RIP Bird

We lost our bird to old age December 26th. Ron was with him as he flapped his wings one last time. Rest in peace little bird. Thanks for letting us be your friends at the end.

Merry Christmas from our chaos to yours

Happy Holidays from the Burkovich Family

Snippets of our life in 2009: Ron and Kim celebrated their 20^th wedding anniversary. Ron turned 50. Kyle completed his first year of high school. The puppies turned 4. Kyle got his braces off (too late to make pictures for the Christmas card.) Ron continued playing golf and regularly breaking 80. Kim continued managing Kyle’s hockey team, and enjoying nearly every minute of it. Kyle’s Mustang Bantam A team managed to win SIX tournaments last season (that has to be some sort of record) bringing their total as a group to 13 tournaments over 3 seasons. Snoopy lost weight and gained it all back. Joe remained skinny and a bundle of energy. Snoopy still loves mom’s lap more than any other place to rest. Joe doesn’t rest. Kyle went to summer school to improve his grade in 9^th grade math. Kim did a lot of knitting but is still working on finishing her first sweater. Ron redid the entire front yard (it’s quite beautiful and gives the house so much character.) He also felt inspired to buy a sledgehammer and tear out some of the cool decking by the pool, replacing it with hand-laid pavers. Kyle spent the summer sleeping when he could and skateboarding when he wasn’t sleeping. And making the occasional trips to the ice rink to be sure he could still skate (and mom could cool off.) Ron and Kim took the boat out on Saguaro Lake and had to be towed back in when a water hose burst, flooding the engine compartment. Ron, Kim & Kyle (and two of Kyle’s friends) went up to Heber-Overgaard for a fishing weekend. Turned out it was a very cold weekend, very windy and the fish wouldn’t bite (Ron caught one and Kim caught one.) But we watched the Penguins beat the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals (go Pens!) Hockey season began again in August. Kyle’s hockey team won another regional Silver Stick tourney, garnering them an invitation to the finals in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada in January 2010 (look it up on a map. It’s sure to be a cold trip!) Kim can’t wait to go back to Toronto and finally go up to the glass observation deck of the CN Tower. Kyle’s not so sure. Ron has most of January off for vacation but not the week we go to Canada. Kyle is now a sophomore in high school and looking forward to getting his driving permit in February (eek.) Ron gave Kyle his Toyota pickup which was a great excuse for him to come home in a shiny red Nissan 350Z. Kim is still driving her Pilot. The puppies don’t care which car they get in as long as they get to go somewhere. We put our Christmas tree up two weeks prior to Thanksgiving, but still (as of press date) hadn’t hung any ornaments on it. And with that tidbit, we hope that all of you had an eventful and happy filled year as we have. May your family be blessed with a wonderful 2010.

Love, Ron, Kim, Kyle, Snoopy & Joe

(and the bird who doesn’t talk)

ps – we like the roller coaster

(more than the merry-go-round)

Mustangs Midget Minor Regional Silver Stick Champions

December. Eek.

So, after a visit to Popcorn Served Daily, my friend Lisa's amazingly funny and fun-to-read blog, I realized that I hadn't visited my own blog in weeks. Okay, let's be honest, months. Lisa regularly posts incredible little life tidbits (love the latest on Waterford Crystal and Tamale making.) Why can't I get in the habit of posting regular little tidbits as well? For those of you loyal readers, do not fret. Probably not going to happen in this lifetime. You will still be treated to my random acts of blogness.

December. When did Christmas come so quickly? Our tree is up. Has been since the week prior to Thanksgiving. However, it is bare. Thankfully it is a pre-lit tree. There is one, sad little Starbucks cup ornament hanging on it. The outside of the house is pretty though!

Tonight is the Mustang Midget team sleepover at the ice rink. I'll never understand the reason for calling it a sleepover, as they don't sleep. They eat (10 large pizzas on order, 2 pans of brownies in the oven, and countless snacks coming from other parents.) They play a little hockey. They suit up in all their hockey gear and play football on ice. Mostly they have fun. And take home a few memories for the future. This year, they will be cold. Better them than me.

Kyle will not be attending for the full sleepover this season. He has some odd virus that has caused his spleen to enlarge. Not mono. Some other weird thing. He is out of physical activities for a few weeks to make sure he doesn't rupture said spleen. For some reason we need those things.

School ends this week, and I'm sure parents everywhere are rejoicing. Yay. Kids home for at least two weeks. Yay. The good news is that we don't have to fight over homework. And they can be very useful for carrying in groceries and taking out the trash (which is his job anyway, yet he needs to be constantly reminded. Hmm.)

My knitting is far far behind for the holiday season. Those of you expecting dishcloths for gifts, as always, might see them closer to Valentine's Day this year. Sorry! My experiment with cables (Bella hat and mittens) is taking longer than expected, and as I've seen on the Weather Network, there will be snow in Newmarket when we are there in January (more to follow on that one!)

Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. About an hour north of Toronto. Small town. 7 ice rinks. Hosting the Silver Stick Midget Minor Finals this January. The finals that the boys managed to get an invite to by winning the Dallas Silver Stick regional tourney in October.

Two regionals in 3 seasons is quite an accomplishment. Two regionals at two different levels (Bantam B and Midget Minor A.) Can't wait to see Newmarket. I think it's going to be a bit chilly there this year. And hopefully SNOW!!

Merry Christmas Kyle. Santa is bringing you round trip tickets to Toronto Canada and a stay at the Markham Hilton for Christmas this year! WooHoo!

Snoopy and Joe put in their request for Greenies. Lots of them. Hope Santa Paws comes through.

Kim put in her request for a new bread machine. The last one died (after 10 years) while making a loaf of French bread. Was a bummer, but a shiny new Zojirushi will be under my tree this year (thanks to Sur La Table for having it in stock and to BB&B for not having the Cuisinart one in stock.)

Ron wants socks. He got a shiny red Nissan 350Z this year, so I think socks are in order. Don't you?

And with that I'm putting this edition of Chaos to bed. After all , the title says it all.