Wapta Ice Field

I went on a trip. That was amazing. Last year my friend and I took a countaineering course to learn how to travel on glaciers. OVer reading week last weekend we went to the Wapta Ice Field between Banff and Jasper to ski on glaciers. I have had trouble downloading the pictures from the trip but I will add them when I can and discuss the thrill of glacial travel very soon like within days.

GOLD BABY!!!!!!

OK I need to add to the discussion of how sweet it is to win the gold. This is the moment I have been waiting for since the Oilers lost the Stanley Cup Finals in 06. The intensity and the nerve wrecking that comes from watching hockey in the Olympics or the playoffs when the Oilers are good just does not compare. I like to think that I have done high adrenalin, nerve wrecking activities but I honestly don't know if anything compares to the last few minutes of regulation that occurred during the game. If anything does compare I would love to know what it is the heart palpitations, the blood surging through your veins, the stress the anxiety, the feeling of going through an emotional roller coaster. It is just awesome March Madness, NBA, baseball, not even football compares. I am proud to be Canadian

Golden Goal Redemption

Well I won't need an elixir for the pain because canada won the gold! The only scenario Canada wanted. In fact I think Ill need something to stop the excitement. I was only able to see overtime because of church and having to stay afterward. I had been checking the score constantly on my phone and was not too surprised to see the score was tied after 3 periods, because I think Canada dodged a bullet in a similar situation against Slovakia. I thought they will just need overtime. I ran back to my apartment to see no one else was home! All my roommates were at a "break the fast" our ward was having at another apartment. I knew right then since no one else is watching this game with me, it is destiny that Canada wins. Canada had some good chances, the US were just taking some pot shots. Canada is getting the pressure. Then Crosby skates in, Miller steers it into the corner, give and go Iginla to Crosby, quick shot, GOAL and GOLD. I was jumping up and down, I then went over to the apartment where they were having break the fast. I was surprised people knew that Canada had won when I got there. I was surprised quite a few had watched some of the game. Canada played big brother to the Americans. Some sports analysts were saying that it was a close game and it looked like the US were going to win it, they just don't know how to lose I guess. All they have to do is just look at the dejected faces of the American players after the game and Miller being on the verge of breaking down during his post game interview to realize that starting tomorrow all that the world will remember is that Canada won the gold in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics! Fewer people will remember the US won silver and even fewer will remember that it was a close game. Canada stuck it to the Americans. Way to go Canada! And keep putting together great hockey teams.

A game to remember

Congratulations to Canada from coming back from a 5-3 tragedy last week to a GOLD MEDAL 3-2 overtime victory!!!
It was an exciting game and we were all glued to the screen at the Majerans for the 3rd period.
Interesting to see how quickly the feeling of bitterness we all were experiencing quickly becomes a feeling of sweetness - the bitter being when the Americans tied it up with only 24 seconds remaining only to turn to sweetness when none other than Crosby put it through the wickets for a sudden death goal.
The commentators here were saying that much like Paul Henderson's unforgettable sudden death goal in the '72 series against the USSR I think Crosby's will be a goal shown over and over again and one that will live eternally with Canadian hockey fans.

The Yule Ball

Last night there was a preference dance here- Harry Potter themed! Harry Potter is still one of my favorite series ever so I was excited to hear about it. Sydney and I decided to go kind of last minute, but luckily we still managed to get ourselves some dates. We asked them by writing Hogwarts-style letters, complete with green ink, and we got our response the next night via owl post. Our only problem then was coming up with costumes, but I think we managed to do rather well for ourselves. I hope you can guess who we are! The dance itself was a lot of fun too. We definitely dressed up a lot more than our dates, but we didn't mind! It was fun to get to know my date Alex, who is one of my friend Spencer's roommates. I discovered that we actually have quite a bit in common. Sydney asked Chris, another one of Spencer's roommates, so that we could go on a double date. I'll keep in mind for next time that preference dances here can actually be quite fun!

HOCKEY NIGHT!!

Speaking of Hockey - We all know that Canada ruled the ice today with a score of 7 to 3 against Russia. But OJ and I got to see another hockey game tonight - face off at 9:45 PM - that was even more amazing than the one in Vancouver.

It was played at the U of A arena with two talented players. I've been a fan of theirs for years. It was Snej and Beej playing for the LDSSA.

Those two did some ruling of their own. Jordan scored the first goal for their team in the second period, tying the game. From there he got two more pucks in the net - Hat Trick! John wasn't too far behind with a goal of his own. All those years of street hockey really paid off :)

The final score - same as the one played on the Olympic arena - 7 to 3!

Good thing the Schneider boys showed up.

Ozymandias

Today, I was chatting with some ladies from my aquacise class and one of the women mentioned that years ago she was in a pawn shop in Vegas and saw an Olympic medal for sale. She said that it really bothered her to see it and that she often thinks of it.

Glory fades.

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert.

Near them on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:

`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains.

Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away".

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

work in Canada

Before I left the UK people at work asked me what were some of the things that I would miss most about the UK. There were a few obvious things that came to mind quickly - warmer winters, 6 weeks of holidays, loads of hiking really closeby. After being here a month though I didn't figure that I would quickly miss something work related - something that the Brits call "banter" in the office. It's basically where people informally forget about work and focus on humour at work and laughing with and at each other. I think the number of expressions that I'd never heard of before that they use a lot there supports this train of thought, ie someone "having a laugh", "having a go at someone", "having a windup or winding somebody up", "taking the mick out of someone", and even calling things and saying "pure banter." There were several times during the day when people who had been out ask how the chat / banter had been so far that day. Most of our meetings would inevitably have a banter session or two mixed in - almost like one of the main goals wasn't work but rather banter.

Not that our office in Edmonton doesn't have any banter but so far I can't say it compares to what the Brits deliver each day at work. Maybe Canadians are just a little more down to earth and down to business? I guess Char would have to comment too to see her the offices she worked in compared. But so far I feel like our Edmonton office needs to be introduced a little bit to the British way... before we left the UK some people predicted it right - after I mentioned some of the things I would miss, a few of them said right after they heard my reply, "I bet you'll miss the banter here."

5-3 tragedy

WARNING: reading this will only add salt to the wound.

A) Never ever watch a hockey game with Americans who don't know anything about the sport.

B) Make sure that hockey game is never Canada vs the US. Because if Canada wins, the US fans will just say "whatever we beat you in every other sport" for which there is no comeback, or if the US wins, then you are humiliated because Hockey is Canada's sport (as was the case last night).

I will admit right off the bat, I cheer and have always cheered for Canada in the Winter Olympics, but I am kind of lukewarm to them during the Summer Olympics (mind you there is not much to cheer about for Canada during the summer olympics).

So I was pretty excited about the hockey game and wanted Canada to win. I was a little scared because Canada needed an overtime to beat Switzerland, which is a disgrace, while the US beat Switzerland in regulation. I was reading articles that built up the game. One of the quotes I liked went along the lines of how Canada has always had to play little brother to the US except when it comes to one thing: hockey. When it comes to hockey, the US plays little brother to Canada. All the analysts on ESPN and on MSNBC (this game wasn't even shown on NBC, which tells you how much Americans even care about hockey) picked Canada to win. I believed Canada would win. Seconds before the game was to start, I thought to myself, "the US has a really good goalie, I think the only way the US could even win this game is if they jump out to an early lead." My worst fear came true when the US scored within the first minute. I was watching the game with two of my roommates (who don't know anything about hockey) and they were just like "whoa we scored." "How did that happen?" I was thinking to myself "this can't be happening." Anyway, we know the rest of the story.

These are questions the US fans asked me during the game.

"Wait so you can you use your puck I mean your stick to swipe away at the puck?"

"So you are allowed to dive on the ice to try and move the puck away?"

"Are there even penalties in this sport?"

"Wait what's icing?"

"Can you use your hands?"

"Why was that a penalty?"

And then the comments.

"whoa that was such a cool hit" (when it was just into the boards)

"Wait...I always thought Sidney Crosby was American"

And then to make matters even worse. None of my roommates even watched the whole game. I was the only person watching the last 4 minutes of the game. Then I thought to myself right after the game was over that the US sports channels are going to compare this to the miracle on ice from 1980, which it is not! because this game was not even for the medal. Sure enough, they interview some guy on the 1980 US hockey team after the win. And then when they show the highlights, they start it saying "30 years after the miracle on ice....."

Well who knows what is going to happen to Canada now. They have to play Russia in the quarterfinals if they even get there. Now of the two countries that care about hockey the most, one of them won't even win a medal. And now the country that cares the least about hockey of the countries in the tournament, have a good chance of winning one. If Canada does not win gold, the only thing that will be somewhat of an elixir to the pain is if the US does not win a medal. Hopefully my worst fears won't happen again.

Vegas Baby!

For the long President's Day weekend, Sydney and I wanted to make a little get away. Especially since it was our last break before the end of the semester! So we decided to take our friend Madi up on her offer of driving us to Vegas, since she wanted to visit her aunt. It was a blast! We had a great time roadtripping and singing along to all our favorite songs in the car. The desert scenery was really beautiful. Once we got there, we got to relax, do a bit of shopping, and see the sights of downtown and all the hotels and everything. The weather was awesome compared to Provo and her aunt and family were really sweet and accommodating. We had a great time and I wish we could've been there longer!

Community College Swim Class (Or How I Learned To Embrace Middle-Age)

I'm going to be 36 in two months. Its not something that keeps me up at night, nor am I desperate to do anything that makes me seem younger. I'm actually happier and more at ease with myself than I've ever been. That said, I have been having a hard time fully grasping the fact that I'm not really a young buck anymore. The guys at the mall who used to hand me passes to hip clubs, ignore me now. My pop culture references miss the mark about 95% of the time. But today was my first swim class at Santa Monica College. As I was standing there, I realized that when I started community college in 1992 many of my classmates were just being born!!! That just blew my mind. I felt really old.

That said, there was a silver lining. I absolutely loved the class. I think i'll be able to hit my 2.5 mile swim goal by the end of the year. Additionally, I was the fastest swimmer in the class. Granted, it is a beginner class and a good portion can't swim at all, but it made me feel good to beat some of these young kids. Its ok getting older, in fact, I'm kind of digging it.

Student Teaching

I have started student teaching at an awesome school here in LA. This is my fifth week and it's the best! The population is primarily Latino and the class is a bright third grade class with an extremely talented master teacher as my mentor. I love it. I incorporate Spanish words when I teach, with help from my spanish speaking BF Spencer, and I have especially enjoyed teaching them Reading. It's fun to talk about the stories we read, predict what we think will happen, and read dramatically!

Today there was a wonderful display of the artwork from the students around the school. It's a privilege to be at this school and teach these kids.

Olympic Highlights

Nana and I were inspired by the Olympic Games to test our Nordic

skiing form on a beautiful day in the great Northwest. Although the Olympic Mountains are close by we had to settle for the Cascades.

We found it tough sledding, and like the Olympic competitors, we had to blame it on the snow conditions - certainly it couldn't be the technique.

It was great to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of nature and the wonder of creation.

Luv to all,

Gramps

The Year of the Dragon

I hesitated about buying a pair of dragon boots for Caleb and Julian that I saw at the Gymboree outlet over the Christmas Break. They seemed like a flagrant waste of money- we so rarely see rain that they'd probably wind up spending their wearing life tucked up in the closet, like another pair of boots I bought for them two years ago. These boots did not get worn once! But I just couldn't resist them so I decided not to learn my lesson. I brought them home and we cracked them open that very afternoon.


Caleb and Julian had so much fun stomping in the puddles around the Hulewsky place that Ian got out some boots too and joined in the fun. I thought it might be the only time they got to wear them, but even then it was worth it.


When we got back to LA we were delighted to find more rain was in store for us, and even more delighted when I happened upon the unworn pair of boots I bought two years ago. They were brand new and fit Jack and Christian perfectly. Ironically they, too, are dragon boots. They wear them all the time. Now if only we could get a little more rain... ;)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

How did Valentines Day get started? No one knows for sure, but I like this story :)

It's third century Rome and Emperor Claudius expected men to volunteer for his army. Not many signed up. They didn't want to fight in wars and they didn't want to leave their wives and families. Claudius wasn't pleased and he came up with the idea that if men weren't married they'd sign up for his army. So he decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. So did a certain priest named Valentine.

He began to marry couples in secret. Until he was caught. He was thrown in jail and sentenced to death. Many young people came to the jail to visit him. They threw flowers and notes up to his window.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit Valentine in the cell. On Feb 14, 269 AD, which was the day Valentine was to die, he left his friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. He signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

It's thought that note started the custom of exchanging messages of love and friendship on Valentine's Day. Almost 2000 years later, every time a valentine is sent it just shows - Nothing can stand in the way of love :)

Happy Valentines Day! - And like we all say at the end of our phone chats - Love Ya!

Mom

3-Year Old Soccer

I've been wanting to get Caleb and Julian involved in soccer for a while now. Especially for Caleb as I hoped it would be a good way to get his right leg strengthened. They are too young for league soccer (AYSO's youngest group is Under 6, which we won't be eligible for until fall 2011). There are a couple of small classes available, but they are ridiculously expensive, which is compounded by the fact that we have two to enroll in everything. So, we decided that I would try coaching a team at the Church ball field. I was pretty nervous about it as I don't consider myself either a particularly good teacher or patient. My anxiety was compounded by the fact that we ended up with 13 kids wanting to participate (not to mention that Jack and Christian were sure to be in the mix). But I bought a DVD for coaching little kids and hoped for the best.

Well, we've been at it for about 5 weeks now and I have to say its been super fun. All the kids are a bit young, so focus and following instructions are a challenge, but they just love being with each other kicking balls and scoring goals. Its a blast to see them figuring stuff out and acquiring skills. I think they could all be really good little players if they stick with it.

It has also highlighted how very different Caleb and Julian are. Julian can't get enough. He absolutely loves playing soccer and he loves getting his shorts, shin guards and cleats on. He is by far the most enthusiastic kid on the pitch. Caleb, on the other hand, is a little cool to the whole concept. He's very social and loves to see the other kids, but he's reluctant with the ball and pretty easily distracted. That said, he's warming up to it and it has been great exercise for him.

Hopefully we'll take more pictures this week to post.

From VIP to seeing MVP

Ok so I guess having a new BF allows for a LITTLE time for me to PARTAY- I mean, how else will I see him? Invite him over while I study?

We went to the Clippers v Jazz game last night at the Staples center -(Spence got free tix from work!) It was SO cool! We headed over with two hilarious girls from our ward who I also love hanging out with. Jord and Beej and Rico and Dad would have been proud to see me going to see a game. We all had the time of our lives. Spencer was such a gentleman as usual, and when we arrived we walked into the VIP section where we saw a few other friends we knew, and waved across the way to some other friends in their box seats. What an event! It was awesome to sit so close, have someone take our orders to bring dinner food, and sit back and see the game together. There were some pretty exciting moves and attempted moves by the professional athletes so I remembered how much I love watching sports when it's real life LIVE. You can see the whole court, take in the mood of the event, enjoy the good company, and even watch exciting, creative halftime shows. (This is LA after all.)

As if the events of the first 3 quarters weren't enough, in the 4th quarter our friend who came with us (she had met up with her Dad who was seated on the front row, courtside,) came to see us and share the wealth of her front row seat. She told us we had to go check it out so we took the stub and headed down and closer to the game. We found the entrance and made our way to where her Dad was sitting -It was AMAZING!!! The security lady let Spencer and I both go down and we saw Memo and D-Will and Sloan the coach just a few feet away!! We could see the sweat on the faces of the players, we could see each of their expressions, we saw the interactions at time-out, we could see the computer screens of the media guru's. IT WAS AMAZING!!! What an unexpectedly exciting, very fun night!! Sure beats lesson planning or grading!

Getting into a New Groove

January has been a month for big changes in our household, at least for me. There have been so many changes that all tie into each other that it's hard to even know where to start.

First, Isabel no longer comes four days, she comes for two days.

The babies are older and more independent now. They are mobile, talking and interactive and it's taking some getting used to.

Also, I finally completely quit nursing at the end of December, and that's been a huge change in terms of time and energy which has been wonderful.

I'm doing a lot more housework now without Isabel around. In some ways this has been a really good thing because I've gotten my head into the game and for the first time in three years I'm really organizing everything. Isabel kept our house clean, but she often had little piles of objects everywhere because she didn't know where things went. Nobody did. Organizing all the toys, clothes, and misc. items has been a huge project and a lot of work that has taken up most of my month of January.

I've also started working 4-16 hours a week from home. Last year I was asked to edit a few videos for the church's welfare department to use at Welfare Square and on the internet. This year they asked me if I wanted to continue doing it. Since I love the work and the money is helpful I feel like I can't say no, but it's definitely more for me to shoulder right now.

I'm also making a big effort to read my scriptures and exercise, which are really great but don't fall into the fun or relaxing category.

In fact, it seems like not much is falling into the fun or relaxing category! I miss it but don't know how to fit it in right now. I used to often spend my evenings relaxing, scrapbooking, etc. but I find that by the time I finish cleaning I don't have the time/ energy for that. I feel guilty for not documenting our lives the way that I would like to, or the way that I did last year with Project 365. I also don't blog very often anymore, check my email, etc. etc.

Anyways, I know this isn't a very exciting post, and it's been great to have mom here this week so that I can finish up a lot of the organizing and actually have some time to make a post, exciting or not. I guess it just kind of fits with what's been going on lately. Not terribly exciting... but solid and stable ;) Hopefully the changes work themselves out soon.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

My husband is a poet. My husband does not write poems. Let me explain.

"So the tragic poet, if his art is representation, is by nature at third remove from the throne of truth; and the same is true of all other representative artists...Suppose, then, a man could produce both the original and the copy. Do you think he would seriously want to devote himself to the manufacture of copies and make it the highest object in life?"

Jordan produces the original. Jordan lives poetically. Jordan's life this past year has been full of the highest of poetic themes: courage, bravery, persistence, hard work, imagination, risk taking, love, sacrifice, spirituality, adventure and family.

Once upon a time there was a man named Jordan who was SO big and SO strong.
One day he:

heard his wife was upset
saw that Oliver needed some attention
was asked to serve as Ward clerk without an assistant
had to qualify as a CA
saw that his flat needed some fixing up
felt it was important to keep up his exercise
knew that he had to bring home the bacon
felt that it was time to make an addition to the family
had to make a huge decision about whether or not to move back to Canada
had to make the decision about moving back to Canada happen

Well Jordan summed up all the courage and energy he could muster. He took a rope, tied up all the monsters of doubt, fatigue, worry and discouragement and he:

Helped his wife as much as he could, made her laugh, made her happy.
Scooped Oliver up after a long day at the office and wrestled with him on the bed. Everyday.
Accepted the call as ward clerk and gave up almost all of Sunday, every Sunday to go to his early morning meetings, attend church and then stay late to count tithing - without an assistant.
Boldly dove into an accounting career without an accounting background and QUALIFIED!!!
Laid flooring in both bedrooms and varnished the living room several times.
Biked to work at least twice a week, ran on week-ends and occasionally played evening soccer and frequented the push-up bar .
Worked hard everyday.
Welcomed little Ben into our family.
Prayed and fasted about staying in the UK vs moving back, researched, researched, researched.
Secured a job with EY Edmonton.

Then some sharks came, ate up all the monsters of doubt, fatigue, worry and discouragement and went "ha, ha, ha".

THE END.