Cancun +30*C to Calgary -30*C

There is something wonderful about the Christmas season no matter where you are. Here Judy is standing beside the Christmas tree in our resort in Cancun.

I guess the song "Six White Boomers" forgot to mention that one of the boomers stopped off in Mexico to give birth. Here she is disguised as Santa...and the Joey in her pouch is disguised as the Lone Ranger...or since this is Mexico maybe it's disguised as Zorro.

I couldn't help myself. We were walking along the sidewalk one evening and saw this hockey game on the TV outside OutBack Jack's Steak House. I had to capture the moment...Tampa Bay 3 at Montreal 1....there wasn't anyone watching though...it really doesn't take much to entertain a Canadian.

Here we are at Margaritaville...."it's five o'clock somewhere"....

The night before we left to come home, and every night while we were in Cancun for that matter, we spent an enjoyable time soaking up the heat of the outdoor hot pool. This is truly an accomplishment if you remember Judy's fear of water.

We are getting ready to head back to Calgary. We just had to get a picture from our rooftop pool and lounge area with the beautiful blue of the Caribean in the background.

Judy and I were sunning ourselves beside the pool before we left to catch our plane home. It was obvious that there was a wedding pending so Judy couldn't leave until she saw the bride. Here she comes, as the music plays...

Not a large crowd...but a beautiful bride in a beautiful setting overlooking the white sand beach with the blue Caribean as a back drop...30 degrees...light warm breeze...

And a few hours later this welcomed us back to Calgary...blue sky...white snow banks...-30 degrees with a cold north breeze...wind chill factor once again a factor....bbbbbrrrrrrrr.

And we're home. Wonderful holiday...but "there's no place like home" I say as I click my red sunburnt heels together. Now we look forward to having our children (and especially our grandchildren) at our home for Christmas.

Ola! Here we are, stuck in Mexico!

Well, here we are stuck in Mexico...James drove us to the Calgary airport at 10:00 AM on Saturday. We flew WestJet and arrived in Cancun around 6:30 PM. The first thing we did when we got to the hotel was try to find something to eat...voila!...la buffet.

Of course there is no snow in Cancun so we just had to eat outside...

..and then we had to look around the facilities...and what do we find but a bunch of king sized beds surrounding one of the many pools...gonna have to try this out for suntanning in the daylight...beats the tanning booths for sure!

And so after a fun evening and a great sleep we have sunrise over the Caribbean from our rooftop deck and pool area...I just had to wake up everyone to see sunrise over the ocean...it was spectacular.

We went for a walk on Sunday morning and found Bubba Gump Shrimp!

A few doors down we came upon Jimmy Buffet's MargaritaVille.

Kenny kinda looks like a Mexican

Back at the resort...and we found those king sized beds in the daylight...

...and spent a little time tanning...

We went out to Pericos for Mexican food in the evening...this little devil snuck up behind Jacquie and scared the bejeebers out'a her when she turned her head..

Mama felt like a giant when she got to dance with this little fellow...he finally moved to the stage so he could stand on it and not feel so short beside her...

Here she is with a pot on her head..about to take a shooter of papilla juice...it was a challenge keeping her under control...you know how wild and crazy she gets when she gets a few shots of fruit juice in her.

See what I mean?

And so that was a day in Mexico...and moonrise over the Caribbean...beautiful...warm, no snow...no ice...except in your glass...I'm just say'in...it's rough being stuck here in Mexico....

Grey Cup Sunday - aaahhhh Stamps...well done!!!

It's Grey Cup Sunday in Regina...and Caden John is a true blue...er...red Stampeders fan.

So is Dad...he couldn't put the ball down...not even to feed his babies. There was a lot of red in the Mooney house this day.

Liam is going to give Caden a run for his money in being the most dramatic Stampeders fan in the Mooney clan.

This is Liam, Evan and Dylan all decked out in their Stampeders gear.



Liam and Evan are looking to Dylan for some leadership in their cheering section.

Dylan thinks it's funny...probably because mama is aghast at their Stampeder gear and their obvious enthusiasm.

Evan wants to follow Dylan's lead so he's giving his own "Go Stamps Go" cheer.

The boys love their team...and their soothers...except Evan...he get's enough comfort from the bright red Jersey that he doesn't need a soother...and really...aren't soothers for Riders fans anyway?

This puts things into perspective. Kind'a like Gulliver's Travels...these little darlin's are so beautiful...and so small...wow...four grandsons...wow!!!

Caden is trying to get the guys going with some moves to go with their "Go Stamps Go" cheers.

And here's the architect of their committment to the mighty Red and White...old double naught...Justin Charles....well done Mr. Mooney...proud of you!!!

Happy Birthday - Quincy

Quincy was born on November 20, 2006 at Expressway Kennels in Regina, SK. We met and adopted Quincy on January 16, 2007. This is a picture of Quincy and two of his brothers when we met to choose which puppy would come to live at our house. Quincy is the one on the left with the dark tail...trying to push his brothers away.

We chose this little darl'in. Brought him home and he is now part of our family.

Quincy liked his new mama right from the start. But she wasn't so sure about him. She was a little apprehensive when I broke the news that I wanted to get a new hunting partner...with four legs...and a tail.

He misses those brothers now. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed them away...



Quincy grew fast...learned fast...and won mama's heart fast.

You've heard about the tail wagging the dog...Quincy is living proof of it. Here you can see his tail as a blur...and it really creates havoc with the grandchildren every time he walks past them they get a swat.

Quincy loves to run in our back yard. He spends most of his time in the house but loves to lay in the sun in the summer and run in the snow in the winter.

Here he is this past summer. He's full grown now and weighs about 48 pounds...oops...sorry metric police...22 Kgs.

Quincy is a rapidly developing hunting dog. We get out every chance we can from mid September to the end of November. This is a photo from the first weekend of pheasant season. We went hunting with a group of friends from Medicine Hat. Quincy was amazing.

And here he is on his second birthday...November 20, 2008. So...sing along...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you....HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you...HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear Quincy....HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you.

Remembrance Day

Today is our Remembrance Day. Yeah, I know that the official Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day for our American family, is a couple of days hence. But today, November 9 is Judy and my Remembrance Day.
On this day in 1979 we were in Rochester, Minnesota. Our third son, Jeremy John Mooney was in emergency surgery at the Mayo Clinic in an attempt to correct a serious congenital heart defect. The surgery was long and very complicated. It was only the third such surgery attempted at the famed Mayo Clinic. The previous two had not ended well. The challenge was exacerbated by the tiny size of Jeremy's heart. Jeremy was only four months old and weighed just a little over his birth weight of slightly under 7 pounds.
The surgery was successful. They were bringing Jeremy from the operating room to the intensive care recovery area. We were waiting...and waiting. Finally the door burst open at the end of the hall and a stretcher rushed by with an entire crew of medical people running along, surrounding it. Our thankfulness and excitement were at a peak. Jeremy was alive. He had survived surgery. We waited...and waited...and waited. Our excitement began to be overshadowed by anxiety. Finally a very solemn looking doctor entered our room.
Although the surgery had been successful and they were able to restart Jeremy's tiny heart after surgery his heart had stopped during the transfer to recovery. They had been successful at a second restart in the intensive care recovery area but his heart was just too weak and it stopped again. This time they couldn't get it to restart.
So today we remember. Everyday we remember. But today we remember in earnest. We have some incredibly painful memories but we don't dwell on the darkness of that time. We remember that because it happened and is part of us. Thankfully the pain of that agony has faded.
We prefer to focus our memory on the beauty of our little son. We remember the excitement of his arrival. His delicate features. His incredible personality. His bright eyes and amazing smile. We remember the love and support we were showered with by our family, church and friends. We have incredibly warm and touching memories. They are never far from the surface. But today they are there.
Sorry for the digression from the excitement of the new grandchildren. We have been so blessed in our family. We will get back to more happy stuff....but today is Remembrance Day.

If this works we'll have photos!

This little gaffer is Liam David Mooney

born November 3, 2008.

And this is Evan Timothy Mooney
born November 3, 2008.

This is Dylan Michael Mooney
born November 3, 2008.

And this babe holding the babes is Grandma Judy

born earlier, in a previous century.

Hows that? We now have text and photos. This could get interesting...and maybe a little dangerous. We'll see.

How's this thing s'posed to work?

Wow, that looks pretty weak...noth'n on the blog. I guess I better figure out how to use this blog thing so I can be as technically savvy as my children...or...better yet..I'll get Judy to figure out how to do this...yeah..that's the ticket!!!

We just got back from our whirlwind trip to Saskatchewan to be on hand at the arrival of the triplets. Wow...they're absolutely adorable...yeah, I know...that's supposed to be grandma's line not grandpa's...but they are what they are and it doesn't matter who says it. I'd post some pictures if I could figure out how to do it....must have a couple hundred of them...I mean they are two days old already.

We're pretty excited. Our grandchildren numbers have gone from 2 to 5 with another on the way. You should be able to check out the grandchildren by selecting one of the links on the side of this page. And don't forget about our adopted grandchild "Wooderson - (Woody) for short". He bears little or no resemblance to his adoptive parents but is part of the family none the less.

I'll see if I can figure out how to add pictures and when I do I'll post some that I hope will be of interest.