and the US. Canada, of course, defeated all those teams. The USA were the favorites to win the game, and they funniest thing is that they didnt even get a medal! Canada ended up playing Russia and beat them 5-0. It was the second consecutive year that Canada has won Gold at the WJC.
What else has been going on? Not a great deal actually. After we came back from Toronto, Dale & Cathy (Jer's parents) had to go back to work. So Jeremy and I have just been hanging out at home, shopping and just starting to pack for the big trip home.
Poppa & Grandma took us to the Calgary Zoo on Monday which was pretty cool. We got to visit the "Australia" section at the zoo. It's soo funny to see Emus and Cockatoos in there and people standing and watching them in amazement.
Tomorrow is a big packing day before the weekend cause we'll be doing family stuff on the weekend seeing as we leave here early Monday morning. We fly from Calgary to San Francisco and stop there for about 2.5 hours then from San Francisco to Korea stop there for an hour and then from Korea to Singapore and we're there for just over 9 hours. And then the final stretch from Singapore to Melbourne. I'm so excited to get back home it seems like we've been away for so long but at the same time it will be sad to leave our family cause we dont know when we'll see them again. Maybe Jeremy and I could live in some country that's in the middle of both Australia and Canada that way we wont be so far away from one side of the family?!?! hehe....
We just wanted to say "thank you" so much to all our friends and family that have been emailing us and posting comments on our blog since we'ce been away. It's so nice to wake up in the morning and see who has written to us, it's nice to know we're being missed. And just to let you know we're missing EVERYONE so much too...
I'm excited to get back and see my little friend Azhia and her new pet fish "Frankie!"
I guess we'll be seeing all the Bendigonians next week. Have a great weekend :)
Monday, January 02, 2006
Happy New Year!
We're Back!
I think we almost died going a week without internet, but we made it...
Flying into Toronto, you could tell that the weather has been different over there from here. I think the entire time we were there, we saw the sun maybe once. The ground was covered in a good blanket of snow, and the weather was actually more winter-like and below 0 most days.
It was very busy week. Every day was taken up with going somewhere, meeting someone or doing something. On Tuesday night, we got all the family together for a big Christmas dinner. Mmm..Turkey! Meg got to meet the Lintons (Mom's side of the family), most of whom she hadn't ever met before. The cousins took an instant liking to her, which I guess comes naturally with a Kid's pastor. It was a fun night, and I think it was a little overwhelming, but fun none-the-less.
On Wednesday, we met up with Meg's friend Dan and his girlfriend Amanda, who drove up from Ohio to see us. We took him 5 pin bowling(that's right, 5 pin) just to do something Canadian. It was good to catch up with him, and we really appreciated him driving all the way from Ohio to see us.
The big highlight of Thursday was our chance to drive down to Niagara Falls. It was a rainy day, so weren't sure what the weather would be like, but we went for it anyway. As you can see by our gallery pictures, there wasn't much to see that day because it was so foggy and misty. And when it gets damp in winter it gets cold...really cold. We braved it out there for a few minutes, but not for too long. We also took a stroll around the nearby town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The poor people live there...yeah right. I doubt if any houses there go for less than a million...
Friday, we took the epic journey to downtown Toronto and saw the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was absolutely amazing. There is so much stuff there. We even managed to find a jersey of an Australian team, I'll try and find the picture later.
New year's Eve. From what I hear, Bendigo was a very hot-spot, hovering around the 40 degree mark. UGH!
Meg and I went to the hockey game last night. It was very exciting game...but not a very good end. Calgary managed to score the go-ahead goal with only a minute and half remaining in the game. A bit of a fluke, if you ask me. To be honest though, it was a very good and exciting game. Meg was excited about it.
well, Feel free to check out our gallery pictures of our trip. And please write to us.
I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and New year
Jer and Meg!
I think we almost died going a week without internet, but we made it...
Flying into Toronto, you could tell that the weather has been different over there from here. I think the entire time we were there, we saw the sun maybe once. The ground was covered in a good blanket of snow, and the weather was actually more winter-like and below 0 most days.
It was very busy week. Every day was taken up with going somewhere, meeting someone or doing something. On Tuesday night, we got all the family together for a big Christmas dinner. Mmm..Turkey! Meg got to meet the Lintons (Mom's side of the family), most of whom she hadn't ever met before. The cousins took an instant liking to her, which I guess comes naturally with a Kid's pastor. It was a fun night, and I think it was a little overwhelming, but fun none-the-less.
On Wednesday, we met up with Meg's friend Dan and his girlfriend Amanda, who drove up from Ohio to see us. We took him 5 pin bowling(that's right, 5 pin) just to do something Canadian. It was good to catch up with him, and we really appreciated him driving all the way from Ohio to see us.
The big highlight of Thursday was our chance to drive down to Niagara Falls. It was a rainy day, so weren't sure what the weather would be like, but we went for it anyway. As you can see by our gallery pictures, there wasn't much to see that day because it was so foggy and misty. And when it gets damp in winter it gets cold...really cold. We braved it out there for a few minutes, but not for too long. We also took a stroll around the nearby town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The poor people live there...yeah right. I doubt if any houses there go for less than a million...
Friday, we took the epic journey to downtown Toronto and saw the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was absolutely amazing. There is so much stuff there. We even managed to find a jersey of an Australian team, I'll try and find the picture later.
New year's Eve. From what I hear, Bendigo was a very hot-spot, hovering around the 40 degree mark. UGH!
Meg and I went to the hockey game last night. It was very exciting game...but not a very good end. Calgary managed to score the go-ahead goal with only a minute and half remaining in the game. A bit of a fluke, if you ask me. To be honest though, it was a very good and exciting game. Meg was excited about it.
well, Feel free to check out our gallery pictures of our trip. And please write to us.
I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and New year
Jer and Meg!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Merry Christmas!!!
Hey there!
Merry Christmas to all!
Today was a good day. A very good day. After getting up in the morning and doing the present thing, we just sat around and enjoyed playing wih all our new toys. Meg, Nathan and I all got MP3 players, so we've been playing with them all day. Very cool stuff. The extended family came over later this afternoon and we enjoyed (thoroughly) the turkey dinner. It's been too long since I've had one of those. Yum!
And both Meg and I were very spoiled in the way of getting presents, one of which was two tickets to the hockey game on New years Eve from my friend. (Nathan, it's no Boxing Day test, but it'll have to do)
This isn't just any game, it's an epic battle between the two teams of Alberta, the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. I am a diehard Oilers fan, which leaves me as the hated minority at a game like this, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Meg, on the other hand, enjoys stirring me up and is a Flames fan and even has jersey that she'll be wearing loud and proud on game night. Go Oilers!
Well, tomorrow morning, we leave for Toronto, so it might be a week before another post is made to this blog. Grandma and Gramps don't yet have a computer (Shock and awe!) and so no internet until we get back on Dec. 31st...but to keep all of you coming back for more, I'm going to post a gallery of pictures of all the cool stuff we see over there, like downtown Toronto and Niagara Falls.
Well, I need to finish packing, so you'll hear from us soon.
Merry Christmas again to all of you
!
Merry Christmas to all!
Today was a good day. A very good day. After getting up in the morning and doing the present thing, we just sat around and enjoyed playing wih all our new toys. Meg, Nathan and I all got MP3 players, so we've been playing with them all day. Very cool stuff. The extended family came over later this afternoon and we enjoyed (thoroughly) the turkey dinner. It's been too long since I've had one of those. Yum!
And both Meg and I were very spoiled in the way of getting presents, one of which was two tickets to the hockey game on New years Eve from my friend. (Nathan, it's no Boxing Day test, but it'll have to do)
This isn't just any game, it's an epic battle between the two teams of Alberta, the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. I am a diehard Oilers fan, which leaves me as the hated minority at a game like this, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Meg, on the other hand, enjoys stirring me up and is a Flames fan and even has jersey that she'll be wearing loud and proud on game night. Go Oilers!
Well, tomorrow morning, we leave for Toronto, so it might be a week before another post is made to this blog. Grandma and Gramps don't yet have a computer (Shock and awe!) and so no internet until we get back on Dec. 31st...but to keep all of you coming back for more, I'm going to post a gallery of pictures of all the cool stuff we see over there, like downtown Toronto and Niagara Falls.
Well, I need to finish packing, so you'll hear from us soon.
Merry Christmas again to all of you
!
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Hello everyone looking at this from around the world.
And a Merry Christmas Eve for those of you whom it is already tomorrow.
Today was the fourth day above 0 degrees so we made the most of it and went out for a skate...and when you go out fro a skate in Canada, it means, bring your stick and puck for a hockey game at any rink you can find. It feels good to drive down the road and see games of hockey being played in every rink we drive by. And it doesn't matter who is there, as long as they're on skates and have their own stick, that qulaifies them for almost every hockey game.
I was a bit rusty on the ice and didn't do so well, but I managed a couple goals none-the-less. Because it's a balmy 12 degrees today, no jackets were needed for the game today.
Last night was a historic event. All the Dyck family was together for a night of hot wings, pizza and general fun. It might not happen again for quite a while so we all got together and just had some fun playing games, did our gift exchange and lots (LOTS) of pictures were taken. As you can see, that picture is of all the cousins and spouses/significant others. What a crazy bunch. And if you think you've had some crazy times? Try playing board games with my brother and cousins Kyle and Justin. Our motto is, "it's not a game unless someone's feelings get hurt." Oh, the yelling and the fighting...it's legendary for Dyck board games...it's just our style. Speaking of which, it's just about time for another soon.
We'll be posting a special Christmas day blog soon.
Merry Christmas to all you guys. Keep posted!
And a Merry Christmas Eve for those of you whom it is already tomorrow.
Today was the fourth day above 0 degrees so we made the most of it and went out for a skate...and when you go out fro a skate in Canada, it means, bring your stick and puck for a hockey game at any rink you can find. It feels good to drive down the road and see games of hockey being played in every rink we drive by. And it doesn't matter who is there, as long as they're on skates and have their own stick, that qulaifies them for almost every hockey game.
I was a bit rusty on the ice and didn't do so well, but I managed a couple goals none-the-less. Because it's a balmy 12 degrees today, no jackets were needed for the game today.
Last night was a historic event. All the Dyck family was together for a night of hot wings, pizza and general fun. It might not happen again for quite a while so we all got together and just had some fun playing games, did our gift exchange and lots (LOTS) of pictures were taken. As you can see, that picture is of all the cousins and spouses/significant others. What a crazy bunch. And if you think you've had some crazy times? Try playing board games with my brother and cousins Kyle and Justin. Our motto is, "it's not a game unless someone's feelings get hurt." Oh, the yelling and the fighting...it's legendary for Dyck board games...it's just our style. Speaking of which, it's just about time for another soon.
We'll be posting a special Christmas day blog soon.
Merry Christmas to all you guys. Keep posted!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Kodak Moment!
Today was one of those days that everyone from Australia would be jealous of...we did a day trip to the mountains.
Since they are only an hour away, we thought we'd make the most of a lazy Sunday and head out to Banff. And we couldnt have picked a more perfect day. Although it was bitterly cold...hovering around -20 in the morning, and "warming" up to around -12 later on in the day, the cold weather helped keep the sky perfectly clear and blue. "Big Sky" Country, that's what they call Alberta...and for good reaosn too. As you can see by some of the pictures, it was an awesome day for pictures. These are of course, only samples of some of the great scenery we got pictures of.
So, we did some shopping, checked out the candy shop, the fudge factory...and nothing feels better after a hard day shopping than a dip in the pool. That's right...a dip in the pool...the hot spring 40 degree heated pool. It feels weird to bundle up for a chilly day and then the get into your bathers and get into the pool. But after a few minutes in there, you already feel like sitting on the ledge and cooling off.
All in all it was very good day. It's funny because for many years this as my backyard but now I realize that I took it for granted because I could go there any time...
Another week until Christmas and we've got my cousins (Justin, from my wedding) coming from Kelowna this week. Should be pretty fun to hang out with all of them and play games.
We're looking forward to hearing from all of you again soon.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
A pathetic attempt to snow...
I arose this morning to a chilly -14 and light snow, much to my delight. It's been snowing on and off all day today but it's a very light pathetic attempt of snow. It wont last long at all because the weather is suppose to get to +5 by Monday. Apparently there's snow coming next week but we'll just have to wait and see.
On Boxing Day the whole family is flying over to Toronto, Ontario to spend 6 days with Jeremy's mom's side of the family. I cant wait because last night they were expecting 30cms of snow overnight so there will hopefully be heaps of snow there still. We also have a few trips planned to downtown Toronto as well as Niagara Falls which I'm really looking forward to.
It's Nate's 21st birthday tomorrow so tonight we're having a family dinner along with Sheena and a couple of Nate's friends. I've been talking up his birthday telling Nate that we need to have a huge 21st party Australian style but for some unknown reason he's not so keen! 21st birthdays are just like any other here, not big at all.
Sunday we're planning a trip to Banff with Jer's mom and dad which will be great. There's an amazing candy shop at Banff so we cant wait to visit. We'll also be making a stop at the hot springs while we're there, so we'll be sure to post lots of photos when we get back.
Our family here is into board games big time. Actually, most families in here are and I reckon it has something to do with the rediculious cold weather out. Today we played Power Barons some game I'd never played before but I might add that I happened to WIN the game! There's a real competitive spirit in this household when it comes to playing board games so nobody appreciates losing at all! You know me, I like to stir things up a little so it makes it even better when I talk about my win for the next hour or so! hehe...
Anyways I'm off to watch the battle of the brothers in foosball. Hope it's not too hot back home!
Love Meg
On Boxing Day the whole family is flying over to Toronto, Ontario to spend 6 days with Jeremy's mom's side of the family. I cant wait because last night they were expecting 30cms of snow overnight so there will hopefully be heaps of snow there still. We also have a few trips planned to downtown Toronto as well as Niagara Falls which I'm really looking forward to.
It's Nate's 21st birthday tomorrow so tonight we're having a family dinner along with Sheena and a couple of Nate's friends. I've been talking up his birthday telling Nate that we need to have a huge 21st party Australian style but for some unknown reason he's not so keen! 21st birthdays are just like any other here, not big at all.
Sunday we're planning a trip to Banff with Jer's mom and dad which will be great. There's an amazing candy shop at Banff so we cant wait to visit. We'll also be making a stop at the hot springs while we're there, so we'll be sure to post lots of photos when we get back.
Our family here is into board games big time. Actually, most families in here are and I reckon it has something to do with the rediculious cold weather out. Today we played Power Barons some game I'd never played before but I might add that I happened to WIN the game! There's a real competitive spirit in this household when it comes to playing board games so nobody appreciates losing at all! You know me, I like to stir things up a little so it makes it even better when I talk about my win for the next hour or so! hehe...
Anyways I'm off to watch the battle of the brothers in foosball. Hope it's not too hot back home!
Love Meg
Friday, December 16, 2005
A little bit chilly
Hi everyone,
It's been a week today since we've arrived and we reckon time has gone pretty fast. I'm still praying for snow, so those of you who would like to join in prayer with me...please pray for snow on christmas day! The long weather forcast shows snow on christmas day but anything can happen with Calgary weather.
Today Jeremy, Nate (Jer's brother) & I ventured downtown to look around. Just a chance to do some shopping and walk around downtown Calgary. It wasn't too bad. For those of you familiar with Calgary, you'll know that even though it's -15 outside, you can still go from building to building and never take a step outside. They have these walkways over the streets called the Plus 15's...called so because they are 15 feet above the ground. You can go from one side of downtown to the other and never have to worry about going outside!
After we arrived back from being downtown Jeremy & I went for a walk down to Fish Creek Park which is just down the road. It's a massive park that stretches kilometres and kilometres through the SouthWest of Calgary. Sometimes bears & cougars find their way into fish creek park by following the river down from the mountains. We didnt even see a squirrel today much to my dismay! They look so cute and everyone here always gets me to say "squirrel" because apparently i dont say it the right way...whatever...Canadians are the ones with the accent!
Before going outdoors today we both rugged up for our adventure into the park seeing as it was about -10. In the summer here they had a mass flooding so today when we talked through the park so much of it had changed from when we last saw it. The river had moved in parts, so many trees down and debris everywhere. Looks really different. We get to walk across the river today seeing as it was frozen all the way over in some parts. I asked Jeremy to step out first just to make sure it was frozen all the way...hehe! There's a picture here of me, I was so cold and by the time we got back my legs were seriously numb, very cold.
To all those at Victory Church involved with the Christmas Production, hope tonight is a blast and all goes well. Really wish I was there watching it. Make sure you tape it so we can watch it when we get back!
We'll leave you with these pics. write again soon.
Love Meg & Jer
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Just to keep people happy
Now that Im getting up each day at like 8:30 (I'm not a sleep in guy) and having no plans whatsoever except how many games of Settlers we play, or Monopoly, or Rage...those of you familiar with me or my family know very well how much we love games...anyways where am I going with this? Now that I have all this time, I suppose I have no excuse for not updating this blog all the time. We've heard from a few of our Australian family and friends who've reading this blog, which has been great. We do consider Australia our home, but truthfully, we're not ready to go home just yet.
Today, we had the opportunity to go out to lunch with Mel, a good friend of mine. It was good to catch up with him and some of you know about mel from what I said in my sermon. I'm glad he and I are still friends because he's such a cool guy. Meg got to meet him for the first time too...and she thinks he's pretty cool too.
Weather wise...it's not too bad here. Only -2 today although they are threatening us with a -19 in the morning and a HIGH of -10 later on this week. The cold weather cometh...but no snow on the horizon...believe it or not. Meg is NOT happy about that.
Meg and I are going to venture into Fish Creek Park tomorrow so expect plenty of pictures...since the flooding in the summer here, a lot of the bridges in the park have been washed away but Dad says it doesn't matter, since the river is frozen over so you can just walk across it. Great!
stay tuned...
Today, we had the opportunity to go out to lunch with Mel, a good friend of mine. It was good to catch up with him and some of you know about mel from what I said in my sermon. I'm glad he and I are still friends because he's such a cool guy. Meg got to meet him for the first time too...and she thinks he's pretty cool too.
Weather wise...it's not too bad here. Only -2 today although they are threatening us with a -19 in the morning and a HIGH of -10 later on this week. The cold weather cometh...but no snow on the horizon...believe it or not. Meg is NOT happy about that.
Meg and I are going to venture into Fish Creek Park tomorrow so expect plenty of pictures...since the flooding in the summer here, a lot of the bridges in the park have been washed away but Dad says it doesn't matter, since the river is frozen over so you can just walk across it. Great!
stay tuned...
Monday, December 12, 2005
10 degrees is a WARM day!
It's hard getting used to the idea that when you have a day here that's above 0, it's a warm day.
Today was 10 and a beautiful day here. So we decided to make the most of it and go skating. The ice was pretty good and if we got too chilly, a fire was made beside the rink so we could roast Hot dogs and sausages.
Although, we had to give it up around 4:30 because the sun was almost down. That's right. by 5PM, it's dark here. So, we stayed inside, drank eggnog (YUM!) and Hot Chocolate (for Meg) and decorated the Christmas tree. We had my brother's girlfriend Sheena over as well.
I'll leave you with a picture of all of us in front of the tree.
We'll write again soon!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
We've figured out how to post pictures onto our blog now so look out for heaps of pics coming in the next few weeks! Today was a very warm 10 degrees here in Calgary, you didnt even have to put on your coat when you went outside. Jeremy and I along with his parents went out today to buy a 'real' christmas tree. We'll post a pic tomorrow when we decorate it! We're having so much fun, miss everyone back home. Talk to you soon!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
We're Here!!!!!
Well, I think all of the family that was meant to be surprised has now been surprised, so I can say it
Gotcha!
That's right, we're already here in Calgary...everyone in Canada thought it was the 12th that we were arriving, but got here at 3PM on Dec 8th...and surprised EVERYONE..well, not everyone. Good job to Nate and Sheena for keeping the secret for so long. The faces were priceless...especially my mom who just screamed, gave us a hug, stepped back and screamed again...Hahaha!
It feels weird to be back...very weird. It was a good feeling though to arrive back in Canada and no longer be the only one speaking Canadian (eh?) and flying off from Vancouver and seeing the mountains again. Loved it! And we're back and I'm still getting used to the idea of driving on the right (and correct) side of the road. The ground is white, for the moment, because the weather for the next few days is supposed to be about 10 degrees...HEAT WAVE!
Meg and I did end up getting a digital camera in Singapore, which means that in a few days, we'll be getting some pictures up and running on this little blog of ours.
Well, keep tuned to this page...
Bye for now
Gotcha!
That's right, we're already here in Calgary...everyone in Canada thought it was the 12th that we were arriving, but got here at 3PM on Dec 8th...and surprised EVERYONE..well, not everyone. Good job to Nate and Sheena for keeping the secret for so long. The faces were priceless...especially my mom who just screamed, gave us a hug, stepped back and screamed again...Hahaha!
It feels weird to be back...very weird. It was a good feeling though to arrive back in Canada and no longer be the only one speaking Canadian (eh?) and flying off from Vancouver and seeing the mountains again. Loved it! And we're back and I'm still getting used to the idea of driving on the right (and correct) side of the road. The ground is white, for the moment, because the weather for the next few days is supposed to be about 10 degrees...HEAT WAVE!
Meg and I did end up getting a digital camera in Singapore, which means that in a few days, we'll be getting some pictures up and running on this little blog of ours.
Well, keep tuned to this page...
Bye for now
Thursday, December 01, 2005
A Shameless Plug
Just a quick a shameless plug for our Big youth conference and new CD our church has produced. The conference is called Historymakers and the band has just put out a new CD (which is awesome). You can check out the link on the side of the page or HERE to listen to clips, see pictures, do all kinds of stuff...the website was only up and running today so it's not completely done yet. Give it time. I personally love the logo...I wouldn't mind having a cool shirt with it on the back or something...Just thought I'd spread the word
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