Friday, December 29, 2006

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone !!









2006 is coming to an end this weekend and I think back on the past year and then think about what's next for us.













2006 was a good year - everybody is healthy - my dad is doing well - no major issues arose with anyone or anything - things were good. I took a trip of a lifetime in May with my dad to 9 countries - 11 cities (
http://mrslurpee.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html) - I completed 18 months of school at SFU and got my CRM (Canadian Risk Management) certificate - I got to spend a lot of time with the family and kids throughout the summer.

The summer was great - it basically started in early May when the sun came out and didn't end until the end of October when the Sun left us. We were busy doing something fun almost every single weekend. Travelling here or there, camping, beaches - just a great time all around. I usually work a lot of nights and weekends but kind of took the summer off to enjoy it and the kids. I saw a few concerts this year and had some really good times with friends and family.

Quick Kid Update
Carter is doing well - he enjoys school and his buddies. He still plays soccer a couple of times a week and plays basketball once a week. He loves Lego, Hot Wheels and playing on the computer. Hmmm - where did he learn to love those things ?? It's funny, I look at the sports dads and their kids are sports kids and then there's me and mini me.

Haley is doing great. She loves preschool and her girlie toys. I thought she may take to Carters toys but she's a real girl. Loves all the Disney princesses, Polly Pockets, jewelry and stuffed animals.


I think 2007 will be another great year - I hope to see my friends more - camp more - play Texas Hold'em more - and no more studying. I want to go to Disneyland or Disney World with the kids sometime in 2007 - Haley is still under 42" so she won't be able to go on the rides yet - we keep waiting for her grow more.

I see me working a lot again in the spring - evenings and weekends with the hopes of taking the summer off again. I want to visit the Island, Williams Lake, Camping, Okanagan. I've never been to Banff or Jasper - that would be a great trip to take for a week with the family. I hope to see my friends back East - it's been 5 years since I've been back there (9/11 we were in Toronto visiting).

I need to work on the house more - I'm just not the handy type though - paint, baseboards, drywall, doors, plumbing.

Things to think about:
Has the USA ever won a war ? What the hell are they doing ? 3000 men are dead now - have they solved anything at all ?
Is the real estate market going to change so I can afford North Vancouver ?
Will I get back in shape ? Let me get a slurpee and think about that one
Will I finally get out skiing this year ?
Will I finally get out golfing this year ?
Will Angelina and Brad adopt me ?
Will I really see the Christina Aguillera concert ? Will there be pyrotechnics ?


Christmas 2006

Had a great Christmas - the four of us stayed here in the morning and opened gifts and then went to my parents place and opened a bunch more and they made dinner for 14 of us. It was a lot of fun - played games and ate a whole bunch of delicious food.

Boxing day for me means shopping at 7AM til 5PM - I even did some shopping at Plum clothing for Linda so she could get 50% off too. Most of the stuff I bought has or is going back - what a waste of time buying it all - I get caught up in getting a good deal but if I don't need it, why buy it even if it is 50% off. I'm a slow learner.

Some pics from the last few days


Carter went skating with his class for the first time. He did well but had a couple of terrible falls which banged up his face real good - I think he needs a cage helmet while he's learning - we're going to take him out again soon - he liked skating - I must be a bad dad who has a 7 year old who can't skate.



















Posers















Mr Slurpee got a Slurpee machine for Christmas - woo hoo - I made a couple of slurpees - we had fun making them. Takes regular soda and almost freezes it. Kids and I like it.














Carter loved building this Lego Harley Davidson bike he got for Christmas















Linda made a fabulous chocolate cake in the shape of an ornament



















Carter at his Christmas recital














Our house and the various blow up things out front














Carter had a special day at school - his teacher made them all dress up and she made them spaghetti and bread and desserts and ate by candlelight - He called it Fancy Lunch day.














Princess Haley

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Walk This Way !! Concert Review
I’m on the train last night going home after a long day – I’m so tired lately – wanted to just crash. I get this phone call just before my stop. Hey Stewart, you wanna go to the Motley Crue/Aerosmith show ? I thought for a moment, I’m just too tired and then heard the tickets were free. Quick decision – DUH YES !!! I race home and change and grab my camera and he picks me up and we skytrain it downtown to GM Place. We didn’t actually have tickets but my friend had some ticket to get us into the stadium. So I was a bit confused here, we get into the building but no seat to this sold out show. I’m still good though – free is always good. My friend knew a host who whisked us down to the floor and said “you’re on your own from here”. We grab a row that wasn’t full in row 29 and wait for the Crue.

Motley Crue rocked the house down. The Pyrotechnics and lights were phenomenal. I like the Crue and we sang along to all their songs. They played their hits like Dr. Feelgood, Shout at the devil, Wild Side, Looks that kill, Live wire, same ol situation, Home Sweet Home, Girls Girls Girls and Kickstart My Heart. Row 29 was OK, they had screens but I missed being in the front but then again, I was on the floor !!

I had to take a leak real bad after the beers. The problem was that I didn’t have a ticket, once I leave the seat, I’m busted and won’t get back. I found a nice father and son in the row and begged them to use their ticket and I promise to give it back. They agreed !!! I gave him $5 after the fact for his helping me out.

Aerosmith came out to a great light show and sound. Their screen was massive over the centre stage and they had 2 other screens on either side. The screen quality was the best I’ve seen as well. The floor had a long walkway from the stage out to the centre. Woohoo, only a few rows from where we were. Steven Tyler was in fine form, he’d come down the long catwalk and do a show not far from us – writhing around the stage, singing his heart out – his voice was excellent considering that he had throat surgery not to long ago. He hit all the high notes he’s famous for. Their bassist Hamilton was replaced by another guy – Hamilton had some cancer treatment I think. Steven was in great shape and worked the whole stage really well.

Guitarist Joe Perry was also perfect. He looked great as well and the Toxic Twins are still rocking like they did years and years ago – Like over 30 years in the business. The 2 of them did a few songs at the end of the catwalk which was just brilliant. They did a lot of their classics and did some jamming and blues as well. They started with Toys in the Attic and ended with Walk this way with Dream On, Helter Skelter, Baby Please don’t go, Draw the Line, Love in an Elevator, Sweet Emotion (awesome !!) , Walking the Dog, and Hangman Jury. I’ve seen them before but this was their best yet.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

The Boys Are Back In Town
6 of us got together Saturday night to catch up and have some drinks. We hit the Keg for 5 hours. I enjoyed many MGDs and they had several bottles of wine. The steaks were awesome – I always have the same peppercorn and lobster tail with a French onion soup. We spoiled ourselves. Why not, it’s not often the boys get out like this. We then headed over to the Arts Club Theatre on Granville Island to watch our buddy play in his band Skaboom. That was great fun – the band was tight and the music was fun and upbeat. I’ve never seen Chris in Skaboom before so it was cool.

MGDs kept me hopping and happy on the dance floor but the wine boys weren’t doing so good. They faded – one needed air for an hour, one took off, one fell asleep at the bar. I was still giggling when I got home at 4AM. Needless to say, I had a concussion Sunday morning which I fed with a greasy breakfast.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Movie Review: Casino Royale – James Bond
Great movie – Dad and I went to see it Sunday and I enjoyed it a lot. Good action. Give it 8/10.
School
Took a brief break from studying last weekend and went tobogganing with the kids. Note to self: Don’t laugh when the kids wipe out, no matter how cute their wipe out is – they don’t like being laughed at.



Schools Out !!
I’m back online again. Ran out of time doing anything but work and studying for my final exam at SFU. I studied day and night on the train and the past few weekends preparing for the big night which was last night. I suspect I did OK and now I’m done school. 18 Months of it and will finally get my Canadian Risk Management designation. I enjoyed it now that it’s done and happy that I did it. I don’t know what I’ll do with it yet but at least I have it in the event I go that route.