Buzzing the House

Hi there Everyone! Brockie here with Erica too. Today we finally got to go flying with Dad. Last year we flew to Quebec City in the big jet which was fun, but this time we managed to hitch a ride in Jan's new plane (he lives just around the corner from us).

Dad and Jan went to Calgary to pick up the new 'Bug Smasher' - that's what Dad calls it. It's a really cool plane and you get to wear a fancy headset to talk to each other. We flew out of the Edenvale airport which is near Collingwood and Wasaga Beach <~ that's a fun place too by the way! 

We took the direct route to home - 'as the crow flies' is what Dad said, but to tell you the truth, I really don't think that crows fly all that straight, so I'm not buying into it... Once we saw our house the plane started to get lower and lower... "Dad we're going down!" I shouted.  This reminded me of the Madagascar scene where Skipper says "The good news is we're landing, the bad news - we're crash landing!! I guess he knew what he was doing because we leveled off just in time to buzz the house as Dad yelled "Everyone wave at Mom!" Mom was standing in the yard waving back at us.  We did a couple of low passes just to make sure she could see us too.  "Very cool Dad, but how did she know?"   "I sent her a text a few seconds ago Brockie." he explained.  "Dad - If you're not supposed to text while driving, I'm sure you shouldn't be doing it while flying!" 

Jan knows a really nice guy with a runway in his farm field only a minute or two from our home. He and Dad cooked up the idea to drop Erica and I off there at the farm while they flew the plane back up to Edenvale to store it in the hangar where it would be safe in the event of a storm overnight.  Wow, the farm field was really short and bumpy compared to the big runway we took off from.  But Dad and Jan got us down safely and into Mom's taxi service so that we could get home quickly to do some skating on the driveway with our brand-new boards... 

... Mission Accomplished

The Best Christmas Ever!

Note from Dad:  Brock wrote most of this one himself, yay! ...

My Christmas holiday was fantastic this year because I got to spend lots of time with my family.  My two cousins Sam and Natalie came to visit in the afternoon and we opened tons of cool presents together.  Uncle Brett and Auntie Mia always overdo the stocking stuffers!  But I didn’t complain :)  Grandpa also came over after lunch but Grandma wasn’t feeling very well so she had to stay home.  But we took some pictures and emailed them to her during the day so that she could enjoy the special time with us too. 

We're waiting for mom to come downstairs - Hurry Mom!

The gang is all here!

We had to take turns opening our presents and my Dad said that we had to wait ten minutes after each present to open another one.  He really wasn’t being difficult, he just wanted the fun to last longer.  Even so, Erica and I were not very happy with the plan!  I got a new West 49 t-shirt and lots of other cool stuff like a pillow-pet and a new clock for my room that projects the time on the ceiling.  But the best thing of all was a new CD player from Santa.  Erica got one too but mine is bigger and louder… so mom says.  I also got a new Lego fire truck and my sister got a tea cup piggy – the fire truck is way cooler! 

Hey, Santa speaks French too!  

We had turkey and ham for dinner on the new tablecloth that Grandma made for us.  Everything looked really great and dinner was delicious. We even sent a care package home with Grandpa – we missed you Grammie!  

I think this was the best Christmas ever! 

He shoots - He scores!

It’s Brockie here!  Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve added any new stories to my blog. Life gets pretty busy when you’re almost 9 years old! 

Let me tell you, it sure is great to be finished school for the summer and Erica and I have been quite busy with swimming lessons and visiting the ice cream shop next door (my favourite flavour is triple-chocolate-brownie). Oh ya, I just finished another great season of ball hockey which I should tell you about: 

This year I played for the Canadians which is really cool because Montreal is my favourite NHL team.  Dad says there were a few scouts in the stands watching all the action as the Canadians played.  He also said that if I run really fast, I might be the next Guy Lafleur or Rocket Richard – I have no idea where he gets these weird names from but if they’re half as good as Sidney Crosby, then I guess that would be okay. 

Dad and I practice on the driveway where I take shots on him – he thinks he’s a really good goalie but the truth is, my slapshot is just too much for him!  One of the moves that we have been practicing is the breakaway shot, and in the final game of the season: the Canadians playing the Flames (which is Nicole’s team) I had two amazing scoring opportunities:  Check out the video below of me and look out Gretzky because here comes BWT (Brockie-Walkie-Talkie) … dad says Gretzky was another really good player … though I’ve never heard of the guy.

Unfortunately, the Flame's goalie was a brick wall and I couldn't get the ball by him so we finished in second place overall. I sure had fun this year though and Dad says I might be able to play ice hockey this fall as well - Yipeee!

We also stayed downtown at the Royal York hotel in Toronto earlier this year which was really fun.  It’s a very old building and our room had a great view of Union Station and Lake Ontario but the best part was all the tunnels underground that lead to other fun places in the city - like the Hockey Hall of Fame.  While Erica and Mom went shopping, Dad and I went to see Lord Stanley’s cup! 

At the hall of fame we saw all kinds of cool things and I learned a few of the great player’s names from the past.  Did you know that long ago the goalies didn’t wear facemasks?  That’s like riding in a car without a seatbelt on!  How did these people ever survive?   Did you also know that there are actually three Stanley Cups?  The first one is the original, which was retired after 71 years of use and is now displayed in the vault at the hall of fame. The second is the official SC and the third is a replica which stands in for the official cup when it is removed from the hall for a function. 

We caught up with Mom and Erica outside the Eaton Centre where we helped a lady with her sidewalk drawing and that was a lot of fun.  Next we had lunch at Mr. Greenjeans where they make really good milkshakes.  Dad and Erica like chocolate and I always go for strawberry while mom says they’re too fattening and sips her lemon water. 

If you think that is a full day of fun, we actually started off in China Town where I bought this cool LA Kings jersey with my Tooth-Fairy money.  Mom and Dad say we’re going to Ottawa later this summer where the museums all have free admission which is probably a good thing because unless I lose a few more teeth soon, I’ll be flat broke!

- Mission accomplished - Brockie out

Who`s afraid of the Dark...

Last fall, Erica and I went camping in the backyard with our Dad (his name is Dad). The weather man said it was supposed to rain that night but we had good weather for our camp fire. We roasted weenies and marshmallows on sticks that we found on the ground.  Dad said this was just like living in the WILD!  We thought it was really cool to camp in the wild.  Cool that is until Dad told us about a big scary monster called BIGFOOT!!!  While Erica and I were in the tent putting on our pajamas, Dad said he took this picture... 

We think he was just telling us a big story but one can never be too careful, so after dinner we picked up all our garbage, put it in a plastic bag and hung it high-up in a tree so the animals (Bigfoot) wouldn`t be able to reach it while we were asleep. We also brought glow-sticks to play with when it got dark and it was fun to throw them way up high, they looked like shooting stars as they fell back down.

We stayed up very late telling more stories and playing Eye-Spy but after a while, we fell asleep and Dad made sure we were all tucked in.

It sounds really neat when the rain falls on the tent and morning came early, but not before the THUNDERSTORM !   The wind started to blow really strong and the tent almost blew across the yard.  We decided to head for higher ground and it`s a good thing because Dad was really scared.  I don`t really remember that clearly, but I think I had to carry him back to the house.  Mom doesn`t camp out with us but she`s always there with a cup of hot chocolate for each of her brave campers when it all falls apart.

As for Bigfoot, I bet it took him all day to dry off...

- Mission accomplished - Brockie Out

Erica springs back

Every winter we build a big skating rink in our backyard, it even has a Christmas tree in the middle with lights and decorations.  The water truck comes to fill it up and then we can go skating.  It's a lot of fun to go skating with Erica, Mom and Dad. Sometimes Dad and I play hockey and pass the puck around but he's worried that my wicked slapshot might break a window.  We also like to build gigantic snowmen when there is good packing snow.  Some times the snowballs get so big I can't even push them anymore, but Dad always helps to lift them on top of each other and Mom supplies the carrot for the nose while Erica collects sticks and a scarf to keep Frosty's neck warm.  Mom also makes hot cocoa when we are finish making our snowmen and that sure tastes good!

But after a cold winter it's also nice to see the new flowers popping up in our garden and even though that means no more skating or snowmen, spring is lots of fun too and it reminds me of another exciting story.

One of the first jobs we do in the spring is to clean-up all the sticks that fell over the winter - including poor Frosty's arms :(    He'll be back next year though so don't worry.  We also roll the lawn in the spring and that is lots of fun because sometimes I get to drive the tractor while Dad watches very closely.

We did have a bit of trouble while rolling the lawn last year, when I almost ran over my sister.  The roller is very heavy and I might have squashed poor Geke had I actually hit her.  It was a very close call for sure and the stress of the moment caused poor Erica to faint.  I had to quickly run to get the emergency response team.  Fortunately, I always have my ambulance and oxygen mask ready for action.

Due to the quick response time and my highly tuned first-aid skills, Erica pulled through to see another winter.  We were very lucky this time and after all the action Mom ran a hot bubble bath for the two of us and we washed all the excitement away...

Clean as a whistle

- Mission accomplished - Brockie out

Struck by Lightning

I want to tell about the amazing friends that I met the other day.  It all started in the graveyard behind our house.  Now, I know what you are thinking, graveyards are spooky places, but the one where I live is only scary on Halloween night.  I was wandering through the graveyard looking for a mouse believe it or not; after all, it was lunch time and I hadn't eaten since yesterday.   For the moment though, I was sitting in a tree pondering my next move when two kids came strolling around from the other side of the church.   They startled me a bit but I tried to hide it because most people will tell you that I am indeed a very 'cool cat'. Actually, I always look forward to meeting new people and I've seen these two troublemakers before in their backyard which as far as I can tell, always involves a great adventure of some sort.  

Do I look startled?

They walked over to the sidewalk to chat with one of the ladies in the neighbourhood and I watched from my hiding place. But it's hard to sit still when your curious and my sudden movement caught their attention.  "Hey Brockie, look at the cute cat in the tree over there."

Cat? Where?  I don't see a cat...

My plan was foiled so I jumped down to introduce myself...

Hey kid, is that a ball in your hand?  How'd you like to throw that for me?

I played with Brock and Erica and then someone mentioned the word 'snacks' so I followed them home for a bite to eat.

We played all afternoon and they named me Lightning since I could run circles around them both.  But that takes a lot of energy and I had a short nap while the team ate dinner (they did throw me a few scraps of roast chicken though).  Now, I'm fairly young and generally unaware of my surroundings but no one told me about 'Cinder' .... I get the feeling she calls the shots over there... 

Oh, I'm so pretty... Who on earth is that 'other' cat?!

Sadly, things didn't go too well between Pinder and myself... "It's Cinder, you creep!"  but she disappeared after I got an ear-full.

I played with Brock and Erica until the sun went down and their mom called them in for bedtime.  That sure was a lot of fun and I'll be sure to swing by for another visit.  Maybe I'll bring my boxing gloves though, just in case the frisky little grey and white number make another appearance... yikes!

See you again soon Brock and Erica... 

Your good friend Lightning.

Meow!