I Love Big Red Toes

     I will start off with a story that I wish I had a picture of. If I had a picture this story would be sooooo much better. I had just got to school and one of my students run in the room and says, "Mr. Wynder, some kid has stuck his tongue to the hand rail outside and he is stuck!" I quickly ran outside with her, and sure enough there was a kindergartener with his tongue frozen and stuck to the hand rail. It was like "A Christmas Story" all over again (for those of you who know the movie, will get that). So I ran back into my room and grabbed a cup of warm water and came out to the kid. I looked down at his tongue which was bleeding by this point, and poured the warm water down onto it. His tongue slowly peeled of the metal rail and he was free from his 10 minute tongue prison, and without a word of "thanks" he was off like a shot. I was happy to help, and I know its bad, but the first thing I though of was that I should have taken a picture for my blog. Im bad, I know. BUT, the kicker in this part is who the kid was.....It was Nathan Smith's little boy. If you don't get the connection, I work with Nathan at the Junior High, so he was happy that I was able to help his boy keep his tongue. That next day I was told that some of the kids were saying "It was so scary until Mr. Wynder came, and saved the day". So I am kind of a big deal around here.

Brody helping Kristi make some
Home made soup.

     So, if that was not enough excitement for one morning. Right before my 1st period was about to start all my students started to gather around one of my windows and they were looking at the house across the street. One of the students said, "Mr. Wynder, some kid is going to kill his dog over here!" SO I went to the window and I saw a kid who was about 3 or 4 years old holding his little Chihuahua dog up in the air using his leash. The boy would then proceed to throw how dog into the bush right next to his house and then quickly lift him out again using the leash. So the kids in class would say, "Mr. Wynder you need to do something". Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am not much of a pet lover so fro me to go and do something should tell you how bad this kid was treating this dog. I grabbed my coat, went outside and walked across the street to the boy. He saw me and quickly made a break for the door dragging the dog behind him. I said, "Thats not a good way to treat you dog buddy", and he look and went in the house. I did knock and talk to his mom, and she made it sound like this was not the first time. Poor dog, probably just dreads it every time that kid goes near him. As I walked back to the school, I could see the class in the window sheering for me, and I raised my hands in victory. "Only you can prevent animal cruelty...well at least from 3 year olds". All that happened before school had even started for the day, so I knew that it was going to be a great day. I saved a kids tongue, and a dog from being choked to death and left in the bushes. Hahaha. oh, I mean that poor tongue and dog.

Tyson wanted to help make the
Soup as well.

Hockey Night in Cardston

     The hockey season is coming close to and end. I only have 2 more games in the Men's Rec Hockey here in Cardston. It has been a fun season playing here in town. Its good hockey, but it does not get too serious, which is good for me. This is just my 3rd year playing goal, so it has been a learning experience. I have played hockey for a long time, but just in the last few years there has been a shortage of goalies here in town. I have a friend in Edmonton who has played goal all his life and he had some equipment that he just gave me. So I decided to change and play goal. I love it, I have bought my own pads and mask - - So I think I am now a full time goalie.

New to the Goalie game, but doing a little
Better each time.

Registrations for Baseball are out and Softball is almost here! so this will be a busy year. I will be coaching Brody on his Coach Pitch team and I will also be coaching Haydn in his first year moving up to Minors. I hope that he does well and loves it, but it will be a big change to go from the coach pitching to having other kids pitch. So I will be coaching Brody on Mondays and Wednesdays and then coaching Haydn on Tuesdays and Thursdays....and then playing Softball in Lethbridge on Fridays. So May and June will be Crazy. Oh ya, and I run the whole Little League, so finding Umps, getting out uniforms and equipment, scheduling games, and organizing diamonds. YA CRAZY. Haha

First one in the Locker Room

Brody, Koji, Haydn, Kaz, and Takai
watching a Hockey game at West Ed.

Post game snack at about Midnight

Me and my Buddy Takai

 E-Town or Bust

     As soon as school was done on friday, we packed up and jumped in the van and headed to Edmonton for the time that me and the kids had off from school. It is GREAT being a school teacher, there always seems to be some kind of holiday from school. The drive was as great as it possible can be with 3 kids in the van bored out of their minds stuck in rush hour on Deerfoot in Calgary. We really needed to plan ahead about when to roll through Calgary. For some reason Kristi and I have been blessed with the only kids in the entire world that NEVER sleep in a car at anytime. My kids absolutely never fall asleep when we drive anywhere. It could be early in the morning or in the middle of the night, either way, they are staying awake and yipping and yapping the entire ride. Even Tyson our youngest decided to only nap for about 1/2 hour in our 5 hour drive. Thats a long time to keep a 18 month old happy in a van. Lets just say Tyson loves Skittles, cause that was the only thing keeping him happy.

      We always stay with Ryan and Brandi Harris when we go to Edmonton. We have been making this trip for years, and it is always a good time had by all. As soon as the kids arrived they were into their costumes having a good time with Ryan and Brandi's kids (Koji, Takai, and Kaz). Its great because the kids play together and they are not just glued to the TV or playing video games. They were upstairs playing with the toys or making up some game with their costumes. Its good to see the kids using their imaginations and not relying on technology to make the fun for them.

     So most of the time when we are up in Edmonton we have no plans and are just in hang out mode. BUT this has changed a little in the last year or so. Kristi's sister Tracy and brother Barry both moved up to Edmonton, and my brother lives in Edmonton as well. So, there are more and more people we have to see when we go up there now. We tried to plan a couple activities that everyone could get together and we would not have to split up our time in driving around seeing everyone individually. This was going to help save some time, and make sure we were able to see everyone at the same time.


          On saturday we went to the West Edmonton Mall, which was probably not the best idea on the family day weekend. There were so many people in that mall, it was Crazy. I honestly couldn't believe how many people were jam packed into that mall. So we got in there and out of there as fast as we could.

     After the mall we went out to eat. It is always an experience when you go to a restaurant with 7 kids (6 of which are loud boys). Long story short, I am sure everyone around our table didn't get the nice peaceful dinner they were looking for. Especially when Koji and Haydn were laughing so much that Koji started to choke on a piece of brownie and ended up puking onto his plate with all the tables looking on. Ya we are pretty classy people when we go out to eat. Thats why we are so popular.

Me and Brandi just having a nice peaceful
dinner together....hahahahaha 

 

     We had a big Sunday dinner at the church because Ryan and Brandi, Tracy and Winslow, and Steve and TJ are all in the same ward in Spruce grove. Reggie and AJ, and Kari and Tav were also visiting Edmonton at the same time so they were able to be there as well. Leanne and the girls also came over, but Barry was not able to be there because he was doing some stuff for his work. It was fun to have so much family around, and it was good for all the kids to play and get to know each other a little better. Good food, Good Family, Good Friends, Good Times.



     One of the nights I went to work with Ry. I have been working with Ryan on and off for the last 6 or 7 years, and I can honestly say that it has never felt like work. Even when we worked for basically 48 hours straight one time and lost our minds a little in the process. Some of the funniest stories that I have come from working at Waterbodies with Ryan. Painting banana lines, sleeping on the sweeper, sleeping in the truck, wheelchair races, slurpees with ice cream and late nights watching trailer park boys. OH, and Ryan's tendency to have road rage.

The Pig Roast

Hutterites helping tie the pig

Anyone want to see what
a pig in a hockey bag
Looks like?

     The second family activity that we had was a pig roast. Ryan's knows one of the missionaries in the area that is from Tonga and they had a pig roast a few weeks ago. So we thought that it would be a great idea to get all the family and friends together and do it again. So on Monday morning at 7 am we set out to the Hutterite colony that was about an hour and a half away. When we got there the Hutterites were ready for us and helped us tie up a 75 pound pig in the back of the truck. Now it was a pretty cold morning and we had a long drive back to the house........SO we decided to put the pig in a hockey bag and wrap it in a blanket. This seemed like a good idea at the time. It was pretty funny to watch the pig try to figure out where it was in the bag. I am sure that it was a bit interesting for cars that were parked next to us at stop lights watching a hockey bag moving around in the back of our truck. I can only imagine what was going through their heads, and how many of them thought about alerting the authorities. hahaha.

     The first step was to make sure that we had a raging hot fire for the rocks to heat up. The rocks have to be super hot so they will be able to cook the pig over the time that we leave the pig. To help heat the fire up, Steve used a leaf blower to super heat the rocks.

     Then we had to put the pig on the fire so we could burn and scrape off all the hair and top layer of skin. This is usually done with Hot water or a torch, but we did not have either, so putting on the fire was our next best option.

     Then we had to gut the pig, but I will save the pictures for some other time so I don't gross everyone out. After the pig was gutted, we cut it in half and placed it on the fire to cook.


     The pig is then covered in a blanket and the blanket is covered in dirt to trap the heat in and cook the pig. we put logs around the outside to trap as much heat in as we could. 2 hours (and a little) later we were ready to dig the pig up and eat. It was GOOD!!! well all except the last quarter of the pig that did not get cooked enough, but we left that alone, BUT the rest was great! haha.

     Everyone had a great time from the picking up to the eating of the pig. It was a great time to get all the family and friends together and enjoy an interesting meal. Many had never had a pig (or anything) cooked like that, so it was a new experience for many. For me, it brought me back to my days in New Zealand. I ate many of meals that were cooked in the ground.

     The pig roast night was topped off with a tradition that we do every time we are at Ryan and Brandi's, CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!! The kids love it and they ask for it every time that we are visiting. Its a good way to get them to eat a ton of fruit, even if it is smothered in chocolate. By the end of it the kids faces were covered in chocolate and the table was in need of a good clean, but the kids had a blast so it was worth it in the end.



 Chuck E. Cheese

     The other tradition that we have with Ryan and Brandi, is taking all the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Its a place where you can spend $80 and come out of there still hungry and with 3 toys you could have bought at the dollar store. BUT the kids love it and have a blast using there tokens to win the tickets, so I guess it is worth the money in the end (I Think). The best part about the trip this year was that we went on tuesday at noon so most kids would have been in school. It was just us and a few other families, so the kids had a good time running around and playing the games. The only down side was that the ski-ball game tickets were always low.

Brody won one of the grand prizes
which was 280 tickets

Ryan and Takai racing.

     The Rest of the trip was all about beating the girls at Hand and Foot (a card game), eating junk food and drinking as many Pepsi as possible. On the way home we stopped by the "Candy Store" in Nanton and spent a little too much on candy and treats. We arrived home to some snow that my beautiful wife volunteered to shovel off the drive-way. All-in-All, it was a great 5 days in edmonton hanging out with family and friends.

Thanks for Reading Partner

   

Jacob Hoggard of Hedley

Yet Another Concert --Hedley

 
   So I rushed home from the ski trip in Castle Mountain and had the Hedley concert that night at 7pm. So it was a long day that started at 5:45am and did not end until 12:30am the next day. haha. But, to me a concert is worth it. Hedley was Amazing live. This was the second time that I have seen them and they didn't dissapoint. Jacob Hoggard is a great show-man and has a great knack for getting the crowd involved in the concert.

     

Me and Brad Rocking at Hedley!

     I went with my Nephew Brad again and his friend David. We had a great time together. We also met up and sat with Tim Williams and his family. It was fun to sit with him and we had a great time laughing and joking during the concert.

     The opening acts for Hedley were Classified, Karl Wolf, and my name is Kay. I think I knew one Karl Wolf song (Africa) and that was it for the opening acts. Classified was a rap group and they had a great song about Canada that they ended their set with.

     I have included a few videos of the concert. This will be the first time I have added video, so we will see how it goes on the blog.

Castle Mountain Ski Resort

Junior High Ski Trip

     This is always one of the highlights of the school year for the kids and teachers. It is one of the first mornings of the entire school year that you know you will have all the kids showing up to the school on time. Which is amazing for some kids. haha. The School left at 6:30am and headed to the hill at Castle Mountain.

     The Ski resort had to be amazingly organized with all the student rentals that were happening that day. We were not the only school there on that day either. 2 other schools we also skiing that day, which made the rentals even more hectic. BUT, the ski hill workers were ready for us and got the kids on the hill in a quick and orderly manner. 

Getting ready to ski down from the
Red Chair--Bad Idea

     All the students seemed to have an enjoyable time, and we had a limited amount of injuries this year. We had 2 hurt arms (both which may have been broke), and a fight between 2 girls in the lodge. Fight was quickly broke up and parents were called to take home their child.

     Now, I am not a skier or a snowboarder in any sense of the word. I go skiing once a year and that is on the school ski trip and thats it. So last year Nathan Smith told me to use these things called "Snow Blades". They are basically mini-skis that I find easy to control and maneuver in. I used these blades again this year and loved them, so if you notice my small skis in these pictures you will understand why now. 

     The hill was a little icy, but the day was great and we had a lot of fun with all the staff members and the students. My one struggle of the day was when I was talked into going up the red chair to the top. The wind was blowing like 900m/hr and visibility was difficult (especially without goggles). So to make a long story short, I had a couple of wipeouts because I could not see some of the dips in the run and was happy to get down to the easier runs. 

Nathan Smith, Troy Stewart, Bob Harris, Ken McMurray,
Austin Nunn, Me, Clark Payne

     Took a couple of jumps that Nathan Smith got on video. As soon as I can get them from him, I will post them on here. I some pretty good wipeouts after the jumps, so I am sure that you will have a good laugh when you se them.

Good Size Bruise

     

     

     So, let me explain the leg because it looks nasty. I got hit in leg by a hockey puck trying to block a shot in the last game I was playing in. The shot actually broke part of the bottom of my shin pad. The shin was pretty sore going into the ski trip, and I had a good size bruise because of the puck. When I put my ski boot on I knew that I was going to have issues with the shin. I skied the whole day and when I took my ski boot off my leg looked like this. The ski boot had pushed the bruise all over the leg.

Simple Plan! - In case you didn't notice the
sign in the picture.

 Concert Lover

     It should not be any surprise to anyone who knows me that I love to attend the occasional Concert every now and then. Well........maybe the word "occasional" is a stretch. At my last count, I think I have seen close to 140 bands play live (give or take a few here and there). BUT who's counting? Actually I would hate to calculate all the money that I have spent on Tickets, Gas, Food, and T-shirts. Its all for a good cause......I think

    On Monday, I was able to take my nephew Brad and his friend Kade to see Simple Plan, Marianas Trench, All Time Low, and These Kids Wear Crowns. The Concert was great and had a good time with Brad. I have loved Simple Plan since they came out in 1999 and it was good to see them for the 3rd time...haha.......AND to answer your question, "Yes, I needed to see them for the 3rd time". Music is like a good wine (so I am told), it only gets better with age. hahaha. WELL, thats my excuse and I am sticking to it.....So get off my back.

Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan - Same age
as me and Rocking - -Jealous! 

     The other band that everyone seemed to be jacked up to see was Marianas Trench. Now I have to admit, I went into this concert not knowing too much about the others bands. BUT I was surprised to realize that I knew many of the songs from Marianas Trench, and they sounded amazing live. Some bands sound great on the CD but have a hard time sounding good live. This was not the case with Marianas Trench, they sounded great. The lead singer was definitely a performer and knew how to work the crowd. 

     The other Bands -- All Time low and These Kids Wear Crowns both played great as well. I had never heard them before, but they did a great job and the crowd loved it.

Marianas Trench

     The ride home was interesting to say the least. It started to snow just as we pulled into Calgary and I figured we were in trouble if it continued to snow. It snowed for most of the concert and the roads were Icy and full of snow. For some reason there were no snowplows on the road at all the whole way home from calgary. I went about 80-90km/hr the whole way from calgary and passed 4 or 5 cars in the ditch. 

     One car passed me going way to fast for the roads and as he passed me and tried to get back in the right lane he spun around and ended up in the ditch. Serves him right? not sure how I feel about it

   Then a semi-truck tried to pass and I looked in the rear-view, and saw the trailer of the truck start to sway back and forth. I was dreading if the truck continued to pass, but he quickly slowed down and held his truck back. So it was an interesting drive home. It probably took us about 3 and a half hours to get home. Got home about    2:30 am, got to bed by 3:00 am and then got back up at 7:00 am and went back to school. Good times!

Brad and Kade in their "These Kids Wear Crowns" T-Shirts

Dont let the sign fool you, this is "These Kids Wear Crowns".

This is "All Time Low".

I am Stuck in Canada while Kris is here. 

 

California Dreamin' Starring     Kristi

  Well Kristi made it home and all the kids are still in one peice, so I guess the weekend was a success for all. It did help that Brody stayed at Grandma Sudo's house the whole weekend. That kid loved it there are did not have any plans of coming home while Dad was ruling the roost. hahaha

     Kris had a blast in California on her run. I can only imagine what happens when 3 women get away from their husbands and have a weekend in California. I guess what happens in California, stays in California. Oh ya, and her niece Sydnee (Kim's Daughter) was there too.

     One of the first things that happened was that Kris met one of the guys from the TV show "Storage Wars", which is one of my favourite shows. She was walking on Huntington Beach and Sydnee noticed him and pointed him out. It was Darrell "The Gambler", you know Mr. Wow Factor! So knowing that I would love a picture, Kris ask if she could get a picture with him.  Kristi should have yelled, "Yuuuuuuuuuuuup" just to bug him.

Thats the WOW Factor Baby!!! Thats why I
Buy Storage Units.

     The race was a half Marathon (13.1 Miles), which is more than I would ever want to run at one time. If running does not have anything to do with a court or a ball field, I want no part of it. BUT I am so proud of my wife for training to do this and following through with her goals. She looks and feels great, and that is what I guess is addicting about running. I look and feel crappy, so maybe I should start to run. haha.

    I think that Kris was nervous. I believe she had only ran about 10 miles in her training, so she had an extra 3.1 that she had to deal with. she knew she could get through it if she put her mind to it.

Kristi, Katey, Kim & Sydnee.
Sydnee's name needs to start with a "K"

   
     Kristi had a goal of finishing the race in under 3 hours. Her time was 2:39:22. So she was able to accomplish her goal. Her time probably would have been even better, but with about 3 miles left she had the overwhelming urge to use the bathroom. haha. So when it got to the point when it was either in the pants or take a break, she decided to use the facilities. This added some time on waiting for an open bathroom. I told her she should have just went for it and blamed the wet pants on over active sweat glands. She said that the last mile was so hard and she had to keep talking to herself and encouraging herself to keep going and not to give up. I am sure it went something like this, "You are not going to come all this way and give up" or  " You better not  #*&%#@ give up you &^%#@ wimp. Either way she did a great job and everyone back home was so proud of her, Even if she has a potty mouth in her mind. haha

This is Kristi's Time Intervals.

                     

                          Katey, Kris, and Kim after the race.

Kristi and her race medal. She is smiling now, but later that night when she had to walk up and down the stairs she was not too happy. Nothing like running 13.1 miles and then sitting on a plane and in the car for the next 8-9 hours.