Happy Birthday Dude!!

26 years ago today, after touring Edmonton's west end golf courses, a quiet, little guy entered our lives. He has always been very tender (not that he would have us tell you that) and doesn't like change.

We love him, respect him and enjoy him as our room mate.

Happy Birthday Andrew.

House Update as Promised

The Raymond projects and they are now multiple are moving along.  Our house has drywall hung and taped, the outside is ready for some finish stucco. 

We have opted to blanket the house with foam and have used the highest quality insulation we could find.  A driveway is scheduled to be poured this week.  We will be coating the house with a first coat of paint this week, then turning it over to finishers for almost 2 months. It has been my style to give the sub-trades ample time to do their work, giving them almost exclusive use of the house.

There are other projects under way and we will report on them later.

ttfn.

My Brother the Bishop

Today my brother was released as a Bishop in the Latter-day Saint faith.  He has served with distinction for more than 5 years in a 100% voluntary position. While carrying on in his position as a business owner and entrepreneur, Doug has willingly given up to 50 hours each week serving the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) up in Sherwood Park.  

Working with a voluntary staff, it is easier to sometimes just do it yourself rather than scour for a willing soul and that method has been Doug's style. Recently he had 2 widows; one needing a place to live, the other happy to have her move in but not having the proper space to accommodate her. Doug rallied the troops and totally renovated her basement.  His style was to put on work clothes and make his way over to the project almost every free minute, giving leadership by doing to ensure the project was complete in short order.

Anyone who knows Doug, knows that he has a busy family. Nancy has supported her husband by understanding the needs of the ward and has willingly managed many of the social activities of their very active family. Theirs is a home that almost always has children, grandchildren and friends bustling about.

Our family knows from experience that these types of callings, and they are callings, are time consuming and all encompassing but they are also rewarding and bring the family together.  We are proud of Bishop Doug and say to him; well done thou good and faithful servant.

Jackson Family Reunion

The Jackson Family annual reunion just wrapped up and, in spite of a house that is still spinning, a lawn that will take months to recover, a hot tub that continues to have interesting hues, we have preserved great memories. We combined our annual get together with a celebration of Grandma Child's birthday. (It was a milestone!!)

Perhaps pictures will best tell the story:

The older grand kids and grandma and grandpa

waved down the local C-Train and made an excursion

to downtown Calgary.

The destination was the top of the "Muffin" as

the Ehlert girls have dubbed it. Many others call

it The Calgary Tower. Grandpa, Grandma and Anna

were all freaked looking out the glass floor.

A little rest stop in the lobby of the Palliser Hotel,

a treat at McDonalds and we returned to a great

weiner roast and campfire.

What could be more fun than some quiet

games to fill the evening. Kristy and Andrew

entertain the hordes with some "Rock Band".

A little bit of Bickering and Complaining (the card game) was constantly 

in order. Jadi and a very peaceful Clare check out her hand.

Saturday morning the boys went golfing and the
girls attempted to go the Calgary Zoo but were
turned away by the crowds of people who had
similar thoughts. The next best thing was a trip
to the Pet Store, where anyone brave enough
had a bird climb up their arm. On the way home,
Max said to Sol; "Hand" and this was the result.

Spencer Jackson and Kelsie Ehlert entertain

themselves at the computer.

Saturday night was the big Fete. Grandma's birthday

and dinner for an army. Barb is with Tanner Still,

his girlfriend Niki, his sister Karen and husband Rob Ferguson.

My credit card and bank account might never

recover as we prepared a mighty meal of lobster,

crab, shrimp and an exciting new creation; the Paella.

Gerry presides over the creation of her first paella,

a creation of tomato paste, rice, shrimp, mussels,

scallops and much more.

Denise and Kristy assist with the heavy mixing.

Have a look at the final result.

Not only beautiful to look at, it was better than you can imagine. We'll do it again!!!

In answer to the question already posed, we fed 33.

Grandpa bought a used jumper about 4 years ago.

We call it Ellie, cuz it is a great big Elephant.

Here he thought that he might sneak into it and have

a little rest. Not likely!!

Uncle Lee devised a great game that creates

chaos in the jumper and cleans it and the participants at

the same time. It involves lots of baby shampoo and water.

Thanks Lee for spending so much time with all the kids.

After the jumper, the kids needed a bath er

hot tub. Uncle Lee was the lifeguard, only having to pull

Sol up from a face down position once.

Cooper manifests the copious amounts of great food

that we consumed (and wore).

Grandma and Addison inspect the bandage

on Addie's little finger. Our grandchildren adore

Nana Childs. She spends a lot of time on the deck

with them.

This was our little Clare's first reunion.

She is full of miracles. We hope for many,

many more. Sunday morning, Spencer

took little Clare in her arms and then surrounded

by 12 grandpas, dads and brothers gave her a

name and a blessing. It was a very touching moment.

And finally, thank you children for the love and support that you give one another. We are blessed and my faith is strengthened by each of you. Thank you to our friends for their great support. My next post will be an update on our Raymond project (s).

Her Teacher Says She is Very Good!!

Gerry has always had an artist's eye. As we drive down the road, I will see roadsides that are brown or green and she will pick out and name the flowers in the ditches. Her garden (in a neighborhood of good gardeners) always has admirers stopping to ask what this is or that might be. Her gardens blossom with color and variety. Her ability to create with her hands is amazing.

For years, she has wanted to paint and this year has taken classes to learn to do so. Her teacher says she is very good. (We had dinner with them tonight.)

VLM asked me to post Gerry's pictures. I apologize for the poor presentation. I placed them on the table and took photos to do the posting. We will frame both of these pictures.

This is a water color she did earlier this year.

Anyone who has travelled with us to Palm Desert will know that this 2nd painting is a favorite scene of mine. The photos that inspired this water color piece are taken just inside the gates of Marriott Desert Springs Villas. (I think it is supposed to be a Father's Day gift, but I am showing it to you early.)

We are impressed with our In House Artist Laureate.

The Promised Comparison of the Tropics.

As promised a review of Mexico vs. Hawaii and time shares vs. all inclusives. One bite at a time, however.

Firstly, a summary of our vacation to Mexico and some editorial comments on our trip.

With the added stress of the past few months, an executive decision was made that a bit of a break was needed. Kristy and Lee were booked into our Lawai Beach timeshare, so the thought of a quick trip to Kauai was not to be. The Edmonton Jacksons had planned a trip to Mexico, (a favorite place for them, by the way) and we opted to follow along.

The Jacksons were booked into an All-Inclusive Resort in Bucerias, Mex., called the Puerto Vallarta Palladium. The resort is touted as 4 1/2 stars (more about that later).

We found that by watching Sell Off Vacations that the price fluctuated and we were able to secure a 2 week vacation, including airfare, accomodation, all-inclusive and taxes for just over $3000. No doubt that the ability to make late plans reduced the costs of the trip.

Leaving on April 19 in the middle of a significant snow storm was poetic. The roads were almost impassable as we made our way to the airport and we had to wait on the plane for almost an hour in order to get a push back as so many people had been unable to make it to work. We treated ourselves to a "Club Class" upgrade so we were able to go to the front of the line for check in, sit in roomier seats and had an excellent meal on board. Very nice!!

First impressions of Mexico were the hordes of sales people lining the aiport in Puerto Vallarta. We felt like we were running through a gauntlet of gremlins who chirped away asking us to look at them. The salespeople in Mexico are motivated far greater than most you meet in Canada or the States. They are paid to set up timeshare presentations, get reservations at restaurants, cruises, tours, limo rides to resorts, etc. Some of them acted officious, asking us if they could check our bag tags for security purposes. Fortunately we had been told to bypass them and look for Air Transat personnel.

A lesson learned is not to take the internet at face value. The Palladium is 45 minutes to an hour outside of Puerto Vallarta and very dated. The rooms were musty and the beds were terrible, in fact, the box springs were concrete. The bathtub had a crack down the middle of it and it felt like you were stepping on mush when you entered to shower. (We didn't even think about a bath.) Our room had a great view of the ocean, only somewhat obscured by trees. The in-room fridge kept the pop and water and tepid plus one or two degrees, only.

The all-inclusive part is an interesting concept. It simplifies the eating decisions, offers some variety but invites the party hounds to abuse the system and make themselves nuisances. The food at the Palladium was good but repetitive. Breakfasts were probably the best meals of the day as there was an option for omelet, scrambled eggs, pancakes or french toast. (The french toast became a favorite of the group.) All-inclusives usually offer an a la carte option for certain meals and we were offered 4 options for the 2 weeks. The a la cartes we chose were the beach bar-b-que (2 times, it was good), japanese (mexicans cooking japanese, think about it) and mexican (good choice).

I was offended by the drunks that populated the pool and the resort. There were a number of Canadian university students who had finished their exams and were letting loose. As the cost of booze is included in the all-inclusive, there was very little limit to the amounts consumed. The pools became noisy in the afternoons as inhibitions were set aside.

The weather for the 2 weeks was stunning. Each day there was a little breeze that took the heat of the sun. The beach at the Palladium is rock-strewn and unfriendly, so we took our sun by the pools.

As a card carrying member of the easily bored, it was difficult to just lay about, so we made the executive decision to rent a car.  This decision was made only after riding on 2 buses; one piloted by a NASCAR wannabe and the other by a hearing impaired, high octane mexican rap music lover. The rental car was great, we actually extended it as it gave us a whole bunch of mobile freedom.

Of course, being the seasoned traveling veterans that we are, the first thing we did is go scope out Costco and Walmart.  Prices in both these stores are very similar to their United States counterparts.  It begged the question how the stores can succeed with the levels of poverty that exist in Mexico.  We experienced a wonderful night on the Malicon (a concrete boardwalk along the ocean in Puerto Vallarta).  I was flooded with memories (having served an LDS mission to Guatemala all those many years ago) as I watched the families make their way along the walk. The latin americans are close knit as families and at no time, did we feel uncomfortable or threatened although GDNJ is paranoid by nature.

We found a wonderful beach town about an hour north of PV called Sayulita.  If you can imagine a movie setting for a surf show, imagine Sayulita.  It is a quaint little Mexican village with a spectacular water front, small surf repeatedly pushing on shore.  It was in Sayulita that GDNJ found herself being bowled over by an eensy weensy wave about 1 1/2 feet high.  She was stuck in about 9 inches of water, not able to regain her footing as the little waves repeatedly knocked her over.  Actually, quite hilarious. Sayulita is the type of community that would attract someone who wanted to rent a mid-term accommodation and enjoy some serious down time.  It may very well be the next hot spot in Mexico.

Alright now my feelings about Mexico vs. Hawaii.  We were a little jaundiced by the 2nd rate accommodations but really liked Mexico.  We will go back, however, we love Hawaii.  We would rate Hawaii significantly ahead of Mexico only because we (I) are easily bored.  We love the freedom of being able to hop in a car and without regard for anything, go anywhere we want on the islands.  We are particularly fond of Kauai and look forward to our bi-annual visits to the lovely south coast.  Our plan is to experience the Mayan Riviera in the future but continue to look forward to our polynesian paradise.

A Promise of A Post

New post coming early next week comparing mexico and hawaii.  love it in mexico, have found some favorite places, the people rock but hawaii, it is really like going to paradise.

Sorry for the way it looks but internet service is lousy.  And yes, I am going cold turkey on Monday to lose a bunch of weight.