Relay For Life 2009

It was that time of year this past Friday night. It was Relay For Life time. Previous to my soccer team-mates encouragement for us to put in a team this year, I had never heard of the Relay For Life. It is an event that is held Canada-wide to raise funds to end the disease of cancer. Cindy thought it would be great for our team to join and raise funds in support of our team-mate Jan who at a young age has had to battle cancer.

We were fortunate to have had amazing weather for the event. The skies were a beautiful blue and the stars eventually came out to help us keep on track. We all stocked up on sugary snacks to help keep us awake through the night. We were in for a long one. The walk started at 7:00 pm and ended at 7:00 am the next morning. Thanks to Willetta, we managed to get stocked up on Tim Hortons coffee right around 1:00 am, after already much walking.

A fellow soccer team also joined the event. There were many threats back and forth of pranks. I almost got drenched by them, but thanks to Cindy, I managed to stay dry. One of our team-mates managed to find a toy rat in her sleeping bag. Hum, I wonder how that go there?
I was so impressed by how far some teams go for this event. There were fabulous outfits, decorated tents and many dollars raised. One team, The Nightingales, raised over $20,000 dollars!

The Relay For Life is definately an event worth joining. We plan to join again next year and put an hope to add to our fundraising as well as our team. For those of you out there looking for a great excuse to stay up all night, I strongly suggest you get a team together and sign up the The Relay For Life 2010. Not only is it a good way to raise funds for fighting cancer, but it is also a great event for remembering those have battled cancer and lost.

Cayden decorated this memory candle for his Grandpa, Jim McEachern
The track was lit up by the momory candles.

Sonya, our team captain takes a break after 3 1/2 hours of walking.

My memory candles for Jane and Frank Boesterd

I didn't dress for the early morning hours so I walked the night away wrapped up in my blanket.

The kids came out to walk with us the first while.

And off to the races. Only 12 hours to go!

They managed to catch a picture of me the 15 minutes I slept all night!

Mommy, Can You Sleep With Me?

After a very hard fought soccer game tonight, Cayden and I made our way home. I managed to acquire two blisters on each foot and a few new bruises to add to all the rest of my aches. I have to say though that it is all very worth it.

So Cayden is sitting in the back seat and says to me, "So mommy, can you sleep with me a little bit? Oh, and you can rub my back." Yes, he told me that I needed to give him a back rub, not asked.

I'm thinking to myself, Hey, I'm the one that could use a back massage. Where's the fairness in this?

So I said to him, "No, I think that you should give me a back massage."

He then says to me, "Okay. And then you can say to me, "Cayden, that's good, now its your turn." Talk about a little negotiator. I think I'm in for it.

I am always grateful for the opportunity to have a little down time Cayden him just before he sleeps. Usually we spend a few minutes revisiting his activities for the day and talking about what's coming up the next. It is time well spent and something I will forever treasure.

Four-Eyes

You know it's time for new glasses when they start to look like this...

You know your frugal when your glasses frame are actually worn so thin that they break, your lens falls out, and you have to tape your glasses together just to see.
Its only been eight years since I last purchased my glasses. They did look a bit worn out if you got close enough to see. I think that over the years I managed to chip a little paint here and a little paint there. They probably didn't even really sit well on my face any longer.
The time had come that I longer could postpone a shopping trip to the nearest EyeWear shop. I trusted the shopkeepers two thumbs up on the fourth pair I tried on. They were a little trendier than I would typically choose but I decided to take a step on the trendy side and completed the sale.
Everywhere I went, people noticed my new glasses. I received nothing but compliments. That is until a certain person....
I was at work and my dad comes in. He looks at me and says nothing. I thought to myself, "Does he really not notice?" and proceeded to ask him how he liked my glasses. He says, "Well, I decided that it might be better to not say anything. But, since youv'e asked, I think they look like horse blinders."

How's that for honesty?
Oh well. I consider the source. I think that deep down he's a little jealous that he doesn't dare to be so trendy!

And the verdict is in, I LOVE my new glasses!

Has It Really Been Two Weeks?

I can't believe that it has been two weeks since my last little rambling! So much has happened over the last little while since that super relaxing pajama Tuesday.
We took our first long road trip with Cayden to Calgary, Alberta. It was a whirlwind weekend trip that served no purpose other than just to hang out with some of Jeremy's extended family.
Jeremy's pre-trip project was to make sure that Cayden had all the comforts of home with him in the back-seat of the car. Our hopes were that if Cayden had a comfortable trip, we would all be able to keep our sanity. Jeremy made a custom console that would hold sippy cups, dvd player, crayons and cars.
We left fairly early Friday morning. We made it to Hope, only 1/20th of the way, and of course Cayden was already asking, "Are we there yet?" Oh, boy. Were we in for a trip!
We finally made it to Calgary with our sanity intact. Cayden only slept 1 hour of the whole trip and asked us "When we were going to be there?" more times than I could count.
We met cousins, Aunts and Uncles. Spent an afternoon at a cottage, an afternoon at a lake, and had a fantastic trip just re-acquaintancing ourselves with some great people.
It was time to leave on Monday morning. Cayden had a difficult time leaving after he bonded with his little cousins. We said our goodbyes, with promises of making another trip out next year. I think that Cayden understood a little better what "A long Way" meant. He was a much better little traveler on the way home.
Our trip to Calgary was a weekend well-spent. I look forward to doing it all over again next year.

Jeremy and Aunt Joan catching a ride on the back of a golf cart.
Cayden, Skyler, Dakota and Devin

Zonked out finally!

Cayden's little corner in the back seat of the car.

Cayden focusing on his movie, "All Dogs Go To Heaven". The best 1 1/2 hours of the drive!

Pajama Tuesday

After last nights Canucks game I entered a state of misery. A feeling of emptiness. The deep sadness that I wouldn't have a Canucks hockey game to watch for a whole four months. Oh, whoa is me, a true Canucks hockey fan. A fan that rode the fan wagon and never got off whether they were playin losing or winning.
So, today I couldn't bring myself to get out of my pajamas. You might have seen Cayden and I traveling through town this morning still in our pajamas. Yep, you read it right, we drove around town in our pajamas and slippers. This morning we had no choice but to drag ourselves out of the house to deliver Ivan to his school . We hit the Tim Hortons Drive Thru for our morning coffee and hot chocolate and headed back home. Around noon I had to face the inevitable; time to pick ourselves up, fix our hair and clothes and head out to face the world.
It's very rare to have such a low key day. But I sure do love them. The real fact is that it I really am not so miserable because of the Canucks elimination, although I am a little sad, I just enjoyed using that as an excuse to stay home all morning and meander through the house doing a few household chores. I'm looking forward to the next chance to do this again. It sure is relaxing!

Relax and enjoy the day,

Michelle

Do You Have Ants In Your Pants?

Cayden's Nana shared a conversation she had with Cayden when he had a sleepover this weekend. It was rather funny and also typical of him, as he always trying to make people laugh. Cayden and Jeremy's mom went out to dinner together. After a little while it was evident that Cayden was having problems sitting still. Jeremy's mom asked Cayden if he had "Ants in his pants." His quick response was, "Yep, I do have ants in my pants."

Cayden then said, "I have spiders in my pants too!" Jeremy's mom pretended shock and asked him what spiders and ants were doing in his pants. He says, "Their tickling my butt!"

Cayden then proceeded to tell his Nana that not only did he have ants in his pants, spiders in his pants, he also had bees in his pants, and they were pinching his cheeks! What a funny child. I just love his sense of humour, no matter how silly the things he comes up with are. (Although, I must say he does sometimes go a little too far)

Happy Monday!

Lemonade For Sale

Alright, so a person can't even take a picture of kids selling lemonade anymore? The radio news broadcasted a story of a man attempting to take a picture of some children selling lemonade in Chilliwack. Innocent right?
Maybe five years ago it was alright. But it appears that we as a society fear that something bad could come out of something as innocent as strangers taking pictures of our children being little entrepreneurs. It makes me feel a little sad.
The story today was about some children selling lemonade. An adult man asked to take pictures of them with their stand. The children were cautious and went to get there parents because some stranger wanted to take pictures of them. By the time the adults came outside, the stranger had left. The parents reported the incident to the police. The police investigated. The man was tracked down. The man told his story. He was taking a photography class and thought a picture of children selling lemonade would make a great photo.
I have to agree, it would have been a great photo. A scene that has been photographed many times through history. Somehow things as innocent as taking photos of a great scene need to be contemplated rather than taken impulsively. I wish we could go back to the good ol' days when we didn't need to teach our children to be on such 'high alert'.

You Make Too Much Noise!

So I caught the first two periods of the Canucks game tonight before I headed off to play soccer. Cayden's attention was not on the hockey game but his new prized possession, a Bakagon. When Kesler scored the first Canuck goal I could not help but yell at the top of my lungs, "Yes! Who Hoo!" Yes, I know, your surprised that I could actually yell. Most of you know me to be quiet and soft spoken. Well, Canucks goal scoring brings out another side of me. Go Canucks Go!

It was really funny, because my shout was so loud that Cayden jumped up, put his fingers in his ears, and with a look of anger on his face, said to me "Don't yell! You make too much noise!" If you know Cayden at all, you would know that he is almost always loud himself and I am often having to tell him to be quiet because he makes too much noise. I think that he was so focused on his toys that I caught him by surprise.

I'm looking forward to doing some more cheering on Thursday night when the Canucks face the Blackhawks for their foursth game of the series, and hopefully another win!

We Are The Champions!

Women's hockey in Chilliwack is picking up steam. Last year was the first year Chilliwack introduced an all women's hockey league. It managed to enlist enough women to make three teams. This year, four teams were formed. I was asked to play for the Zoners. I met alot of great women and regained a love for the sport that I had stepped back from playing for the past five years. The Zoners finished top in Chilliwack and went on to play against against a top team in Burnaby 8 rinks to claim the championship for our division.

I packed five team-mates into my truck and took a road trip out to Burnaby. The trip was only 1 1/2 hours long but in that short time we learned more about each other than we had playing together all year.

We made it to the rink, got our gear on, put our game faces on and made our way onto the ice to face our challengers. The puck was dropped and the game was on. Eleven goals later the game was over. We had ten, they had one. As you can tell by the score, it was a very one-sided game. Because of the beating, the other team decided that they did not want to face us again. (We were to play against them one more time in the tournament) So, the season was officially over and we became the champions of the division.

Cheers to my team. Looking forward to getting together once again at the wrap-up party. And especially looking forward to another great season next year.

Just Like Riding A Bike

My day started at the butt-crack of dawn at 4:00am today. I faced the day with excitement and even a tad bit of nervousness. I offered my services today to drive and operate an Express Blower for the enviro division of Denbow. You might wonder what exactly would cause me to feel a little nervous. Well, in the past year I have only actually driven truck one time. As well, I would have to guess that I haven't actually operated an Express Blower for over 5 years. I find that as I step back from doing the variety of work that I used to do, I'm losing some of the confidence I have in my own abilities.

I am pleased to announce that I still got "it"! I can still drive, and maintain safe driving habits. I even managed to run the remote control to offload the bark nuggets into the bio-filter we were filling. I tried to set off the over speed warning on our GPS units a few times, just to show my rebellious side, but the busy Canuck game traffic kept me at a top speed of only 118 kms per hour.

It was a good productive day. We managed to get off 650 yards of material with our three trucks and our tipper truck. I enjoyed working along-side the guys for a change rather than as Manager or Dispatcher. I'm looking forward to my next opportunity to work in the field.

Being re-loaded with our tipper trailer,
I have some great memories of days gone by driving this Peterbilt.

You'd almost thing we were city workers. One worker, two observers.

Bark Nuggets trucked in from Washington for this Bio-filter.

Yep, Big John and his cheesy grin. Just kidding John!

The Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy

I love the humor of Jeff Foxworthy. It is most often family friendly and absolutely hilarious. I was at the lab this week and while waiting found this posted on the wall. As you read it you, even as Canadians, you will be able to relate to many of the points if your living in B.C.

The Pacific Northwest According to Jeff Foxworthy
1. You know the state flower (Mildew)
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.
10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.
11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima and Willamette.
12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.
14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark - while only working eight-hour days.
15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation
18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.
19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.
20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.
23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.
27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.
28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer &Elk season (Fall).
30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them!