Wednesday 9 July 2008

Kids, Crafts, Hockey and Horse riding

Hey folks

So it has been ages since we last posted something about our adventures (and this post has taken us about 4 weeks to write, as we have been catching moments as we get them). So we will try and keep this brief and tell you the main bits. We are now at Teen Ranch and having a whole different adventure. We now have our own room with a queen size bed and our own bathroom, it is blissful! The tent has been aired out and is safely packed away until September.

Mum, Dad and Sarah came out for a visit which was amazingly good but we only saw them for a couple of days so it was sad again when we said goodbye.

The other sad thing was Johnny wasn't able to come as he was best man at a wedding and he got himself yest another promotion at the Hilton!!!! Can you tell I am so chuffed... that is 2 promotions in 9 months, well done wee man! Sarah was at another camp for 2 weeks and so we also got to see her last weekend.
Sarah, me and two cute bunnies

We had such a good time and our friend Drew took us to Toronto and let's just say we had a very different day which included visiting a funeral parlour and seeing our first dead body!!! We will tell you about that when we get home or you can quizz Sarah the next time you see her.
Sarah and Drew (notice the coffin beside them, don't worry no one was in that one!)


The old folks were grand and we went to Niagara Falls with them which was great.

You can go behind the falls in tunnels that they have carved out and you get totally soaked as the falls are right in front of you. There is only a tiny fence so I am not sure how safe it is but hey ho. Gav was very excited to introduce his father in law to the famous Tim Horton Donuts and so they had a good bonding session over coffee and donuts!

I have been getting in some horse riding which has been wonderful. I took Gav out a few weeks ago now and it was great fun. He even managed to canter so I was so proud of him. I was on a horse called Rocket which is known by all to be a bit mental and very fast (as his name suggests) so Gav did good to hang on to his horse while I tried to keep mine from bolting off with me!!!
Me and Rocket

However, two weeks ago I had a pretty bad fall (I still can't walk very fast!!) but I didn't break anything which was a blessing. I was riding a very young horse and he had a bucking fit which my friend described as "brutal". I am only glad he didn't trample me. For once I wore a helmet and it was just as well as my head also whacked the ground with a thud. Hee hee, the joys of horse riding! I am hoping to get back on this week at some point so lets hope it is a better experience.

Gav has also found out that he has a talent for ice hockey and has become a goal keeper! They were down on staff the first week we were here so asked Gav if he would help out and go in goals. Gav being the kind man he is said "sure no problem" but failed to mention that he had never played and couldn't ice skate! So his debut involved getting Kevin (a professional ice hockey player) to push him to the goals..... you can imagine the opposing teams smiles as they watched this. However, they quickly disappeared as it turns out Gav has a natural talent and the craziness to stop the pucks flying into his head! So he has been asked back every day since then!!!! There is one funny story however.. a famous hockey player called Mike Gartner (google him to find out how good he is!) was down playing for a couple of days and Gav is again in goals. Mike shoots the puck and Gav manages to save it (the luck of the Irish!). Mike comes down the wing again and shoots again and Gav saves again. Gav then shouts to him "Is that all you've got?!!" That was when the director of Teen Ranch told Gav who he was!
Isn't he mean!


There have been many nights of dress up to entertain the kids that are here and so many laughs have been had. The most recent was to dress up as your nationality. I can tell you right now Gav did the Irish proud and came to dinner as a leprachaun. It was a very interesting outfit.


Hope you are all doing well and we will try and post again soon.
Love
Gav and Jess

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey guys!

Well worth the wait for that blog! Jess i do hope you have managed to get back on that horse! All i can see is a Leprechaun goalie playing for the mighty ducks in the odessey in belfast...possibly a change of career when you get home?!!! Very interesting about the dead body..cant wait to hear more (about how you ended up seeing it...not what it looked like..yuck!)

Much Love
Nic xx

Anonymous said...

Hi to both of you,

It sounds like you are having so much fun over there. Not sure about the coffins and dead bodies, certainly different!! I think I would have been having nightmares after that!! Seems like Gav has a natural talent for ice hockey, even though he cannot skate, how cool. Hope you manage to get horse riding again though. Will email you with more news, we have just come back from our hols up North and I am just updating our blogs, will send you links when done.

Take care
Jill

Anonymous said...

How much fun you guys are having!!!! It all look so amazing. Jess, i hope you are doing much better now after your fall, poor you.
Lots of love,
Jude

Anonymous said...

Hello again
It all sounds great apart from the coffins & the horsefall
Take Care & enjoy every moment
Love
Lizbeth

Penny Sim said...

Just caught up with you both again and well worth the wait. I had actually wondered if you had returned home again but I see the tent is packed up until September so presumable you are either homeward bound then or off somewhere else. Anyway you look as if you are continuing to make the very most of your experience - which is great.

I bet it was great to have your folks visit you Jess. Not enough time though to share all your travellers' tales. In fact we are finding that some of the best stories only resurface a few weeks after the return home - and you have been gone for such a long time now.

I am looking forward to the next instalment and send fond greetings to you both. Continue to enjoy!

Penny xxx

Anonymous said...

Good Times!! Shame i never got round to hijacking your blog,mwa ha ha!Wish i was back there but will have some more treats in london town for you...promise no dead bodies though(as long as your nice!)...love you!!!!
sarah xxxxx

Anonymous said...

Jess, your mother here: were you really wearing a helmet??? Or are you just saying that on the blogg because you know we would see it???? And who is this guy in green shorts you have been spotted with?

tehe, lots of love!
PS: Take care and wear a helmet, not just a cowboy hat!!!

Anonymous said...

WHAT WAS THAT YOU HAD ON GAV THE LEAST YOU COULD OF HAD ON WAS A NICE NORTHERN IRELAND TOP!!!!!

THANKS FOR ALL THE PHONE CALLS IT MEANS A LOT TO ME

STAY SAFE

KYLE