Sailor Veggie Dog Edinger

The granddog! Sailor

Look she drools too!

Guess what animal THIS skull came from?

Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island. April 2007.

Aren't we cute!!! Tofino, BC. April 2007

Shawn's Spring Break on Vancouver Island

Grey Whale Watching in Tofino, BC.

Holy Snowflakes, Batman!!!!!!

Where to begin with these pictures? Ok look at the top picture and take note of things such as the two windows behind me, the deck on the right and the edge of the roof. Now this is not no photography trick. I am standing less than 3 feet away from my house. We have received SOOOOO MUCH snow that my knees are level with the bottom of the windows. In the summer I have to stand on my tiptoes to just look in the window. We have to walk DOWN on to our deck which normally has three steps. The roof is easily grabbable (if that is a word). The only way to reach it in the summer is by jumping off a chair. Sailor loves all the snow so she can dig and bury herself. Also no more 3 foot poles out front to get tangled up on. We actually got the truck stuck on the ROAD, normally the teachers (because of how smart we are) get the truck stuck on skidoo roads. Skidoo roads look EXACTLY like a road but are NOT packed down, so hence you drive on this skidoo road and sink like a rock in water. The only way to not get stuck is to KNOW where the truck roads are. But because of all the snow almost all roads are impassable. The bottom pic is of the school truck stuck on the road in front the teacherages which is not a skidoo road. After 25 minutes Ryan and I managed to shovel the front axle out and not move the truck an inch. Luckily some locals who were more energetic than us were able to dig the back axle out. I was then able to floor it backwards out of this mess. On the way back I almost got stuck in a snowbank, but with little regard for people in the road, a truck that is not mine and swift manoveuring I was able to get it onto a road with less snow. This is what we do for fun in Lac!!!!!

Norman Games in Flin Flon

The school sent 18 kids and four chaperones to the Norman Games in Flin Flon. The Norman Games are for any schools or communities that are in the Norman Region of the province (53rd parallel and higher). We sent the Midget hockey team and 7 badminton players. I coached the badminton players. One of my girls just missed the bronze medal by one game. The rest finished in the bottom half of each age group but considering they had never played before I started coaching them in November, they did well and held their own. They had a blast. The hockey team started out the tournament a little rough (because they had never played on artificial ice) but in the end they managed to win the bronze medal. They thought it was the coolest having a scoreboard, real refs and players of the game!!! Things we take for granted. Now I want you all to look at the cool emblem for my badminton team. Designed and made by Shawn and Jenn Inc.

My roommate and I spent one whole evening making these shirts. We designed the logo and printed them off on iron-on sheets. We then cut them out and ironed them to the t-shirts. The kids were pumped that they matched. It was a good weekend and everyone had fun. The only harsh part of the trip was the cost of flying everyone out, $9,000, just to Thompson. But for most of these kids it was the opportunity of a life time!!!

Wrestling comes to Lac!!!!!!

Well one weekend back in February we had the Canadian Wrestling Federation come in to town on the winter road. I am NOT a wrestling fan but it was AWESOME!!!!!! The kids could not stop talking about it for weeks. There was only 6 wrestlers but one of them has already signed with the WWE. He is debuting on RAW and Smackdown in May. They were really good. Needless to say it gave the town some excitement for a weekend!!!!

Two Cuties Back in 1980!

Look! Aren't we cute! My Aunt dug this picture up last weekend, it's a total classic. I am amazed by the fact that I had more rolls than a bakery even when I was four years old! Nothing obviously has changed! Wow, that was quite the afro puff I had! Carolyn was 11. When Jeffrey (Carolyn's 4 year old son) saw the picture, he noticed that I was missing a front tooth. HAHAHAHAAAA!!!!

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

A Strange Lady in Victoria

We met this strange lady downtown Victoria on our way to Lulu Lemon on the weekend.

More flowers in March...

Hey you people in Lac Brochet, Winterpeg and Yellowknife...how are your flowers doing???? Gotta love chilly Victoria! :)

Sick, Sick, SICK!

Get a load of this! Daffodills, cherry blossoms and other flowers blooming in March. SICK, SICK, SICK!!!!

VICTORIA

The land of NO snow and ice...

This is a picture of the Selkirk Trestle which is virtually outside the office building I work at. The trestle is part of the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, an old rail line which has since been converted into a bike/walking path that linking Victoria to Sooke and the Ferry Terminals. It is also the bike path I take to get to work everyday. Going to work is a breeze because it is mostly downhill...going home is a different story :). I have sure developed a new fondness for the flatness of the prairies!

Swan Lake Nature House

Last weekend, Carolyn, the kids and I explored the Swan Lake Nature House. Inside, there was garter snakes, turtles, a bee hive, and fish among other cool things. In the past, the lake was considered a dumping ground, so Jeffrey and Claire are displaying a pair of glasses that were fished out of the lake. The neat thing is that this nature house is only a 10 minute walk from Carolyn's house. Around the lake there are many walking trails, including one that links the trails from Swan Lake to Christmas Hill where some of these pictures were taken.

Valentine's Day 2007

Here is a picture of my Valentine's present from Shawn. Isn't he sweet! And all I got him was a card, ugh! It was a very cute card by the way!

Candace's Update

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since I added something to Shawn and my blog. I am having a great time in Victoria (This picture was taken in Winnipeg over the hoildays.) I still can't believe I can ride my bike to work in February without having to worry about snow and ice! It is quite bizarre!

While in Victoira, I am staying with my cousin Carolyn, her husband Kevin, and their two cute kids, Jeffrey (4) and Claire (8). I sure hope that I am not driving them up the wall while I am staying in their house.

I am really enjoying my job here in Victoria. I am currently helping the Ministry of the Environment's Water Stewardship Division design (and hopefully implement) a water-related outreach strategy. What is outreach you say? Outreach can be a variety of activities such as answering questions over the phone from the general public, making presentations to a certain group, creating a web page listing easy things the general public can do to protect their water, etc. The goal is to promote voluntary compliance and to increase awareness of water-related issues around the province. So far I have also had the opportunity to travel to Nanaimo, Prince George and Surrey to meet with folks from the different provincial regions to discus outreach. Pretty cool.

On a totally unrealated note, I have been in this province for just over a month and a half, I have STILL not seen a cute and cuddly killer whale!!!!! Ah nuts! Here killer, killer, killer...whale!

IT IS GONE!!!!!!!

The Northern is gone!!! For those of you who do not understand the significance of this event, I will put it in perspective. Imagine, if you will, every single store, bank, postoffice, bank machine and gas station in Wpg burning down. I mean EVERY store (clothing, food, everything). Then you are left with only 7-11 with one gas pump. this is what the town is dealing with right now.

They had to eveacuate the whole town to the airport or the school because they were afraid that the gas tanks beside the store were going to blow. It was crazy last night but no one was hurt and almost everyone was home in their beds by 5 am.

Sailor, again!!!!!

Well here are even more pics of Sailor. These are more for Candace then anyone else. The first one is Sailor's doghouse. It is an apple box from Safeway with a pillow in the bottom. The dogs up here, well at least around the teacherages, don't like dog houses but they love cardboard boxes. The second pic is of Sailor with her bestest friend, Eh, literally chilling outside. I thought it was funny that Eh, who is bigger than Sailor gets the small box and tiny Sailor gets the big box. They have on occasion been found huddled in the same box together. The last pic is of Sailor and her second bestest friend, me!!!! She loves to play and wrestle, although she has a tendency to attack your feet after YOU are done playing. Sailor on the other hand is never done playing.

New Years Eve!!!!

Most of you know that I went to Minneapolis for New Years. I took in a Vikings game in which they lost something like 32 to 14 or something like that. I also took in a Wild game 2 hours later. The hockey game was awesome. For the first time I did not cheer for the home team. I had to cheer for Teemu Selanne and the Ducks. I also got to see Pronger play for like 8 minutes and then he proceeded to block a shot and break his ankle or something. It was a great game with Teemu scoring 2 goals and an assist. But alas the Wild won 4-3. No pics of the football game because I parked like 30 blocks away and forgot the camera. Also it was raining and I did not want to get wet. We ended up at Chili's for midnight. The day was great and I am glad we went, maybe we won't do the football next time unless the Broncos are playing. But the hockey for sure!!!!

Christmas, The Best Time of the Year!!!!

Our christmas was great. We got to see our families and most of our friends. The time seems to get shorter every year. I was able to fit in a movie day (three flicks in one day). But other than that I was walking Sailor, finishing up some shopping, with the family or in Minneapolis. The food was great (thank you to Candace's Auntie Joyce for the great Christmas dinner), the presents were awesome and the weather was spectacular!!! All in all it was a great Christmas and an awesome New Year!!!

Well the pics are of Candace and her gift from her mom. It was the coolest gift. Her mom bought 60 trees to be planted in Africa. Candace was quite happy with it. My brother, dad and I got matching house coats from my mom. Sailor is in the pic because Trev was in love with her and wanted her for himself. the last pic is of my brother with my gift to him, a Maple Leaf carpet. He is crazy about the Leafs.

Sailor Update

Sailor has been adopted by ........ US!!!!! She was totally awesome in the car, on the plane, in Kerri's house and anywhere we went. There was no way we were going to give her up. We were able to get her fixed while in town and she is now the most pampered dog in Lac Brochet. She is enjoying the freedom to roam while up here versus the car and limited trails Winnipeg had to offer. The only bad thing that happened while in the Peg was she lost all her winter fur from being indoors so much. When she got back she was freezing her butt off. But as of two days ago she is fluffier and furrier than ever. She spends all day outside and when inside during the evenings she pants like crazy so she goes out and rolls in the snow to cool off. Well she is our first kid!!!!

Where to begin ..... HMMMMMM?

Well I have decided to go in chronological order!!!! Before heading back to the Peg for the holidays we went to Modest's cabin. Modest is the principal's husband. I personally think it is funny that Lac Brochet is literally in the middle of nowhere but yet they all have cabins. So to set the scene, this cabin has no running water, electricity, nothing!!!! It is heated by a wood stove in the middle. It was a balmy -20 to -25 the day we went. It was a lot of fun though! We played games had some food. Luckily Mari (a teacher) brought what amounted to as a small deli in her cooler. I brought the burgers and hotdogs and iced tea. In the end we stayed all day and played cards and drank a gallon of hot tea. I also had the great pleasure of going sledding with Mari's two kids. Nothing like being a human tow rope. A great time was had by all and I have planned to go there for the weekend around my birthday.