Kids Day at the Stampede

A few weeks back, Emma and I had the opportunity to go to the Calgary Stampede with Kristie and her kids on "Kids Day" - July 11th. Our first stop inside the gates was the free pancake breakfast, which we made it just in time for, before they closed the gate and ran out of food.

Our next stop was the agricultural tent, where we saw a bison, baby chicks, pigs, and cows. Amber and Kaylie even got to see what it was like to milk a cow, however this cow was made of plastic and produced water.

This was the biggest horse we had ever seen - it's hind end was easily over 6 feet tall. We later found out there were even bigger horses in the tent next door, but they were all in cages and we couldn't get as good of a view.

This sheep was being sheared, and not really enjoying it too much, it seemed. Every time it let out a "baaa" (which was about every 10 seconds) Emma would jump. She was frightened and intrigued at the same time.

We attended the "Superdogs" show, where dogs from all around the world do tricks and play various games like musical chairs (rugs) and frisbee catching. All the dogs were taught everything, and performed everything, with their owners (not special trainers) and 35% of the dogs were rescued from shelters. The show was a little long, but I didn't mind too much, as Emma had peed in her diaper while sitting on my lap near the beginning of the show, and somehow it all leaked out the bottom of her diaper and onto my shorts. Luckily it dried by the time we got up to wander around again.

The highlight of the day for me was attending the BMX show. Some of the tricks those guys were doing were pretty amazing, and it made Kristie and I feel young and cool again.

This is two of them flipping together. They got some pretty good height.

To end the day off, we went to "Buckaroos", a place where kids can play, jump in bouncers, and race in little cars. We ended up seeing some people there that Kristie and I knew as kids and hadn't seen in a few decades. Other people we had seen earlier that day were Ann Marie Houghton and her kids, Dorianne Varty and her kids, and our Uncle Rod Navratil and his son Jason who were both working at the gate.

It was a long, hot day for both Emma and me, as we didn't get home until close to 9:00 that night, but it was all well worth the exhaustion. I think Emma had a pretty good time at her first Stampede - she has since asked me a few times when we can go back.

Paul and Francesca

It was my privilege this past weekend, to stand in the wedding ceremony of our good friends Paul and Francesca Jensen, and enjoy a front row seat as they exchanged rings and vows and became Husband and Wife. I was one of seven Groomsmen who were each paired up with one of seven Bridesmaids, and I took my place as the next guy down from the Best Man.

Each one of Paul's seven Lieutenants were entrusted with a specific task, and were each bequeathed a ring of power to aid them on their journeys. There wasn't actually any bequeathing going on, but we pretended there was to make our tasks seem cooler. I was given the ring of picking up the wedding cake and posting signs on the highway, and after they were married it morphed into the ring of driving them to the airport at 5:00am and picking up their mail while they're away on their honeymoon.

The seven of us looked pretty spiffy in our tuxedos (even after some last minute adjustments due to a poor display of measuring on the part of Tip Top Tailors - zing!), but eating pizza and watching Jackie Chan while you get ready is no match for spending 3 solid hours on hair and makeup, so the prize for "best looking group of people all wearing the same outfit" went to the bridesmaids. We placed somewhere after the waiters.

The wedding was held on a beautiful day out in Priddis, and after an emotional ceremony and a couple hours of photographs, we all went indoors for some food and the program. Several speeches and toasts were made, a fancy feast was had, a cake was cut, and songs were sung to honour the new couple. After all of this, the dance began and lasted until the wee hours of the night.

Emma enjoyed the day just as much as anybody thanks to a fun ride in a golf cart, a colouring book that came with her meal, a deer siting, and a new little friend she played hide and go seek with out in the hallways. She was a real hit at the party too, being so cute and all, but she tuckered out after a few dances and Tammy took her home to bed so she'd be up for Church the next day.

I was not up for Church the next day however, as another part of my stewardship included sticking around to act as a designated driver. I reassured everyone that I drove that I had gone 29 years without having a drink, so I might be the most sober person they knew, but I did warn them that I was night blind, so they had to make the choice. Some people thought it was funny.

I'll end this with a big congratulations to Paul and Fran! It was an honour to stand so near by and watch you two get hitched, and we wish you many long years of happiness!

07/07/07

The fellow who owns the building that Gramma Bourne works in hosted a stampede BBQ down at the Zoo this past Saturday, so we tagged along with Gramma and Grampa Bourne and Aunt Sam for some eats and a stroll around the facilities. It was an after hours event, so there were hardly any other humans in the place, just us and a wedding party, and that made it all that much more enjoyable. Some of the buildings were closed off, but we got to see quite a few of the animals who were still outside, and they were all up and about since the day was cooling off and evening was approaching.

With dinner came a show that helped get everyone excited about the grasslands, and ended off with an up-close encounter with a Prehensile-tailed Porcupine for the kids. There was no petting of course, but the kids got to stand around the handler while she explained why that particular animal looked the way it did.

Very few of the pictures we took actually turned out, but it's no big loss as I'm not a big believer in Zoo pictures anyways. The Zoo is really something you have to go to in order to enjoy, and I'm sure there are much better pictures of animals in their natural habitats floating around in cyberspace then the blurry ones taken from behind the smudgy glass of some sleepy critters cage that you typically get from the Zoo. Tammy just picked up the "Planet Earth" series on DVD last week, and the high definition close-ups of the animals they've compiled are almost as cool as seeing the real thing. I give them two opposable thumbs up.

More About February

So the word is out that we are expecting a new baby to arrive early in February. We're extremely excited and had a hard time keeping it under wraps for the short time that we did. Tammy found out the night of her birthday, but wasn't sure that the test was conclusive until the next morning, so that's when I got the call at work. I was so happy I had to leave the office and run around outside for a while.

This baby will be the first baby on either side of our family to push the grandchildren count over the children count and the first to buck the generational gender matching trend. I may need to explain that...

On my side of the family, my parents have 5 children - 3 girls and 2 boys. My parents also have 5 grandchildren - 3 girls and 2 boys. On Tammy's side of the family, her parents have 7 children - 6 girls and 1 boy. Her parents also have 7 grandchildren - 6 girls and 1 boy. This child will be the first to break these trends on both sides, whether it be a girl or a boy. I don't know if this is a good omen or a bad one, but it's an interesting happenstance and I've been referring to the baby as the "chosen one" ever since Tammy pointed it out to me.

We haven't gone for any ultrasounds yet or anything, but Tammy feels great and I'm sure we'll be posting more news about the pregnancy as it comes in.