Coming Home

9:30 am - Mari"time" at the Country Inn
We are heading home from Moncton this afternoon - back to reality as Norman is swathing at home. Carol Britnell, mom and I have seen a lot, have shopped a lot and have EATEN a lot!!!
We toured a chocolate factory in St. Stephens, walked the shores of the ocean at Hopewell Rocks, visited a lighthouse at Cape Enrage, ate lobster while overlooking the ocean and PEI in Moncton ... plus much more.
We DID NOT visit a museum (sorry dad) but we did stop at one country church where the oldest "resident" in the cemetery was one of the first English settlers in the area.
We've eaten some sort of fish or seafood at every meal (except the quick burger at A&W) so my brain will be omega-ed up when I return.
More pictures of the track when I return to Saskatchewan.

Track and Field in New Brunswick

Matthew and I are in Ormocto, New Brunswick (CFB Gagetown) for Legion National Track and Field. Matthew competed in the 100 m hurdles where he placed 9th overall. He also placed 9th in long jump. Today, he participated in a medley relay (new to me) where the first runner went 400 m, the second (Matthew) and the third ran 200 m and the final runner went 800 m. Their team finished 5th. Tomorrow he is in the 4 x 100 m relay and then off to Fredericton and St. John and then to Moncton.

I am here with my mom and friend and neighbour, Carol Britnell whose son, Lane, won GOLD in pole vault today. We've toured around a bit, ate LOTS of seafood and have done only a "little" shopping.

Good times - thanks New Brunswick ...

Summer Sports

Matthew and Austin played their Zone play-off game for Bantam baseball on Saturday the 14th in Outlook against Southey. They won the game 5 - 4 and Austin hit a homer, scoring 2. He also did some aggressive base running and stole home. This means that the team travels to Kindersley on the 20 - 22 for Provincial A ball!
Equally exciting is Matthew's track news. He left Legion Camp on Saturday (to go to ball) where he had been for a week, trying out for the National Team and .... he made it! He is flying to New Brunswick in August for a week long camp/track meet! I am also going to fly out with my mom and Carol Britnell whose son Lane also qualified (they live a few miles from us and Lane's dad is also from Macrorie).
Provincial ball; Nationals in track - who has time to build the house???

Matthew, Austin and Mason are enjoying a trip to Ottawa to visit my mom's sister, Myrna and her husband, Bob. The visit has been busy by the looks of things, with tours of the city - both by bus and by boat, to museums, and to Parliament Hill for Canada Day! The picture shows them munching on a beaver tail on Capital Hill on July 1st.

What an experience~! But mom and dad and missing their boys - it's too quiet around the house and there is no one to do the chores. Come home boys!

Austin's Accident

On Thursday, May 17, Austin got into a fight with a barbed-wire fence while on the back (or should I say side) of a dirtbike while visiting a friend. Apparently, he tried a small jump, lost control of the bike and slid along the wire, taking out a fence post in the process. He received a total of 48 stitches, mainly on his neck and upper shoulder. There was quite a large gash near his juggular but as you can see, all is well now. The parental heartbeats have returned to normal but we are discouraging any future excursions with the accursed wire. If you remember, Mason also had a run in last summer which resulted in 12 stitches to the top of his foot. It seems as though the barbed wire is destined to be the winner in all altercations!

Spring Update

It has been a long while since I have updated this site but there has not been too much to report other than the ususal - sports, school, work and farm.
The boys finished their hockey seasons early this year (which means they did not make the final round of play-offs). But just because hockey is over doesn't mean that life has slowed down any! Matt continues to be involved in Striders (track club) which involves 7 am practices three times a week. I really love those mornings! I have taken up jogging on those mornings and can usually be found running across Canada's longest pedestrian bridge by 7:15 am! Our school track meet is May 10th, with Sectionals, Districts, Provincials, and qualifying camps yet to come. Whew!
Austin and Matt have spring training for football so Austin often comes in early as well to lift weights. This leaves Mason to fend for himself in the mornings (along with dad's help!) but he reports that the mornings are better when there are no brothers there to "bug" him!
The two older boys are also playing badminton this spring (because one sport doesn't seem to be enough to drive their mother crazy). Austin plays boys doubles, Matthew mixed doubles. Matthew qualified to go to Districts in Kindersley on the weekend coming up.
Of course, April means that ball season has officially begun as well. Mason plays Mosquito and Austin and Matthew play Bantam. Grandpa Dean is coaching again and I have volunteered to manage the team because I have so much spare time!
In my other spare time, I have been trying to get things organized for building our house this spring. The official sod turning should happen within the next few weeks. We are excited about this new venture but aren't really sure when we are going to fit in time time to build this ourselves (which is still the plan ...)!
Norman has been busy with the calving season and now, preparing for spring seeding. We don't see too much of him but since we will be building the house this summer and will see each other then, it's probably a good thing that we are getting a break right now!
Mason has been preparing for his performance in Music Festival next week. He has been learning the trombone and is quite enthusiastic about all of it!
Well, I have to run to some sporting event or other so I'll sign off for now!
Take care everyone!
Jade

Cold Cold Cold

While the temperature hovers at the -20 degrees, we are all wishing we were south in the warm air of Mexico! Winnipeg had -40 plus the windchill which made it around - 60. YUCK!
We are off to Regina this weekend for another track meet and we plan on staying at Dave and Joy's for a visit. Then back to Outlook and I am at Teacher's Convention Monday and Tuesday. I am presenting on using technology in the classroom. This blogging is fun and I'm going to share the excitement about this technology!
We are heading for Kimberley after that and will be hitting the slopes Thursday. Matthew turns 15 on the 16th and he is quite excited!!
The only news from Outlook is that Jody Ogilvie (formerly Burke) was involved in a head on collision with a SuperB Semi this week. She suffered some horrible breaks and some internal injuries, but is, it seems, coming around and is expected to be okay. It will take a long time to heal but we are all so relieved that it wasn't worse.
Take care - be safe, Love the Balleks

February 1, 2007

If you are reading this blog from somewhere other than Saskatchewan, you may not be "enjoying" the same sub-zero temperatures that we are. Minus 34 with the wind chill this morning and driving home from Saskatoon last night was blizzardy (small scale only!).
Things are hectic to the supreme this week as the hockey league winds up and we move into play-offs. It's hard to believe that in less than 2 months, we will be pulling out the ball gloves and sunflower seeds. Wishful thinking on a day like today!
Mason had a great game in Vanscoy last weekend, scoring 3 goals and getting an assist. He was ON FIRE! Last weekend, both Matthew and Austin go penalties in their game against Unity - one right after another. Goons.
We are heading out to Kimberley for a ski vacation with the Kulbida's from Saskatoon. This should be fun and restful and hopefully no one will break anything!
Mom - I hope your flight to Mexico was uneventful! Thanks for the shopping and supper :)
Jade

January 23 Update

If you are keeping up with our news from near or far (like Mexico), you have realized that there is little or no time for laundry and house-cleaning at the Ballek farm. This is why we discourage unexpected visitors! Just kidding !!! We usually put them to work doing dishes instead!

Here's our week in review:
Friday, Jan. 19 - Bantams played in Battleford where they lost 3 -2 with only 30 seconds left! Jade also got a speeding ticket which everyone and their dog has bugged her about!
Saturday, Jan. 20 - Atoms played in Beechy and Mason scored the winning goal with 45 seconds remaining in the game! Matthew competed in the Sled Dog Indoor Track Competition in Saskatoon and won a gold in the 50 meter hurdles and bronze in the 60 meter dash. Jade and Matthew met grandma Corbett at the Cave for supper before heading down to Beechy where the Bantams played Rosetown ; they won 5 - 3. We all spent the night at the cabin along with Grant, Mckenzie and Braden.
Sunday, Jan. 21 - Norm and Grant cooked up a huge feast to start our morning off right. Then the Bantams played Leader in Lucky Lake and lost 5 -1. It was yucky.
Monday, Jan. 22 - Jade travelled to Lucky Lake (again) for Junior Curling exhibition which was super fun!
Upcoming events: More hockey at the Outlook Minor Sports Day on Saturday; Southern Men's Curling Playdowns in Outlook this weekend; report cards are out soon as Semester 2 begins Monday. Jade has only had one small breakdown yesterday but plans to have at least one more before report card marks are due!
Hope this finds you all well. Until later, ... jammn on the farm

Christmas Fun at the Farm

Happy New Year to all! It's been great talking to some of you over the break. We were very relaxed at the farm, spending time snow-mobiling (or sledding as they now call it), ice fishing, eating and sleeping (Jade was doing a lot of this!).

Above is a picture of Norm with his shaved face - he has since shaved his head too! We call him Doctor Evil! Now who will be Mini-Me? Also, Brother Dave (aka Silverback) and his lovely and patient wife, Joy, were able to come to the annual birthday bash before Christmas. Thanks for the stories Dave.!

Later,

The Balleks