Gutfreund Family Adventures

Christmas 2011

2011-12-11T09:29:00.005-07:00

Smaller house, much more cozy. :-)
Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree...

And the fireplace...

and the TV....( with our roaring fire...) :-)

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a great Holiday season.

Happy Birthday John!

2010-09-21T23:24:00.002-06:00

Lots of love and hugs from your family!!!!!

Susan's Birthday 2010

2010-08-15T21:32:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Sue... Love, from all of us.

Our Pond in Action

2010-07-29T20:54:00.001-06:00

Well here is our pond in all it's glory, I'd sure like to get a screen saver of it.

Sherrie's Backyard Color Part 3

2010-07-29T20:49:00.002-06:00

Sherrie's Backyard Color Part 2

2010-07-29T20:45:00.001-06:00

Sherrie's Backyard Color

2010-07-29T20:41:00.002-06:00

Here are some of the blossoms that are loving the heat as of late.

Backyard Reno's

2010-07-11T14:40:00.003-06:00

Here is the back fence that we put up. Put in the posts with cement and then screwed the cedar panels to them.

Yard Reno's

2010-07-11T14:34:00.004-06:00

Well, we made a couple of changes in the backyard this weekend.

We adjusted the fishpond to add in a couple of extra tiers to the waterfall, nice little change.

More of Mom's Renos

2010-07-09T22:29:00.003-06:00

This one shows the kitchen floor and the hallway with baseboards.

This one shows some of the kitchen baseboards and the porch floor.

This one shows the kitchen floor and baseboards.

And here are some of Mom's flowers. Poppies galore.

Mom's Reno's

2010-07-08T22:28:00.006-06:00

Well, blood sweat and tears (and numerous additions to the english language that will not be mentioned) and finally the finished product.

We've put in vinyl flooring, painted walls and ceilings and put in baseboards. Along the way we replaced the main farm water pump, fixed a couple of leaky pipes and re-plumbed in the toilet. (sh***y job, but someone had to do it) :-)

Anyway, without blowing our own horns, we're pretty darn proud of the result.

Here are some pictures and more to come.

Car -vs- Tree

2009-10-22T18:58:00.006-06:00

Ok, so the phone rings, and wakes me up, at 12:40am.

It's Stefan on the phone and he says he's been in an accident with his car and he hit a tree.

Rule #1: The tree will always win...

And it doesn't have to be a big tree, and you don't have to be going very fast.

Thank God, and seatbelts...

2009-08-17T11:47:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Sue, best wishes, Love and many more from John, Sherrie and Family.

Family Reunion

2009-07-13T12:14:00.004-06:00

On June 20th we finally were lucky enough to have our whole family together for some fun and picture taking.

Back row - Uncle Gordon,Ben,Stefan,Jerahmiah,John,Jim, Chelsea Valerie,Brian

Middle row - Susan,Matyna,Sherrie,Holly,Dad,Grannie,Mom

Front row - Emily,Owen

Mom, Grandma and Dad

John, Jim, Susan and Valerie

Matyna, Stefan, Jerahmiah, Chelsea, Owen and Emily

We all had a great time even though the temps for that day were very,very warm. At least it wasn't cold and rainy like it was on Sunday. Managed to pick the right day for the family fun!

Pond, Day 2

2009-07-05T12:28:00.005-06:00

Ok, just when you thought the pond was finished, the boss decides that it's waterfall time. :-)

Making the mound and putting in the upper pond and fall.

Gotta get some cedar mulch in to keep the weeds down and the yard mud free.

Not quite finished yet, but stay tuned, there's more to come. (if our backs hold out)

Backyard Pond in Progress

2009-07-05T12:09:00.009-06:00

Well here we go, excavating the backyard, building out own piece of paradise as we can't afford to travel to one. :-)

Bit by bit it starts to take form.

Now the pond liner, rocks to hold it in place and some bricks to surround it.

Of course we have the foreman on the job too. Makes the job stressful. ;-)

Now finish the rocks and start the water to set the liner.

Gettin' dark, better call it a day.

Gettin' Old

2009-04-22T15:50:00.004-06:00

I haven't added anything lately, and I finally have a second to breathe, so I thought I'd add a couple of entries.

The first one is a picture of me and all my grey hair. This is what happens when you take on a managment position, or was it when all of your kids hit the teen years. Either one can be traumatic. :-)

The other one is a cute picture of the owls that visit the College. Gotta love the spring.

Anyway, hope you enjoy, and have a great spring.

Happy New Year from our families to yours!

2008-12-31T14:55:00.005-07:00

Winter is here in Alaska

2008-10-07T17:32:00.006-06:00

I complain allot about the snow but for the most part I love the way everything looks so clean and if we could find away not to have the ice and the brutal temperatures I would be perfect.

Stefan's Graduation

2008-07-02T08:38:00.003-06:00

Well folks, one down and two to go. Stefan has graduated from Grade 12 at Medicine Hat High School.

Here are a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Matyna and Skeena

2008-06-10T09:46:00.002-06:00

Well, we're moved in and getting settled, a bit to go, but here's Matyna and our new addition Skeena, named after the river in Terrace, BC. Both kinda cute. :-)

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

2008-05-08T17:40:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

The Kennel and the Potty Box

2008-04-15T12:27:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we spent the one nice day we had outside doing the finishing touches on the kennel in the kennel and the potty box. We needed to have a nice warm and safe space to put the dogs in when we have to go somewhere and they cant stay in the house. Since trust is a major issue yet and not wanting to put Dax in a situation where she might get bit we built a kennel within the existing kennel. Each of the dogs have their own carpet lined dog house with a big fluffy blanket in, a water bowl and toys but most important a safe and secure area, and last but not least the potty boxes. The only problem now is that when we let them out to go potty there are to many decisions and they spend more time running back and forth to each of them and counter signing each others work.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-03-26T10:31:00.000-06:00

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Happy Easter from Alaska

2008-03-24T15:42:00.001-06:00

Canmore Tournament 2008

2008-03-03T08:53:00.003-07:00

JV Girls Basketball

Chelsea's team wins 3rd place.

Youth Darts

2008-03-02T10:50:00.003-07:00

Here is the gang from our latest Dart trip excursion to Calgary. Matyna came in 6th in the junior girls. It was a field of about 20, so she did very well. Jerahmiah got joint 5th in junior boys. There are some real sharp shooters that will be moving to senior next year and he took at least one game from each of them, so he did very well. The man at the top left is the coach, Steve, and the lady at the bottom right is the co-coach, Cheryl.

Very long days. Went from Friday evening to Sunday late, but they had a great time.

Happy Birthday/Valentines Day Valerie!

2008-02-14T09:20:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

2007-12-25T11:55:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Ben!

2007-12-06T09:28:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Emily!

2007-11-29T23:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

2007-11-13T18:32:00.001-07:00

2007-10-16T14:10:00.000-06:00

We are back from Ben's coaching/our mini vacation and we had a really good time! The first week was spent with Ben coaching his Stepping up to Leadership group and I got to go on many nature trails and just hang out. A highlight was when I got to spend the day with a dog in training, she is being trained for people with disabilities. She was an adorable 9 month old puppy and a little sweetheart. Our second week we stayed with our friends Dave and Nancy and got to check out the sites, some of the fun things were the Udvar-Hazy air and space museum, The National Zoological Park, The Baltimore Aquarium, The Berkeley Springs Apple butter festival and the most wonderful mineral spring roman bathhouse, where we spent an hour soaking our muscles. We also got to see George Washington's bath tub, and I have to say he must have had one skinny butt to fit in that thing! When I get a chance to get all the pictures uploaded I will put some of them on here or our personal family blog. Here is one picture of us that we had taken at the Baltimore Aquarium in the jaws of a very large megladon shark!

2007-10-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Chelsea

Hope you have a great day

Love your family

Happy Thanksgiving 2007

2007-10-08T20:48:00.000-06:00

Here is the centre piece I made. Its homeade bread stick dough. Not a Martha Stewart wannabe but It was fun to make and tasty too!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

We had a lovely weekend, beautiful weather, lots of company, great food and Jim was home! We had our feast at the park on Saturday evening. Some of my cousins on my Dad's side visited and Mason and Shannon were home too. Its much quicker trip home now that they live in Swift Current. Two more weeks left for Jim and then he is done. Please keep in in your prayers as the last part is often the hardest and he may write his journeyman's test too we are not sure about when. Love to everyone.

Camping Trip Aug07

2007-10-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

Greetings to all. Its been awhile since I downloaded our camera but here is a little about our mini vacation this summer. We camped at Battle Creek. We fished - or tried to at least :-). We went to Fort Walsh. The kids had a separte tour from ours for part of the time and became mounties. They even intercepted the adults, arrested some (my mom for horse stealing) and dragged them off to amock trial. We all had a great time. We hiked and went to the conglomerate cliffs for a spectacular view. I put in a picture with Jim in it since I don't get near as many of him compared to the kids.

2007-10-06T11:19:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Holly, Hope you have a wonderful day.

From all your family

Guess who!

2007-09-27T15:53:00.001-06:00

Found these pictures and its hard to believe how big they have gotten now, time sure flies.

Happy Birthday John! (Sept. 22)

2007-09-21T12:16:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Stefan!

2007-09-06T10:37:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Matyna! (Sept. 3rd)

2007-09-02T20:41:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Susan

2007-08-16T20:38:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday Susan from your family. Hope you have a great day and that the sun is shining for your special day. We will all be thinking of you.

Can't make yours as fancy as you have done for everyone else because mom isn't as cleaver at this sort of thing as you.

Love you have a beautiful day.

From all of us

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2007-08-03T23:05:00.001-06:00

Koch Mini Family Reuion 2007

2007-08-01T20:02:00.000-06:00

We had a Mini family reunion on Saturday July 28/07 to celebrate a visit from our cousin John Heuft and his lovely wife Lisa. I haven't seen John since he was maybe 6 or 8 years old and had never met Lisa. We had a lovely time about 35 cousins showed up and 4 of the 5 oldtimers were also there, one of which is my mom and Aunt Lona, Aunt Florence and Uncle Lloyd. It was so nice to see so many turn out. Everyone had a great time.

Jerahmiah and the Stampede Queen and Princess

2007-07-28T08:20:00.001-06:00

Here is our surgery candidate with his newest fans. Direct from the Stampede.

What a ham.

Happy Birthday Grandma & Owen!

2007-07-23T07:32:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Brian

2007-07-17T09:03:00.001-06:00

A Sad Day!

2007-07-12T08:57:00.000-06:00

Well we knew this day would come, but it doesn't make it any easier we are all very sad that we have to put mom and dad on the airplane and we will miss them so very much. We had a great time and can't wait till we can do it again. All to often a person takes things for granted and doesn't appreciate being able to laugh, joke and just hug a person in person till you cant do it every day. Love you Mom and Dad and thanks for being so much fun to hang with, we will miss you.

2007-07-09T23:15:00.000-06:00

On Monday we went to the Chocolate Factory and then went over to pet and feed the reindeer and then went to the Sourdough Mining Company Restaurant and met Ben for lunch as he had to go to work today. Had allot of fun, the food was great it was a pity they didn't let us swim in the waterfall though.

Just goofin around in town!

2007-07-09T11:16:00.001-06:00

Look who came for lunch!

2007-07-07T12:46:00.001-06:00

Friday we went on a float trip down the Kenai river to do some red salmon fishing. As soon as we got to the first pull out spot we were greeted by a cute black bear that wanted to share our lunch with us. He along with another friend visited with us on and off then left to find a more accessible meals. We didn't have any luck fishing (except for a little trout) but had a blast.

2007-07-04T16:18:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures of mom and dad the top two are from the Denali park services work sled dog demonstration that we went to and the last one was the bus trip into the park. Now as soon as the freakin rain stops we can have some more fun and adventures. I think they really are having a blast though.

Lookout Alaska!

2007-06-27T11:56:00.000-06:00

At 1:50 AM Mom and Dad finally arrived in the Anchorage Airport very tired but happy and ready for the next adventure.

2007-06-25T15:05:00.000-06:00

6 days 13 hours and 57 minutes but whose counting

2007-06-20T12:03:00.000-06:00

We are!! In a few short days mom and dad will be up here in Alaska with us and we can't wait! They will have access to their email so you can keep in touch with them.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

2007-06-16T23:15:00.000-06:00

Flowers of summer

2007-06-15T12:27:00.001-06:00

We are finally getting summer up here and with the warmth of the sun and the rain the flowers are looking pretty good. It seems to be just the right mix for the bleeding heart plant I just put it in last year and it has tripled its size and the flowers are really pretty.

Happy Birthday Jerahmiah!

2007-06-09T00:08:00.000-06:00

2007-06-06T18:01:00.000-06:00

A day in the life of a trapeze artist squirrel

2007-06-01T15:50:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun watching this little critter and how hard he/she worked to sneak up to the feeder, hop on top and then hang by those little feet while filling up on the sunflower seeds. It almost made me forget about the total destruction of my wooden bird feeder lid, the little bugger ( pictures of lid to follow ). All things considered they are alot of fun to watch.

Happy Birthday Sherrie!

2007-05-30T08:52:00.000-06:00

Owen's Playschool Graduation Night

2007-05-26T08:59:00.001-06:00

Owen's and his best friend Alex Fritzke were the only 2 in their class who will be returning for their second year of playschool in the fall so they didn't graduate to kindergarten. They still received a certificate for the year and their teacher, Marlene Packard, read out their favorite things, 3 wishes and what they want to be when they grow up. Owen favorite thing was green scribble, he wished to go to Calgary, to make cookies, and to work down stairs. His friend Alex wished to be 4 when he grows up. He grew up Thursday (May 24). Not to be outdone Owen wished to be 5 when he grow up so he'll have to wait until next year. Oh, the grow up so fast, don't they! It was cute, but a long night and Owen sat so well as did most of the youngsters. they did better than many of the adults and older kids who left early or wandered around visiting.

Now Owen is on summer holidays and looking forward to swimming lessons. It will be his first year and Emily's first year having 1 hour instead of half hour lessons.

Track and Field Day

2007-05-25T19:58:00.000-06:00

Emilymae's very first tract day was great! It was cold and drizzly and though she had developed a cold the night before we let her go, after all she had practiced for over 2 weeks. Her 1st event was the good old 3 legged race. she and her partner Cassidy got third. Next Emily raced to a second place finish in the 40m race. There was 2 heats and the a race of the top in each heat and man can those girls run. The highlight of the day was her jump over 1.2m in standing broad jump to take first place. We didn't even know she won until they handed ribbons out as they don't jump over and over like high jump, just the best of 3 tries. Emily also entered ball throw but didn't place, she was pretty wiped out and cold by then and felt like her hands were very stiff but one girl who had not don well in other events got a ribbon and we were happy for her. Emily will get to compete in the district tract meet in the 40m and standing broad. Not sure when but we'll keep you posted.

Higher Learning

2007-05-23T13:49:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture taken outside the Medicine Hat College.

Don't they look like the smartest pair at the school?

Their instructor is looking way too calm, cool and collected from my recollection of teachers.

New house guests

2007-05-22T12:04:00.000-06:00

Violet-green swallow Tachycineta thalassina
Identification Tips:
Length: 4.75 inches
Tiny bill
Green upper parts
White under parts
White patches on side of rump
White area extends behind and over eye (male)
Forked tail
Female duller than male
Juvenile dull brown above and may have hint of a gray breast band
Most often seen flying
Nests in cavities near water
Similar species: The Tree Swallow is most similar to the Violet-green Swallow. The Violet-green Swallow has white patches that extend further onto the sides of the rump, a white area that extends behind and over the eye and greener upperparts.
Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.

these are our newest house guests of the year, really a pretty bird and they seem to like to eat the nasty mosquito's and other flying insects. Go birdies!!

Happy Mother's Day MOM!

2007-05-13T13:50:00.000-06:00

Philadelphia Architecture

2007-05-11T13:14:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of the really beautiful old buildings that we saw when we were staying in Philadelphia. They weren't in any one area in particular and you could be driving through one of the more modern areas, or a pretty scary area and you would find one of these.

2007-05-10T23:11:00.000-06:00

April 21st - Locks of love

At the Relay for Life launch party Emily and I had our hair cut short and donated the ponytails to make wigs for people who lose their hair due to cancer treatments. Emily decided to go for it on her own. She had hair down to her waist and had only been trimmed before. She when straight to a short bob just below the chin in front of about 300 people. She looks so much older now, yikes! But it was a really great night.

We took pledges for Emily and put them on my mom's sheet as she is walking in the relay on june 8th. Emily may walk with her for some of it too.

Currently our young activitist is interested in saving animals and we have signed her up on the WWF site - that's wildlife not wrestling :-)

Happy Birthday Jim !!

2007-05-10T08:28:00.000-06:00

Youth Darts Alberta Shoot in Ponoka

2007-05-08T09:46:00.000-06:00

Traveled to Ponoka, no not for medical reasons :-), and took part in the Youth Darts Alberta Silver Cup Challenge.
Had a blast.
The kids did very well against representitives from Edson, Ponoka, Calgary, Drayton Valley and some other points in between.
The Saturday was started off with a round robin and then mixed doubles. Matyna and her partner came in 3rd and Jerahmiah and his partner came in 2nd.
Sunday was started off round robin style again and then went into the singles tournament. Made for a long day, but again the kids did well. Matyna came in 3rd again, Stefan in 4th and Jerahmiah in 9th. A very good showing against some 40-odd players. Took some nice pictures which I'll circulate once I've had a few minutes to catch my breath and download them.
I'm very proud of our little crew.

2007-05-04T11:49:00.000-06:00

We are back home now from our little trip, Ben had to spend a week coaching a class at the NCTC (National Conservation Training Center) in Shepherdstown West Virginia then I met him in Philadelphia for his Valley Forge Military Academy reunion. It was a great time and we got to do a little sightseeing after here is a picture that we took of some gorgeous flamingo's at the zoo. Will add a few more pictures when I get them downloaded.

2007-04-30T15:20:00.000-06:00

Well I finally figured out how to get in here now we will see if it works. I just have a picture of honey busy cutting grass and some tulips trying to blo0m in my flower garden. It is suppose to be spring but it is might chilly for the last day of . April.

Spring's finally here in Redcliff

2007-04-27T19:40:00.000-06:00

Well, it's finally looking like spring or summer here in the Hat. Water's drying up and the wind's back. Wahooo...

Matyna's back to soccer and just to prove that Sherrie doesn't have enough to do, she's coaching Matyna's soccer team. Actually I think she got railroaded into it being in the right place at the wrong time. :-)

Anyway, yard work has started and Sherrie's business is busy as a beaver, so that's a good thing. We get to eat for a few more days and get to stay in a house rather than a box under the bridge. ;-)

The boys are doing well too, looking forward to working and getting some spending cash.

I'm just happy to be working at the College and hoping to see a full time position open up soon.

That's it for today on the Redcliff report.

2007-04-24T14:40:00.000-06:00

These beautiful pictures are of Thunderbird Falls, to get to this gorgeous sight its a mile long hike to the waterfall, along a path that you can get to from our backyard. There is something so relaxing about the sound of the water and you get to feel the mist on your face as the water drops from about 200 feet.

2007-04-23T11:35:00.000-06:00

In 2005 we went to Alaska to visit Ben and Susan we spent 2 weeks checking out the sites and doing some fishing. Here we are at the Alaska Wild Berry Products store where we got to get our picture taken in front of the worlds largest chocolate waterfall.

Constructed in June of 1994, and
modified by Sampson Steel Company
in 1996, this 20 foot
Chocolate "Waterfall" is believed to be
the largest of its kind in the world.
Using an idea conceived by Alaska Wild
Berry Products' owner Peter Eden,
Homer artist Mike Sirl designed and
built this Chocolate "Waterfall." It
contains 3,400 pounds of real liquid
chocolate donated by Peter's Chocolate
Division of Nestle Foods and Guittard
Chocolate Company.

2007-04-22T14:59:00.000-06:00

Spring has finally sprung up here in Alaska. The snow is finally melting and the ice is starting to breakup here are some pictures we took while we were out doing errands on Saturday and one of our crazy family. The scenery pictures were taken as we drove from Wasilla to Eklutna.