Happy Easter!

Another week has passed, and we have continued to move along from place to place. We enjoyed our Sunday morning with the folks at North Bend, and I was the featured speaker! We prolonged our stay with Howard and Diane until Wednesday so we could take in the Pizza & Pickin' night with uncle Bordie at the local diner. It was a good time! Thank you How & Di for the lovely stay. On Wednesday, we drove north and east to Hinton where we spent the night. We continued eastward to Prince Albert on Thursday where we moved in with the Baileys. On Good Friday morning we enjoyed a multi-church service with them, where Erica was one of the featured singers. We've enjoyed some down time here, and both got after some household tasks today. The markets were open only four days, and zigzagged up and down on alternate days, but with an overall small gain for me. There have been plenty of sports action with NHL teams playing out the last of the schedule and attempting to lock up playoff positions. On the other end of the standings, teams are looking to maximize their chances at the #1 draft choice! Women's curling has been the main attraction all week long with Chelsey Carey working through the struggles to nail down a playoff spot. She fell to Russia this afternoon, so she will move on to the bronze medal game tomorrow against Russia again. Japan has advanced to play Switzerland in the gold medal game. The Jayhawks ran out a comfortable win over Maryland on Thursday, but failed to take their place in the final four with a loss to Villanova this evening. This has been my expectation for them all season; I am very disappointed that they haven't made the final four. 

It's a wonderfully full house weekend at the Baileys with Liam home from school and now we are visiting as well. Eric and Erica were at their final French class this morning. They are doing a final presentation en français about a member of the family! I'm sure it was good and fun. After the multi-church service on Good Friday morning, there was also an Easter egg treasure hunt for Haaken and Liam, and lots of shared chocolate treats! And this is the weekend for Hometown Hockey in Prince Albert, so there was plenty of extra activity and excitement over that. 

Erin and Kristian are also on holidays for an extended weekend. Kristian continues with school break all of next week, so we plan to stay there and provide day care for him. This weekend they're helping Shawn, Astrid and Liam celebrate their new home. 

Trav & Joanna have been fighting snow in TBay and keeping up with work. Trav's team swept the second round of the playoffs, and are ready for the finals. Trav wrote a special feature on the team's "flow game" this week, which received notice by TSN. Nicely done! Gemma and Andrew are back from southern Ontario and into school again, but enjoying the four-day long weekend all the same. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has come and gone, and so have we! On Sunday, we took our leave from Bern, Alicia, Logan and Dad to drive up to Edmonton. We thank them for the delightful and gracious way they took care of us over our weeks there. Once in Edmonton, we moved in with Jim & Carol; this was a great time as well—thank you so much! The first evening, Scott & Margaret (Dolly) came over and we enjoyed the time with all of them over a lovely meal. After another day with them, we headed out on Tuesday, taking time to check out their new house in Sylvan Lake as we drove to the Okanagan. There we moved into our reserved suite at John & Marion's. They took care of us famously for the rest of the week. Thank you very much! Around our visiting with them, we were also able to work in short visits with Warren & Evelyn in Vernon, and also with Lyndon & Janelle in Salmon Arm. It's been a full week! Finally, we drove out to North Bend today. We are staying with Howard & Diane. This evening, we enjoyed another meal as Uncle Bordie joined us around the table. The markets ran green most of the week, and by Thursday I had improved on my portfolio to the point where I had my quota for the first quarter—unfortunately, there was Friday, so I've fallen back, and work remains to be done! The Brier concluded on Sunday with my favourite, Kevin Koe earning the championship. He will proceed to the world championships in the next while, but this week, he's playing in the Grand Slam event, so we've been following that. Today, the women's world championships began in Swift Current with Chelsey Carey carrying the red & white! She opened with a win over Denmark this afternoon. I'll be following that all week. March Madness has begun, and my Jayhawks have had a successful first week, winning both games and moving into the Sweet Sixteen. There have also been a lot of upsets which keeps college hoops very exciting. 

Erica turned forty-two on Friday! Time certainly flies! Liam made an impromptu trip home to help celebrate his mom's birthday. He will head back tomorrow as he has four days of school left before the Easter break. He continues to prepare for his play. While Erica was searching Haaken's computer for tax information, she made an exciting discover about his grades from Capilano University last summer. There was an email detailing his achievement of a 3.91 GPA for his four summer classes, and his placement on the Merit List. However, he still has not been accepted into the Animation program. He is updating his portfolio in preparation for the April intake. He has also applied to the University of Regina Film program. 

Erin & Kristian are enjoying another week of normal activities. The weather has turned a bit cooler in Regina. We get regular updates on Kristian's school work via email each week. We are very thankful that Erin set that up for us. 

Travis & Joanna are holding down the fort in TBay on their own as Gemma and Andrew are visiting in southern Ontario. This made the 40 cm of snow that fell this week weigh particularly heavily on them! This also means that we cannot go home just yet! Trav's team is on hiatus as many of the players are on school break, but they'll be back to the battle in the second round soon. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has continued to be unseasonably warm and we're enjoying it very much. It was a winter of almost no snow here, and what did come is long gone. Golf is in the air! Wendy continues to limp with her sore knee; the meds provide some relief, but nothing in the way of healing! She celebrated her 66th birthday throughout the week, and was delighted with a special gift from her children in the form of a hot wax spa for her arthritic fingers—thanks folks!  The markets have continued the uptrend—that is good to see! The DOW and the S&P500 have both achieved the "Golden Cross", so I'm hope-filled! I managed to pick up almost a full month this week, so, I've gained quota for March, and trying to make up for the lack I had in February. It's been a full week of curling, and my four picks made the playoffs. Gushue beat Jacobs last night to advance to the final. Koe beat McEwen this afternoon, and then beat Jacobs in the semi-final tonight. So, it will be Gushue vs Koe in the final tomorrow and while I'll be cheering for Koe, I'll be happy either way. Golf is starting to get serious as we're in the countdown to the Masters. Hockey is in the homestretch and playoff races are tight—it's time to start paying attention! Basketball's March Madness is launching as the conference championships played out. The brackets will be announced tomorrow. Kansas had a good week with three wins, and enters the Tournament ranked #1 in the nation. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks!

Erica was sick most of the week, and stayed home Tuesday through Thursday with tiredness, cold and sore throat. She's limited to singing low notes for now! Eric is preaching this Sunday in PA. His topic is "Isaiah Points to Jesus". He wishes he had an easier topic, but Erica feels he'll do great and tell some deeply emotional story to leave everyone in tears. Eric/A continue their French lessons, and Haaken went along today to check out Saskatoon's delights. He went to a drawing class. Afterwards, they checked out a French bakery called Little Bird Patisserie. There are many interesting shops along 20th Street. They picked up a book call pop sonnets which features pop songs turned into the style of Shakespearean sonnets. They enjoyed reading those on the way home. Liam is in a play at school. They are in rehearsal just now, for a play date in late April. Haaken continues to wait on job possibilities, as well as hoping to hear from Capilano. He is also considering other universities. 

Erin has been busy with work, and with helping Shawn move into his new house. The place looks good, and only some minor renos were needed before he moved in. Kristian had Thursday and Friday off school so he spent them with us. He managed to get some homework done, along with a lot of down time and late nights with Grandma! He even scored a new jacket courtesy of one of Grandma's many shopping trips! 

Trav, Joanna and crew are managing things back in TBay. Trav's team has completed the regular season, and this week won their first round of the playoffs. Now, it's on to the semi-finals. Otherwise, we not hearing much, so we're assuming it's all good news on the home front. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We had a cold snap on the weekend, but the weather has returned to mild, and we're enjoying 16 degrees today. We took a road trip over to Mortlach on Thursday to visit with Robert & Marilyn Peterson—they send greetings to all who know them! Robert sent us home with some deer sausage, and we enjoyed that with eggs for our brunch today—yummy! Wendy finally went to the doctor about her knee, but did not get much of a diagnosis—the doctor prescribed some extra strength pain killers and sent her on her way. The markets are showing positive signs; I hope this is the start of an uptrend. At least I had a good week, and picked up two weeks' quota. As expected, Carey (AB) beat Krista McCarville in the Scotties final. I'm okay with that. Kansas won big in Texas midweek, and then closed out the schedule with a win over Iowa State today. Now, it's March Madness time, and they're ranked #1! The Brier started today; it's a star-studded field. There are so many high profile teams it's impossible to pick a favourite. I'll be cheering for Kevin Koe, along with the SK team (Laycock), and also hoping Jamie Koe of the NWT plays well. 

The Baileys are here this weekend. We are glad to have some time with them. We're taking advantage to hold an early celebration of Wendy's birthday. We picked up Liam from school on Thursday, so he could get to the orthodontist on Friday (Yay!), and to his LST training today. He is planning to go back to Tallinn, Estonia this summer. Nothing has been heard back concerning Haaken's application to Capilano. 

We're enjoying spending some precious time with Kristian and Erin while we're in Regina. Erin had a positive job assessment this week, and was awarded a raise as well. Well done! She also set us up so we can follow Kristian's school progress on-line. We're glad to be able to keep track. 

Trav & Joanna continue to keep the home fires burning, and the home dryer drying! Trav's team has moved into the playoffs. They ended the regular season in third place, so they play the sixth place team in the first round. Wendy and Joanna talked on the phone for almost three hours one morning this week, so we should be updated—I've heard nothing! 

And that's about it for this week.