Fall Update 2014

Wendy and I are leaving for Nashville today. I'll start posting about that in a few days. Today, just a little update for those of you who are either far flung or have been too busy to catch up since my last mountain trip. As a disclaimer, many of these pictures have already appeared on G+ or FB.

We did a family photo shoot at a couple of locations on the river bank. There was some grumpiness and hard feelings (aging parents and teenage girls have some body issues, in case you were unaware), but mostly we had a great time.

There were Halloween shenanigans...
Wendy is a genius when it comes to Value Village shopping. Months ago she found me some great felt boots. They were the basis for one of my favourite costumes ever. Sure, you say... Mike as a pirate, how novel! Get over yourselves. Yes, I could have (and have in the past) whipped up a costume for free. However, this is a costume that required some effort.

Boots - Felt VV find -- $5

Pants - Lululemon. I wear these (or their doppelgangers) EVERY DAY. So comfortable. I could go on, but it's a little embarrassing how much I love these pants. -- $130

Belt - VV -- $2

Shirt - Commissioned from a friend in Meadow Lake in 1999. Modeled after my wedding shirt -- $35

Jacket - Used woman's coat from VV. It was way to large and the sleeves were too short. I had to take in the waist (the belt really) add some fancy cuffs, add interfacing to stiffen the collar and throw on some extra buttons. -- $20 (30% of that is buttons and Jodi let me use a half meter of some awesome fabric for the cuffs).

Hat - Cheap costume hat. Looks far better than it deserved. Wendy glued a little foam on the inside to make it fit better -- $5

Sword - This was an impulse buy, but I just love it. I have a couple of sparring swords already, but not really anything befitting a pirate. Fortunately, Cutting Edge (facebook) had this wonderful combat ready, PVC, basket handled sabre -- $100

Just in case you think this was the only dressing up I did this fall... think again.

I am a "lost boy" through and through...

Leora and Anwyn have finished up with volleyball season and Anwyn is on to basketball. Leora had to forgo more sports since debate and playing Dorothy in Walter Murray's version of The Wiz kept her insanely busy.

Scarecrow and Dorothy get an education from the Tin Woman

Fortunately, they found just enough time to hang out with their father at the Western Development Museum's Festival of Trees. I was quite fortunate. The library paid me to tell some adventure stories to the kids at the Peter Pan Pajama Party. Anwyn was the Christmas fairy and got to help Tinkerbell sprinkle pixie dust on all the children. Leora was Peter Pan. She came on stage and had a bit of a sword fight with me during my storytime. It was great fun and I felt exceedingly fortunate to have the opportunity to perform with them and to see how wonderful they are with children.