It's been a year since we gathered with family and friends to celebrate Karen's life.
In some ways it's hard to believe that a year has flown by and in others it feels like forever.
We have done so many things in the last 12 months but it also seems like Karen was just with us.
The kids have grown inches (I might have added a bit in a different direction) and they have also grown in character in so many ways including caring, concern and empathy for others - I'm so very proud of them and know Karen is too.
We are blessed to be surrounded by so many loving and caring people - thanks to all of you that have thought of us or checked in this week (and always). Thanks also to the folks at the office that dedicated this week's denim day to Karen's memory with donations going to CancerCare again this year (I even got to be part of it this time).
As always, thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Doug and the gang
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Hop, hop, hop...
We seem to have been hopping around a lot lately, not just because it's Easter either.
A lot has happened since we last updated you. The kids followed up their good swimming results with good report cards from school (and Jen got a middle school Award of Excellence (average over 90%)).
We found time for a couple of ski days close to home in March, once with Maria and Lisa, and got our ski legs back in time for spring break. On spring break we headed west.....to Whistler!! We spent 3 days on the mountains, mostly skiing but Kris also tried snowboarding for an afternoon and Jen and Kris convinced Dad to go on the BIG zip line course!
The Eagle course (the big one not to be confused with the little Bear course) starts with a 2,500 foot dual zip line that crosses the creek valley about 350 feet above ground at the highest point. We were in a group of 10 (8 Winnipeggers) and Jen and Kris were the 3rd pair to go. All the kids were told to tuck for this one but Mother Nature played a little trick and had a gust of wind for Jen and Kris which stopped them a little short of the landing platform. So the guides got to come out and pull them in and the kids enjoyed the view of the valley longer than those of us that zipped across at 80 km/hr - Jen argues they got the better deal. The next 4 lines were less eventful, other than intentional flips upside down and leaps of faith!
The skiing was great, with mostly sunny days, lots of snow and not too many people....and no broken bones! Kris skied in a free style terrain park a few times, checking out the jumps (some 7 ft high he estimates). Dad skied around the jumps. Jen made some new ski friends who gave her a hand if Dad wasn't close enough. We met lots of Aussies, Europeans and even some Canadians with lots of cool accents. We also checked out the Olympic landmarks and ate lots of good food and Cows ice cream.
Then we went back to Vancouver for a couple of days before we came home. We saw some rain (who would have thought?!), saw the Olympic touch actually lit (not sure why) and ate some great seafood (ask Kris about his lobster). Also enjoyed the hotel pool and the Science Centre.
Back in Winnipeg, school is back in full swing (with choir tours and Spring Concert preparations underway), Jen has started diving lessons (already off the 3m and planning for higher) and Kris is swimming and excited for soccer to start soon. Kris' latest mouth piece is a (insert drum roll here.....) bright green retainer with the Jets logo on it). Dad is busy working.....imagine that at this time of year!
The snow actually finally seems to be melting.....yay!!! The ice still hasn't broken up on the river though so we took down our fence to avoid letting an iceberg rip it to shreds like a few years ago. We went to see a movie Thursday evening (Heaven is for Real) as we know one of the lead characters and a number of the extras - it's a good movie - good job Lane! Yesterday we checked out the Zoo - the boy bears were pretty lazy but at least the 2 little girls were busy.
That's about it for now....some kids need to get off to bed in hopes of finding some bunny droppings in the morning.
PS - one last thing before we close - Happy 40th Donna!
Hope everyone has a good Easter, love,
Doug, Jen and Kris
A lot has happened since we last updated you. The kids followed up their good swimming results with good report cards from school (and Jen got a middle school Award of Excellence (average over 90%)).
We found time for a couple of ski days close to home in March, once with Maria and Lisa, and got our ski legs back in time for spring break. On spring break we headed west.....to Whistler!! We spent 3 days on the mountains, mostly skiing but Kris also tried snowboarding for an afternoon and Jen and Kris convinced Dad to go on the BIG zip line course!
The Eagle course (the big one not to be confused with the little Bear course) starts with a 2,500 foot dual zip line that crosses the creek valley about 350 feet above ground at the highest point. We were in a group of 10 (8 Winnipeggers) and Jen and Kris were the 3rd pair to go. All the kids were told to tuck for this one but Mother Nature played a little trick and had a gust of wind for Jen and Kris which stopped them a little short of the landing platform. So the guides got to come out and pull them in and the kids enjoyed the view of the valley longer than those of us that zipped across at 80 km/hr - Jen argues they got the better deal. The next 4 lines were less eventful, other than intentional flips upside down and leaps of faith!
The skiing was great, with mostly sunny days, lots of snow and not too many people....and no broken bones! Kris skied in a free style terrain park a few times, checking out the jumps (some 7 ft high he estimates). Dad skied around the jumps. Jen made some new ski friends who gave her a hand if Dad wasn't close enough. We met lots of Aussies, Europeans and even some Canadians with lots of cool accents. We also checked out the Olympic landmarks and ate lots of good food and Cows ice cream.
Then we went back to Vancouver for a couple of days before we came home. We saw some rain (who would have thought?!), saw the Olympic touch actually lit (not sure why) and ate some great seafood (ask Kris about his lobster). Also enjoyed the hotel pool and the Science Centre.
Back in Winnipeg, school is back in full swing (with choir tours and Spring Concert preparations underway), Jen has started diving lessons (already off the 3m and planning for higher) and Kris is swimming and excited for soccer to start soon. Kris' latest mouth piece is a (insert drum roll here.....) bright green retainer with the Jets logo on it). Dad is busy working.....imagine that at this time of year!
The snow actually finally seems to be melting.....yay!!! The ice still hasn't broken up on the river though so we took down our fence to avoid letting an iceberg rip it to shreds like a few years ago. We went to see a movie Thursday evening (Heaven is for Real) as we know one of the lead characters and a number of the extras - it's a good movie - good job Lane! Yesterday we checked out the Zoo - the boy bears were pretty lazy but at least the 2 little girls were busy.
That's about it for now....some kids need to get off to bed in hopes of finding some bunny droppings in the morning.
PS - one last thing before we close - Happy 40th Donna!
Hope everyone has a good Easter, love,
Doug, Jen and Kris
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