Christmas and Cameras

The morning of Christmas Eve we found a mortal problem with our small pocket camera. It has taken its last picture.

I remember asking Santa for a camera many years ago. I was fortunate to receive a Kodak 110 with a built in flash. You didn't have to load the film in a dark room or attach it to a spindle; just drop it in the back of the camera.

Even better than the camera, and probably just as expensive, I received two 24 picture packs of film. They were more economical than the 12 picture packs. I carefully weighed the merits of each picture I shot and after a few weeks had finished the rolls and brought them to be developed. Another few days went by and we went to pick up the prints. After paying $12.56 to get the pictures developed I was surprised at some of the pictures I had taken. They couldn't have come from me. They were not good.

This year both Lil Lefty and MacDaddy got digital cameras for Christmas, from Santa. One is pink, for Lil Lefty, and the other is blue, for MacDaddy of course. They have both spent a good bit of time the last couple days playing with their digital cameras and I am happy to report that the cameras work. We have pictures of our Christmas decorations. There are pictures that I have posed for, and picture of the turkey frying. Coco, the dog, is a favorite model and if you look closely you can occasionally see a picture of MacMom.

Happy Christmas!

HO!HO! HO! Merry Christmas!

and

Happy Birthday Baby JESUS!

Bronte Park Sledding (a.k.a. Tobogganing)

More Snow!

It snowed another 8 inches overnight. When we woke up it was 37 degrees and it is expected to be warm the next few days. After digging out the cars, we went to Bronte Park to go sledding. We were the first car in the Park (a large Park near our house that has a fee to enter). We hiked about a mile to the toboggan hill and then spent our time going down and walking back up. We were back home by 10:00am.

Ball Hockey in the Cold

Last Sunday afternoon we drove 60 miles to Waterloo, Ontario to watch the Waterloo Siskens play the Kitchener Dutchmen in a Junior B hockey game. The son of Lil Lefty's softball coach plays on the Siskens. It is "old time hockey" for 16-21 year olds with professional desires. The game ended with a loss for the Siskens in overtime. Sunday was Fan Appreciation Day with a ball hockey game against the players in the parking lot. All three kids played for 30 minutes in 15 degree temps. MacMom and I were the only sane ones... we stayed in the car and took pictures.

Snowmageddon - Round 2

The local media called the last storm "Snowmageddon". In total we have received about a foot and a half of snow in the last two days. I was the first in the neighborhood to dig-out from the Sunday morning snow.

Frosty the Snowman

If I remember the story of Frosty the Snowman, Frosty got his magic from the first snow. Well today was officially the first snow for Oakville, Ontario and the entire Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Unofficially, we received about 10 inches in 6 hours. MacMom and I spent more time shoveling the snow off the ice rink, what a mess, than shoveling the driveway. That is the benefit of a Suburban and Yukon in a small driveway. Here is my Top 10 Observations about snow.
1) Kids like snow anytime.
2) Parents like snow the first snowfall of the season... when everthing is white
3) Snow is heavy to shovel
4) Even Canadians don't know how to drive well in the snow, as evidenced by the cars that got stuck in front of our house
5) Everyone likes snow on Christmas Eve - and we will have a white Christmas
6) Parents like snow when they are leaving on vacation to someplace warm
7) Snow blowers are cool
8) Sledding is better with snow
9) Wet snow makes better snowballs and snow forts
10) Dry snow is lighter

"SEW" Much Fun

Minga sent the kids her old sewing machine. During her visit, we ran to the fabric store and the kids picked out a project to sew. MacDaddy sewed a Twas the Night Before Christams Book and Lil' Lefty a Santa Claus stand up pillow. She will begin sewing Mrs Claus soon.

MacDaddy even knows how to put thread on the bobbin and showed me the little tool that you can use to thread the needle. I always wondered what it was for?

A-mac decided that she was going to make a patchwork quilt. She picked out greens and corals and pinks and has sewn 4 rows of 8 squares. Her work has come to a halt as she finishes up school projects. Winter break begins Friday at 1:45 and all three kids will again fight over who gets to use the sewing machine first.

Mid Life Assessment

Having recently turned 43 years old I decided to spend several minutes this weekend taking a mid-life assessment of myself. I definitely think there could be discussion on whether I am handsome, scholarly and athletic. Different points of view could be expressed on whether I am a good hudsband, a good father and a good friend.

The one undisputed fact I came up with is, that as a man of 43 years I have great hair. I don't require drys, gels or special potions. I wash daily and let it air dry. I may have some minor receding tendancy but am no where near a bald spot.

Oh, the other good thing I have is a sense of humor.

10

Lil' Lefty celebrates the big 10...her first birthday of double digits.

Big D made our birthday girl sausage and eggs for breakfast before heading off to work. I suprised her with french onion soup for lunch (sorry Lil' Lefty...no La Madeleine here) and she shared a birthday treat of ice cream cone cupcakes with her classmates. She ate her favorite take out dinner of teryaki chicken and rice with extra soy sauce and a DQ cake.

She went to make a wish and blow out her candles and MacDaddy blew out 5 of them. She didn't think it was funny. Thus, we had to relight all the candles and re sing Happy Birthday! She took 3 tries to blow out all 10 candles because she said she had 3 wishes to make and each wish needed a few candles to blow out. Needless to say, by the time all the candle were extinguished her cake was smoking and I am surprised it didn't set off our very sensitive fire alarm.

Happy Birthday Lil' Lefty! We hope all three of your wishes come true.

SHH....It's a Surprise!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Lil' Lefty celebrated her 10th Birthday early with a Surprise Skating Party this past Sunday. Friends from school, softball and our neighborhood joined her in her celebration. I was amazed that her friends were able to keep the party a secret.

Texans on Ice

What do good Canadian families do after dinner on a Monday night? I don't know what Canadians do, but this Texas family living in Canada straps on the blades and takes a quick skate on the backyard rink. We built the ice rink frame a month ago and installed a tarp last week. 24 hours of water and a few frigid days of cold. Voila!!! one ice rink.

Even our resident Zamboni driver and all-around rink maintenance helper got in a few practice laps. For those who don't recognize, MacMom is in the picture to the left working on our "surface". The weather report calls for near 50 degree (converted to Fahrenheit for our US friends) temps on Tuesday and then a drop back down to "freezer time".

Christmas Tree

On Saturday, we jumped in the Macbus and took a 20 minute ride to a local Christmas tree farm in search of the Mac Christmas Tree. Can you tell who are the kids and which are painted logs made to look like snowmen singing Christmas carols?






My Mom was here visiting and was able to take a picture of the entire family. The person in the middle is "MacMom"... usually camera shy.


We returned to the same tree farm that we got our tree from last year. It is located in Ontario's Niagara Escarpment.



Last year, there was a foot of snow on the ground. This year, none! MacDaddy and Lil' Lefty scrounged for tree pieces to put in the farm's campfire. They wanted a roaring fire instead of the neglected, dying, smokey fire the farm had going. There may not have been an accumulation of snow, but it was cold and snowing while we were there visiting the farm.


Lil' Lefty is the "unofficial" tree expert in the family and picked the tree again this year. After our hayride that MacDaddy insisted we go on (imagine a hayride in 20 degrees), we walked around the back of the barn and saw the "secret stash" of trees. Once Lil' Lefty picked our tree and the entire family approved of her tree choice, our tree began its journey up the elevator to the barn and then down the conveyor belt to be shaken, trimmed and wrapped up in twine.


We strapped the tree to the top of MacBus and drove home in the snow. We had to make a pit stop at Tim Horton's for hot cocoa (the tree farm had run out of hot cocoa), but by the time we arrived the kids decided donut holes was the better choice to warm them up. You figure that one out?

Christmas 2008 Letter

Bonjour! Joyeuses Fêtes de la MacGrandle famille

Christmas is here and there's merriment everywhere!
As you relish the goodies, decorate every nook and corner of

your home and enjoy get-togethers…

Celebrate the joys of this magical holiday season and have

fun with friends and family.

May the joy and festivities continue to radiate in your lives, long after Christmas is gone. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

David, Natalie, Alex, Maddie & Andrew

2008 MAC LIFE HIGHLIGHTS

When we look back the one word we will use to describe 2008 is BUSY. That may have been the same word used to describe 2007, but you get the point. We’ve had a happy, busy year in the Mac House! Although, we’d love to call each and every one of you personally to get your family updates and share ours, I realize busy schedules work against us so here is my best effort to bring you up to speed.

We are still living in Oakville, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. A-mac calls it our temporary relocation facility.

We rang in the 2008 New Year with a trip to New York. Big D , A-mac, Lil' Lefty and MacDaddy were among the 71,000+ people in attendance for the Winter Classic…aka The ICE BOWL, a professional NHL outdoor hockey game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, played by the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburg Penguins. MacDaddy, a huge Sydney Crosby fan, was thrilled with the outcome of the game. A Penguin win! Thanks to Sid the Kid in an OT shoot out. I met Big D and the kids in Niagara Falls and we checked into Sheraton on the Falls and spent 2 days at the Fallsview Indoor Water Park.

The winter months brought lots of snow, a new Mac bus, hockey, softball and baseball practices and lots of check writing for both ball and hockey. Add fundraising to the mix for all three Rep Ball teams.

We managed to squeeze in our 2nd Annual Beach/ Baseball Spring Training Trip over March break. Summer travels found us in Cleveland, Toledo, Niagara Falls, Chambersburg, PA, DC, Napanee, Ontario and NYC.

In the late summer, we started our own MacGrandlesRUS Blog, http://www.macgrandle.com, as a place to connect all the pictures we take, remember our experiences, show what we have learned and tell our story.

MacDaddy, our baby, is now 8 years old and in the 3rd grade. He is growing like a string bean, proud that he has lost 6 teeth (at a cost of $30 total from the tooth fairy) and has 2 more loose, and just recently got glasses for reading. Speaking of reading, he still is not a big fan, unlike his sisters. Thank goodness for Ready Freddy and Stink books. Reading and writing… he does it because he has to. It must be a boy thing.

He played his first season of rep baseball for the Oakville A’s May-September. He played 2 games a week with neighboring cities and traveled within in Canada to participate in one tournament a month. He had a blast! His team finished third in the province of Ontario at Provincials over Labor Day. If he is not on the ball diamond, he is on the ice. He continues to play and enjoy hockey.















MacDaddy lives to play. He is usually outside with friends riding his bike, playing street hockey, soccer, baseball or basketball from the time he gets home from school until dinner. You will also find him inside playing Wii and listening to his IPOD. His favorite Wii games are Star Wars and Mario Cart Wii. MacDaddy and Big D have just framed the backyard ice rink and are awaiting Canada’s frigid temps to stay below freezing so that they can flood the rink. Soon Mac pond will become the center of winter play.
Lil"Lefty is in 5th grade and is about to celebrate her 10th Birthday with a surprise party. She loves school and is a social bee. She is quite the chatter box. I’m about to nickname her Pokey. She does nothing quickly. While she does things at her own speed, they are always done to perfection. She has learned the meaning of “Put it in Gear”. She likes French, Math and writing stories and songs (but is timid about sharing them).

She played girls hockey for the Oakville Hornets and her team the Shamrocks (they looked more like Christmas trees) won silver in her age group. One season of hockey was enough for her. She has hung up her skates and told us it’s not her thing.

Lil' Lefty played her 2nd season of rep softball with the 10U Mite Oakville Angels. She loves playing softball (dislikes practicing especially indoors). She loves to be on the pitching mound. She likes to hear the ump call her favorite word…STRIKE! She led her team to numerous victories and won 6 medals, including her very first gold medal. Eleven months of practice and tournament play ended with the 2008 Ontario Provincial Tournament in Brampton in August.

Lil' Lefty was disappointed to win a repeat Silver at Provincials. She really wanted to win gold. She says, “silver is good, but gold is best.” Icing on the cake this season, was that she was named MVP of the PWSA Mite Provincial Tournament. I can still remember her frown from winning silver turning into a huge grin when the announced her name after the last tournament game and handed out her award. She was happy and proud! Big D got dirt in his eyes.

A-mac is 12 and in the 7th grade now, even though she acts like a mature old person. Sometimes. She played her second year of rep softball for the Oakville Angels Novice, one level up, which means she’s pretty good. A-mac continues to do well in school, and loves being able to switch rooms for rotary and have multiple teachers. This year she was elected School Ambassador by the school principal and faculty. She is a member of the student council, the volleyball team, battle of the books team and chess club.

She also played hockey for the Oakville Hornets Blue Thunder. She decided not to play this winter because all her teammates moved up to the next age level. She wanted to play with her teammates or not at all. Playing up was not an option, especially with only one season of hockey under your belt. That means she is not that good!

If A-mac isn’t at school, playing softball, doing homework, or complaining about emptying the dishwasher (mind you besides making her bed, this is her only chore), she’s probably on the computer. She likes keeping in touch with all of her friends and family through msn, email and face book (add her!) and she likes playing those time wasting and addicting flash games. Basically, A-mac continues to be awesomer by the second.

Trust me when I say, I didn’t write most of A-mac's blurb! Thought, I’d let her give it a try this year. Truly, I must say I am excited that she doesn’t suffer from low self esteem.

Big D continues to enjoy his current position as CFO at Fusepoint. David is the biggest fan of all three kids and says he realized a year ago that his hobby is now activities with his kids. He is thrilled that all of his children still share his passion and enthusiasm for baseball.

Me, I am the Mac Glue. I am MOM, the most popular choice for general purpose adhering of the Mac Family. Like white glue, I am non toxic and odorless (at least 99% of the time). I am a mom with many hats… taxi driver, cook, party planner and unlicensed psychologist (especially with 2 girls in the house), and feel like I run a 24 hour laundry mat. I am always helping with fundraising for at least one of the ball teams and serve on the board of the American Woman’s Club of Oakville.

Needless to say, if you are reading the MAC blog and wondering if it was posted by MacMom or Big D?…if it is about ball or the weather… and there a lot of dot… dot… dots… chances are Big D wrote it.

We encourage and welcome you to visit our “BUSY” as we update the Mac Family blog through 2009. Drop us an email at david@macgrandle.com We look forward to hearing from y’all.

Merry Christmas and all the best to you in 2009.

Thanksgiving Trip to Cleveland

Early Thursday morning, we all (including Coco) jumped in the car and headed off to Cleveland for our family Thanksgiving. It took us a little longer than 5 hours to drive to MacMom's parents' house in a suburb of Cleveland. During our trek, there was a time when all three kids were watching a movie while MacMom watched her own movie on a separate DVD player. I was able to listen to the "Hair Band" station on XM Radio. Things have changed since the "Red Car - Yellow Car" games when I was a kid. MacMom over my shoulder said they played "Bug". (I add this in for historical accuracy)





We got to Nana and Papa's house mid-morning and the kids worked up their appetite with a snowball fight in the backyard.

We watched the Cowboys win and the Aggies loose.

On Friday night we went to an outdoor mall in Westlake, Ohio with the kids. MacMom and I lived in Westlake right before we got married. It has changed.

Several years ago during a hard time we went around the family and said aloud what we were thankful for. MacDaddy said he was thankful for "underwear". What a great thought. Because really, where would we be without underwear. Every Thanksgiving we remember that thought and every day I am thankful for my family. I am truly blessed.

A-mac End of Season Tradition

We started a new tradition. We now have a ceremonial throwing away of the cleats (aka CTAOTC). A-mac played in a rainy weekend tournament in August. She spent most of the weekend standing in ankle deep water in left field. Her cleats were never the same. MacMom even washed them in bleach. Mind you she has a second pair of cleats, but elected to always wear these pair. A-mac left them in my car one weekend and I thought something had died when I got in the car to go to work Monday AM. My nose and sense of smell doesn't work well so they REALLY smelled bad!

We went to the beach tonight and threw away A-mac's cleats. They will not be making the airplane ride back to Toronto with us tomorrow.

Myrtle Beach is a nice beach.

Final Myrtle Beach Update

A-mac's fastpitch team, the Brampton Blazers, won their first game Saturday morning. They lost the afternoon game and won Saturday night to stay alive and get to Sunday. We had a 5:30am wake-up on Sunday to be at the field for 7am . Unfortunately, The Blazers lost the game. The team went 4 wins and 2 losses over the weekend. A-mac played most of the tournament at third base and hit OK.

A-mac is in the middle of the picture with the long white sleeves in the back row.

Friday Night in Myrtle Beach

The Brampton Blazers, A-mac's team, played two "get-the-bugs-out" games Friday night. Both games were exactly one hour long and seemed to be geared toward a formailized "practice". There were three diamonds together and it was cold. A few teams had propane heaters. One team had a portable generator and a hot chocolate machine in their dugout. We won both games and based on the teams I saw, the Blazers will be competitive in this tournament.

A-mac was 0-3. She got on base once and grounded out to the pitcher twice. Her balance seemed off. She was lunging toward the ball. Oh well... the GREAT news is that it was the first games she had ever worn contacts. She played third base every inning.

After the game, the entire team, including parents, met at the coaches room and ordered pizzas.

Curfew at 11:00pm. First game at 10:20am. Be at field at 9:00am. A-mac is sleeping, as I blog at 4:40am.

Morning Workout

A-mac finished the Blazer morning workout. A-mac is in the middle of the picture playing third base. After practice we ate lunch at Firehouse Subs (new post coming on that) and then went shopping. Temperature is in the high 40's and the windchill is supposed to drop to 17 this evening.

A-mac has to be back at the park at 4:30pm for her 6:00pm game. She then has a 7:10pm game and we are done for the night. Double knock-out (loose two and gone) starts tomorrow morning.

The Best Weather is Behind Us

A-mac's team practiced for an hour last night well into the dark. A-mac is playing third base. After practice, we ate at Olive Garden ,came home and went to bed. We woke up this morning to 41 degree temperatures and the weather report is projecting 34 degrees at the 8pm game time. Brrrrr!!!!!

Made It To Myrtle Beach

We left Oakville, Ontario this morning at 3AM. That was after a 2:30AM wake-up. A-mac and I drove to Buffalo airport in the snow. We caught a plane to Philly and then to Raleigh, NC. From Raleigh, we drove 3 hours to Myrtle Beach for a softball tournament with A-mac's team the Brampton Blazers.

We ate lunch at Chick-fil-A and saw gas for $1.68/gallon.

Our condo has a beach view. The temperature is 60 degress today, but the high is only supposed to be in the upper 40's tomorrow. Not really good beach weather.

Time to run to practice with the team.