Welcome to markzaugg.com
The older stuff
This is a stroll through the older photos just to simplify the process and to cut down on the load times.
Obviously, I'm not getting a major revamp happening any time too soon. I'm happy with my crappy coding 5|<1|_|_5.
Man, even my 1337-speak sucks.
Anyways, these pictures cover from January 13, 2005 right back to the first time I scanned in a couple photos I took to the scanner at work thinking, "I gotta post these so I can show people how great my kids are!"
Our pictures!
Dinner, Dancing, and Dinosaurs
Jan. 3
Rebekk and I on the couch.
This is what a mouthful of juice looks like when it puckers you up.
Rarry the Dinosaur will protect me!
Jan. 5
First Snowzinger day of the year!
It was a tad chilly..
Rebekk zooming down the hill
Is this thing on?
Jan. 7
Rebekk is grumpy at the Swiss Chalet.
The rocket's red, yellow, and blue glare.
The puppet theatre at the Science Centre. Pay no attention to the boy behind the curtain!
The performers
Science!
Science!!
FREAKY Science!
She disappeared on me. I found her here.
They convinced me to go. I'm still nauseous. All the pictures have me with my eyes closed. Go figure...
On the bed of nails!
Corn Fritters from Chicken on the Way.
It's the first Just For Kids Puppet Club we've been able to attend all year long! It was so much fun! We were all happy to see Andrew.
This is a rod puppet of a puppy eating a strawberry. The strawberry is on the rod and moves closer to the dog as he's about to eat it. I'm just sorry I have to explain it to you people who don't have the imagination to keep up with this.
Rebekk went with the more traditional approach.
Kelley Aric got to take this photo of me just before he dropped the camera. The camera is fine. I drop them, they smash. He drops them....
Shouldn't all baths end like this?
Look at that impish grin as he steals pineapple.
The pineapple is so good she's just gotta dance.
Jan. 12
He's going for the hard stuff..
It's egg pie, so it's gotta be good.
Playing around the table.
What do we do at Nero Productions Group Inc.? Why... We work darned hard for you, the public that needs entertainment!
Zoolites
The Calgary Zoo puts on a spectacular light show every year. It's an amazing amount of work, and very pretty to see. The kids wanted to show me around it.
They know my favourite dinosaur was always the Triceratops. I was always afraid T. Rex was going to eat me.
Throwing straw at Dad
This will hurt way more when we hit dad with the pointy bits!
Kelley Aric wanted to show me the Animal Tree. How do you get an elephant into a tree?
Standing at the bottom of the Animal Tree.
The tree from below
The other half. This tree is huge, and they went right out to the tips of the branches.
Warm those cheeks!
Warm that lap! WAITASEC!!! Oh, geez...
Look, Daddy, it doesn't spill when it's empty!
Season Greetings from Nero Productions - complete with mirror ball ornaments.
Boxing Day
Does anything say Christmas better than a whoopie cushion? We think NOT!
Excuse you, Dad!
In the wise and sage words of Butterfingers from their CD "The People We Know:
Well your hair looks funny
Like you dipped your head in honey
And a good whoopie cushion doesn't cost a lot of money.
A dollar for a dozen
It's a present for your cousin
And the last thing you wanna do is do the jelly boogaloo
With Murray... Murray... Mur-ray..
If you can correct my lyrics, I'll get you a whoopie cushion too. Offer also available to Luther.
To the moon, Rebekk!
You too, Kelley Aric! You too!
Rebekk disappeared on me when we went to the Science Centre. I found her like this.
He heaved himself up today. Finally Dad gets to rest.
Kelley Aric on a bed of nails. Oooh, the horror!
Christmas at Babcia's
Rebekk plays with Babcia's nativity set
His face just lights up with Christmas. Err....
Rebekk in her festive purple
Dad looking at his book
Babcia gets her gift
All this is for me?
Now, I'm not sure if you've been noticing or not, but there's a whole bunch of motion blur in almost all of these photos. I just wanted to make clear it isn't the camera's fault. Nor the photographer's. With that being said, have your fill of artistic blur
Rebekk opens her gift from Daddy. It's a Dragon!
A firetruck that really runs. It's first mission: And emergency run over Dad's foot.
There's more in there?
The walking bug.
Returning love to Babcia.
Rebekk got a car.
We finally got him to realize there were more presents.
Shouldn't Christmas always be like this?
Babcia gets her Christmas photo.
Kelley Aric playing with Smoke and Flame dragons.
Amazingly, the hit of the day were these magnets Babcia bought for a buck.
Flame dragon was hiding from Smoke dragon. Babcia wasn't getting the picture.
Flame dragon hiding around the corner like he was supposed to!
Quietly playing with their new toys.
Rebekk had her dragons jousting
Rolling a marble inside the circle of a tic-tac-toe board down a ramp. The best toys are the simplest toys.
A traditional dinner. Perogies, cabbage rolls, sausage, and somehow we snuck in broccoli. We ate flanked by dragons to guard our food. Don't worry, we fed the dragons before we ate. (To have the imagination of a three year old again....
An after dinner game of Winter Badminton.
The champion gets to stand on the rock.
Rebekkah, you look different! This came about after KA looked at me through the racket and said, "Daddy, you look different to me."
And we go back to playing with the magnets.
A short movie: (~2 MB)
In Okotoks, Santa goes around on a firetruck.
Christmas with the kids, round 2
December 22
Do not feed the dolphins pizza!
You want me to what?
Can we open these?
While she was unwrapping it, she started to notice what it was. "Please let it be a flashlight," she said. "Please let it be a flashlight. Please, please, please let it be a flashlight."
It was. And it was purple.
Someday, all giraffes will be named "Chompy."
He's grown attached. Eww... I think that's literal!
I shouldn't have told her to stop shining the flashlight into the camera..
I hate these block updates. I have to warn everyone where to start and where to stop.
BEGIN HERE!
This, my friends, is salsa. My style. The hot peppers are for colour. The green peppers on the left are for the heat... Ooooh! Spicy!
99 bottles of salsa on the wall....
Distinguished on the teeter totter.
A yummy apple
I didn't have the heart to tell him he missed the straw.
A man-sized burger. A manly boy.
She ordered a burger with pineapple...
Running to the space ball.
When the park is green...
Under the catapiller.. Ooooh! Spooky!
Kelley Aric grew enough to ride the chain swing for the first time!
He liked it.
Riding for the third time
Harvesting oats with horses.
Petting a horse.
Riding a horse.
Dancing in the trailer.
Nothing like a nice game of kerplunk. Brian: Please note the "Flocons Givres".
This is the way we sleep at night... Sleep at night... Sleep at night..."
Photos through the month of October
Cowboy at the Glenbow Museum.
We got us cowgirls, too, Pardner.
Them's mighty big boots ta fill. And a tough whistle ta blow.
Get 'em out, Pardner.
If you want to get pithy about it....
We baked the bread ourselves and you don't get any! (For the record, it tasted wonderful!)
They found where a deer made a bed for itself and had slept the night before.
Wearing their antlers like the deer do.
Sitting at the Memory Rock.
The cookies they bake.
Listening to Uncle Satchmo. If you look carefully at Dad, you can tell he's singing, "What a Wonderful World."
LOVE NOOGIE! LOVE NOOGIE!
They call him "Flash Skebo", not because he's fast, because he's so shiny.
Sit back! Put your feet up!
Did I grow any?
Are you counting the pom-pom?
Random November Pictures
Getting ready for bed.
Crazy mirrors at the Glenbow Museum
Rebekk posing with her spider and her pumpkin
Shopping for Christmas presents
Climbing at the Science Centre
Now in 3-D!
They're as cool as they are functional.
I've never been on one of these... She's so lucky!
And she's well-rewarded for her efforts.
Random December Pictures
Watching Scooby Doo with Babcia.
Playing Timon and Pumbaa. With Dad around we'll always have our own computers.
Playing musical chairs - the version where everyone has a choice of six places to sit.
Rebekk makes her round
"Dad, I think we've figured out your core dump. You're dividing by zero when you page out your memory..."
Eating at Peter's Drive In - a Calgary institution.
I looked at this picture 20 times before I noticed.
She loves the dinner.
Spaghetti at Anne and John's.
Eating Spongebob and Patrick gummies.
Wow. It feels like a whole new car.
Lightshow at the Glenbow Museum.
It's not a Blue Christmas, little sister! A side note for this one... We went to Crappy Tire to pick up some odds and ends for the car that's slowly dying on me, and when we walked through the door we saw none other than Elvis serenading to us all. KA wasn't brave enough to get in the picture, but Rebekk (that's my girl!) was all over it.
Later she asked, "Daddy, was that the real Elvis?"
"Yes, Rebekkah. He's always real when you hold him in your heart."
This gingerbread house was for Rebekk's teacher.
This gingerbread house was for Anne and John.
Do you think he knows he's cute?
This gingerbread house was for Morgan and Corbin.
And this gingerbread house is a stack of Turbosound speakers. Dave's already eaten one guitar.
Glass coffee tables and little girls...
We have a carousel even in the winter - but things are a little different than at Heritage Park...
Christmas with Corbin and Morgan
Now who's the kid playing with the train set?
Up yer nose, soldier-boy!
Porcupines and green beans for dinner!
Opening Prezzies!
Corbin gets his Light Spinner
Morgan opens her Light Spinner
Rebekk gets excited while Kim opens her gifts.
Morgan shows that it lights, AND it spins.
Kim Possible
Mickey
Kelley Aric stacks the blocks.
Remember that gingerbread house for Morgan and Corbin? Eaten.
I think someone shot her with a decal gun.
Colleen 'fixed' Rebekk's hair.
The deer that eat Babcia's flowers
Merry Christmas. Happy Humbugs.
Pictures of the old guy at the park
They were the reindeer pulling the sleigh.
Do not run through the maze!
Freedom! Freedom at last!
You are more or less up to date on December 16th. Abandon all hope, ye who continue past this point.
You know, just because I haven't been updating doesn't mean I haven't been taking pictures.
Labour Day Weekend - featuring Gloria and Akram's Wedding
September 3-6
My friend Gloria from Tai Chi was getting married this weekend and invited the kids and I. When Rebekkah got word of this, she really wanted to go. "I've never been to a wedding before, Daddy." Well, I suppose we can work it in somehow...
Babcia made apple rhubarb pie for dessert.
Eating pie like a sandwich? Oh yes, he is my son.
It looks soooooo yummy.
Dolled up for the wedding.
We're all ready!
Then let's go, Daddy!
Rebekk starts the dancing early
Waiting for the wedding pictures to be done.
Gloria's coming! I see her!
Akram and Gloria. Good thing I'm not the official photographer.
Rebekk's slice of wedding cake
Kelley Aric eating his wedding cake
Riding in a car together.
A dance with the bride
Having a great time
I think *I* taught the Homies this move.
Dancing like Akram and Gloria
Dad can get into the dancing action, too.
The sweetest hugs
Sneaking away some balloons.
Running with his balloons.
And the mania that is video. (Quicktime format)
The first dance (54 MB) The kids made a dash straight for the balloons. You'll first see the kids running and dancing with the balloons and then vanishing from the floor for the bride and groom to take center stage.
The Chicken Dance (13 MB) Personally, I think all Chicken Dances should end with someone tied up. However, I have to state for the record, that I personally have caught Kelley Aric doing the Chicken Dance on his own several times since. The most recent being last night when he went to bed.
Gloria dancing with the kids. (11 MB) What gets cut off at the end is Rebekk asking me to join them. Naturally I shut off the camera to spare you the indignity.
Uhm... Removing the garter. (6 MB) I think this still qualifies as a family website. I'm sure I remember hearing, "I don't understand your crazy Canadian traditions."
Throwing the bouquet. (5 MB) Rebekkah was upset she didn't get it. "Good thing", I said. I don't think she understood. (shrug)
Running with the balloons. (3 MB) Ah yes, the mania captured on film.
Sunday at Babcia's we did some landscaping. She's making a river in her back yard.
September 5
This is Mossy Bank River. Or Mossy Bank Crick. We're still debating..
Digging out the riverbed. Or crickbed. We're still debating.
He's very big and strong.
Packing down the riverbed. Or the crickbed. We're still debating why her hair did that.
Hulk angry! Hulk hate loose dirt! Hulk jump HIGH.
We're playing Stompin' Tom. Stomping that dirt down. Here's a movie (3 MB) of Rebekkah doing a run-stomp of the riverbed. Or crickbed. It really gets tiresome debating the point, doesn't it? At least the kids are still having fun.
I took a ton of pictures today. Only two turned out. Thank goodness they're cute.
September 1
Climbing up the "Spaceball."
Adorable on the swings.
Just another picnic together.
August 30
Sleeping in the back window.
Chasing seagulls for fun.
They got away, but we're still chasing.
Well, now what can we do?
We have our fun.
Sliding our way home.
The kids asked for the Banger's and Mashed volcano again. (Go figure, eh Brian?) We had to improvise a little.
August 25
The erupting volcano
Reaction was a little more encouraging this time.
Rebekk asked for hot chocolate.
Daddy always got sherbet for dessert at Grandpa's and Grandma's. Time to continue the tradition for the kids.
A weekend at Babcia's
August 21 - 22
Took a trip out to the Big Rock. We haven't been out there since Rebekkah was small.
I'm a big boy, Babcia. I can do it myself!
Babcia, can you help me now?
I gotta get out of this place!
Hi Dad. Don't crush me!
You can't see our faces, but you know who their Daddy is.
We're the greatest climbers ever!
How many angels can dance on a slab of stone?
A cave, Daddy! Why won't you come in?
Jack was every inch a sailor!
I think they're both proud of the mess
Dad, she wants a kiss.
Do you think I should?
Kissless
Only a Babcia could kiss that face.
Only the sweetest hugs
Kelley Aric has a favourite chore. He takes it very seriously.
Don't you wish you were this good?
Climbing in the rain.
Hovering in the air.
Babcia makes dinners fun.
Dinner at Grandpa's
August 18
Are you pulling my leg?
I'll dunk you in the sink, Buddy!
Going under
Making up afterwards
I don't think I can explain this.
Edworthy Park
August 16
It's a swing! It's a slide!
Don't worry, I'll catch you!
Erk. You're climbing where?
You having fun up there?
Fun in bare feet.
A dirt angel is so sweet!
Double the sweetness with double the angels.
Spaceball Park
August 11
I almost forgot to take my camera out. I still got a couple good ones.
She's still got that Supermodel pose down.
And he was flying on the swings that day.
The Lethbridge International Air Show
August 6 - 8
Babcia made popsicles with real blueberries and yoghurt. Waitasec! I can sneak over there and have one right now... Mmm... Peanut butter banana! No one will ever know..
Two peas in a pod
F18's on the runway
The Moose after she landed
Is this too cool?
Or is this cooler?
Rebekk's pet. She named him hopper. Daddy didn't squish him, but he wanted to.
This is at Centenial Park in Stirling, Alberta. Dad played here when he was a boy.
Daddy rode on these exact swings.
Standing beside the C17-A. Our Dad would never make us pull a plane.
What would an airshow be without our favourite helicopter?
Wow! They make helicopters in GREEN too?
Lined up for your convenience, the C5 Galaxy and the C17-A in the background.
The Buffalo banking for a sweep past
How's this for a Sentimental Journey?
Getting into the flying spirit!
The mail plane! A 1929 Fokker, we saw this beauty flying in.
The Snowbirds all lined up. They performed the day before. We all agreed the Snowbirds were part of our favourite moments of the show.
The Griffin helicopter in flight.
This helicopter flew in immediate above us and landed about 150 yards away. Some boy who shall remain nameless was thrilled.
Mondo Cool
Mondo Cooler!
Rides in an APC? Best $6.00 I spent the whole weekend.
Super Mondo Cool! They used the smallest helmet they had cranked as tightly as they could get it, and it was still wobbly. But they loved it!
On board and going about 50 MPH over bald prairie. It felt like a bumpy road.
Kelley Aric standing beside the Moose.
We stopped off at the toy train shop in Nanton. It completed another Planes, Trains and Automobiles weekend.
Daddy, look at that one over there!
Some were going...
While others were coming.
And some were tiny, even compared with the models.
I wish the picture did it justice. Their mountainside was simply breath-taking. Hundreds of hours of painstaking work was put into it, I'm sure.
Just another busy station.
Playing with Thomas the Engine
The Happy Barn. A landmark heading back to Calgary.
A video (approx 5 MB)
I figure it's pretty much self-explanitory.
Supper at Grandpa's
August 4
(It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!)
A cheese and relish sandwich. Yes, she can only be my daughter.
The finest hot dog in town!
Kelley Aric insisted I include this picture because Auntie Bean is so pretty.
Ooooh, a scary dessert.
He simply must be sucking up for something.
Heritage Day at Prince's Island Park
August 2
In Alberta we celebrate Heritage Day the first Monday of August. It's a day to celebrate both our personal heritage but also our diversity. We managed to catch the very last part of festivities downtown, then we went back to the downtown water park.
Lining up for an inflatable toy
Up the incline
Down the slide
Fun at the waterpark
Do you like it? Yes, yes he does.
She's trying to contain the geiser.
Cannonball!
Cannonball! Really, he's in there.
Caption this one yourself, please. (I snuck up on her)
The dreaded Cherry Faced Kid. He smiled just before he guns ya down in your boots.
Zoo Park Picnic
July 28
She gummed it to death.
A special treat for a picnic
Snow angel. The hard way.
Who would have imagined we'd end up here?
River Park
July 25
Going down to the river.
I brought my best noodle
Deadly accurate
Splashing upstream
We're in it hip deep now!
Gold. Solid gold.
Let's make a volcano, Dad!
If ya gotta have a waterfight, do it in a river.
Sitting on the rock in the bay...
A shiner and a cookie. Does life get better than this?
Morgan's Birthday
July 24
The kids at Heritage Park Sorry about the shadows. I'm sure you'll figure out it was a good time.
I really hope he moves on to girls in a few years.
They weren't really napping, I was just dreaming.
Taking a stroll down memory lane together
The facepaint series.
Corbin had two suns.
Kelley Aric's lion.
Morgan's flower and a sun.
Rebekkah wanted to be a clown.
I let Morgan paint my face. Tee-hee
What's a party if you can't put your feet up?
We went to a waterpark after lunch.
And even Dad had a blast.
Although we did get a tad tuckered out.
Here ends the September 3 update. Abandon all hope, ye who continue past this point.
A waterpark downtown
July 21
When I grow up I'm running away and joining a circus.
When I grow up I'm running away and joining a rodeo.
When I grow up I'm running away and joining a caveman
When I grow up I'm going to fire anti-aircraft guns
When I grow up I'm going to be an airplane
When I grow up I'm going to be a paratrooper
Aren't you glad we're still kids?
A big thunderstorm
July 19
Daddy, a storm is coming!
Buddy-dog eats a chip
Singing away
Lost the last one!
Eating in the car because we were rained out.
The nice part is that we can play 10 minutes after the storm goes by.
The picnic park for dinner
July 14
Well, he liked his red hair
Slides are always great.
Showing off her soccer outfit
You've got my hat, Babcia!
Climbing abord!
Still love singing Bouncy Bouncy.
Uhh....
Erk!
Daddy? Are you in there?
Getting free!
Always time for a cuddle.
Only one tooth to go. No, I didn't knock them out.
Our mission: To take pictures of all the horses in Heritage Park
July 10
A marching band always brings excitement to the kids.
Learning to make a Mayday pole.
Winding around Mr. Angus McFarlane
That oughta do it.
Playing with the pole afterwards
Uh-oh. He's onto me.
One of the park's year round residents
We got ice cream today!
The bearded lady and the self-satisfied thug
It's tradition now.
Horse #1 is made in iron at the smithy.
Horse #2 is also at the smithy.
Fleet and Ranger. These are Carriage horses for those Sunday rides.
Splinter and Shredder. Two of our long-time Percheron friends.
12A and 12C. Our favourite horses on the carosel.
Brad and Andy. Clydesdales, and also two of our long time favourites.
The new Belgian horses. I still haven't learned their names.
Marking the passing of the era of the horse to the time of automobiles.
Nit and Nat. Canadian horses, the hardest working horses in the park.
Cooling down from the heat
How do you spell relief?
Another day at Heritage Park
July 11
Three people just to get a drink.
We wear our flag on our slee.. err.. cheek.
Riding the Ferris Wheel alone.
We got to watch a rodeo. This colt came along to be with his Mom, but he didn't like crossing the Railway tracks.
Bangers and Mash. Volcano style.
July 7
Don't say I didn't warn you. Mmmm... Lava.
Kelley Aric's Reaction
Rebekkah's Reaction.
A picnic at Edworth Park
July 5
Are you sure that's how it works?
We can always find a swingset
"Oh yeah? Is that right?"
A picture on a slide I had to include
Dad, is it true that you actually have friends of your own?
July 2
If you're friends of Keeb, then you're friends with me.
I want to rock and roll all night, and disco every day.
What makes Dave smile so often? Tony.
Another Heritage Park weekend
June 27
Riding our finest steeds
Cowboys can be contemplative.
Riding the Whip on car number 4.
Meanwhile on car number 6..
Riding with Andy and Brad
Riding the rails
This horsey ride feels funny.
Fancy a spot of tea?
At last he got her alone...
Drawing on the old fashioned slates. That's the bird that lives under their grandparent's eaves.
Kelley Aric drew it too. See?
A rainy day at the picnic park
June 23
If you call them, they may come.
But sometimes you wonder why you called...
A picnic with Babcia
June 21
Someone's always getting into mischief.
"Daddy, can't you make her stop?"
We call this, "Climbing up the hairdo."
Attempting the dreaded Triple Twist down the slide
Ooooh, he couldn't stick the landing.
Loving the Babcia!
Mixing up their hats.
We still love our swings
Climbing to the Space Ball!
Father's Day
June 20
Happy Father's Day, Grandpa!" The pictures are hidden in the background.
Showing Sean what piggy back rides are all about.
A demonstration of raw horsepower.
The kids know I have a red Mustang. I haven't the heart to break it to them mine is a little bit newer than this one.
Railway Days at Heritage Park
June 13
Dad, I have this sinking feeling at breakfast!
Dad does his best at driving a spike, to be met with disappointment with Dad's inability to actually hit the stupid spike.
A real steel drivin' man
Smile, smile, hmm what does this do?
She's in car #6, all by herself!
Who turned out the lights?
Rebekk riding the Pie Swing.
Proudly riding our best steeds
Model trains galore. Dad even eventually got us to stop touching them.
It's an angel getting on the train with him!"
Oh, I guess it was just the engineer.
We do love our time together!
Here's the freight train
And here's the passenger train
The two trains come together
And a special only for Railway Days, the run the trains as a Double-Header!
Even the streetcar is a train. And it's so much fun in the rain!
Calgary has a Carribean festival called, well, "Carifest" every year.
June 12
Dancing with the pretty dancers on stage.
Chasing after bubbles
Running sooooo quickly.
Completely innocent at dinner
Mostly innocent at dinner
I need a picture of Shilo. This is his standard pose at dinner
All in favour, say aye!
Unbelievably, he would only eat a single bite. He looks so much like Harpo Marx, though, he cracks me up just from looking at him.
Have to clean up the "hootchie-mama" afterwards.
We had our picnic right at the airport. They have tables set up so we can watch the airplanes take off.
June 9
Like this one. Free inspections of your landing gear after takeoff.
Yup. Those wheels looked fine.
The plane banked this much after take off.
Some boy who shall remain nameless really loves his helicopters.
After dinner we did a little flying of our own.
Including some fancy aeronautical moves.
We took turns flying...
...and turns launching...
...and sometimes it just two to yanks on the line.
We met a really sweet dog that thought he was going to catch our kite.
I guess I should tell you how the hockey turned out, eh?
June 7
This was the last hockey game of 2003/2004. We played our own game too.
Stacking the goal meant double duty.
Go Flames Go. Shish-ka-bobs for dinner. Skewer those Lightening.
Our opinion of Tampa Bay.
A little too happy.
A toast to our favourite team.
Auntie Bean gets in on the cheering
Looking stylish in the Tilley
The game is on, and we're at our loudest
We're primed for fun.
Oh dear. The Flames lost the game. We'll have to wait for next year. Even worse, it's time to go back home.. Booo!
Dinner and another day at Heritage Park.
June 2.
Thank goodness someone can teach me the alphabet.
Not recommended for people without cone faces.
This year, Kelley Aric decided he needed to kiss his horse goodbye.
Hulk want water! Hulk angry!
Looking cute on the edge of her seat
Going for a ride with Brad and Andy pulling the wagon. Isn't it fun?
May 29
The Calgary Flames are playing in the Stanley Cup finals and the city is completely, wonderfully insane.
There are estimates of the car flags on up to 20% of all the cars in the city. We got ours today.
This is how our city hall looks
Rebekkah gets to touch the cup.
She's thrilled. Kelley Aric's missing the moment.
I'm 36 years old. This is the first time I've seen the cup. Let alone actually touching it. This is the Holy Grail of Canada. I have friends who are truly envious. But they're Canadian, so I know they'll all have their own chance soon.
Admiring just how beautiful 35 pounds of silver can be!
An Almost Perfect picture of the kids with the cup! Okay, I cut off the bowl, but I was simply trying to get a picture of where Calgary was engraved after their win in 1989. I'm hugely proud of this picture of my kids.
Kelley Aric got to take this photo of me. Okay, I was supposed to be standing beside the Hart trophy and it's a little blurred from him moving the camera. Heh heh.
Rebekk got to take this photo of the Cup.
The lion outside of City Hall
Rebekkah between the horse statues
Carnival Kelley Aric
Dancing to the Yellow Man in the background
Rebekk's face paint #1
Kelley Aric's blue bird
Climbing through a fun house
Running shoeless over the grass
They got invited onto the stage during one of the performances. Along with the other 100 kids when the performers asked for 8.
Rebekk's purple dinosaur.
Kelley Aric's orange dinosaur. Named "Hungry."
Am I a monkey or a mouse?
The Mouse and the Flower (Err.. The Monkey and the.. uh.. Eggplant?
On Parade
The second face painting. You can see Kelley Aric's other painting - a lion.
Playing with hoops
Hoops around the tunnel.
Building the tower
And his addition.
Odds and Sods by date
April 12
Kelley Aric's clown shadow puppet. Proof that a clown is still the most terrifying thing in life. Well, okay, you're only supposed to see it behind a screen with a light bulb behind the puppeteer.
Dogfighting in the living room is encouraged!
Rolling down Grampa's hill
Roll, roll, down the hill
The mightiest girl in the world!
Superheros in full flight.
The best use for a plunger, EVER!
Sweet swaying to soothing rhythms
Babcia's Home!
April 21
She's back! She's home! It's Babcia!
Hugs for everyone!
Hanging out together in her van - out of the rain
Swinging together
Umbrellas to stay dry.
Daddy's Birthday
April 24
Dinner out
A tasty juice to drink
A super-sweet hug
All the cousins together!
Rebekkah's Never-Ending Birthday, Part 1
May 1
Getting a sticker book from Mexico!
It's thumb-licking good.
Rebekkah going down a slide
Kelley Aric climbing up same said slide.
Let's give Babcia a push this time.
Moo Moo Moo. It's Sean holding a hood ornament!
Rebekkah's Never-Ending Birthday, Part 2
May 2
The birthday girl!
The most dangerous pout in the world!
Just the three of us hanging about.
Kelley Aric playing with Bucky the Wonderhorse
Rebekk gets her birthday dinner
Grampa demonstrates how to wear a party hat
Rebekk's birthday cake
Modelling the new duds!
A Queezy Bake Oven? Ewwwwww
Snowday in May
May 5
Snowballs at Keanu
Next is a facewash!
It's all happiness
Hiding behind a tree
Warming up afterwards
Giving a Grandmother's Day gift
Mean Joe Pizzaface.
A day at a park
May 9
Splashing rocks in the river. A true pleasure in life.
Caught by the rain.
Dad, this is so cool!
The promise of a brand new park
Rebekk sliding on down.
Picnic with Babcia
May 12
Teeter totter with Babcia
A "Popcorn Tree" in full bloom.
Climbing trees in unison
Standing on the sign
I'm the king of the castle and YOU'RE the dirty rascal!
Heritage Park Opens!
May 16
Riding up to the park
Kelley Aric rides the Ferris Wheel alone
Rebekkah is too tall for the little Ferris Wheel, but can ride the big one alone now!
Rebekk on her favourite horse again
Kissing a horse's butt. Errrr....
Rebekk alone on the Whip
Kelley Aric enjoys the Catapiller
All of us together, in the dark
Snacking on cookies
Riding the big train
Old fashioned writing.
Helloooooooooooooooo down there!
Camping out in the trailer together
Riding with Babcia on the Sunday
Babcia and Kelley Aric on the Whip
A spot of tea for you?
Pump it up!
Playing it cool
Driving the streetcar!
Zonkin' out for the afternoon
Singing with Grandpa
A good photo of Bekkah Two Teeth
Day at the Races?
April 3
Okay, first off I left my camera at home. We went through the Glenbow museum in the morning. Just as we were going downtown, I realized I had left my camera at home.
No matter. The plans changed as the day progressed, so I stopped off at home, and got the camera before we went...
Well, I better explain. My favourite breed of dog is the Borzoi (or Russian Wolfhound). I consider them among the most beautiful and graceful dogs ever. The few that I've met were marvellous dogs, and without doubt would be my choice all things considered. Concern: I'd probably need a good sized yard for them.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard an interview on Daybreak Alberta on greyhounds. I believe it was the host that just adopted a retired racer and surprised me with my pre-fabricated ideas about greyhounds. Foolishly, I went digging around their website and found the link to Greyhound Pets, Inc., an organization that adopts retired racers in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. The final cog in the wheel fell when I discovered GPI's local event calendar and discovered that they pretty much have dogs around almost every Saturday somewhere in Calgary.
"GREAT," I thought to myself. "I'll have a chance to see some of these dogs, I'll see how the kids react, and at the very least I can do some research into greyhounds."
The kids were terrific with them, as I figured they would be. The greyhounds were completely cool. I'm not going to run out and adopt a couple in the next year, but I can start planning for down the road. One more thing to sigh a plaintive "someday" over right now. Oh, and apologies to the staff at Pet Planet for the horror that is my children pretending to be puppies.
Okay. You've got the setup. Time for the pictures.
The gang. Left to right, it's Connie, Gina, Kelley Aric, Gold, Rebekkah, X-Ray, and Lee. (Well, the contact names were Connie and Lee, and like a fool I forgot to ask until I started typing the update. Email me if I got it wrong. Or if I didn't and you feel like emailing for the heck of it.)
KA plays shy with Gold. The kid's favourite, because "she gave them the most kisses".
Yup, he got her attention
It's a hound dog sandwich!
Gina looking pretty while the kids continue to slather attention on Gold
Rebekk in the back seat. Yes, the car was parked.
"I'm this full after eating my apple."
KA's sweetness
Can you really be full after wearing so much?
"Ehh... This pizza doesn't taste like carrots, Doc."
And dinners from the past week
Fun at Stanley Jones school playground
They say the moon during the day. Or they're checking out the chains for signs of danger.
A picture says 1000 words. I did not push her!
Yes, Rebekkah. Noodles are sticky.
Dad is good to us for dessert.
Dad is very good to us for dessert.
On the slide on Wednesday
There was something special about this photo. Oh well. Please note this was our traditional Polish dinner - perogies, cabbage rolls, the kielbasa (which did not survive long enough to take the picture), and broccoli. I'm certain broccoli is traditional. If not, it's now a familial tradition. (grin)
Wednesday Dinner
March 24
Wanna guess who's favourite park we went to tonight?
Ooops. Guess it was a little short.
CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE
Yes, we spent a lot of time on the swings. I finally pushed Kelley Aric off those swings today. Err.. Sorry.
He's got a bad two-plane-a-day habit already.
Had to get a shot of the shirt.
Sophistication at the dining table.
Who turned out the lights?
The second half of the weekend.
March 21
DEATH - by rubber chicken!
Rebekkah - party animal!
Reaction on opening the gifts
Corbin and Morgan
The birthday cake
Sean choking the.. err.. Nevermind
I've got the best pictures of the kids looking upwards this weekend.
Rebekk and Morgan beading away
This cute little critter plays the Chicken Dance and waddles it's way across the floor. I suspect Kelley Aric wants one. I fear that Kelley Aric wants one...
Dinner en route. This is what happens when Dad is completely disorganized.
This is only the first half of the weekend.
March 20
One of those pictures that just turned out perfect. I'm proud of taking this one.
We went to the Devonian Gardens, an indoor park in downtown Calgary. I meant to take the kids when it was 40 below and crappy outside, but never got the chance this winter. (The weather was either nice or we had something else planned.) No matter. One of the features of the park is that they have huge fish you can buy pellets and feed. We fed them. As did a hundred other people today. No wonder the fish are huge. (grin)
The kids near one of the fountains.
Kelley Aric climbing on a "Speed Boat"
Baby you can drive my car / Yes I'm going to be a star / Baby you can drive my car / And Baby I love you. / Beep-beep beep-beep YEAH!
Kelley Aric and "his" puppy.
Rebekk loves hers too.
I supposed this would be a Black Lab?
Just the three of us
Public art. What can I say? If you're a kid, you can see it differently from how I see it, I guess.
Oddly enough, the kids and I all like this one.
Remember when a simple balloon could bring you joy?
Another fine picture taken by Kelley Aric.
Future Rockette. I would have said "Women's World Cup Star" except she missed it.
Nothing like the sweetness, innocence, and joy in this picture to truly say, "Dad just busted me for something, now he's got to figure out what I did."
Nothing like LACKING the sweetness, innocence, and joy in this picture to truly say, "Cut back on the dosage, Dad." (Both of these two photos were taken while bouncing a balloon in the air.)
Tomorrow is Corbin's birthday party. Not only are we giving him these as gifts, we get to keep a set for ourselves!
Rebekk picked out the rubber chicken herself. I had zero input into that decision. NO ONE will ever believe me.
Put yer butt in the air like ya just don't care!
Another Puppet Club Weekend
March 6, 2004
Wearing the Helicopter hat proudly.
Posing with a horse sculpture
Details of the horse
Me in the museum Kelley Aric got to take this picture.
Rebekkah in the museum. Another KA masterpiece.
Just For Kids Puppet Club
Andrew at the Puppet Club. He's a wonderful teacher, performer, and puppetteer and he's absolutely fabulous for teaching the kids story telling and performance. And the kids had an terrific time making shadow puppets. I think I go for the kids... Yeah, that's it. The kids...
The Troll from the Three Billy Goats Gruff
Taken with purple cellophane filter
Wow. Guess those professional gels really do make a difference.
Shadow puppets from the kids Rebekkah's is a purple-spotted lion, with a mouse and a snowflake. KA's holding his elephant.
Andrew showing the mural the kids made as a cover for a shadow puppet screen.
Just ahead of performing their stories
The kids listening intently. Except that one in the back... Heh heh
Jaedon's storyboard for his performance. I must say, they were all very, very good.
Erin and Jaedon perform his story
I should note, I have video of most of the performances, but they didn't always turn out terrific. Feel free to email me if you want a copy sent.
Off to the Sugarbowl
Sliding doubles!
Down they go!
Sliding down.. Backwards?
You oughtta see the other kid. Err... I mean, his Dad.
Rebekkah hurrying the popcorn to pop so we can go watch Formula 1 racing. Yes, she is my daughter. (grin)
Just another Wednesday dinner
March 3, 2004
It snowed enough we got out the Snowzingers!
And made Snow Angels
And made fake Chicken Pox with stickers.
You can't help but hug this guy!
It's fun getting into Trouble! Tapboy seriously kicked our butt.
Oh yeah. Pictures at dinner, and a big thank you.
March 1, 2004
First, a trip to the park. Parks can be interesting around here in the springtime.
But the swings are always fun
The 100% ka-boomba. Should I explain what a ka-boomba is? Ahh, only if I get a lot of requests.
Okay. To explain tonight's dinner, I'm going to have to take you on a bit of a journey. It won't be TOO far - maybe 4000 light years or so.
Oooh, plus the return trip. 8000 light years or so. Tops.
First, we must take outselves to Tapboy's favourite song: (Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... I can't link directly to it. Scroll down and find "The Planet Song!" Thanks.)The Blue's Clues Planet song.
Truly an excellent choice. So then we were talking about the planets, and especially Saturn's icy rings. Those rings are just SO cool. Now, I understand Mars has been high on the radar for everyone with the rovers cruising around at breakneck speeds, but the Cassini spaceship is approaching Saturn and it promises TONS of ultra-cool pictures and details, too. It's coolness come true.
So I read some of the coverage on Slashdot yesterday and had Saturn on my mind tonight. Remembering they had links to tons of very cool pictures, particularly the gallery from Voyager 2 I thought the kids would be interested in seeing. (Quick, someone be sure that Captain Kirk knows about this!)
And that is how we got to watch this during dinner For those of you SUPER interested that haven't already gone over your bandwidth quota for external linking, the site we were looking at is The Planetary Nebula Show. If you only visit one external link tonight, please make it this one! Vast quantities of coolness will overcome your nebulaic sensibilities!
We've got a couple small thank you pictures to present as well this evening.
To Babcia. We're thinking of you in Mexico. Come home soon.
To our dear friend Brian. She did the picture herself, I only suggested they draw one for you. By the way, he's sexy ladies.
I always wondered how her handwriting could be neater than my own.......
Birthday Presents to compliment the model helicopter.
Taking a birthday gift for a friend
Then sliding at the Sugarbowl. Miss the jump! Miss the jump! Miss the... Wheh.
We stay FAR away from trees. But they frame a nice picture.
This was the fastest sliding we've been on yet. But it sure got mushy at the bottom. The weather was perfect for getting cold, wet bottoms.
He's the sled monster - scaring us from behind his giant mask!
Spaceboy on the couch!
Dinner with his new puppy. His new puppy's name is NOT "Buddy Dog". Regardless of what he told me when introducting Not-Buddy-Dog to me.
I get home after the club to come home to the two of them like this. Cover up Tapboy and fall asleep while getting help with Access. (Thanks,
Brian. The whole world loves ya. And ladies, he's sexy!)
Eating breakfast while Not-Buddy-Dog watches over him carefully.>
The Birthday Gift, Part 2
He got to see his favourite helicopter up close.
Showing Not-Buddy-Dog the inside of STARS. I must admit, we presumed we were only going to be able to look at the ouside of the helicopter and, if I dared, I was going to let Tapboy touch the skids in order to be able to say that he actually touched the helicopter in the sky.
The mechanics that were maintaining one of the helicopters actually allowed him to go inside. It was the ultimate cool, and super nice of them to let him look inside, let alone sit for a minute in it. Truthfully, I wanted to push him out of the way so that I could be in it myself. Ahh, the moment is for the kids.
Now if I only had the foresight to bring their hats along with them...
Tapgirl got a chance to sit in it as well. No question, the three of us are smitten over the Red Helicopter of Caring.
A picture standing in front of STARS-4. Four has become Tapboy's favourite number as of late, so STARS-4 is his favourite of his favourite helicopters. Here he is with his sister in front of the best helicopter in the world.
A close-up of STARS-4. If you see this ECNALUBMA in your rear-veiw mirror, PULL OVER!
"Can't wave goodbye. Can't see it." It almost breaks your heart, except I know there will be future visits.
After seeing STARS we went through the rest of the airport. They have a neat little kids area - presumably for those huge layovers when you have a couple of hours to kill in an airport and after the kids have stared and tired of planes taking off. We spent four hours there, based on what I paid for parking. (grin) Fun and worth it.
Oh, and the picture here is a rock from the moon. We have our own little piece right here in Calgary. I think this was a VERY cool day.
They had a model plane in a wind tunnel that you could actually fly with remote controls. Tapgirl was very adept at understanding how the plane flew and she kept it more steady than I could. Until she just started hammering on the pedals in fun.
Tapboy did another sort of flying
Although he took his turn at the model too. Check out his hair. They had a lot of wind moving through those tunnels.
Tapgirl got to fly in a simulator afterwards. I cannot attest to how well she flew there, but it looked like a lot of rocking to and fro. Is that good in a plane?
We played a while in the games room too.
And them to Grandpa's to climb a tree.
Time to Dance with the Toy Castle Ballet in a kids mode. As much as I ooze high artistic form (coff), they have truly won me over with interesting story telling, ballet and gross motor skills movement, and the sheer delight in dance and music. The kids love to dance with it, which is all right by me.
I'm still more of a Blue's Clues kinda guy. Whoa, that's just WAY too much insight into my mind.
Bow Valley Music Club
Every show at BVMC is just like this. Each and every one. Each and every time. Perhaps it's because I pour drinks.
Saaaaay... Two beavers walk into a bar, and the first asks, "Is your bar tender?"
Tapboy's birthday
Tapgirl busted snitching icing.
Tapboy gets a sip of water
Grinning before dinner
What's the opposite of a hug? (Like I haven't used this joke before...)
It's Spaceboy - here to save the universe again!
Unwrapping gifts. What could it be?
No, really. What could it be? You have to guess.
That's right, Auntie Bean! You're so smart!
Guess he'll just have to show the rest of us.
A die cast model of STARS Air Ambulance. With the promise we'll get to visit someday.
"They spin, Daddy! This is fuuuuun. Uh-huh."
A very happy birthday boy
Grandma and Grandpa gave him a whole rescue station!
It comes with a truck, and a helicopter, and the whole station too!
Happy day from the TAP family
Blowing out the candles
Choosing his piece of the cake. He chose the train. (The other choices were the heart, the helicopter, Tapboy and his curly hair, and Magenta (or Shilo-puppy).
Playing with the helicopter from the Rescue Station. He does well in the helicopter department, did you notice?
A little bit of spare birthday cake. Anyone up for a piece?
Spaceboy goes exploring. He finds new and interesting places, where no man has been before. Like under the table!
Hockey games and good times
January 24
Watching hockey from the good seats. Mmm.. Cotton candy.
Three-on-three pond hockey. Okay, there's no pond. It's a darned good thing - the weather was C-C-C-COLD!
Tapboy was strecthing to see...
This fellow. To heck with the hockey, Dad!
He's so neat and tidy while eating
And Dad bough snowcones as a reward.
We got to watch Dad's hockey heros! Tiger Williams!
Lanny McDonald. (Now a Grandpa!)
Jim Peplinski. Bald and good looking like me.
Back to Grandpa's and playing outside for a while
Oops! Slippery!
It's good to laugh getting up
In the background, Grandpa has a shadow helping blow off the sidewalks
Happy New Year 2004!!! A Vietnamese New Year's Celebration. 2004 IS the year of the cable monkey.
As always, Dad tucks us in the best!!
He's such a pro!
Eat it by the bowlful! It's just that good!
Turkey and Dumplings!
Our all-time classic favourite returns
January 19
Coolness! I get to see her favourite PJ's!
Able to leap buildings in a single bound...
Bouncy Bouncy without ME???? AWGH! I've become old!
I'm not sure if I got her or if she got me.
Dogpile on Daddy! I'm young again!
Bouncy Bouncy time like the professionals play!
Life isn't always wonderful. It's 6:30 and we have to leave.
It's better once we're on our way.
And when Dad bribes us with Haw Flakes. What are Haw Flakes? What do you mean, what are haw flakes?
Turkey Dinner
Yes, I finally roasted that turkey
January 15
Jump on Dad then run like heck!
The great high-diver prepares for a pike. Or something. I can't remember what they were doing and it's pretty hard to come up with an explanation!
Tapgirl gets a drumstick
Tapboy enjoys a dessert yogurt cup
When I title the picture "sweetness" it means just one thing...
Leftovers part 1 became turkey chili. This bowl is a "medium". (I made 15 litres - that's almost 4 gallons - of chili. Mmmmm.....
Sugerbowl
We've had lots of fun with the small hills near the schools. Now we take the sleds to... The Sugarbowl!
January 11
Tapgirl sliding. She went right up the other side of the hill!
This is Tapboy sliding back down from the other side of the hill.
The two of them after sliding together.
A hazardous mountain rescue operation!
SUCCESS! They made it out alive!
Climbing up the hill together.
A movie of the slide. Tapkids slide together, I followed with the camera. I didn't wreck.
Puppet show weekend!
Do I sound excited?
GOOD
January 10
A beautiful chinook arch over downtown Calgary while we sled down a hill. The weather was perfect!
Hundreds of geese flew overhead today
The sledding was great too
Meet you at the bottom!
The kids at out puppet show. The Ugly Duckling!
Our director with a fist full of puppets
Face painted up like Scooby Doo.
Tappie and Tapboy's train.
The Kelley-Monster scares Tappie.
Amazed with the Ugly Duckling
The Tapkids right into acting. Err....
The Dragon and the Spider. Cool, eh?
Tapgirl gives her lines. Such stage presence!
Shadow puppets during the main show. Very cool!
The puppeteer plays an old man making stone soup. Such stage presence!
Looking at puppets after the show.
There was an acrobatic group showing their skills. Those girls were really talented! The Velocity Motion Werks website.
Outside the playhouse - taking up the last picture on the card!
Dinner and a song
I had car troubles, so we didn't have much time to cram it all in. Still, somehow we managed
January 7
I hooked up my camera to the TV so the kids could watch a movie with me. It also takes pictures showing the photo on the TV itself. Tapgirl is looking at herself on TV while I'm taking the picture.
Wearing Dad's shirts while we eat
Tapgirl eating dinner
Tapboy gets a cookie for dessert!
I just can't complain with children like this.
Hugs goodbye!
Happy 2004!
Dinner AND the Just for Kids Puppet Club - HOME VERSION!
January 5
Tapgirl: "Daddy, we just can't stop laughing!
Tapgirl enjoys her jello
Tapboy agrees. Deeeelish!
Tapboy with his duckling puppet
Tapgirl shows off her girl duckling puppet
Our handiwork. We're ready for the show!
A closeup of the puppets
WARNING SIGN! Sign of the Apocalypse #23,953: Tappie gets a glue gun. Fortunately Tapgirl knows how hot they can get, and took great care to protect her brother and wrote a sign.
When he came close anyways, she asked, "Why doesn't he just read the sign?" That was funny! I told her he couldn't read yet. Then she put the picture on.
Christmas Eve Day
At the front door for Christmas. "Daddy, I think Tigger thinks this bag is too heavy to carry like this." Honest, I couldn't make up dialogue like that.
Tapgirl and her cousin playing Monkey-See
Tapboy watching Treehouse
Just because Brian needs more beurre in his life
And I need more popcorn in mine
Which is more cute? This picture?
Or this picture?
Starting to open gifts
Tapboy gets his helicopter shirt.
And the hats were a hit
Tapgirl loves her pin from Yellowknife
And she loves her pony stable.
Tapboy can't wait to see his helicopter
He likes his hat too.
For meeeeeeeeeee?
What could it be?
Socks? What a surprise!
How much do I love them?? WOW! (Uhh... I get socks every year for Christmas. If I don't, I get even more ornery.)
Basically, it was this or a variation on the theme the rest of the day!
Feeding her ponies their breakfast
What the kids gave me. Tools and a tie. Oooh, did I spoil the picture?
A musical tie. The kids played with it all day. I haven't smashed the speaker -- yet.
Amazing I haven't smashed the speaker yet...
Tapboy with his Auntie.
Their Whammo Snowzingers! Looks like fun is afoot!
Wheeeeeeee! Go Tapboy!
Tapgirl's coming!
Whoosh Tapgirl!
Woo-hoo!
Doubling up!
Swishhhhhh!
Giving Grandma their gift
Dinner after Yellowknife
The Almost Perfect Reindeer Boy?
Keychains from Yellowknife.
Tapgirl: "A keychain with a wolf! Just what I always wanted!"
Tapgirl thinks this is her best smile. I told her that I personally liked to see her teeth the most. :)
Yellowknife
I had a chance to go to Yellowknife - which was great because I'm working on a project for someone up there and I got a chance to experience his business first hand.
It was also an opportunity to see some beautiful country. I truly love it up there.
Mmmm... Coffee so bad it'll knock your teeth out
Barb at the border of Alberta and the NWT
My turn at the sign
Me, Jake, and Zack crossing on the ferry
She was happy to not have to drive the ice bridge. REALLY happy.
Sunset in Yellowknife, as seen through their mighty forests
A typical parking lot in Yellowknife
The airport. My project is for one of the aircraft refuelers.
The sun low on the horizen. This was a little before sunset at 1:07 pm.
I took one day where I played a tourist (Female, human, neutral alignment, ST 9 DX 8 CO 18 IN 8 WI 14 CH 18 HP 13). Sorry, nethack inside joke.
When I play tourist, I do so in MY own fashion.
Yellowknife's own Tim Horton's. Mmmm... Good coffee.
Dogs rule Yellowknife. This one had stolen a chunk of frozen fish.
The Hunters and Trappers Association. It's just sitting beside a chunk of rock in the Canadian shield. Takes a pretty picture, no?
Pilot's Monument Had I looked I'm sure I could have found better pictures on the web, but this one is MINE, BABY! ALL MINE!!
A picture of the city taken from the Pilots Monument.
An inukshuk near one of the hotels. An inukshuk in used as a path marker to let others know they were on the right path. Tapgirl and Babcia have made them in Babcia's back yard. I figured she'd be thrilled to see this.
Being a geek, I get to tour geeky places. Meet SSI Micro, Yellowknife's finest ISP. We have Kerri and Tim standing in front of their server room, encased in lovely transparent aluminum for all to see. They handle about 350 of Yellowknife's dial up customers. Tim gets to play with some really cool satellite stuff which I can barely understand. He'll be deeply ashamed of the miserable state this webpage is in.
Seriously, it's not everyday they get someone from Calgary that drops in to say hello just because they're the ISP for the guy I'm doing a project for right now. They were pretty cool to just sit and chat with me for a few minutes.
Normally, I'd only take this picture if I visited the place. But I LOVE Vietnamese noodle houses and I would normally have visited - but that day I had other dinner plans.
Adam, take the scarf. You'll need it in my country. Michelangelo just didn't know it was Yellowknife. Murals adorn half the town. I didn't have time to take nearly enough pictures of all the ones I liked. Oh yeah, the original can be found here
Flying a kite at 20 below. Let's remember, to fly a kite, you need a wind, and therefore you have windchill. When in Yellowknife, you don't hide from the winter, you adapt.
The Yellowknife Wharf - from the WRONG direction Yes, I'm standing on the lake.
Where I purchased my Inconnu (Sheefish). Had it tonight. Some tasty. Also another super nice lady to chat with. People in Yellowknife are just really nice.
Mmm... Lunch ahoy! It looks basic, but it's world-famous Bullock's Bistro and the eatin's GREAT.
Arctic Char on the grill
Arctic Char on the plate I'm not a huge fan of fish, but this was one of the best meals I've had. Note the period.
Look at the happy tourist. Happy, happy, happy! And please note the Ganksoft Splooge Shirt! Ganksoft went to Yellowknife with me.
Pilot's Monument from the ice road looking up.
An old snowplow sitting in a yard
Artificial flowers by a fluorescent parking block interest me.
They segregate their shoppers
Actually, I think it's a good idea.
A Yellowknife rush hour. Yikes.
Kids playing soccer in the snow. This is the True North.
Just a picture of an ordinary street
Just a picture of an ordinary garbage can
Take me out to the ball game!
The trees may be a little scraggly, but they are still beautiful
Calgary spends millions of dollars to make a corner of a neighborhood look like this.
A typical A-frame house. Most houses are mobile homes, some are A-frames. I don't really understand why A-frames are so popular where they get so little snow. I'd ask for a Yellowknifer to tell me, but they'd only correct the thousands of other inaccuracies here.
A kennel of dogs. If you're in Yellowknife, you must like dogs. Or endure dogs. I love dogs.
Just heading home - life is pretty good.
A movie with the time and temperature WARNING: The movie is roughly 2 MB.
Happy Humbugs from the family von Tap!
Or Merry Christmas to those so inclined.
Oh yeah, they finally got their candy canes today.
Last weekend before Christmas!
December 13
9:00 Pick up the kids
9:02 Kids want to go to Heritage Park
9:20 Arrive at Heritage Park Parking lot
9:35 Finish the walk to Heritage Park front gate - usually a 5 minute walk.
9:53 Enter the park after asking for a stamp on the hand, chatting with the HP staff, etc.
10:00 Into the park, down the hill, deposit two pennies into the Sally Ann bucket.
10:03 Begin the trek to the mazes. Tapboy finds a clump of snow.
10:05 Arrive at mazes, notice two volunteers at strange box of snow near mazes.
They are playing "Snow Snakes", a Native American game where you slide a stick down the ice and try to get it to stop at a certain distance before it falls off the snow. Sort of like shuffleboard.
They win an "Indian Feather" for their effort. I currently have two scraggly looking feathers in the back of my car. Does life get cooler than this?
Snow Snake and the feathers
10:43 With so many people arriving at the park, and a large number of other kids wanting to play Snow Snake, we moved on to the mazes. I swear the kids could have been at the Snow Snake game all day. Tapboy is proud of his prize
10:49 The mazes should lose their appeal after doing them a couple times. Instead we find a new way to do the maze.
10:59 We've finally moved to the stage. No one's performing until noon or so, but they're playing Shania when we get there. Tapboy dances along with Ms. Twain. Oh yes, he is my son. But c'mon, Tapboy, Shania?
11:20 I didn't take a single picture of the kids while we were on the hayride. My fingers were getting cold by this time, and I can't take a picture with my camera while wearing mittons. We got a picture of the kids with the horses afterwards, though.
11:26 Inside to warm up. We just "borrow" the park's Christmas tree for our holiday photos.
Yes, she is this sweet all year long
A big version of the holiday photo
Tappie gets a holiday photo this year, too. Happy Humbugs, all!
11:44 We head back to Grandpa's house for lunch. Big plans for the afternoon, still.
We have make a pit stop. Just maybe it will taste better this week.
And this time I get photos of putting the pennies in.
12:00 Grandpa's and Grandma's for lunch
Lunch is good. So is popcorn avec beurre.
1:00 To Tapgirl's school for movie day. We get to watch Prancer together.
First time I've been to a movie with the kids. It would have been perfect except for the short attention WHOA, SHINEY TINSEL, DAD!!!
The kids got to bring their blankets and a stuffed animal in. Tapgirl's watching the movie while cuddled up to Scruff Dog.
3:00 Tapgirl needed to show me her hook for her coat.
3:01 We went caroling through the neighborhood. I spent as much of my time trying to track where my kids were as I did flipping through the book trying to figure out what the original (and non-obscene) words to the Christmas Carols are. Does life get cooler than this?
No pictures of the carolling. Too busy and my hands were too cold. I wish I got one or two. Next year.
4:30 Back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Tapboy fell asleep on the way down. That explains why he was up until 10:00. Hmm...
7:00 A late dinner because the kids didn't feel like eating at the regular time.
8:00 Then we did some rough housing with Grandpa. Hey, let's jump on his hernia!
While Dad works on the computer, I have two keeping a watchful eye
8:30 Bathtime for the Tapkids.
9:00 Out of the tub, ready for bed. Tapgirl shows her
poofy hairdo after her bath. Well, I certainly love it.
10:00 Tappie starts working on the web page waiting for the kids to fall asleep. Begins referring to himself in the third person.
11:30 Tappie finishes the web page. He smiles to himself thinking about the plans for tomorrow.
Maybe we'll go to the museum, or we'll sit around watching TV in the morning and Heritage Park for the last time this year in the afternoon. Or perhaps both.
Or maybe we'll go to the mall.. I've got to do a bit of shopping still. We could make it an outing.
Or perhaps we'll find a park or another outdoor ice rink...
Skating rink before dinner
December 10
Tapgirl falling on her ahem ice.
She must be showing where she slipped
The next step? A running start!
Tapgirl looked like she was having tons of fun.
Tapboy's playing steamroller on the ice!
Tapgirl makes a "cake". That would be applesauce on mashed purple potatoes. Mmmm....
Saaaaay, is that 'icing' on your nose?
Literally: "Can't eat it! Bugs on it, Daddy!" So we had to create this routine of brushing the pretend bugs off the food before he'd eat it. Kids....
Tapgirl's Christmas Concert
December 9
Tapgirl on stage Fifth from the left, or third from the right.
I must really apologize for the rather crappy picture. My camera doesn't do so well on zoom at the back of a gym. However, you can trust me that she was still cute as a button and wonderful as all get-out.
In my proudest moment, you know I could distinguish her beautiful voice in the choir.
If you prefer, you can get the movie image of the actual song she performed by clicking here.
WARNING: The movie is roughly 15 MB. Don't download this one, Babcia!!!
UPDATE!A lightened version is here. (Thanks Lacy!)
Dinosaur park, and dinner
December 8
It's cold, but we're happy to slide!
All bundled up and sliding down
Roar! I'm going to get you! You better pounce, Tapboy, it's time to go warm up!
We can never leave without making snow angels first. They are angelic....
A little dinnertime cuddlin'
Tapgirl at her most lady-like.
Tapboy also being polite and mannerly.
A conversation:
BRIAN (Benevolent, Resplendent, Interesting, Anal retentive, Nice Host of this website): what was for dinner?
Tapdad: Hot dogs, rice and carrots. Toast with honey. Uhh.. Graham crackers for dessert.
BRIAN: and what part of that is in Tapboy's mouth?
Tapdad: Uhmm.... All of it?
Phone calls from Babcia
Dec 03
Can't wait to get out there and play!
C'mon, Dad. Are you coming up or what?
Artistic photo? Hidden subliminal message? Naw, taken from 75 feet away and that's the best the zoom could do. However, it does demonstrate a small railway tunnel which leads me to a story.
When Tapgirl and I first started our evening routines, she always would talk about the "Big dark and the Little dark" when we went down this valley, then over a bridge crossing a freeway (Deerfoot Trail).
Not seeing the world though the eyes of a three year old, it took me a while to realize that the Little Dark was actually the railway tunnel you can see pictured in this photo. The Big Dark? Well, that was actually under the bridge we were crossing.
I love the perspective of kids. It makes a lot more sense than grown up's thinking.
Steamroller is such a hit in the snow, let's do it down a hill!
Tapboy followed my footprints, slithering like a snake in the snow.
"Okay, down on your side! Now up on your side! Now down on your side!" Can you grow up to become a teeter-totter director?
Tapboy talking to Babcia in Mexico. Maybe it's not the greatest picture, but they were pretty excited about it.
A weekend of adjustments
November 30 - Nothing ever goes to plan.
Getting ready for the big weekend. The Glenbow Museum, then Bow Valley Music Club, then to Ted and Natalie's house (Grampa's neighbors).
The kids at the Olympic Plaza. Remember the Winter Olympics of 1988? Everyone in Calgary during those days can remember. This is the site where medals were awarded after each day's events. (In 1988 I was down there with roughly 100,000 of my closest friends.) They have a wading pool there in the summer and a skating rink in the winter. Here's the kids looking like champions.
At the music club. The kids had me rescue these balloons left over from the Teen dance the night before. By the time they had played with them for about an hour, the baloons had hardened and deflated or popped. It was neat. The kids were traumetized.
Tapgirl still looking like a champ.
Tapboy running laps
Overexposed, and still a picture worth looking at! This was the first time the kids got to stay for sound check. Well, close to sound check anyways.
Sunday morning - showing off his current favourite Teddy Bear.
Watching TV in morning comfort.
Tapgirl transformed to SUPER-Tapgirl.
Five pictures to finally get one with the stupid light on. Which wouldn't have been bad, except for the "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" sounding the whole time.
The BVMC sells the BEST carrot cake anywhere! It's still terrific the next day when we get to have the piece Dad brought home.
Looking cool during snacktime while watching Treehouse!
Ever see a cranewreck under a piano? I wish I had a joke to go with that...
Tapgirl's getting tired of the pictures??
Nope, she's about to lunge for the camera. Cagey to lull me into a false sense of security like that.
Dad caught us playing outside!!!!! Time to call it a night!
Park and general cuteness
November 26
Looks like steamroller in the snow is here to stay.
Swings are fun. Even in winter
Tapgirl is just SO cute!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
This is my kind of ride
Hold on to yer hats, Pardners!
We'll get them bandits comin' or goin'.
ARRRRRR! Walk the plank, Tapgirl!
A perfect moment of Tapgirl sweetness
A fingerbowl compliments any dinner. WAITASEC -- THAT'S MY BEST TEA!!!
A close up on the toothfairy's dealings
Resist this face. I dare you!
Ahh, togetherness.
Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa
November 24
One push at the top of the hill and she goes on forever
But then she stands funny for 10 minutes or so.
What one must do, the other must follow
Dinner is better with a light sprinkle of powdered sugar. Or maybe a small dump. Whatever.
The Puppet Master and his transparent minion
Tapgirl loves her Grandma!
That little rascal!
A really fun Wedneday Dinner
November 19
Setting up for the big jam session
Laying down the beat The new Buddy Rich
This cool daddy-cat was really swinging!
Uhh.. Is this thing on? This might be a good time to consult the professionals at Nero Productions Tapgirl just LOVES Dave.
Walk away cool, Daddy-o.
Payment? Two Graham Crackers! We need a better record deal from the Fat Cats!
It's all about the music. It's not about getting one Dora cracker and one Backpack cracker at all!
Even the hipsters know to put something away for a rainy day.
C'mon.... This just SCREAMS picture from a beatnik coffee house, doesn't it?
Cute and curious. I had a thousand rejected titles for this picture...
Hiding behind the casette deck
Peekaboo!
Dental hygene gives artists great smiles!
Works for their engineers, too.
She wanted to show off Blue and Periwinkle
Ready to go, Dad!
This will keep me warm!
And I wonder why I was running late that night...
Typically Almost Perfect Weekends
November 15 - 16
First we start at a park
Then we go to the museum
The we went to the Puppet Club Here is the coordinator talking to the kids about nursury rhymes. Rapt attention, I tell you.. Oh, and the kids listened too.
Tapboy moves in for a closer look
The work begins
Tapgirl shows her finger puppets.
Three blind mice,
Three blind mice.
See how they run,
See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
She cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Have you ever seen such a sight in your life
As three blind mice?
And the cat that ate their ears!
Tapboy tells the story of his finger puppets Humpty Dumpty, of course. Can you see the egg with the heart smile? The horse? The King's man?
Running in the hall after the puppet construction
More of the mayhem.
The final work
Then back to Grandma's and Grampa's for the afternoon
To eat lasagne
By the fist full
If we're good we get dessert
And Dad tucks us in his own special way.
He does such a good job.
Next morning, the 12 Days of Christmas at Heritage Park First, we go through the big maze
We raced through the big one first
Then we went though the small maze together
This fellow whistled on stage while his puppy barked.
This was the tapkid's reaction
We went for a hayride. Tapboy is with Michel, one of the caretakers of the horses at Heritage Park. We know them well from the summer.
Outside the Candy Shoppe
A girl's dream come true!
It's huggable!
But it doesn't taste very good.
The real thing is a bit better, though.
Tapgirl agrees.
This picture is only here because Steve Armitage is on the TV. He's sexy, ladies.
Can't lose 'em when you trap 'em in a box!
Can't lose him when you stuff him in a coffee table.
His helmet when the game starts
And a whole platter of fixin's
Football treats are the best!
Watching the game - it was 7-0 Edmonton at this point. They went on to win 34-22 over Montreal.
You've heard of plate spinning? Tapgirl does bowls.
Tapcousins come over, and we all head to the closet.
What's the opposite of a hug? An AUNTIE-HUG!
Wrap the weekend up with a turkey supper.
Biggest spoon finishes supper first!
Day 3 of 3, Warm Enough for a park!
November 12
It's been so long since we've been to a park, we have to crawl to the oasis!
Dad, you only said don't eat YELLOW snow.
Were pirates always this cute?
Was walking the plank always this fun?
ARRR, Matey!
Atop his best winter steed.
Dessert's more fun when it's mangled.
Tapboy got a treat, too. He ate the pecans off first. He is truly my son!
Maybe that dessert was a little TOO sweet.
He insisted on this picture. Probably to prove his tastebuds were still functional.
Either title this, "Plane Banks Left" or...
"See Daddy, I got in a picture with Tapboy!
Tappie does hair upon request. Hate me because of my talent. Don't hate me because I'm byoo-tiful.
Snowy Days and Mondays always get me dinner.
November 10
First a note: Remember the pictures of the kids singing at the Music Club? This is the result the following show.
Here is where Tapboy destroyed his new umbrella. Isn't it cute as I'm taking a picture and have no idea what he's doing? Aww....
Tapgirl and Tapdad, watching Blue's Clues together.
A picture of Tapboy. I don't think he was in trouble, but with a look like that, I'm suspicious.
Tapgirl showing a modelling pose.
Roar like a tiger, hide behind your milk ready to pounce.
Now duck right under the table..
Tapboy talking to Grandpa
Bundled up going home.
Also bundled up going home. Don't you have heat in the car or something?
Remembrance Day
November 11
This was Grandma's fruit salad - always a hit!
Tapcousin gets a haircut at the kitchen table.
Work out!
Work out more!
Actually, they're pretending it's a spaceship
Oooooooh, I'm in trouble!
Part of the mayhem.
Another part of the mayhem
Oh dear!
Lunar Eclipse
I'm a little behind, but these were cool so I wanted them up tonight.
Lunar eclipse over Calgary
A close up at the darkest I saw
The smallest sliver of light drawns out the picture
A closeup of the moon while just coming out of the earth's shadow
This was the last picture I could take. The eclipse had nearly completed.
A picture from my roomie Using his telescope - it really shows the features.
A rainy day
October 27
Observing the finest of the arts - fridge magents!
The artist stands proudly beside his work
I think he's conducting here, too. Amazing talent!
A picture of Tapgirl at table level. I don't think she was expecting it. That makes is all the more fun, right?
Toast and honey at dinner? Man, am I an easy mark...
We coloured our pumpkin - no carving (yet)
"What's this part, Dad?"
Well, we can TRY to carve with the pens..
Tapgirl adds the final touches in white.
A snowy day
October 29
To all his adoring fans!
Tapgirl sends her love, too
I couldn't figure out how she bent her legs like that when I looked at these pictures
The secret lies in the positioning
Tapgirl shows off her new boots. The pictures don't do them justice. The stars are purple and sparkle, and there are flashes of sparkling colour in the "fur" up top. (What do you call artifical fur and still get the notion that it's fur-like but with flashes of colour without rising the ire of PETA? Nevermind, I'm just digging myself in further.
Tapgirl shows off the new protusion. Hopefully we'll have a good timeline of when the teeth came in.
Tapboy was very proud of his new 'Arctic Hat' And can you believe it, I got a picture where you can actually see his eyes!
Cold and snowy. A perfect day!
A Park and a Dinner
October 22
The kids associate this park with Babcia now. There was even a blue van in the parking lot.
Tapgirl goes alone on the teeter totter.
The four armed stair climbing MONSTER
Peekaboo under the slide
Meanwhile at the top of the slide...
Under the slide together
Are you still under there or what?
Ahh... Running through a field of leaves.
Yams and purple potatoes make Tapboy happy!
A fist full of goodness
Tapgirl's writing a letter to her penpal
Big Time Weekend
October 19
Our first weekend of the winter without Heritage Park
Running to play
Fort Lookout
Imagine - a dinosaur that's PURPLE! (NOT Barney, thank you very much!)
Not all is well in Happy Tappie Land
Hung out to dry
This is the coolest toy!
It is supposed to spin like this, right?
Something new to climb on
We went to a bantom football game! Tappie loves football.
A star is (re)born
Too yellow!
Now that's green!
Is that for MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?
Grandma lets me on the counter to stir
With a face like this, who needs coffee?
I love this sweet face
We made a game - catch the leaves as they fell from the trees
It was hard work
But we all won.
Grandpa helped us with the slide
Then we all slid together
And fun was had by all!
Except for that LITTLE accident.
Grandpa helped us swing
Synchronized swinging! YAY!
Hiding out in our fort
Peeking out
Tapcousins came over, so we bounced on our dolphin!
While Grandpa and Shilo-pup lazed about
Grandparents are FUN!
Grandpas are THIS MUCH fun!
Sleeping at dinnertime
Settling into routine
October 15
It's good to be King!
You just KNOW he was getting scolded here, don't you?
Tapgirl wanted a picture of her winking!
BOO! With a grahame cracker... Hmm...
Toys on the table... This is what we've become.
I finally let Tapgirl use my camera. This is the best she can do. Sorry.
They are completely wonderful!
Happy Thanksgiving Day
October 13
The slides were slow motion today.
But they were still fun.
Climbing our way up Everest!
I want to go up THERE Dad!
Tapboy is now quite the climber!
Tapgirl in a cage!
Tapboy summitting!
'I don't want a picture now.' Even Tapboy looks incredulous.
Yes, she's about to jump in. Yes, she's going to be in trouble. No, I don't have a picture of the HUGE mess Tapboy made when he jumped in.
They wanted a picture of their shirts.
No matter what, she can always look cute.
We had colds, so we threw a tea party
October 8
The finest guests.
Each enjoyed their apple juice. I mean the finest tea!
'Dad, I don't want to open my eyes for the picture.'
'Oh, Daaaaad. I love you!'
Dessert was jello with toppings.
Which was a hit.
Served in our finest.. uh.. finery.
Sprinkles on a bed of slivered almonds.
Tapboy wanted a picture like this too.
Our guests escorted us after dinner.
Mail from Babcia
October 1
Tapgirl: "BABCIA SENT US A MAPLE LEAF!" Tapboy: "FROM THE STATES?"
This speck right here is Babcia.
WASSUP, Babcia?
Remember your first drink of apple juice from a beer glass?
Everyone gets an eagle sticker!
October 4
First we went to Heritage Park, then we went to a puppet workshop, then a friend's house, then to Grandpa's and Grandma's. Wheh.
'WHEEEE!' 'I'm going to be sick!' 'WOO-HO -- waitasec...'
The chosen one!
Err.. Maybe not.
Arts and Crafts - Tappie style!
All the kids with their masks Someone's peeking in the door!
Cruisin'
Beadin'
Sittin' in a tree
Playin' in the leaves
Fascinated by the music
The end of a hard day
Gifts for Ba-Babcia
(Their great-grandma)
September 29
Tapgirl begins painting
The finished works of art
Pictures for Ba-babcia
Snuggling for another picture
NO! I want to be CLOSER to the camera!
Zoo Park - Letters from Babcia
September 24
Ridin' the rails.
Come over here so I can jump on you!
Riding double
WE just got a letter
It's a PUZZLE! Tapboy put everything together by himself until Tapgirl jumped in to help here.
It's a LIZARD!! He thought it was a bird before it was together. He was THRILLED to see the lizard.
Tapgirl reads the letter on the back.
Our First Snowday, 2003
He got me!
The hunter...
She got me!
Inside and warm
We pretend that we're LIONS
Uhh... Hungry lions. Eating. With big eyes.
Yes, he was in trouble. No, this didn't work. Good try, though.
Still got his dessert!
When did cupcakes become a messy dessert?
Well, we can't have just ONE making a mess.
MONDAY DINNER
Tapboy's slow motion sequence #1
Tapboy's slow motion sequence #2
Tapboy's slow motion sequence #3
Tapboy's slow motion sequence #4
Tapboy's slow motion sequence #5
Tapboy's slow motion sequence #6
I need to mention - he was swinging his head left and right. The pictures just happened to have been taken in this order. A complete fluke!
Tapboy's going to sting you
Tapgirl was doing it too. Look at her earrings - she's in motion here!
Tapgirl having fun!
Tapgirl hiding out!
I love you and I think you are WONDERFUL!
AIRPLANE PICTURES!
Here's our plane! A Piper Arrow II
Tapboy just after takeoff
Tapgirl at the same time
Tapboy looking out the window
Tapgirl cruising at 5500 feet
Playing airplane after landing
We saw some COOL airplanes at the other airport
Making sure we're all safe on the way home
I'm starting with the picture I'm most proud of taking with my digital camera.
Just a perfect picture of a perfect girl
What are YOU thankful for? This happened just after the Thanksgiving episode of Blue's Clues.
We have all kinds of ice cream - even spuh.. spumo.. VANILLA!
I love the motion in this picture
Just another day of fun
Just another day of dinner
Some pictures just work
Some pictures make you go, "HMMMM."
Some pictures just tucker you out
That tigress is very fierce, with sharp claws
But she's adorable at bedtime
This was taken just when tapboy started using pullups. He loves Bear in the Big Blue House.
Tapboy has discovered the joys of aircraft. He's looking up at a plane here, but the picture is precious!
Tapgranny gave Tapgirl some binoculars this summer
Tapgirl hanging around
The kids and Brutus and DJ, a couple of dogs we borrowed for a week.
Tapgirl and DJ on the floor
Hop on Pop!
Everyone ready to slide?
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Bubble Fun - and it was!
He was either pretending to be a plane or....
A musician is born...
STEAMROLLER! (Watch Strange Brew if you don't understand.)
We love throwing rocks into a river. Dad makes 'em skip!
Another fun picture
This is Scruff Dog and he protects me!
Tapboy LOVES this elephant from MJHdad.
Tapgirl got a new shirt, so we must take a picture!
Floating down a river, chasing a dolphin.
We came ashore to eat
And we captured the dolphin!
Which was fun to bounce on.
Picnics are so tiring!
Tapboy adores his cousin
The often are inseparable
Tapboy also adores cake..
Tapgranny and all her grandkids
Tapboy taught me how to clean!
They loved their new 'brellas last week
This puzzle is as big as ME!
HERITAGE PARK
We regularly go to a park in town that replicates Calgary as it was back in 1910. It's a very cool place. This is the smallest sample of the pictures I've taken there.
On The Whip
Tapgirl's Favourite Horse
Tapgirl has a Mountie bracelet
A old snowplow for trains.
ARRRR, matey!
The Whip is loads of fun!
The horses are Brad and Andy. We love to see them in the morning.
Waitin' for a train
We CAUGHT the train!
SWINGS
We spend an inordinate amount of our time swinging.
Tapgirl swinging. This was from a few months back
This one is recent. Tapgirl can really fly.
Not that Tapboy misses the action
Another fun swing set
Whatcha swinging on?
I don't know where it comes from!
MORGAN'S BIRTHDAY
Tapgirl with her friend Morgan. What a great party!"
Tapboy almost lasted through the whole party
The gang of party goers
BOW VALLEY MUSIC CLUB
The music club I bartend at has a picnic for volunteers every year. This is the first year the kids got to attend.
Well, the kids and I help set up the club and hang about through the daytime, so they know many of the other volunteers.
Here's the kids reactions to some of the others.
Rebekkah protects Keith Keith (on the left) told Rebekk that they'd go out to a movie or something, and then Ron (on right) muscled in. Zaniness ensues.
Tapgirl just adores Paul. Or is it the Donald Duck voice?
SAIT
Going back to school was interesting. Really hard during parts, really easy at other times. I did get to take the kids to the classroom once before it ended.
Here's a few pictures of class.
Just a well-adjusted student here
Another well-adjusted student with a dress wrapped around his head.
Lunches were well-adjusted affairs.
Our main instructor and the class coordinator. We gave them a Vancouver Canucks jersey and a Cleveland Indians jersey.
Jan and I. This wonderful lady (who coincidentally cares for Brutus and DJ when I'm not ;-) helped put the fire to my feet and got me interested in going back to school!
Stopping by with the kids was a hit
They're showing off the stickers they were given.
CALLAWAY PARK
We tried to do something special last weekend but the weather didn't cooperate. Instead we went to a different amusement park and had a blast.
We can find a train anywhere!
A Saturday fly through the park..
The kids were braver than I felt.
Just cruising in his yacht...
I've had many requests for this picture.
Might as well just get right into it!
Butterflies at suppertime
Pucker, Baby!
Haunting your heart, Dad!
Thoughtful? Okay, I guess so.
Is that genetic? Ewww...
Showing those brand new teeth!
All of us! Why not take all of us?
Tapboy's Birthday Cake from Tap-Granny.
Looks good!
It is good!
I need more of the good stuff!
It can't ALL be on my fingers!
A Blue's Clues TOOTHBRUSH!
It's a Green Day
It's still a Green Day
He's ASLEEP! HE'S ASLEEP! ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz......
Tapboy's Birthday at Grampa's and Grandma's
Teach them to love power while they're young.
It's a bucket of marbles. You'll have to interpret the rest on your own.
These self-portraits have been working out well lately.
When you lay on the floor, the dog's going to come visit.
No, Tapboy, you were that old LAST year.
"I'm going to get in trouble! I'm going to get in trouble!
Is this your gimp knee, Dad?
See, Daddy? I can get messy too!
This is not your father's video game...
Does she have the pose down or what?
He's running up and down the hall here.
I think he actually ate some of the whip cream.
He's blowing out the candle. Too bad we took it away five minutes earlier.
Opening his present.
Tapboy's Birthday with Friends
I've forgotten what this was about, but the expressions are priceless.
Dad, I think that light's going to go off again!
A good close up of Tapboy's friend.
It spins and it spins, and you come out the end...
Our lovely hosts
All the kids piled up together.
Sit down on our thinking coffee-table and think, think, think.
Tapgirl eating pizza.
Corbin eating pizza.
Tapboy eating pizza.
Morgan eating pizza.
Notice how I have a lot of pictures of the kids eating? They're STILL.
TWO, TWO MIGHTY CANDLES!
The decorations. (Thanks, Colleen!)
The rest of the pictures have Tapboy carrying this gift...
Just on the way out.
Grin! Grin! Grin! WHACHULOOKINATSUKKAH?
Tai Chi at night
Tai Chi, at night, during winter in Calgary.
Another shot of the class.
Sure footed Tim
The arduous Brush Knee course
Gloria in mid-set
Ginger critiques Tim's form
Melanie and Gloria give Tim pointers
I was seconds too late to catch the perfect triple Lutz
Ki and Lily waiting their chance
My kids
Tapboy lights up with joy.
Howl with the baby coyote!
Now how can you ever be angry with THIS?
I wasn't kidding about the tiger, folks...
This is kinda hard to explain....
And if I couldn't explain it before, I'm not going to now.
And she didn't even have to get smacked in the face with a hockey stick.
We borrow the cousin's dog on occasion.
The sound of children is like music to my ears.
There are no child labour laws in the winter!
Look Dad! No sled!
Who turned out the lights?
HEY! That's my best stick! Aww, what the heck...
Go ahead... TRY to resist.
It's snow. It's what we do.
Out for a Sunday afternoon drive. We're ALL in the driver's seat.
We love Blue's Clues. A LOT. No, really. Quite a bit. I'm "Steve", Tapgirl is "Blue", and Tapboy is "Magenta."
They can give an impromptu concert anywhere.
For those learning the rules of hockey, this is slashing
And this is diving. Or looking for identicle snowflakes...
The Tiger stands over the antelope prey
Tapgirl down a slide
Tapdad and Tapboy about to go down
Tapboy and Tapdad - LOOK FOR THE GREEN TEDDY!
Who's driving this thing anyway?
Tapgirl and I together at my mom's.
Tapboy on a swing!
Little Bo Peep and one of her sheep
The lamb again
The Family von Tap! - out to pasture
Tapgirl's gingerbread house
Tapboy and Tap-Granny with the house
Tapgirl
The Tapkids looking wonderful!
Tapboy and Tap-Granny with Tapboy's yellow house
The Tapwomen and the PVBC house.
Mischief?? With SANTA?? Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Tapgirl proud of her work.
Tapgirl spots Santa.
Tapboy and Santa.
Tapboy on Santa's knee.
Tapkids on Santa's lap.
Naughty? Nawww.....
Santa's Jingle Bells? Hmmm...
Tapboy starts to snuggle!
FULL TAPBOY SNUGGLE!
A gift? For MEEE?
Cars? I can't drive yet!
Tapkids and Tap-cousin!
I'm NOT explaining this.
Tap-roomie, because I told him I'd put it on the web.
Tapgirl getting tickled.
Tapgirl tackles Tapdad back.
Rough housing turns ugly.
Making up is EASY to do.
High Fives!
Making High Fives harder.
Close up! NOT TOO CLOSE!
Plugs to our FINE webhost! I LOVE Ganksoft.
My sweet, darling buddy Brian. He's sexy, ladies!
Tappie's SKUNK JOKE
