The Kwas blog

Simon's first photo shoot

2011-05-04T11:32:00.000-06:00

Our friend Tara came over this weekend to take some pics of Simon. Here's a preview.

Not late, but felt like it...

2011-04-26T19:38:00.000-06:00

So, this afternoon we finally welcomed our 3rd son, Simon, into the world. He was born at 3:15 and weighed 6lbs 12oz. Highlights from the birthing process (aside from Simon's arrival) was Tracy stopping pushing at one point and saying "Can't you just suck it out now?" A couple of more of these and I may not feel any stress.
His brothers were ecstatic to meet him and very upset that he was staying in the hospital tonight. We'll see if that lasts when they are not allowed to make as much noise as they are used to at home!
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone.

Baby Update!

2011-04-21T09:42:00.001-06:00

Still nothing.

Saturdays are back

2011-03-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

It is bitter sweet that I report that now that both Dom and Liam are done their ski lessons, we now have our full Saturdays back. Thankfully we were able to finish off yesterday with nice weather (the last couple of weeks have been bitter cold and windy) and good snow. Everyone had a good day skiing, including Liam and Tracy (don't worry, she stayed on the easy chair!). Some quick videos below of Liam doing his thing.

and

We all had a great year skiing, and for those of you looking for spring skiing, Castle should be good until May if the weather stays good...loads of snow there! We also added some more pics to our Winter Activities album.

As for the rest of us, Tracy is still pregnant and aside from not being able to put socks on easily, she's feeling well. I'm still going, went for some testing the other day (body fat %, power & strength, and V02 max) and had some interesting insight into how I'm training and how I can train more effectively.

What we've been doing

2011-02-03T17:48:00.001-07:00

When someone asks, "What have you been up to?" it's really hard to think of a good answer. So here is what we have been up to.

and

More pics on the side!

*Update* the picture widget on the side seems to just be throwing up random images. Click on the "Older Pics" link and then look for the "Winter Activities" folder.

Ski Lessons - Day One

2011-01-08T16:20:00.001-07:00

So, in the eternal tradition of parents making their children do what they want them to do, both of our children were registered in ski lessons this year. For Dom this is year two (he did 4 weeks in February last year) and year one for Liam (cross your fingers all).

The weather this morning was less then stellar, with some wind and lots of snow coming down. The wind died down as we got closer to Castle Mountain, but the snow kept going (a stellar powder day if you could handle the visibility). Tracy and I left our skis at home as we were unsure how the kids would do today, but got some good news when they told us the "Adventure Club" were 2 hours not just 1 (which mean we'll drop our kids off 15 minutes early and pick them up 15 minutes late next week to get some extra runs in - yes, I'm willing to be THAT parent!).

It started out great, lots of smiles and both boys skied down to the Barney (learner lift); Tracy and I kept checking (from a distance) and it was okay. Then we ran into some friends, chatted for a bit, and when Tracy went to check to make sure it was 2 hours Liam was having a bit of a break down (inside). In his defense, it was cold, but I'm not making excuses. After some cookies, he was back out and along with the instructor, we were able to coax him into two more runs before hot chocolate.

Dom had some good runs, and a couple of warm-up breaks, but still had to call it a little early. His hands were freezing! Some lunch and hot chocolate and we were ready to head home.

Both boys are excited for next week, in fact Liam threw a bit of a fit when we returned his rentals. This may be because he is a product of the "consumer culture" but I'm going to go with he was sad to be leaving the ski hill. Next week, Tracy and I are going to brave a couple of runs... hopefully we run into friends who might babysit for a run or two!

News, news, and good news!

2010-11-12T20:07:00.004-07:00

So October has come and went, and we are half way through November and it seems like school only just began.

Dom is now as comfortable on the bus as he is in his own house. He's already discovered that boys who want to be your friend will sometimes make fun of you ("That's how I landed your mom Dom!") and Tracy helped to chaperon a field trip. I've been busy at school and coaching volleyball (though we weren't too successful) and Liam... well, Liam learned to like swimming and hopefully this will rub off on skating.

Halloween was pretty great this year. The weather was nice and the boys didn't want to go too far to get candy. Our little hamburger was a hit at most of the houses we went to, and I got some very positive comments on our pumpkins. The Saturday before, Tracy went to an "official" viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I believe is only now getting over the shock that this culture is alive in Lethbridge.

Oh, and for those who didn't already know, baby #3 is on the way. Here we go again!

End of the summer

2010-09-10T21:20:00.003-06:00

So, once again the summer has come and gone.
It seems that this summer has been exceptionally short. With the weather, time away from home, and lack of a regular routine, the summer of 2010 flew by. With September also comes back to school, not just for me this year, but for Dom as well. The first day had a bit of a rough drop-off for Tracy, but the bus ride home was "awesome" and Dom will no longer accept his Mom coming to pick him up. Although he hasn't learned any french, he enjoys going and is learning lots of other stuff. Me, well, new classes, new curriculum, lack of preps, and life is good. Pics to the left.

Ol MacDonald's Farm

2010-08-15T20:01:00.003-06:00

So a few weeks back we went for a camping trip with Amanda, Jeremy, and Madison.
They selected a nice little camp ground in the middle of us (2 hours for them, 4 hours for us!) and then picked a weekend when rain was assured! Just kidding, it did rain, but only the day before we were going to leave and after we had had supper and packed up the cars (cause we saw the rain coming). Some pics to the left of our trip.

Edmonton, Jasper, and the Columbia Icefields

2010-07-27T20:54:00.001-06:00

So we are back in Lethbridge, for awhile, and enjoying sleeping in our own beds... funny that nobody ever told us that when there is a bedroom and a pullout in a hotel room, the kids end up in the bed and the adults end up on the pullout... at least that's how we slept.
So we spent some time in Edmonton, visiting friends and family, including a chance to watch "Grown Ups" (not Sandler's best work, but much less vulgar then anything he's done) and then a special after movie surprise (eh, Amanda!). A couple of days out in Jasper, including a few hikes (Liam spent most of the time on my shoulders, but Dom muscled through), a trip up the Tram, a boat ride, and a couple big freaking caribous. My highlight was the drive down through the Columbia Icefields to Lake Louise; if you have never done this, put it on your list. The day was rainy and cloudy, but it was still unbelievable and a bit shocking to see how much of the glaciers have already disappeared.
Some pics to the left, enjoy.

Saturdays for awhile!

2010-07-04T14:52:00.000-06:00

So, you may note the loss of the rain theme in the blog, this doesn't mean that the rain has stopped, just that it is now manageable... or we are used to it and it seems manageable. The mosquitoes that have come with the wet spring we can all do without though.
So, summer is officially here for me, and so the holidays begin. Those of you who don't know, we have postponed our big holiday this summer (due to a funding issue), but Tracy had already booked her holidays and couldn't give them back. So, it's a "staycation" for us this year (those who haven't seen the Alberta adds on TV, I apologize). Kicking it all off, was a visit from Derek and Amanda and a trip to Waterton, where Dom hiked Bear's Hump all by himself, top-to-bottom. Liam was good for a bit, but rode most of the trail on my shoulders. Next we are off to Fairmont to visit Nick, Susan, and Isla. Then to Drumheller, Edmonton, Jasper, and stops in between. A good chance to catch up on all those sights we've been meaning to get to.

Wet Birthdays

2010-06-16T20:01:00.000-06:00

Not really much to explain here. In honour of the weather this spring/summer I've updated the look of the blog. To let you know how much water we've received, I set up a rain barrel this past weekend and had to empty it the last night (due to over-flowage) and it is already full today! This might not sound like a big deal, but I figure I took 128 liters out of it the other night!
Anyway, enough wet weather talk, thanks everyone for the birthday cards and well wishes (for me and Dom). We both had wonderful days; mine involved ice cream and Dom's had ice cream, happy kids, screaming kids, laughing kids, kids out of control (I think you get the picture). Great fun for everyone!

Coeur d'Alene

2010-06-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

The months of training all led up to this weekend, with a guaranteed PB (personal best) for Tracy and the hope for one for me. The weather didn't look great on the drive down to Coeur d'Alene, or the day before, but thankfully the rain held out on Sunday, and aside from a bit of wind off of the lake, a perfect day for running. Tracy finished in 2:08:19, which beat her goal for the day, but I don't think that she beat the secret goal in her head. But she looked strong whenever I saw her, and a little less talk between her and Tara about the cute shops they were passing might have got her to her goal. I'm happy to say that I also PBed with a 1:38:04 (5 freaking seconds and I could have said 1:37). Thanks a lot to "Blue-Shirt Guys" who kept me motivated the last 3 miles and to Travis for the head nod at the finish line (enthusiasm dude, enthusiasm!) Congratulations going out to Tara for finishing her first half with us this weekend, and to Nardine for finishing her first in Ottawa this weekend as well. Well done all!
So the weekend is over, the race is done, and now we are left looking for another. What's next? Cactus Coulee Crawl Relay this weekend (I think) and then the Chinook Olympic Triathlon for me (mid-June), Tracy's keeping everyone guessing but she didn't say no to another half!

Free from Facebook

2010-05-24T21:02:00.001-06:00

After a lot of thought I've decided to deactivate my Facebook account. My final status post "De-activating my Facebook account. Follow me on Twiter (@Jkwas) on Tumblr (jkwas.tumblr.com) or on the Kwas Blog (thekwas.blogspot.com). Thanks for the memories."

Busy Sunday!

2010-05-11T21:01:00.000-06:00

So aside from being Mother's Day (Happy Mother's day to all the special mothers out there!), Sunday was also the first triathlon of the season. I led off the day with the Olympic distance (1500 meter swim, 40 km ride, and 10 km run) and Tracy followed up with the Super-Sprint (200 meter swim, 15 km ride, and 3 km run). Overall, the race came and went, the weather co-operated (kind of), and we celebrated with Chinese take-out. Tracy met her goal for the day, although, she wasn't 100% happy with how the race went down. I missed my goal for the day and blame it on my lack of cycling over the winter. Unfortunately all the run training I was doing didn't get a chance to pay off as my legs were baked from the ride. Oh well, it's a long season.

Mexico

2010-04-18T21:24:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a week since our trip to Los Cabos and Tracy is still working on the laundry, I'm still trying to get rid of this sinus cold, and the boys have yet to return to their normal schedule. All that aside, we had a wonderful trip and were so happy to be apart of Aimee and Jarrett's special day. Take a look at some of the pictures to the left.

Special congratulations from today goes out to Krista (who also motivated this post) for her 10 mile performance today. Well done, the next 3 miles will be easy now!

Latest Snowshoeing Adventures

2010-02-07T11:23:00.010-07:00

So, I got the project done (sort of) in time for a day of snowshoeing at Allison Creek (in the Crowsnest Pass). Overall, the results were 100 times better then the last snowshoeing trip with the kids.

First, the Chariot. After a 2 hour trip to Home Depot, and a (I can only assume) confusing phone call to my father. I came home with the pieces that I needed to turn our Chariot into a snowshoeing trailer. For those of you who have trailers that are new enough to buy the attachments from the company, do it! You don't save that much by doing it yourself.

Fast forward one week and to the parking lot at Allison Creek, surrounded by interested cross country skiers. Unfortunately, what worked good in the garage, faltered in the parking lot. Needless to say, an on-sight modification was in order (i.e. the ski pole jammed through the spokes to keep the front end of the Chariot off the ground). After that, we were off to the races...the very slow and sweaty races. The boys slept until it was time for hot chocolate, then, while Liam finished off the M&Ms in the sled, Dom ran beside Tracy back to the car. Overall, a great day! And don't worry, a plan has already been hatched to replace the ski pole... and the fitness level of the "horse". More pictures posted in the slide show on the right.

Pulling kids around in the snow

2010-01-03T08:33:00.003-07:00

So, in the spirit of living a more active lifestyle, Tracy and I decided to buy the X-Country ski attachment for our Chariot kid carrier. We were pretty psyched up about it until I went into Bert and Mac's to buy one. Once again, evolution got the best of us as the trailers have changed since the one that we now own was originally purchased.
A little background here - I bought the Chariot from a lady that I work with strictly for pulling behind my bike (which it has worked wonderfully for) and lately started using it for running. Now, I'm pretty sure that she bought it from somebody else, and who knows before that.
Fast forward to Bert and Mac's, where I am standing with the trailer and Matt, trying to find the year that this thing was built (1997). I left the trailer with him to see if he could order the parts, but he didn't sound too positive. Following a lead from my baby sister I went home on turned on Google only to find out that the X-Country ski attachment isn't available for our year of trailer. But, I did find this interesting link, which I am planning on putting into action once I get the trailer back from Matt. Any help in modifying these plans will be considered, if you want to add your 2-bits.
By the way, for those of you still reading, thanks to everyone for a wonderful Christmas. The kids are just now accepting the fact that chocolate is not a necessity for every meal and that bedtime is not the time that you get thrown into a bedroom cause you are pitching too big of a fit.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, and looking forward to hearing every one's plans for 2010.

Viva Las Vegas

2009-11-17T23:46:00.003-07:00

So, for those of you who didn't know, Tracy, Amanda, and Aimee went to Las Vegas to "watch So You Think You Can Dance". I really think that they had ulterior motives, but who am I to say. Everyone seems to have made it home safe and things are just about back to normal in our house.
As for the extreme lack of updates to the KwasBlog, well, life was happening and the blog got put on the back burner. I''ll try and get some pics up soon, cause I know that's the only reason anyone visits here.

The need for backups

2009-01-25T14:19:00.003-07:00

Well, it happened. Everyone says it will happen, but when it happens for the first time, I think that everyone asks "How did this happen to me?" That's right, the computer crapped out and the need for a backup became painfully obvious. Fortunately our good friends at Dell were able to get a new system out to us ASAP and we are back up and running. After the initial panic subsided and we new a solution was on the way, I took a new look at the "paper weight" and found that it looks like the power supply just fried (hence the burning smell that was wafting from the computer). So we didn't lose any data from the HD and were able to recover most everything that we needed from the computer. Now just to hunt down a power supply that I can replace the burnt one with and we might be ready for action x2.
That all being said, Dell was remarkably nice to deal with and the system we got seems pretty great, and the payment plan fit the budget. Currently, I am endorsing purchasing a computer from Dell and renouncing any association with Future Shop.
Finally, I'm testing out a new back-up application called Cobian Backup. I haven't worked too much with it yet, but I'll try and and send out some more details as I work with it.

Some quick pics

2009-01-05T21:03:00.001-07:00

I just updated our Picasa album (look for them on the right) with a few pics from our vacation. I'll post an update later, but for now, regardless of age, Disneyland is a great place. Lot's of fun, lot's of things to see and do, and you know all of the characters.

Thank you and Happy New Year

2008-12-31T16:24:00.002-07:00

I just wanted to take a couple of minutes (while the boys are sleeping and Tracy is sipping drinks by the pool) to thank everyone for all of the great Christmas gifts for all of us and for taking care of us over the holidays. Things are going well on our vacation, with the highlight so far being Chuck E. Cheese, but we'll let you know more about that later.

Christmas Lists

2008-12-05T21:25:00.003-07:00

Just to let all of you early shoppers know, the Christmas lists have been added to the right. All of the items are from online stores (though most can probably be found at brick & mortar stores too), so you can shop without having to deal with the crowds (or without fear of running into something with your car!).
--Update-- The lists are gone, thanks for all the gifts though!

Picture Updates

2008-11-15T15:34:00.002-07:00

A quick picture update for everyone (hopefully it will update on the side), including some pictures from Halloween, Fairmont, and a nice picture of our new car in the mountains.

The Subaru family

2008-10-28T23:22:00.003-06:00

Well, thanks to an excellent Thanksgiving in Edmonton (where Dom and his cousins Dylan were reacquainted like long lost friends, and Liam and his cousin Jack were ... there), a "conference" in Montreal for Tracy (and half a week being spoiled by Grandma for the boys), and various other events (we are calling it teething for Liam even though he hasn't cut any teeth in over 3 weeks) our children are officially a mess. Hopefully their sleep schedules will return to normal soon and Tracy and I can pursue the early morning workout schedule that we have put together.
Our other big news is that we now can no longer say "Let's take the Subaru" without specifying which one. After an extensive search through many vehicles; from the ridiculous (Come on Tracy, did you really think an Audi was in the budget?) to the surprisingly "affordable" (Really Tracy, a Lexus can be in the budget!) we finally bit the bullet and decided on the Subaru Tribeca (with a little push from a car salesman from Magrath who bought Tracy's car and leaked oil on Jason's driveway). Today we took possession of our new vehicle and it has already been named (sorry Dylan!) by our friend Breeanne - Alex Tribeca. I don't know that we'll be using the name alot, but atleast we can say that it's got one. Pictures to follow soon.

The yard

2008-09-07T17:21:00.004-06:00

I know, it's the end of summer (as you all have been reminding me for the last couple of weeks) but after a couple of days of de-crabgrassing our yard and a quick cut of the real grass, finally here are some pics of the yard and playcenter (which has been lablled the Kwasny Clubhouse - complete with accompanying song and all!).

*Now that I see the pictures like this, I should have took a panoramic... damn!*

Also, quick thank you to Aimee for watching our kids this weekend while Tracy and I took care of all the errands we had in about have the time and also got a date night in.

And last but not least, best wishes to Cory, Nardine, Dylan and Jack as Cory leaves today for Afghanistan. Take care and good luck!

Some Pics

2008-08-18T14:23:00.003-06:00

We took a quick trip to the Henderson Pool last night and I've uploaded some pics from this to my Flickr account. Enjoy!

Check that... I posted them to my Picasa account. Hopefully you should be able to see them scrolling to the right.

Fort Macleod Tri report

2008-08-17T21:23:00.002-06:00

So I'm pretty sure that this is not the update that most of you have been waiting for, but now that I'm done with running while the kids are napping in the afternoon, I can start posting pictures of the landscaping and the playcenter (which is pretty cool, right Krista?) and other things (like my children).

Yesterday (Aug. 16) the 6th Annual Fort Macleod Triathlon took place, and I want to start out by saying that I was really impressed with the event and barring unforeseen circumstances I will be back next year to compete. Al Poytress and his crew did a really good job getting people registered, keeping things running smoothly, and getting the results posted quickly. Also, thanks to the guy out by the high school with his water hose spraying down the runners.

I was keyed up to swim in the sprint event at 12:15 and I think that I got into the water pretty close to that time. It was a 500 meter swim (in the 25 meter Fort Macleod pool; which means 20 lengths). The swim went well and I was very happy with my time. I figured I would be out of the water somewhere close to 15 minutes and came out in 11:25. I'm feeling more comfortable in the water and I think that helped me out. I didn't rush the swim, nor did I take any breaks. It was a continuous 500 meter front crawl. This might not sound like much, but when I started training for triathlons in the spring I was lucky to finish 50 meters without a break.

The first transition (T1) was slower the I had planned. It took me more time then I thought to get my shirt and socks (which I will go without next time) and didn't plan my spot very well as I was at the far end of the transition area. The 15 km cycle didn't go as well as I thought it would. I had been averaging 30+ km/h for the last coupole of training rides and only managed 28 km/h on this ride. Now I'm not making excuses, but there was a wind out of the north and the hill after the turn around was a little tough riding into the headwind. Also, got stopped by a train (which they deducted 0:50 from my time for) but that gave me a chance to get my feet out of my cycling shoes so that I didn't have to do it when I was rolling. T2 (that's right, the transition number 2) was good; shoes were out of the pedals already and I didn't get too wobbly of legs running to my gear off the bike. A pair of speed laces would have been good, but overall I was in and out quick. Ride time (including the 2 transistions) was 37:38.

I grabbed a water bottle off my bike on the way out to the run as it was super hot and was worried about dehydration. Took a couple big slugs and then tossed the bottle to Tracy and the boys (Thanks for coming out to support me guys) as I passed them. Very bad move! I felt that water moving around in my belly for atleast the first km. I took very little water in after the run started as I didn't really like the sloshing and I was too busy pouring it over myself to try and cool down. The run went well. I was expecting about 30 minutes as I'd run a 25 minute 5 km training run the weekend before, and that was fresh. I am pleased to say that I was able to shave about 3 minutes off of my training time and posted a 22:08. For most of the first half of the run I paced some lady wearing pink spandex (forgot to look at her race number) but passed her right after the turn around and then just kept pushing. The last block I was sprinting with a kid who was running in the Youth (under 10) division and the little bugger pulled ahead at the end and crossed the line before me. Really cool to see all the little guys and gals getting excited as they came through the finish line.

And that was the race. Final time (minus train deduction) 1:10:19:1 gave me 6th overall, 5th for all males, and 2nd in my age category (30-34 - the guy who beat me won the sprint, so...). Pretty happy with that and sorry that it signifies the end of the triathlon season for this year!

Now, stay tuned for more family friendly posts!

Sorry for the delay...

2008-08-06T13:36:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the extremely long delay in the posts, but you'll have to wait a little longer. Some very exciting things have been going on and I am too "busy" to write about them. More updates will be coming soon.
One quick note, Dominic has found himself in need of glasses and thanks to your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, actually likes wearing them. Here's a pic (not courtesy of Peter Parker though!).

Our other big event of the month

2008-05-25T20:45:00.006-06:00

Our baby Liam is one years old! We had a busy weekend - the whole St.Laurent/Kwasny clan was here with the exception of Nardine, Dylan, & Jack. And needless to say I don't have room for all the new toys .......we just moved into a bigger house! It was lots of fun, especially for Dominic who always had a playmate & even Liam warmed up to everyone by Monday morning. He'll get used to everyone........Now here are some pictures. Mickey mouse was our theme & did I mention that Liam loved his new water table (he actually does love it now, I do have some happy pictures.....not filling it with freezing cold water helps my sweet Jason).

P.S. Liam got his first tooth a couple of days ago......1 year & a week old! We thought it would never happen. Oh yeah, he also crawled up the stairs all by himself when we weren't around, what a stinker!

Race day

2008-05-25T20:28:00.007-06:00

So as many of you know Jason has been talking about doing a triathlon for quite some time now. Mother's Day was the big day & if you havent' heard how he did, let me tell you. I packed up the boys & off we went to the pool for the first part. I was sitting with my friend who was telling me how hard her husband had been training - up at 5:30 am 5 days a week for months, that is when my stomach went into a few knots. I'm thinking - well Jason had been swimming for the last month twice a week & he did ride his road bike last week (his race was with his mountain bike), & he hadn't run but it is only 3 km (with the steepest hill in Lethbridge), he'll be fine, ok I was really afraid for him. Still wondering??? Well I'm proud to say that my Jason came home with a medal - 2nd place in his age category & 9th overall (there were 96 people). Amazing! I can only imagine what would have happened if he did train a bit. It did give him a boost of confidence & he has decided to enter the Fort Macleod triathlon in August. Go, Jason, go! (See how supportive I am honey).

Updates and Thank Yous

2008-04-20T20:15:00.005-06:00

We haven't made any posts lately, and there is a lot of stuff that needs to be said, so here goes.
First, thank you to everyone that has sent a gift in the last little while (i.e. Easter and post-cruise). The kids are enjoying everything and Tracy and I have demolished the chocolate. Cory and Nardine, Dom was a little unsure of the swim outfit when it showed up, but he actually asked to wear it to the pool (shirt and all) the other day. Oh, and I'm surprised that I haven't cut myself on one of those shells, cause I seem to be stepping on them all over the house. Sammy, thanks for the matching PJs. They both wore them the first night they got them and a couple of times since, but the current weather situation has convinced us to put them away for awhile. Everyone else, thank you, and sorry for the delay.
We spent Easter this year in Washington (state) at a nice little golf resort (that was closed) just north of Wenatchee. We went to Seattle for a couple of days and got to the top of the Space Needle. Did some shopping at the outlet mall just north of the city, and other then that we just sat around, read books, ate ice cream, and played football. Dominic did some "treasure hunting" and found lots of golf balls around the golf course and a couple of geocaches. We discovered a cool little hotel/lodge in Sandpoint (which Tracy and Liam made the most of by staying up all night) that I would totally recommend if you ever end up there (The Lodge at Sandpoint). Overall, very low key and pretty fun with the little guys.
As for the kids, Dom is doing his best to keep his mother and I on our toes, and hasn't flipped anybody the bird since the first time he did it. Liam is crawling - well, crawling when he needs to go slow and army crawling when he is in a rush . Yeah, I know it seems backwards, but it doesn't seem like Liam can do anything normally. Everyone is catching a bit of spring fever and wants to get outside and into the park.
Tracy's crazy (s)crapbooking weekend went well. I guess there were some famous scarpbooking people there (I didn't know there were any either) and she scrapbooked for something like 20 hours. The pages she made look beautiful, but I still think that it was a nutty thing to do.
My triathlon training is coming along. I'm thankful now that Tracy convinced me not to enter the one last year. I never realized how difficult it is to swim. Maybe if my parents would have continued my swimming lessons past the stage where they first take off the water wings I wouldn't be the sad sack of crap that I currently am in the water. Oh well, I'll have to make it up in the ride. May 11 ladies and gentlemen, mark your calender.
Oh, and the Flames just won to force game 7 vs the Sharks. Sorry to everyone whose team didn't make the playoffs, which as far as I know is everyone but Aimee.

Our weekend with Aunty Aimee in Canmore

2008-03-11T21:03:00.008-06:00

Off to the mountains we went..... a couple of weeks ago we picked Aunty Aimee up in Calgary & headed up to Canmore. Jason & I attended a timeshare presentatation (no - we didn't buy!) we just wanted a cheap getaway. We mainly just hung out & our big excitement of the weekend was toboganning. I think Jason had the most fun!

Heard around the House

2008-03-02T20:32:00.002-07:00

So I totally copied this idea from Krista but I loved it so much I couldn't help it, plus I live with a 2 & half year old & he says the darnest things on an hourly basis so I thought I would share.

January 2008 & beyond

2008-02-26T10:12:00.011-07:00

Many of you heard of our adventure to Waterton but for those of you haven't, hear is the exciting story & pics to go along with it. Jason had been dying to go snowshoeing so one Sunday in January we packed all the gear & set off for some snow which could only be found an hour & a half away in Waterton. So after driving through the blizzard (it was nasty, I kept my eyes on my book) we decided to stay in the town site instead of going up to Cameron Lake. Just so you know there was a ton of snow & still snowing but it really wasn't cold. After dressing everyone in their snow pants, tuques, etc we put Liam in the pack back & Dom in the sled. I think we were about 3 blocks away when the wailing began. So back we went into Kilmorey Lodge for a hot chocolate & treat & then we were back in the car. It was the most expensive hot chocolate treat I've ever had but we can laugh about it now, right Jason???

We are a very busy family this semester........Jason is still playing volleyball every Tuesday evening & he is taking a spinning class bright & early Thursday mornings. I am taking a weight lifting class every Tuesday & Thursday evening & a spinning class Saturday. The boys are both registered in swimming lessons & Dom is in gymnastics (he can do one heck of a summersault!).

And to add to our busyness, Jason & I, the elite athletes that we are have entered some races. Jason has registered for his Triathlon in May - it is a super sprint - run, swim, & bike. Go Jason go! I am going to do the Melissa's run in Banff this September with Susan, Krista & her sister. It is only 10 km but apparently a killer hill.

On Family day long weekend Amanda & Jeremy came to visit. On the Sunday we took the whole family out to Fernie for some skiing (not sure what we were thinking after the Waterton fiasco). It all worked out quite well - Jeremy & Jason skied the morning while Amanda & the boys & I hung out in the lodge & outside as well. After lunch Jeremy & I hit the slopes (& I led Jeremy & I to some places I should not have been), Jason took Dom out on the slopes (he loved it, he didn't want to snow plow because it slowed him down too much, & Amanda hung out with screaming Liam(he did sleep for a couple of hours)...........bet you can't wait for that baby Amanda! It was a lot of fun & everyone slept well that night (Dom was asleep before we left the parking lot).

I have previewed my stuff & I need to work on the formatting stuff but I will figure it out, at least you can see pictures! Stay tuned for our weekend in Canmore with Aimee!

The Kwas blog returns with Mrs. Kwas

2008-02-26T10:08:00.002-07:00

Since my husband is soooo busy & can't keep up with this blog thing, I am going to try & take it over. I make no promises at the humour only Jason can provide but I will keep people updated with what we have been doing & most importantly pictures.

December: the Recap

2007-12-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

So, this work thing is really getting in the way of my blogging, and Tracy doesn't seem to want to pick up the slack.

Quick recap since the last posting:

Grandpa Bill and Grandma Cheryl were down babysitting for a week while Tracy, Aimee, and Amanda went off to Portland to watch "So You Think You Can Dance". I think that everyone had a great time. The girls brought back way too many gifts for everyone (so many that the Mastercard Lady called to see if we had misplace our card and then proceeded to tell me that it was going to be a very nice Christmas) and Dominic told us all the stuff that was going on when I was away at work. That little guys has got to work on his blackmailing skills.
We had a lady come in and do some interior decorating for us. I guess Tracy got sick of all the bare walls and decided it would be a good idea to let someone spend our money without us first okaying the plan. The whole reality decorating show idea is great, but scary when it's your money. It turned out great though and now our house is ready to have visitors (i.e. house warming party - January 5)
Tracy got sick of hearing me complain about my skis and so went and picked me up a new pair. I was extremely shocked and thankful, then she told me it wasn't a Christmas present and she would be garnishing my wages to pay for them. I don't really care, cause they look great and I can't wait to carve some turns in Jasper over the holidays.

We all hope that everyone has a great Christmas full of friends, food, and presents.

Kaboodle

2007-11-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

So, with some people being so anal that they feel the need to finish their Christmas shopping before the end of November, the Kwasny family in Lethbridge is releasing their shopping lists that everyone has been crying for. The lists are on the right of the blog and will be added to (and hopefully subtracted from) up until the 6th of January (for those of us who celebrate the Orthodox Christmas). All of the items are from online stores, and have a link to "buy it at" that store. I believe that this will take the item off the list, but I'm not entirely sure. You can also click "reserve" if you want it known to other shoppers that you are buying (or have bought) that gift (i.e. not online). Don't worry, we won't be checking on what is on or off the list (well, I won't but I can't speak for Tracy).

Please don't feel that this is an exhaustive list, or that you need to buy us anything at all. This is totally just meant to help people (i.e. Grandmothers) out with their shopping.

And for those of you who left the mocking comments and who obviously are not on top of their Marvel Comic Book characters, Dominic was Spider Man and I was Doctor Octopus.

Catch Up!

2007-11-07T20:24:00.001-07:00

So obviously I need to do some catching up as some people think that somethings could have happened in the last 2 months. To get the easy stuff out of the way, school is good and Tracy is still enjoying being at home.

Now, Liam is doing very well. He seems to be growing a little bit stronger everyday. According to our records, he appears to be about the same weight (although Tracy is going to tell me that I'm wrong after she reads this) but is longer then Dominic. He's making lots of noise and has taken (over the past two weeks) to throwing a bit of a party in his room every evening around 3:00 am. He's not angry or anything, just feeling the need to wake us up and let us know that he is rested and in a good mood; I thought those days were behind us.

Dominic is as busy as ever. Tracy tries to get him out swimming at least once a week, and he really seems to enjoy the water. He's taking Kindermusic again with Breeanne, but he is sometimes the hooligan of the class as he just wants to run and look at himself in the big mirrors on occasion. Grandpa George bought him nicer skates then Mommy and Daddy have and he has been out twice on the ice. No big falls yet (an he has asked to go by himself a couple of times) and maybe that's why there is no big fear. He seems to enjoy it, but my back can only handle it in small portions. He liked wearing his helmet everywhere for awhile, and it earned him $2 for a guy in the grocery store asking me if he was a "special" kid.

Halloween was a great adventure. After we convinced Dom to get his costume on to go trick or treating, he loved it. But convincing him he would was a bit of a task. We hit about 10 houses altogether and got a half a bag full of candy. Add to that the 100 pieces of candy that we didn't give out (who knew we would only get about 12 kids - but did the last few ever hit the jackpot) and you get a lot of sugar for Mommy and Daddy. Dominic was pretty excited about it when he got home, but the novelty has worn off. Liam "the Pumpkin" had a little photo shoot with Mom while Dom and I were collecting loot, but we managed to crash the last couple of pictures.

And so it begins...(again)

2007-09-04T21:54:00.000-06:00

So the month of August has come and gone and with it's passing signifies the beginning of school for another year. I can't say that this summer was not full of adventures, even though we didn't go anywhere. Dominic kept us moving and active, as sitting around the house for too long lead to a grumpy little kid, so it was just easier to take him to the park lots. Although Liam slept for over two thirds of the summer, his three hour eat-sleep schedule kept us busy for no real good reason. And as with any house, there is always one more task to fill up some time.
We did get away for a bit, all in August which should explain the lack of posts this month. A few weeks ago we spent some family time in Edmonton and to the horror of his Grandmas, Dom was about Grandpa George and Grandpa Bill (Uncle Jeremy did get a little bit of love to). This was also about the time that Liam started to smile and coo. It's amazing how this little bit of interaction conveys so many emotions. Oh yeah, and Dominic and Tracy's first visits to West Edmonton Mall as tourists.
A couple of days at home followed (to do laundry) and then off to Canmore. I had a video-conferencing conference there and Tracy Dominic, and Liam came along for the ride. I think that everybody had fun even though we didn't make it out and about too much. Also, just because a restaurant says that you can bring a stroller in, doesn't mean that their menu is kid friendly! All kidding aside, Canmore has some great restaurants and it's too bad a guy couldn't afford to sample more of them.
Finally, we spent this past long weekend in Fairmont with Susan and Nick, Krista, Doug, Ben, Braden, and Claire, and Barry and Michelle. It was a great time, topped off with some time in the hot pools, some time in the hot tub, a fire and some roasted marshmallows, some geocaching, and a chance meeting with a cougar (sorry Krista!). Overall it was a great weekend spent with our friends. A really nice way to end the summer!

Finally, some pictures.

2007-08-07T14:19:00.001-06:00

In case there was any question, Dominic is definitely Tracy's son. A mosquito bite a little above his right eye left Dom with a Rockyish looking face for a couple of days. The swelling is not unlike that which Tracy gets whenever she is bitten. Don't worry though, everything is back to normal. Oh, and enjoy this hair picture, because Dom had a visit with Tasha today (that's his hair dresser; ask him, he'll tell you).

Also, just because it's so damn cute, a picture of Liam.

Partial redemption

2007-08-02T11:07:00.000-06:00

So Dom has partially redeemed himself. Yesterday was a good day without any accidents, but a lot of scary moments for Tracy and I. Basically, whenever Dominic stopped moving, we freaked out because we thought he was pooping. Dominic now has the appropriate attitude when he says "For the 10th time in 10 minutes, NO I don't have to go potty."
Further redemption came this morning when he asked me (through a grunting face) to go poop. But we did make it in time and everything was okay.
Now, I'm not bragging or saying that we are out of the clear or anything, just want to keep you all in touch.

And then Kharma bites you in the butt!

2007-07-31T13:44:00.000-06:00

Well, although potty training had been going well, we seem to have hit a wall. Dominic has had a couple of big accidents in the past couple of days that happened to coincide with Tracy and I thinking that we had it made. Also, the terrible twos seem to be upon us and, unbeknown to Tracy and I, there is a huge amount of frustration that accompanies this stage. Thanks for the incite all of you other parents!
On the other hand, Liam is frequently sleeping through the night (okay, 11:00 pm to 6:00 am, but come on!) and pretty much our favourite child at this point in time.

Oh yeah, and we are in the middle (hopefully end) of a freaking heat-wave; haven't seen a drop of water since (it feels like) February.

Oh that sweet smell!

2007-07-26T22:04:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update (I know 2 posts in 1 day, wow!). Today was Dom's first complete accident free day (Pooh didn't do so well though). In fact, he asked to go to the potty twice this morning with Tracy (1 number 1 and 1 number 2) and once this evening, both times when we were not at our own home. Sweet freedom from diapers I can hear you call... oh crap, Liam's still got to get trained!

First International match

2007-07-26T14:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, for those of you looking for an update on the kids - they are doing fine. Tune out now, because the rest of this post is going to be about Jason.

First, my shoes (and spandex) finally came in so now I can start riding my new bike. I spent a bit of time riding this morning while I was getting the pedals set up and the bike tuned a little bit (i.e. pumping up the tires) and I think it was money well spent. So now I have no excuse for not training for the triathlon in Fort Macleod at the end of the summer. I think I'm down to about 3 weeks before the race and I haven't been in the water in awhile. Should be interesting.

Second, as of last night (and this is stretching reality) I consider myself an International Rugby Referee. There was a touring U18 side from England (a school north of Newcastle) that played the Lethbridge Rugby Club. I thought I did a pretty good job even though my legs started to give out in the second half. Overall, the outcome was right, nobody got (too) hurt, and I didn't miss (too many) calls. The best part, I got 1 free beer for my troubles. Damn I love this sport!

Sometimes you're the pooper, sometimes you're the potty.

2007-07-22T14:10:00.000-06:00

This past Tuesday Tracy started potty training Dominic and his potty training buddy Pooh (hey, I know most of the posts are about Dom but all Liam does is eat, sleep, and poop - kind of like his dad). Things have been going really well, with only one major accident. Dominic gets treats whenever we check and he has stayed dry and whenever he goes to the bathroom on the potty. We've taken him to Sam's birthday party and to 2 baseball games, all without major incidents (mind you, I wouldn't go swimming in Sam's pool if I were you).
Now, the major incident occurred on Friday night, after an accident free day. We all went to Dairy Queen for ice cream and to the park to play. Things were going really well until we went to get Dom to leave and noticed the stream of crap that was down his leg. In his defense, it looked runny and maybe he didn't feel it coming on. Dom was obviously very embarrassed, and is now down one pair of Curious George underpants (I don't think he's curious about somethings any more). Overall, things are going well and Dom is doing very well.

Dom's day of indefinate length

2007-07-12T14:09:00.000-06:00

So yesterday we went to Calgary to order some stuff for our house, and to make our time more efficient, Shawn agreed to babysit Dominic for us. Once he warmed up to the setting, and got over his initial Buster incident, Dominic had a great afternoon at the Young's. Unfortunately for us, a great afternoon doesn't include time for a nap. He did sleep for about 30 minutes in the car, but at 11:00 pm at night (after a couple of closed door-"Go to sleep"-crying sessions) Tracy had to lay with him for a long time until he fell asleep. This was a great demonstration how a child reacts when over tired. Oh well, I got a couple of extra hours this morning as both Dominic and Tracy slept in.

As for little Liam, he is doing good. His eating is great, he is sleeping and being awake well (although not always at the appropriate times), and crying from time to time.

A few quick pics. The first is Liam sleeping (oddly enough), the second is Liam and his biggest fan, and finally Dominic and his cousin Alex (Jason and Michelle's daughter).

False Alarm

2007-07-08T22:03:00.000-06:00

So, it appears that all is okay with our little Liam. There are a bunch of options for why he eating habits dropped off so dramatically, but I guess we'll never actually know. He seems okay now, especially since Tracy and I have figured out that he doesn't really like to eat in our arms. It's funny, but he is a much better eater when he is laying on his back somewhere. Doesn't really matter though, as long as he is getting the mLs in.

On another note, my garage is getting organized nicely. I feel more like a kid in a candy shop then ever when I go to the hardware store, cause there is so many great things to get your garage organized. I promise that when I get a little farther along (I've got one more shelving unit to build and a small work bench) I'll post some pics. Jer, I'm almost jealous that I don't have a blank slate again, treasure these moments. Losing my garage virginity has been fantastic, and I haven't even parked my car in there yet.

Food?

2007-07-03T21:07:00.000-06:00

So, small issue with Liam, he doesn't think that he needs to eat! Over the past couple of days, Liam's intake has dropped to about 1/2 of what he normally eats. A trip to the Emergency on Monday, and a trip to the clinic today has led to no indication about why this is happening. Both docs that he saw did a bunch of tests (including blood work at the hospital) and nothing showed up. So, I guess these are the joys of being a parent. We've got an appointment with his doctor tomorrow, and hopefully she can give us some help.

Chateau de Kwas

2007-06-24T14:30:00.000-06:00

So, it's almost been a month since we've moved into our place, and I think that we are getting settled in. Thankfully (for all of you) my dad was here this past week, and took some pictures.

I'm not a super huge fans of a garage sticking out so far in front of the house, but I'm willing to accept that this is how you get the best use of your lot. Doesn't look like the driveway has been poured here, it's in now though.

The kitchen turned out pretty nice, even with us changing the colour of the cabinets after we had chosen everything (tile, flooring, counter tops) based off a different colour (or a picture of a different colour). I'm actually really happy with everything in the kitchen. I was worried that we wouldn't have as much space (due to not having a pantry), but I think that we ended up with more.

Also very happy with the fireplace in the basement. Rob (our builder) explained what he thought we should do, but I really didn't get a clear picture until it was framed. Once the mantel got installed and the rock set, I was really happy that we listened to what he said.

Hello, from the car in front

2007-06-14T14:13:00.001-06:00

Of all the car tech things I've read about, this probably excites me the most. This is just like in "Armageddon", when the President said that everything we have done until now has prepared us for this moment; every piece of in-car technology until now has been created to be used with this.

Researchers are turning cars into nodes that 'talk' to each other, forming a new type of wireless network. As cars enter the mobile network, drivers can download multimedia - including movies, images and songs - or get real-time information about traffic.

The iPhone

2007-06-12T20:45:00.000-06:00

So Apple is coming out with the iPhone this summer; the cellular phone that will revolutionize cell phones. Unfortunately, I'm jumping on board the "it's going to suck" bandwagon. Here's my reasons:

You can't load second party apps.
There's no expandable memory.
The competition is already strong (stronger then when the iPod came out) - see the HTC Touch

and my ace reason for Canadians:

It's going to be carried on Roger's cell network.

Sorry Cory, looks like you are waiting for a big loser.

Kwasny family update

2007-06-06T20:41:00.000-06:00

So, it's been over 3 weeks since Liam was born, and almost a week since we moved into our new house, so I think it's time for a photographic update (note: whining messages on the answer machine asking for pictures will result in further and more extended delays).

This is a picture of Liam in the hospital. We had said that we weren't going to take any pictures of him in there (just because he looks worse then he actually was), but you can't really ignore the first 3 weeks of your child's life. He came home on Monday, 1 day short of his 3 week birthday and 5 days short of his actual due date. Things are going good at home. The fantastic nurses on NICU got him on a great schedule, and he is already sleeping between 3 and 4 hours at night. The down side of this is that he sometimes needs medicine and so we have to get up in between feedings, but Tracy is working on a schedule so that we can eliminate the extra wake ups (or so she tells me.

Dominic is doing well and is very excited that his new brother is living at "Dominic's new house". I'm a little nervous that the jealous phase is going to come, but right now he is pretty understanding about not getting 100% attention anymore, and I think that he is growing pretty fond of his new little brother. He really enjoys holding Liam, and is now randomly throwing out some "I love you Liam"s (they actually occur in groups of 10, because I think Dom is waiting for Liam to reciprocate his love).

Tracy is enjoying life out of a box and is doing her best to get us settled into our new place. As of Monday night she got counter tops, and on Tuesday she got a kitchen sink and two more functional bathrooms. I am still waiting to reap the reward that is a garage and once the boxes are out, my dream will become true. We're really enjoying our new house, and I think that now that everything is basically done I'm going to miss Rob (our builder) as we've all grown accustomed to having him around. In fact, Tracy says that Dom greets him with a "Hi Rob" whenever he stops by. All kidding aside, someone was looking down on us when we decided to build with him, because I don't have a bad thing to say about the whole process. In fact, when we were waiting for counter tops, he really went to bat for us with the supplier/installer. And he bought us a couple of suppers and offered for us to go to a movie (his daughter would have babysat, except Liam is just too small) when the counter tops were being installed (starting at about 7:30ish at night).

Me, well I'm counting down the days in June. Not much more to say then that. Oh, and for those who are unobservant, I've added an RSS feed to my kaboodle wish list. Just a little reminder that an important date is coming up... and my birthday is the day before that important date.

Life's coming together

2007-06-04T22:47:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the hiatus, but things have been a little hectic with the move. So really quick update, probably should have Jaikued this.

Liam is home; it's been about 4 or 5 days since he has been tube fed and he is gaining weight regularly. No issues so far, but tonight is the first night.
Dom loves his new baby brother. Picking Liam up was comparable to when Dominic discovered trucks (those of you who were in Quebec will hopefully remember that).
Our granite was installed tonight. Although you might not think it, it is difficult to survive without a "true" kitchen.
Our new house is in shambles, but this will hopefully be rectified soon (see above point).

Look Ma, almost no tube!

2007-05-28T21:13:00.000-06:00

Quick update on our new addition (and our busy lives). Liam is doing really well, gaining strength and eating a lot more on his own. His IV got pulled a couple of days ago and he is into a regular bed (not an incubator). His feeding has really picked up and he is barely ever eating through the feeding tube. I think that he is basically gaining the strength that he would have gotten if he has stayed in the tummy a couple of more days, and so he is able to do all of this stuff on his own now. He has to go 48 hours without taking any food through the feeding tube before we can take him home, so we still have a little bit to go.
The house is coming along. I was just dropping some stuff off in the garage at 7:30 and there were still people there working. There;s not really that much left to do, but I have a feeling that we will have some trades people hanging around after we have moved in. Of well, 30 years from now, when we are selling, this will look like nothing.

Liam news

2007-05-20T13:27:00.000-06:00

Well, Liam is still in NICU, which is sad, but the outlook is good, which is happy. He slept really well last night (which seems to be all he does), but was awake for Tracy and I this morning, and fed pretty good off her breast. He seems to be gaining strength and endurance almost every time we feed him. The doctor said that things are looking good and he should have his IV out shortly. Since all of the food has been staying down and getting digested lately he doesn't need to be supplemented through the IV, which is happy. Unfortunately, he still is not taking enough food in on his own and needs to be tube fed, which is not sad but not happy either. Things are looking up everyday.
Dominic went to see Liam again today, and was quit excited just to look at him through the window. He says that he likes Liam and wants him to come to Dominic's home. I'm getting the feeling that Dom thinks that this Liam kid lives at the hospital and we just visit him lots.

Liam update

2007-05-19T21:46:00.000-06:00

So little Liam is still in the NICU. His blood cultures came back and they are infection free. He has been improving on his breast feeding technique and is awake a little more often (though it is usually around the 8:00 pm feeding, so hopefully he'll have his days and nights worked out soon). He is still not eating a tonne of food yet, and sometimes has trouble keeping it all down. But he's getting stronger and things are looking up.

Welcome to the big world little Liam

2007-05-17T14:34:00.000-06:00

So once again Tracy had here oven set too high, and our little baby was finished before the recommended cooking time was over. On Tuesday night at 10:47 we welcomed little Liam into our world. He was very small (5lbs 3oz) which should have made the delivery easier, but he came out face up (as opposed to the recommended face down) which made the delivery more uncomfortable. And not just for mom. At one point, Tracy bit down on my thumb, and I think that I still have teeth marks.

Everybody was happy to meet Liam. and aside from a little jealousy, this includes Dominic. He loves his little brother, was so proud to be holding him, and got upset when he couldn't go into NICU to see him, but he was a little jealous when Mommy was holding Liam and not Dominic.

So for those of you reading every second word, I did say NICU. Because Liam was small and early he has had a couple of issues. First, he is having trouble staying warm. Second he was a little dehydrated. This all led to him being admitted into NICU and the wonderful (I really mean wonderful) staff there taking care of him. I'm happy to say that he is doing great, and it is just more of a precautionary thing then anything else that he is staying in there.

As for Tracy, she is doing really well. With Liam being formula fed in the hospital, she is pumping to get her milk in. She came home today, but we'll all probably spend the next couple of days at the hospital watching over our new addition. Special thanks to Aunty Aimee who put in the request for the baby to be born during her vacation in Lethbridge and for watching over Dominic when Mommy was delivering too.

Counter tops are an option?

2007-05-07T21:15:00.000-06:00

So, we took a quick tour of our new house today to talk about the tiles. We also saw our cabinets, installed, for the first time. I was away in Europe when Tracy made the final decision on the cabinets, so I actually had only a small idea of what to expect. I am very satisfied though. Our Kitchen is not as open as the one we have now, which I think is going to take some getting used to, but I'm really excited.
We also got word that we might be moving in without counter tops. We are putting granite into this place, and the guys who do that in Lethbridge are a little bit behind. So even though Rob Pohl (our builder) is putting the pressure on, there isn't to much hope in moving in with them installed. The good news is, they should be in right around our possession date.
Speaking of excited, Dominic was very excited about his new room. Tracy told him that he could have hockey pucks on the wall which in his mind equates to hockey pucks, hockey nets, hockey sticks, and basically anything related to hockey! Oh well, we'll do our best.

It's just like coaching?

2007-05-03T20:35:00.000-06:00

Someone once told me that refereeing rugby was just like coaching, because you could coach the teams while you were in the actual game. That's probably true if you are in the right position, not out of breath, and the teams are listening to you. Don't get me wrong, there are coachable moments on the pitch, but there are a lot more "Oh $%^&!" moments.
First year reffing has been a blast. Hopefully I'll get a lot more games in before the end of the season, and feel a lot more comfortable on the pitch.

Jaiku to you too...

2007-05-01T20:56:00.000-06:00

So you may notice that I have a Jaiku presence badge on my blog. Following in the fame of Twitter, Jaiku is a "new" mini-blog site. Once you sign up, you can post quick messages (140 characters or less) from just a computer or SMS (text) from your cell. I'll admit, it sounds extremely stupid, but it is very addictive. I wasn't going to get involved, but after all the hype around Twitter (you have to listen/read techie stuff to hear the hype) and the news about Leo Laporte (TWiT fame) moving over, I took the plunge.
Another cool thing is that you can use it as a type of RSS reader, allowing you to subscribe to blog feeds. You can also set up contacts of other people who are using Jaiku and keep track of their Jaikus as well. Again, sounds lame, but once you leave it running for a day on your computer at work, you just get drawn in and end up posting because you can.
Click on the badge to check out mine (if you want) and let me know if anyone signs up so I can put you on my contact list. Or if you are into Twitter, send me the RSS feed link.

Sold

2007-04-28T14:23:00.000-06:00

We sold our house! Took a couple of days, then 4 more days to clear the conditions, but our house has been sold. Thanks to the booming real estate market in Lethbridge, this was a very comfortable experience.

Greece and Italy sans wine!

2007-04-15T13:38:00.000-06:00

Well, I didn't think that it could be done, but I managed to complete the trip to Greece and Italy with 6 other chaperons and 54 grade 11 and 12 students without a regular drink. In fact, my total alcohol consumption for this trip was about 2/8 of an ounce, all coming from 2 samples of Lemoncella (an Italian liqueur) given in store before I bought a bottle of the second stuff I sampled.
That being said, the temptation was there; day 1 - a student lost his passport, day 2 - the passport turned up in Athens (with another student), original student still in London, sleeping in the airport then going to the Canadian consulate to get another passport, day 3 through 12 various student stupidities and crying sessions, day 13 - flight from Rome canceled after 4 hours in the plane, day 15 - arrived home at 3:30 am.
Great trip though. I loved Rome and think I would go back in a second. In fact the Euro that I threw into the Trevi Fountain pretty much assures that I will be going back some day. Greece was great too, even though I didn't enjoy Athens that much (aside from the freaking Parthenon!).

Construction

2007-03-24T13:26:00.000-06:00

So, here I sit once again, making the promise to update this blog more often. A small amount of motivation has come from the overwhelming number of posts that Cory has been uploading, even if very little has to do with information that any of us care about (aside from the sicknesses - hope you are feeling better Nardine, and the report card - well done little Dylan).

Tracy is doing well, and the baby is definitely growing. Aside from the constant feeling of being fat ("No Tracy, you're pregnant.") and a sore back, things are going really well. That being said, talk to her at the beginning of April, when I'm gone, our house goes up for sale, she's taking care of Dominic, and the builder is asking her shat shade of taupe the walls are supposed to be and the answer might be something completely different.

Dominic is doing well, but I think he is hitting the "terrible twos" a little early. He is very insistent that stuff is "mine", and wants to do everything on his own. Including walk/fall down the steps in front of our house last Thursday resulting in some scrapes on his face. Dom is considering being a contractor, and has asked that I update his resume with the following pictures of him inspecting our new house; I feel sorry for whoever left the empty tube of adhesive lying around, they are in for an earful.

Quick update on what is going on with me. In less about 1 week I am going to be boarding a plane bound for Europe. Stopping first in London, then continuing on to Athens for an educational tour with students. Notice educational is not in quotation marks, because we are under strict orders from the School Board to abstain from any type of alcoholic beverages. Now, going to Greece and not drinking Zambucca is bad enough, but we will continue into Italy where we are also not allowed to sample the wine. I'm a little up set about that one, but I'm sure it will be made up for at some point in my life. Nice thing is that the school is footing the bill so that I can scout out all the great spots for when Tracy, Dom, Jr., and I all go back.

Do you want to go again? No.

2007-01-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

So, we took Dom snowshoeing for the first time (I know, this is supposed to be about Maui, but this is more recent). He was a little stiff sitting in the sled, but every time we asked him if he was having fun he nodded yes. After the trip we asked him if he had fun and he nodded yes, but when we asked him if he wanted to go again he always responds no. In my defense, he said this on the trail before I flipped the sled and gave him a bloody nose.

Over all it was a successful trip, with one big low point. Hopefully Dom's memory is short. Check out the picture in our photos.

Best intentions don't count for much.

2007-01-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

So unlike what my previous posts said I have not maintained this blog. I fully intended to, but that don't count for much. So new year, new enthusiasm.

As some of you already new, my New Year's resolution was to take a picture a day for 2007. That way, at the end of the year I could look back and see what I had done. It started out strong until we lost our digital (and only) camera in Maui. I was fully going to snap some picks and say they were from January 1-3, but that wouldn't be right. Then I figured that you guys would give me a pass on the first couple of days due to the circumstance and the emotional trauma that I am still living through. Unfortunately I have missed a couple of other days since then.

So, new New Year's resolution, to take lot's of pictures (try for 1 a day), post them to a Flickr account, and keep them organized and commented on every couple of days. Along with this, I have revived Denali 2005, under a new title, Denali 2012. I have started the research and began recruiting members. Although a long-term goal, hopefully this one will work out.

I'll post some pics in a couple of days and through out some details of our Maui trip, but for now, good night.

2006-09-23T09:52:00.000-06:00

Well, not a lot of new stuff going on, but I figure that I should update the Kwas blog because I said I would. Both Tracy and I have been busy with work. Tracy is loving her new job (and new office - not a cubicle). She's been doing lots of reading at home trying to figure out what to tell moms whose children are picky eaters (you mean every one's kid doesn't like grapefruit and sushi?). I'm just busy doing what I do and trying to convince people that I should be going on our school's travel club trip to Italy/Greece/Turkey at Easter. I think I'm almost there too.

Dom's been busy playing with Grandma, then with Sam and Susan, then with Aunty Amanda, and it was a bit of an adjustment going back to Jen's but I think a lot of that had to do with a bug that he caught (hmmm, who was the last one to babysit him? Don't hire that one again!). But he's come through a-okay and is almost back to his regular self.

Now for the pictures. We took a little trip to the Calgary Zoo and Calaway Park on September long weekend and although it was tough to tell sometimes, I think Dom loved it. I say this because he was never really excited about the rides, he just didn't want to get off. His favourite animal was probably the Giraffe but the monkeys were right up there too. Favourite ride, hands down was the train. The options were a little limited though due to his height (damn his mother's genes!).

That's all for now. Thanks to everyone who babysat and to everyone whose coming to visit make sure to bring food to feed the animals!

Yeah for Tracy!

2006-09-02T08:42:00.000-06:00

Alright, a quick update on our little family. Before our holiday to Quebec, Tracy applied for a job and because she was so qualified they postponed the interviews until she got back. Well, long story short, she got the position and is now the new Out-Patient Dietitian for Lehtbridge. I don't know what this means (except no raise) other then she no longer has to work with only old people and she now works out of the health unit (aka the Train Station).
Also, the Summer of Dom is over as I return to work and have to start dealing with other people's children again. Should be a good year though. Some new staff in our school and that positive outlook that always comes from the beginning of the year. I'm psyched!
Alright y'all, have a great weekend. Tracy, Dom, and I are off to Calgary and the Zoo for the weekend, so we should have some fun.
I'll sign off with another picture from Quebec (Who taught him to kiss?).

Welcome

2006-08-29T20:42:00.000-06:00

Quick change to a new sight. Didn't like somethings with the other sight, so here will be our new home.

So, I figure that with Tracy and I both at work, the e-mails are going to get very few and far between (very similar to what this summer was like). So, taking a cue from the Kwasny’s out east, I have set up this blog, and will try and keep up with it (I’m also going to try and use one with some of my classes, so that might help me too).

Anyway, I’ll sign this post off with a picture and remind you to keep rockin’!

(This was the post from the previous blog)