Uncle Leo Money!

Jan.16 2010! Passports are on their way...kids are staying at Oma & Opa's...

Eric's List

Hello Stephen,

Here is my list for Christmas:

Wii Motion Plus

Corner Gas - Season Six

Lego Star Wars - The Complete Saga (Wii)

Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore - Full Screen Collection

Happy shopping!

Eric

What's On Steve's List....

Cool Asian electronic stuff, that you can't get here...?

Essential Spiderman Vol.2 (I enjoyed reading vol.1 so much, I'm looking to own number two.)

Princess Bride Special Edition DVD (only the best movie ever made...)

Utili Key 6 in 1 tool (looks like a key, actually an elementary multi-tool. Perfect for sneaking sharp weapons onto planes!)

Noropro Egg Rite egg timer (perfect boiled eggs every time- check it out!)

Shower radio (sounds silly, I know, but I want one every time I step into the shower. EVERY TIME!)

Things Brian Likes

Bolle Sharkfin Goggle
Socks
Kombi Mitts
Hydration Pack
Gloves

For Reuben

Hey Reuben! We were at Grandma's house a few weeks ago, and found this picture of me (Aunt Marya) and your Dad! We thought you'd like to see that your Dad liked Spider Man when he was your age!

Fun with pictures!

I've been playing around with a new-ish online photo-editor, similar to photoshop, but free, and less features. Eric and Evan was my second attempt, and I think that worked out a little better...

From Dad/Uncle Leo

Mortgage Downpayment Loan RepaidWe had to borrow quite a bit of money for our downpayment (it was more than we expected), as our house-buying situation was so unique, and there were a number of other unexpected costs (ex. $3000 for a building permit!) So, now we own our front porch (and possibly the front yard)- free and clear!


iPod Touch
I've wanted to own one of these for a long time, so we decided that each of us could have one cool thing, just for themselves. This was my choice. (I forgot it at work today, and it is the first day that I bought it a few weeks ago that I don't have it in my pocket. Feels weird.) Plus, I'm a huge fan of gadgets, but I've never been able ot own a current one. For at least a few months, I did...

Garage Sales:

This is Sarah's 'purchase.' She couldn't think of one specific thing she wanted, so she decided that her one thing is being able to garage sale and shop without guilt. She usually gets amazing stuff anyways, but now she doesn't have to worry about the budget.

CPP:
Canada Pension Plan. This one kinda sucks, as I was reassessed last year, and the category my accountant thought I was in, I wasn't. So I had to pay for last year and this year, and it was almost as much as our downpayment. Not a fun thing, but it's hard to argue with the government, and now it's gone, and we don't have to worry about it. At least I'll have something to look forward to in 30 years... :-)

We've also put away our two months emergency fund, and we hope to get a dishwasher and replace our (defunct) furnace. It is so nice to be able to do these things, and breathe easier, knowing that there's a cushion there. Thanks Mom and Dad. This was a wonderful thing that you did for us all.

More Gifts from Uncle Leo/Dad

We recently got this outdoor adventure playset with some of the money that Uncle Leo left us. It was ... uh ... fun to put together, but the look on the boys' faces when they use it wipes all those memories away.
For those of you with really good eye-sight, none of those children on the playset are ours. I have no idea who they are ... they just wandered into our yard and helped themselves!

The First Fruits of our Unlce Leo Money

The day that we got the cheque in the mail (it was a very good day!), we made our first purchase: a very much needed dehumidifier for our basement! It's something we've been wanting to purchase for a long time, but they're not really that cheap. Brian managed to find one on Kijiji that was brand new - still had the cords all tied up and the bucket was taped in - the guy who was selling it thought that you had to put water INTO it to make it work. He sold it to B for a very decent price, and it was been dehumidifying our air ever since.

Next week, I'm heading to Main Cycling & Sports to buy something that will probably look a little bit like this:

I've decided that since I live so close to work, it would be nice to bike to work during the spring/summer/fall. I'm not saying that it will happen every day, but my goal is to reduce my gas consumption by half this season. And perhaps (ok, definitely) get in a bit better shape. I don't really like biking anymore - the fact that I have a car negates the need to use a bike to get anywhere, as in the days of elementary & high school. However, I'm told that there is a whopping difference in riding a $89 Canadian Tire bike and a decent bike made by reputable bike companies. So, I'm going to give it a try and become a biker. This does mean that I'll have to a) get up earlier and b) shower and dress once I get to the school. I'm not so excited about those things. I was hoping to get a bike this season anyways - but this wonderful gift definitely makes it much more of a possibility!

What we're doing...

We talked about sharing our uses of this gift on the VanBreda blog, so...

We've already mentioned our washing machine... We went out for lunch with the boys when we normally wouldn't have...
We're looking in to a play structure for the boys...
We made a donation to the Huntington's Society in Memory of Uncle Leo...
We'll be saving/paying stuff off...
Maybe a trip somewhere on an airplane... (Korea? :)...possibly Edmonton...
Some home improvements...