Road Trip!

My favourite month has arrived. June is awesome, and the days are getting long. It's not getting dark until after ten and it is getting light before five.
Niki and killed off May with a road trip to Vancouver. My old friend Marcus got married on May 30, 2009:) He recently graduated with his masters from Regent College and is now a married man.
For the trip west we were able to car pool with Steve, Kimasia, and their daughter. We drove through the night on Thursday and arrived in the Dunbar area of Vancouver early Friday. It's a beautiful area of Vancouver, probably one of the areas of Vancouver I would not mind living. Anyone have a extra few million lying around, so I could make that happen? Steve's sister and brother in law, Bart and Heather, opened their home to us. It was a great place to lay the head after a long trip. I was even able to experience a tea party for the first time, which was an interesting experience.
Bart is Marcus' pastor, so we were in on the action at the ground level. It was a fun wedding. The reception was also a blast. Our table was right next to the head table, and was filled with high school friends. It was fun regressing, and we were obviously the 'cool table'. After the dance, we made the long drive back to Edmonton via Calgary. I will say, caffeine pills don't work after a certain point of weariness.
Other main highlights of our trip were seeing Matt and Yarrow's new condo in Van. It's a great unit, which they are renovating. I would say it's many peoples ideal first home. Niki and I were also able to have a nice catch up visit with Jeff and Joanna. Mr Weir helped keep our table stocked with wine and laughter, which was greatly appreciated. It really made me wish I owned a private jet, or at least that I need to live closer to these people.
It was sad we had to leave, but we're really looking forward to getting back out there throughout the summer, and I am also looking forward to seeing all the family on Vancouver Island at the end of the month. I don't think I can convince the in-laws to move out here, so we have to go to them:)
Savour this month, it's the best of the year!
Cheers,
Scott

Plaskett, Paintall and Parties

As we like to say out here, the party never stops in Alberta. The party started last Thursday. We went to the McDougall United Church to see Joel Plaskett and friends, in concert. It was a little more mellow than I was expecting, but a great concert. The McDougall church is a great venue, the acoustics are fantastic, and we were right up front. Plaskett's father joined him on stage, as well as two great accompanying singers. We bought the vinyl and got all of their autographs on it, now we just need a record player:)





I love having a deck with a BBQ on it. We had the Klassen clan out for dinner and some Catan. We are not often able to have them over, as it's usually easier for us to go to them, as they have three children. Settlers took a little longer, as Dana slowly dismantled our offensive attacks against him. He was able to destroy our attempts at victory and snatched it for himself.


Saturday my cousin Patrick turned 13. This momentous occasion was celebrated by taking in some paintball. During the fun someone had the audacity to shoot Mike in the rear, while he was walking off the field. After we were done showing the kids who was boss, the party moved to the Froese farm. The food their is always good, plentiful, and usually local. Darryl and I accidentally broke a chair while wresting, so Ryan took a chainsaw to the legs. It's a little lower to the ground, but it's that much closer to the fire. On the ride home Brad inexplicably ran out of gas, luckily my slow driving insured we were behind him and Rhonda.

The long weekend was rounded out with yet another game of Settlers. Brad and Rhonda joined us and I had victory yet again snatched away. This time the Lord of all Catan was Brad.

Construction and mothers day.

It's been a good start to May. I think Niki and I have an addiction, fortunately our friends enable us. We just can't stop playing Settlers of Catan. I've been playing since I was introduced to it around 1999. At the moment it seems like we have a queen of Catan. Shelly has won twice in a row, and her reign of terror is, well, terrifying.
Her thirst for power is overwhelming, I think Poland should probably alert their military. I must rally our forces to dethrone this dark queen.
On Saturday I was awoken bright and early, around 9:30, with dad at our deck door. The crawler was unloaded, drill at the ready, and dad was just waiting for me. We spent the next ten hours getting some fence posts in the ground. We ripped out the bushes on the side of the house, the hedges along our front walk. It was kind of fun to be out in the sun, trying to improve the house. Pouring concrete by hand is not actually that bad. It's a lot cheaper than ordering it. Always make sure you have a wheelbarrow though. If you're dad is helping you, it's good to have coffee and doughnuts around too. Fresh doughnuts form your neighbourhood bakery is best. We were able to get all seven posts in, and now just need to figure what to put between them. It's sure is great having the BBQ sitting on the deck now, I was able to whip off some chicken breasts for dinner.
Mothers day was a lot of fun, big family shin dig out at my parents place. There was good food, lots of people, tractor driving, quad riding, and I even got a little game of catch in. It was a lot of fun, looking forward to getting out there some more this summer.
I put some grass seed down on all the dirt yesterday, so I am hoping it rains today. Seeding the lawn by hand is fun, the fact you can throw down these little seeds and then something grows is so cool! I will try to take a picture every day, I'll post them once the grass is up. It should look pretty neat. Well, that's the major highlights from the last week. This ones looking pretty busy too. Summer in Edmonton, no time to stop, you never know when it's going to snow again.
Cheers

Killers, Babies, Killer Babies

I sort of took April off from the blogging world, but I'm back for May. April was a month full of activities and milestones. My lovely wife turned 25. We had a nice little party for her at the Klassen household, which included yummy chocolate cake. My present to her was tickets for us to see The Killers at Rexall Place. It was an awesome concert, the closest I have ever been to main stage at a major rock concert before. Oh so thankful for earplugs! We were joined by our cousin Angela and her kids Madeline and Patrick. We were so close it felt like our own private concert and they really put on a great show. My only negative word would be directed at the crowd. Canadians really need to learn how to get their funk on. The band still worked hard, did a good show, and tried their best to get everyone their moneys worth.
My cousin Steve also had a birthday, he turned 37. There were wicked cool fireworks at his farm, a fire and sitting around said fire. My family seems to really love sitting around a fire visiting, we seem to do it every chance we get.
On a sadder note, Niki's great Aunt Kay lost her husband Bob at the beginning of the month. He was a graduate of the UofA in electrical engineering, very well spoken and surprising in tune with popular culture and the issues of the day. He was a neat man, I was glad I was able to get to know him before he passed.
It being spring, it is very fitting that our friends Ryan and Pam are celebrating the birth of their first child. He looks like a wise and intelligent baby, and I have only seen a couple of pictures on Facebook. He decided to show up right after we had all met for some German food. The rumour is he took inspiration from the Germans, decided to be efficient, and arrived early. Niki and I are looking forward to meeting the little bundle and are very happy for them.
We rounded off the end of the month with a nice visit from Steve, Kimasia and their daughter Sydney. They arrived Friday and stayed until Sunday. The sun was out for the whole weekend, and we took full advantage of that. The Farmers market in Strathcona was raging on Saturday, so we walked down there. Sydney, who is not even two, did quit a bit a walking herself. At the market we picked up some fresh carrots, homemade jam, and even some vegan cinnamon buns. After that we went for a swim at Millennium place. There were lots of walks and Sydney is a walking entertainment machine. We even busted out the BBQ for the first time this year. We did not get to see as much of Kimasia, as she was involved in a fitness convention at The Mall. It was the reason they were in town, so we can't really complain. We are also getting to do a road trip at the end of the month with them:)
Sunday night we had Aaron and Shelley over for some Settlers of Catan:Cities and Knights. Shelley pulled a fast one and became Lord of All Catan, all hail Lord Shelbert.
The weather in Edmonton has definitely turned for the better, and we are looking forward to getting some outside work done. I want to get the fence up and the backyard lawn planted.
That was the Neufeld rundown of April. Oh, Niki took off to Victoria and the bathroom got renovations got started.
Cheers,
Scott

Last minute winter fun

It's pothole season in Edmonton. We don't have spring, we have melting snow and potholes. Then one weekend all the snow is gone, and BAM, everything is green. We took advantage of the remaining snow before it vanished to have a little fun. I have never been on a skidoo before, it is a whole mess of fun. I was a little timid on the machine at first, but then my brother made a comment about feeling more alive when you're almost out of control. I took those words to heart and floored it. I have not had that much fun in awhile. Racing around an open field, warm sun shining, it's a blast. There were a few spots where our tracks in the snow looked a little different. They went from three tracks, two skis and the belt, to just the belt. There was one spot where I had gone that was just the one track for about 60 feet. Dad's biggest concern was not loosing his hat. Don't worry, the rest of us had helmuts, and he was going extra slow. It was kinda cute, puttering around, holding his hat. I might be getting a little flack for that, as dad is becoming more and more computer literate and will probably read this.
Niki spent most of Sunday quilting, she finished a lot and it's looking pretty amazing.
Other than that, the last couple of weeks have been the usual Settlers, seeing friends, and hanging out. Niki did get to see the Circus last weekend. It sounded pretty fun, and there were elephants!

Black Creek

To paraphrase A River Runs Through It, there could have been no better place to live than the Black Creek of my youth. A dairy farm near the end of Endall road was the best place to grow up. Stuart Mclean could have made his career writing about it. Every family was it's own collection of characters. A farming community is usually close knit, but there was something special about Endall in the eighties. It could also be the wagon wheels clouding my memory. The Offersons used to give us wagon wheels when we came over, but only once we got into the house for coffee. As kids we were too polite to ask for them right away, and there was usually farming business to be discussed. Once that was done, we would start to walk toward the house. Anticipation would build, and then Mr Offerson would wink at my dad. He always seemed to have a cow to check on, that was just remembered as he was getting close to the box of marshmallow and chocolaty goodness. I don't remember the winks, but I do remember the agony of being so close, then having to walk to the barns again. Dad tells me that Mr Offerson would be laughing heartily at our agony of wanting the treat, but knowing we could not ask. There are a lot of stories like that. Lots of laughing, visiting and good times around the hard work of trying to make a living on a dairy farm. It helps that I don't remember the bills or the stress of the emergencies. When the cows got out, it was kinda of fun. Though cows escaping at 3am is never a good time.
This last weekend a vital part of that past community was in town for a visit. Drew and Joanne Gailius were here. Drew was the mechanic, and all around saviour during silage/hay time. Joanne was the physio, so while Drew kept the machines running, she kept us running.They currently have a farm near Creston BC, Full Circle Farm. I always thought Joanne should write a book, as she seemed to always see farmers doing the craziest things. Their current farm grows grains, meat, and a lot of other things. Apparently you can even buy shares in the farm, which entitles you to around a hundred pounds of grains and I am not sure what else. If you are into seed saving, organic food, it would be a something to check out. The difficulty would be driving to Creston to pick it up every year. It's something Niki and I might have to do though. Somebody has to go and reorganize the tools in Drews shop. No shop should be that organized. I used to have fun 'reorganizing' his shop, and seeing how long until Drew noticed. It was very good to see them again, I had almost forgotten how much Joanne laughed, and we are looking forward to the next visit.
I could probably spend all day writing Black Creek stories. Just writing about fun times at the Foxes could take a day. If you have some good stories, feel free to share them.
The middle picture is from a neighbourhood party, circa 1984, and Mr Offerson is the man in the middle. It bugs me when kids refer to adults by their first names, when they do that I know 'They wasn't raised proper'. I know I am no longer young, but Henning Offerson passed when I was, so I don't think I will ever be able to refer to him as anything but Mr Offerson.
The bottom picture is our old farm. It's nice to see the Cedar tree is still in 'the cedar tree field'.
Cheers,
Scott

Time of year

It's been a slow week. Niki went curling on the weekend, and I saw Watchmen with my brother Ryan. Oh, and the Allies lost World War II. I know this will come as a shock. I tried my best, but I could not contain the Axis. They were led by Aaron, and I want a rematch:) I was tempted to report that I won, because, how would you know. My honesty won out, and Aaron might read this.
It's been really cold out here, and snowy. I very much dislike March/April in Alberta. It's cold, then warm, then cold again. The roads get all crappy because of the temperature change, and everything is really dirty. The only upside is that it means my favourite time of year is coming.
June is my favourite month. The days are super long, the bugs are not out yet, and the weather is just awesome. There are thunder and lightning storms, it's warm, and the festival season is starting to roll. Edmonton has a lot of festivals, including the largest fringe festival in North America. There is this crazy feeling here, like we all have to get everything done we can, before the snow arrives again. Then Fall hits, which is also amazing. The leaves all turn vibrant colours and the bugs all die. I love Autumn, even though it means winter is just about here again. I just have to survive this month and a half. I realized I have written written almost this exact thing in my first post. I just really love summer and fall out here.
What's your favourite time of year, or season, and why?
Cheers,
Scott
PS The picture is from the Edmonton Folk Fest, 2006. I believe Feist was on stage.

Hockey and Games

It was a fun week around Edmonton, outside of getting whupped in Volleyball on Wednesday night. Our friends Pam and Ryan took us to an Oilers game. The picture of the face-off gives you and idea of how close we were. They were fantastic seats. The Oilers lost, as hockey goes, they played poorly, and the reffing did not help them. The company more than made up for that. I think I want to watch all future hockey games with Ryan, or at least so I can hear him. I am a lazy hockey fan, only really caring if a Canadian team makes it to the finals. Ryan likes to do a running commentary during the game, which makes me seem smart by agreeing with whatever he says. It also helps me understand the nuances of the game little better.
Friday night we enjoyed the hospitality of Rob and Megan. Their son David is always a fun visit, and once he was down for the night we played a little Rook. I don't remember who won, I do remember the winner was AWESOME, but it was a fun time. We also borrowed a book, that is a collection of articles that Megan helped write, about Mental disorders and it's treatment. Very interesting stuff.
Saturday and Sunday we enjoyed a visit from the Micheal, Angela and Patrick. Lots a guitar hero was played, and that awesome person who had won at rook also pulled off a Settlers of Catan victory. As well, Niki and I got a 'new to us' stove, from Mike and Ang. It's all shiny and black. I think it will make good pies!
That's about it for the last week. Today is the first Tuesday of the month, which means it's %15 off at Save-on-Foods. Niki makes me a list, then I spend Tuesday morning shopping. We save about $100 bucks a month, which makes the Mennonite in me all warm and cozy.
Cheers,
Scott

Out Of Africa

It's been a tranquil week in Edmonton. Niki and I had a relaxing weekend, she had her book club and I had video games. Some new snow has fallen, dashing hopes for an early spring. I attended my first couple of yoga/pilates classes. I am amazed at how fast I start sweating, and it's hard not to laugh sometimes. It feels good though, and has been good for my back. I think I will keep it up, and would probably recommend it. Though not giggling insanely while doing the 'happy baby' pose has been a little hard.
Ryan and Dad made it home safely from Africa. It sounds like they had a really good trip. My favorite story is of 'John Deere'. Their first day working dad noticed one of the locals was working so hard, he compared him to a John Deere tractor. He gave him a JD hat and from that moment his nickname was John Deere. Apparently he is the local equivalent of a general contractor, and from what dad said, outworked everyone in sight. As you probably surmised, that's John Deere on the right in the picture. The other gentleman is wearing a Peterbilt hat, his name being Peter. I guess if you are ever in that area of Kenya, and ask for John Deere, people will know who you are looking for.
They also told me something that made me think of a Terry Pratchett quote, from his book Reaper Man. "Studies have shown that an ant can carry one hundred times its own weight, but there is no known limit to the lifting power of the average tiny eighty-year-old Spanish peasant grandmother." I guess this also holds true in Africa too. I was told that Ryan had a wee bit of trouble keeping up with a 80 year old grandmother. She thought it was funny when he wanted to take a break.
Have a good week,
Cheers,
Scott

Our Alberta Long Weekend

The previous weekend was a long one in Alberta. The Monday following Valentines is "family day". Seems they want to encourage family's to spend time together, which is fitting to me as so many people are probably working at making a family around that time.
Niki and I took this opportunity to visit some friends in Calgary.
My lovely wife's childhood friend Amy now lives in Calgary, some
of you may remember she was a bridesmaid in our wedding. We
had a nice visit with her and her boyfriend Joe. They showed us
their neighborhood Pub, called 1410, which was great and I would recommend eating there if you ever are in Calgary. After which they treated us to a improv show at the Loose Moose theatre. It was very entertaining and I got to hit one of the performers with a pool noodle. Seems the audience did not like the play he directed and so a select few of us got to punish him. I wish I had a picture of it, my many years of wailing on my brothers in our pool with pool noodles came in handy. I am laughing just thinking about it. I hit him, hard. They also introduced us to a nice cafe called the Heartland Cafe. They make all their own food, I think there was probably a lot of organic stuff going on. If you care about the food you eat, it would be another good place to visit if in Calgary.
The other half of our trip was spent visiting an old friend who just moved to Calgary. Steve, his very cool wife Kimasia and daughter have all just moved up here from Seattle. I have known Steve since High school. With him in Seattle the last few years, we have not seen him or his family that much, so it was very nice to be able to get to know them all more. Though I now realize it's no longer Steve and Kimasia, but just Sydney's Mom and Dad. Niki sure made a new friend. Niki enjoyed reading Sydney stories and playing around. Sydney is a very adorable little girl, and makes her parents life awesome! When she was napping, we would try and pass the time. We played Settlers of Cataan, which Niki managed to be Lord of all Cataan in her usual devious way. Kimasia almost won, but I think Niki cheats. *kidding* Another highlight of the trip was a private Yoga lesson for us. Kimasia is a Yoga instructor and she led us all in an hour of stretching. It was pretty cool. It's always neat to see your friends showing you something they are knowledgeable and passionate about. When it comes to health and exercise, Kimasia is both. I know Niki is a little sore today, but it sure helped me. I would normally be a lot more sore after a three hour drive home, but I was not. It has inspired me and I think I am going to check out the Yoga class at my gym. Niki and I were also inspired by the healthy food, so healthy it doesn't count, and amazing organization at their house. We might attempt a little more organization in our home and be little more conscious about what we are eating. Steve also had a very cool idea about a garden. A perfect garden spot for us is currently being blocked by our garage, so he suggested building a raised garden on it's roof. If anyone has any other suggestions furthering that idea, feel free to mention them.
That was our long weekend, and we're now home and back in our routine. It was a good break, and thanks again to our Calgary friends for such a great time.
Cheers,
Scott

Nutmeg

I am starting this entry on a sad note. Yesterday Nutmeg passed away, she was 13. I am normally one that is not so sentimental over animals, but Nutmeg was a special member of the Fowler family. She provided much relief when I first started dating Niki. Walking Nutmeg was always a good excuse to spend time together. As well, if there was ever an awkward lull in conversation, or if I had just said something stupid, she always provided a good distraction. I must say, my first introduction to this furry family member was not always good. Scratching at the door at three in the morning can be a rude awakening. I also seemed to be intruding on valuable bed space, which Nutmeg seemed to think was rightfully hers. I grew up under the philosophy that dogs did not belong in the house. Nutmeg helped me see this might not be the only way to live. She did not smell, shed, or bark, all the reasons I would give on why a dog in the house would be a bad thing. Lindsay might have tried to blame a few smells on Nutmeg, but I knew what was really going on. Nutmeg was cute, full of personality, and probably the sole reason that we will be getting a dog in the future.
This last week seemed to go by fairly fast, but a per usual, it's hard to actually remember what happened. Aaron, Shelly, Niki and myself attended some talks on postmodern theology given by Peter Rollins. It was good, and provided some good discussions over Starbucks coffee.
Last Saturday night was a boys game night. While our respective wives were off watching some sort of female oriented theatrical entertainment, we busied ourselves playing Poleconomy. It was loads of fun. Rob Stobbe was prime minister for most of our first game. I was able to secure a cabinet post, Minister of Truth. Needless to say, we were a little corrupt and drove the Canadian government to bankruptcy. We learned from our mistakes, and in the second game, we were a little less partisan. The government lasted through the whole game.
I talked to Ben Lanyon earlier today, he seems to be chipper, even though he's a year older today. Ben is always sort of chipper though. Our friend Shelly is also having a birthday today. Happy birthday guys.
Cheers,
Scott

Fun and Games

I know I missed last Tuesday, but i don't think anyone noticed.
It's been a good last two weeks. My brother Ryan took me to an Oilers game, which was legendary. The Oilers won, there were some good fights, and beer was had by all. A guy behind us even bought me a beer, because his girlfriend accidentally spilled some on my coat. I think that was a great trade, especially considering how much a beer costs at Rexall Place.
Niki, Aaron and myself attended a debate between PZ Myers and Kirk Durston. It was debate on "Does God exist." I personally think that's way too broad of a subject, and it showed. It was interesting, though I think it was a weird match. Usually you want people to debate who are in the same fields of study. I don't know if Mr Durtson has a blog, but here is what Mr Myers thought of the debate. I am starting to agree with a friend of mine that debates of this nature are 'missing the point', but that's an idea not for this blog.
My parents are back from Mexico, they had a nice vacation, and Ryan and Dad are off to Africa tomorrow. It's crazy, I would never have guessed my Dad would go to Africa, but it's cool. I hope they have a good time and don't work too hard. Their safe return would also be awesome.
One of the reasons I did not get around to the blog last Tuesday, is I went out for wings, beer and serious thinking with Rob Stobbe. Looks like we might do round two tonight. It's a good thing I have been consistently going to the gym. Anyone able to spot the subtle Simpsons referance in the previous bit?
Speaking of Simpsons, I can't stop laughing at this quote. It just makes me laugh uncontrollably.