#bc we did a whole fun weekend in Vegas and wanted to make sure we got the whole borahaegas experience

[sugaggukkie]

two and a half weeks until my yoongi show and I have no idea what im going to wear

[96xie]

2019

a whole summary of this difficult year

2019 was full of unexpected good and bad surprises along with lessons and experiences.

january

spent good time with mocha, wayo and brian

had such a good time with guildies from our game

met up with some other ppl from the same game and didnt feel too good bc i was never good with crowds and/or groups that were already well established

tried tinder for the first time because i thought it would be nice to put myself out there for once

feburary

continued my tinder journey and actually had fun with it. it was pretty scary at the same time because it was such a new experience talking to other people and to have them notice you? because i always knew and felt that i wasnt really the desirable one.

actually hooked up with a guy from last months meetup and hung out twice. thought it was going somewhere because he, too, showed signs to progress further ((was wrong because he lied and showed red flags later))

one major red sign to me: no response after genuinely saying thank you for rides and dinner. im the type of person who always says thank you because im honestly grateful for the little and big things. he basically shrugged it off.

also, a huge liar. yah, big no

i brought him to my friends birthday bc they and himself wanted to meet each other, it was fun while it lasted but stuff happened

towards the end of the month, i cut my ties off with him for being awfully mean to me and also cut ties with my “friends” for having really bad assumptions of me.

i was frustrated with myself at that time bc his cats gave me a bad breakout and i felt super ugly. also i wasnt sad over him, but over the fact that i let myself be treated like a second option. eventually i learned that it was good that i didnt let things go further and that i only deserve the very best.

even though i was hurt, i thought it was a good experience, esp since i havent really been in the “dating game” for years. like it was a just a small step to putting myself out there once again

a week later after that a classmate asked me out and got tons of compliments from him and wondered “the universe really works in crazy ways”

march

met some cool people through the same mobile game on a discord server and they were much better than the first group.

also met this really funny dude in the same group. like he was so fun to talk to and he understood my dumb lingo

remember when my classmate asked me out on a date? it turned out a bit weird. but considering this was my first date in YEARS i thought it was a cool experience. got some carne asada fries outta him

i had the dude i was talking to call me so i could leave the date tho LOL ((he helped me lots, esp how to deal with awkward situations with my classmate. also at this point, i really liked talking to him but i wasnt rly sure if i wanted to date other guys bc i had been hurt previously)

this month was pretty much dedicating most of my time talking to him and i enjoyed it alot

also went to pubs for the first time to hangout with my coworkers. such an interesting place

april

tried rollerskating for the first time ever, ended up with a bunch of bruises but it was cool!

also tried 7leaves for the first time and instantly fell in love with mungbean

also went clubbing in sf with my friends and it was such a fun time like i had SO much fun

i got auctioned off of SAD! that phase was just a crazy ride. while there was many that dm’d me, there was only one special person that i only replied to and continued to talk to him on a daily basis

((honestly, i was scared that i was taking things a bit further with him because a part of me was like “are you ready for this?” and “have you really recovered from that guy?” or “can you give this guy your all?” just alot of overthinking))

spent 4/20 at sf with my friends, and overall had a GREAT time. took too many hits and drank so ya gorl was crossfaded. not sure if i wanna do tht again tho

unfortunately woke up with a swollen face and it lasted for a LONG time.

may

so my face is still swollen, still bad, red as a tomato and at this point i was really hesitant to meet up with the guy ive been talking to. i mean!! my skin was SO bad. i felt like i was gonna make a fool out of myself by scaring him away

but,,,, he was still willing to see me despite my appearance and : ( he was so accepting and typing this makes my heart ache bc he is SUCH a good man : (

i met up with the guy towards the end of the month in sj and first thing he does when i walk up to him is give me this great warm hug and so many smooches !!!!!!! like my heart is melting

eventually we became official !!! he got us an airbnb for the night and we jus spent time cuddling on the bed and honestly i : ( i like him so much

june

my birthday wasnt rly that like “wow” it was actually kinda annoying

my bf flew up to sf where we met up, explored the city and slept the night in at an airbnb. next day went to oakland where i introduced my friends to him!

went to my first festival with several with my friends, including ppl from our same guild from our game and it was SO fun

rolled for the first time and it was SUCH an experience. redosed like twice and ended up hallucinating which is something ill def not do again

also i really wished my bf was with me at that time : ( while i had an extremely fun time, i wish i shared that moment with him : (

july

went to vegas for my cousins 22nd bday. shit was wild

also rolled there.

also threw up for the very first time

a fight broke out at the club and that shit was fuckgin CRAZY and it was RIGHT next to our table

also used alot of my money for the whole trip in which nobody really told me about so …. i was like ok.. fuck …

also my skin was still bad during these past months so it was pretty hard masking it

like really hard. with someone with terrible eczema, its just extremely hard to hide it

august

bf flew to sac!!! he met my mom for the first time and we explored the city and stuff

and went on an ikea date! and! honestly i just really loved spending time with him :c

we also spent time with my friends! they came over also! and ate some fuckgin bomb ass waffles

and then took bus down to la to meetup with some friends from our guild towards the end of the month!

it was pretty nice to be able to stay with my bf in his apartment !!!!!

also some scalding tea but thats rly for another time

to make it super short tho: our friend that we’ve known much longer than the girl he met (less than 3 months) dropped our friendship SO quick lol

september

cousin bonding @ beach, too cold for tht doe

towards the end of the month, my bf flew me down!!! so i spent the weekend with him and like always, only had a good time with him!

AND ALWAYS EATING GOOD FOOD!

october

during this fall semester, i took online classes and one of them was a 8week class. there was a topic about mental health and how we can take care of ourselves better and i just thought it was such an important thing to cover. i feel like its not talked about enough

november

spent thanksgiving with my family down in morgan hill and ate good food! honey ham has a special place in my heart.

went black friday shopping first at walmart, lowkey disappointed in myself because i was bummed out the apple watches were sold out. the materialistic part of me jumped out oof

slept at my cousins then went to the mall! didnt get anything besides really good bulgogi fries. i hated going into stores tho cuz everything was literally crowded. hated it !!!!!!!

went to a small festival in sacramento with my friends at the end of the month and this time is 7 of us (than the usual 5)! it was sososo fun.

also took my coworker with me, it was actually amusing to see bc our group were all asian and he’s the only tall white guy

made hotpot at home and we also went out for milktea and waffles again! sooo good.

december

flew down to see my bf again and only had a good time! went to this garden with beautiful lights and ! ugh! SO pretty!

cried in his bed before my flight back, cried on the plane, cried at home and cried before i slept. i miss him

also racked up alot of hours so i could pay for my tuition and my family’s bills. kinda sucks bc im pretty tired but i gotta do what do i gotta do.

christmas was a bit lonely bc my mom went to the philippines and i dont rly talk to my brother but my kuya came the next day and we ate n watched stuff

overall, it was a whacky year. but im so glad to have met ed. he means SO much to me. a part of me was so hesitant to date him because i mean, he’s man with his life set. i dont have a car, im still in school, i have this part time job where im giving my mom all my paychecks and which the only money im keeping is just my tips (not much), i still have issues with myself and other conflicts and honestly theres much to do, learn and grow from. but he’s so supportive, understanding and loving and i love and appreciate him from the bottom of my heart. most of the time i wonder if im doing and if im being enough for him. i worry about that alot but he’s so patient with me. i laugh alot when im with him and i feel so happy.

did i mention that we are long distance? him being in la and me in sacramento. so the only thing thats connecting us is facetime. maybe once every two months will i see him in person but yep. when i had my first panic attack, i really wanted him right next to me. at that moment i felt even more sad because of course you’re gonna want you’re significant other during a moment like that. but anyways, i always miss him and i always want him next to me and i always love him. i want to hurry up and get my education done with so i can be with him. not to sound like omg im so madly infatuated with him type of thing tho. he’s someone who understands me and knows how to love me.

i hope 2020 treats me well despite all the challenges ahead of me.

[petals42]

Can you please do some more Kent/chowder friendship body swap bc if you write like anything at all I will die happy

this is going to be an Unorganized Mess because i’m doing it right before bed because WHY NOT but here. [Note: You gotta have read this post first to make sense of this.]

So, like, as mentioned, I really want this friendship to develop after they switch back but the question is like... how?? 

In my last post I talked about how Parse would send Chowder nicer clothes (and sheets because wtf is that thread count christopher??) but i think this happened because-- wait lets go back

Okay so Chowder gets to go to the Aces/Sharks game and go backstage (not the right word for that but lets just move on) and meet people so while he is obviously ALL UP IN THE SHARKS, he introduces his family also to Kent as “and this is my friend, Kent Parson” and admist the confused stares (coming from both his family and Kent Parson), Chowder is just like “we met at Samwell!!”

And Kent Parson, who is never really referred to as a friend (more a teammate, tbh, or “ex” or “celebrity crush) has like acquired some sort of blushing instinct (he blames his time in Chowders body) because he sort of blushes and stammers (JUST A LITTLE OKAY) before finding his cool again and--

“Oh, also,” Chowder tells his little sister. “You gotta feel that inside of that sweater-- it is like SO SOFT.” and so that is actually where Kent gets his first idea to send Chowder nicer clothes (the expensive CASHMERE clothes yaknow... (sidebar: is cashmere soft? i don’t... actually know things about nice clothes)) 

But he doesn’t do it right away because like.. c’mon he’s not going to seem desperate here. He’s Kent Parson. He... they switched bodies for a little. Surely Chowder doesn’t actually want to... be his friend. 

WRONG.

Because Chowder gets on a flight and heads back to Samwell and Kent Parson gets back to Vegas (and snuggles Kit) and THEN Kent Parson gets a text.

And that text is chirping him. Hard. For his coding notes.

“Lol. Dude. Really?? These don’t even make sense!”

“I told you I was bad at it! You’re lucky I tried.”

“It looks like you gave up halfway through and started doodling hockey plays.”

“... that is actually supposed to be some zeros and ones?? he wrote them on the board??”

“holy shit.”

and suddenly kent parson finds himself sort of smiling and laughing at his phone and he would say it is one conversation but then he gets a GOOD LUCK! text before his next game and then a bunch of texts DURING the game that he sees after and then-

Then he gets a “Remember to ice your shoulder!!!” the next day and, okay, yes, it’s weird that this guy has BEEN IN HIS BODY and thus knows that his shoulder bothers him but its also... its also nice??

So Kent Parson says fuck it. And he sends Chowder that sweater he liked so much. Because Chowder is being really nice to him and he... okay he will try to have a friend. 

Note: Kent Parson trying to have a friend is a Disaster. because Kent Parson knows his weaknesses: He is bad at emotional conversations, he cannot give relationship advice, he is sarcastic and rude and-- he is not good at being Friends with someone. Chowder’s natural friendliness is something he can appreciate but has difficulty reciprocating.

But you know what he does have?

Money.

Lots and lots of money. 

And no one to spend it on.

Until now. 

Kent Parson cannot say “Thank you for wishing me good luck before my games” so he buys Chowder fancy sweaters and t-shirts and fashionable pants and sends them on over. Kent Parson cannot say “It is cool you remind me to ice my shoulder” so he also sends new sheets (accompanied by pseudo-snide remarks such as “so i dont have to lay on that sandpaper if we ever have to switch back”). Kent Parson cannot tell Chowder that texting him during the day has become something of a highlight but he CAN buy chowder that coding software he was going on about and e-mail him the product key and he also can get people on the Sharks to sign stuff and mail it to Chowder and, look, he knows that getting Chowder’s family season tickets to the sharks game would be Too Much (at least... right now) but he does offer them when chowder goes home for breaks.

Look, as they text more and more, Chowder puts up with his sarcastic sense of humor and dark moods and doesn’t seem to take it personally when kent just texts back ‘yeah whatever’ after loses.

Chowder is just plain nice to him and Kent does his best to follow Chowder’s complaints about school and tries to offer advice when Chowder admits that sometimes he feels torn between Nursey and Dex and their constant bickering and wishes they would both just stop but Kent knows he cannot actually be that helpful. Even when Chowder texts: “gosh its nice to have someone not involved that i can vent to,” kent knows that he is not adding to chowder’s life nearly as much as chowder is adding to his.

With the time difference, Kent now usually wakes up to a few texts from Chowder and Chowder thinks Kit is the devil but still doesn’t mind when Kent sends pictures of her and Chowder... Chowder sometimes ever so casually reminds him that he doesn’t actually need alcohol (”you could just go home dude. wanna play starcraft?”

Oh right. That’s the other thing. Chowder has got him into computer games. Games that they can play together. On the same time. Kent has never done it before and its embarassing to be bad at something but somehow with chowder its not so bad and he’s already promised that after the season, he is going to have much more time to dedicate to it and chowder thinks that they can get really GOOD over the summer and it becomes... their thing

When Nursey and Dex are driving Chowder crazy or Kent is actually free, the two log on and play some nerdy computer game shit (kent’s words. he keeps calling it that even after he admits he "sorta kinda likes it okay??”).

OF COURSE BECAUSE KENT PARSON CANNOT COMMUNICATE, he just keeps SENDING GIFTS. Which Chowder accepts at first, partly because he doesnt really know how much all this shit costs.

Nursey finally clues him in “dude, is that shirt fucking All Saints?” and Chowder is like “uh... what?” and that breaks the mystery and suddenly Chowder is like... wait a minute. this dude has sent me probably over a thousand dollars worth of nice ass clothes (and sheets and towels) all in the name of “In Case We Ever Switch Back.”

Not To Worry: At this point it is Summer Break. Which means that Chowder can just go, meet up with Kent in person and tell him that while he appreciates the gifts, kent should probably stop. They both now know not to wish on any shooting star anymore. They are probably good. 

So Chowder texts Kent something like “dude im home may 22nd-- when are we meeting up over break?” and Kent gets it and lowkey PANICS because like... Chowder wants to hang out with him?? And he can’t even just take him to a hockey game because the season is over?? WHAT WILL THEY DO??

Better to stay on home turf, Kent decides. He can take Chowder out in vegas and they can hit the casinos and maybe he’ll rent a limo and-- “Im free anytime” he texts back, hoping that doesn’t make himself sound lame. “when do you wanna come over?”

And then Kent Parson is thrown for a loop because Chowder ruins his plans by saying “you should come here! i’ll show you non-hockey parts of san jose! first weekend of june?? promise no one will yell at you!!” and kent... well hes not gonna say no obviously but he... he can’t take chowder to casinos if they arent in vegas and--

“Bring your laptop” chowder says. “starcraft IN PERSON”

Look this deserves a 15k fic of its own but picture: Kent Parson, nervous, awkward, feeling a little like he did when he visited the zimmermanns except not because he and chowder are just friends so there’s less... challenge and also he has grown up a little and so its just very embarassing for him and chowder’s whole family is the nicest and he sleeps in the guest room and they just-- They play starcraft. They go see a movie. They walk around Chowder’s favorite park. They drive up to the beach with Farmer. They go to an arcade. Normal people stuff. They do normal people stuff. 

And Chowder sits Kent down and is like “dude you gotta stop sending me presents like some kind of weirdass sugar daddy” and Kent does turn bright red at that one because he was kind of just lowkey hoping chowder didn’t notice but Chowder manages to make it not TOO awkward and then its just sort of a funny and Kent promises to stop (he wont really... chowder gets a new gaming computer for his birthday but kent claims that is because chowders weak ass system is affecting his gameplay but that not til later so thats okay)

MORE SURPRISING is Chowder agrees to come up to vegas to celebrate kent’s birthday on july 4th. Farmer comes for part of it (but she has work) while chowder stays for five whole days and they... they stay in kents apartment and play more computer games. chowder tries to build up kent’s tolerance for spicy food and then laughs at him when he dies. they go play hockey at the rink. they just... hang out. like friends. 

It’s weird and bizzare and THEN TO TOP IT OFF Chowder (who is a wee bit drunk at this point because they aren’t just going to not drink or gamble at all-- chowder had doubled his 40 dollars today!!) says something like “do you think we can switch back again? if we tried?”

and kent (also tipsy, but just like... tipsy. not wasted) says “uh... no?”

and chowder says “LETS TRY” and kent says “why?” and chowder says “FOR FUN” and kent says “alright if you want”

and the two stand and hug and kent thinks “alright switch back” and then he pulls back 

And look into his own face

Which is grinning at him. 

“oh my god” chowder (in kent’s body) says. “This is gonna be so fun.”

ENDING THERE FOR NOW because i’ve got to stop writing this AU. what is this. what is my life. i don’t... i don’t even go here. 

[strangesugar-blog1]

Pot update: Snow

I kinda just put the hard sell on Snow. It could totally backfire but honestly whatever, better than being in limbo.

Our date yesterday was only ok. It wasn't the most awful thing in the world, but I feel like maybe we could have a better connection? Part of this is definitely on me, I know I need to up my game. Part of me is actually like, maybe I should step back from the bowl and get my shit in better order, then come back rearing to go. Like actually learn some more about more topics, current events, get all my grooming stuff in order, my house in order, create systems, a few more basic nice things to wear on dates, catch up on everything in my personal life, etc etc. But also like, a lot of that takes money - which I need these men for 😂 And realistically I'll probably never reach that magical point of having my shit properly in order haha. But it just seems too overwhelming to tackle it all as I go. I don't know.

Anyway, there were a few awkward silences, but he's kind of a weird conversationalist. He sort of doesn't ease in to topics, he will suddenly just ask really vague kind of questions and I get caught off guard. The restaurant we were at also had a glass wall by where we were sitting that looked through to a place with stuff going on next door that was enthralling him, so he'd keep looking at that and the conversation was kind of bitsy and weird. He was asking about turn ons, fantasies etc too, but considering it's our second date and I haven't seen a dime I'm kinda thinking that was a bit much, but also like, I really do need to make a list of interesting enough but not too weird things to say when they ask, lol. I felt like a boring human when I just clammed up and didn't know what to say. My turn-ons/kinks change depending on who I'm with, the situation, etc, and honestly not that many apply with him. Like I know we all joke about it on here, but for real, money actually does make me so wet. I can't exactly say fuck me in a pile of your cash then give it all to me. Or talk dirty about how rich/important you are and all the things you're going to buy me 😂 My two other main Things are a really specific body type that doesn't apply to him, or "cheating" (he knows, but still) on my husband with lots of verbal stuff about it, which is a) weird and b) incriminates, for lack of a better word, my husband, which I don't want to do in case anything goes wrong the last thing we need is anyone coming out with bad/embarrassing stuff about him as well as me. Or maybe like, me being all dom (fin-dom even better) on him and making him fucking worship me while I deny him orgasm 😂 Which once again makes me look money-hungry and conceited, and like, I'm not under any illusions, I'm really not worshippable, I'm not really that hot or put together or interesting or fun, and probably not that good in bed tbh due to the whole long-term sexless marriage thing. So I'll have to make a list of some less weird things to pull out I think haha, just some basic subby stuff I guess, teasing, maybe fun/cute orgasm denial on both our ends instead of it being mean, cutesy names, blah blah. Maybe ask to call him Daddy? A bit of exhibitionist stuff to tie in with him? Lmao.

Anyway. I talked to him a bit about the privacy stuff and he actually bought up first getting stuff sent somewhere else or whatever, then i expanded on that with the po box idea, so that's good at least. He seemed quite open to me continuing to be vague on identifiable details in general, which I appreciate.

Anyway, I kinda thought I might have blown it with my awkwardness tbh, but he said as we were leaving that he really wanted to see me again and then texted later "Was super to see you babe and am excited to know you better and explore if we are going to live out your fantasies". I figured I should take a bit and think about what to reply, because I don't just want him to think I'm going to keep going on dates for free, and try and figure out how to word it, but life got in the way and I never replied like an asshole. I just replied not long ago with an apology and a bit of small talk, but then put the hard-sell on him. I'm not gonna copy/paste bc it's long, but basically like yeah i wanna see you again, but I need to know where this is going (he keeps saying that he's not sure about the whole allowance thing bc he's never done it before, blah blah, but that he's not necessarily saying no, just that it feels weird to him) and whether or not the allowance will work out for him etc before we go too much further. I said I wanted him to want to do it and not to feel resentful, and he could take some time to think it over of course, but that each meet takes time/money for getting ready, transport, other things I don't do with that time, etc etc and I need to know it's going somewhere before investing more time blah blah. I said if he'd like to meet one more time (and casually used the word "platonically" to hopefully make it clear that means I'm not ok with a bunch of dirty talk for free lol) before deciding that I totally understand, but that I would have to ask for a "small gift" to cover my time, transport, etc, and that hopefully he understood from my perspective. Because to be fair, he knows I'm not wanting just a spoiled side-hoe gig, and we've already met twice, so I think it's fair that anything beyond that has some kind of compensation.

Oh also I was thinking of calling in after our meet to the salon to get my nasty growing-out hair cut. He asked where and I told him. They had one same day appt but i said I'd call back to confirm bc it was gonna be a rush to get there after the date. I ended up deciding to take it and tried to call back twice in the Lyft on the way and once after the date but couldn't get in touch with them which was a shame since i was over that way. Anyway he was asking what I was getting done, and asked if it was my roots (he wasn't being rude lol I'd already talked about fixing them) and I said nah I do that at home to keep costs down, just a cut. And he was saying how he wished he didn't have to leave so he could take me and pay. Like, he's so obsessed with being involved with everything, like, I don't want you there while I'm getting a haircut lol? I'm gonna look like a weird drowned rat? It will be awkward as fuck. But of course he didn't offer to give me something towards it to do myself. Oh and he pointed out that there was a salon two doors down like... ok? I go to my other one because it's cheap lol, are you going to take me before you have to leave and give your card details to them or something? No? Well i don't understand your point. It's like he's super willing to spoil but only if he has a ton of input, and like, I get that for fun stuff like clothes/lingerie or fun makeup or whatever, but for my boring daily "things I always get and know what i like" essentials kinda stuff it's like... that's gonna get annoying pretty quick.

Anyway, we'll see how he responds to that i guess, I'm not too worried either way. I'm torn. Like I hope he's down for it but also I actually did kinda lowball myself tbh like he's worth a LOT of money, but I fell into the trap of trying not to look money hungry since he's not used to allowances, and since he was going to be spoiling me a lot on dates and go shopping etc I went with a pretty low allowance figure. I figure since it's my first time etc it was ok but honestly now I'm kinda regretting it like I should have asked for more considering his worth and how often he wants to see me. Plus I feel like he's not going to stop bugging me about traveling which i really can't do. He so badly wants at least a Vegas weekend with me. I genuinely wish I could but I can't. So part of me actually kinda wants him to say no, I don't even know haha. Either way is a win I guess, bag my first SD and maybe try and find another one on the side, maybe be able to work my number up with time or really take advantage of the "extras", and at least have something coming in, ooor not and free up more time for me to find someone else, work on myself and my confidence and be ready to ask for what i really deserve next time.

I'll let you know what happens.

[bknodel]

Knodel’s 2017 in Pictures . . .

Decided to start with our classic, annual “Bowser Family Picture”.  Enjoy the pictures and comments.  (Disclaimer: all comments are from Brad and do not necessarily reflect the feelings and/or opinions of the other family members.)

January was a bit crazy with close to a meter of snow falling and almost a week off school for all of us - one of the perks of a being a 2-teacher family.

Just because we couldn’t drive 10 minutes on the treacherous roads to go to school it didn’t mean we couldn’t drive 2 hours to Whistler to go skiing! :) 

(Note: the road to Whistler from our house goes right past our school)

Few things make you feel as old as getting together with friends from your “young married” days and seeing how your toddlers have changed.

Adam has really enjoyed being part of the MEI drumline. It has provided him some neat opportunities like playing downtown for the BC Lions’ awards banquet.

Applying for scholarships seemed to take up much of our Spring. This was part of a project Lynden put together for a Dogwood Scholarship . . . which he got!

Who’s the best mouse catcher in the our house? (insert comment here about the garbage disposal in the background)

Lynden spent the first half of his Spring Break in Mexico with a service team from MEI. He really enjoyed his experience and it helped to reaffirm his love for other cultures.

The rest of the family met him in San Diego where we boarded a ship for a week-long cruise down the west coast of Mexico.

Getting on the ship was interesting . . . We did the honest thing by checking the box admitting that Adam had been up puking the night prior, only to be told to fill out the form again; this time checking the box stating that no one in our party has been sick in the previous 24 hours.

First stop . . . Cabo San Lucas!

We would have been ok if the ship would have remained moored in the Cabo Bay for the whole 7 days . . . Amazing scenery and weather.

We ended up enjoying the ports much more than we were expecting.  It was fun introducing Adam to a culture very different than ours.

Although I took this picture, Lynden gets the credit for setting it up and handing me his camera and showing me which button to push.

We spent Easter in Portland.  Hard to believe I grew up there and had never been to Voodoo doughnuts. Although it was our first time there, I don’t think the same can be said for the lady next to Jodi ;)

I was thankful to have Lynden as my assistant coach for my 14U club team this year. As you can see, he took his role very seriously!

It amazes me that I get to live so close to beauty like this! (If you think I am referring to the fields of flowers, you’d be wrong) 

I was asked to drive the bus for Lynden’s club volleyball team on a trip to Spokane Washington. And while it is obvious why I pulled the bus over for a photo here . . .

. . . this stop is a little harder to explain!

I was thankful for the opportunity to watch Lynden play his last volleyball match of his high school career . . . and possibly his last game ever. It was actually more emotional for both of us than we thought it would be.

Meanwhile, Jodi and her mom went over to Victoria to watch Adam perform in the Victoria Day parade. 

The real reason our family separated on this weekend was so Lynden wouldn’t make fun of Adam in this outfit . . .

Jodi was able to connect with a few of her best friends from high school at her reunion. I always wondered what girls did when they went to the washroom in groups. Now I know - they take selfies!

This picture is to show that I am thankful that at least one member of my family likes to fish with me :)

In May, we said goodbye to Jodi’s grandma . . . 

While it was sad, it was nice to celebrate a life well lived with Jodi’s family. 

In June, I had the opportunity to attend a volleyball conference with other MEI coaches in Las Vegas.  While I can’t think of a much worse place to live, we had a blast and learned a lot about a sport we all love.  I wish I could tell you more about our trip but what happens in Vegas . . . 

Having a son graduate was a new adventure for us - One that included surprises like early morning kidnappings by girls!

We are very proud of the young man Lynden has become in spite of our imperfect parenting. We are very thankful to all those who have helped us guide him through his teenage years.

He has a great group of friends and it was very fun to watch him thoroughly enjoy his grade 12 year. 

He even found someone willing to be his date for the prom! :)

I love this picture . . . perhaps because it reminds me so much of my high school experience . . . except for all the girls. 

Our grad gift to Lynden was a new camera. Photography has become a real passion of his and we have enjoyed seeing him enjoy a much nicer camera than what he had.

For sure, one of the highlights this year was watching Planet of the Apes on opening night with one of the stars of the film - the one and only Rick Ball! I’m sure the other folks in the theatre were wondering why we all were cheering every time he came on the screen. (That’s him on the far right.)

Adam wanted to have a girl-boy party for his 13th birthday.  We said ok as long as they stay on this web tower the entire time . . .

Jodi decided to join 2 other moms for a 3-day road trip with all the kids (which I thought was a fantastic idea!)  Unfortunately, for everyone, the stomach flu started making its way through the gang and Jodi was back home the next morning.

As mentioned, it has been fun watching Lynden become proficient with his new camera.  This is him up Mt. Baker in early July. 

I’m telling you . . . It is very impressive what he can do with his new camera! ;)

Lynden and I were prevented from completing that hike in July because of snow so we went back later in the summer with the whole family.  Adam might look like he is happy in this picture but, I assure you, he is not!

Me: “I need a haircut. Adam, want to cut my hair?”

Adam: “Of course I do!”

Couldn’t resist the photo-op on our way to Oregon.

Always a good time to be had at Detroit Lake with my family. My dad may be the only captain who wears holeys.

Lynden was working and was not able to come . . . so, we adopted adam’s friend Sam for the week :)

Although I insisted on taking a hiking selfie with Jodi on every hike we did, this was the only one she let me put in this year - likely because she likes how grey my beard looks in this shot. 

We even dragged Sam up the mountain behind the lake (actually I think we were holding him back. This was nothing compared to Everest - which he actually did last year.)

We finally got Adam all set up with his own watercraft . . .

Adam spent a week of his summer picking berries and he was able to save enough money to buy his phone.

Then it was off to Vancouver Island.

Different year . . . different vehicle . . . same sick packing job! 

My highlight of the trip was bass fishing one night from a kayak.  Lynden came along as my personal photographer.

It was nice to get away as a family and really connect with each other ;)

Adam: Dad, can Lynden and I use the kayaks for a bit?

Me: Sure

Lynden (on his phone after 2.5 hours): Hi Dad. We are at the lighthouse (seen in the top left of the photo!) but it’s ok . . . there is a nice lady who lives here and she is giving us food and water.”  

It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission I guess . . .

Nice of me to let Adam hold my fish! (The truth is that my brother-in-law @marklafleche caught this “pig” just after dark as we were rowing back to the truck.) 

We found this hike a short drive from where we have been staying on the Island for years. Very cool hike - at least when the water level is very low.

A “pig” in “mud”

We then drove across the Island to the West Coast to stay in “our” beehive cabin.

Here we are all tucked in the hive. 

It looks like we don’t eat much ;)

On our way from the east side to the west side, we stopped at one of our favourite places on the Island. Adam was all about the Parkour . . . which gave his mother a heart attack.

While Lynden gave his mom nightmares by leaning off the sides of rocks in order to get that perfect waterfall pic.

Hiking the rugged West Coast!

Taking the rugged selfie!

I like to include one artistic shot each year taken on my iPhone. . . 

Our boys are never happier than when they are on a beach.

Don’t let Lynden know that this is not actually surfing . . .

I just had to include this picture of Lynden because he looks so happy and we are going to really miss him when we put him on a plane in a few days . . . 

I took this picture of our boys in the back of an ambulance to send to Jodi just after they had both eaten almond chicken at a Chinese restaurant that contained peanuts :(

Only one son to send to school this September . . .

The other one was off to work at a chicken farm! He worked 4 days with the chickens and 1 day doing odd jobs like this.

Once again this year, I went with the boys volleyball teams to work at a camp in Hope for the weekend.

It was awesome to hear some of the volleyball alumni speak into the lives of the younger players.  We had to pretend we were around a campfire because of the fire ban.

Adam was in grade 8 this year which meant he got to go to grade 8 camp! At the last minute, they realized they were short male leaders and I was asked to go along. Which was a good thing as I was able to teach them some valuable life lessons like . . . you should never stand in a canoe ;)

We now officially have 3 adults in our home as Lynden turned 18 this Fall. As nice as it is to get a new laptop for school, he was also given 2 books that Jodi has been faithfully writing in each month since he was born. He is very lucky to have a mom who took the time to document the first 18 years of his life!

In October, I was able to experience my first true “redneck” weekend. All the male staff at my school (all 4 of us) headed north for several hours to enjoy a couple days of camo, quads, guns and grunting.

I took a break from coaching at the high school and coached my first team at our middle school.  It was a lot of fun to be able to coach Adam and his friends to several podium finishes.

We spent a week of the Christmas break in Oregon with my family. Lynden and I spent the better part of 2 days chasing waterfalls and taking selfies with our tongues out.

We decided to drive to the coast one day with my parents.  Not only did we find sunshine, we also found a super cool beach with a waterfall!

The beach is called “hug point” so I used it as a excuse to get this gorgeous lady to hug me.

. . . meanwhile, Lynden practiced his levitation skills.

And here is one more picture of Lynden . . . Did I mention that we are going to miss him?

Thanks for looking through our Year in Pictures - We wish you all the best in 2018.

Here are some of our best videos from our year . . .

This is what happened in Vegas after finding out we were at the wrong venue for the David Copperfield show and it was about to start in a casino down the street.

Back by popular demand - Another Rick Ball fishing video! (You may recognize him from such films as, “Planet of the Apes”.)

I find this hilarious! 

The craziest thing we saw in Mexico . . .

This is Lynden and his friends being led in the grad parade by Adam and his friends.