Happy Birthday Melody.

"The years go by fast, but the days are long". This is something that Roger firmly believes in. Sometimes everyday can be a struggle when you're dealing with raising kids. These days the kids push each-other to the limit. Roger and Tracey often think about instituting the 'get-along' shirt. It's funny cause when they do get along, they're the best of friends, but other times we're not so sure. Roger and Tracey would probably say that sibling rivalry is the single most stressful and volatile issue in the house. If they could eliminate that, most days would be stress-free and peaceful. Let's hope for the sake of their parent's sanity, they grow out of it soon.

So preparations are in place for setting up for the big birthday party tonight. Melody is having a 'Frozen' party. The decorations are set, food is being prepared, and the guests will start arriving this evening for a fun filled night of yummy food and a screening of the movie.

Stay tuned for more pics from the party.

Happy Birthday Malcolm.

Yes, Malcolm turned 8 last week. We commemorated the event by going out to dinner with the family to his favourite restaurant, White Spot. For his friends, we had the party at Crash Crawleys. As evidenced by the smiles, laughter and sweat the kids had a great time at the party. Here's a little slideshow that Roger put together. Happy Birthday Malcolm... we love you.

Malcolm's 8th Birthday from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Goodbye Halloween!

Whew, now with Halloween over it's full speed on to the kid's birthdays. Before we know it, it will be Christmas! Sheesh, time sure does fly by. So many activities during the last week. At the beginning of the week, Roger had an opportunity to help out at Melody's kindergarten class for pumpkin carving. It isn't easy helping supervise 22 kids with knives and other sharp instruments. He's happy to report there were no casualties and all fingers came out unscathed, just some gooey, sticky fun. Malcolm even came in as part of the big buddy program to help carve jack-o-lanterns for Melody's class. It's kind of cool they can do things together at school.

The weather was looking pretty bleak at the beginning of the week, they were forecasting for showers and rain for the trick or treaters. When Friday rolled around the skies parted and the kids were treated to yet another dry Halloween. Malcolm dressed up like a pizza and Melody "Let it Go" and went as Queen Elsa, with braided wig and all. Joseph even came by to trick or treat with them, he went as Bat-nana, like the song goes, nana, nana, nana, nana, nana, nana, nana, Batman!

To round out the festivities, the family even went down to the Stanley Park Ghost train for a ride. They even saved a few bucks by going for the matinee. They'll be there again soon enough for the Christmas train in a months time.

So suffice to say Halloween and all the related festivities were again a big hit this year. As always, here are some pictures from the past week.

The tradition continues at the Pumpkin Patch

The family has been going to the Pumpkin Patch since 2008. It's interesting cause Roger and Tracey never went to the Pumpkin Patch as children. They were wondering when this transformation had actually taken place, because it's certainly become a booming business. For the four of us it cost nearly $50! Oh well, I guess that's how traditions live on, it has become a sort of tradition before Halloween. The other good thing is that we get a couple pretty nice pictures during our visit. Here are some from the weekend, thanks to the cooperative weather. I think it was the first year where the family was able to wear hoodies only. No toques this year.

Happy Thanksgiving....gobble gobble.

This is the first Thanksgiving without Papa Mel. We can certainly say he's dearly missed. To be perfectly honest tonight's dinner did have a bit of a toned down feel, I'd even say a dinner that was missing that special something, or probably in this case that special someone. The kids did their best to distract us from it all. How fast time flies, especially considering Nicole is now in her first term of University. That topic and Nicole's quirky sense of humour certainly kept the conversation going. The dinner was very nice, Tracey, Roger and Mom put out a very nice spread. They passed on the full turkey dinner this time, cooking a turkey roll and a small ham with all the trimmings. Grandma's fresh baked buns are always a huge hit. I think Malcolm ate three of them! We also missed having Gomo at dinner tonight too. It's hard to think that she's a few thousand miles away in Korea.

The weather here in Vancouver is finally starting to turn. Roger mentioned how cool and windy it was at the range this morning. Perhaps those hot sunny afternoons will now subside into wet and windy ones going forward. Melody will finally have to come to the realization that she'll have to wear some warmer clothes maybe even socks. Here are a few shots Roger took during dinner. Happy Thanksgiving folks.

Over 8 years writing this blog....

Over 8 years writing this blog and these are the most words that appear. The larger the word, the more it appears. For obvious reasons the title, Malcolm, Roger, Tracey and Christmas seem to dominate themes. Anyway, an interesting exercise in SEO.

Horse racing and trap shooting.

We're a little behind on the blog posts these days. For whatever reason, they've fallen off the list of priorities, so here are a few weeks combined into one.

I'm happy to report that school is in full swing, both kids have adapted very well to all the changes. Non-withstanding the first few days of kindergarten that involved some tears and quivery bottom lips from the Kindergarten side, Melody hasn't looked back since. Every morning at drop-off she gives a hug then right on into the classroom. It looks like we've finally seen a turnaround from Malcolm too, with respect to doing his homework. In the weeks that preceded, any mention of homework brought on some serious tantrums and bad behaviour. The introduction of an allowance, bonus points (at school), and whatever else has produced a welcomed change. After Monday's epic battle, he managed to settle down and finish his work. Let's hope it continues. Cause if he things grade 3 is tough, he's in for a shocker.

Hastings Little League put on a fundraising event at the track a couple of weeks ago. The funds are to help with the construction of the new baseball diamond. It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine, small winning wagers, and some magnificent animals strutting their stuff.

The Trap Shoot Shootout Fall Invitational happened last weekend. Roger organized and hosted a trap shooting tournament for his friends this past Sunday. Albert managed to edge out Roger by one point for the Gross prize and Colin who shot lights out 21 in the second round managed to capture the Net prize. The names are being engraved as we speak. Roger is hoping to make the event a annual occurrence. Here are some pics:

Terra Nova Rural Park and Playground.

The family had a chance to visit Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond on Saturday. It's been touted as a million dollar playground, Roger and Tracey had to check it out for themselves. It is actually a very nice park with structures not all that common in Vancouver. Many of the playgrounds around town have similar apparatus, with swings, slides, climbing equipment, and etc., but the one at Terra Nova has a different feel incorporating a lot of natural timber into the park. The weather was pretty perfect, they'd even tell you it was hot at times, but with the wind blowing off the water it was definitely comfortable. Here are some pictures from their visit.

Chelsea and Rob's wedding.

Well chalk up another family wedding, Chelsea and Rob tied the knot this past weekend. It was a very nice ceremony at Bear Creek Park with family and friends in attendance. It was a very low-key casual event. Here are some pictures from the wedding and the reception at their house afterwards. Congratulations to both of them.

Happy Anniversary Tracey and Roger.

September 18th marked Tracey and Roger's 9th anniversary. They had a chance to head out to dinner at the Fish Shack downtown. It was dinner without kids and they were thankful to have a night out for themselves. No one said parenthood was easy and certainly both parents have been pushed to the limit with some behavioural issues by both kids. Perhaps we can blame it on the absence from school from the strike, sibling rivalry or just plain old boredom. Suffice to say it's been tough at the house this past while. When the kids are good the whole house just hums along, but when they're not you can feel the tension. We all just hope that they'll outgrow some of their issues soon, for the sake of their parent's sanity.

Sunset shots.

Flight path park in Richmond. Here's why: