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1 to 15 July 2019 16 to 31 July 2019

Monday July 1, 2019

Happy Birthday Canada!

The "Cool Dudes".

Gabriel in the new boat.

Just imagine when he will be on the water?

Kristin, Jeremy, Gabriel and I are off to Crescent Park for the Art In The Park event.
Michele is staying at home.

With all the rain we got in the last few weeks, the water level in the canal is just high enough.

The man on the bench offered some bread to Gabriel to feed the ducks.

What does a kid do when he sees a rock wall?
He climbs it.

In the Art In The Park, art takes many different forms.

The MJ flower bed for Moose Jaw.

On the way back from the park, we got scared!

We are all invited to Kristin's sister, Erin, for a BBQ for supper. Kristin's and Erin's family will be there too and so will Jay's family.
The kids have fun. Gabriel is having fun with Zack.

We were quite a few people at the BBQ.

After supper, we had quite a big surprise.
A cake!

Zack had this poster as the cake came in the room...

Gabriel had this poster as the cake came in the room...

Kristin and Jeremy made the announcement that Kristin is 12 weeks pregnant. WOW!
They are so happy. We are so happy.

Everybody is talking about the baby to come, but the two boys are just eating cake!

One happy grand-maman with Gabriel on the way back home.

Jeremy had left a little earlier than us because Gabriel was very tired.

Kristin is posing with her 12-weeks side view. Congratulation to both of you!

A good day that turned into a great day.

Tuesday July 2, 2019

This morning was a shopping trip to buy snacks for Gabriel.
Gabriel was so happy to see his best buddy Joshua again. They played all afternoon.

Jeremy is installing the spare tire on the boat trailer.

The "U" bolt is too long and Jeremy cuts the bolts down. Some of the metal flying off the bolts is pretty hot on his chest.

Gabriel came back home crying!
A friend he was playing with threw a watch and Gabriel got hit just below the nose. It is not that deep, no needs to go to the hospital.
He will probably have a small scar, but the girls will love it when he will be a teenager.

Just a small surgical tape to keep it closed and all is good.

After supper, Jeremy took Gabriel out in the backyard and practiced casting a fishing lure.
Gabriel is pretty good.

Another good day.

Wednesday July 3, 2019

A busy boy needs a good breakfast.

Gabriel is gone playing with Joshua again this morning. I start the basement cleaning/re-arranging.
I try to do it twice a year, but mostly manage to do it once a year.

Amazing how a little re-arranging gives you so much more room!

Now, I only did half the basement area. I should be able to do the rest in the next few days.

Next on the to-do list, weeding the front flower bed.

After about an hour worth of work...

Jeremy wanted to try the boat on the water today.
As soon as he was back from work, we got the boat ready and got underway for Buffalo Pound Provincial Park.

The lake as a very nice, new, boat launch area.

The motor is performing good. Gabriel loves fishing and he is very good at casting his line.

We tried the motor at high speed too. We managed to get to 30 km/h as a maximum speed. Not bad for an old 20 hp that is over 45 years old!

Supper on the water.

We stopped on a beach for some shore fishing and shell hunting for Gabriel.

That white spot on the photo is a whole bunch of pelicans.

Gabriel, Jeremy and I loved our boat ride today.
The fish were not biting this time, not even a bite.

Buffalo Pound lake is a reservoir and as a reservoir, it is very shallow. This lake supplies many towns and villages in the area.
The problem with being so shallow, is that it turns green very quickly when it gets hot outside. Then the lake looses its oxygen and the fishes are no longer good to eat.

Thursday July 4, 2019

Just doing some light weeding this morning. I even used the "pincher" as Gabriel calls it. This way I do not have to bend down.

Gabriel is gone to his friend's house this morning.
I spent a big part of the morning on the phone trying to understand how to go about to get my free fishing license for Saskatchewan.
The government of Saskatchewan decided to give free fishing licenses for all Canadian veterans as a thank you regardless of where they live.
Thank you Saskatchewan.

Gabriel had to get back home before lunch. He is going with Kristin and Jeremy for the ultrasound for Kristin's baby.
Gabriel is waiting for his dad and then they will go and pick up Kristin at work.

Good news, they baby is doing fine.

Jeremy and I are installing the fishing rod holders on the boat.
We first estimate the best position and install them.

The second rod holder. Michele is in the boat because with the boat on the trailer, it is tail heavy, Michele just adds a measure of safety so we don't tilt back.

Now it is the fish finder being set-up.

When all the work is done, we installed the boat cover.

Later on, Jeremy found a heavy steel bar to add to the front of the trailer to make it safer when pulling the boat.
Why is that? The trailer is made for a much bigger boat than the one currently on, so the boat is not well balanced on the trailer.
We had to move the spare tire back to give more room for the big steel bar.

What a day, first an ultrasound for Kristin, paperwork for the fishing license, working on the boat, lots of laughter with Gabriel.
A very good day.

Friday July 5, 2019

I weeded the garden this morning. The garden has beans, corn, radish and pumpkins and plenty of mosquitoes.

Some more weeding around the flower bed.

They finally started to pump the water out of the ditch. It must be because of the Air Show.
It is starting to smell bad and the bugs are coming out big time.

We also went out for a bike ride. We did a nice 5 km ride.

It is hot and humid. Time for a Mister Freeze to cool off.

Jeremy finished work a little earlier today.

Kristin has the day off today, so she is going to Buffalo Pound with Jeremy and Gabriel.

Michele is going to town for some yard sales.
Me?
I cut the grass.

Gabriel caught a nice pike and Kristin lost a walleye, as for Jeremy? Nothing!

Tonight is movie night with grand-maman, in the MH, in our bed. I did ask Gabriel not to leave behind any crumbs in the bed.
Will it happen?

We all had a good day. The weather is warming up and so is the humidity.
Jeremy and Kristin are both working at the Air Show tomorrow.

Saturday July 6, 2019

Kristin and Jeremy left early to work at the Air Show. Gabriel woke up after 8 am, nice.
After breakfast, we both went for a bike ride of 2.5 km.

It is 29° C with the humidity. It is hot.
We are in the backyard, in the shade, to watch the Air Show.
Gabriel must be in a growing spur, because he is eating a lot.

It turns out Gabriel does not really care about the actual air demonstration. We soon went back to the front of the home where it is cooler.

We got some radish from the garden.

The Air Show is done for today and a lot of people are waiting for the shuttle.

The heat is oppressive today, but we still went out for a bike ride of 2.5 km with Michele this time.
After the bike ride, Gabriel is so tired, he almost fell asleep before supper.

We will be going to the Air Show with Gabriel tomorrow.
Kristin and Jeremy came back from working at the Air Show totally burnt out. Kristin walked about 20 km today.
Gabriel is spending the night in the MH again. This way Kristin and Jeremy will not be waking up Gabriel when they will are going to work tomorrow morning.

Sunday July 7, 2019

Today we are going to the Saskatchewan Air Show on base.
At 7 years old, Gabriel is at the age where making faces when taking photo seems to be the thing to do!!!

When we got to the check point, we had to be searched by military personnel.

Not really! It is Daddy!

We started with the static displays. It is a good thing we came early, there is a lot less people.
Yesterday, they had 25,000 people attending the Air Show. They had planned for 20,000.

Many of the lines to get into an aircraft were short.

The Hawk.

The Top Gun dudes, and they are scared!!!

Not only the air force was present, they also had people from the army side of the house.
A bazooka.

Gabriel in charged of the machine gun?

A rocket launcher. Gabriel thinks the bombs are pretty heavy.

This machine gun is a 40 mm. They are looking for aircraft to shoot down!

It is pretty warm, time for a cool treat.

You can even mix your own flavor!
Gabriel goes for a large variety of flavors.

We had to spend some time at the Kid's Zone with its inflatable games.
The point of the game is to shoot the balls floating on a blast of air with your own air gun. On the second photo, you can see that Gabriel shot the blue ball.

We continue visiting aircraft.

We left the Air Show ground just before lunch. With the humidity, it was very hot. We spent the next few hours indoor to cool down.

Next stop, the splash park for almost an hour.

It was a good day. Just after the Air Show ended, the weather turned bad with severe thunderstorm and tornado watch for the rest of the evening.

Monday July 8, 2019

Getting the last stuff ready before leaving for Wakamow. Wakamow is only 8 km away from the base.

Some radishes from the garden were ready.

Jeremy is cooking eggs for sandwiches.

We are having some big, tasty egg sandwiches. Gabriel ate the whole sandwich.

After this good meal, we head out to Wakamow.

In a short time, we are all set-up at our site.

Gabriel could not wait to go minnow fishing with his net.

He gets help from grand-maman.

Jeremy too is fishing, but he only catches the bottom and the bottom won!

Jeremy had to break the line and tied it to the shore, so he could come back and get the lure later on, with a boat. At least it is the plan.

Gabriel turned out to be the only lucky one catching fish!

Miracle catch!

Back at our site, Jeremy is showing all the lures they have to Gabriel.

There is nothing better than hamburgers when camping. Kristin is not with us. She is very tired, she stayed home.

Two happy campers.

Gabriel got to play and take some photos with a real camera.

After Gabriel's shower, time for a movie.

Gabriel always falls asleep fast.

All three of us area happy to be at the campground.

Tuesday July 9, 2019

We started the day with a bike ride.

We had to stop and check out all the parks along the way.

We sure look bad with washers for eyes. Gabriel is too small and the washers keep falling off.

Croissant sandwich for lunch.

Surprise! Asher is also at the campground. Asher is the friend Gabriel made last year at the campground.

Me, I work on the next update for the blog.

We do not have a pump to inflate this inflatable boat. Jeremy has to do it by mouth...

Jeremy is now ready to go and get his lure back.

He get to where the lure is stuck by pulling gently on the line.

Once over top of the line/lure, Jeremy gently pulls up and, hopefully, get the lure untangled.

He got his lure back, but he has to hold it in his mouth to prevent the lure from puncturing a hole in the plastic boat and sink!

Dad had to help!

Kristin came after work.

Jeremy with washer eyes

Gabriel went back to get some more minnows while Jeremy and Kristin keep en eye on him.

A good day.

Wednesday July 10, 2019

Gabriel had a small accident this morning. He broke his i-pad. I do not understand why the i-pad did not have a protective case since a kid was using it! Gabriel is very disappointed.

We had to make a stop for ice cream during our bike ride.
Gabriel even paid for the ice cream.

No photo of grand-maman with her ice cream.

Another croissant sandwich for lunch!

Gabriel is showing grand-maman how to dance...

And the ant hunt is on!

Asher came over to play with Gabriel. Asher got a new hairdo.

We even go Ella with us. Hannah had to go in town and asked us if we could keep an eye on Asher while she went to town with Ella. We told her to leave Ella with us. When we only have Asher and Gabriel, it is pretty easy to look after them, but when Ella is there, you have to pay a little more attention. She is not bad, it just that she is 3 years old.

Sometime you also have to play with them to make it easier on yourself.

They had watermelons for a snack.

More playing.

Next snack is an ice-cream cone.

Three nice photos of Ella.

We had promised Gabriel we would have a fire one evening. Tonight is the night.

With the fire comes the s'mores!

Rolland asked me if a friend he made while at the Matte Association of America could stop for a visit while on his way to the Canadian Rockies. Sure, I said.
Murielle and Jacques came by for two nights. They are visiting Moose Jaw. They also had a lot of questions about spending the winter in Texas and Arizona. As usual, too many questions and not enough time! Murielle and Jacques are very nice people.

We enjoyed our time them.

Thursday July 11, 2019

Jeremy had time for a tour of the squadron with Murielle and Jacques. They really enjoyed the tour of the Snowbirds hangar.

They got the "full tour" from Jeremy. It lasted over one and half hour. They were pleasantly surprised by the length of the tour.
Thanks Jeremy.

Gabriel loves pasta!

Asher spent the afternoon with us again. They play so well together.

Jeremy came with his boat after work. We are going fishing at Diefenbaker Lake. Diefenbaker is about 130 km from Moose Jaw. It is a little out of the way, but the fishing is good and the fish are good to eat. The water in the lake is very clean.

We came to the village of Elbow where the boat ramps is located.

In less than 15 minutes, the boat is in the water. The weather is nice, but a little windy. The waves are pretty big today.

I still do not have my fishing license. It is OK, the fish are not bitting today.

The bay where the marina and the boat ramp is located are very nice. We saw a few houseboats at the marina.

The water in the bay is calm compare to the lake. The boat ramp is very nice.

We made it back home by 10 pm. No fish, but a lot of fun.

Friday July 12, 2019

This camping trip is over, time to go home.

Michele and Gabriel on their way home.

I had to dump the tanks before we left.

My next stop is at the RV dealer in Moose Jaw. I want them to start a claim for my extended warranty.
As I expected, it was total confusion! The personnel I talked to before were either not there or "busy" somewhere else. Thank God I had an appointment!!! So they asked another employee to do the diagnostic. He did not have a clue what he was doing. I had to tell him how to do his job, imagine? They now have all the information. They will have to call the extended warranty for the claim. More to follow! Probably more confusion too!

When I got back home, Gabriel was indoor because his friend Joshua was not at his home.

Groot the cat.

Gabriel seems very tired after camping for almost a week.

Me too!

For some reason I will not mention here, I did not have a very good day. Nothing was working the way it was supposed to and I had a short fuse.
Some days are just like that!

Saturday July 13, 2019

Michele and I woke up late today.
It is hot and humid today, +28° C.

After lunch, Kristin, Jeremy and Gabriel were going fishing at Diefenbaker Lake.

Michele and I are staying home. I am fixing the two clean water hoses ends with either new metal clamps or new plastic end.

Here area some photos of the day Kristin, Jeremy and Gabriel had at Diefenbaker Lake.

Jeremy caught a small walleye.

The cute couple.

Diefenbaker Lake is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in Southern Saskatchewan. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is 225 kilometers (140 mi) long with approximately 800 kilometers (500 mi) of shoreline. It has a maximum depth of 66 meters (217 ft), while the water levels regularly fluctuate 3–9 meters (9–27 feet) each year.

While they were on the lake, they watched a storm cell traveling east when suddenly it turn north towards them. They scrambled to get to the ramps and get out of the lake. They had to wait their turn as the clouds were coming toward them. They made it out of the lake in time. Now look at what was behind them!

One part of the storm caught up to them and the rain came down very very hard. They had to drive at over 110 km/h to get out of the storm. The clouds were starting to turn on themselves, meaning possible tornado. They had no problems, but they were happy to be away from the storm.

Those happy moments.

Jeremy is filleting the walleye.

Later in the evening, we heard many towns north of Moose Jaw got hit pretty hard with heavy rain and hail big enough to break windshields.
Here? Nothing!

Sunday July 14, 2019

Another hot and humid day that feels like +37°C with the humidity.
It is time to weed the flower bed again before it gets to hot.

Gabriel is helping his dad to dry up the boat.

Gabriel is very helpful.

During that time, I added a zip-tie to the hose coming out of the windshield washer tank. It keeps coming off and I was loosing all my windshield washer fluid.

I am cooking chicken tonight. It is the recipe Suzie gave us. Michele is helping.

Supper was a success again.

After Gabriel's bath, Jeremy cooked the walleye. It was good.

Monday July 15, 2019

Gabriel on his way to his first swimming lessons. All three of us are going. Kristin could not get off work to come.

We did not want to be too close to Gabriel during his lessons because he would have waved all the time.

Gabriel is telling us how his swimming lessons went. He is very happy, but tired.

Ready to go home. The pool is on base and only a five minute walk.

He did very good, so a little time on the Wii.

Michele having a fight with Gabriel.

In late afternoon, Gabriel went playing at the water park with his friend Joshua.

They had fun.

Tonight, we are having a Mexican dinner. Tacos!

Gabriel ate four big tacos. We did measure him after dinner and he has grown 1/2 inch since he got here.

Gabriel got to skype with his uncle Benoit in Montreal. Jeremy and Kristin made the big announcement about the new baby to Benoit.

It had been a while since we had talked to Benoit. We learned his moving day went very well.

Until next time.

Life is good...