From Doug

Hey everyone, since all of you have been posting like crazy I figured I should too!

Not a whole lot really new with me, except my jeep, it's pretty much my whole life... lol...



That's how she sits now, except there's some windshield lights that I just finished installing so I don't have a pic yet.

Other than my jeep, school's going good. I was really sick for the first 2 weeks of the semester and missed a lot of classes, but I'm better now. I had my first test this morning, it was for my human sexuality class and the test was really easy. Hopefully that trend will continue and I'll bring my marks up this semester. They're not bad but it'd be nice to be a bit higher and give me a better shot at getting into Physio.

That's pretty much it for me, I'm glad everyone seems to be doing well. Good work with the job and all your future plans ross, good to see you getting excited and ambitious at it.

Anyways, I'll talk to you later and hopefully see everyone soon!

Love,
Doug

Updates

Hello to all, nice to see all your updates, I think there is more on here this month than in the last 6 months. Mostly this is just for Ross. Buzzy we are all so proud of you. You have all of our love, and best wishes up there. I hope you are having some fun. Please be careful, take care of yourself. We would love to see some pics if possible. Not sure if you have much internet access though. I love to see your longterm plans. The house idea sounds cool. Take your time, your young and don't need to rush into anything that is going to tie you down. Make the money SAVE it and when the time is right you will be set. As for firefighting I like the idea of trying it out on a volunteer thing first. You so freaken smart some days it amazes me. Then there all the other days lol Just kidding. Hope all is going well up there and cant wait to see you and hear all about it when you get home. Lots of love Ashley and family

Riggin it.

Geoff! Don't ruin your life! go kick a ball around you can't waste this talent. man up!

I don't know whats goin on with anyone. I'm in red deer alberta, staying at an old army base, I go out to my Rig on friday or saturday, I'm saving 12 grand for firefighting school in texas. then saving 40-50 for a down payment on a house of my own in kelowna. then I'm going to do a paid on call firefighter for 6 months to a year before I decide whether I want to go to school or not and continue with firefighting. I should be able to make the money for school and a house by next summer, this money is going to be nuts! hope everyone is well, quick update because im in starbucks and I'll let you guys know whats next, update me on your lives please!

Love you guys more than you know! 

Ross

life today

hey folks.
rob, that suit is sweet, i have a similar one in my video game but yours is way cooler being real and all that.
jen, the kids look great, i hope things are going as good as they look. thanks for your help with the house. sorry things are going slow i haven't been all that on top of it but hopefully next week we can sort it out.
ashley and corey same to you guys and i hope things are going well.
mom i'm excited to see the new place when we move you next weekend.
ross i'm glad to hear you had your first scare and made it out without a scratch, i'm sure there will be more scares along your travels but hopefully you'll continue to walk away unscaved. i was talking to ashley about your firefighting idea and i think going to work on the rigs for a bit is a great idea to pay for it, i don't know if you're in a hurry to get into firefighting school but i was saying to ash that it might be a good idea for you to get into fighting forest fires for the summer to see if you like the whole firefighting idea, plus you'll get some experience and make some good jake too. just an idea. and it might help with your decision to pursue firefighting before dropping 8g on the course.
as for my crap. school is going pretty good. i have one reallly cool class where we just learn how to be good PE teachers. my other 3 courses are going to be ok but arn't as interesting. things with kristen are going pretty good. we don't see eachother as much now that we're in school but it's still good. you'll be suprised to hear that soccer hasn't been my entire life lately. haven't been as excited about it and i even got benched last weekend and only got about 15 minutes today. getting benched was a bit of a wake up call though, hopefully i'll get back into it soon. anyway just thought i should throw my two cents out there. love ya'll

Ross again.

WOW, the man's gettin serious about his hunting! such a cool suit! and Josh looks even better than Rob haha. I forgot to call on Katie's birthday! tell her I'm sorry and that she doesn't get her present until I see her, Kids are looking great Jen! 

 Ok, I leave sunday for red deer, do some training sorta stuff there for a few days and then I'm out to my first riggin job. I'm going to work the rigs until I make $8000 because thats how much the firefighters course is. oh yea, I was talking to Jen on the phone yesterday and she reminded me of how I wanted to be a firefighter since I was a kid. Being as I have no life and would still love to do it, I'm goin for it. So I'm workin the rigs, coming back here to Kelowna for snowboard season, while training to become a fireman (just by myself going to the gym to get ready) and then I'll try and enroll in the may program because i'll have gotten rid of my N and thats one of the requirements of the program. so looks like I'll actually be kinda busy for the next couple years, compared to the rest of my life anyways. 

I also have a biker story for you guys, don't worry, already told mom about it.

So, the other day, I was sitting at kate's place trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life, and I got really frustrated and decided to go for a ride. I was about half an hour in, riding on a back road to winfield, and I saw a rock about the size of a large grapefruit on the road, right then I realized that I wasn't paying enough attention to my riding because I was thinking about other things in life. and I've learned that when your riding, it's not like going out for a cruise in the truck to think and relax, it has to be all about the ride. anyways, I ride about another ten minutes and I'm back to thinking about life, when I round a slight corner, and BAM! just kidding. but I round this corner not paying enough attention and find myself drifting off the road into the gravel, there were cars infront of me, behind e and coming toward me. I skidded along a gravel truck rut for about 25 feet just trying to stay on my bike. I managed to keep it on two wheel and stay alive. but it really made me realize how important it is to stay focused. I was absolutely pissed off at myself! after all the traffic was gone I turned around and rode home and haven't ridden since, I told myself I wasn't going to ride untill I knew I could stay completely focused on my riding.  

One more thing! dirtbikes ride sitting up straight, feet under you, and cruisers ride sitting back stretched out feet up, and I feel like part of me not being able to stay on the road by just quickly turning back into my lane was my seating position. It's a really weird feeling to be sitting in the cruiser position and lean over into turns and it's also hard to do quick maneuvers, It made me feel like maybe I'd be better riding a crotch rocket just for the reason of how at home it feels because of dirtbiking. I'm not sure, but I sure wasn't happy with myself after that mess up! 

Life at the Funks

Hey All, just chatting with mom and she wanted some pics of Josh but I figured if I put them up here it would be better than emailing to her cause then you can all see.

I am glad we made it home to post these today after our adventurous hunting trip last night though!!! We ended up totally stuck with mud up to the bottom of the doors on my truck! Me, Rob and both kids, an hour from town at 7:00 at night... thank God I got cell service for a brief second and got a call out to Nicole and Troy who came and rescued us. Doug that streachy rope you were telling me about rocks - Troy had one and it pulled us out no problem and with no yanking to damage the trucks! There are two pics of Rob's new hunting suit as well - its hillarious - its called a Ghillie suit! He was hidding around the house and yard all day going "can you see me here?"

Anyhoo - here are a few recent pics of your nephew and some of Katie's birthday party yesterday morning. 10 girls, some sidewalk chalk, a skipping rope and hotdogs... it went really well though and Katie had a blast!

We are all doing awesome - wish fall temperatures werent here yet but we had a great summer so I cant really complain.

Ross I think the rig pig might be a really cool experience - you should give it a shot then come up here to visit after!

Rig pig

So, there happened to be a job fair in kelowna yesterday for a company called trinidad, their a rigging company, and I was one of the people they chose to hire. I'm supposed to go to red deer in about a week for a fitness test and to get my h2s, and then within a week from that they'll send me out to a rig. the lady is going to call me on wednesday to confirm everything, so I have until then to find a better job or I guess I'm gona have to be a rig pig for a bit... 

Hey just me again, here is another one, tis one is here in kamloops but again looks like something that might work for you. lots of different opptions Check it out.

http://www.tru.ca/tourism/adventure.html

Hey Ross, went on to the northern lights collage websit and saw this program, it is offered in tumbler ridge which is not ideal but the program looks cool. One of my business proffs, who has a double phd, use to be a rafting guide for 15 years and he said he loved it. anyways check it out.

http://www.nlc.bc.ca/public.program.php?ProgramActiveList=programdetails&ProgramID=77

here I am... uh oh, now where did I go?

 Hello family! well, Ash, I'm not one to go to school, or finish something I started, or stay in one place for more than a few months, BUT in your case, I would say the best thing for you personally would be to finish your schooling, help corey find something fun to do for the next few years. I've heard mom's story of how dad didn't let her finish school, and she still hates it, it would be a shame to see you leave it now.  I think for corey he needs a job where he has FUN! likes the people he works with and makes enough money to make it through the next few years, then once you've finished school, the kids are a bit older and as long as corey is ready, a move to fsj would be great, as you could both find good work, and the girls would have lots of friends. Jen always says how young the community is in fsj. ok that's my 2 cents.
Now, for myself... well here we go.Today, sept 6th, I'm at kate's place in Kelowna, I've been here for the past week, ever since she moved in, so i want to get out of her way for a bit, and let her get started in school without me in the way. I've been spending my days working on finding something to do with my life, literally putting in a full 8 hours searching the internet, calling places and writing down my options. I haven't had much luck, the plan was to go up north and make some money, but the only thing that looks at all promising is a land surveying job, the problem is it's not camp work so I'd have to get a place in fsj, and that's not so easy to do from kelowna. nor do I want to stay there for very long. So, after calling about 40 places all over b.c and alberta to find some camp work, nothing was looking very good, sure I got some b.s "yea it's very busy get up here right away" but nothing convincing in any way. So I started looking for other options, heavy equipment operator? I drove a little bobcat and an excavator about a month ago and it was fun! but when I looked into it, the shortest course is 5 weeks, but $9000-$10000. I'm not sure I want to spend that much when it's not something I know I'll enjoy. so now I'm kinda lost again, I'm going to look into the heavy equipment operator thing some more, I just want to get some direction and go for something. whatchya guys think? any ideas? 

I've been spending any extra time working on my truck and just playing with my truck, I got the bed Line-x'd the other day and it's great! looks awesome and is really nice to use. since i got new tires n wheels I've been having issues with rubbing, so i've spent alot of time making my wheels fit, still having issues, but I think I want to get a 3'' lift so that will get rid of the last little bit of rubbing. 

ok well, there's my huge post tell me what you think of my ideas when you get a chance!
Love you all very much! 

Ross 

September Update

So, it sure has been a while. I finally updated the book the other day and was going to send it to Ross, but he has no home at the moment so Well see where it goes. Wow what a crazy summer, I realized the other day that I did not go camping even once this summer, that really sucks. The other thing that really sucks is that I realized that after all that money we got, I am only slightley better off financially that I was a year ago. Man I would like to kick my own ass. I love my truck and I am very happy to be married but that money sure did not go as far as intended. Oh well its done now what can I do! So wanted to give a little uptade as to my life, corey and I were thinking about making some changes, I though we had kinda decided to but now were not so sure. He deffinatley needs to find a new job as he hates the one he has, but I dont think were gona move right now. In a way I would like to have a fresh start, try something new and have some fun, but I am also really enjoying school. I know that might sound crazy, but well I guess you all understand. After being back this week and going to all my classes I am really excited to be here. I am finally starting to feel like I am getting somewhere with my education. I think I am really going to enjoy this semester. I am doing a political science class, and also a business and ethics in society, which is a third year. they are both very interesting and the proffs are awsome. And with all this upcomming election stuff I think I am realy going to learn a lot.

So thats were I am, any input or thoughts would be great, stay in school and get through a few more years, or stop, try something new, see where the road takes us and try to get back to school later? What say you??????

Well I hope you are all doing well, Mom I cant wait to come see your place, 15 more days. Ross where are you? Love you all lots.
Ashley

Mr Joshua Funk

So now that you guys have all seen him in person I finally get around to posting some pics... they are pretty cute though so I will put some up anyways. I cant wait to see your wedding pics Ash - post some as soon as you get them kay? I had such a good time at the wedding - Ashley you looked absolutely stunning, there's no other suitable description, I was blown away. You guys will do so well together. Geoff good job MCing - you did awesome, I was very impressed. I had a great time dancing with all of you guys, Corey, Doug and Ross can cut the rug pretty good too! well, we all can really! Anyways, here's a few shots of our boy.

Pictures please jen and rob

Hey guys, So I know its only been a couple of days, and I think it took me a week, but I really want to see some pictures. Rob I think that would be a great job for you. Congratulations Jen and Rob, I am so happy for you and I hope everything is and continues to go great. I wanted to send flowers but I am so broke none of my credit cards work so get katie to go pick some for me okay, thanks. I am so excited to get to see him in June, I cant wait.
Well I am on here, I am wondering if you all can post any songs that you can think of to give to my DJ for the wedding. I am not very good with music and I want there to be good dancing. So that would be great. Well thats all for now, hope everybody is doing well. love ya all lots.. and lots.... Ashley

Update

well i'm glad to hear everything is going well for you ash! i'm super excited for your wedding to come see you guys and the girls especially with kaylee walking and also see jen rob and katie. i even started looking into what that whole MC business is and writing a couple thoughts down. should be good fun.

i'm doing really well. work is pretty standard, i got a raise a couple months ago but unfortunately it just goes right into my lovely gas tank. i work for 2 bosses back and forth. easy and boaring with one boss and more fun but hard work with the other, it's a toss up so the balance is nice. and i'm getting lots of hours in.

Soccer is over for a couple weeks, we did pretty good but fell just short of being the best amateur team in western canada, so are probably second or top three at least, too bad. summer soccer should be fun though and it will be nice to get a bit of a break.

The truck is doing great except for a break squeak that is pretty much fixed. i also took off the running boards so they don't get in the way 4x4ing. i also got a jack and axle stands and rotated the tires and cleaned all the breaks. kinda fun taking care of the pickup.

Things with the girl are going really well too, spending probably too much time together and having lots of fun. we were actually talking about going to puerto vallarta mexico in early june which would be the first real vacation of my life! then come back nice and tanned for the wedding. i figure that should be a couple nice vacations in june.

As far as the money goes i'm going to go what i call "jew style on it's ass" meaning i won't be playing with much if any of it. doug and i were talking about maybe trying to buy a condo but we'll see how that goes.

Hello to all

Hey everybody, seems like it's been a while. I talk to Jen often and doug on occassion but you two little boys(ya I know you not little or boys) I have no idea. How is everything going? What are you all up to? For me the same old, being a mom, trying to get through school. Exams are killer right now. I cant wait till be done for a few weeks. I am doing courses all summer though so I wont be off for long. It should be a crazy summer with the wedding on the weekend following the final exam for one of my summer courses and then 2 more classes starting on the moday after. I will be glad to get out of school sooner though.

Kids are doing great, Emily is so much fun, she is so independent and able to do so much we are having a lot of fun . Kaylee is walking everywhere. She is so happy having that freedom, You should see her smile when she comes walking over, it just lights up the room.

I stoped by and talked to the university tax prof, and asked him about tax rates on the rest of the money. He said that there are no special rates for something like that and that it will just be taked at the exact same rates as if it were a persons annual income. What is everybodys plan with all that money. I am sure Jen and I can make it disseapear fast but how about you guys? No debt, no bills or responsibility, what are your plans? Any thoughts yet?

Well anyways thats all for me. Hope all is going well. Love ya all lots Ashley

Italy

Hi all, I want to say thank you for a fabulous trip. I have never had such an incredible expereince. This is my second try at getting this blog done, I tried to put some picture up for you to see but somehow lost what I had written. If it works this time I will put up a picture of the view from out B&B in Ravello and some of the other sights. Now I have it!!The cooking and wine tasting tour was a fabulous way to end the trip. It was soo much fun and I know how to make fresh pasta so once I get a pasta machine I will make you some.

One of the most interesting things I saw was the vehicles, how they drive and the roads. Actually it was not scarry at all. The roads are very narrow and windy but the drivers seem very competant and patient.

This is one of the turns that the bus went around and the cars had to stop and wait so they could get past.

Next stop Rome. The coloseum was only a few blocks away. We walked around it -Twice!!

There is so much tosee in Rome. We did go through the Vatican museum and saw the Sistine chapel. It was incredible.

We also stood inthe pouring rain and heard the Easter mass with the pope and heard him speak. We could see him quite a ways away but were close to one of the viewers. Got soaking wet but it was an incredible experience to be there.

This is the kitchen and out dinner after the pasta making lesson. The lady is Chrisiana and she made this for us then cooked our pasta and had desert for us too. This was a great was to end the trip. Thank you all so much. i took 400 photos so will get working on getting as many as I can on CDs for you.

Its a Boy!!!

Hey everyone - Katie and I are still in Edmonton, just had the baby ultrasound done today and its a boy... Rob had to go to camp and so couldnt come with us, so I thought I'd post a few of the pics and then he can see his son and you guys can all check out your soon to be nephew! It's pretty cool this ultrasound thing they do, some of the pics have alot of fuzzy stuff in them but there are some pretty good views of various body parts and some really cute face ones. Hope you all enjoy. Love ya Rob...

Jen

Dougie Fresh

Hey guys, I'm sitting at home enjoying the long weekend and being bored so I thought I'd write a little update on my life. I actually just read through the entire blog, all our old entries, man we have some crazy lives but it's so cool to look back at where we all have been over the last year and a bit that we've had this.

So I'm almost done my 4th year of school, feels so weird to say that. But unfortunately I'm not graduating quite yet, I have to take 4 more courses next year just one semester from Sept to Dec and then I'm done! I will then apply to physiotherapy and have about 8 months off before that starts to take some time away from school.

2008 is turning out to be a pretty good year so far for me. Schools going pretty well, I'm taking 5 courses for the first time ever but its going very well, I'm hoping to boost my GPA a little after this semester. And I have less than 3 weeks to go before it's finals and then SUMMER!!!


Just in case you're all wondering, my Jeep is doing terrific, I named it Lucy! Haven't done any 4x4'ing lately cuz I'm short on money and time, but I will be doing as much as I can this summer...

Oh and since you asked Ashley, about the pension money were waiting for...

John (our lawyer) has been waiting for a letter from the Pension people saying that we will for sure be getting the money, once that arrives he will send a copy of it with a letter to both credit cards. There is a bit over $7,000 in credit card debt that needs to be paid off. So what we have to do is ask them not to protest the will being probated, if they protest me being appointed executor, we have to do something called making bond or being bonded or something? I'm not sure what it means but it will cost money and take longer. Then once the will is probated I can set up an estate account, and the pension money will be deposited in there. From there we have to pay debts, do the taxes, and then disperse the rest of the money.

Since we hadn't heard anything new from the pension people since that whole thing with Karin, I called them last thursday, and it turns out they have taken care of everything and actually sent me a letter about 3 weeks ago that I never received. The letter is being re-sent and it has all the information in it so I will take it to the lawyer as soon as it comes in. It basically says that there's no claim from Karin and it has the amount of the pension we will be receiving.

Well I guess that's it from me... I guess I'll see all of you in June at the wedding! I'm planning a big road trip for July some time. Gonna try to take 10-12 days, drive up to williams lake and stay there for a couple days, hang out with the old crew, do some 4x4'ing and partying. Then I'll head up to Fort St John and stay with you guys up there for a while, hopefully a whole week if I can get enough time. But thats quite a ways away so I'll keep you posted.

Alright I'm off now, talk to you soon!
Love,
Doug

Mom's in italy

Hey all, I forwareded the emial to jen and doug but i figured I would update on here just in case, Mom sent me an e-mail form Italy, They are having a blast, She found an internet cafe and stoped by. They spent a day shopeing and went on a scary bus ride. She said that the streets are so narrowthe bus honks before going around a corner and sometimes has to stop so a car can go pased. Sounds like she is enjoying herself. I will keep this updated as I hear more.

As for Us we are doung well. Money sucks, trying to pay for the wedding and the stupid car wont sell. But what can I do but bitch and complain. So Doug, any time with that pension money would be great. lol ya I know you ned it more that I do. The new truck is great. There is pics of it and the dog on facebook, so Geoff you can go and see them. The truck is an 02, but it's only got 64 000 kms, It shte sport edition but with the larieme interior, so leather, heated seats, fully loaded, adjustable peddles, the works. we love it. Gone mudding a few times, we will need to lift it sometime down the road, but for now we just have to be careful.

The girls are great, Oh I wish I was at home I would post a pic, I'll put one on facebook tonight. Last night I went in to check on emily befor I went to bed, she was sound asleep on the top of her dresser. So cute. When I asked her about it this morning, She said it wasent very comfertable but that she used her dress for her head. I guess if she can sleep on there for a few hours with out falling off she should be allright on a loft bed. Kaylee is gong to walk at any moment. She stands herself up all the time just inthe middle of the room, but hasent yet taken that step.

Well thats all for now. Hope everyone is doing well. Love ya all lots Ashley

Long Lost Update

Hey guys! figured I'd join the world again... its friday night, Rob is out with the guys, Katie is sleeping and I am killing time on the computer instead of doing homework or cleaning like I probably should be. So I will try to post a few pics of the farm although I dont have high hopes for it all working out - there is not much moving on our house and I dont know if we will be able to sell it in time before our offer on the farm runs out. Add to that shit keeps breaking and we are back into debt again so if Rob doesnt keep busy we wont be able to afford it anyways. Wow - I sound positive dont I? Lol.

Love the pics of the jeep - they look great, sounds like you had a blast 4x4 ing - even if you did get stuck! I have fond memories of times like that!


Not a whole lot new up here, finally warming up and the snow started to melt today, work is going well. Glad to be done orientation - I dont like learning anymore I have decided! I still miss the adrenaline of ICU in penticton but the OR is fun too, and there are some really interesting things some days. The hours make it pretty hard to complain!

Katie is doing great - sooooooo excited for the baby, hope she is not too dissapointed at first cause a brand new baby wont be much fun for her for a while. Looks like we wont be able to sex this one - the place that used to do it in Grande Prairie shut down so we'll just have to do it the old fashioned way and find out when it arrives! I know you boys all want a weenie on it so hopefully...

Gonna go in soon and book the last of the transfers for mom's trip... Doug you still owe me $700, thanks Geoff for getting me your share and part of Dougs. I will get tickets and hotel confirmation stuff to you sometime soon mom - everything is electronic now, so the travel agent can prob just email it all.


Well - I'm off for now. Miss you all and cant wait to see you all at Ash's wedding.


Ross thanks for coming up to visit and help out - it was great to have you - even if you did rat bag my truck.....

Love You All!
Jen

less northern crew

ashley that goes for you too. what's the deal with this new truck? does it have four wheel drive or is it a pavement princess? unbelievable the lack of posts while major events occur. unbelievable. give your head a shake

lots of love!

northern crew

hey jen if you think just cuz you're a preggo you're off the hook you can think twice, lets hear about this house situation and about the house itself and maybe get some pics up ASAP. you'll smarten up if you know what's good for ya

love ya lots!

happy truckin new years

Well know you guys all know about my truck that i am in love with. anyway after spending the day today with a very grouchy and hung over girlfriend i met up with doug and our new roomate mark. this was supposed to be a nice tuesday evening drive in the dirt and snow. we went out to stave lake near mission and all was going well until we went into a place that we found out later is called "no mans land" because nobody goes out there (although there were tracks from other trucks). anyway so we're driving around playing and doug decided to head into a river bed that turned out to be super soft mud and sand, naturally doug sank right to the frame like a brick in water. but luckily we both have tow hooks and doug had bought a strap just in case. so we get all hooked up, im right in the river and start to pull. and we got him a little ways out but i also started to sink so we stoped. i got out and re adjusted onto some firmer ground (so i though) but now i'm at a bit of an angle. so i'm pullin away and getting nowhere fast but i can still move around a bit, eventually however after enough pulling, sure enough i sink to the frame. now we're facing away from eachother and both of us are spinnin like crazy. Better get help... there's people over on the other side of this big area so we hike in our running shoes out to the road and walk about half an hour to find these people. one of them had a Really done up Dodge dakota and another had a stock Ram. so they come out with us and sure enough just getting to where doug was the fully jacked 4x4 machine gets stuck.. now we're 3 trucks stuck and the ram is totally stock. So the ram pulls out the dakota with a few huge slamming tugs and we're set to try again. now the guy in the hug dakota wants to try and pull both trucks out at the same time.. failed. we end up having to cut the strap from the ranger to the jeep because it's too tight to take off and we can't move the trucks. after 2 huge tugs that nearly tore my tow hooks off my truck this guy gets the ranger out with minor damage. now for the jeep which is even more stuck. they attach two straps and go for a huge pull. first stap breaks. now we're down to 2 cut/broken straps and one good one. so this guy has to get a run at it so he doesn't chew the mud up and sink again. sure enough after 2-3 twenty foot runs, hammer down the jeep finally pops out of the mud and gets dragged back 40 feet onto solid land. the jeep also suffers some minor damage and needs to get checked out by a jeep tech/mechanic. lesson learned? hopefully.