Hello From Out West

Howdy folks,

Yes I have finally made it out here after a very grueling 34 hour drive. I drove down through the States this time as opposed to taking the Trans Canada, like I did when I moved out to Ontario. I have to say the drive for the most part was OK. The scenery in Illinois and Wisconsin was nice. Minnesota was ok, but nothing special. North Dakota was absolutely depressing. It almost seemed for the most part like a ghost state. I was driving through towns that looked like they've been abandoned for decades minus the few dilapidated houses or trailers where you could still see some signs of life. The whole state seems to be flooded too. On more than one occasion I litter ally drove through a river that had crested over the road. That was scary, because you honestly couldn't see if the was still road in front of you. As I was driving the highway close to the Saskatchewan border I would look on either sides of the road and see dirt roads leading up to farm houses and they were either still under a river, or washed out. I couldn't help but wonder what the people were doing with themselves, as they all of a sudden find themselves captive in their own homes with no real way to get out. Boy, I could not get out of that state fast enough. So I finally entered Canada again at around 11:00 pm on Tuesday night, so I decided to stay over in Weyburn. After that I finished my travel into Calgary. That actually was the craziest part of the whole trip. I encountered a bunch of wind the whole way, but for the most part it was a nice day. When I got to Swift Current, the temperature was 24 degrees, and everyone was in shorts and t shirts. When I got to Medicine Hat, AB it was 18 degrees. After that I got to Brooks where the temperature was 12 degrees, but only an hour down the road in Strathmore, the temperature dropped to 2 degrees. 20 Minutes later I ran into a full out snowstorm on Calgary's edge, and it was -2 degrees. Talk about crazy weather.

Well, while I am glad to finally be in Calgary, I really miss my family. I knew it would be hard to be away from Jody and Colton, but I wasn't prepared for it, and really; how could you be. Luckily I have them coming out to visit next week. What a fun time we are going to have. I took two days off for vacation to spend with them. This also reminds me, Colton experienced his first kiss already. He's a little player when it comes to the ladies. Apparently his charm was a little too much for Gracie (his friend Mommy babysits on Wednesday's) to resist. He didn't seem like he was really up for it though, I mean after all; he's got a reputation as a flirt, and doesn't want people thinking he's tied down. I laughed out loud when I saw this picture.

I apologize to all my readers for the long break between my posts while I moved. Now that I'm stable again, I'll get right back into it. Be prepared for tonight's post as I set the stage for game 5 of the Flames/Blackhawks game. For any of you who may not be up on things, this has quickly become a brutal ware between 2 teams, and has captured the attention of the hockey world. It's going to be exciting!