Rainy Day Activities

We've had cool and rainy days since Monday. It's tempting to watch too much T.V. or play too many computer games when the weather gets like this. I keep saying to the kids, "Turn off the T.V.!!" But, then I have to get off the computer! So, I've had to be intentional about finding alternative things to do! Here a few of our rainy day activities so far:

• Colouring, drawing and painting
• Setting up play tents in the basement and playing "camping" most of the day on Monday.
  
• Making paper airplanes with the babysitter while Mommy went for a massage on Tuesday!
• A Tuesday afternoon trip to the Telus World of Science, where we even got to see a demonstration called, "Fire and Fury." Very cool fire "magic"!
• O.K., I'll admit it - lots of Treehouse, movies and Facebook...
• Playing card games and laughing together Wednesday afternoon! The kids are getting to the age where they are actually fun to play games with!
• Going out for a pizza supper with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Shannon last night.
• Making homemade play dough today and sampling pretend cookies and pies all morning. (See pictures below.)
  

I think we've done a pretty good job of entertaining ourselves, don't you think?! What do you do when the rain keeps coming down?

Snow Pictures!

I never found my camera software, so I went to Plan B. I plugged the camera into the computer to see what would happen and it found a photo program for me! Should've done that to begin with... I like it better than what I had before, too! Here are the pictures of my birthday snow! This is what it looked like before we trampled on it...
This was the view out our front, living room window.
Our little snowman!

Sara, letting everyone know she did not like the snowball Daddy nailed her with! (But, she had no problems returning the favour!)

Sky, being goofy and hiding behind the bush for protection! Those scraggly branches didn't help much!
One more thing, that doesn't have anything to do with snow. I just posted a new recipe on my other blog, Recipeasy, so be sure to check it out! It's a crock pot recipe, for all you crock pot lovers! Click on the button on my sidebar with the pumpkin on it.

Random Interesting Happenings

Well, hopefully they will be interesting to you, anyway! I realize I haven't been very "informational" in my latest posts, so some people may want to have a few more details.

1. Joshua is just finishing up a cleansing/fat burning program called Isagenix. There is a 30 day program and a 9 day. Joshua did the 30 day one. To date, he's lost 22 pounds and feels great! I'm very proud of him for sticking with it. I don't think I could have done it. Although, I'm entertaining the idea of the 9 day program (don't tell Joshua!) - I could use some more energy! I won't bore you with details - you can read about it on their website if you want more info! Mealtimes have been interesting around here. There are "cleanse days" where Joshua doesn't eat at all, so the kids I have to hurry up and eat supper before Joshua gets home so that the sight and smell of food doesn't drive him crazy! Breakfast and lunch have been really easy, though. I just have to mix up a protein shake for him and it's done!

2. We now have an alarm system in our house. There was already one installed from 15 years ago, but it was inactive. Since it was already there, we looked into getting it activated again. We also found out it would save money on our home insurance! So, we got some of the alarm components updated and added smoke alarms (monitored by the alarm company). So far, there have been no mishaps! If there ever are any, I'm sure it will be great blog material! I've already had a few minor panic attacks when the kids go barging into the house after we've been gone, forgetting that the alarm is set. Fortunately, I'm fast (I have 45 sec.) so I've been able to get it turned off in time!

3. On Tuesday morning (my birthday!), we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland of snow! It was not forecasted, so we were a bit surprised! Finally, the first snow of the year!! I was so excited when I got up, and was out the door taking pictures within 5 minutes! It was the perfect birthday gift for me! It was one of those fluffy, sticky snowfalls that covered every little branch. After a late breakfast, we all went out to play in the snow. Joshua had the day off because it was Remembrance Day (same as Veteran's Day in the States) and it's a stat holiday. He always gets the day off for my birthday, and I quite like that! We built a little snowman (not enough snow for anything big) and had a snowball fight. The snow made great snowballs! Then we took a walk to admire the neighbourhood before lunch. I took lots of pictures, but you'll have to wait for them. Reason? That brings me to the next thing...

4. We are now the proud owners of a "real" computer! For all of our married lives (almost 9!), we've only had a laptop. It worked great for those years that Joshua needed to tote it back and forth between church and/or seminary classes. After he got the job with the bank, he didn't need to do that anymore. And I finally got to use the computer to my heart's content! That's when I joined Facebook and started my blog. I dare say I got more done before that! Anyway, last week, a new Future Shop opened in our city. Joshua works right by the new store, so he got in line the first morning they opened up. Our new computer was 1 of 25 available that day at an incredible price! Even my brother, the computer geek, said it was a really great deal and a decent computer. (We consulted him first!) So, we have this HUGE monitor now (O.K., it seems huge to me - it's a 20 in.), and I'm seeing lots of little details I've never noticed before! It's been fun, but not without it's hassles. I can't find the software that came with my camera, so I'm a little stuck right now with pictures...

5. Tonight Joshua and I get to go to an NHL hockey game to see our Edmonton Oilers play! Joshua's boss, Jeff, sometimes gets tickets from a lawyer that the bank refers clients to. It's is way of saying "thanks for the business." This time, Jeff offered the tickets to Joshua! So, we got a babysitter and will be heading out tonight! Hopefully they win! Poor Joshua - tonight is one of those nights where he has to drink a shake for supper (because he ate real food for lunch), so he'll have to watch everyone else eat at the game! He can snack on almonds...woohoo! Oh well, it's healthier and saves us money!

That's all I can think of right now that would actually be interesting to you! Hope you enjoyed the update. Now, to go figure out the photo/camera software situation around here....

Oh, I also wanted to make a disclaimer on my excitement about the snow... You WILL hear me complain about snow, winter, cold weather etc., as we go through the season. But, there is something very special about the first snow - even if we eventually get a lot of it! As my friend said the other day, it's the snowfalls between #2 and #100 that we complain about!

Don't Blink - You'll Miss It!

We have this beautiful wooded area behind our back fence. I took this picture 9 days ago, when the leaves were at their peak colour.The next picture was taken this morning! The trees are almost completely bare, with only a few brave leaves hanging on. Isn't that crazy?! I love the fall season, but it just doesn't last very long around here. We have to hurry up and enjoy it while we can!Before the leaves disappeared, we did manage to get out and enjoy the beauty of it all. I love these next pictures of Sara and Sky's little hands holding their treasures for me to see! (First one is Sara and the second one is Sky.)

Thanksgiving Day is just 2 days away for us! We'll be having our turkey dinner at my in-laws house. I'm bringing the hashbrown casserole and the pumpkin bread. Mmmm, I can hardly wait! It still seems a little strange to have Thanksgiving in October, but I'm getting used to it. It would be even more strange to have Thanksgiving at the end of November, when winter has officially set in, though! Sara and Sky have been working on a poem to say for everyone on Thanksgiving Day called, "Pumpkin Poem." They've done an amazing job memorizing! It's really cute. I'll try to get it on video so all of you can see it too.

I know I've been absent from the blogging world for awhile. I was pretty sick for two whole weeks at the end of September, and still haven't felt like myself since then. We've also been busy with school and getting into the new routine. It's been good and the kids really seem to be enjoying themselves. I think they were bored! And of course, we are still trying to get settled into the new house. We're slowly, but surely getting all the pictures hung and decorations arranged. I'll take some pictures soon, so you can see the finished product! Right now, it's time to go make supper!

Welcome To The Neighbourhood

On Friday, when Joshua came home from work, we decided to take a family bike ride to explore our new neighbourhood. I wanted to share some pictures I took along the way. Fall has come to this part of the world. The changing leaves are just brilliant right now, and the air is cool and crisp. There are some beautiful trails running through this neighbourhood and I am feeling blessed to be able to enjoy them on a regular basis! First, we visited the nearest playground and the kids worked out some serious energy! I love this shot of them pushing Daddy on the tire swing!


This is looking down the street from the playground.As we biked along, we went around this pond and fountain.The path even took us over a small wooden bridge where we saw this pretty little waterfall!And on the way home again, this row of golden trees...Later, I want to take a nice leisurely walk, so I can stop and take lots more pictures. It's supposed to be a nice, warm week, so that should be easy! This is the month we try to take as many walks or bike rides as possible before temperatures go below the freezing mark and the snow begins to fall. I hope you enjoyed the tour of our neighbourhood!

Camping Pictures!

This weekend was our debut family camping trip! I spent the majority of last week making lists, shopping, packing, more shopping, and otherwise stressing about this family adventure we were about to embark on! Our neighbours, the J family, just bought a new trailer, so we invited them to come camping with us. They have two kids, Taryn, who is 7, and Jory, age 10. It was also their debut trip with the new trailer! We spent the week stressing together! :-) When Joshua came home from work on Friday, we loaded up the car and were on our way! We stopped at Wendy's for burgers and fries, and drove northwest to Gull Lake, about an hour and a half drive. We arrived around 9 p.m., set up everything (which went VERY smoothly, by the way!), then went for a short walk to check everything out. The kids were way too wired to go to sleep right away! Eventually it was time for bed. We were waiting for the J family to show up, but they were taking too long. Of course, as soon as we got the kids settled down in their sleeping bags, the J family pulled up with their trailer! They were having a terrible time getting their trailer backed into their campsite, so Joshua went over to help direct them in. Everyone finally got settled in and went to sleep.

The next morning, we had lazy man's omelette's (scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, green onions, red peppers, and mushrooms), bacon, toasted bagels and grapes for breakfast! It was quite the spread!

After breakfast and clean up, we changed into swimming suits and headed to the lake. It was an absolutely beautiful, warm, sunny day! The lake was quite warm. It was also very shallow for a long way out and never got any deeper than our knees! We didn't have to worry about the kids falling off the edge of anything!

There was also a nice, sandy beach that the kids really enjoyed. I forgot to take a picture of the massive playground that was right on the sand, about 3 feet from the edge of the lake!

Later in the afternoon, we went back to the campsite to rest and have snacks, and play some games.

Then, it was time to build fire for supper preparation. The dads decided to each build and their own fire and the competition was on! You should have heard the trash talking the kids were doing on behalf of their dads! Here is Phil's fire with Sara and Taryn helping him add paper!

And on the other side, we have Joshua and Sky, working on their own fire! In the end, Phil had higher flames, but Joshua made better, long-lasting coals!

Of course, no camping trip would be complete without s'mores! It was the perfect ending to a near perfect day!

All in all, the trip was a success. Joshua and I rated it at about 70% successful, which I'd say is pretty good for our first time ever! There were things we forgot to bring, there were a couple of cold showers, a few mosquito bites, but mostly we just had fun. The first night Joshua and I learned a valuable lesson: If you have an inflatable mattress, you must insulate it with something thicker than a cotton sheet. We had wonderfully warm sleeping bags, zipped together, on top of us, but whatever body part was against the mattress was freezing! Who would have thought?! The second night, the J family loaned us some extra blankets to put on the mattress and we were so much warmer! The kids were warm the whole time because they were actually inside their bags and insulated on all sides. (That sentence was for the grandparents sake!!) And sometime in the early morning hours, on the second night, it started pouring rain. Joshua ran out and grabbed all the towels that were drying and anything else that needed rescuing, and threw it in the car. We spent the rest of the night listening to the rain and sleeping off and on. The tent stayed cozy and dry and the kids slept great through the whole thing! When we got up, we took refuge in the J family's trailer for the morning! They fed us scrambled eggs and pancakes. Then, we packed up and came home. Anyway, we're already super excited about the next camping trip in July and are planning more after that too! I'll leave you with two more pictures of the kids that I snapped when they were waking up. Two very different responses to Mommy with the camera...

Finally...the Sun Is Out!

After about 5 or 6 days of rain, rain and more rain, we finally have sunshine! I wouldn't call it really warm yet, but at least I can look outside and smile! Today has been a much more productive day already - that makes for a happy husband tonight! When the weather is gray and rainy, I tend to shut down and only do what is absolutely necessary around the house. Nothing motivates me more than a beautiful, sunny day! This morning, I got some laundry done, including the sheets on our bed, and dishes washed up. I decided not to subject Sara to any schoolwork for the morning, so she and Sky spent a couple of hours riding their bikes and playing hockey in the driveway. I enjoyed the peace and quiet to catch up on reading my favourite blogs!

A few days ago, we received a big box with Sara's new math books for next year. (I had extra money leftover from the school board that I needed to use up by the end of the year.) We use the curriculum, Math.U.See, which has a heavy emphasis on manipulatives. For any of you with "hands-on" children, this curriculum is wonderful! Sara says math is her favourite subject and I think that's because they make things so easy to understand and grasp. I'm even "getting" things in a new way! We had their set of starter blocks, but needed the completer set for the next book. Along with the extra blocks, I ordered the fancy, wooden boxes that they can be stored in. I don't know how we survived a whole year without these boxes! :-) I love them and they will really help things be more efficient from now on. I gave Sara the job of filling up the boxes with all the blocks. She happily obliged! I think all the new things gave her some fresh inspiration to keep plugging away with math and finish up her book for this year. School is officially over for all children in this part of the world at the end of June. So, we will be going strong for another few weeks. We will also have to continue on with Math and Language Arts as much as possible through out the summer months. Sara was somewhat behind grade level at the final evaluation, so now we are playing catch up. I've been dealing with Sara on some major bad attitudes, stubbornness and laziness issues in the last couple of weeks. It has taken away a tremendous amount of my energy and joy. I haven't known what to do some days... Please pray that I will have wisdom and much patience with this child of mine. School has been tough this year. Partly because if my own disorganization and laziness at times, partly because of bad attitudes from the student (and consequently, me giving up), and partly because Sara was very slow to read and write. We would spend weeks on one lesson that was designed for 1 week. Finally, in February, I began to see real progress and we were over the hump. Now, Sara is progressing at what I would call a "normal" pace, but of course, we're now "behind." I am so proud of her and how far she has come from in just one year! At the beginning of the year, she could only write the letters in her name independently. She didn't even know all the letter sounds when the year started. Now, she is reading words like "gift" and "clock"! She is writing well and can even do some work independently. It's been so hard at times, but so worth it. I've never shared this struggle because it was just too painful for me. I was embarrassed, I felt like a complete failure, I was too proud to let anyone else in - even my husband. I've carried this load alone for so long, but I don't want to anymore. So, I'm sharing today just because I know I need to. And because maybe someone else needs to read this. And because I need your prayers and encouragement. Keep us in your prayers this summer. I know we need to catch up as much as possible, but I want it to be as fun as possible. Poor child - nobody else will be doing schoolwork. I'm afraid too... What if we hit another roadblock? I know I can't think like that. I'm also optimistic... Things are moving along so well and Sara is learning so much! I just cry when I think about it! I pray it will be a positive summer. Thanks for listening to me share my heart.

Rainy Day Adventures

Today was cold and rainy. Sara and Sky had their final music classes with Miss Wendy this morning. They both had fun in their classes, playing games and singing their favourite songs one more time! We'll start up again in September, but it will be so nice to have the summer break.

After lunch, Sara played with her friend, Alexa, from 3 doors down for awhile. Sky joined in too, and they had a lot of fun together, running around the house and laughing! Then, I played games on Facebook and took a shower, while everyone else watched T.V. Once my legs were swimsuit worthy, we packed up towels and goggles and headed to the swimming pool! We almost didn't need to rinse in the shower before getting into the pool, with all the rain pelting us on the way into the building! We swam and splashed and raced down the water slide, with a few breaks to warm up in the hot tub. It was a nice diversion for all of us, on such a yucky day. It's been such a wet spring.... After showers and dry clothes, we went to our favourite pizza place, Casa Mia's, for supper. We had some hearty appetites and managed to almost polish off an extra-large pizza! It was delicious, as usual! When we got home, it was time for dessert (Gooey Butter Cake - see post below), and jammies. The kids were exhausted and ready to sleep! Tomorrow is supposed to be another rainy day, so we'll see what adventures we can come up with!

WHY??????

I'm sure you don't want to hear this.....anymore than I want to see this, but.....it's snowing again. Seriously, it's a blizzard out there right now. There are no words to describe my bitterness today.

The Official Canadian Conversion Chart

This morning, as I'm looking at a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, I decided it was a good time to post this little bit of Canadian humour! I found this some time ago and have been saving it for just the right time. You have to be a hockey fan to get the last line. For those of you who aren't from around here, the Calgary Flames just got eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Because Joshua is from Edmonton, we cheer for the Edmonton Oilers and against the Flames! There is a fierce rivalry between the two cities. The Oilers didn't even make it to the playoffs, but that didn't stop us from gloating when the Flames were eliminated!

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart


50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C)
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
Canadians plant gardens.

35 Fahrenheit (1.6 C)
Italian Cars won't start.
Canadians drive with the windows down.


32 Fahrenheit (0 C)
American water freezes.
Canadian water gets thicker.

0 Fahrenheit (-17.9 C)
New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.
Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-60 Fahrenheit (-51 C)
Mt. St. Helens freezes.
Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.


-100 Fahrenheit (-73 C)
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Canadians pull down their ear flaps.

-173 Fahrenheit (-114 C)
Ethyl alcohol Freezes.
Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.


-460 Fahrenheit (-273 C)
Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.
Canadians start saying "cold, eh?"

-500 Fahrenheit (-295 C)
Hell freezes over.
The Calgary Flames win the Stanley Cup.

"Dashing Through the Snow...."

"In a one-horse open sleigh...." Although, I must say, not laughing all the way! We've had Christmas all over again - in April!! What is up with this place I call home??! Last weekend my kids were wearing shorts! This is supposed to be the time of year you put away the snow boots and mitts, the down comforters and flannel sheets. At the same time my friend Karen was posting about her boys playing outside with water and mud, I was trying to keep my children from freezing their fingers off while they played with icicles! On Friday, we were hit hard with a winter storm that brought more snow than any other system all winter! It started snowing at 10 a.m. on Friday and didn't stop until 28 hours later!! It was so miserable over the weekend that I didn't even let the kids out to play. Yesterday brought a little more snow, but I finally let the monkeys out for some fresh air! They had so much fun finding icicles and eating them. (I watched out the window from the warmth of my home!) I had the kids pose for these pictures after they came in, all excited, about a big chunk of ice they found! Isn't this first one just the cutest?!



Joshua spent some considerable time shoveling all the snow off the driveway - twice. He had a great helper, though! Sky really gets into it! These pics were taken on Saturday.


And here is what I've been looking at from my kitchen window for the last 5 days. Pretty depressing, eh?
Last night and this morning we had a bit more snow. Then, this afternoon, the sky cleared and things started to melt a little. So, another thaw begins and I sincerely hope this is the last one. It's time for real Spring! Joshua and I have been longing to be back in Mexico with all this crazy weather! In my next post, you may hear that we've all run away to a new, warmer home!

A Beautiful Weekend

Look at my temperature button! It's almost feels like summer outside! We've had a weird week of weather, including 7 in. of snow on Thursday morning! All that snow came down in the space of 3 hours. Joshua left for work that morning at 7:45 a.m. and didn't arrive until 10:45 a.m.!! (He's supposed to be at work by 8:30 p.m.!) It was so bad for some people from the branch, that they just turned around and went home! By the next day, the snow was gone and the chaos was a distant memory! This weekend is a different story. Joshua and the kids have been wearing shorts for the past two days! I'm not nearly as brave! Partly because I still have a low-grade fever from my sinus infection and partly because I need to shave! :-) Calgary has such strange weather - it's enough to drive one insane! I must already be insane because all this weirdness just doesn't seem to phase me anymore. :-)

The sunshine and warmth gave Joshua the inspiration to work on our back deck. We inherited a deck with badly peeling stain, no railing and no stairs going down to the yard. We added makeshift steps late in the fall, so we wouldn't have any injuries, but the other stuff had to wait. As of a half hour ago, the deck has been sanded down to the bare wood, swept clean, and stained a brand new, fresh colour! It took some experimenting to get it just right, but after 4 trips to the store and trying 3 different sanding methods, I think Joshua is happy with the result! It certainly looks better than before! The new rails and posts have been purchased, so that will happen gradually. It will keep Joshua out of trouble in the evenings until that's done! I'll post pictures later.

As you could probably figure out, I've been really sick since Tuesday. I had already had an assortment of symptoms, that turned into a bad cold for the week and a half before that. On Monday, when Sara had her musical, I was feeling pretty good and thought that I was finally getting better. Then Tuesday morning dawned and I was sure my head was going to explode! It was the worst sinus infection I've ever had. I managed to make it to my naturopath doctor on Wednesday morning and he gave me some sympathy and some stuff to support my immune system. I'm tired of ending up on antibiotics, and he agreed. I was laid out for 3 days, doing essentially nothing but taking care of mine and the kids basic needs. Finally, on Friday, I was able to function semi-normally. I'm still running a bit of a fever off and on, but am slowly getting better. I'm still congested, but it's getting better bit by bit. This morning I was so excited because I could smell the baked oatmeal that Joshua was baking! When I went up to tell him, he was in the shower, and I could smell his shampoo! I had 5 days of NO smell and NO taste! It was awful! It totally took the fun out of eating - try that for a diet plan! I was so happy to not only smell the baked oatmeal, but taste it too! It's amazing what we take for granted, eh?

So, that's why I didn't blog this week. You would have just been reading a long list of complaints and woes! Please pray for continued healing - I still have a low-grade fever, so I know my body is still fighting infection. Also, Sky had a fever when he went to bed last night, but was fine this morning. I just hope he's not coming down with something. It's been a discouraging week, but God's grace has been sufficient. Of course, with this sickness, we didn't have any school, so I have nothing to report in that arena. But, I have some plans ready to go, so hopefully this next week will be a great one!

Winter Play!

Well, we never got to build that snowman... The snow was too dry and powdery, even if there was a lot of it. We haven't had a sticky snow yet this season - maybe next time! The kids have had a blast playing outside this week even without a snowman. Tomorrow afternoon we're going to be plunged into a deep freeze for awhile, so we've been getting all the fresh air and exercise we can manage these last few days! Joshua is working today, but when he gets home, were going to get all the shopping errands done for the week. It's just literally painful to be out shopping when it's a high of -25 C. When you buy things like lettuce and green onions, they freeze instantly on the way to the car! I learned that the hard way my first year in Alberta! I had to throw away half my produce when I got home because it was ruined. You either don't go grocery shopping when it's that cold, or you bring a blanket along to protect your produce. Anyway, we'll be doing lots of reading, baking and computer games this next week!

This week was fairly uneventful. Tuesday evening, Sara and Sky had swim lessons. I signed them up for a session of 7 weeks and Tuesday was the first lesson. They were full of anxious questions all day, but they loved their classes! Sara is in the Red Cross Level 1 and Sky is in the preschool Salamander level. The best part about the whole thing is that both classes are unparented, which means I don't have to put on a bathing suit and get in the water! I just get to stand and watch and smile! Joshua was able to get to the pool from work, in time to watch as well. It will be good for both kids, but especially Sara. She has more fears and inhibitions in the water then her brother does.

I babysat two days this week - Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather was beautiful, so I was able to send them all outside a lot. On Tuesday, I went out and took a few pictures of Sara, Sky and Rachel. I will leave you with those to enjoy! They were being extra cute! The one above is my absolute favourite!

Look at those happy, rosy cheeks!

Rachel having a contemplative moment.Taking turns on the swings!

Snowing

It's been a pretty brown winter so far. We got one decent snow at the end of November, and one at the beginning of December. There was no Christmas snow, and no New Year's snow. Then it got warm and what little snow we had, has been slowly disappearing. But, on Thursday evening, it finally started to snow! It snowed all night. Joshua shoveled the driveway before bed, and then the kids and I shoveled again the next morning! Sara and Sky each have their own little shovels and I must say, they really do a great job clearing snow! Last night it started snowing again and and I was surprised to see it falling when I got up this morning. It was so pretty. It continued to snow until late afternoon! We're not complaining about brown anymore! I went to the grocery store today with Sky, and I had to use all my strength to push the grocery cart through the slushy snow covering the parking lot! I was just glad I didn't have to ask for help! We didn't play outside because it was very cold today and the snow was falling so heavily. Tomorrow we'll make a snowman!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words....

I know, I know, it's been forever and I really have no good excuse! Just really busy! And when I finally do get some down time, I don't want to be staring at a computer screen trying to think of clever things to say! So, I've decided to do a little picture update for you to get everyone caught up. The last two weeks have been very full, but fun! Here's a peek into the fun....On November 21st, my little boy turned 4! Joshua was out of town Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and he got home at 7:45 p.m. on Sky's birthday. We had a special, late supper and gave Sky his gifts from us. On Friday, we had a party with Sky's little friends in the afternoon. I won't go into the details, but it was a pretty crazy day! Special thanks to my friends Trina and Penny for helping me clean up messes and keep my sanity! (I was also babysitting that day!) Sky had fun and that was all that mattered!This is the birthday cake that Sky requested - a baseball cap and glove, complete with ball! Yes, I still make these cakes! Believe it or not, this one was actually quite easy.This past Monday, Joshua had the day off because he worked on Saturday. We spent the morning in a rather frustrating search around town for those clips to put up Christmas lights. After three stores, we finally found them. Of course, the temperature plummeted the night before, and there was my poor husband putting up Christmas lights when it was -15 C! I knew it was cold because my snot was freezing in my nose! It does that when it gets below -10 C!We also put up the Christmas tree later that evening. Here's Sara relaxing in her nightie after a long day of decorating and playing! They were excited to have the Christmas books out again!On Tuesday, we finally got a decent amount of snow! Never mind that it was absolutely freezing outside, every kid in the neighbourhood was out to play! Here is Sara posing with her her friends. The one in the red is Alexa, who lives two doors down. They are like two peas in a pod and are only weeks apart in age! After having fun making snow angels, the kids decided to all form one team and have a snowball fight! Who was on the opposing team? ME! Yes, that's right! They all ganged up on me (about 8 of them!) and thought it was hilarious! I said it was no fair, but they didn't listen! It was really more of a powder fight because the snow wasn't the kind you could pack into a snowball. You should have seen the rosy cheeks!

Sky looks like he's afraid someone's going to step on him! He was excited to be wearing his new ski pants for the first time.And this is what my front entryway looked after five kids came in from playing in the snow! I made them clean it up after I took the picture!

So, now you know what's been going on around here. Tomorrow we're going on our first family ski trip in the mountains. Joshua's taking a day of vacation, so we can avoid the weekend crowds. We'll be dragging the kids out of bed before dawn, loading up the ski's boots, poles, and everything warm we can find! It's going to be a very cold day, but we're going to have FUN! Oh dear, I'm actually quite dreading it, but there's always the coffee shop or the fire in the hotel lobby where I can hide if I need to!

Fall Cleaning

Wow! Today is my 50th post! I'll have to figure out a way to celebrate that one! How about by getting more comments than I've ever had before! (hint, hint!) Maybe a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte! O.K., I'll quit being weird and get on with other news....

Yesterday was another gorgeous, warm day! I even opened the windows for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I wanted to take advantage of some fresh air while we still have the opportunity. Winter months create some pretty stale air around here! Joshua was feeling pretty icky with a cold, so he stayed home and slept the morning away. I had school with the kids and then we all had lunch together. It was fun having Daddy home even if he was sick! The warm sunshine got me motivated to get outside and clean some windows. Wow, did they ever need a cleaning! We have two big windows, one in the living room and one in the dining nook, that look out over the back deck. I had to wipe them 3 times over before they sparkled enough for me! The back door and screen door (both have glass) were absolutely filthy and I was embarrassed I hadn't noticed until yesterday! The previous owners had a dog and I'm sure that was dog slobber I was scrubbing off the glass! GROSS! But, that wasn't even the worst! There is a window in the basement that was just covered with a film of dried mud. You could hardly see out! I wanted to clean that window from Day1, but the reason I had not done so, was it's location. In order to get to this window from outside, you needed to crawl under the back deck! Once I got the other windows clean, I was officially in "conquer" mode! It was time to clean that window. First, we tried spraying it with high pressure water, but the dirt didn't budge! Then, I opened the window from the inside (standing on a table), and tried to reach around and clean it from that angle. That wasn't happening either! So, I'm sure you've guessed the next step! I wriggled myself under that deck, cobwebs and all, and cleaned that crazy window by hand! Once I got under the low crossbeam, I was able to sit up partially, so that made it a little easier. We were throwing out our old patio furniture cushions, so Joshua had the idea to put those down where I had to crawl. That was much more pleasant than dirt! And today, the window is bright and clear, and I'm so glad I picked yesterday to clean, because this morning there was snow on the ground! This last picture is Joshua's idea of keeping the kids occupied and out of his hair (he decided to get in on the action and organize the shed). I was cleaning the living room window and Joshua had just handed over the hose to Sara for a turn. I hear him say, "Now, stay there for a LONG time, cause the tree needs LOTS of water." I was dying laughing! He denies the forced slave labour, but I know better! :-)

I think I overdid it yesterday because today, I'm very snuffly and sniffly today. It won't be as productive a day, that's for sure! Rachel is here today, but it will be a short day, cause her grandparents are coming to pick her up at 2:30 p.m. and then they'll pick up Hailey and Dallin at school. I need to be having school with everyone, so I'd better go....

Life Back In Calgary

Maybe you're not bored with Alaska stories yet, but I wanted to take a break and talk about what's been going on since we got home! Last week was actually pretty busy with chiropractor appointments, grocery shopping to stock the depleted fridge, taking our truck in for an oil change, helping some friends move to a new house, wedding rehearsal and ceremony..... We still managed to find time for fun in the sun too, as you can see in the pictures! It's been very hot in Calgary since we got home, so we're finally enjoying a real summer! The only problem when it get this hot, is that we don't have air conditioning or swamp cooling - just a few fans and open windows! The open windows haven't been much help because there wasn't ANY breeze for a few days, which made for some difficult, restless nights. We did get some breeze yesterday morning, finally! And yesterday there were some clouds at times, so that gave us some relief. It was a much more restful night last night!

On Friday, my friend Trina invited us to the water park and playground in their neighbourhood. You can only get in if you live in the area, but they're also allowed to bring guests. They have this great little wading pool, complete with big guns that shoot water! Sky was so excited to try the guns! He raced over to one, grabbed the handle, but before he could even figure out how to use the thing, he was blasted by another kid's gun! Poor kid, he was NOT happy and it scared him pretty good! I actually asked the other kid not to do that because it was Sky's first time there! But, after awhile, I decided he needed to get over it and roll with the punches! Sara and Sky both enjoyed spraying other people, but when it came their turn to get sprayed, it didn't seem like so much fun. I told them it was part of the game and if they didn't like it, to leave! They eventually did! The playground was a big hit too, so they played for a long time there. Here are a few pics of the fun! The one of Trina, having fun splashing with her two kids, Eric (3 3/4) and Katelyn (16 months), is my favourite!

On Saturday, the hottest day of the week, we were at an outdoor wedding! One of Joshua's good friends from his seminary days, asked Joshua if he would perform the ceremony for his wedding. Of course, he agreed! Miguel and Melissa chose to be married in the botanical gardens at the Calgary Zoo! It was beautiful, but HOT! They were well prepared, though. As each guest arrived, they received a bottle of water, and all the ladies received a pretty little fan as well! In the pictures, you can see the baskets of water bottles on ice! Sara was enthralled with the fan! Fortunately for all the guests who were wilting in the heat, Joshua doesn't believe in long wedding ceremonies! He says that the bride and groom aren't going to remember a thing he says anyway, and no one is there to hear him talk - they're there to see a couple get married! So, the ceremony was short and sweet and very lovely! Afterwards, Joshua changed out of his soggy suit and we had some time to see some of the animals at the zoo! We went out for supper afterwards. There was a reception with a meal, but for whatever reason, kids were not allowed. (But they were at the ceremony.) We didn't find this out until the day before and it was too late to find a babysitter. But, that's O.K. - we had a fun time eating out somewhere where there was air conditioning!