Nationals...

This weekend Waterton held the National Wilderness Festival, so I decided to take the kids out there for some fun. We'd planned to attend a animal costume workshop together but when we got out there I was so taken with the beautiful fall colors that the kids and I spent the afternoon taking photos instead. It was cool to see the deciduous trees around the lakes so full of color while the pines behind them were all covered with snow. A bit of Autumn and Winter. Gorgeous!


This reminded me of the years we spent in Edmonton. The last week of September was when the trees along the North Saskatchewan looked the best, and all of you up there are probably enjoying that right now!

We arrived an hour late for the kids workshop. (I felt so bad.) Still, we had a great time.
We did stop and have spaghetti before heading home. I love this picture of sam. Anybody ever seen "strange brew"?



I noticed (while my kids were playing Nickjr on the computer:) that today was also a "National Day of Play". Yes another one of those "national" days that I almost missed! So we decided to step away from the computer for a bit and do just that...play. We went on an Alphabet hike. During our hike Abby had to (equipped with a camera) take a photo of something that started with every letter of the Alphabet. She had to do it in the correct order as well. I was surprised at how creative she was. For example when we could not find something that started with K abby decided to just make one. Of course. So for those tricky letters we cheated a little bit constructing them out of sticks or stones. A lot of fun!!
Abby's photo of a Buck...for the letter B.


Other news...sam has had an ear infection. He's been on stinkin antibiotics for 6 days now. I can't wait until he is done that because we literally need to pin him down and restrain him just to administer a measly 5 mls. He's like Jekyll and Hyde this one!!:))


Jessica has started pulling herself this week and resting on her knees and even attempting to stand. This is a little to early for her to be doing this though, and usually results quickly in a rollover onto her head.
John is keeping VERY busy at work. He's always home at a great time but is usually marking papers, writing tests, or planning lessons until late in the night. Anyone who thinks school teachers are the most underpaid professionals ever, say "Aye!"

Does anybody have a tissue ??

Word of the day...

ENTROPY! My school teacher husband came home the other day and used this word only minutes after walking through the door. At the time I didn't know what it meant, (but I've since looked it up) and yes it does describe what I was feeling at that moment quite well. It had been one of those days. You know the kind...when you pretty much have to count to 10 every 10 minutes and remind yourself, "I love my life...I love my life."



Lucky for us though, when things start too feel too busy and overscheduled, we can just head to the mountains for a rejuvenating afternoon of this...



and this...



and this! We could have watched these sailboats all day.



It was a perfectly relaxing afternoon, and the perfect end to a busy week.

Oh by the way in case you are wondering the definition of ENTROPY is A tendency towards disorder within a closed system; chaos; opposite of order.

Yes dear...point taken:)

Happy SNOW DAY!!!

...ok my TWO most favorite things ever are: 1) Fall, and 2)the first snow fall of the year! When my sister called this morning a little before 7:00 and told me to look out the window, for a breif moment I thought she was playing a joke. Sure enough though I opened the blinds to see the most beautiful snow blanketing our freshly mowed grass.
Even better- it is STILL SNOWING! Abby, who is usually my late sleeper, heard my excitement and climbed out of bed. We donned our hats and mitts and headed out to enjoy it before everyone else woke up. Trying to cram every great thing we love about the snow into our limited time was actually a lot of fun. Snowangels...then a snowman...then snow tracks around our entire property! I really enjoyed this moment with Abby this morning.


There is something about the first snowfall that makes me want to dig out the christmas boxes, turn on some "Christmas with the Mini Pops" (yeah I know but I love it!) and bake some cinnamon buns. Seeing as it is only mid-september I may just bake.


More exciting news to report: Abby is learning to write! She's been in pre-school for 3 officail days and although they don't teach these little four year olds to write, something about getting to go "to school" has abby ready for some learning. I decided to just go with it. I took her out and bought her a special pen and "homework book" because you know, at this age, homework is the BEST! On the way home Abby would ask me how to spell certain words. Words like Mom, Dad, Sam, Ava.... I would spell them out for her expecting to see some scribbles and make believe writing. By the time we got home and I looked in her book I was surprised to see the real words. She really wrote all those names. Mind you the letters look rough but they are correct none the less! Imagine that! Somewhere in that cute little head of hers were all those letters just waiting to get out. Even better she said, "and look mom I even spelled "TAD!" Sure enough there it was T-A-D. Now she keeps busy writing words and lining them all up along our sofa. My job is to come to her store and Buy a word from her. Clever:) I love seeing Abby enjoy letters, and she just beams every time she writes a real word. Something clicked for her this week. It was the most exciting thing ever! (almost exciting as the newly fallen snow:) Now I'm only wondering one thing...who is TAD?
(Incase you can't tell- this does say SAM)


I'm pretty much winning with Abby right now, and our fun time in the snow has solidified to her that I am infact the best mom ever! However, incase I get to optimistic, Jessica is a different story. For the past 10 days she has not been herself. My usually cheery, perfect smily girl has been grouchy, clingy and downright mean at times. "Somethings wrong." I'd often say to John, but I'd just chalk it up to teething. Unfortunately I think I've gotten a little bit too relaxed as more of my kids are born. I finally took her into the Dr, after a really bad night only to find out that though she is teething, she's also battling a "RED HOT EAR INFECTION!" Great. That only took ten days for me to get my act in gear. Yup when it comes to Jessica, I'm feeling more like the crapiest mom ever right now.



Sam is...a mystery to me. He's a very active little boy and continues to be the one that requires the most effort. Yet he can be the sweetest little man ever. He isn't always...but he CAN be. He can probably say about fifteen words, but he communicates best with his hands. Is this normal? Abby had such a huge vocabulary by this time. Anyone out there with advice on how to get a stubborn boy to talk...I'd love it!
That pretty much sums up the fun in our lives at this moment. Hope you are enjoying a beautiful snowy day where you are!

Smokin' Good Times....

John here (in the blogosphere)

Just some quick shots of our weekend get together with family. Thanks to everyone for coming and be sure that we'll do it again soon! Our fire pit is officially open, to use some old scouting terminology. Thanks as always to Tanis, Jewel, and Heather for organizing all the good food and to Chad for the professional photography. I'm telling you, after a long fire ban, there's nothing better than a fireside Tim Tam Slam! Remember, you're all welcome around our campfire anytime! (cue in Man from Snowy River theme now...)

Time out!!

Sunday Sept 9th 2007

I just got back from Calgary late last night. I had the BEST time with my sisters. Jewel and I left our husbands to fend for themselves and the kids while we went up to stay with Crystal. We got some shopping done, ate lots, ate some more, visited my mom and dads grave, and attended a portion of "Time out for Women." I ran into so many old friends there from pretty much every place John and I have ever lived. I feel like we accomplished an awful lot and it is amazing how much you can do without kids:)

Thank you Crystal for the awesome place to stay, and thanks Heather and Chad for always feeding something delicious. The Thai subs and drinks were AMAZING!

I did miss Sam and Abby A LOT though, and by the time we started back home on Saturday night, that van couldn't get me to them fast enough! I felt rejuveniated though and when I walked through my front door, the kids were such an awesome sight. Abby ran to me and the first thing she said was, "Mom! I was good, and I shared with Sam EVERY TIME!" Hmmm. How about "it's so nice to see you?" Nope-must've had something to do with the fact that I promised her a prize if she'd be good for Daddy. She doesn't miss a beat.

Speaking of "beats," we attended a ward party earlier in the week. It was held out at the "Great Canadian Barn Dance." We had such a fun time and Abby and Sam Loved dancing. Watching Sam made me think of a comment his Uncle Jordan had made that "Sam definately dances to the beat of his own drum."

It was nice to see Johns brother and his wife this week and their little daughter Libby. Here is a photo of Abby with Libby. They had just come from Hawaii!



Other exciting news this week was the arrival of another little neice named Brooklyn. She came almost one month early but we are thrilled that she is doing so well, and we can't wait to see her!!


It was a fun week and now it is back to the busyness that is our life. Abby officially starts preschool tomorrow, dentist appointments, work, weeding and the fact that we woke up frozen this morning has us worried.


Our little furnace seems to be a little broken. After hours of deliberation with John about this I determined that our furnace problems just might have something to do with the burnt wires and smokey smell. Now we need to get someone in to give us a more educated assessement then that one. This doesn't look good. Ahhh...I think I NEED A TIME OUT!!:))))

Our FIRST week

I love this time of year!! The weather has cooled significantly and already some of the leaves on our trees are starting to change color. I often find myself savoring the little things that make this season a personal favorite.

It has seemed like we've enjoyed a week of FIRSTS in our little family.

* We finally completed painting our "first" home. John and I tackeled this project wanting to get it done quickly... and we did. In two days (or should I say nights:) our walls had a lovely shade of either dune white or kingsport grey. It is funny what a facelift a coat of paint can give, and now only those who saw the walls beforehand will ever appreciate how they look now. Glad that is finished!

* John had his first day of work this past week. School began on the 29th and he is officially MR. Hardy. On Thursday I needed to drop something off for him and as I glanced into his Chem class and saw him teaching I couldn't help but think he was definately the "Coolest" teacher that I'd ever seen.

* I went fishing this week, and for the first time ever brought along 6 kids. (Two of my own and four of their friends) That obviously marks my first mental relapse as well. Needless to say nothing was caught, and I likely will never do that again:))

* Abby had her 1st day at pre-school. She spent Wednesday morning at the school meeting some of the staff and being assessed by them. She is such a bright little girl and she is so excited to finally be going to school! As a parent, I LOVED watching this little girl...MY FIRST...do so well.

* Sam got stung by a wasp for the first time. What is with the wasps this year? Has anyone managed to NOT get stung?

Jessica...well okay no firsts for her this week. But trust us, she's as adorable as ever!

Best of the Best!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Relish every moment:)))

My father in-law gave me a bunch of freshly picked onions, cucumbers, and yummy apples. Jewel and I set to work making relish and also preserving apples in a mixture that will make apple crisp a cinch!! This was a lot of work as it consisted peeling and cutting 10 gallons of little tiny apples. Ten minutes into it, this morning, I knew it was going to be a long day...and it was. But look at these!!!




Now I get to open my pantry and see pickels, relish, apples, and soon (thanks to Jewel:) SALSA!! Stay tuned for my future post on peaches.

As if that wasn't enough work for today, we sent John and Kendall over to paint our kitchen. Any of you who have been in our home would understand my sense of urgency to get this done:)) In my defense though I had EVERY intention of tackling this project on my own once school started and JOhn was gone. But seeing as I'd purchased the paint and Kendall and John were so bored today... Okay, Okay they are probably both wishing their wives wouldn't volunteer them for things all the time. I am so glad that it is done. Still more rooms to go but I love not seeing yellow wallpaper. When was that ever in style? Anyways we were soo glad to have Kendalls professional expertise.

Before




After




It was a fun day? Well, I think tomorrow we'll be able to say that it was fun.

Just a thought for family

"Life is not about learning how to weather the storm. It is about learning how to dance in the rain!"

Just a cheesy post today for all those that I love. I saw this quote on a wall of an insurance agency the other day and I have thought about it often. It is been a challenging year for our famlies on both sides. However, we have also never had a summer where we have visited with so much family and had so much fun. Not a week went by that we weren't enjoying someones company! Despite the sad reason that has brought many of Johns siblings to Canada we have loved seeing you, and the kids miss you guys already. Summer is almost over (wahhhh), and we don't know what we'll do without the the thought of "family coming" to look forward to!! We've really been spoiled. Love you all...

Green Eggs and Ham!

Jewel and I took our girls to Suessical the Musical tonight. Seriously the funniest show I have seen. The Cat in the Hat was the best character ever and watching him made me so grateful that some people have talent for the rest of us to enjoy! Even better is he is Abby and Ava's swimming teacher right now and they are both thrilled to have gotten to see him perform tonight. Awesome show!



We tried getting a shot of the girls during intermission. By the way I have yet to take a picture of Mya without her doing something silly. Hmmmm. Future actress herself perhaps:))







Abby and Ava with the Cat in the Hat as well as Thing 1 (we grew up with her in Claresholm).


Seriously well done to anybody and everybody who has the ability to show their skills. Life would be so boring without ya!!!!

The past 96 hours...in a nutshell!

We've been up to a lot in the past few days. Here is a recap:



John's Uncle and his family entered the towns annual family softball tournament. John was invited to play with them and he LOVED the chance. They all had matching T-shirts which I thought was awesome, and John always likes being able to play on a team, of any sort. The kids had fun cheering them on...sometimes:)




John has almost finished his work for the summer. He's pretty much transformed this families backyard. It was once a forest of pine trees. Soon there will be a garden, this patio area, a deck and nice fresh sod. Sweet!! He's so good at this stuff!



This past weekend the kids had a lot of fun watching the parade and filling up on candy. Cavities perhaps???

Most importantly, today was Sam's second Birthday!!! My little boy. I've tried extra hard to love him all day despite his busy antics that are so typical of him. He has so much personality in that little body it scares me.

I opted for an easy cake this year. No fun shapes, or moulds. Just circles...busy like him. I like how it turned out.



It was so funny to watch Sam try to blow out his candles. And when I say "try", he really didn't. As we watched and waited for him to blow he took his little hand and with such determination just stamped out the flame. With hot wax all over him he continued to do this, every time. He would literally "punch" the lights out of the candle using his hand. Possible some second degree burns resulted from this. lol. Again...Typical of Sam:)


Hopefully he'll learn to ride this bike soon and stop pushing his big sister off of hers all the time. This boy...I just love him to pieces! Happy Birthday Sam.

Holy Cow!!!

Have you ever woken up from a great sleep and just wondered what was going on around you? That was the kind of morning we had. Bright and early (well 7:00 ish:)) I woke up and layed in bed for a moment in a daze thinking...something is odd. It was so loud outside but we were so tired it was not really registering that something was going on. I remember wishing that the farmer at the end of our street would do something to keep his dogs quiet. Five minutes later...uh I don't think those are dogs....and that is awfully loud...and close....cows maybe? Another five minutes later and I'm awake FINALLY noticing that there are cows ON OUR FRONT LAWN!! We jumped up and ran to our window and there they were. One big bovine in particular, happily stood on our driveway right next to our van. Abby was thrilled. She's been known to pray for a little pet cow at times!! She must have thought she'd been heard:)))) Wish I'd gotten a picture of it but by the time I got outside "Bessy" and her friends had run off to wander in more interesting yards. If only I'd clued in a little sooner. And I call myself a farm girl!

Only in a small town.:)

Stop to smell the flowers...

This is a painting that has sat unfinished by my bed for the past year. Finally worked on it today!

Families are like Fudge...

mostly sweet with a few NUTS!!!

I can't think of a better time then a trip with my siblings and their awesome families.
This past week we all rented a small house in Kalispell for 4 days and enjoyed a lot of shopping, eating, waterslides and games. It was a special chance to get together. I think I have an entire family full of nuts. Luckily I am around to add the "sweet" eh? We had fun you guys. We'll have to do this again sometime soon. Only...more shopping...less kids...more money:)))


All the cousins just before we left for the states.


Give Sam a lake and he is a happy boy.

This is our #1 NUT who happens to be turning 2 in just 6 days!!! Terrible twos? Am I ready for this?

There is nothing like...

attempting to take a family photo with a 2 year old boy who doesn't like to sit still. I realized at the time I was struggling to hold him still but I had no idea how difficult of a time I was having until I saw this photo. Little Sam in a very "loving" headlock. Doesn't it just capture the moment?

Anybody else have difficulty with family photos? Tips...? anyone?