Brandt Place

school work

2008-11-14T22:07:00.004-06:00

Felix's work on a diarama - how do you spell that? I looked in about five different stores for little bison, and since I didn't find any he made some lifelike looking ones instead on his own.

My birthday.

2008-11-14T22:00:00.004-06:00

My family always treats me well on my birthday. On this one I didn't have to cook and was treated with garlic fried shrimp. Yummy. Gerald bought me a lizard I have been eyeing for quite some time now at Ten Thousand Villages. I think it looks lovely on my wall. Hugs are the best present a mom can get too.

Family

2008-10-21T09:22:00.002-05:00

It's been a while, so I thought I'd post a few pictures. I don't think many people look at our blog, but in case there's some interest, here's a few more pictures.

Grade 11

2008-09-17T09:48:00.002-05:00

Here's Jonas' true feelings of school.

Fresh Shave

2008-08-22T12:06:00.001-05:00

Gerald said it felt like he was looking at Rob in the mirror. What do you think? I want his mustache and beard back.

The Getty Center

2008-08-17T12:49:00.003-05:00

The cactus garden was neat at the Getty Center. There are some pictures of the ocean, but it's a little hard to tell.
I got to attend church twice and took this picture of Alvin doing his part in the service.

Getty Center

2008-08-17T12:38:00.002-05:00

On Saturday afternoon we drove to The Getty Center to look at the art exhibits and the gardens. A very nice place to spend time. Greer napped through the whole thing and the rest of us oohed and ahhed over the flowers, cacti and the artwork of various sorts.

Enoying California and family.

2008-08-15T14:05:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday I enjoyed a walk to Redondo Beach/Pier to look through the shops, enjoy the ocean view and a tasty fish lunch at Kincaids. Thursday evening Greer went out for her first steak dinner at Black Angus Steakhouse. It's been lots of fun hanging out here.

Los Angeles

2008-08-10T19:38:00.002-05:00

Okay, it's been a while since I've blogged, so here's a few pictures of me in Los Angeles visiting my new niece Madison Greer. Greer is adorable, and I'm having lots of fun hanging out with Alvin and Charlene and watching Olympics. Tonight we are having alfredo sauce (made earlier by Charlene) on pasta and garlic bread. Yummy. Charlene and Alvin have a nice apartment here with an extra room for guests. Come on down!

Tudor Cup Champions

2008-06-14T21:12:00.003-05:00

Steinbach had a great day at Cook's Creek where they won every game and took home the Tudor Cup!

Soccer 2008

2008-06-14T16:37:00.004-05:00

Steinbach and area had a soccer tournament Friday and Saturday. It was a lovely setting in Blumenort with the cows in the background. At one point the coaches had to try to yell louder than the cows were mooing. Felix mostly played defense and did a great job of it. Felix' team received a bronze medal. All in all it was a fun soccer season!

Junior High Jazz

2008-06-10T08:47:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of Celine soloing at the Junior High Jazz and Choir concert Monday night. It was cool to hear how much they had all improved. Celine's solos were great too! A highlight of the evening was also the guys choir rendition of a pirate song with some choreography.

She's moved in!

2008-06-01T20:50:00.002-05:00

Celine's room is now officially finished and she's even moved in!

Celine's room

2008-05-31T23:11:00.002-05:00

Wow, what alot of work, but it's been mostly fun and worth it too!! We are so happy with the change. No more bare light bulb - there's a light fixture! No more pink teddy bears, now it's funky colors. Hey Dad - the desk came apart with Gerald's bare hands. You are now invited to a bon fire to burn the desk and have a weinie roast.

Celine's 14th b'day

2008-05-31T23:05:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to Celine. Please take note that if you have a birthday cake with icing sugar on it. You likely shouldn't blow out the candles on top of it.

Wedding

2008-04-20T23:30:00.003-05:00

We had some fun with our own casual poses. Jonas with his steely determination look. Celine was just glad to take off her nylons and shoes. Aidan enjoyed an iced cap. Charlene and Alvin took a fascination to our local phenomenon of snow.

Wedding

2008-04-20T23:17:00.003-05:00

Gabe and Melissa's wedding was very nice. We couldn't have asked for better weather, especially for taking pictures.

Happy 10th Birthday Felix!

2008-04-02T12:19:00.003-05:00

Felix had a nice birthday day. My baby is 10!! (Felix hates it when I call him my baby). A few friends couldn't make his party, but we still had a nice time in our church gym, Celine and I even played goalie for a floor hockey game. Mom and Dad had their first visit over since returning from L.A. Even Gabby enjoyed the party food.

Treasure Hunt

2008-04-02T11:03:00.003-05:00

We set up a kidnapping and clue find for Felix so he could find his present from us.

Trophy Winner

2008-03-26T21:45:00.003-05:00

Celine won the recital group "Judy Doerksen Trophy" congratulations!

Celine also was a part of a eight hands, two pianos group who won the duo, duet, ensemble trophy for their age group. They did an excellent job on their song.

These pictures are from the award evening where all the trophy winners perform for fun and receive their trophy presented by trophy donors.

Sleeping Beauty

2008-03-17T21:56:00.003-05:00

Here's our baby who keeps falling asleep. He's been fighting a cold since last wednesday, and he looked so peaceful that I had to take a picture.

Begone March!

2008-03-16T20:28:00.004-05:00

Okay, I confess, I'm not enjoying March very much with all the slush, water and then freezing, and then melting, and then freezing. But, we've also been sick with colds here too. But you can see grass in our backyard already! Woo hoo! I'll be able to start weeding my flower beds!

Muffy

2008-03-16T20:24:00.001-05:00

What our sweet Muffy has to endure.

Goldeye

2008-03-16T20:22:00.002-05:00

We were helping some kids go to Nicaragua by ordering some smoked Goldeye for a fundraiser. It was yummy.

Grade 8 Jazz Band

2008-03-16T20:20:00.003-05:00

Celine loves to play tenor sax, and we enjoyed hearing her first jazz concert at the Steinbach Junior High.

Winning entry

2008-03-10T20:01:00.001-05:00

Pictures don't do justice to this veil modeled by Candida, created by Candida, Lorena and Carol.

20's inspired veil

2008-03-10T19:59:00.001-05:00

This 20's inspired veil features a feather in front and lovely bow accents at the bottom of the veil. Isn't Celine lovely?

Entrant in the Veil making contest

2008-03-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

Opening Gifts

2008-03-10T19:49:00.002-05:00

Melissa had fun opening up some gifts after we played some games together. There was some great punch and food too.

Shower guests

2008-03-10T19:46:00.000-05:00

Wedding Shower

2008-03-10T19:38:00.003-05:00

New truck

2008-02-17T19:09:00.003-06:00

Well, sorry Cory, we decided to buy a truck in working condition. It's a '93 Ford Ranger XLT. I had fun remembering how to drive a standard again. Even Jonas has tried it out briefly with some success. He is supposed to be able to start drivers ed training shortly. Ahhh!! The last class had to wait for the driver to heal after one of her students rolled the vehicle. Hmmm, what kind of insurance can you get as a drivers ed instructor?? Hopefully Jonas will fair better than that student.

Try this!

2008-02-02T18:15:00.000-06:00

92 words

Touch Typing online

Destin 2007

2008-01-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

Destin Christmas 2007

2008-01-05T14:27:00.000-06:00

We had a great time with my family celebrating Christmas together in Destin, Florida. We spent lots of time checking out the outlet malls (sorry no pictures of that), time on the beach and relaxing at the condo.

Merry Christmas to Charlene and Alvin

2007-12-25T19:52:00.000-06:00

We miss you guys and look forward to seeing you here soon!
love all of us!

2007-12-25T19:45:00.000-06:00

Gerald and I took our turn making a meal. For our Christmas dinner we ate spaghetti with white sauce, fried onions, bacon, carrots and salad. We were all fed and satisfied.

It is a bit chilly, but we are so enjoying relaxing, visiting and being together. The pool is heated and some of us went swimming and had a great time.

Flight to Pensacola

2007-12-25T19:30:00.000-06:00

Wow! What an experience we had flying to Pensacola. First our flight was slightly delayed, that's fine, but our first flight couldn't land in Minneapolis so we had to refuel in Fargo. When we finally arrived in Minneapolis it was about midnight. We missed both our connections in Minneapolis and Memphis, so we got to sleep in the airport for night. A bit cold, and not much sleep, but we were rebooked for first class to Dallas, so that was okay. But, when we arrived in Dallas, things went downhill fast. We were told we were booked to a flight to Pensacola previously, but when we got to Dallas we were told we were on standby and nothing was guaranteed. We were led on one big goosechase after another. If you want to hear the full story, I'm writing a book on this one. It was quite crazy with one flight agent after another telling us different things. Finally, we ended up at NWA ticket counter asking kindly and FIRMLY to please straighten out our mess. We were booked on a first class flight to Atlanta and then Pensacola - finally!!!! We received some food coupons and some travel vouchers as well. I'm not sure how helpful they were be. So we arrived in Pensacola 24 hours after we originally should have. But now we are here and happy!

This is for all you southerners.

2007-12-13T19:49:00.000-06:00

Here's a glimpse of the fun we get in Manitoba with our snow and winters. The snowmobilers seem to be quite happy though. The toboggan hill is doing quite well too.

NO SCHOOL!

2007-12-13T19:26:00.000-06:00

Here's what a no school day looks like at the Brandt house. There were some road closures around here, and zero visiblity for a while, so the kids and I got to sleep in. They also got to help me out with some house chores like laundry and dishes. They are hoping for another one tomorrow. I'm not sure if I am.

Feed-Rite Kids Party

2007-12-12T22:46:00.000-06:00

Gerald and I had fun taking Felix to the Feed-Rite kids party that was at the Children's Museum. We had hot dogs for lunch, and Felix got a motorcycle that is powered by air, kind of neat. We're having a hard time making it work properly though. It was fun going through the museum too.

Tired in the Brandt home.

2007-12-12T22:38:00.001-06:00

Relaxing after a hard days work! Gerald works long hours, and sometimes has a bit of time to relax on the couch. Our kids are all hard workers too. Celine has jazz band at 8 a.m. wednesdays and friday mornings, basketball on Mondays 5:30 - 6:30 pm, piano lessons to practice and tenor sax to practice and homework. Jonas' schedule is a bit lighter this semester, but now with his job, he works three to four shifts a week. He also takes guitar lessons, and practices guitar and should practice jazz drumming. He regularly plays in church for worship teams too. Felix is in grade four, so most of his homework he can do at school. He does have piano and voice lessons to practice. Him and a friend, Brayden Epp have their own little "clubs" each wednesday night at our house.

So, there's a taste of life in our home. I'm busy too with teaching close to 30 piano and voice students on Mondays - Wednesdays, trying to cook supper sometimes, keeping things organized around here, doing my festival job, and volunteering at Ten Thousand Villages - usually a shift every other week, although right now I'm taking a short break from that because my festival job is too busy.

Boy, this must be the longest post I've written. Hope somebody finds it interesting.

Volleyball Tournament in Winkler

2007-11-19T12:07:00.000-06:00

Celine is #4 with the ponytail.

Celine had a volleyball tournament last Saturday with her grade 8 volleyball team. They had a good time together and we really enjoyed watching her and her team play. Go Knights!

Entering the work force

2007-11-15T16:44:00.001-06:00

Ready to greet the customer.

Well, it's happened. Jonas has entered the work force. A & W - here he comes! Here he is just before leaving for his first official work shift. Likely bussing tables, scrubbling toilets - maybe even flipping a burger or two. Maybe that will come with his first promotion. Well, we're proud of Jonas, and wish him many happy work hours at A & W. mmm, onion rings and rootbeer...

40th Birthday

2007-11-04T21:26:00.000-06:00

Gerald bought me this lovely hand carved bowl with salad spoon/fork and necklace/earrings from Ten Thousand Villages. Thanks!!!

Notice the lovely picture on the wall? A chalk drawing of us on our honeymoon at Stanley Park.

See my lovely Gimme my timmies Shirt (and no one gets hurt)? I received some lovely gifts from friends and family. But, the best present was that so many people came to celebrate my birthday with me. Thanks everyone - I love you all!

Costume fun

2007-10-31T19:38:00.001-05:00

Red Fall

2007-10-23T09:11:00.000-05:00

Here's some red leaves for you Charlene. Most of my englemen ivy leaves were already gone, but one plant still had the leaves on it. We have another tree with beautiful red leaves, but they are all shriveled up already.

FALL

2007-10-22T11:01:00.001-05:00

Fall is Gerald's favorite season, so he took some pictures. There's lots of pretty leaves everywhere.

THE PIPE-O-PHONE

2007-10-22T10:52:00.001-05:00

Felix did a great job on his sound project for school. Mom and Dad helped along a bit too.

Thanksgiving

2007-10-07T19:00:00.001-05:00

Waiting to chow down on ham, mashed potatoes and gravy and carrots. Delish!

The jacket looks and fits great!

Thanksgiving

2007-10-07T18:44:00.001-05:00

Looks like there's lots of Gabrielle pictures. Well, we were doing some birthday celebrating. For Mom and Gabrielle.

I even attempted to make a ladybug cake, even though it turned out to be a pink ladybug.

The Back 2.75

2007-09-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

Looks like a pro at mowing the lawn.

The garden did pretty good for the first year. Pumpkins, potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, some corn...

Helping with the carrots and potatoes. A beautiful day for harvesting some garden produce.

Fun at Fall on the Farm

2007-09-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

The museum kitties are so much fun to play with.

All right - treats from the general store.

Celine did a great job taking all the pictures and keeping the kiddies entertained too.

Fall on the Farm

2007-09-29T15:22:00.000-05:00

Stirring the meagrope.

Jonas was helping out by chopping wood to keep the fires going, and had a minor mishap. A paramedic was on hand to help with the situation.

The reactions from the crowd were the usual - from "That's how we did it too", to "That's not how we did it", to "What are you doing?" to "Gross, what's that?". All the sausage, crackles, rebspea, head cheese were auctioned off at the end of the afternoon as a museum fundraiser.

Santa Monica Pier

2007-09-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

A view of the pier. After dark we also walked around the shopping district inland to see more buskers and look through the stores. I saw two ladies singing an Italian Opera - that's one act I hadn't seen before.

Yummy - shrimp at Bubba Gump's.

I was trying to take a picture of the trees here and realized there was a homeless man sleeping there. Lots of homeless around L.A.

We got to see and hear Arthur Nakane 1-Man Band on the Pier. He was on America's Got Talent.

More California Pictures

2007-09-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

I just loved all the different plant life in L.A. area.

Here we are at a chapel by the ocean where people can get married. There was a wedding going on while we were there. You could put your brick with your names - one said "Surf our Dreams" how romantic.

By Donald Trump's golf course.

Venice Beach. Lots of people, buskers, homeless, unique people, did I say people?

Hollywood

2007-09-29T15:05:00.000-05:00

After a concert at the Hollywood Bowl - a piano concerto and the 1812 Symphony by Tchaikovsky with fireworks, we toured around the area where the stars had their stars.

Julie Andrews hand and foot prints.

Lots of lights and people. Some interesting people looking for the night life too.

Redondo Beach

2007-09-29T15:01:00.000-05:00

The three ladies had a lovely afternoon of having a petticure and manicure in the most comfy massage chairs I've been in. See the lovely flowers on my toes?

The cute couple waving from one of Charlene and Alvin's balconies.

Redondo Beach.

Anyone want a drink of water?

Dr. Phil

2007-09-29T14:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, I admit it. A big highlight for me was to see Dr. Phil shoot one of his shows live. I enjoyed seeing a studio, which looked smaller in real than I imagined it.

A view of the Hollywood sign with Dr. Phil's studio and sign on the left.

The studio was in the Paramount Pictures complex.

Enjoying Italian take-out. We had good food all week. Courtesy of restaurants and also Charlene's kitchen.

Coronado Island

2007-09-29T14:50:00.000-05:00

On the bridge to Coronado Island. It seemed to be structurally safe.

We spent some time at the ritzy hotel and beach area there.

Ahh, to feel the sea breeze.

San Diego

2007-09-29T14:46:00.000-05:00

We toodled around the Seaport Village in San Diego and enjoyed the beautiful weather and company.

Charlene had a coupon (of course) for this wonderful restaurant where I ate Mahi Mahi. The box of chocolate dessert was also 'to die for'.

Finally!

2007-09-29T14:35:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting some pictures on the blog. I have a new laptop, and a new desk area now, so my usual schedule was off kilter. But, I'll try to be more faithful.
Here is a picture of Jonas' final concert at jazz camp at the U of M. He had a good week with his ensemble shown here and about 14 drummers. Right after their group played, we jumped on a plane to Los Angeles to holiday with my sister Charlene, her husband Alvin who live there, and my brother Cory and his wife Natasha who were visiting there from Pensacola, Florida. Fun times!

Here was our welcoming committee after our late flight arrived.

We saved Cory's shirt that we used for our children. Now his children can wear it.

On Holiday

2007-08-14T19:39:00.000-05:00

Notice Felix's haircut? We think it looks great, but he thinks otherwise.
The guys did a great job of washing all the windows in my house.

More Anniversary pictures

2007-08-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

We didn't have the program, but there was a slide show that we could watch. Things were a bit somber at times thinking about Dad in the hospital, but we had a nice time with friends and family. Isn't Grandma sweet with the baby?

2007-08-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

Stan Brandt is the owner of the car that Gerald's parents used for their wedding 50 years ago. He bought it and restored it. We promised Dad we wouldn't have the program with him being in the hospital over the planned celebration event, but Mom still got a ride, and others went for rides as well. I designed the license plate on a computer, and Del painted it onto the plate. So, I had a little contribution (okay, not even close to the amount the others had). The family anniversary celebration is still being planned. Maybe September. There have been some big changes for them, moving off their farm yard after about 30 years into a house they built next door (still on the property) in the bush. Gerald's sister and family have moved into their house, so it remains in the family.

Van Woes

2007-08-14T10:05:00.000-05:00

We could have done without the extra excitement of having a sign crash through our back window. The wind blew it through the window. The horses were some extra witnesses to the event.

Flowers

2007-08-14T09:49:00.000-05:00

Celine took some lovely pictures of our flowers.

drums are silent

2007-07-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

The drums miss you, Jonas!

We miss you guys, but we hope you are having the time of your lives!!

clean house

2007-07-11T19:50:00.000-05:00

The rooms are so clean and quiet!

Mom organized the toy closet, and it stayed organized!

Guest House

2007-07-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

There is a couple ways to get to the guest house. This bridge is one of them. It goes from the slide area to the roof of the guest house which has a flat roof and some lounge chairs. This is the only air conditioned place.

The guest house entrance - also has a small balcony facing the lake with a couple of chairs and a table to sit at. So, there's the cabin, and then the guest house and then two little cabins that are basically like a bedroom - a bed and closet in each. One is down by the dock area and the other beside the hot tub area.

The guest house has a bed, a dining table, bathroom, and this kitchen here.

Cabin

2007-07-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

Here is the fireplace in the livingroom. The windows face the hot tub and the lake.

The livingroom. It has some nice stonework - like the coffee table.

Behind the cabin is a nice patio, fireplace and barbeque area. There is also a trampoline on the grassy hill.

The little shack here is a storage shed.

Cabin pictures

2007-07-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

An extra bedroom off the pool room complete with cool looking shower. There is one like this outside too by the hottub.

This is the room with the shower in it. There is also a much larger master bedroom with it's own bathroom and side office. Also a fair size bedroom with bunk beds and another bed.

These are grandkids of our friends currently renting the cabin and showing us around. See the cool fireplace?

There is a bit of a view of the dock in the background. There is a bedroom size outdoor cabin beside this hot tub. It's a very stuffy one though - no windows or air conditioning.

Slide to Lake at Cabin

2007-07-08T22:02:00.000-05:00

Top of the slide, the picture makes the slide look shorter than it actually is. There is a hose to turn on so water runs down it too.

The little building on the right is a sauna.

There is a nice size dock with lounger chairs. There is a paddle boat and another quite old boat available too.

Ready for Florida

2007-07-04T07:57:00.000-05:00

Here's the gang, ready for their vacation. How absolutely blessed these kids are to have Grandparents take them on a holiday like this! Also, a thanks to Cory and Tash for living in Florida, and giving them an excuse to travel. Also, thanks in advance for having these kids in your home.

Can you believe it's 6 a.m. in the morning? We're all up and awake - congratulations to us! What a beautiful day to start a holiday.

Gerald tried to squeeze into the van, but he didn't fit, so he decided to stay home. Okay, he's actually just saying good-bye to the kiddies - but a holiday right now sounds good! But, now here I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do in a quiet house with no kids. Anybody up for coffee? Breakfast? Lunch? How about a trip to the beach? Hmmm, I wonder how crowded the malls are these days? Maybe I'll scrapbook, or read, or weed the garden (mosquitos??), maybe I'll clean my rugs. Coffee anyone???

SJHS Awards Day

2007-06-28T13:26:00.000-05:00

Celine received an Award for Excellence. Her certificate reads "Awarded to Celine Brandt in recognition of Superior Achievement in French, Home Ec-Clothing & Textiles, Home Ec-Foods & Nutrition, Mathematics, Phys Ed, Science, Social Studies." About 50 grade seven students received some sort of award - which means the first and second highest mark (along with good attitudes) in each class received an award. Celine received seven class awards, the most received was eight - so great work Celine!

Silver Medal in Soccer

2007-06-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

After a very hot day for their soccer tournament, Felix's team received the silver medal for their division. Great job Felix and team!

Soccer Player

2007-06-16T17:17:00.000-05:00

Jonas team won the silver medal in their soccer tournament, Saturday, June 16. Great job guys!

Progressive Supper

2007-06-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

Celine is serving the Summa Borscht for her Sunday School class's progressive supper. We were stop number three. First was beverage, then bread (bruscetta), soup, salad (ceasar), main course (meat pie), main course (macaroni, cheese or something), dessert (some sort of fudge ice cream thing). Are you full yet? I am just thinking about it.

All the girls got to serve at their house, and show their homes to their classmates. A great way to get to know each other. Just one of Celine's good friends has an issue with cameras.

A pic of me!

2007-06-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

Waiting for the grade 7 girls 800 metre race.

We were proud Celine made it as a Steinbach Junior High rep for the 800 m. race.

Another lap to go.

No ribbons, but she worked real hard and did a great job. Good work Celine!!

2007-06-11T13:27:00.000-05:00

A picture before the exam. Boy, I can hardly wait until it's over! Focus, focus, keep sight of the goal. The practicing is done, now it's time to perform.

Yes!! It's done! After many months of practicing, trying to fend off colds, my exam is finished! It went reasonably well, my voice was in good shape and I believe I expressed my songs as I intended. I sang for about 40 minutes, singing 10 different songs. A few small slips here and there, but overall I am very happy with my memory work and the way things came off. Thanks so much to those who prayed for me and wished me well before my exam. I really appreciated the encouragement. It has been so great to study voice, I had a fantastic instructor, Joanne Mercier who taught me to be a singer and a teacher, and encouraged me to love myself and my voice. Thanks Joanne! Now I can focus on my students and my teaching and enjoy my summer! It's Chicken Chef tonight!

Jazz in the Park

2007-06-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so our blog seems to be about band pictures and birthday parties. This was Jonas' last concert with his grade nine jazz band, after meeting together for two years every tuesday and thursday morning at 8 a.m. It was a great concert and we were proud of Jonas and his drum solo too.

Hanging around after cleaning up. Dairy Queen was the celebration place afterwards.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

2007-06-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

Well, okay - it didn't kill Muffy, but she couldn't get the box off her head until we helped her. I got a good video of her as well. Aren't we great cat owners?

Celebration Meal

2007-05-31T09:04:00.000-05:00

Sharing lunch together with cousins and family. Joel is on the left and Steve is on the right. Steve was baptized a few weeks ago as well.
Having lunch in the church as Saturday it rained and rained all day.
Jacqueline finally being able to eat after preparing much of the food for the meal. Thanks to all who helped!! Gotta love that dirt cake with worms.
At Jonas' table - Mom and Dad with Uncle Arnold and Aunt Gertie.

Baptism

2007-05-31T08:57:00.000-05:00

Our Youth and Family Life Pastor Mike Kehler baptized Jonas into SMBC on Sunday, May 27, 2007. It was an exciting day for our family.
Getting the official welcome into the church.
Lots of family and friends to support the newly baptized. There were 6 girls, one guy in the first service and 7 guys in the second service who were baptized that morning.

Spring Pictures

2007-05-23T21:17:00.000-05:00

It's finally time to plant the flowers!

Someone tried to find the soccer ball, but found Jonas' face.

Soccer

2007-05-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

It's a breakaway!

Waiting longingly for their turn to play.

Older brother Jonas gets to ref younger brother Felix's game. Gotta start in the working world someplace.

Mother's Day

2007-05-13T20:41:00.001-05:00

Happy Mother's Day Mom, we love you!!
Having some trampoline fun. Most the afternoon was beautiful weather to spend outside jumping around on the trampoline. Soccer was a favorite activity as well. Tigger also ran outside and had a fight with Oreo, quite entertaining. As the kids said, we never heard Tigger sound like that before. I'm trying to figure out how to get the video on this blog as Jonas managed to video tape the fight.
Here is Melissa showing off her haircutting talents. May as well do the haircut outside with this gorgeous weather. Although it did rain for a brief spell while Dad deep fried french fries and wieners for faspa. Delicious!
A perfect way to spend Mother's Day.

Springtime

2007-05-13T20:33:00.000-05:00

A special moment with Pookie.
The hardworking youngman working the soil by hand. Hopefully the strawberries will be better this year.
The apple trees are in full blossom!

poker buddies

2007-05-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

Mom, Celine and Felix are away, so Jonas took the opportunity to invite some buddies over for some poker. I believe they also watched some favorite movies. I guess it was too bright, so the sunglasses were needed.

Happy 13th Birthday Celine!

2007-05-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

We made one of Celine's favorite breakfasts - French Toast. Then Celine and I spent Friday to Saturday in Winnipeg at The Clarion. We shopped til we dropped, ate at Earl's, Prairie Ink, we saw Spiderman III and shopped some more. We love you Celine and are excited you are 13!

Scholarship Winner!

2007-04-26T11:14:00.000-05:00

Well, Gerald is learning how to use a digital camera, but here I am after just accepting my award. I am doing a jig called "now I go off the stage". The award ceremony was at the U of M Theatre.

Here I am holding up my moola. Every little bit helps to pay for exams, driving in for lessons, lessons, accompanist and so on and so on.

Happy Birthday Felix!

2007-03-31T17:34:00.000-05:00

Felix had a great birthday party. They played hockey downstairs, played basketball and hockey in the Church gym with Jonas assisting. Had hot dogs and an oreo birthday cake. Happy 9th birthday Felix!! We love you!!

Muffy's Bath

2007-03-18T17:51:00.000-05:00

You don't even want to know why our cat needed a bath, but she did. First step, find a place the cat can't escape. Forget trying to dunk the cat - just pour the water on any cat you try to bathe.
Not so fluffy Muffy.
"I am not impressed"
Well, the blow drying is a little better.

Typical Day

2007-03-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, I have no exciting pictures to post, so I thought I'd take some from our every day lives. In our spare time we all like to read. Cooking meals and doing dishes seems to be a regular part of our schedule as well. Everyone takes part in this activity even though the pictures suggest otherwise. Most recently my family did a fabulous job of supporting me by helping with meals and dishes while I was practicing voice and singing in the Winnipeg Festival. I had the honor of winning one of my Grade A vocal classes and then singing in The Rose Bowl, Saturday, March 17. It was very exciting for me and I was happy with how it all went. The Westminster United Church in Winnipeg was a glorious church to sing in. I sang a french song by Berlioz and an Italian opera aria by Puccini. Sorry, I have no pictures.
Felix and Celine did a great job with their festival pieces as well in the Southeastern Manitoba Festival. I was very proud of how they worked quite hard at practicing and how they performed at festival. Jonas is doing great with his drumming and in his guitar lessons as well.

Happy Birthday to You!

2007-01-27T22:44:00.000-06:00

Isn't Grandpa cute?
mmm, chocolate pudding...

Puzzling

2007-01-27T22:41:00.000-06:00

Some relaxing time over the holidays.
It was a group effort, so here's the last piece!
It's a vineyard in Germany.

Junior High Band Christmas Concert

2006-12-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

Grade 9 Jazz Band, Jonas on the drum set.
Grade 7 Band. Celine's first concert playing the Clarinet.
Celine is second row - 7th from the right.
Grade 9 Full Band. Jonas gets to play timpani for one song.

Winter in Manitoba

2006-12-07T21:20:00.000-06:00

Looks like the guys are relaxing a little too much.
Wow, look at all those cat toys on this thing!
The hot tub in the gazebo is much warmer than the snow outside.
Notice the warm footwear on the Junior High student? It was a minus 37 windchill this day.

Happy Birthday to Jacqueline

2006-11-08T11:42:00.000-06:00

Getting the best gift. Season 3 Corner Gas and a matching mug!
Isn't she sweet?

Fall in Manitoba

2006-11-08T11:36:00.000-06:00

A guy has got to start shaving sometime.
Felix and a friend went out trick or treating dressed as Maple Leaf fans.
Our 'Anne of Green Gables' who handed out treats for me.
Does anyone else think this is enough treats for one 8 year old?