Earth Day for Dummies

With April being Earth month, I've heard lots of talk about gowing "green." Local community cleanups are being organized, Al Gore is EVERYWHERE and I'm constantly being reminded of things that I'm NOT yet doing to help the cause. As a family we've been trying to make some changes, but there is a lot of "habit" to change. And you know what they say about habits right? Tough to break aren't they?

Over the years we have made efforts to be a little more healthy and aware of what we do with our garbage, and I am proud of the improvements we have made. But we personally have a long ways to go. Sometimes it feels like I don't know the first thing about "livin green."

This month, I plan to switch to homemade household cleaners. Yeah I know it isn't much, but it is just one of our "baby steps." One day I'll try composting. Just can't bring myself to begin that yet.:)

I am in search of some good homemade recipes for cleaners. If you have any...please share.

Here we are. The end of Spring Break. The last day of John's time off. (sob). I couldn't help but notice how different life is when John is home all day. We seem to lose all sense of routine:) Is that weird?

Yesturday we decided to spend the last official day of spring break in style by going out to Waterton for lunch. The park officially opens this week so we thought we'd get there and enjoy the tranquility one last time before people start coming.
As we entered the park we noticed they were burning for some reason. The entire grassland to our left was consumed in billows of smoke and fire. The fire was low, and contained-but we still are not really sure why park officials were doing that? Perhaps burning the grass will help encourage new growth? Maybe they were trying to kill all the ticks? :) Whatever the reason (we are sure it is a good one) it was odd to see so much blackened earth right there in the park.


The kids enjoyed the hotdogs and marshmallow. There were a few remaining drifts of snow that they climbed on and the water was flowing which made for an enjoyable time throwing rocks. Beautiful.

With the forecast of looming snow we decided we'd better head home and complete our yardwork. We've been preparing for spring big time around here. A year ago we were preparing to buy this place and I must admit, I am getting quite comfortable in our little home. There is something about working on your own property and making it your own space that is very fulfilling and now I never really drive up to our house without thinking, "I love this place!." It is in large part because of this pleasant little spot. In a few weeks this flower bed will be blooming and I plan to spend many mornings in the hammock enjoying it all. This hammock is one of my favorite things. Infact, when we do rebuild-I plan to plan around this very tree:)

My father-in-law is helping us plant our first garden this year. I wish I could say I knew how to do it all on my own, but...I don't. I know very little about gardening. Time to learn eh! John straightened up and defined the edges of our flower beds, and I spent days (and DAYS) weeding and cleaning out the dead growth from last year. We've also erected a small makeshift fence in our backyard and created a flower bed back there as well. Finally I raked our entire property and John tinkered around with his favored toy-his John deere lawn tractor:)) Trees are pruned, as mentioned the hammock is hung, and for a couple of hours we were able to sit back and just enjoy it all. And then....



this happened:



AHHHHHH!!!!!!!! HOW? Someone tell me HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN??


This is a lovely way to end spring break- wouldn't you say?

Road Trip

We did it! What you might be wondering? Well, we finally stopped talking about it and went on a little trip. We left our little town(and our country for that matter) and headed south... approximately six hours drive south, to the charming little town of Bozeman, Montana. We went to visit John's sister and her family, and if you've ever seen the movie "A River Runs through it"-that's where we were. I was a little bit worried about the driving aspect of the trip-the part where I have to be in a van with 3 kids under the age of 5 for FIVE and a half hours-but even that was FUN! Considering our kids have never really travelled (further then two hours) they did great!

I love this picture of John because it is the perfect illustration of what we were feeling as we left. "Uh we don't know where we are going...but we're havin' fun!" Of course, the kids did get a bit restless a couple of hours into it (it was bound to happen), so John just pulled over...cut them a few stalks of grass and voila, they had some nice swords to tie them over for a few more hours.

Needless to say we were thrilled when we finally arrived. Abby and Sam were delighted to be with their cousins and ...their cousin's TOYS! Abby and Sam spent most of the weekend being pirates, droids, sorcerers building train stations and anything else that their cousins introduced them to. It was great!


John and our brother in law took the kids to a dinosaur museum one morning. Abby loves dinosaurs. Something about seeing replicas though just freaks her out:) She still talks about the dinosaur that kept "winking" at her (There actually was a replica of a sleeping baby triceratops whose stomach moved in and out to simulate breathing... Abby's concerns about the dinosaurs being alive seemed to have snowballed from that point forward.) Sarah showed me some great shops in the downtown area and I really could have spent all day there just exploring...and spending. She was really nice to show me several Art Stores which consisted of the work of local artists in that area. I was able to buy some Art supplies which I was so excited about. In fact, when I got home last night, one of the first things I did was organize all my supplies into my new "supply box." You know how in elementary school when you go shopping for school supplies and then spend all day putting your name on everything, organizing it and just basically loving it all? That's how I felt. Anyways, I'm deviating. Back to our trip.
We went out one night to a cool pizza place that served the most authentic and unique pizza we'd ever had. Think mandarin oranges, almonds, and hawaiian toppings on a thin crust... it was a flavor sensation! I feel the need to state however, in case Sarah and Ed are reading this, that their own cooking FAR SURPASSED any restaurant we could have ever gone to! The most amazing shrimp pasta, roasted goat cheese with olive oil and pepper spread, waffles with maple cream, nutmeg and toasted pecans, oh my goodness! (you can't tell but I'm drooling right now!!!)



One of the highlights for us was traveling to a nearby resort named Chico, Montana. It was a very pituresque resort that utilized some natural hotsprings in the outdoor hotel pool. The kids had never been to a hot spring before, and I'd not been to one since I was little. I couldn't believe how HOT the water was. The weather was stunning, almost Summer-like, and it was nice to just sit back and watch our kids almost drown...uh I mean have so much fun! Seriously, the concept of a hotspring still baffles me. This earth can do some pretty cool things!!


The second major highlight for us was getting to tag along and watch John's sister perform in her first big piano recital. Now she is already a talented pianist, but she is one of those people who always seems to be striving for excellence in one way or another. She's begun taking lessons to STRENGTHEN her skills as a classical pianist. This was her first real recital and we were glad that we were able to crash it. When I say "We", I really mean everyone but me, Sam and Jess. They were simply to loud for us to feel safe taking them into the auditorium, so I simply walked the halls with them. Sam found a vase of decorative plants which he enjoyed taking apart. You'll notice in the pics below, he literally fell asleep under the chairs while clutching some of the buildings decor. Yes...I should do more to control my kids, I know. There was a quaint little duck pond across the street so after the recital the kids fed the ducks. That is always a hit!



Whew. That was a lot to catch up on. Believe me when I say that I did'nt even mention it all. John and I got home last night, and felt quite certain that this past weekend was in our eyes-darn near perfect!! We had such fun, and saw some neat things. (On the trip home, we saw some bald eagles too. Gorgious!) It seems that the more places and people we visit lately- the more we realize we have a lot to learn about being good "hosts". We LOVED every second of being down there.

Just wondering if there is a young mom out there (who watched general conferance) who did not LOVE Elder Ballards talk?
Daughters of God

I've been waiting all week to be able to read it online again, and finally it is available. It was one of those talks where I felt as though he was describing my life perfectly...right down to the spilled cheerios in sacrament meeting:) Now I do have an amazing husband who has never made me feel as though Motherhood was a thankless job and I love him for that. Still though, something about hearing an apostle of God talk about the importance of what us little ol' moms do every day that just seems to diffuse any feeling of mediocrity I could have had.

A couple of my favorite lines from his talk:

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. ..."What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply, and... prioritizes them above all else."

"First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone. ... I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”

This last quote expecially almost stung when I heard it. I'm so bad at brushing past (or rushing past) so many great moments because I have to get something done, or we need to be somewhere...or...whatever-you know how it is. That's probably why my one and only goal for this year is to SAVOR.

Well with this school divisions spring break approaching it is the perfect time for me to work on this. You know...let go of my to-do list a little. Relax. Slow down. I plan to try really really hard to just SAVOR this week with John and the kids. Mind you-we do have to plant our garden, and then there is that...

DOH!!! I'll try okay!!!

IT'S DONE!!!

So last fall I took the kids out to Waterton during the National Wildlife film festival. I remember the beautiful day that it was and I ended up spending the majority of the day taking pictures. Go HERE to see my post on that day. A couple of months ago I decided to paint one of the photos I had taken. It is the first large painting I've ever done. (20X24) Finally it is finished! Atleast I think it is done- that is, until I look at it again. That's when I realize all the hundreds of details I need to go back and fix. I need a teacher-and I'm debating taking it to a lady in town for some help. Hopefully she could show me how to actually do bushes and trees. I need to learn some technique.



I also managed to develop and sort and file our family photos that have been stored up on our hard drive for the past year. Now all those pics are in each kid's book. Count it...that's TWO major projects of mine...DONE!


On a side note-we just had the most fantastic weekend. We watched Saturdays conference sessions at my sisters house and today we saw both sessions with John's Dad. Talk about good talks and GREAT food and AWESOME company. Thanks so much Jewel, Kendall and Dad. So relaxing! I can't wait to be able to download some of our favorite talks. With those two projects out of the way, I think I'll have some time to read:)))

If any of you know our Sam, you may understand why I found this little clip to be so funny. It reminds me of our little man in more ways than one! Luckily Sam's language development (which I have been worried about) has improved dramatically in just the past couple of weeks. We're working on it!

Still, if Sam were ever to be compared to a Muppet Character...I think this would be the one! Not only do they speak the same language- Sam is equally dangerous in the kitchen!

April Fools!

With today being April Fools day I had every intention of pulling off a joke on John. I used to LOVE a good prank, however John is not a fan of the whole "decieving people and playing with their emotions part" of pranks, so my plan to pretend I was pregnant again was out:) Besides we all know that wouldn't even have been funny! So John left for work today unpranked and I remained as boring as ever. Luckily, others were able to pull off some good and harmless fun that made up for my negligence.

John teaches at the local High School and spends a part of his day "team teaching" with another teacher, Mr Paulson. This man has been the physics teacher for many years and is retiring in just a few months. (John is sort of being trained to replace him) He was John's teacher when John was young, and he is the kind of teacher that the kids all love. He's a pretty inspiring and creative guy and John has enjoyed sharing a classroom and learning from him this past semester.

Today John showed up and found this...







One of the perks I guess of team teaching with a man who is well known for his liking of...ducks! John and Mr.Paulson's room were filled with little rubber duckies!! Some students had hung them from the ceiling, lined cupboards and desks with them and pretty much scattered them everywhere they could-it was pretty funny. Not a small amount either. Over 1500 rubber ducks!!!!!!!! Seriously teenagers today. ....what quacks!!!

Truly Canadian Eh!!

Remember how I mentioned last week that I'd packed up all our winter clothes and put them out in the garage, thus declaring that winter was over. Uh...apparently not. Winter is back in full force. It's OK. This is what we love right?


Last week John pruned the trees in our yard. We soon after learned that we should have perhaps waited until the fall. Did you know that cutting Maple Trees in the spring will cause them to "Bleed" out? We didn't. Hopefully they will all survive, since the pruning was minimal. However we discovered something cool as we sadly watched moisture seeping from the wounds of these old trees. After collecting the liquid that was running, we then boiled it down slowly. Once all the water had evaporated...oi la! This is what we had. Beautiful, thick sugary maple syrup. All two tablespoons of it! We're fighting over who gets that pancake:)

(We took pictures of each step)


Shoveling in our Flip Flops and making homemade maple syrup...
Now is that not Canadian or what?

I think it's one of those weeks

I hit our neighbors cat. "Winky". ...killed her. It isn't like I didn't try to avoid her but she shot out onto the road so fast it was weird. I later found out she'd only had one eye, which explains alot. Poor thing just probably didn't even see me coming. It was so sad.

You know, nothing says "ridiculous" like showing up on your neighbors doorstep and saying, "So you know how I killed your cat earlier? Well...here are some Banana Berry Bran muffins...?"

For the love!
What could I do for them that would make this better?

A couple of reason why...

1. So Abby is five. For a long time now she's been able to dress herself, but only recently have I noticed the independance and determination she's developed to actually "CHOOSE" what she wears. This isn't what bothers me. I am thrilled that she is growing up and...even developing a mind of her own. What bothers me is that she CHOOSES to wear this:

 

...to school! So here was the dilemna. I was sitting there trying to be supportive all-the-while encouraging her to perhaps put on something different for pre-school. Abby is equally insistent that she's already chosen and darnit she looks GOOD! Crossroads. Do I be a good mom and respect her developing independence and decision making skills, thus allowing her to commit what I think would be social suicide. OR do I find her something more appropriate to wear perhaps sending the message that she isn't infact capable of making her own choices yet? ....I made her change.


2. Last night I went running with my sister...ok if I'm to be totally honest...it was more like walking. Before I left I put the kids to sleep and then John followed me outside to move the truck so that I could get out with our van. I grabbed my stuff, locked the door, hopped in the van and drove off. Had a great walk with Jewel-infact I ended up staying out longer than the usual thirty minutes. When I got back I was startled to see John sitting, smiling...sorta, on our front porch, without a coat. I asked him something like, "Are you crazy...what are you doing?" Apparantly he was waiting for me...to get home...because I'd locked him out and taken the keys!!! So there he'd sat, in the dark, in the cold for 40 minutes. He later said he spent some of that time praying that the kids wouldn't wake up needing him. He spent some of that time doing push-ups, and the rest of that time he spent rehearsing emergency procedures and pondering what he'd do if he really had to survive in the cold longer than 40 minutes. My bad. I couldn't help but feel humbled by his calm approach. I know I would have been M-A-D. Ugly. ...I may have even sworn.

3. Yesturday Jewel went to the city for a few things. I had her bring me back a small kids' bed from Wal-Mart. I've wanted it for awhile. John has felt it was pointless. Still... I was convinced that Jess would trasnsition to it well and that we'd finally be able to sleep a night without her little feet kicking us. Well I bought it...John set it up...and SAM and ABBY have enjoyed it very much. Jessica however, is still in bed with us, and our pockets are now $60 bucks lighter.

There you have it. Three recent reasons why... I suck

One GREAT Weekend!!

Good Friday was not just "good" it was the BEST! A friend of John's and his wife invited us out to Sparwood BC for the day to play with them and enjoy the holiday together. I was especially excited for this little day trip because I so rarely leave Alberta that any trip (no matter how small) seems like an adventure! We passed through Frank Slide which brought a tonne of childhood memories back to me. I remember going there with my Dad. As I was explaining to Abby how a giant chunk of mountain came crashing down on an entire town, I looked back at her, and her eyes were so wide with wonder you could just see the fear on her face. "That can't happen again though right?" she kept asking.




Abby came and played on the rocks with us for a bit. Brave Girl:)) If any of you come to visit us- we have a renewed determination to show you some of our favorite spots. Walley Beach...the Fay Wray fountain (hee hee)...and now Frank Slide. It was pretty cool- and I could picture all our little nephews getting hurt real good on these rocks!!! But oh what fun:)


We arrived in Sparwood, to be greeted by the most charming little town ever. Seriously can you believe the backdrop around this place? The kids had a blast! Isn't it funny how happy kids can be as soon as they get into a room full of toys that are different then their own? Of course- it helps that the back yard was a snow world complete with drifts, caves AND tunnels.

To say the least, our little ones...played hard. Shauna prepared an Egg Hunt, showed us all her scrapbooking (I shouldn't say this but I think John is hooked!), they took us to see the "Biggest Truck in the World", and cooked up a fabulous Easter feast complete with the yummiest Easter Buns I' ve ever tasted.


Shauna and Terry if you are reading this- Thank you Thank you Thank you! It was so nice to visit and you all were so good to us. On the way home we couldn't help but ask ourselves why we don't try to keep in better contact with good friends! What's our problem anyway?

We got home around 9:00 and carried the kids to their beds. I loved seeing them so exhausted. It meant they had fun. It also meant they'd sleep soundly so I could prepare things for the Easter Bunny to come. You see- the Easter Bunny comes to our house on Friday night. (Who wants sugared up kids on Sunday for church...not me!) We have a couple of easter traditions that I just love. When I was growing up my Dad would always create elaborate mazes (made of Jelly beans) beginning at our bedroom door leading us on to our hidden easter baskets. Abby and Sams trail of Chocolate eggs (I like them better than jelly beans ok?) led them around the living room and out the front door to a little bush that we'd covered with eggs. Under that bush was their basket full of games, treats and sandles. I have to admit,I copied the "egg tree" from my sister-in-law Sarah. She told us about this years ago and since then I've been doing it as well. I don't feel bad about copying her though. She does cool things like this all the time, and it's like they say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

So the kids found their baskets, filled their cute little faces with chocolate and then helped us make breakfast. Bunny pancakes and smoothies. It isn't breakfast in this house without one of Johns smoothies!



Now we are full...happy...and content after a fun couple of days. It's time to get to work. We plan to set up a fence today...prune our trees...and pack up all our winter clothes and gear. Yes-that's right- I've decided that it is time to bring out the warm stuff. By so doing, I've officailly declared that winter is over and we will not see any more of that yucky white stuff again. ...you can thank me later.



We are so grateful for the gospel and the promise of eternal friends and families. Especially as we've been so blessed with great ones! Happy Easter

HOPPY Easter!!!

We had so much fun visitng these little sheep that live down the road from us. Those little lambs were so darn cute! I want one!!!




We are looking forward to the long weekend. Tomorrow we will go to BC to see some friends, we plan to do a lot of yard work, set up a fence and enjoy the company of family and loved ones. Isn't the Easter season great? It is nice to be able to reflect on all that we've been blessed with. We wish you all the best this weekend! Hope the Easter Bunny finds you!

AHhhhhh!!

Ever feel as though you've bitten off more then you can chew? It's been one of those days for me.

Despite the cluttered feeling I can't shake, something really cool happened this morning. Our doorbell rang around 10:30 and when I opened it there stood one of the beehives in our ward. I was her primary teacher last year. She had her arms full with her painting supplies. Now, I was not expecting this visit from her, however I did know that she has recently begun art lessons. I thought to myself, "Self...she may have something to teach you." Boy did she. For the next few hours we painted together...sharing technique...giving advice. It was also handy to have her around as I was able to step out sans babies for a bit to take abby to preschool. (Wouldn't it be great to have a 12 year old?....one of those built in babysitters. Sigh ...one day) Anyways she just rambled off a load of rules...ideas...pointers that no doubt came straight from her art teacher. Like a sponge I just soaked it up. At one point she said, "Isn't it funny? You used to teach me-and now I'm teaching you."

Yeah...it was a humbling moment.

4 things.

1. We attended the local production put on by the Elementary School "Ei-Ie Ei-Ie OOPS." (I probably spelled that wrong, I know;) It was a darling little play about a bovine with self esteem issues that has lost the ability to MOO. The barnyard animals all work together in the cutest play I've ever seen. And might I add-that barnyard consisted of the BEST pig 'd ever seen. Good job Ava!

2. We took the kids to the local museum for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Pretty much organized chaos. The kids cleaned up on chocolate and even got to see the Easter Bunny. That has pretty much solidified, for them, the notion that the Easter Bunny does infact exist. Therefore, we will likely use this to our advantage... in the form of manipulative bribery. (ie: "Abby the Easter Bunny skips right by homes of kids who don't share...") That kinda thing.

3. We have a budding artist. One of my favorite moments this week occurred when Sam and Jess were both napping. I pulled out some art supplies and Abby actually joined in the fun this time. She usually does not enjoy coloring, or anything artsy. So for 30 blissful minutes we painted together while watching Chicken Little.

4. We've seen the light!!! So we've finally decided to change every lightbulb in our house. We replaced the old ones with the newer energy efficient ones. What a difference that made. I love how un-DIM our place is now. Between that and the dryer we also replaced.. we're hoping to see a major decrease in our utility bill. Ok maybe I'm just dreamin. Atleast it is bright.

Heart attack!

So yesturday was a pretty good day. I got a lot done. The kids played with friends...all in all very productive. That is...until...the "episode" as I like to refer to it as. John came home from work and I began preparing dinner, as is the routine for us. Now, I have often said that bad things can happen in that hour before supper and today was proof of that. Minutes before eating I asked John to help the kids wash up and come to eat. Abby came...Jess came...no Sam. John went looking for him, but our house is not very big. It wasn't long before he came back to report that Sam...couldn't be found. Good Grief I thought- I do NOT have time for this. We looked and looked for him. Then we called and called for him. After several minutes of this I began to get frantic - we began yelling for him. ...Nothing.

It was then that I realized our front door was unlocked. Not open-but unlocked. Common sense told me there was no way he could reach the doorknob (as we'd purposely installed it several inches higher than on normal doors.) Yet...what if Abby opened it? What if it had been left opened? What if...

Panic hit. That is when I realized that one of two things happened. Either Sam escaped outside or he was somewhere in the house...hurt and unable to call out. A significant amount of time had gone by by this point. What if Sam had gotten all the way down the street and fallen down the steep hill...what if he was wandering the neighborhood lost and panicking...what if, well I know this town is safe but the worst possible scenario was going through my mind, and as I ran down the street in search of him, I felt certain that Sam had been kidnapped and was halfway to the border by now.

All the sudden a sweet little voice called out, "I found him!" John and I both ran to where Abby was and sure enough there too was Sam. In the house...in his room...underneath a big pile of stuffed animals...with a BIG grin on his face, a bag of cookies clutched to his chest.

You know that shaky feeling you get when you've been in a car accident? I felt that for the rest of the night. Every time I looked at that tiny little boy I had to take him in my arms and tell him I loved him and BEG him not to scare me like that again. Yet...looking back I can't help but feel a little bit nervous. There is no doubt that he heard John and I calling for him. No doubt...he knew he should answer us- yet he didn't. Infact, the whole experience was quite a delight for him. I'm afraid my son has a very twisted sense of humor.

Why is it that kids enjoy watching us sweat?

A SPRING in our step

Yesterday was a great day. For starters, the weather was gorgeous! Everything is melting and we are beginning to see patches of green grass creeping out from underneath the disappearing piles of snow. I LOVE spring! Something about this time of year that just makes you wake up a bit doesn't it?

I was feeling especially energized and decided to spend the morning re-organizing my cupboards. A major dejunking. Every cupboard. All of them. To me-that is a beautiful thing. I find it very rewarding to look into a cupboard and know that everything in it is stuff that we actually use. I have no difficulty parting with junk. (Mind you there has been a time or two when John has wished I hadn't been so impulsive that way.) I've decided that I'm going to spend one hour every day on some aspect of spring cleaning. (ie windows, spraying the house, steam cleaning...whatever) I'm enjoying the thought of it.

Oh yeah,....back to our beautiful spring day. We picked up Abby from pre-school as usual, only today we took the time to play on the playground a bit. It was slightly overcast and I thought that it might actually rain. Now that - would have been perfect! Abby and Sam loved playing, I loved feeling the satisfaction of knowing that the kids were actually being active again after the long winter months, and Jessica enjoyed...the Rocks.


Jess stood very happily in one spot and never really deviated from it. Those little pebbles sure held her attention. ...and apparently they tasted good to her as well.


After the park we stopped by the farm that is down the street from us. They have the most adorable little lambs right now and Sam and Abby can't get enough of them.
Seriously aren't those little things CUTE!!! And nothing says spring more than little lambs.

After family home evening we went outside to enjoy the perfect evening. The kids broke out their bikes for the first time, and Grandpa even came by and had homemade smoothies with us while we listened to two nearby owls. Grandpa tried to lure them closer by calling to them, and now Abby is amazed that she has a Grandpa who can "speak owl."




Today was one of those days where nothing could have bothered me. Teething baby?...piles of laundry? ...botched supper? -it's all good. I was just feeling some gratitude for the important things in life. My beautiful kids...my husband...spring....and CLEAN CUPBOARDS.