Hockey Night Reloaded

This past Friday I got to go to another Flames game, this time with Aaron, Iain, and Keegan. Jodie got the tickets from a client at work, they were second row right off the Flames blue line. It was pretty nifty being so close even though it was sometimes hard to see the action down at the other end of the ice. Probably the highlight of the night (since we lost 5 to 2 to Chicago) was when Darren McCarty skated over to where we were sitting and tossed a goal scoring puck over the glass to us. Aaron caught it and being a good uncle gave it to Keegan. The game went down hill from there but that made up for it. After the game we went to the Fan Attic and Iain bought a stand for the puck and I bought a little Flames t-shirt for Emma as she turned 5 months old yesterday. It was a great night and Jodie says she might be able to get those tickets again so perhaps we'll get to see a few more games. I took some pictures but my camera ran out of batteries before I could really get any good ones.

Woody's Bachelor Party

I don't know if I've mentioned it on the site yet but my cousin Malauney is getting married this month to her fiance who is Woody Crapo. This past Friday we had a Bachelor Party for him at Graham and Leah's place which included some food, folks, and fun. Malauney will be the 9th grandchild on the Bournes side to get married which will make the grandchildren count (including the in-laws) somewhere around 31. Out of those 31 grandchildren there are 9 great-grandchildren which brings my Gramma Bourne's posterity count (including her own 5 children and their spouses) to 50. Someone can correct me if my math is wrong or if I've forgotten anyone. 50 people and growing. I know some families have triple that but I still think it's an impressive show of force.

Homecoming Queen

Emma's Great Grandma Bourne returned from her mission in Salt Lake City over the weekend. She has been working in the Family History Center for the past year and a half and has had 5 great grandchildren born to her during that time. She is the last living Great Grandparent that Emma has, so we were glad they could finally meet. We had a big Family lunch over at my parents that most people were able to attend, and it was good. Later that night my cousin Malauney had her Bridal Shower there so the guys got kicked out. The Trevors and Tyler and I crashed the Jones's house and watched the Flames game as they beat Vancouver 1-0. Great Gramma Bourne will be staying at my parents for a while from what I know but she's never one to stay put too long. I think she already has plans for a road trip down to Florida with some mission buddies and she's talking about going on a third mission as well. We're glad to have her back though, even if it is temporarily.

Hockey Night

My mom surprised Tammy and I the other night with a pair of tickets to go see the Flames play the Minnesota Wild while she stayed at our place to watch Emma. It was the first time Tammy and I have gone out, just the two of us, since Emma was born. We had a ton of fun and the Flames won 3-0 so we couldn't ask for more. My Mom loves to play with her Grandchildren too so it was treat for her as well.

Halloween 2005

Halloween blew by us again this year. Tammy and I are yet to really celebrate a "decorating" holiday since we've been married. Last year at Christmas we set up our tree but didn't put any decorations on it. We're just always so busy and popular. This Halloween was no exception. We had no costumes, no decorations, and not enough candy. We got more kids this year than we expected since last year our neighbourhood was like a ghost town, and not in the good way. Iain stopped by with the kids and so did Aaron and Madison. We also had a friend I used to work with named Brandy stop by with her little girl Kay. Emma was too small for a costume this year but next year she'll be old enough to participate. I hope the weather is as good next year as it was this year. Kids have it easy these days, I remember when I was a kid, we trekked through mountains of snow in minus 20 degree weather while our plastic costumes splintered apart around us, and for a lot crummier candy than whats getting dished out in the neighbourhoods of today. Maybe I should have gone as a grouchy old man this year.

Breakfast of Champions

Monday morning was one of those rare occasions where Dave and Nathan and I all had nothing going on so we decided to get together for some breakfast over at the Walker's. We only had about an hour or two to catch-up but it was still worth it. I have a picture here and as you can see we're all twice the men we used to be, literally. Dave and I see each other almost daily now that we work together but we're lucky to see Nathan once a year. We made some plans to get together at his parents new place in Rocky Ridge sometime to check it out and we're hoping that we can catch a hockey game sometime this season too. Thanks Walker's for hosting the show and for all that food.

Thanksgiving 2005

My all-time favorite food is Thanksgiving dinner. Mexican food is a close second and Italian food is close behind that, but nothing beats the turkey dinner. This past weekend we had two turkey dinners, the first at the Mason's on Saturday and then the second at Heather and Tyler's new house out in Cochrane. Both were excellent and good times were had by all. Out at the Willaimsons we had an origional Nintendo set-up in the basement and we spent most of the evening re-mastering our techiques on games like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Silkworm, Contra, and the like. It was nice to have a long weekend too as life has gotten crazy busy these days. I'm still in school full-time and working every night and Saturdays at Dda. I also have Young Mens on Thursdays now too so it's getting harder and harder to budget time for family and getting stuff done around the house. It's good to be busy though, it makes rest times that much more appreciated.

Young Mens

A lot happened this past Thanksgiving weekend, too much to put in one entry so I'm breaking it up a bit. Last Sunday was our first Sunday in our newly formed Coventry Ward. There were some new faces, some old faces, and some ugly faces, but I think its all going to be fine. I was given a new calling as the First Councilor in the Young Men's Presidency. That puts me in charge of the Teachers Quorum. There are only 2 or 3 Teachers in the Quorum so I'm also the Advisor and an Assistant Venture Leader. Jodie's husband Aaron is the Second Councilor so he is over the Deacons and he's also the Scout Leader. There are 6 deacons in that Quorum and a couple of them will be moving up to Teachers early next year. I haven't been in the youth program of the Church since I was a youth so I'm excited to do it. It's going to be a bit different than when I was in Young Men's as we had some 20 or so members in our different Quorums at any given time but I guess that gives us an opportunity to try and grow. It'll be good to go camping again too, I haven't done that in ages.

175th Semi-Annual General Conference

We had another great weekend of General Conference a couple weeks ago and all the General Conference traditions were upheld. I went to the Saturday evening session with my Brother Trevor, My Dad, and Tammy's Dad, and then we hooked up with the Jones and went to Swiss Chalet for a man's dinner. Sunday morning Tammy and Emma and I watched the early session from home and then went over to my parents to watch the later session and to eat Cinnamon buns. I love Conference for the chance to hear talks from the General Authorities but I also love the traditions that our family has that go along with it.

Dda Grande Prix

Today the men of DeJong Design Associates were treated by Marvin to a lunch at Joey Tomatoes and 6 spins at the Go-Karts. The machines were a bit primitive but it was great fun. If I ever get a chance to go there again I'll have to remember to get car #66, it was the champions choice for speed. I've only been once before and it was at the same place so I'd like to try another place sometime that has better rides. It was a good way to end a pretty stressful week of school. This long-weekend is timely and the turkey dinners slated for Saturday and Monday are even more timely. Anyways, Thanks again to Marv for a great afternoon.