Forever

Wow, look who hasn't been on here in 10 months!!!! Well life's busy and certain things just aren't priority. It's been a crazy, good, busy year so far, the girls have finally moved to Calgary and I couldn't be more excited for that and everything there is going great for them. Bay has just started another hockey season, and we're trying to get money together for the down payment on Jennifers school trip to Italy in 2013...hope we can put that together as I don't want my kids to ever miss out on an opportunity.

That being said....holy did my last week seem like a fairy tale...as most of you know, I'm a huge, HUGE hockey fan and Chicago Blackhawk fan. I've always wanted to meet all my favorite players and this last March I was fortunate enough to meet Theo Fleury while waiting outside the rink after a Legends game...that was #14 off the bucket list. Recently I've been talking to Jeremy Roenick via Twitter and I found out he was coming to Saskatoon for a speaking engagement. Sam was going to buy me a ticket so I could go and hear him speak but with money being tight I said no. I figure I'll have time in my life to do the "fun" things, I have to make sure that the kids things are taken care of first. After about a day or so I thought why don't I just ask him if we could meet?? What could it hurt, the worst he could say is no because of time restraints. So I sent him a tweet asking if he wanted to help me remove item #27 from my bucket list which was to meet him. His response, and rather quickly I might add was "set it up Turk! I'm there Thursday afternoon" Well once I picked up my jaw from the floor and double checking to see if it was a verified account I was talking to, I sent him a message back and long story short, we set up a time and place to meet. I did actually manage to sleep that week but the day of the meet my stomach was in knots! We decided to meet after work and that day couldn't end soon enough, when the time came, Sam picked me up from work and we headed out to meet up. We beat him there and as we sat and waited he still sent a message and said he was running late....no problem, I would have waited all night.....my stomach was turning and turning as we waited and if it wasn't for Sam I probably would have ran away and hid in the corner and I'm not a shy guy! All of a sudden Sam bolted from her chair and the next thing I hear is "Where is he?" BOOM there he was, Jeremy Freakin Roenick walking towards me, hand out and said Hi Turk, Nice to meet you!!! Good golly I almost fell over!! He sat down, next to Sam of course, and we talked. Hockey of course, Battle of the Blades, Twitter, bullying, Autism and I could have done it for days. After a little while I found out the left the guys he was with, the ones in charge of showing him a good time in the city, and came to meet up with us.....very cool...he also bought me a beer..very cool...the guys he left caught up with us and we talked for a bit and then JR wanted to go to another establishment, I figured, cool, thanks for taking the time to meet and we'd go home. NOPE, he asked if we wanted to come along!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!??? I'VE WAITED 22 YEARS TO MEET AND YOU WANT TO KNOW IF WE WANNA HANG OUT SOME MORE???!! I calmly answered yes although I was doing cartwheels inside. Before we left he signed some of my memorabilia I've had forever and will show it off in my house, we headed out in a cab and went to a VERY busy local establishment. We were brought inside and it was a madhouse, but not the one on Madison, people recognized him right away and it was nutz, he made sure Sam and I didn't get lost in the crowd. We headed over to a section and the frenzy began, the line up of guys with goofy looks on their faces which made me feel better about the goofy look on my face! There are more hockey nerds like me!! Through all the handshakes, pictures and people he still continued to pay attention to Sam and I asking us to help fans out with pictures and just how much he appreciates his fans. after about an hour he mentioned to us that if he's all of a sudden gone it's nothing personal it's just time to go and we totally understood. He got up, shook our hands, said he had a great time and it was a pleasure to meet and off he went. Sam and I left after that and I still don't know how I slept that night. It was the best night of my life all because I asked him if we could meet. I hope to meet up with him again and hopefully ask all the questions I didn't get to but if I never meet up again I still have this night, that he went out of his way to meet a "twitter buddy" Even going into the evening I heard so many negative things about him, and for the record I love how passionate he is about the things he believes in, how outspoken, wears his heart on his sleeve and stands up for what he thinks is right. What I found out was what I thought all along, he's a great guy, who appreciates his fans, tells it like it is and doesn't think he's better than anyone else.

I can honestly say that without Sam in my life, these items wouldn't be scratched off my bucket list. She supports me like no one ever has, loves my passion for the game of hockey, and loves how goofy I get when I meet one of my hockey hero's. And I don't think I'd want to do any of this without her anyways.

JR, thank you, I know you said for me to relax and it was "just you" but you don't know what it truly meant to me, to be "some guy" that JR was with at the Branch was pretty cool. To ask us to continue to come with you on your evening, continue visiting, man I've never met anyone classier. It was a night I'll never forget and I look forward to meeting up again, maybe on my next bucket list item which is to see a game in the Madhouse and stand at centre ice!

That's all for now, I'll see ya when I see ya!

Yikes

OK so it's only been 3 ish months since I've last posted but that would pretty much sum up the time I've had to do this.....it's been crazy....new job...Christmas, Sam new job, hockey, kids, puppy...yowsa....the new job is going great, can't wait for this next year, I expect some big changes in my job, and some fantastic results so ya....that's great...

Jennifer has been doing GREAT in school, I"m so very proud of her, she's miles ahead of where I was at her age and can't wait to see all the good things that come her way from all of her hard work....

Bailey has had an up and down year with hockey, started off the year great with as many points in as many games but then he got caught with his head down and was hammered by a guy and separated his shoulder, first hockey injury, that put him on the shelf for 3 weeks...then his first game back he was hit from behind and hammered into the boards and sprained his knee...thankfully it was xmas break and he only missed one game...now he's been back and skating the rust off in time for playoffs...

It's looking like the kids will go to Mb to see their mom and the girls for Feb break and they're super pumped about that. We are hoping the girls will come here for their March break...we haven't seen them since July and I miss them soooooo much. Need some hugs from them in the worst way.

We finally got approval from Bailey to get married...all we have to do is get him a PS3 for his room and a bigger tv than he has now....DEAL lol.....we're looking at getting married in summer 2012 but we'll see how things go....lots to do before then...we've been here a year now and still getting back on our feet but we can't be happier....I know this is short but at least it's an update....who knows maybe I'll get better at this....till then....

I'll see ya when I see ya!

Update

This is Samantha here, Turk's girlfriend. Since Turk doesn't update this enough I'll give you a quick run down if how things are going over here.

Turk - He is now the Hard Goods Manager in SportChek in the downtown mall. (persistence pays off everyone! Turk is a prime example of that. He has been chasing this position for over a year and a half and it happened!) It was difficult at first of course because of all the information but things are going great now.

Sam (myself) - I also changed jobs. I'm now the Assistant Manager at Black's Photography in the south end mall. With both our jobs we received better hours and better pay so it was a no brainer to move forward in this direction. I've only have 2 days under my belt but I'm very excited so far. :)

Jen - She is doing great in school. She is over 80 in all her subjects except one, but we can work on that. I personally was always a 70 - 85 percent myself. So I'm very proud of her and her accomplishments! Her friend Ash is also coming out at the end of November and they are very excited about that as well.

Bay - Just started his new hockey season with the Pee Wee Tier 3 Martensville Marauders. In their first game they beat a city team, Bobcats, 6 - 1 and in that Bay had 2 assists and 1 goal! Ya awesome right?! lol As I'm typing this he is playing his second game and things aren't going as well as planned but we will see how it ends.

Slapshot & Bella - He has had his splint off for a while now and is jumping around. Him and the cat, Bella, are play fighting again so things are back to normal for them.

So that's about it from us. I should get going back to doing my homework. Was just taking a little break right now and saw that Turk has hardly wrote anything. lol Hope everyone is also doing great!

ugh!!

Well I've come to realize that I really only write this for me. I'm pretty sure there's only one person that reads this lives in my house and pretty much knows everything but sometimes it's just good to get it down on print.

I'm in a funny place right now...I'm happy, happier than I've been in a very long time. I'm deeply in love with Sam, she's such an amazing person, woke up one morning and suddenly had kids and she's done better than I thought. Her life has changed so much in the last year and a bit since I've been in it and I hope she's as happy as she makes me.
I'm still at the rink, and I'm not happy there, I am good at what I do, but I want to manage, although I am the "manager" here, it's different cause really I'm a clerk, and that doesn't leave me much time to manage....I'm working away trying to get my foot in the door with Sport Chek but also something new came across my plate the other day, there's a new store opening here next year sometime and it's called Pro Hockey Life and it's soooooooo me.....a sports rep contact I made way back in the day at Ventura Sports and I reconnected last week as he's my rep for Reebok hockey and he's the one who told me about it and said he would name drop me...holy shit....that would be amazing to manage that place. I think I'd knock it out of the park...
As for the funny place I'm in....well I want to be somebody...I don't want to be a celebrity, I don't need that headache...but I want to change the world....I sit on the couch at night and that keeps rolling through my head....I want to change the world....now don't get me wrong I don't want to cure cancer...well no I do actually but I'm not that smart....I don't want to land on the moon, I guess what I'm really trying to say is I want to be a change in this world...I'd LOVE to work for Livestrong, I'd love to just travel and volunteer where needed. I want my family to live comfortably and to be able to provide for them with ease. I'd do anything for any one of them. I don't need awards, I don't need recognition I just want to give of myself to those who need a hand.

Another one of my dreams has always been to be a fire fighter....my family doesn't share my dream and I understand why, it takes me away from them and it could take me away from them forever. I have the utmost repect for fire fighters...they give of themselves everytime the alarm goes off...running into burning buildings to save lives, homes, even pets. They are some of the bravest people I know and am humbled by their unselfishness. As much as I've always wanted to do this, being there for my family outweighs everything.

Don't get me wrong....I'm a happy guy, there's just a little more that I want to do in life. Sam often struggles with not being who she wants to be and although I think she's wonderful at who she is, I know she wants to be that girls sitting in her studio, with paint from head to toe and a smile on her face. I hope she realizes that she needs to hold on to that dream, just as I hold on to my dreams of becoming the person I want to be. The one that helps, and gives back, or gives of themselves....I want to be that person and I believe it will come in time for me and for her. Until then I'm the happiest guy being a dad, to 4 of the greatest kids in the world and to Slapshot, the greatest puppy in the world, and being a boyfriend to Sam who makes me feel like I can do anything AND being the influence that has me reading my second book in a row...shut up, it doesn't matter if it's a sports book I still have to read it lol.....

See ya when I see ya!

ok, so I suck at blog updates in summer...sue me lol

Well what a busy almost month I've had since my last blog....we had a fantastical time with the girls...we mini golfed, went to Ruckers a couple of times and Brooklyn was the big winner with 500 tickets on the big wheel....she was pretty pumped, did a little mini golfing, tried a few courses, took the girls to build a bear and got them a couple of bears for their birthday, a little surprised that Bailey couldn't wait for them to come out and when they did it ended up being the most time he spent playing fricken video games...not all that impressed, they leave, he plays less...can't figure that out...

So, Jennifer arrived Finally lol, our/Sam's friend Dan out of the kindness of his heart and love for roadtrips, picked up the Uhaul we had rented, packed up her stuff and drove her on out here and spent the week with our full and crowded house...Man it was great having our whole family under one roof....including Dan, Slapshot and Bella...she seems very happy to be home, I keep getting random hugs from her which I love, she's slowly unpacking and although I can tell she's nervous about starting school knowing no one, she's gonna do great....

We ended up having the girls longer than first thought as they arent' moving to Calgary at the start of August so that was fantastic....Sam went back to MB for her sisters bday so she brought the girls back, Dan back and Bay for a visit with his mom...the day the girls left was NOT a good day, we had to wake them up, Cassidy just sit on the bottom stair with her head down...as I was getting the last of the things packed up I went inside, asked her what was wrong and she lifted her head to nothing but tears pouring down her face, she looked at me and said, "I'm gonna miss you".....ya I died a little inside at that moment...broke my fricken heart knowing that I'm the one who moved so far away and although we don't miss a beat being apart and our relationship is great, it just hurts me knowing that my choices, no matter how good in the long run they are, still cause them some pain....they had a great visit, we all had a great time and can't wait till the next time...we got our family pic taken which was one of our priorities because we are not together all the time and it's one we'll update every year....it's the best family ever, I love them to pieces, they are my everything and I'd be lost without every one of them...

The dog is good, lovin his home and we are loving him and he and Jens cat acually get along, if you call Slapshot using her as a chew toy getting along...I do so it works lol, the kids are getting ready for school in less than two weeks...man how the summer flew by, Bay is back into hockey, he has a powerskating camp this week and Sunday a month of 3 on 3 starts and then he'll roll right into his first season as a non Maroon....can't wait for hockey to get into the swing of things.

Sam is busy managing her store and doing great although she thinks some days she's not. I also have her on "homework" duty...there's so many things she wants to do and there's so many things right within her reach and just needs a small, tiny, kick in the ass to start doing it....hence the "homework"

I am looking at making some changes for the good of the family...my current job keeps me away from them while there home and keeps me home while they're away and no job is worth that so I have a few irons in the fire and we'll see what happens over time...there's no rush as I have 6 people to think about and do right by.

We took in the Ex this weekend for the first time in years and ya gotta say, don't miss the crowds but Hedley was playing there and the concert was free with Ex admission so being Bailey's fav band and we all like them we had to go and they were worth the price of admission and more....they really played to the crowd, included them/us, had a great encore set and I can't wait to see them again.

I'm sure there's a ton I've missed putting on here but it's kind of the Readers Digest version of the last couple months....life is good, getting better everyday, I'm thankful for what and who I have in my life, I'm pretty lucky, no I"m damn lucky and don't take it for granted...never will, I have too much to lose....


I'll see ya when I see ya

Yikes

2 months since my last post???? yikes, shame on me.....so much has happened....Bay hockey went well, they had a great record, a great tourny and just a great group of Boys, he alreaedy misses it....he finished grade 6 and given the goofy year he had he did really well, as did Jennifer back in mb.....on that note, Jen is moving here, her mom and the girls are moving to Calgary so Jen needed to decide where she was going and she chose here thank the lord and yes I did....my girls are excited about their move, as am I because they'll be closer and in the mountains....we got a puppy, a mini american eskimo, his name is Slapshot and he's already a solid member of this family....the girls are here right now and I'm loving every minute of it, they are such a joy, I"m a lucky dad even with my situation....

Sam has taken on a Manager position at the Walmart photo studio here and I couldn't be more proud of her, she's doing great, she's such a good photographer and will only get better, she's great to the kids, they love her as much as I do and she's actually been away for a few days on a family vacation and let me tell you this house is not a home without her, I used to encourage time away from my ex but with her I feel empty without her, which after 15ish months together tells me that this time I"m doing things right.....thank goodness I actually do learn from the past...mistakes and all....I love her very much and I'm very grateful for her in my life.

We've been golfing, or at least some of us are learning, we've been enjoying the sun the few days we get it, we've been drying our flooded basement, we've been working, we've seen a couple movies but most importantly we've been a family even if all of us aren't here all the time....

I'm very excited for my future, our future, my kids future, I'm very excited to know that I"m going to marry Sam one day, I"m not scared of it anymore, I know better this time, no more taking for granted just cause you're married, no more assuming one knows you love them.....cherish that person in your life, don't let life get too busy, tell them everyday, numerous times you love them....not everyone gets a second chance to get it right, I got my second chance and let me tell you, it's gonna be a home run.....

OH AND IN CASE YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK.......

THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!!!!!!!!

Something I've waited my whole life for and I've been shouting it from the rooftops LOL....love it!

K I gotta sleep as those babies of mine are up bright and early.....sorry for the lack of updates....I"ll try to get better.....just not the next two weeks as I'm on holidays baby!!!!

see ya when I see ya!

Busy

Well, hockey had been good, Bailey is playing great and I've become the head coach....the boys are getting along so well and it will be sad to see this little team split up in a month....we just finished all 3 of us having the same day off....that doesn't happen often enough...Bailey met up with his friend Hallie this afternoon and they shot some hoops for a while, we opened up a bank account for him today so he could deposit his first ever paycheck. He is saving up for a Wii and after 3 on 3 is over he'll have enough. He then went to a birthday party with a school friend, they did 5 pin glow bowling and he had a great time. It was in my very first neighbourhood in saskatoon and well I went down memory lane a bit, most good, some bad, and it was again very trippy and this time Sam was able to be a part of it...she laughed at me mostly....been watching a ton of hockey my Hawks have been doing great, makes me nervous but I love it....Sam has been on a few interviews lately and something will come soon I can feel it, and she deserves it....other than that all is the same and well...hope you're all good and we'll chat soon..

see ya when I see ya!