Strawberries....

It's been a few months since I've had a good batch of strawberries and I've got to say, it's great to have them back. So, what better way to celebrate good, juicy, flavour filled strawberries than....drum roll please.....

STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKES!

Delicious! A masterpiece if I do say so myself (I know a couple of kids who would stand up for me too!)

Enjoying the nutritional value that they bring to a good shake!

Darryl

#bestdadever!

Lazy days off

Easter break means a little R&R before the final push to the end of the school year. 

So, what did I do?

Slept in.

Gave a friend a lift.

Light workout.

Did my income tax.

Did some de-cluttering.

Ran a few errands.

Read a chapter in my new book (with a snack of course!).

Relaxed.

Let's see what the evening brings!

D

Hockey season

Hard to believe that it's over. 6 months later, more wins than losses, memorable goals, little back checking, an infinite number of locker room stories and many beverages consumed. 

Love the season.

The boys are all gems.

Memories that will last for months to come.

Priceless.

DB6

My parents

Easter weekend is officially in the books. Friday night we hit the road to spend the weekend with my parents. Now, I have a lot to be thankful for but I don't think that there is anything that I could be more thankful for than my parents and my kids. 

They are always there for me when I need it the most and even when I don't need it. I look back over the years and I know that they have always been there for me to celebrate my successes and to pick me up when I have been down. They have encouraged me to follow my dreams and to keep me on the right pathetic when I've begun to stray. They have been and always will be the constant in my life that I can depend on. To me, they are the perfect parents. 

I know I don't say it nearly enough, but thank you mom and dad for everything. I love you!

Darryl

Easter egg hunts!

The haul!

Basket case 1 & 2!

There will be no shortage of chocolate this Easter! Early risers in anticipation of the Easter bunny visiting. Sure enough, EB came through somehow knowing Abi & Noah were in Saskatoon. I don't know how he keeps track of everyone but once again the magical rabbit delivered!

Mm mm..... Can't wait to samole the chocolate!

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter egg painting

Crazy eggs for a couple of crazy kids. Good fun decorating Easter eggs at grandma and grandpa's place.

Tomorrow, the hunt!

Happy Easter!

Darryl

Post-run chocolate milk

Mmmm....tastes great, and replenishes your body after a good workout!

Good

Old

Chocolate

Milk

Aka Vico (for those of you old enough to remember and grew up on the prairies)

Refuelled,

DB

The last day of school before the Easter break

It's a great feeling knowing you have 10 days off. Family, friends and good times and good weather ahead. 

Safe travels to those of you off to see family and friends.

Happy Easter!

Darryl

Being the one to break the trail

Maybe it's the kid in me...ok, I'm pretty sure it's the kid in me but I'm sure that I'm not alone out there. You may be nodding your head in agreement or shaking your head and thinking to yourself, "this dude needs to grow up". Regardless, it doesn't matter to me. 

Fresh snow, waterproof shoes and a bright sun in the sky, I'm in my happy place.

I know, nice legs eh?

Shaking those cobwebs off my tired legs,

Darryl

2 game days

Game 1 after school against students.

A convincing victory.

Game 2 

Icemen vs Bay Rats

Outcome....tbd

The season is almost over, I'd better get in the ice times I can while I can.

DB6

Snow in late March

Yup, snow. After some +17 weekends, we're back in the snow. Now, you might think that I'm crazy for being thankful for snow on the 2nd day of spring but here's my rationale.

We didn't have a lot of snow this winter which means little for spring runoff. Little runoff means lower lake levels which can have an impact on summer water sports...wake boarding, waterskiing, tubing, kneeboarding and just boating in general.

So...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

And, as an added bonus, I snuck in a great snow run before supper tonight! Crisp, refreshing!

Can't wait to cut some rooster tails,

Darryl

Great Sunday

Sleeping in.

Delicious breakfast.

Hard core competitive games.

Run around the lake.

McFlurry.

Hanging out at Chapters.

Getting some great books.

Delicious bbq steak supper.

Great company.

Awesome evening.

#somuchtobethankfulforthissunday

D

The Globe Theatre

A fabulous night at the Globe Theatre. 

Local downtown theatre is always a treat. It's one if those things that I don't go to nearly enough and need to make he effort to support more regularly. Always amazed by the outstanding performances and shows.

D

Rye & Coke

It was Friday. A good day at work. MC duties for a performance at night. Come 10:00pm, I was ready to kick back and relax. Good friends, good fun, lots of laughs and the rye & Coke did flow.

Perfect way to cap off the night!

MC DB

Professional Development

Today was a good day for working. I was at an inservice for the entire day. Now usually I don't come away from full days like this as positive as I perhaps should, but today was how I should feel after every PD day. I took part in a literacy framework workshop and came away with some great ideas and info that I can implement with my classes immediately. And, as an added bonus, my teaching partner and I got the next few weeks planned out for our class that we co-teach! Woo hoo!

To make it even better we even got to go out for a nice lunch!

Looking forward to putting my new found knowledge into practice!

Darryl

Hockey night in Regina

At the Pats game tonight. Good way to spend the night with the kids. Good, fast, exciting game, mini donuts and an on the bench experience for my little man. 

GO PATS GO!

Db

March Madness

It's an annual tradition around my house. Just before the Mens NCAA Basketball Tourney starts, the kids and I fill out our bracket to see who will be the champion. It doesn't really matter who wins the tournament, but bragging rights do go to the one in our house who gets the most right picks in the 64 team tournament that eventually crowns the champion of the NCAA Basketball season.

 

Now let me tell you, if you have never filled out a NCAA basketball bracket before, there are many things to consider (especially for those of us who don't pay a lick of attention to the regular season!). Some things you must consider....

1. The win/loss record of the team

2. The geographical location of the team

3. The team name (pick the cool sounding ones)

4. The team city...is it a place you'd like to visit? Do you even know where the team is located?

5. Team logos

6. Team mascots

7. Whether or not you have visited that place before

8. Whether or not you'd like to visit the place the team hails from

9. Team colours

10. If they have any Canadians on their team

11. Whether it could be a big enough upset to help you win the bracket

12. Gut feeling

Yup, those are just a few things to consider. Now I don't want to give away all my trade secrets so we'll leave it at that.

You can see the gears working as Abi, Noah and I fill out our respective brackets. Then the bantering begins as we compare our picks. Trash talk, checking the scores and counting up the points we earn are all part of the fun.

Go Kansas!

D

Big Froggy

What else can I say? If this big green guy doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will! Huggable and always smiling. We could all learn a lesson from this guy hey Abi!

Never too old for this stuff,

D

Endless opportunities

I'm fortunate, very fortunate. As are my kids. You see, we have all the opportunities in the world. Sure, we'd all like to win that lottery and be able to do whatever we want, whenever we want, but the reality is, I have a good job that provides me and my kids with all that we really need to get by on and more. 

Whether it's sports, music, trips/holidays/vacations, our neighbourhood and our home, or simply the luxury of going to the grocery store and not really needing to think too much about what I can or can not afford to buy for the week. The fridge is always full, the bills are always paid, and we all have more than enough clothes on our backs to keep us warm and even fashionable. 

You see, it's more than the material things in thankful for today. It's about the opportunities that await us. The comfort of knowing that my kids and I will be able to pursue whatever avenue we wish. Sure we have a path that we are following and we know or at least have a pretty good idea of how and where we'll end up, but we also have the luxury of being able to change that course if we choose to do so. And that my friends is exciting!

So, dream big and take advantage of every opportunity that you encounter, because you never know where it may take you.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."

Dr. Seuss

Darryl

1st volleyball tournament

It was a full day! Games at 11:00, 1:00, 3:00 & 5:00. We didn't really know what to expect but both Abi and I were pleasantly surprised. It was a great day of volleyball for her first tournament. The Eagles ended up winning 2 and losing 2 against some very tough competition. I was so proud of Abi and the other Eagles as they worked hard and had a blast doing it together in a total team effort.

3 more games tomorrow to wrap up the tournament and I'm looking forward to seeing my girl in action again tomorrow as she gives it her all in the playoff round.

Go #12! Woohoo!

Sweet! Court side seats!

Go Eagles!

Darryl

Movie night with my special little guy!

So great to hang out with this little guy tonight. Daddy and Noah movie night. Popcorn, cuddling and a great movie (and educational to boot!). Perfect way to spend the night.

Check out the movie Woodlawn if you haven't seen it! Great show!

Blessed,

Darryl

Really good pizza and even better company

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. Delicious! Had the Siciliana and the Sweet BBQ pizza. There's nothing like a hand tossed, pizza oven baked authentic Italian pizza. 

Finally had the chance to check out this pizza place downtown with some amazing company. Good times, fantastic food and lots of laughs. Couldn't ask for a better way to spend a Thursday night.

D

Back to back hockey nights

Game 1 was Tuesday night. The result, a chippy, convincing win. We outskated, outshot and outmuscled, our opponent. And the best part (following the post game bevys) was that we'd get to lace up the blades again the following night.

Game 2, last night (that's my excuse for not having posted this yesterday!). Hard, hard skate against a tougher opponent. Good clean game. Unfortunately we came up a couple of goals short on the score sheet but none the less, a good game. And, let's face it, after a few pitchers and several pounds of wings, the end result of the game doesn't really matter.

Sleepy today,

DB6

That music you forgot about and rediscover

There are those songs that you'd forgotten about and for some crazy reason they pop out of the blue and you just have to play them over and over again, singing along as loud as you can in the kitchen while making supper. 

Sometimes they're classic rocking out tunes and other times they are those soft, soulful tunes that just make you feel good or make you remember all that you're thankful for. Yup, it was one of those days after work today. Here's a couple that I pulled out of the Bussiere playlist archives.

If you haven't seen the movie, watch it, it's a good one with some great songs. Then Google Williamette Stone and learn the story behind the music...makes me appreciate it even more.

Maestro D

Runs like these!

Cold + rain + mud + wind = a great day to do a hill workout! 

Some days you just look forward to your run no matter what Mother Nature decides to throw at you. Today was one of those days. Right from the get-go, I felt like a run. So, I packed my stuff, took it to work with me and had it in my head all day that regardless of the weather forecast, I was going to hit the trails. 

I slipped, slided, and did everything to stay in my feet as I navigated the trails up down and around Douglas Park Hill. And, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

Soggy, but satisfied,

Forrest Bussiere

"I just felt like running"

Forrest Gump

Sleeping in on a Sunday

Sometimes you really need it. The bed is so comfortable that you don't want to get out. Curled up like a cat, you enjoy the warmth of the bed and wake to the sun shining in the bedroom window. You have time before you have to do anything or be anywhere and you take advantage of every second, soaking it all in. It's a good place to be before you inch out to the day ahead. 

Enjoy!

Zzzzzzzzzz 

Darryl

Sunny Saturday!

The sun is shining, birds are singing, kids are playing in the park without their jackets, mitts and toques. I've gone for a great run (with great company), read a little, made a nice lunch, listened to some feel good tunes and get to watch my girl play bball and then I get to play hockey. What else could a guy ask for on a sunny, feel good Saturday?

DB

Getting paid to shop!

Hot off the heels of World Book Day, I thought I'd share my thankfulness for my job and what I get to do.

I took some time yesterday afternoon to do something that many people probably wish she'd got paid to do. SHOP! Uh huh, I spent about 90 minutes at a couple of book stores yesterday stocking up on some new titles for my library. Pretty good gig if I do say so myself! It was rough and tough but hey, somebody has to do it right?

The fruits of my labour.

#lovemyjob

Book buying extraordinaire,

Darryl

World Book Day

Ok, perhaps I'm a little biased, being a teacher-librarian and all, but regardless, I'm thankful for World Book Day. 

Yup, today is World Book Day so I hope you grabbed a book and took some time to read today. Something new, something old, something classic, something post-apocalyptic, it doesn't matter what you read, just read! It fuels your brain! Makes you smarter! Makes you wiser, more cultured! 

So grab a book. Read to yourself, read to your kids, it doesn't matter, just read!

Library ninja

Master Bussiere