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Today we got some chores done around the acreage. This week we are planning on doing some fishing and swimming prior to our trip to Pincher Creek on the weekend to look for a house.


Carolyn did a good job of outlining the driveway with stones. You can see the For Sale sign is up out front; no one looking yet!


It was finally time for a hair cut for Blair & I....ah so much nicer!


The "John Deere Boyz"!

The Trip!

The trip itself to Codette was a very trying one, we left on the 21st and drove the whole way with only a few breaks along the way. On the way back was the same thing we made a couple of stops for visits but made the entire trip in one day. This was a good primer for the trip to Hinton next week.


All of us at the Nipawin Museum.


Watching movies in the truck...


...and chewing gum!


Some of that Saskatchewan scenery passing by.


We drove by the edge of a storm just out of Kyle.


Goodwin House on Lake Diefenbaker.

Other fun while on vacation!

Here's some of the fun the kids had while on their vacation to Saskatchewan;


Grandpa had an old record player and dug out some vinyl classics, things got pretty wild in the boat house and few records were broken.


Blair tried making a fish trap at the beach and managed to corner some minnows, but in the end all he caught were a bunch of leeches between his toes.


This pose seemed to be quite fitting for Blair.


Erinn found a dead finch in grandma's flower garden.


Grandpa & Kirby making a pit stop on the hiking trail.


Kirby living a dream; eating peas in a pea field!


Blair snorkeling in Codette Lake; note his floatation technique.


Erinn birdwatching on the Saskatchewan River with her new binoculars.


The girls having some laughs with grandpa!

Vacation Highlights!

While in Codette the kids kept busy...




...in the garden picking peas and raspberries...


...visiting the past at the local museum...


...playing with dad's Tonka toys in the backyard...


...swimming in Codette Lake...


...and fishing with grandma!

Summer Vacation!

Last week the kids and I went to Codette, Saskatchewan to visit my parents. Carolyn had to stay home and work.


The kids loved swimming in the lake, here they are under grandpa's pontoon boat.


Blair got a new fishing rod and was able to hook into this nice Walleye, it measured 47 cms and made for some good eating. That's all we caught all week!


This kids with grandpa & grandma out on Codette Lake.


Blair & Erinn playing at Smit's Beach on Codette Lake.


We stopped to see great grandma in Humboldt, she's the only great grandparent that the kids have left, she's doing pretty good for being in her early 90's!

Last Day!

Well today was my last day as a policeman, ironically I finished teaching firearms to the the recruits and in 2 weeks I will be starting my new job as a recruit!

My last 10 and a half years as a policeman have been exciting and rewarding, I've had some ups and downs but in the end I know I won't miss anything about the job other than the friends I have made along the way, no more domestics or fighting with drunks. I am really looking forward to returning to my chosen profession, protecting the fish & wildlife, I have lots of skills & experience to share with my new co-workers and I know they look forward to having me, in fact one called today to welcome me aboard.

For the next two weeks I will be unemployed, the kids & I plan on spending a week in Codette with my parents while Carolyn works then a week relaxing at home before training starts in Hinton on August 5th. My posting will be Pincher Creek, Carolyn & I listed the acreage on Monday, we plan on going out to look for a new place on the August long weekend in hopes we can sell then buy there prior to the kids having to start school. After my 16-weeks of training are complete I will join the family in Pincher and begin my new career path.

Wild Night!

Last night there were reports of a tornado just northeast of Bow Island touching down and headed east towards Medicine Hat at 65 km/hr. The kids are still at the farm and spent the evening hiding out in the basement of mama & papa's house.


This is what we saw to the west after reading the reports on the Internet and talking to Carolyn's parents.


As it approached I noticed the clouds were really blowing around, I then noted that some were going north and some were going south, meaning a possible tornado!


This was the sky to the south, a patch of blue framed by more scary looking clouds.


To the north things were really ominous and there was lighting shooting out in all directions, the wildest was the sheet lightning that was shooting across the clouds above us.


And then the wind came, I estimate it got up to 100+ km/hr straight out of the north, if the trampoline wasn't anchored down it would of come right through the dining room window, the uprights were flexing so much I thought they were going to bend in half.
At one point the barbecue blew over and was resting against one of the basement windows, when I went to go outside to move it I couldn't unlock the deadbolt on the patio door because of the pressure from the high winds blowing on it so I decided to leave it. I went back to the dining room window and was watching the wind when all of sudden the barbecue shot straight out from the back of the house and was only stopped by the natural gas hose attached to the side of the house. Not wanting the gas line to get damaged I braved the elements and detached the hose and threw a cement block on the barbecue so it wouldn't become airborne.

When I left for work this morning I had a quick look around for any damage, the only thing we had was some trim was loose on the side of the roof and a couple of the metal poles for Carolyn's solar lights got bent, other than that we were lucky once again. Some of our neighbours weren't so lucky, some lost shingles and a trampoline was folded in half. Burdett, Bow Island & Seven Persons seemed to have got hit the worst with missing roofs, downed trees and blown down crops. The news was reporting trampolines blowing across the highway and through residential areas, a Porsche was blown over in Southridge (an area we used to live in in Medicine Hat), grain bins were in the ditches along Highway 3 and several roofs were blown off.

Tonight they had more storm warnings so we decided to go to the baseball game in the Hat; in the 4th inning it started to sprinkle, then ran, then downpour, then hail. The game was cancelled and will resume tomorrow night!!!!

Fishers!

While at Gold Springs Campground this past weekend we were treated to some awesome trout fishing in the little oxbow lake that surrounds the campground.

The kids were able to walk down from the campsite and fish right there.

Blair is becoming quite the little fisherman, I lost track of how many he caught.

This was one of the bigger ones, that he caught, out of all the fish we kept.

Erinn with her first fish on ever!

For some reason she didn't want to hold her catch so dad had to, but you can tell by the grin she was pretty happy.

Dad actually got some time in fishing too, when he wasn't changing hooks, putting more bait on, untangling a line, taking a fish off, getting bug spray, getting water....you get the idea!

I even managed to catch a few too. We cooked up 3 for dinner the one day and brought two of the bigger ones home in the freezer, the rest were all released back into the lake, except for the one the sea gull took right after I threw it back in!

Mom & mama supervising the fishing.

The kids were out there first thing in the morning and every chance they got throughout the day.

Well not everyone caught a fish!

Kirby broke her fishing rod but dad was prepared and she was able to use the spare, she caught a few too but I didn't manage to get any pictures.

Camping Trip - 1st & Last for the Year!

This past Friday, after getting 3 hours of sleep after working my last night shift (ever!), Carolyn & I packed up the camper and headed down to Gold Springs Campground south of Milk River for the first annual Van Ham Family camping weekend. The kids were at the farm doing their swimming lessons so they met up down there with Mama & Papa.

We all shared 2 camp sites even though we each paid for one but it was nice to have everyone together.

The girls and younger ones hung out in the shade...

...while the boyz played in the water with the older kids (and the dog)!

Kirby & Zeus taking a break from the fun & sun.

Erinn & Ben playing monster trucks.

Blair taking a turn holding his newest cousin Trinity.

Getting ready to swim across to the beach.

Swimming across to the beach.

The campground was very nice, its down in the Milk River Valley just 8 kms south of the town of Milk River and only 14 kms from the Montana border. The campground has a small oxbow lake around part of it which is stocked with rainbow trout that made for some awesome fishing. On the opposite side is a couple of beaches which unfortunately are made of gravel and littered with goose crap, so needless to say we spent most of the time in the water just floating around.