Spring?

I am about to partake in the great Canadian pastime of talking about the weather. It seems that nature is messing about. It's been above zero, during the day, for the past few days. It's really odd. Snow keeps melting, and birds are singing. They are in for a very rude shock in a couple of days. I honestly don't like it, everything gets muddy and gross, and you know the weather is just lulling you into a false sense of security.
This past week seems to have flown by. My parents have gone south to Mexico, following in my brothers footsteps, for a little holiday. We saw Heather and Eric on their way through from Mexico. It seems Niki and I are the only ones not leaving Edmonton for a warm holiday. Serves you all right that we should have unseasonable warmth!
Niki had her book club on Friday, which allowed me to invite some of the boys over. We were able to get in a game of Axis and Allies. I hope fun was had by all, this time Germany and Japan were able to crush all who opposed them. You can probably tell by the previous sentence that I was playing Japan, and Aaron was Germany.
Niki and I have turned Mondays into our watch TV together night. We finished season three of Dexter and I am hoping we will move onto Battlestar Galactica. I know that sounds nerdy, but it's the best show on TV right now.
That's all for this week. In the traditional Edmonton salutation, Stay Warm!
Scott

Winter winter and more winter

Hey Hey,
We have reached the long dark winter of the soul. The festivities are all past, cold and snow stretch out before us. Being from the island, one tends to feel that by the end of January, it should start to warm up. That does not happen until the end of April out here, but when it does, it's like a fireworks display of life. I do kind of like the cold and snow though, as long as you are dressed for it. My new MEC fleece and headgear have been helping out with that.
Our volleyball has started up again, no injuries so far. I ripped my calf muscle last year. I have noticed a general out of shapeness in the physical areas. Niki made me a scrapbook for Christmas and some of the picture were from just after tree planting, and I have noticed that a wee bit of mass might have been added since then. It spurred me to get a gym membership. Now I am not always the best at persistence when it comes to the gym, but I have a new weapon. I don't like using hot water at home, so I only shower at the gym. I paid for the membership, I might as well use their hot water! The cheap menno strikes again. So far so good, been going regularly and have only showered, at home, once this month:) Don't think I am just not showering either, I don't think the wife would let that slide.
Good news, it looks like we have two renters for our basement suite. It should be an interesting experience.
Another good note is that my friend Steve has moved to Calgary and will be joined shortly by his wife Kimasia and daughter. Niki and I are looking forward to being able to visit them.
Until Next tuesday, cheers,
Scott

A New Year

It's a new year. The arbitrary time when as western culture, we turn our numbers over. My only real new years resolution is to write something in my blogs every Tuesday morning. What's the point of this thing if I never write anything down.
That said, a lot has happened since October. Hovan and Laurie came to visit. Good times, Hovan and I were able to do a lot of very important things, mainly involving mass media. He was also here for the first snowfall, which quickly faded. That mild November weather seems a long way away now.
We were also able to get our tree up and trimmed with Laurie, our first one in Edmonton.
I went on two trips with my dad to pick up machinery he left in Armstrong. Everyone should do some trucking now and then, it's fun. You get to see the country, wildlife, and watch lots of TV via a laptop. Just make sure the driver does not get distracted and wander off the road. Luckily that never happened, but we did see three fairly serious accidents on the second trip.
Most recently there was our mid winter celebration of Christ's Mass. A time to spend with family, good friends, and eat a lot of food. We should change the name to Gluttenymas.
That's a quick streamlined up-date of the last two months.
Next post, Tuesday Jan 13:)
Cheers,
Scott

Guitar Hero World Tour

Good times are happening at the Neufeld house. It's amazing how video games are such a big part of our culture, and I am totally fine with that. We purchased Guitar Hero World Tour for our Wii yesterday. Some friends joined us, Ryan, Aaron and Shelly, and a good time was had by all. Yes, Ryan is still hitting all the notes and not even looking at the screen, and he had never played before. It was very impressive. Shelly also seemed to be a natural. I am looking forward to trying to get my arms to work with the rest of my body, to try and keep a beat going on the drums. This might be a impossible task, but it's worth a try.
With winter coming, it's a good time to get the house cleaned, the garage in order, and your entertainment ready.

On a totally way more important note, congratulations to Rob and Megan on the birth on their bouncing baby boy! Niki and I are very happy for them.

That's about it for now, have to get some work done so I can find some rhythm.

Fires, Great Danes, and Internet Confusion

I think I have everything figured out now. My lovely wife gently pointed out that she had set up a blog for us over a year ago, and that the address was on all the cards we handed out at our wedding. So I have ditched the other site and this is now the site for all news Neufeld.

I have good news, I saw a dog yesterday! It was a harlequin great dane. I love the look and personality of these dogs, they are just amazing, if I was of the canine persuasion, I would be a great dane. I know we can't have one though. The first reason being Niki will not go for a huge dog she can't physically move, can you believe that!? The second reason is, all the little hairs that would be all over our house. I don't think I could ever get over having little coarse hair everywhere. They're like little needles. I will have to wait until we one day have a large acreage, or one of you gets one that I can visit...
On the way back from our walk and the excitement of seeing the dog, there were lots of sirens and fire trucks three blocks NE of our house. Turns out someone decided to light a truck on fire, lots of flames and shiny lights. I did not have my camera on me, so you'll all have to picture ten foot flames shooting out of a pickup truck. It was neat, the fire people had it out almost as soon as they got there and no buildings were damaged.


That's all the excitement for now.

First Post

Well, I've never done anything like this before. I guess I am a regular mammal and follow the herd. It seems like the thing to do, especially now that winter is coming. The trees are almost all bare now, and -5 at night seems normal.
This summer was a good one, we did a trip out to Sask, Niki and I each went to Victoria, and generally tried to be active.
Summer in Edmonton is pretty amazing. Festivals never stop, and people have this manic activeness about them. You want to squeeze every ounce of activity out of the sun you can. Not that winter is not enjoyable. Winter is just so long, you want to be able to get everything out of summer you can. Autumn is also particularly awesome, and I feel like Hobbes at this time, but I think my lovely wife is much more like Calvin.
That's about it for now.

August

Scott and I have been enjoying the cooling off of the weather this month, and it's been wonderful and relaxing. We are heading off to the Island at the end of August for a Homewood Family Camp on Quadra Island, which we are both really looking forward to. Ron and Bettyanne's shop/suite is coming along nicely, Scott and Ryan helped Ron and Cousin Ed put on the roof a week ago, which was lots of work (for them) and lots of fun (for us both). Scott just celebrated his birthday with a great turn out of family, and of course, Skeet shooting Burgers and trifle makes for a very happy birthday boy. Hope all is well in all your corners of the world!

the wedding!

Hey all,
We are now in Edmonton, and settling into married life. Thanks to everyone for coming to the wedding, and all the helo from friends and family along the way. The day was beutiful - we couldn't imagine anything that would have made the day better, other than it being longer. Taking photos before the ceremony was one of the best things we could have done, pacing the day and giving us time to breathe in between each stage of the day. Plus, we were fresh from the salon, so our flowers/ boutineers and the girls makeup was still perfect for the photos. The reception hall also looked gorgeous, chair covers really do make a difference. And the band really rocked also. Thanks for the great day and fanstastic memories everyone!

Update

Nothing new to really report. Scott had a wonderful time on his stag on the May long weekend in Kamloops, a big thank you for Matt for organizing it and all the attendees for making it a weekend to remember. Almost June, the big day is fast approaching. I've realised that there a few, crucial, time consuming things that i have been putting off, and I'm hoping to get those loose ends tied up in the next week or so. Hovan and Christine are getting hitched on Saturday, which means that Scott will be down for a visit. I also convocate next Tuesday, which I'm really looking forward to, just as closure to using my brain for independent thought... at least for a while. Just kidding. I'll try to keep more posted, although I hope not too much changes in the upcoming weeks and things continue to go smoothly.

Plans so far..

Everything is going really smoothly right now, a little too smoothly. The response to the invitations has been really positive and RSVPs are rolling in. Scott and I just spent the weekend in Vancouver visiting his wonderful extended family, although they are all so close, it's hard to call them "extended". There was a big dinner on Saturday night in celebration of his maternal Grandfather's 90th birthday. It was fabulous, and a good prelude to what June 30th will be like, if all goes well. I keep having the horrible sense that the numbers I'm compling will never be right. We are doing a plated dinner, so it'll be really tough to re-organize everything if we have extra people, like children or dates that I was unaware of. Numbers are looking really tight so far, there are many other people that I would love to invite, but the occasion really is family first, and then a few close friends. I'm starting to put together a seating plan for those that have told me they are coming (prime seating for the keen and considerate :D), and I can really see how things are going to come together. It looks like it will be a party to remember though, and one that both Scott and I will have a hard time leaving. I'm almost finished exams, so the blog will be updated more frequently, and as the date gets closer, I'm sure I will have more pertinent things to say rather than paranoid ramblings.

Maps for Ceremony & Reception Sites

Welcome to Scott and Niki's Blog

I thought I would try this as an attempt to get into the whole interactive-internet experience, and hopefully as a useful place for friends and family to view pictures and ask questions! I'll try to check this regularly, and as informative as possible!