Bugs Palace!

Been a busy month at work and in life… I’ll try to make this brief…..

First up: Happiest of birthdays to my boy Joe. Words cant share just how blessed we are to have him in our lives. He is one of the sweetest, kindest and craziest little boys you will ever meet. Gives with no thought of getting anything in return, and has the drive to get whatever he sets his mind to. Happy 8th birthday bud… Slow down!

Abby and Shannon (along with Karen and Sarah) participated in a 5k Mud run. So very proud of all the girls who went and worked their butts off. Sounds like they had a great time and go suuuper muddy to boot!  While they were there, Chuck and Matt took Joe and I See-Dooing Pretty much cementing the fact that we need a pair of these in our lives. So much fun bombing up and down the river.  Thanks for a great afternoon guys! Next time you want to go, don’t hesitate to call 🙂

Baseball season is well underway! It’s been a busy one again so far! With both kids playing and Shannon and I helping coach/manage both teams we are once again living our lives in our summer home — the ball diamond — and we love it. Kids are getting so good at playing and really getting into baseball as a sport. Now they actually want to watch games on TV and look forward to games the same way I remember doing when I was a kid. Love this sport, and these kids!

Speaking of sports/kids and birthdays – Joe got his first dirtbike! We took both kids out to Gopher Dunes for his birthday where they took a two hour lesson on riding. Both are coming along very well. Joe wrecked pretty hard during this forrest trail which has scared a bit of sense into him, but both still itching to ride! For his birthday he got his 2003 Honda CRF70 bike. Haven’t ridden it much as he needs a bit more gear to be really safe, and we need a bit more open space for him to ride Abby has also taken to it pretty quick. More-so then Joe actually. The extra 2 years she has shows when learning new tasks like this. I have no doubt they’ll both be doing jumps in the yard by summers end.

Also in the garage, the Jeep had its next big round of modifications completed. 3 new KC lights on the bumper bar, and 2 more mounted on the A-Pillars. Looks great and shines like day-time. While we were at it, I tought Shannon how to use a sawzall and had her ‘bob’ off the ends of her front bumper and then we installed new end caps. Jeep looks even more menacing then before. 185,000km and still a beast!

The Sierra has finally been lowered! 7″ drop in the rear and 4-4.5 in the front. I’m 95% happy with it. I think I may still chop the front down another .5-.75″ in the front. Ive currently got a  touch more reverse rake then I would like and I would rather bring the front down more instead of raising the rear. For now, I’m in no rush. Just an afternoon task to tackle sometime this summer when the family is out and about.

Nothing to report for the bike or bug. Bike being driven as much as weather permits, and the bug hasn’t moved much. No stickers on it, and I’m not sure I will be buying any. May just take the season off from it while I focus on on a million other projects.

Finally house planning has been coming a long well. We’ve got the official drawings of the addition and the build list for materials. Just waiting on a couple more quotes for cement and labour and we can go to the bank…. Unless new, unexpected projects come  up first… More on that next time…….. #IntentionallyOminous

Finally the winter appears to be behind us! It wasn’t a particularly bad winter, just felt like it went on forever. Just when the weather started looking good – BAM another 5cm of snow. I don’t want to jinx it, but I feel it has finally ended.

Spring means baseball! And boy does my little family love baseball. The kids have been fully taken in by my favourite sport, and it has been awesome! They have really taken an interest in watching MLB games with Shannon and I and really doing well at learning more of the rules and nuances of the games. Pretty sure they can name nearly every starting player on the Yankees. LOVE it. Also, with spring comes the kids baseball as well! Started about 6 weeks ago with some indoor spring training and also a pitching clinic for Abby. Both have been doing very well! And when at home, anytime there is a free moment, one ore both are outside playing catch with each other or the trampoline we have turned on its end to throw against. Shaping up to be a super fun summer!

Earlier in this month, Joe celebrated his first Holy Communion. Boy was suited up and looking super slick. He did great with his reading and singing and was very proud of himself for doing it. Shannon, myself and the rest of the family couldn’t be more proud. Good job buddy!

Garage update: slow and steady. We’ve hired someone to do some drawings for us to take to the building department. First revision looked great. Needed some minor adjustments to the ceiling height in the garage to allow for the hoist, but overall they are coming along nicely. Hoping for a “final draft” in the near future. Once we have those, it’s time for pricing out the job (materials and labour) and then its time to go to the bank and figure out how to pay for this. So close, yet still so far away. Still cautiously optimistic that we will be breaking ground this summer.

Vehicle updates: Bug is still sleeping. Nothing has been done to the bike other then riding every chance I get. Put some decent km’s on already. Shannon bought me a new helmet for my birthday. So far, I am loving it. It is a Sena Momentum Lite. Basically a helmet with Sena communicator built into it. Quality is excellent. Its breaking in to fit my head perfectly, and the Bluetooth stuff works very very well. Thanks again wifey!  Sierra has a new set of shoes on her. 20″ OEM wheels. Also, I have a small stack of parts in the garage waiting to be installed as well a few more parts on order. Hoping to have everything on hand by end of next week for a install blitz during my holiday from May 19-27. The Jeep has it’s on stash of parts as well! 3 new lights for the light bar are ready for install, as well as 2 more to be installed on the A-pillars with new mounts are sitting at the mailbox ready for pickup. Should be a fairly straight forward job, just lots of wiring to get figured out. Goal is to have all the parts for the Sierra/Sahara installed by June 1.

How the hell did I get here? Well, I guess if I have to be 40, I may as well make it fabulous ;-). Seriously though, I’d like to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who took time to wish me a happy birthday. I love you all!

Birthdays are a time to think about the past, the present and the future. And with that, I think more about family and friends who were part of my life as I grew from childhood, through my teens and into adulthood; and about the people who I’ve lost through time, distance, or from passing. I think about the people who are in my life now, the people who are important to me each day in their own ways. I also start to think to the future. Who will remain close to me? Who will drift away? Who will become new friends?

I’ve been fortunate to have a lifetime full of people who mean the world to me. Whoever said “siblings and cousins will be your first best friends” probably didn’t even consider how fortunate people like me would be. I’ve got the best cousins anyone could ever ask for – even the ones who aren’t part of my daily life. Add to them amazing aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and grandparents – fortunate is the understatement of the year!

Outside of the family, I can happily say I’ve been just as fortunate. The “crew” may not as big as it once was, but the friends who have stayed in my life these past few years and those who are new friends are some phenomenal people. People I know that at a moments notice, I can depend on them being at my side. The measure of a friend is not how often you see each other, or get together… It’s about how easily things fall back into place the moment we’re together.

And of course, I wouldn’t be here without my parents. Birthdays really have nothing to do with the person celebrating. They had nothing to do with it! The day should be about recognizing the amazing people who are still two of the most important people in my life. Saying I wouldn’t be the man I am now without you; or that I would be lost without you in my life is putting it mildly. I think daily of what you guys would do with nearly every option I face. I still do whatever I can to make you both proud. It’s as important to me now as it was when I was just a little boy.

And if those amazing parents are the reason that I am who I am today, – then Shannon, Abby and Joe are the reasons I continue to try and improve every single day. To be the best husband and father that I can be. There are days that I struggle, but they make me want to be better at everything I do.  My day starts with the 3 of them in my thoughts and heart, and my nights end with them too. And pretty much every thought in between. Everything I do is for my beautiful, brilliant, loving wife and our perfect miniature versions of us.

To my wife, our kids, my family and my friends – I love you all with all my heart. Thank you for always being there. In my next 40 years, I will strive to be as important to you, as you all have been to me.