Recently we did some work in a building downtown (9920 - 108 st) and to my surprise there was a huge moose head in the lobby. The plaque below reads that it is the 2nd largest canada moose ever. There are 3 sub-species of moose in North America. In order of biggest to smallest they are the Alaska/Yukon Moose, the Canada Moose and the Shiras Moose. This one was shot in Alberta. From tip to tip the antlers measure 5 feet across or 60 inches. What a wierd place for a moose head. Continue reading

First steps? No, but just today he started taking more than 1 or 2 steps in a row. It's very exciting but it's going to be a lot more work for Mom and Dad. Continue reading

Zachary's obsession with dinosaurs has ebbed a little lately but he still love's them. Instead of 3 dino books every night we only read one and two different kinds. On Sunday we made the trip out to Gibbons to visit the Jurassic Walk. I would recommend it. There are two trails a North and a South. You walk along a path through the woods that look almost like my parent's place. Every once in a while there will be a dinosaur or two hidden it the trees, as you approach you cross a motion sensor that causes the dinosaurs to... Continue reading

This morning we and the rest of the Edmonton area were woken up around 5:30 am by a very loud thunderstorm. When I opened my groggy eyes and looked at the window I thought there was something wrong with my vision. The normally white curtains were bright orange. After I realized I wasn't dreaming and it was time to get up for work anyways I took these pictures. Two posts in two days, that has to be some kind of record. Later, Murr Continue reading

Recently we made our way down to see my brother and his family in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Michael, Katie, Aisling and the newest addition Aiden. We hadn't been down there for 3 years! We had lots of fun and the kids had a blast. Elliott's first plane ride. The travel went better than we could have hoped. The boys did awesome. Other than about a 1/2 hour there were no problems. Aiden and I hanging out on the couch. Mike and Katie did a bunch of work to their back yard. They replaced there wood retaining wall with a stone... Continue reading

Me and Zach biulding a snowman during one of the warmer days in 2011. We didn't get a picture of the final product but you get the idea. Continue reading

Back in November I somewhat participated in Movember, but since its now February and I just now am blogging about it, I'm calling it Mebruary. The final gotee stage. Zach taking notes. Foo man choo The Soup Strainer. Back to normal :( Happy Mebruary Continue reading

Every year no matter how bad the previous year was I am usually optimistic about the Oilers, but last year put my loyalty to the test. Towards the end of the year I started to avoid watching games because I couldn't stand it anymore. Hence my cautious optimism this year. Its only 2 games in and the Oilers are 2-0-0 and everyones jumping on the bandwagon, drinking the cool-aid and bragging to their Calgary friends. So hold on people, if you are going to get onto the wagon now you better be prepared for a bumpy ride. I'll admit my... Continue reading

Another nice picture from my new trail camera. This time it was a big moose! Continue reading

Well I finally spent my birthday money, thank you to all who contributed. I went out and bought a deer camera. For those of you who don't know what a deer camera is, it is a camera with a motion sensor connected to it. It works much like a motion activated light. It can also be known as a trail cam or game camera. Ok, yes some might call be a nerd when it comes to hunting and wildlife but so far I've have my deer cam up for just one week and already have some really good pictures. Take... Continue reading

Three years ago we planted a nice tree. It's a brandon elm and was growing nicely. Last Friday night we had a wicked storm. While all three of us watched the storm from our bedroom window Jessica said "Our tree looks like it's bending a lot". Then I said "Oh it will be fine, don't worry about it". Then about two seconds later 'crack!' It broke. Zachary started crying and it was all very dramatic. This the result of the storm. You can see the top right part is missing. It looks like another tree! The broken pieces. Later Murr Continue reading

When ever I tell some one I'm going on a 'horse trip' they say "what, what is a horse trip". Well basically its camping but we bring along horses and instead of hiking or quading we go horse back riding. Here are a few pictures from the latest trip. This was the first one I had been on in about 3 years I think. We had base camp setup at the truck so it wasn't the most rugged trip I've ever been on but all the same it was still fun. The whole crew... and yes I'm the only one... Continue reading

While Jessica is away visiting her sister (Congratulations to Sam and Josh, they had a healthy baby boy named Ben) I have to keep Zachary entertained. Friends of the family recently have 5 foals. Two of the five are very friendly. Thanks to Gary, Correne and Bernie for letting Zach terrorize them for a while. I think they are about 6 weeks old. Scoping things out with Correne. Hee Haw, just Zach's size. Peeyoo, stinky. Nice looking foals! Thanks again. Murr Continue reading

Recently I turned thirty! I've never really felt older on my birthdays until this one. But life is good. I'm pretty much where I wanted to be at 30, exep for a couple mil in the bank. My immediate family and Wife threw a great party for me. We couldn't have gotten more perfect weather and there was a great turn out. Thanks to everyone who came and to those who gave me gifts! My parents have a huge lawn, there was lots of grass mowing goin on. Cutting the cake, Zach is already licking the icing off the candles.... Continue reading

We recently bought Zach a new dresser and this is what we did with the box it came in. Who needs toys when you have a good box. Later, Murr Continue reading

We've been trying to make a snowman all winter with no luck. Zachary is obsessed with Frosty the snowman but every time we made an attempt the snow wouldn't stick. But we got one last chance, in May no less. Here are some pics. I would describe it as unique. We used almost all of the snow in the front yard! Frosty the Snowmoose, close-up. Snow in May! Sheesh. Have a good one! Murr Continue reading

After a long haul of studying evenings and weekends I'm finally finished my Electrical Apprenticeship. In November, despite advice from friends, I decided to do my forth year by distance learning, this way I could work and go to school at same time and the money would still be rolling in. Great idea right! NOT! (I do not recommend it) It wasn't fun and I ended up missing the equivalent of about 5 weeks of work anyways so it would have been better just to go everyday and get it over with. Oh well, now I'm done and I can... Continue reading

That would be the head line in the news paper if my blog was famous. I've been reading 'World Without End' by Ken Follett. The book is connected to the 'Pillars of the Earth' also by Ken Follett but takes place about 300 years later. The book is over a thousand pages, I'm on page 600 and I am not a fast reader but I can't put the book down. There are about a hundred different things I could be doing in the evenings but I'm hooked on a good book. It can be a little... how you say... graphic... Continue reading

The Christmas music was flowing throughout our house this weekend. Christmas is upon us and so is winter. Here are a few photos from this weekend. Getting ready to go outside and put up the Christmas lights. Jess and Zach playing in the snow. Our nine foot tree. It was fun decorating it with Zach. Only a few decorations broke and Zachary had a blast looking at all the old tree ornaments. It was a HoHo this and a HoHo that. Merry Christmas. Don't freeze your you know whats off out there. Brrrrr... Continue reading

Just the saying goes for golf, the same thing can be said for hunting, 'A bad day in the field is better than a good day at work'. For me the hunting season is 3 months long, September, October and November. September and October are reserved for bow hunters only and this year the season started on September 9th. November is for the rifle hunters and the season ends November 30th. I could only shoot a Whitetail deer and I was after a big buck. The following is a summary of my season. Day 1, September 9, 2009 - I... Continue reading

I forgot to post these picture of a Bear we spotted on my last service call while still working for ACE. Continue reading

Well my first week at my job was a little slow. I started on a Tuesday and the first two days were fine. However Thursday morning I woke up with a fever and a sore throat. Jessica had already been sick for a couple of days and Zach had already been sick and was feeling better so I knew what was in store for me. But I decided to tough it out. It was only my 3rd day, I couldn't call in sick on my third day! I should have though. By noon it felt like there was a piano... Continue reading

We had some technical difficulties after my first couple of posts so I haven't posted in a while. Sorry to those who have been checking my blog for updates. The big news here at my camp is that I'm changing jobs. For 5 years I worked at ACE Automation (now Victory Rig Equipment) and it was great. I learned more there in 5 years than I would have anywhere else in 20 years. I really enjoyed working with everyone there and I wish them all the best. However it was time for a change. I knew that having Zachary would... Continue reading