Halloween 2012

Roger, Tracey and the kids had a wonderful time at Auntie Deana's birthday party over the weekend. There were games, treats, dancing and costumes galore. I think Malcolm really enjoyed himself indulging in all that candy. We're all hoping for some dry weather on Wednesday, trick or treating won't be the same if the rains come. The house is all ready and decorated for the big event. Hopefully there will be a lot of kids.

Here are some shots from the party:

Pumpkin Patch x2

Nothing like a trip to the pumpkin patch to signify fall; soon enough it will be Halloween. The family have put together some cool costumes for the day, they're just trying to put some finishing touches on Tracey's outfit. We'll keep it under our hats until Roger posts pictures.

Earlier in the week Roger went with Malcolm's class to Aldor Acres Farm in Langley. They were lucky enough to escape the heavy rains. It was nice to see Malcolm in his school environment. Roger even had a chance to talk to his teacher, who is pretty fantastic. All of Malcolm's classmates are very nice.

The family also had a chance to got with Aaden's family to the Pumpkin patch in Richmond over the weekend. We had some great weather on Saturday so a stroll through the fields was actually very nice. It's certainly becoming a yearly tradition. They all picked out some very nice pumpkins. They'll be carving them soon. Oh btw, my skin infection is much better with a dose of the antibiotics and shots things are healing nicely. I'm sure I'll be back to 100% in no time soon. Here are some pictures from the pumpkin patch:

Elizabethan collar for the time being.

Well, I'm not sure how I picked it up, but I've got a small skin infection. The Vet says that I could have got it from any number of sources. I got two shots yesterday and am wearing this dumb Elizabethan collar to prevent any further irritation. So the next 10 days will mean antibiotics and reduced activity until it heals. We saw Dr. Patyel at Atlas Animal hospital last night when the kids were asleep. Lucky for Roger and Tracey it wasn't too expensive. Here are a few shots from Roger's film camera. He made me pose for him a couple of weeks ago. The camera is pretty cool, a Hasselblad 500c/m and the film was Kodak Portra 800.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Roger and Tracey wanted to give grandma a break this year by cooking the Thanksgiving dinner by themselves. It was an ambitious task, but all was successful. They even went with an organic turkey this year, which proved to be more expensive. The taste difference is up for debate, although moist, was it that much better than non-organic? The jury is still out on that one. Perhaps the moistness might have to do with brining as well. Also another first, they brined the turkey overnight. Well, all in all a good time was had by all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here are some shots of the kids and uncle Glen jumping on the trampoline:

Grandma and Papa away for a week

It's been a whole week with Grandma and Papa away on their cruise. We're so glad they're back safe and sound. They spent a week away celebrating their 60th anniversary in Alaska. They were certainly missed during their absence.

So with Gomo away in Korea, Roger and Tracey have been trying to cover childcare with the bulk of their vacation over the summer. They have been splitting the duties throughout the week. With Malcolm back in school, most Daddydaycare days are filled with outings to the park, shopping, and even running errands. Last week Roger even took Melody on the skytrain and bus around town. With the sunny weather, Roger took Melody to New Brighton Park last week.


Here's a picture of Malcolm with one of the fantastic souvenirs that Grandma and Papa brought back from their trip. He's having a lot of fun with the magnets, not to mention all the other wonderful gifts they brought back. They mentioned that the ship was so huge that when they met people once, they never saw them again. The sheer enormity of the cruise ship is shocking.

12x12 Photo Marathon and Raw Talent Exhibit 2012

Last week Roger was surprised to find out that one of his images was chosen as the theme winner. Theme number 7 was a tricky one to interpret, but Roger's image of the kids getting caught in the act won out. The image was taken at grandpa Harry's store in Vancouver. He really wanted to have the family involved in the photo marathon. What better way to get them involved, make them the subjects in the image. The shot was with two lights, one modified via Saberstrip as the main light and the second speedlight on top of the freezer to act as a rim and all triggered via Pocket Wizard. The definite key to the shot was the expression on Malcolm's face. He was lucky that both of the children played their roles perfectly. Special thanks to Tracey for assisting, the image was shot with the Nikon F100 and the 35mm 1.4G AFS on Ilford HP5 400 film.

Many of Roger's friends came out to see the exhibition to support the event and his photography. He was very thankful to everyone who came out. Truth be told, he just wanted his film to turn out, winning was certainly an added bonus and immense honour. He's hoping to participate again next year, at least in 2013 he'll know what to expect.


Here's the winning image:


Here's the whole set and a link to them via flickr:


Special thanks to the Kelly sisters who came out to support Roger. It was very sweet of them to come out. What a great group of ladies. Maybe next year they'll enter the competition too.