...don't ask.

...Ace Boogie...through the years.

...no time to post...its midterms...dontcha know?

okay...quick tidbit...gotta get back to studying...but I wanted to share.

Mackendra, staring as "The Dead Bride: The Halloween Dance"

Me...staring as "The Zombie Tech":

I don't know why Frank never wants to make out with me on Halloween...and yes, I went to school like this.

and Mackendra as "The Dead Bride: Part 2 Halloween Night"

I have a great series of pictures and a heartwarming tale about the perils of baking that stars Aislinn, but I don't have time to go into right now. But I promise....I will tell the tale.

...about homework.

So, I'm almost halfway through my first semester of my new career.

I'm feeling...

...tired

...overwhelmed

...like it never stops

...like it will go on forever

...sick of studying

...amazed at all the stuff I've already learned

...amazed at all the stuff I still have to learn

...nauseous thinking about the midterms coming up very quickly

...excited that I'm almost halfway there

...depressed that I'm only about halfway there

...did I mention, tired?

Its been a tough go. At least my set-mates are awesome, and the family has been supportive.

Can't wait until its over.

Love Tanya

...again with the turkey...and basketball...

So, yet another Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a quiet one this year. Mackendra caught a ride up to PG with Uncle Darren and Auntie Auria. So it was only Frank, me, and the older brat. We were supposed to have 3 guests for dinner, but they all bailed that day. I had planned to make a big ole turkey dinner, enough for our guests to bring some home, but it was not to be...I mean...I totally still cooked a huge meal...enough for 6+ people, we just had 3 people to eat all of it. Scary!

The turkey was amazing...totally moist and utterly delicious! The stuffing was perhaps even better. But check out the rest of the gluttonous meal.

Okay, now look at when we finished....

Not much difference, huh? We had soooooo much food left over. We hardly made a dent.

It was great though, and the turkey sandwiches and soup and left over meals for the next 3 days were just as good as well.

But! Before we embarked on our savoury adventure, we were down in Auburn, WA, again, for more basketball with Aislinn.

This time Frank came along and we took Aislinn to the North West All-Stars Elite Showcase for unsigned high school players. It was an invite-only affair, and Frank made some calls and was able to get Aislinn and another of our players an invite. Aislinn was the youngest player attending, at 13 years old. And she looked it. I forget, because she looks so tall compared to (me) her teammates, but compared to those kids from the States, she looked small. Even our 5'11" player was only average size down there. I don't know what they feed those kids (perhaps their turkey have excessive growth hormones added to them?) but some of those kids were HUGE!

It was a long day. There were 80 girls attending, some of the best in the North West.

They ranged in ages from 13 (Aislinn) to 17 year olds. It was quite an experience. And Aislinn? She represented!!!! Honestly, I think she was a top 10-15 guard there. No lie! She was of course a little outclassed in terms of strength, and perhaps sheer aggressiveness, but she was one of the better skilled players. There were college recruiters there from some of the biggest colleges in the West and Mid-West. Apparently, at least 10 players signed with colleges after thatweekend. Aislinn was too young and the recruiters were not allowed to talk to her, but I think she made some of their radars. So cool! And when she goes back next year and the years to come, she will have a distinct advantage in that she's already been there before.

It was a great weekend. We watched basketball, ate our faces off and then chilled for the rest of the weekend on the couch. I've been so busy with school that it was such a pleasure just to sit still for an extended amount of time. And!!! I only had to cook once in those 3 days. Bonus!

As for this weekend....let's see...I went and had my hair cut...BANGS people. I'll try to get a picture soon. Haven't had bangs for years and years. And Mackendra and I went for a long bike ride through New Westminster. My ass hurts!!!! But we had a great time and the weather was amazing. Mackendra did so well on the roads. She loves her bike. Since she got it for her birthday, we have never had to remind her to put her bike away in the garage. Never!!!! She takes such great care of it. Love that kid.

Anyways, tomorrow won't be so fun. Its a homework day.

Until later.

Basketball in Oregon...

I took Aislinn to a Basketball camp in Oregon City, Oregon this past weekend. We left on Friday after school, dealt with the horrific traffic through most of Seattle and got to our hotel by 11pm. We both crashed and were up by 6:45am the next morning.

There were about 100 girls at this camp and its head coach was a "kid" by the name of Drew Hanlen. He's a senior at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Because of his age, I call him a "kid", but his confidence, presence, and skill is like someone much older. Apparently, he trains several NBA players and he is hired to do camps for the best college and high school players in the USA. Honestly, I think this camp was the best camp I have ever witnessed. He has his own company called Pure Sweat Basketball, but due to NCAA regulations, he can't advertise with his name. He is graduating in May and I think this "kid" is going to explode onto the basketball scene in a big way. He was teaching the girls things that I have never seen before and he was breaking down basketball moves and explaining them in such a way that totally made sense. It was really a very cool experience. I was allowed to wander around the gym with my video camera and film. I spent the entire 7 hours taking videos! Check it out. Here is a short example. Most of the video clips are over 2 minutes, so I only uploaded a short one.

Aislinn was a total stud! She impressed everyone. I had coaches coming up asking about her; being totally surprised at her young age; and several of them said that she was the best player at the camp. The camp was from gr. 6-12, so I was quite proud of her. What was even better, Aislinn was being very engaging and talking with everyone and the coaches really appreciated that.

We had a great time and Aislinn took a picture with Drew.

After the camp we came straight home, arriving at 10:45pm. It was a gruelling trip and I am still tired today.

Can't wait for the next Drew Hanlen camp!

...Star-struck!

So, Aislinn got to meet and talk with Steve Nash today. He was in town working out up at SFU for the last few days and this morning, as he was leaving, Frank asked him if he would meet Aislinn. (Frank knew Steve back in their high-school days, they played against each other. The head coach from SFU is friends with Steve and re-introduced Frank to Steve the other day. Frank was pretty stoked when Steve remembered him.)

I wasn't there but apparently Aislinn was a little star-struck. She did fine introducing herself, but when Steve asked her what position she played she blanked...*long pause*...and then said, "uh...everything." Smoooooooooth, Aislinn. She just stood there with this huge grin on her face, shaking his hand...for way too long. Steve chuckled and glanced at Frank. After Aislinn gave Steve back his hand, Frank had to explain that she played a 2-3 with older girls, but when she played with kids her age, she would go into the post.

She says that he is smaller than she thought he would be.

What a great treat for a basketball player though, huh? Meeting a two-time NBA MVP'er. And he's a nice guy to boot!

Kinda reminds me of my own star-struck moment.

Back in grade 11, when my Dad was living in Merritt and us kids spent the summer down there with him, we heard that Bryan Adams was just across the lake at the local resort for lunch. My two sisters, and 2 cousins and I hopped into our boat and took off across the lake! We got to the resort, but were told that Bryan was out riding horses. So we hung around. Luckily, we caught sight of him as he was leaving. We was about to climb into his Jeep when we went screaming down the path. Did I mention I was on crutches? My sisters and cousins kinda fell back, but I was not going to pass up this opportunity! I hobbled down the path shouting, "Bryan!!!! Bryan Adams!!!" I'm sure the poor fellow thought about ignoring us and getting the heck outta Dodge. But he didn't. I arrived, all out of breath and sweaty and stood there on one foot.

"So." I said, trying to catch my breath and not fall on him. "You're Bryan Adams." I smiled.

"Yep," he answered. "at least I was the last time I looked in the mirror."

*Long Pause* I tried to keep that smile plastered on my face, thinking to myself the entire time, "Oh my God! I'm so stupid! You're Bryan Adams?! You're Bryan Adams?! Seriously??? What a dummy."

Then Bryan Adams chuckled, letting me off the hook and asked what he could do for us.

My sisters and cousins crowded in and he signed a piece of paper that we managed to scrounge up and he also signed my sister's single tape with "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" on it. You know, the one in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was huge that summer. And Bryan Adams said he wasn't even aware there was a single tape out yet.

Anyways, he left.

I still feel like a big dummy.

Well, at least we know that Aislinn's inability to talk to superstars comes naturally.

...oooohhh my aching bum!

Yesterday, August 13th, was Mackendra's birthday. Happy Birthday!!! And we did lots of things and had lots of fun, and there were presents, and cake and sports injuries and aching bums. But I can't show you any of that because I had misplaced my camera. No worries, I found it this morning, the day after all the excitement. Anyways, I have to tell you all about it instead.

I woke at 7:40am and sprang out of bed and raced to the grocery store, before everyone else was awake, to purchase some strawberries and whip cream for Frank's Awesome Crepes. Mackendra requested them for her birthday breakfast. Everyone was still asleep when I got back. So I woke them all up and we cuddled in our bed and wished Mackendra a Happy Birthday. Then Frank told her that he was so sleepy because he had stayed up almost the whole night fixing her bike. Mackendra was very excited. She has been wanting to bike around with the other kids in our townhouse complex for quite awhile now. So, we all got up and went outside to the garage. Frank went inside and came out with her old bike. He looked really upset. He said, "Mackendra, I'm so sorry, but the tire is flat again. I thought I fixed it, but look..." and he showed her how her rusty, too-small, bicycle was still flat. She was heart-broken, but she tried to look brave and said that it was okay. Then Frank said, "Oh...wait a second...I forgot...I am so tired...I actually got you a new bike, hold on." And then he opened the garage door and sitting there was this absolutely, awesome, brand-new bike...and I swear to goodness...it had flames painted on it...and Mackendra's face was a mix of amazement, shock, extreme pleasure, and sheer happiness. It was fabulous. Parents live for that look on their kids' faces. I wish I had my camera at that moment. She spent the rest of the morning, minus taking a time-out to eat Frank's Awesome Crepes, riding around the complex. Aislinn was infected with Mackendra's joy so she pulled out her old bike and the two of the pedaled around and around.

Then Frank had to go to his softball game...what?!? I know, softball...he was invited by one of his friends who was short a player. He played two game, the kids and I went and watched the second game...as expected, after about 5 minutes of watching I was treated to a chorus of "Mom, I'm bored, this is so boring, when is this over?" The most exciting part was when Frank pulled his groin running for first base. Yah...pulled groin...at softball....you know you're old when...

After the groin pull we decided that Frank and I should go get bikes so we could join the kids on a bike ride. I found a decent bike for a really decent price. Frank's was much, much, much harder to find. So basically, he ended up with a new helmet and no bike. We can't find a bike that fits him that also fits our budget. I think we are going to hit Craigslist and the pawn shops in the coming week.

So, we came home and Mom and the girls went for a bike ride. We have a bunch of trails across the highway from us. We were out for about 2 hours. It was awesome...but that is where the title of this post has come from, because...OMG!!!! My bum is so sore! Why can't they make bike seats bigger, and cushier, and just comfortable??? This morning, Frank slapped my but, and I howled, and then I repaid him by punching him in the groin...he fell over. People...that's what being married is all about: punching your spouse exactly where you know it is going to hurt the most.

After the bike ride, Mackendra opened up the rest of her presents. Oh yah, Uncle Darren and Auntie Auria stopped by earlier in the day to wish Mackendra a happy birthday and give her a present as well. Thanks, guys! We then had a late dinner and then had some yummy ice cream cake. After that, Mom was exhausted...remember, she was up way before everyone else??? So she crawled into bed, and doesn't remember anything else...until this morning....OMG!!! My bum is even more sore now!!!! I think she will pass on the bike riding today.

So, anyways, happy birthday, Mackendra. I love you.

Mom

...a Birthday present from my kids.

The Last Mustang by:Aislinn Konig

Illustration: Mackendra Konig

Chapter 1

“Tia! Get back in here!” her mother Renee called from inside, “It is unladylike to be playin' outside like that! Now come and practice your piano!”

“That is all I ever do mother! Why can I not go and work with father and Darrel?” her father Henry owned the largest ranch in all of Texas, The BRISCOE Ranch, and her only brother Darrel got to help him because he was a boy, which Tia thought was unfair! She loved the ranch and the horses more the anyone! Darrel and her three other sisters, Natalie, Rayla and Erin all wanted to leave as soon as possible. Tia being the oldest was betrothed, as were her sisters Natalie and Rayla, the other two were happy to be leaving the ranch , but she felt like her life was over.

“Tia! Stop daydreamin' and get in here and practice!” Renee yelled for her again.

Tia, reluctantly got up from her favorite spot on the grass and went inside and practiced her wretched piano.

Chapter 2

At dinner every one was happy, and full. Renee had made her famous stew, and made some rice, potaters and corn.

And her father was talking about how well the horse round up had been this morning, and every one congratulated him, except for Tia, when the Jacksons fist moved to Texas they had nothing but a hundred cows, three horses, and two dogs. And just outside their land were wild Mustangs, Tia would watch them from her window all night, she thought they were the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen.

But now you almost never see a herd of mustangs anymore, you would be lucky just to see one or two... Her father and his men would search for days at a time to try to find a herd to bring in for the sales. This time they looked for a whole week and only brought in fifteen horses, that is the longest they have ever been out, and the smallest herd they have ever brought in, Tia was beginning to believe that the mustangs were almost all gone.

Chapter 3

That night Tia had a hard time sleeping, she kept dreaming about the mustangs, she dreamed that she was searching for one, but she could not find any near the ranch so she journeyed the whole world but still she never found one...

When she woke up she began to cry, what if there were not any mustangs left?

After she cleared her tears, Tia looked out her window... And to her disbelief she saw a single black horse where the old mustangs used to be.

She first thought that she was still dreaming, but when she realized that she was not dreaming, she rushed to her closet, grabbed a shawl and her boots and ran for the door

In her nightgown she began to make her way over to the mustang.

When she got to the horse she was mesmerized by its beauty, It was black as a onyx stone but gave the feel of warmth like the moon light. Tia instantly knew it was a girl by the way the mustang looked and its size.

Chapter 4

She stepped towards the horse, and to her surprise the mustang did not back away but took a step closer as well, the horses eyes were filled with as much curiosity as Tia's. The mustang did not look aggressive or dangerous just curious, and Tia instantly felt familiar with his strange horse.

Tia closed the gap between her and the mustang, letting if sniff her and the slowly placing her hand in top of its snout. The horse welcomed her touch and nuzzled her hand, Tia loved this horse and the horse loved her.

“What is your name beautiful?” Tia asked the horse “ I think I will name you Midnight!” She proclaimed “Does that not sound perfect?” Tia said as the horse snuggled closer.

Chapter 5

“Tia!!! Get away from that wild animal!!!!” her father shouted with Darrel and one of the farm hands Fraser following close behind him, Fraser was her age , he was handsome and muscular, she fancied him, but she was too scared for Midnight to notice his looks.

“Go Midnight! Run!” Tia yelled at the horse but she would not move. In no time at all Tia was being pulled away and Midnight was being roped.

Henry Pulled Tia inside, he tried to yell at her but she ran to her room and locked the door before he could say anything, when he tried to talk to her she just yelled at him to leave and to let the horse go.

“Tia, that horse could have hurt you!” Henry said knowing that it did no matter, she loved that horse.

“No! She would not have! She likes me and she would kill a wolf to save me!” Tia screamed back at him.

And that was the last time Henry talked to his daughter that night.

Chapter 6

Tia was crying in her bed when she heard a tap on her window, when she looked out the curtains, hanging from a tree was Fraser. She opened her window, and he jumped right into her room, if she had not have been so heart broken she would have screamed for him to get out.

“Tia! Put these on.” he threw clothes at her,

“And what are these?” she said examining the pair of jeans, a shirt and a cowboy hat.

“You wanna save your horse do you not?” he said obviously annoyed at her silliness.

“And how are we going to do that?” Tia asked excitedly

“We are going to ride away together, me on Roger and you on the mustang”

“Her name is Midnight! And I have never ridden a horse before, and I am pretty sure that Midnight has never been ridden!” Tia was scared a little now.

“I will keep you safe, trust me!” and Tia did trust Fraser.

Fraser climbed out of Tia's room and down the tree so Tia could change. The pants felt weird to Tia, she had never worn a pair of pants before. ”It is unladylike to wear trousers, and you look like a man” she imagined her mother saying, she put on her boots and her cowboy hat and jumped from her window into Fraser's arms.

Chapter 7

Fraser and Tia ran from her house to the barn, Fraser's horse Roger was already saddled up, when Midnight was all saddled up Tia mounted a horse for the fist time, and Tia, Midnight, Fraser and Roger all rode off into the wild not knowing where they were going or what they where going to do...

After riding for a few hours they stopped and Fraser built a fire. Tia settled down by a tree.

“Why did you help me?” Tia asked Fraser, it looked like the question caught him off guard.

“I do not know! Maybe be cause you were a damsel in distress!” Tia laughed at him for that

“Why are you laughing at me?” Fraser looked disgraced .

“Because! You think your a knight!” she giggled.

He thought her laugh was adorable.

“Or” Fraser said “ I wanted you all to myself”

“You do know I am betrothed?” Tia said curiously

“Who cares! Your not with your family anymore!” Fraser said, the fact that she was betrothed made him angry.

“Who says I am not with my family?” Tia said as she stood up and sat down, snuggling up close to Fraser.

Chapter 8

When Tia woke up, she was wrapped in Fraser's warm, muscular arms.

She quickly got up to make sure Midnight was alright, Midnight was sleeping soundly and the big white and grey Roger was eating as much as his mouth could hold, everything was quiet and calm, her parents would be waking up about now and realizing she was not in bed, and find that Roger, Midnight and Fraser were also missing.

Tia began to make breakfast but was having a hard time with the eggs, so Fraser got up and told her to relax, then he made a amazingly good breakfast.

After Fraser and Tia ate breakfast they headed towards town, Tia did not know that Fraser had brought all the money he could find, so that he could buy them a house! She would have told him no if she knew, but now it was to late.

When they got in to town he bought them lunch. After he went to a realtor and used his money to buy a ratty old farm, Fraser had spent three quarters of all his life savings, he spent the rest on cattle, chickens, and pigs. Tia felt horrible that he had spent all his money, she tried to tell him no but he just ignored her and bought all of the thing that would allow them to start a new life together.

Chapter 9

When they got to the farm it looked horrible, there was a leak in the roof, a bug infestation, a out of control yard and squirrels had nested in the roof.

“It is the only thing I could afford, plus it is not that bad, it only needs a little work” Fraser said to Tia but even he did not believe himself.

The farm had a stable for Midnight and Roger, and in the time they had they had been together they had became very close and would not leave the other horse alone. Later they had a foal named Shadow who was a dark grey male.

After a few months of living together Fraser King was married to Tia Jacksons, they were married for only one year when they had there first baby, Alisa. Fraser's and Tia's farm was flourishing and soon they had enough money to buy a Ranch!

After another five years, Tia an Fraser gave Alisa a new bay sister named Maria. The KING Ranch was now the biggest ranch in Texas, easily passing The BRISCOE Ranch. Tia had went back to The BRISCOE Ranch two years after she had married Fraser, they were all happy to see her, Natalie was married, and Rayla had divorced her first husband and married a cowboy named Joe . And Darrel was engaged to a beautiful woman named Aurora Whalen . The whole family was happy and doing well, Tia was thankful for that.

Chapter 10

The KING Ranch is still one of the largest ranches in Texas, as well as The BRISCOE Ranch.

Midnight was one of the last mustangs there were in Texas at the time, she gave birth to three male horses and five female, the two fathers of the foals were Roger and Blaine. She lived to the age of fifteen, dieing from a deadly disease called Swamp Fever.

Tia, Fraser, Alisa and Maria are as happy as can be, they are currently celebrating Tia's birthday, which is the 25 of July.

The KING Ranch is still among the nicest ranches in Texas, or as I like to call it, COWBOY COUNTRY.

THE END.

Pretty amazing, right? My kids spent an entire day working on this book for my birthday. It was just too good not to share with everyone. I suspect some of you might recognize yourself in some of the characters.

Hope you enjoyed it. Oh....I'm 37 if you were wondering.

Love Tanya

...ummm so...an early summer update.

Wow, where did June go?

Seriously, it is almost the middle of July and I totally missed June. I suppose its not really my fault, the weather has been extremely un-summer-like. I honestly can't believe that it is summer.

A quick update then:

The kids finished school. Mackendra had a very good report card. She has really improved in the reading department. I am happy that she is getting a new teacher next year. She has had the same teacher for 2 year now and I have to say that I am not a fan. She is a vegan and a Christian, and somehow some of her views would always come up at home..."we should not drink cow's milk, Mom. Its not healthy for us, we should drink soy milk." Or, "my teacher says that eating animals is bad." Or, "we should go to church so God loves us." That prompted some interesting discussions. Which, I guess isn't a bad thing...but come on! I wonder if she ever thought about what would happen if a family was...I don't know, Muslim, or Hindu, or atheists. Or maybe the mother grew up on a beef farm, like me. I hope that she was prefacing her views with "there are a lot of other beliefs out there, I just happen to believe that..."

Aislinn also did much better this term. I have been giving her a really hard time about getting a better grade in math. She had a C her first term, a C+ the next term and she finally pulled out a B this last term. Her nickname for a long time was "C-Plus". I owe her a spa day for that B. I'm pretty proud of her for that mark. She got one C+, in French, but managed to get A's and B's in everything else. We both know that she can do better, and once she understands that getting good grades is just about time management and handing in homework on time, she will be fine.

Mackendra finished up her soccer season. She has really improved this last few months. We have been spending some time working on footwork and one-on-one moves and light touches at the park, and it showed in her practices. She is also showing a lot more interest in basketball. She has to come to the majority of our practices, and we go to the courts a lot, and she has decided that she is going to learn how to play. She is actually a pretty good shooter, and my favorite part is that she practices so hard.

Aislinn is doing awesome at basketball. She is starting to be noticed by other coaches. She was invited to play for a team based out of Portland, Oregon last weekend. The head coach saw her play with our team in Vancouver, Washington and asked if she would like to play for his Gr. 7 team. We jumped at the chance. Turns out, his senior team is one of the top ranked AAU teams in the Nation. He turned out to be a big-time coach. He's coached NCAA Div I for about 15 years, had a stint in the WNBA as an assistant, and is married to a professional sport agent who specializes in Women's basketball. Not a bad contact to have. So, we spent a weekend in Portland, and Aislinn played for the team, and she totally rocked! Other coaches asked about her. She has invitations to play for other teams next season. And yesterday, she went to SFU to see if she could play with the women's team. I didn't go, but Frank stayed to play a bit and watch and he said she fit right in, was the second leading scorer for her team. The girls on the team said Aislinn could come and play with them anytime, and they even got her cell phone number so they can call her up. So, she will now be practicing with a NCAA Div II team during the rest of the summer. Not bad for a grade 7, huh?

We purchased a rebounding machine. It is pretty cool. You can get about 100 shots in 6 minutes. We also purchased some weighted basketball and Aislinn strength has improved in just 4 days. She shoots a 3 really easy now.

I think she will improve a ton this summer. We are thinking of sending her to a couple high-quality camps in August. Frank did some research and found what we hope to be, better camps.

Frank was hired as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team, up at SFU. He is totally stoked about that. It means that I will be taking on more coaching duties for Next Level, but that is fine. It also means that he will not be coaching at the high school that we are planning on sending Aislinn to. Which sucks, because they need him. They don't have a good program. We will have to discuss different options for Aislinn's high school now.

Mackendra had a really bad ear infection last weekend. She was in a lot of pain and had a bad fever. The amoxicillin seems to be taking care of it, but she still can't hear very well. Its kinda funny how we have to keep repeating ourselves.

We still haven't finished moving in. We've been here since May and we still have boxes here and there. But we like the new place.

I'm working hard to complete all the things I need to do before I start school. I have a CPR course next weekend and I have to get a criminal record check and my immunization record completed. I'm looking forward to finally starting.

We are heading to San Francisco tomorrow for one last tournament. We will be driving down and staying with Uncle Alec and Auntie Ceci. It should be a lot of fun. I hope Aislinn has a good weekend and kicks butt. We only have 7 girls going, so she will be playing the entire time. Maybe we'll find summer down there.

Okay, until next time...

...my favorite quote from Disneyland.

I'm sitting here bemoaning the horrible weather we have been getting in Vancouver (did you know that its officially the worst Spring we've had on record? Yah...that bad). And I was thinking about Disneyland, not that the weather was awesome either...but at least we did see the sun once in awhile.

Anyways, on the third afternoon at Disneyland, Frank and I, and even the kids, to a little extent, were all "Disney-ed" out. Well, Aislinn wanted to go back and ride Space Mountain again. Frank said no because it made him feel sick. I said no because I didn't want to stand in line anymore, and Mackendra said no because she didn't like the ride because it was a little scary. Aislinn pleaded and begged. Finally Mackendra had enough...

"Aislinn...its dark in there...just pretend we're beside you...sheesh!"

Ha ha ha!!! Classic Mackendra!

Aislinn didn't end up going on Space Mountain again, but even she had to laugh at Mackendra's bon mot.

...about Disney LO's.

As you can see...we had a great time together. It was the first time that we were all tall enough to go on every ride.

Its funny though...as soon as the kids are big enough, the parent's stomachs aren't strong enough.

...Disneyland and a Teenager in the House!!!

Hello Friends and Family,

Whew, its been a very hectic few months. Here's an update...

We sold our house. Yah!!! I seriously hated that house. We have moved into a very spacious townhouse, quite close to our old house in fact, and we are very happy.

It was tough finding a place. There wasn't a lot out there. And especially not much that accepted dogs. In fact, we had to give Tuck away to Frank's brother in Victoria for awhile. Our new place doesn't accept dogs. However, we didn't know that when we agreed to take the place. We were taking over a lease from a couple, and they had 2 dogs. They told us that everyone in the townhouse complex had dogs. So, we took the place, but when we went to go sign the papers with the landlords, they told us that they didn't accept dogs. We didn't say anything, because we really wanted the place, it was getting late in the month, and we figured we could sneak Tuck in later on. So, Walter and his family eagerly agreed to take Tuck for the Summer (or longer if needed). He's doing great. In fact, I don't think he will want to come back. He has kids around all day long, he has a big backyard and a lake just down the road, another dog for company, and he gets real meat everyday for dinner. It is actually great because we are planning on travelling a lot this Summer. Aislinn and Mac will be at camps all summer long. We miss him, but we don't miss the fights with Aislinn to take him out everyday, or the hair EVERYWHERE!!!! We'll see what happens in September. We'll see if there is some way to talk our landlords into accepting him. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

We are still working on finding places for all our stuff. You know how it goes: you have boxes full of crap that you don't want or really need but are too afraid to throw out. And you have furniture that doesn't quite work in the new place and spaces for new furniture that you don't have. It will take awhile to get things squared away and for our new place to feel "finished".

I do like having more than one floor. It means we can get away from each other once in awhile. The kids really like it. There are a lot of kids in the complex, so Mackendra has been busy making friends.

We also just got back from Disneyland yesterday. We decided to take a week off of basketball and take a few days just for us. We hit Universal Studio (a first for us...and we loved the Simpson ride!) and then did a day on Santa Monica Pier and then 3 days in Disneyland. It was great. Because we have done Disneyland twice before, it was way more relaxed this time. There was no pressure to see and do everything. The only downside was that it was a little cool.

Actually, the build up to the trip was kinda funny. We were trying to find a quick trip and we debating between Mexico and California. Finally we told the kids that we were going to drive down to San Francisco and visit my Auntie Ceci and Uncle Alex. We told them, that to save money we were going to take our small orange car. The kids whined and complained about how uncomfortable it was going to be. So we relented and said that we would rent a van from SeaTac airport. Not too bad... But, when we got to SeaTac, Frank got all agitated and then sadly came back and told the kids that they had lost our van rental and there was no van available. They were all sad again. Then Frank said, "oh well...I guess we are just going to have to fly to Disneyland." It took Aislinn about 5 seconds to get it. She was all confused then she squealed and punched Frank. Mackendra took a bit longer, she was kinda mad that we weren't getting a van with movie players in the back of the seats. But by the time we boarded the plane, she was getting excited. We got them good. The one thing good about our little trick was that Aislinn was the only one who had packed pants and sweaters. She was prepared for San Francisco. We had packed for LA. and as a consequence, we were a little cold.

Here are a few pics of our California adventures.

According to Dracula...British Columbians are "delicious" and he was looking forward to visiting Aislinn that night...Waa haa haa!!!

The final bit of news I have is that we now have a TEENAGER living within our midst. Somehow we were infiltrated and without our knowledge it invaded our ranks and taken up residence right under our noses. Today, she revealed herself.

Happy Birthday, Aislinn. 13 years ago, we met as mother and baby. Today we meet again as mother and young woman. I love you.

Oh...I almost forgot... I made it into the Medical Radiography program at BCIT. Finally!!! So, it will be 2 years of studying for me. 2 years!!!

That's it for now.

Love Tanya