Keystone Standard Basin

The best trail in the universe?

Except when you get a flat and are eaten by blackflies.

"Camping"

Well, not really. We tried to hike into a little lake in the Gold range, but it was an overgrown alder bushwhack and AMG had a sore knee so we bailed about 3/4 of the way in. I was also crabby most of the time. As usual.
Instead we pulled the truck over to a sunny, and mostly bug free spot and had a nice picnic.

Tobin doing what children were meant to do.

Goin' Fishin'.

Helping out with the Truck

Tobin gave me a hand fixing the truck yesterday. He was very helpful, handing me all the sockets out of the socket set, then all the wrenches, then all the nuts that were required for the repair. Then he helped me by holding my legs while I quietly cursed rusty bolts, gravity and dirty undersides of pickups...

Helping out dressed in his European, 101 Dalmation shortpant suit

gddman, mthr... the last timeitrytofixthecoddmantruck...mmmumblemumblemumble....

Riding his inoperable remote controlled ATV from the thrift store. Don't get your hopes up Tobin, this is as close to owning an ATV as you'll ever get.

And here he is, live. I'm not sure what the trigger was for his dismount midway through and the hopping. Some kind of a Manchurian Candidate episode.

Found the Camera

Yes, that's a pretty lame title. It's really debilitating not having a camera, I've recently discovered.

Old photos, Ann-Marie post op

Notice anything Not Ghetto Style about this picture?

That's right, Ann-Marie's mom, Super Gran, came up for two weeks to help out with child minding duties, nursing duties etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc............ AND she re-covered our skanky-ass, ghetto/trailer/white trash style couches!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to stage a photo of Jen chained to the sewing machine with a handkerchief tied around her head, slaving away on the couches. But it didn't happen, so you'll have to take my word that it was just staged.

Mr Yellow Pants doing some studying. "that's right Tobin you're going to be a doctor. A DOCTOR, whether you like it or not". Tobin's going to be a doctor.

"Look, Nana, you have an Acer rubrum growing in your yard." Says the Pantless Botanist

New Knee No Camera

I thought I'd better head off the disparaging comments about an outdated posting. Somehow, we've lost the camera. Or more accurately I've lost the camera but it's more fun to *shift* the blame to Tobin or the dog.
Anyway. Ann-Marie had knee surgery last Thursday and has probably broken the record for most extreme pendulum swing when it comes to activity. Four days before surgery she won the Calgary marathon. Four days after surgery she's lying around like a champion, eating bon-bons and reading more books than she's probably read in her entire life.
Things are going pretty well though, I'm amazed she hasn't gone crazy. Yet.
Once I find the camera, or buy a new one (any suggestions?) I'll put some pictures up of me beating her in a race down the street.

Here's a pic that'll do for now. Harry in a swamp.

Ever since then, she's been the CHAMP!

Yes, well Ann-Marie just ran the Calgary Marathon. She wanted to run one last race before her knee surgery (on thursday) and wanted to see just how fast she could run a marathon. Well, she happened to run it faster than any of the other 260 women also competing at the marathon!
SHE WON THE GODDAMNED MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here she is crossing the line with a winning time of 3:08.

In the background you can see second place for the women. Ann-Marie caught her and passed her with one kilometer to go! It was a sprint to the finish and she won by 4 seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The woman she beat is ranked 453 out of the top 1450 female elite runners in the US; these 1450 women are vying for a spot on the US olympic team. Crazy. My wife is crazy.

Unfortunately for Tobin and me we missed the whole thing.

Tobin went down for a nap just as his mother started dominating and we didn't get down to the finish line until she'd finished. We were pretty sad. When I saw Ann-Marie she had this crazy look on her face, hobbling around on peg legs with a man's XL t-shirt on and a big plastic bag hung on her arm. I thought she'd gone off the deep end! She looked like a fit, homeless lady who had just been given a nice clean Powerbar t-shirt.

Crazy lady

So then there were the awards. "Everyone stand around awkwardly in your large cowboy hat"

Then there was the interview by Peter Gzowski, yes, interview:

"Yeah, well, um I guess I just thought, well, I'm just going for a nice long run and I'll see how it goes, and then I won! Funny hey?"

Flashing the cheque around: (suddenly I'm taking more of an interest in Ann-Marie training harder...)

Cowgirl up! Somewhere under that hat:

And then Tobin got bored and started taking pictures:

...Of himself

...Of dad's nostril hairs


...Of mom, standing under her hat

Christina Lake!!!

We jetted down to Xina Lake after the super fun pagan wedding on Saturday. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision to cut out of work and bail on all responsibilities and run away for a couple of days to hang out with Chris, Kirsten and Coen. But hey, summer evidently only comes one weekend a year around here. Fun to have some cousin times!
Even though it looks like we spent the whole time throwing children dangerously high, we didn't, they got a little tired of it after two or three hundred times. Certainly sooner than Chris or I got tired of it.

Brother 1: I bet I can throw my son higher than you can.

Brother 2: I bet I can throw your son higher than you can.

The best part about these pictures is that the mothers weren't wringing their hands telling us to stop, but operating the camera.

Coen showing his mother's gymnastic genes

Washing the sand down with some grapes.

Smile if you like eating sand! And rubbing it in your eyes, ears, hair...

Okay boys, when Uncle Chris goes out on the dock I'll kneel down behind him and you push him in the water.

drifters... drifting

Blue Steel - Toddler style

Flight of the Fledgling