July Holiday Images

The summer has been a good and for me with the beginning of prep now for college it means I won't be escaping as much with the family out on outings (at least during the weekdays). But I wanted to display some of the images of our summer. I actually posted the shots of Tinkertown & Grand Forks tonight but changed the dates to when they were actually taken. The cottage & home shots in this portfolio are mainly from July. SO here they are!

Our three kids: Chelsea, Aimee, & Zachary!

Zachary - the target of many, many photographs.Zachary & his lovely mom!

Aimee with her pooh bear towel after a run through the sprinklers.

July means long hot days and weekend at Star Lake as much as possible. Here are a couple shots from the Whiteshell park: Gotta love them sunsets!

Fireworks from the dock on July 1st - tradition rules at the Friesen cottage!

Sprinklers are a great way of entertaining kids and they actually keep the grass green!

Zachary can be quite the charmer with his smiles and coos!

Another grin from the Z-man!

My precious Aimee!

The girls love our play structure and are quite proficient in their swinging acrobatic routines already!

Kyle & Laura brought a couple kittens to the cottage last weekend and Chelsea enjoyed playing with them - she's got a soft spot for animals (once she gets over her initial fear).

Zach again all-smiles!

My free spirit dancing daughter complete with her gypsy wear!

More shots of my wandering Chelsea!

Roasting marshmallows at Star Lake.

Aimee exploring the shoreline at Star Lake.

Chelsea enjoying the view of some nearby ducks.

Aimee & her mom enjoying the play structure at the lake.

Chelsea sliding...

Aimee swinging...

Another close-up of Chels

And more swinging at Star Lake...

Exploring Tinker Town

One of our best entertainment options for kids in Manitoba - is Tinker Town. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well-run the place was - much more kid-friendly than the Morris Stampede or any of the Shopping Mall amusement ride events. For one the ride operators aren't escaping a warrant or under the influence (as far as we could tell). Here are a few shots (again taken with my cheap Optio as it is easier to stow away than my SLR).

Chels & Aims enjoying a boat ride at Tinkertown.A sign of future teenager-dom & drivers education?

Chelsea & Aimee absolutely love riding horses - especially on the musical carousel.

First time for Aimee & Chelsea on a Ferris Wheel.

I snuck aboard the carousel without a pass so I could take a few shots of the girls in motion.

The girls speeding off in fun!

Labour Day Weekend

For the past four years - the labour day weekend means that the summer is over and its' back to teaching. I'm in the office for much of August but it generally is pretty relaxed without students or papers to mark or lectures to prep. Tomorrow classes begin - although my first class is slated for Thursday so I get an additional day to tweak what I want to teach. I woke up at 6am today and didn't bother going back to bed, instead driving to work and doing some minor adjustments to my already well-modified syllabi.

This past weekend was somewhat refreshing, I got a little riding in (on my wife's bike) and extended my mtn bike trail that is in development. I did some geo-caching with my Dad & my daughter Chelsea to some abandoned goldmines that my parents discovered awhile back. Picked up a souvenier of some core samples of granite that were used to search for veins of gold I'm assuming. I picked up a rock that appears to have a gold fleck imbedded in it as well.

The weather continued to be amazing as it has all summer...it was blazing hot again today! Hard to believe we are nearing fall but the ferns are already wilting and I've noticed some leaves change as well.

G

The Girls Of Summer

Chelsea climbing the wall at Red Camp
Bathing Beauties - Gotta Love Bubble Bath!
Au du Daisy?
Setting up for some sunflower shots!

More Pics

I like taking shots that are more texture-oriented like the shot above & below. The nice warm light courtesy of a Manitoba sunset following a rain shower.

The horsefly above just adds some character to an already interesting photo.

The lovely sunset that provided the light!

Summer Tunes

So I recently went on a hunt for some new music and here are some findings you need to check out: The band Embrace - another amazing UK find (admittedly influence by U2/Coldplay) - both of their latest recordings are solid: Out of Nothing & This New Day. I love Keane's latest Under The Iron Sea as well - almost as much as Snow Patrol's Eyes Open. Another band i'm enjoying is Thirteen Senses - The Invitation again I'm liking the influence but divergence from U2/Coldplay. Guster's Ganging Up On The Sun is more subdued but has amazing vocals - Coldplay meets the Wallflowers meets the Beatles? I'm still digesting their stuff. Something that reminds me of a mix of Wallflowers/Counting Crows/Howie Day is a band called The Fray - How To Save A Life - also worth the listen. Bruce Cockburn has a new cd Life Short Call Now coming out that apparently is quite good, The Wailin' Jennys have a new cd entitled Firecracker - newgrass is probably the most apt description, of course Johnny Cash's Personal Files are out and his posthumous American V: A Hundred Highways will be out in early July. A taste of summer - hopefully more tunes to be had...any recommends from you? or response to my new picks?

Canadian Summer

Well - I'm in the midst of getting into summer mode as a prof which means lots of reading, picking out texts for next year, speaking engagements, research, oh yeah and take a few more weeks of holidays to be with family! I'm most excited about the latter but I really do enjoy researching for new courses or tweaking the ones I already have prepared.

I have a new course next year entitled Communications which is aimed at first year college students and hopefully helping them learn how to communicate effectively both as speakers and writers. The other aspect of the course that I think is critical is learning how to read and research, both often weaknesses I see in students. Our Canadian public school system unfortunately is not doing a very good job in preparing students to write proper research papers.

My sister Ang & bro-in-law Rolf are returning from Ethiopia to have their third child and so we hope to connect a fair amount this summer as we don't get to see them much. So hopefully some quality time will be spent at the lake enjoying rest & recreation! Costa Rica honestly seems like a long time ago already but its been good to revisit my blog and take a look at the 650 other pictures I didn't post online! The weather has been amazing thus far here in sunny Manitoba and we are looking foward to a warm & refreshing summer!

Latest Pictures

Another fabulous weekend at Star Lake - rest, relaxation, & play! Here are some photos! You'll note we had some duck visitors at our beach which made for this weekends photographic assignment. Our daughters enjoyed their company as well it seems. Hot, hot weekend - plenty of sun, an amazing lightning show early Sun morning (no tripod=no lightning photos - sorry), some work on the cottage, and lots of time at the beach reading and playing with the kids! Even some fishing - my brothers both got one jackfish each, I guess I'll stick to canoeing, biking and taking pictures!

G

"Enjoying orange juice-cicles in the July heat!"

"Aimee exploring aquarium life at the zoo."

"Auntie Kiki, Wendy & the girls chasing ducks @ Star Lake beach."

"Nature abounds at Star Lake."

"Chelsea and company."

"Duck Trio"

"Parting shot (my favorite) - all natural lighting thanks to a sunset!"


"The underside of daisies at dusk"