Happy Birthday Miles Seamus Atkinson!!!!

Well there he is folks! He was Born January 3 2007 at 10:43am. Jess and have just got home from the Hospital, a full 5 days after. Jess had to have 2 pints of blood added and was on a constant iv drip for extra fluids. Took a little more then we thought. But look at the rewards!
That was the most amazing and beautiful thing I have ever seen, that little guy made me cry! I'm off for now, back to Grandma's house where we will be spending the next two days, less steps!

Happy Birthday, Dana!!

Hope you're having a great day with lots of cool presents and a yummy cake!
Love, your California Family

Pregnant and lovin it!!?

Will you just LOOK at that belly!!! Thats what eight months looks like!

Pictures for Mitch!

Mitch made
a comment
about sweat
dripping off
his face for the above 30 temps, well how does minus 30 grab ya?!!!

Our first brush with fame! Sort of.

Mitch is always the one with political 'sightings', but finally we had one of our own.

We had our first ever celebrity/tv personality in the store on Sunday! Jay Ingram from such radio shows as CBC's Quirks and Quarks and Discovery Channel's Daily Planet. I made him a mocha and he got a strawberry and white chocolate scone to go.

I played it very cool and didn't gush, but I'm wishing I'd asked what he was doing in the area. Watch Daily Planet for something that happens in our area, I guess! Maybe something in SE British Columbia?

Mitch's Argentina Adventure 2006

Hi kids! Here's a link for you to follow along while I journey around Argentina starting next Thursday. I may update here but I will definitely update there. I've decided to take along my pda so I should have everyone's addresses for the purpose of postcard distribution.

Mitch's Argentina Adventure 2006

A little before and after for you

Life after the wall came down!

This was the Friday night before we opened on Saturday! It was such a major relief to finally be donw and ready to be open! All the renos took us 11 days..... thats it! We still have a few small things to fix and work out! But all is well and were running smooth!

The wall must come down!!

This was the first thing that had to go! They had this in place to give it a more dark evening experience and to inhibit the sun from shining through! In these shots you can see that the floor is also being ripped out. In the first 4 hours we had the floor gone, the wall was removed and the bar in the last shot was cut in half! Amazing!!

Underbird? I Think Not!

A cheap imitation.

Operation Christmas Child

Paul Brandt will be in Lethbridge tomorrow with a semi picking up shoeboxes of toys and things for third world countries so we will be there with four boxes. I have to get up town today to finish filling these.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

We celebrated by going to the Italian Heritage Day parade in San Francisco this morning. The band was marching, and the rest of the family watched from Fisherman's Wharf. It was really nice out-- sunny and warm, so Andrew and I were definitely cooked by the end!

Mitch loves tattoos

Will you just look at the size of that TATTOO!!!

how many months is she?

This is what five months looks like!
More than halfway there!

Steve's latest injury!

What do you think happened to me? Was it.....
A: A vicious attack by a herd of marauding squirrels?
B: A valiant defence against an angry and protective mother cougar?
C: A valiant defense against a crazed pregnant wife?
D: A run in with a low lying tree on my dirt bike?

Marked for Easy Identification

Last Saturday morning Elke and I went to the local tattoo shop and got ourselves some new body art. Don't be fooled by anyone who says it doesn't hurt (ok, so I'm a big baby when it comes to people jabbing me dozens and dozens of times with sharp implements) but I think it'll look pretty damned nice once it stops oozing and flaking. The photos are a blurry shot taken by a co-worker and a closer shot taken by me. It's on my right leg, just behind and below my knee. Oh, and say hello to Elke. :)

This post is for mom!

These guys were at around 1400 metres. When we got close the first time they thought this place was getting too crowded so they hid behind the rocks until we were out of sight. They were back to the same place again on the way down!
Crazy critters!

And what did you do today?!!

Today.... I climbed Crowsnest Mountain!! The guy i did it with was a 56 year old man, a good customer and a great Friend! After climbing to a hieght of 2785 meters, i have nameed him the "Old Goat"!! This was actually aour second attempt at the summit. The first try, Reg, got a little virtigo once we got out onto some of the more exposed out croppings of rock! This time was better, the weather was a little cooler which made climbing alot easier. This "hike" is not for the faint of heart or fearful of heights! This was more like mountaineering! The hike round trip took us around 5 and a half hours. Was a great was to spend my day off!!

Words to Live By

REALLY GREAT SOLUTIONS FOR EVERYDAY PROBLEMS

1. If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat and, presto, the blockage will be almost instantly removed.

2. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs.about lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins.

Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

7. Have a bad toothache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget all about the toothache.

8. Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are: You only need two tools - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

9. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

10. NEVER PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!

Thoughts for the day:

If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You get another chance.

Be really nice to your family and friends; you never know when you might need them to empty your bedpan.

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT, THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

AND THEY'RE OFF!!!!

So thats what 440 racers looks like at 8 in the morning! This was the start of the toughest stage of the race. 107 km's from Crowsnest Pass to Elkford! Check out www.transrockies.com for full stories about each stage with a few extra shots thrown in for good measure!