Congrats

Johns degree came in the mail today. We missed his official ceremony so had a breif one of our own. (Luckily we have a very ample dress up box so finding a grad hat was no problem.) I am so proud of him and we are thrilled that this part of our life is finished. On to the next adventure!

A "BEARY" fun time!!!

...Literally. When I was little I used to have vivid dreams of being chased by a bear, and I've admittedly grown up with a bit of a phobia of them. (those who have ever camped with me would know:) Despite that- I've still had the strange desire to encounter a bear in the wild. I've never made a trip to the mountains in all these years without straining to spot something moving in the trees. Never anything...not even a glimpse. Today was the day! On our way up to Cameron Lake we spotted this little guy off to the side of the road.



The picture won't necessarily show how close we got but take my word for it...I could feel his breath on my FACE! Ok not really...and perhaps I should mention that I was still technically inside our van...but we were VERY close. His name is "GRIZ" so hopefully that big hump on him means he is infact a grizzly. (though he is pretty black) Perhaps the bear expert in my family could correct me on that if needed.

I can't help but feel a sense of awe whenever I encounter a magnificent animal in its natural habitat. I once got to go sailing past an island off the coast of BC where we saw hundreds of Eagles perched on the rocks. Same thrill. It nice to have little moments like that to remind us that despite the concrete world we've built there is still a lot of beautiful nature to enjoy!

To the "DADS" in my life...

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.

Since it is Fathers Day I've spent a good portion of the day reflecting on the Fathers in my life. It has been three and a half months since my Dad passed away and I rarely go a day without noticing a small gap that he used to fill. I miss his hearty laugh and his sense of humor. He was not a wealthy man in any way...but I do feel like my childhood was very "rich". One thing that was always important to him was that his daughters marry well. Point for me!!!! I could not have married a better man. John is such a wonderful Dad to the kids and he has all the qualities I lack. He's patient, hardworking...incredibly good. "Practically perfect in every way!" Now if I could just get him to stop teaching the kids to play with their food...:)))
I love him so much.






So here's to them and all you Dad's on Fathers Day. We think you're GREAT!!!

Just a day at the Park!

Can you think of a better place to be?

For all you Stryker fans out there...

John here...

I am entering the BLOGOSPHERE(sp??) for the first time in the wake of my lovely wife Tanis to post this (you'll need to turn off our onsite music player before you watch this):

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just appreciate that the excitement you might experience while watching this montage is nothing compared to what you might feel if you were flying this plane. The model featured here is my brother Jordan's F-27C Stryker. I currently am flying the precursor model, the F-27B, and I concur with the online bloggers regarding this plane in that it's durability, agility, and acrobatics ensure that this type of RC plane will be around for a long time. Enjoy!!!

Sincerely,

Wing Commander John W. Hardy, 2nd Airborne Division

First Week

It's been exactly one week since we left Calgary.
On Saturday I took the kids out to Waterton for the day. I wasn't sure how an outing with three kids and no help would go but it was such a nice time. The kids loved the "magic waterfall." It was close to impossible to keep Sam from sliding under the fence to get a little closer, and equally difficult to convince Abby that it wouln't be wise to try to capture the squirrels rummaging nearby. Kids will be kids I guess. We took a nice walk over to the Tuscany and had spaghetti on the patio. It was really relaxing to sit in the shade and watch all of the tourists. A quick stop by the Big Scoop for ice cream and then we topped off the day by playing at the playground. Sam climbed up here all by himself...infact I wasn't even aware of it. (oops) Daring little guy:)) Luckily I managed to snap a picture just before he slipped through one of the rungs and skinned his knee. What we won't do for a picture eh.



Speaking of pictures...I tried to take some photos of my kids laying on our giant parachute. I thought all of the bright colors would be a cute backdrop. Unfortunately nothing really turned out well. Between the kids who would NOT stay still and John who was equally uncooperative...this is all I have to show for that.




Down the street from John's parents is a small pasture with three horses, (minnie, gus and joker.) The kids LOVE feeding them, and I like to pretend that they are ours. I think our walks to the horses will become part of our daily routine:) It is so nice to sit outside each evening and hear the crickets and frogs.


On Tuesday we bought a house! It is small and we will definately outgrow it in a couple of years but we have lots of plans to fix it up and make it our home for awhile. What we love most about it is all the yard space and the large garden on the west side of it.
We are loving it down here and so glad we can stay at John's parents until our home is ready. The kids are really lucky to get to be around their AWESOME Grandma and Grandpa so much, and this small town living is kinda nice.