Back from Alaska. . .

Wow, what an experience. The cold. The rain. The eagles. My bum freezing after diving into a pool by a glacier!

Becky and I had a blast on our cruise. I will spare you the stories of eating since I don't want to make you hungry. I will mention though you can knock duck liver off our list of things to eat. I'm not sure what you have heard but in our first stop in Juneau, Becky decided to see a different part of society. As you can see from the picture below it was a fun time.

Don't be fooled the local police are great. The former police chief in the photo was quite a wonderful guy and was willing to show Becky the other side of Juneau. After this stop of shopping and seeing 200 ft of snow we headed off to Hubbard Glacier. It was freezing cold, but well worth the 2 1/2 hours I stood at the front of the boat to see the glacier first.

Then we went to Sitka. This would be our new home away from home if we wanted to get away from the heat of the summer. The eagles soaring overhead as we walked the trails made for a very peaceful getting back in touch with nature experience. If you go there visit the Alaska Raptor Center (http://www.alaskaraptor.org/). One of the eagles we got to see was named Sitka. She is quite beautiful, though the look in her eyes will put the fear in you.

We then went to Ketchikan where some of the best shopping was found. We followed this with our second favorite stop in Victoria, BC Canada. The presence of all of the flowers in town could be smelt all over. I know Becky has already said she is ready to move here or to Sitka. Only problem is I don't eat fish so that rules out living in Sitka and I am not affluent in saying eh, so that puts out Victoria at this time.

I hope everyone is doing fine and enjoys a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Keeping the Streak Alive!!!!

Sorry for the delay. Bad Blogger, bad bad Blogger. Bring in the nun with the ruler and let her slap me on the back of the hand. Fortunately I have never had that experience, however I cannot speak for all of my relatives. Well I have been overly busy studying for my final exams, watching the Stars win in the playoffs, working, being the Home Owners Association President, and playing hockey. After all of this I am proud to say I have kept my streak alive of getting A's on my studies. I just finished both my psychology and microbiology courses with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Now my next endeavor is to CRUISE!! That's right it's cruise time. Becky and I are packing to sail away with my Parents and her Grandparents on a fun filled Alaskan vacation. (Please no more requests to bring home magnets. They have weight limits with fines on the airplanes now.)

Here is a recap of what has happened since I have last blogged.

*We all cried and rejoiced at the naming of "Johnathon's Place" for the nursery at Calvary Baptist Church. A wonderful plaque was presented to us with a picture of Johnathon on it that will soon be hung in the church hallway. This meant so much to Becky and I. It has brought an inner peace to me and makes me feel good to know that his memory will be something I can see every Sunday when I share moments with my church family.

*Becky finished her class ahead of me and attempted to rub it in by kicking her heals up and watching TV. (No fair!)

*The Dallas Stars keep winning in the playoffs and I keep watching the games at home (because of exams the night of the games or having to study the night before). I will not be able to attend the next round because of my vacation. I have been forced to sell my tickets to my friends. (NO fair!! Except for my friends.)

*The Grave Diggers hockey team won their first game of the new season. (Way fair!)

*The Komet's hockey team suffers a melt down that will bring the team back together as a contender again. (I look forward to playing with them after my vacation.)

I hope everyone is doing good and I look forward to sharing pictures with you of whales, eagles, and icebergs. (And that's just from the buffet of the ship!)

Open Invitation

This Sunday April 27th we will be celebrating the naming of the nursery at our church (Calvary Baptist Church) in honor of Johnathon. This is our open invitation to you to come and be present for this momentous event. It will be taking place during the 11:00am service. We would love for all of our friends and family members to be present.

Becky will be having a Hockey celebration party Saturday night at the Dr Pepper Star Center in Euless at 9:00pm. I have a game at 9:15pm that I will be playing with the Grave Diggers. Come by and join the festivities and enjoy a good game.

Happy Birthday Supergirl!

I thought I would take this opportunity to welcome a new member to the 30 club. The first teammate I met when I started playing hockey was Mel aka "Supergirl". When I heard that she was approaching her 30th I knew it was time to have some fun. Don't let the picture fool you, Supergirl may look small but she fights like a spider monkey. I once saw her take a guy down to the floor, of course Becky was hanging onto his other leg. I knew they had him in pain as tears started to form in his eyes (of course that may have been because no one had a web cam handy to video him being attacked by two hot girls, sorry Bryan).

Supergirl has always been a great team leader on and off the ice. This summer she is getting all of the girls together to go to the beach. That's a party that I am sure will have some great stories. (Pictures of MTV Spring Break dances in my head as I think of what that party will be like). Mel has done and accomplished so much in her first 30 years. Mel I raise my glass and salute you, I think the next 30 are going to be your best ever. Don't forget a certain someone who sounds like ecky but starts with a B will be joining you in the club very soon.

Happy Birthday!

Love Ya,
Chilly and Becky

(Note to self keep web cam handy whenever you are hanging out with Becky and Supergirl.)

Blood, Sweat, and Tears . . .

Above are the before pictures. Below are the after pictures. After 20 hours of work we transformed 330 square feet into a bright and wholesome environment that a child could grow up in. I could say so much about what we did, but I am choosing to let the pictures speak for the love that we put into it. Special thanks to my parents, Becky's parents, Jennifer & Scott, Rebecca & Dustin, and to all of the members of Calvary Baptist Church who stopped by or sent us nourishment. Special thanks to the kids of Oakridge Estates for being the hands of love that wrap the room. Special thanks to Allison (the first toddler to try the room out), your smile gave me the seal approval that we achieved what we came to do. Finally special thanks for those who called, commented here, or sent us messages of support.

Calling All Hands

Are you able bodied? Do you know what a hammer is? Do you know how to work a tape measure? If this is you then I have a project for you. If this is not you, I still have a project for you. Becky and I will be remodeling the nursery at the church this weekend. We are doing this in honor of Johnathon as he would have spent time here on Sundays if he had the chance. We know that he would like a nice room to hang out in with his friends, and so we are going to nursery the nursery. Yes I will take before and after pictures for everyone to see, but I would really like if you have some free time a hand in getting this project done. I have set a lofty goal of getting it done in a short period of time. Nothing that will be done has not already been easily done on one of those TLC shows where they remake a room on the weekend.

I will start with some minor things on Thurs and move to more major stuff on Friday. However the most important (time consuming) items will be done on Saturday. This is when I will need help. This will also be the day of finishing touches. If you have any eye for decorativeness this will definitely be your cup of tea. If you can come help (even if its just for 30 minutes), please contact Becky or I this week and let us know. I think everyone will appreciate what the nursery will look like when we get done.

On the hockey side the playoffs finished up last week with the Komets losing a close one at 3 - 2. I unfortunately did not play for the Grave Diggers do to a previous commitment, but they did get their second win of the season at 3 - 2. Way to go guys! Next season I will try to reduce my number of games on the Grave Diggers in half. I started to notice a lot of creaks and cracks in my system from all of the wear and tear, so I am going to shorten my schedule to prevent any major injuries (plus vacation time will cut in on some of my playing time as well).

We had a hockey party on Friday night. What a party it was, it took me all weekend to recover. It went something like this . . . Meet at Scott's house for pre-game warm-up, meet Mike at my house for pre-game drive. Go to the arena and meet with some "Ice Girls" for autographs (for someone with a cold name they are hot http://stars.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=8481). Party with Patty and the kids. Dustin and Rebecca showed up and now the party is getting started. Aunt Mozel arrived with Dorothy and Spud. This was followed by Warren, Laura, WC, and Mary Bob showing up. Now the party was in full strength. Midway through the Stars are tied. Where is Brenda and Monty? What? How? Well we found Brenda and Monty sitting in the Platinum Club section. Time to disown them for getting the free upgrade! Now the party has really kicked the highest gear as Emily and her friend arrived. By the way its $1 hot dog night!! Oh no the Stars lose. Well so much for the game, time for the after party. Me, Becky, Mike, Scott, Emily and her friend all end up at Dick's Last Resort. By this time I realized it was our last resort, just as that wadded up piece of paper hits me in the head and the paper fight was on. Several paper throws later and we are out of there. What a night, but it does not end as Becky has a flat tire and I must change it. Finally in bed, but unable to sleep. I can't wait for Mike's pictures from the party. It's safe to say this party had all of the elements of being . . . wait for it . . . LEGENDARY! Yes I will be post the pictures!

On March 29th my parents came up and we drove over to the cemetery to see Johnathon's new memorial marker. It came out great. We then drove over to visit where Christine was resting. I had not been their in over 8 years. (For those not familiar Christine is my sister who passed away after birth due to complications of being premature). I though I might share pictures of Johnathon's marker along with his Aunt's as I am sure they are playing together right now.

It's Trauma Time

Well Becky is off to trauma camp to help her former patients have a good time. It's a great little weekend getaway the hospital puts on for its long term trauma patients. Becky goes as a camp counselor. She was real excited and looking forward to it.

That leaves me alone so I can get some uninterrupted studying in. I will take one big break to spend some time with my parents, as the memorial marker has arrived and been installed (picture to follow as soon as I can get out there), my parents and I will be going to see it tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing my parents again so soon.

The playoffs have started for my hockey teams, the Komets finished in the middle of the pack, so the best we can finish is in 5th place. As for the Grave Diggers we had a perfect record of zero wins (not the perfect you had in mind). The Komets game is at 8pm on Saturday and the Grave
Diggers are at 10:15pm.

A fond farewell to Nick and Julie. They have helped out in so many ways that there is never enough ways to ever thank them. I wish we could have spent more time with them prior to their move, but I now know someone else we need to visit when we go to New York. I hope your move goes well and keep in touch.