Colton Update

Today was Colton's 1 year check up at the doctor's office. All is well with the little man. He's tall and slender like his old man, but he's a lot tougher. Whenever I went to the doctor, the needles were always a huge production. This happened right up until I was 14, I would have to have people hold me down in order to get my shots. (I'm a lot better now, in case you're wondering) But not Colton, no he's brave like his mom. Getting his shots doesn't even phase him. Apparently from his mothers account, the doctor poked him, he gave a slight whine and then went right back to trying to get into things he's not supposed to get into. Shot's don't even phase him, they are more of an annoyance only. Just makes me laugh. Going to another point, I do love how he is such a curious little guy. He's always exploring things. he has no fear about going after anything he sees and playing with it until he figures it out completely. Jody is always telling me stories about his doctor visits, and how he loves to play with the blood pressure pump, cotton balls, computer mouse, table paper. As you can see in the picture posted, he's become interested in the blinds.

Kids are truly something remarkable. I have learned so much since having Colton in our little family. I've learned that I can change a poopy diaper under normal circumstances in a matter of 45 seconds. I've learned that something as simple as your nose can be the source of endless curiosity. I've learned that a belly button is the most fascinating body part we've discovered thus far. I've learned that I can be as angry as ever at him, and all it takes is his little smile at me and I'm putty in his hands. Of course there is no better feeling in the world than picking him up when he's upset, and having him cling to you until he calms down. Having the kind of power to make a person feel better like that makes a parent feel like Superman (or woman in Jody's case). Anyhow, that's my Colton indulgence for the day.

The Power known as China

Howdy everyone! I had one of my great readers ask me to comment on the topic of China. Here are my 2 cents... Is China the most powerful country in the world? No. A superpower? Yes. The Chinese are very hard working. My dad recently went on a trip there to visit a manufacturing plant that wanted to produce these trailers we wanted to build. He observed how these thousands of workers came in, worked 10 to 12 hour days. They all came into the cafeterias right at the whistle blow, where the factory fed them all efficiently, and then right on the dot of an hour they were back out on the lines. They do this 6 days a week, but only for about 10-15 years. At that point they "burn out" and will take all the money they've saved and move out to the mountains to live out the rest of their lives. Now this isn't common all over China, so don't let that story paint the whole story for you. Chins seems to excel in everything they do, as they seem to be extremely hard working and disciplined people. I'm amazed when I watch shows on the Olympics, and you see these athlete "Factories". They have kids coming in, some as young as 2. They do nothing but train and master their sports in the hopes to be selected to represent the entire country on the global stage. They are so competitive, that they went as far last summer to forge documents on 2 of their gymnasts, to make them appear older than they really were.
Anyway, my opinion on China as a whole is this. They are a global superpower for sure, due to their industry and pure numbers in population. But are they the most powerful country in the world no. The communism thing sets them back a bit.We all know communism in theory works, but in real practice it doesn't because of mans inability to govern themselves appropriately. Clearly as we've seen, there is always corruption in that type of system. Also, I think that though they are industrialized, the standards they hold up to are still decades behind the rest of the modern world. However, I gotta tell you, I love Chinese food!

Please feel free to leave me comments on my posts people, I learn the most when I hear from you!

The Big Announcement and other stuff

Well folks, if the picture is of any indication to you, the big announcement I have involves my family and a plane. Here it is, we are being re-located to Calgary. Yes you all read that right, we are moving back to Calgary effective immediately. I'll probably be there for a while before my wife and son join me, as we still have to sell our house here in Guelph. This decision was made last weekend, as my company wants me to be more directly involved in the day to day operations at the home base. It's been crazy, and Jody and I have been riding an emotional roller coaster ever since the decision was made. While we are very excited for the new opportunities this is bringing our way, we are sad to leave Guelph. We have both found ourselves really loving Guelph since we moved here. It is also where our very first home is, and we only got to spend a little over a year in it. Jody also is from Ontario as many of you know, so we will be leaving her family behind, don't worry though, we will be visiting often. On the other hand we are moving to where great opportunities await and it is where I am from, so its not like we are charting into the unknown. It's really a bitter sweet time for us, either way we go you're giving up one thing and gaining another. It's funny where life takes you. Although there is some sadness, there is also some excitement and hope. When looking at it as a whole, this is a good opportunity for us to grow as a family.

Well now that that is out of the way, my next piece is an update on my beloved Flames. They lost a real tough game on Monday to San Jose 2-1. It was costly because Vancouver won their game last night which leap frogged them into first place in the division and the 3rd seed in the playoffs. They hold that by one point with both teams having 6 games left to play. So we're still in contention for that placing, but we now have a tough schedule ahead of us, all the games are back to back games. So fingers crossed that the Flames wake up and get their game together before the playoffs start. It would be nice to have some momentum going in to the post season for a change.

Other than that folks, the rest of my thoughts will wait for other postings. By the way, anyone interested in seeing our house needs to go to http://www.propertyguys.com/properties/29837-guelph-ontario-townhouse. As an added incentive, if you know anyone looking in the market for a home, we are offering a finders bonus to the person that finds the lucky people that buy our home. Please get the word out!