Wildlife Festival

This past Friday, I participated in a Photography workshop in Waterton.   (It's the Wildlife Festival right now, and so there's a bunch of various classes/presentations that you can attend.)   I was so glad that Marilee (a photographer in our stake) signed up to go too, as these things are never fun going to alone;)

The class lasted two hours and involved a drive up Akimina Road, a stop near Red Rock for some camera tutorial, and then a drive back.   All the while we scoured the landscape in search of Wildlife.   The first hour and a half was, frankly, quite lame.   We saw little.   

The last half hour was AMAZING as we came upon several bears just off the side of the road.  

To say we caused a "bear jam" would be an understatement.   Imagine 10 amateur photographers all vying for the closest/best angle.    (I'm proud to say that Marilee and I positioned ourselves at the front of the caravan and managed to get some fun shots.)  Not that our photos compared to any the other hoity toity photographers took.  Their lenses were stinking HUGE, and we often had to remind ourselves not to be jealous;)     

It had snowed the day before which made the air quite cool, BUT provided a BEAUTIFUL backdrop!

After the course, I hung around Waterton a bit for some time to do the things I normally don't do when my kids come along.    I stopped off at my favorite restaraunt Vimy's and had a Turkey Club Sandwich and Clam Chowder while I watched the rain fall outside.   THEN, I headed over to the Falls Theatre for a 1 hour presentation about Wolves.  Before heading home I grabbed a cup of steamed milk and drove out to the flat to watch the Elk.    

It was pretty much the perfect way to end a busy week;) 

An evening at Alpine Stables

Once upon a time I had a 33 birthday, and I was lucky enough to be given a gift card to Alpine Stables in Waterton.    That special someone knows me pretty well;)

I thought about going in June - but June makes me want to light myself on fire.    

Then I thought about going during the summer - but darnit all, there was just so much other fun going on!

Finally, this past weekend John and I went on a Fall ride, and it was PERFECT!

We showed up at the stables late afternoon, and were instantly presented two very easy going horses.  

I was thrilled when our guide started taking us out on to the flat.    We often drive out to this area to watch the Elk gather in the fall, but now we were actually getting to ride right into the trees!!!

This is a photo looking back at where we'd been.    It was a beautiful day!

Skeena and Me;)

(Skeena as in the "Skeena River."  Isn't that a great name for a horse?)

Once we crossed the flat, it was straight into the trees!  Riding through a forest is always so much fun, especially when I actually remember to duck for those low hanging branches;)

We spent the hour exploring the woods along the flat, weaving in and out, crossing little streams, and just generally pretending we were true legit country folk.

Occasionally we'd hear the bugle of an Elk off in the distance, but we didn't think much of it.    We were shocked though at what we saw as I came through this grove of trees and approached the shore.

Standing there watching us was the biggest, most beautiful bull Elk I'd ever seen,

and this was definitely the closest to one I've ever been!

It watched us for awhile before it began to saunter along the shore away from us.  

It was kinda funny, at one point it picked up speed and our guide started running his horse with it, trying to stay on it's tail.   I hung back...but not because I was chicken or anything;)

Such a magnificent animal!!!

A few minutes later we were back in the forest, just going along, when wall the sudden we looked over to see this bull Elk staring right at us!  

After those fun encounters I figured nothing could be better, or make this riding trip any more of an adventure.    That's when I looked up to the top of the hill we were approaching and saw a big black bear sitting and watching us.    I pointed it out to the guide and he replied, "Oh, ok.  We'll go up there!"  

So we rode right up TO the black bear! 

We kept a respectable distance for sure, and the bear was completely disinterested in us, but never before have I actually felt like going TOWARDS a bear.    

Being on horseback has it's perks. (A false sense of security being one of them;)

On the way back to the stables, our guide showed us a spot you could stand on and look out and see all three lakes in Waterton.   Apparently it is the lowest spot in Waterton where you can see all three lakes.

It was such a perfect day.

I loved the afternoon with John.

Wildlife was out.

Weather was perfect.

Just...AWESOME!!!

Super Mario, Taylor Swift, and other weekly updates...

This past week I noticed this snazzy little Mario costume on our town "Buy and Sell" facebook page.   I snatched it up faster then white on rice (as my Dad used to say?) and Nate has been wearing it ever since!   

  

At first, I thought he'd just have a little bit of fun and then grow bored with it, just like all the other things I buy for him.   I should have known that wouldn't be the case when he went to bed the first night insisting on wearing his costume.   Mustache and all!   

And when he woke up the next morning?   

The first thing he asked me to do was freshen up his mascara "stache."  haha

For THREE days he wore this costume!

He wore it when I took him with me to go visiting teaching.

He wore it while running around the cul de sac at 7:00 am.

He wore it while we had lunch together at Dave's.

And he wore it while I shopped for paint at Home Hardware.

It baffles me that he doesn't feel insecure sticking out in a crowd as much as he does, but it would appear he is totally in his element!

Just for kicks (as I was taking pictures of him) I told him it was time to take the costume off and not wear it anymore.   (Well...at least not until closer to Halloween for goodness sakes.)   He hung his head down, drooped his shoulders, and started to cry.    Dang, he looked cute!

It's been an interesting week around these parts.    

Abby and Sam have struggled to get back into the school routine, as both of them are in classes this year without any of their friends.  It's brought some heart wrenching moments, for real,  as I've listened to them explain the loneliness or nervousness that they've felt each day.   That said, it has also provided a lot of opportunities for conversation as we've tried to come up with various ways that they could reach out to others.    By the end of this week, Sam was feeling much MUCH more comfortable with his class, and Abby has managed to organize an upcoming "Taylor Swift Party" with 8 other girls, so I think they are figuring things out well enough;)

Speaking of which, this "Taylor Swift Party" has me half rolling my eyes and half wanting to support it due to her new found grade 5 insecurities.    So far, she has spent three afternoons with a few of the girls as they've held very in depth "planning meetings."   They have finally concluded that the party will be on Friday and will go as follows:

Taylor Swift Party

3:00-3:15  -  wait for everyone

3:15-4:15 - make microphones

4:15-5:15 practice favorite TS songs

5:15-5:55 Snacks

5:55-6:45 makeovers

6:45 - 7:45 Sing-off in the backyard

7:45-8:30 board games

8:30 - 9:00 - "talk about life" and "like... just hang out."    

Sigh.....

I'm starting to sense that I am in for quite a year. 

  

Sam had his first cub activity ever this past week, and LOVED it!   

They went out to a nearby farm and learned to saddle up a horse, ride it and drive a team of horses.   He came home with wide eyes and all sorts of stories, and he said his cub teacher (Sister Creed) is so awesome because she likes snakes!  He fell asleep reading his 300 page cub manual, and woke us up at 6:15 the next morning to see if we could go in to Lethbridge to buy him his uniform.     This afternoon, we spent about an hour working on a goal in which he needs to work on the skills of answering the phone, answering the door, and taking messages.    For practice, I got on the cell phone and would call him on our land line so that we could role play the whole phone etiquette thing.   

This is how it went down:

Attempt #1:

Phone: Ring Ring....

Sam (using his best Gollum impression):   Helllo,... my precious!!!!!!!!.........

Attempt #2:

Phone: Ring Ring....

Sam:  Hello, this is Sam.

Me:  Oh, Hello little boy, is your Mom there?

Sam:   No, she's gone.

Me:  Oh, you are home alone?  Well thanks for telling me this.  Is it okay then if I come and kidnap you?

Sam:   No, but you can take my Sister.

Attempt #3:

Phone:  Ring Ring....

Sam:  Hello, this is Sam.

Me:  Oh hi, is your Mom there?

Sam:  She can't come to the phone right now, can I take a message?

Me:  Yes.  Can you tell her to call me at 653-0000

Sam:  Yes

Me (after a long pause):  Okay thanks.  So, you'll tell her to call me?    

Sam:   I will, but I didn't write down your number so just call her back another time.

Sigh....

At the risk of sounding redundant - I'm starting to sense that I am in for quite a year.

Jessica has (in typical Jessica fashion) wormed her way in to the affection of everyone she spends her days with and she continues to love everything about the Whole World!!  haha.   So far, the biggest dilemma of her days seems to be "who she's going to invite over after school."   

She does come home every.single.day with a backpack full of worksheets, crafts and exciting things she's made.   In the midst of my "after school cleanup" I find I'm always throwing it in the garbage, and an hour later she is always asking me where it is?   

I keep telling her that I always put her school art work in her "Memory Box."  

(So far, it's working;)

John and I had a manic episode last week where we just up and listed our house for sale. 

I say we just "up and did it" but really we've been thinking about doing so for a while.   We still debate whether or not we ever could really leave such a great location, but for the time being we are going to forge ahead and act like we can.    This shift in our plan has motivated me to tackle some of the projects I've been putting off, and on Thursday I tackled the dreaded crawlspace!     At first I was just going to organize and arrange all the boxes and you know,  make everything look nice.    Instead, I went through every.single.box scouring through each and every item and then (after sending much of it to the same place I send Jessica's school work) I re-boxed the rest into a much more organized fashion.  

  The whole process did my Type A heart a lot of good, though I'll admit, I had no idea John had received so many love letters from his former girlfriends!  And what boggled my mind even more then that - is that I have actually moved those letters from house to house with us.  THIRTEEN TIMES!!!  haha   

Don't worry - I didn't chuck them. 

Every one of John's precious memories were safely put back in a box titled -

"John's memories from High school/Mission/and those Empty and lost years before he found ME."

Summer Exploration

This past year John and I tried to explore some new and fun places in Waterton and Glacier with the kids.   I also had the chance to take a Wildflower Photography Course as well.   (I LOVED that!)

Below are some of my favorite photos.

Baring Falls:

 Close to Sunrift Gorge:

Many Glacier:

On the way to Baring Falls:

Pink Spirea at Lunch Creek:

Spring Thaw in Waterton:

Cameron Falls:

Sticky Purple Geranium in Waterton:

 View of Waterton:

Field of Fireweed:

 From the Prince of Whales Hotel:

Lady Slippers in Waterton:

 Prince of Whales in the Springtime:

 Red Rock Canyon:

A beautiful sight!

One night this week, shortly after we'd (finally) gotten all of the kids in to bed, I stepped out our front door about to start an evening walk, when THIS is what I saw!

It was the best rainbow we'd seen all year, and for a long time for that matter.  

I was so excited that I ran around the house, waking up every kid and telling them they had to get up and come outside.    It didn't take long for the kids and I to hop in the van and drive to the temple, (leaving John wondering what had happened to "bedtime.";)

But this is worth waking up/staying up for, no?

As Free as I thought it would be

The dominating story of the week is that our little guy, our youngest, (...our last!) has finally decided to say goodbye to diapers.     It's about time too, as we've only spent the past 10 months asking him when he was going to learn to go potty like a "big boy!"   Every time we asked him though his response was always, "ummm...at fwee firty"  or   "umm...maybe in sixty fifty ten."

(Apparently now that he's figured out the whole bathroom thing, we should begin to teach him the concept of time?)  

Truly though, this is a big deal for me.   When I say he is "potty trained" I mean he is - done!   I never have to ask him or nag him, he doesn't need pull ups, or anything on at night.   In fact, I have gone so far as to completely rid myself of every last diaper (including the ones that graced the bottoms of dolls and stuffies;) leaving no remnant of them anywhere in sight! 

For 11 years I have added diapers to our weekly or monthly shopping trips.   For 11 years I have had to ensure that everywhere I went I had diapers and baby wipes in tow.    For 11 YEARS I have had to designate a certain garbage in our garage to "the stinky ones!"   

And for 11 years I have wondered how this moment would feel. 

I truly feel free.   There are just no.other.words.

Oh and for the record, I did a little estimated calculation this afternoon and figured that John and I have spent approximately $5277. 36 on diapers and $922.68 on wipes over the past 11 years!    YOWSERS!  

(Oh, and sorry for the underwear pics, they are totally uncalled for, but I figured after my last post- these ones were quite mild;)

Reinstating Bedtime

Oh my goodness, where has summer gone!!!

Like really, where has it gone?

Perhaps (when I next have time to blog) I should recap all of the highlights of this past summer.   Suffice it to say, the past two months have been Busy (note the capital B), fun, new, rich and so, so full!

On Tuesday my entire family headed off to school. 

 Well actually, not my entire  family as Nate is still home with me.    (Perhaps, when I next have time to blog,  I should share the obligatory first day of school photos and blog about the fun adventures Nate and I have during our days together.    There's just no time for recording all that fun stuff right now.  It would appear that we are all sort of trying to find our way through this new thing called ROUTINE!

This biggest adjustment for the kids has been the implementation of a bedtime again.  

Bed time has always been a bit of a gong show, but now it has morphed into  a TWO HOUR long Gong Show!

"Bedtime"  has once again become the time of day when John (if he's home) chooses to get the kids hyper... Jessica needs 25 books read to her... Abby begins to lament the fact that "someone who is 10 years old actually has to even have a bed time"....  Nate makes a million trips to the bathroom... and Sam parades around the house wearing underwear on his head.    

I made the mistake one night of taking a picture of Sam in one of his sillier moments, and it turned into a full on photo shoot.  (ie:  every time I opened his door to ask if he was going to bed - he was striking some crazy pose... with underwear on his head!!) 

  This particular one kinda scares me.

This one made me laugh.

Eventually though, the kids do fall asleep 

But not after a LOT of goofing around, a lot of angry (albeit ignored) threats, and a lot of tears.

Eventually...they all get so tired though (from all that procrastinating I imagine) that they just sorta drop like flies into a deep slumber.    

7:00 am comes awfully soon around here now!