Deanna, Gramma, Rio, on Christmas morning.	and grampa gets a monkey that says "I like to move it, move it, love you grampa"
Kyra and Brian watch as Deanna makes pancakes for breakfast.	Rock Band was a favourite.  More pictures of Christmas morning here.
The old guy blew his knee so ices it while the dogs provide sympathy.	We go watch Rio in a volleyball tournament.  More here.
Rio and Grampa goof off in the pool.	A stand off at the pool side

Rio is making popcorn and Brandy takes up vigil in front of the machine waiting for the prize.	Diesel takes a liking to Gramma.  What dog doesn't?
There's only one couch here and we all have to fit.	Santa dog is coming to town
If you're building a house you have to wear your hat backwards.	It's a great day for the pool heated to 83 F...
... and then into the hot tub heat to 103 F...	...and some even found it warm enough to catch some vitamin D.

Conversation around the table.	More of the guests
The last of the immigrant Perschon clan	Jamie and Deanna in Gloucester

Gunnar looks at a card showing he's 2, and presents.	And here's the big cake.  It was yummy.
As always, Gramma got right into it.	Father and son check out Noah's ark.

Judy turned '29'. Almost all the presents are in the picture.  Detailed picture here	Rio's team played in the season end volleyball tournament.   Her team (shown in the inset) won the Gold medal in the Silver Division.    Congratulations to Rio and the team!
Two new pictures grace our walls.  The Japanese one belongs to Jamie and the one from Cyprus given to us by Jamie and Ade.	We attended the cenotaph ceremonies. (Shown in inset) Left: Judy's dad Ed "Tiny" Thon, Right: Lutz's dad Fritz Perschon Sr.  Both have passed away.

This was the scene that met trick or treaters Halloween night, all 122 of them.	Introducing Doreen and Paul Perschon.  Married Oct 7 on the Sunshine Coast.  This was the Calgary reception. Paul is our nephew.
We celebrated the second anniversary of the kidney transplant and Bill and Karen took us to The Keg.  I forgot my camera so this is a file picture taken just before the operation Nov 9,  2005.	We visited with family.  This shot is at Carl and Loreen's house.

Brian and Rio introduce Diesel to the family.	We met Megan, Pam, and Allen in Bassano to celebrate Al's BD
Jamie at the Gloucester Docks at the Tall Ships Festival	At night Ade stands in front of the brightly lit up tall ships

Shirley and Elmer Jespersen - 50 years married

Their Children (L - R) Cindy, Sheryl, Kim, Kerry, Melodie And look what that lead to.

The whole family.  Congratulations on 50 Years.

Thanksgiving trip to Elkwater. This is the Ressor Lake area.	Judy shows off her new shoes from DW Shoes in Texas.
A close up.	That evening Nala got brushed.  Patches says "I'm watching to make sure the job's done right."

As usual Judy makes everything special.  Balloons, decorations, presents and cards from all our children/grandchildren, relatives, friends, Judy, and the hounds.	Later we get little visitors.  Hope, Gabriel, and Anna Mast come over with an ice cream cake and 60 candles.  Lots of fire, smoke, and laughs.  More pictures of this one here
Very special was having Gunnar stay over Saturday night.  Grampa reads Hairy Maclary.	Gunnar gets up close and personal with Patches. More pictures here
Can you tell this is father and son?	Patches lies among the toys.  Where did Gunnar go?

In June, Gunnar, Mike, Jenica, Deanna, Rio and us visit in Calgary	Lutz plays senior slow pitch throughout the summer
In July for a week, Judy and Gunnar hung out	In August we visited Jamie and Ade in England
And again in August Judy and Gunnar hang out.	Ending off with a trip to Houston.  Nice Clock.

Our ride down at the Gate in Calgary	From 39,000 ft the moon had just come up over the clouds.
In the pool, Lutz, Judy, and Rio.	Who is that brown face in the middle?  "Can I have a cracker?"
Deanna and Judy work out.	Rio makes faces.
Kyra gives a coy smile.	And Brandy wrestles with her friend Bandit.

Gramma and Gunnar play trains	Gunnar and mommy snuggle up
Lutz plays in the St. Albert tournament and Gunnar comes to watch	A rowdy cheerleader for his Grampa.  Go grampa go!!
This one is going for a ride.	Action on the field.
Holding up the +60 A Division Championship T shirt.	Gunnar runs the bases with dad.  He'll be a ball player some day.

Lutz and Judy build new steps for the deck	And Judy paints it to make it look just like before.
And Lutz plays in the late season scramble	Scoops a dirty grounder. See the shale dust up. Great shot Judy.
Back in Edmonton.  Gunnar goes under the bridge, gramma follows.  Except she has to duck.	Ready for bed Gunnar looks while Gramma reads the Gruffalo Activity Book from Auntie Jamie and Uncle Ade.

Day 1 in downtown Gloucester.  More pictures of Day 1 here	Welcome to the Cotswolds.  Judy in front of Victoria Hall.  More pictures of Day 2 here
On Day 3 we stayed home and relaxed, well almost... Click here	Day 4, Oxford.  Here we are in front of the Eagle and Child Pub. Who knows why that's significant.  Click here
Day 5, Berkeley Castle. There was a custom that when prominent families went to war they brought back a tree sample and planted it on the estate.  The pine tree in the background is reputed to have been grown from a cutting taken from a tree at the Battle of Culloden in 1745.  That makes it um... over 260 years old.   More here	Ade and Jamie on the platform of the train station in Gloucester to see us off at 06:30. Thanks so much for a great week. We got up at 05:45 and 22.5 hours later we would go to bed in Medicine Hat.  Makes for a long day.

Maslyk's stop by for a visit. Andrew, Kristen, Luke, Lisa, Robyn.	Judy plays Tetras while waiting for the parade
The County float	Nala watches those pups to make sure they stay out of trouble.

A day at the Edmonton Zoo	Mowing the lawn
It was very hot and a little cooling was welcome.	All that makes one tired.

New back pack means we need to go for a walk.  Bye bye.

And let's get right to the serious colouring.

Another season ends for Judy's SB driving.  19 Years	Some of Judy's students who won't be back next year.
Some new friends for the dogs.  Nala likes to lay near to protect them.	Jamie and Ade's new house in Gloucester. A few more shots here.

Brian out on the road Day 1 of the race. Cheniere's Making Cancer History finished in 3rd place in the 8 Person Teams. They finished in 6 days 06:11 and maintained an average speed of 20.26 mph. Cheniere's Making Cancer History Team has raised over $400,000 in three years. Congratulations Brian!

First scramble ball tournament of the year.  Some action shots from my ace photographer, Judy.  The ball just hit the glove.

Rio helps Gramma by giving out the year end pop to the high school students on the bus.	The wedding of our niece Courtney to Nathan.  Mike officiates the ceremony.  More pictures here.
On Sunday we ventured down to the Kensington Rd area.	On the patio of the Tea House.

I attended the Changing of Command this week at CFB Suffield.   A lot of pomp and ceremony and these two guys came out to watch.  Atten'hut!   [CFB Change of Command inset from MH NEWS]	Gramma signs custody form taking responsibility for Rio from Continental Airlines.  Megan welcomes Rio to Calgary with a big hug.
This little Golden Retriever will stand guard over the Grace tree with her lantern.  Rio attends the inauguration.	Rio comes to Canada fresh from a swim meet.   Two First's, Back and Butterfly Two Fourth's,  Indiv. Medley and Free One Fifth, Breast CONGRATULATIONS RIO!

Another long walk. Judy makes her way up a steep slope to the Tepee.  You can just see the tip of The World's Largest Tepee.	While I trail behind. This walk was supposed to be shorter than last week but came out just 10 minutes short of 3 hours.
This is the first story board on the Tepee. The explanation is to the right.	If you can't read this one - larger version here

On Friday Judy and I went for an extended 3.5 hour walk.	And on route we met up with this guy - or gal.
The rest of the weekend was spent with these guys.	After church Gunnar and Gramma get down and inspect the ants.  Notice the form of the crouch with hand behind back.

May 4 was our 39th wedding anniversary.

Flowers, cards, e-cards, lunch, and a movie.

Jamie and Ade sent me a flag of England and a T shirt from Cyprus.  The T shirt says Cyprus on the front.  Thanks guys.	Judy received this bear named "Philly" from 4 children who moved after Judy had driven the kids for over 8 years.
Judy always loves to show her tulips [and her two lips] when they bloom each spring.	Judy attended the wedding shower of our niece Courtney Thon.  Wedding to be held June 9.  Party time!!  More pictures here

On April 5 we headed for Houston, back yard swimming pools, hot tubs, and 27 C [80 F] temperatures	And gramma takes off on a bicycle to pick Rio up from school.  First time in many years.  More pictures here
And then on April 13 we went to Edmonton to visit Mike, Jen, and Gunnar.  "I'm a big boy sitting in this big chair."	When one plays the drums, one must stick his tongue out. More pictures here

Jamie stands in front of a harbour on the Mediterrian Sea.	And Ade walks in it.  More pictures here
Brian leans into a turn in the Walburg/PaceBend 4/5 race.  I have no idea what that means but he did very well.	More pictures and read how one writer from The Racing Post describes a part of the race here.

Last week we showed you pictures of us power raking our grass.  By Tuesday we had 20 cm of snow.	The Robins really were confused and looking for food.  Can you count how many there are in this tree behind us.
So we left the snow and cold and came to Texas,  Sunshine, swimming pools and ...	and one very crazy golden retriever pup. More pictures next week.

We visited the petting zoo at the West Ed Mall.	Gramma blows bubbles and Gunnar gets ready to go after one. A few more pictures here
Nala does not normally allow Patches to lay on her cushion, but Nala was not feeling good this day so this was an exception.	An early spring tune up for the yard as Lutz uses a power rake to get the old grass up.
Patches and Nala check out the scene. "That loose grass looks like a great place to roll around in". But Judy says not!	After picking up the bulk raked grass, Judy cleans up the rest with the lawn mower.  No Mexicans here.

And here's Jamie sporting a nice British style cap. Looking good	And Ade looks well.
The party girls at the rented theatre, the whole theater to themselves.  .	Doing American Idol on the big screen. Happy Birthday Rio.

Our singer Rio with her medal and certificate	And the certificate says..
A close shot of the medal.	And here a little more relaxed and informal back at Christmas.

This weekend to honour their mother's gift of her eyes, Pam and Judy place an Angel on the tree at the Devonian Gardens.	The plaque, seen in the previous picture foreground, explains what the tree is all about.
But no outing with this group would be complete without a little goofing around.	Kyra's High School pays tribute to her achievement.

These slippers have been the target of many a dog and now Brandy is the latest to have her go at them.	On the way home from Texas, we had a chance to visit with Mike, Jenica, and Gunnar at camp Valaqua, northwest of Calgary...
...where Mike was the featured speaker.	And visit with the Heck's.  Here Pam goofs off with Texas jelly beans. [lower left]

Rio sings with the Katy Independent School District Honour Choir at the 2007 Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Clinic/Convention. Can you find her?     More pictures Here

Kyra stands on the podium after winning the gold medal with a State record breaking 100 backstroke.  More pictures here

And this is where it started back at the Y in 1993 in Medicine Hat.  Who could have known this position would be the future.  GO KYRA!

And was this a picture of things to come back in 1999?  Rio heads to San Antonio with the Katy Independent School District Honour Choir to participate in the 2007 Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Clinic/Convention.  SING IT OUT RIO!

Rio and Kyra with "no name".

"No Name" pup. How about that Joneses?  "Here noname"  "Sit noname"

Event 1 Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay    New Regional Record =============================================================================== 1 Katy Seven Lakes  1:53.92   Team Members:  Swim Position and style, Name, individual time, [grade] 1bk) Jones, Kyra  27.02 [09]; 2 brst) Ward, Whit 33.19 [09]; 3 btfy) Wilkerson, Kara 27.78 [10]; 4 fr) Spencer, Courtney 25.93 [11]

Event 15 Girls 500 Yard Freestyle ===============================================================================   1 Jones, Kyra [09] Seven Lakes 5:05.81

Event 19 Girls 100 Yard Backstroke ===============================================================================   1 Jones, Kyra [09] Seven Lakes  57.90   New Regional Record

Event 23 Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay ===============================================================================   2 Katy Seven Lakes  3:47.59       Team Members:  Swim Position, Name, individual time, [grade] 1) Jones, Kyra  54.83 [09]; 2) Ward, Whit 58.35 [09] 3) Spencer, Courtney 58.87 [11]  4) Wilkerson, Kara  55.54 [10]   Because this was a second place finish, the team will have to wait to see if they are seeded in the state finals.  Looks very good.

Kyra was also chosen Female Swimmer of the meet.

This postcard is "Looking north on 6th Avenue from McKay Avenue, Edmonton AB".  Mailed from Edmonton to North Dakota June 15, 1909. Hey you Edmontonians, where is McKay Avenue??

This is the Valley of the 10 Peaks near Laggan, Alberta.  Mailed from Byrne, Sask. to North Dakota Feb 5, 1911.  In case you are not familiar with Laggan, it is near Moraine Lake in Banff National Park.

April 12, 2003 - First day home in Katy Texas.	Dec 18, 2003  - Wow I grew fast.
April 8, 2004 - In Canada with my buddies Nala and Patches.	July 3, 2004 - London England
August 3, 2005 - In Londo