Track & Field Day

This past Wednesday Abby and Sam participated in their schools track and field day.   

This is always a big deal for the kids, and Abby spent a couple of evenings leading up to this day practicing down at the track with John.    (Track and Field was originally scheduled for Thursday, but got moved up one day because of the fore casted rain.   Abby was quite upset about this, as it meant she lost an entire evening of training with her Dad.   In her eyes, there went her chances for 1st place!;)

 In years past, she's not really cared how she's performed and so it was nice to see her try this time around.    She placed 5th in High Jump,  and 1st in her heat of the 100m, but I could tell that she'd wanted to do better then she had.    At one point she came running up to me, her eyes brimming with tears because she'd missed the call for the "ball throw" event, and as a result never got to compete.   That happened to be the event she was most excited about, so I felt bad for her.    

Here she is running against one of her best friends who happens to be f-a-s-t, so really, I think Abby held her own pretty darn good!    

And then there was Sam.  

Poor, poor Sam, couldn't quite manage to place in any event.    He put his whole heart in to it, and was always so disappointed each time he wasn't listed among the top five.    Throughout the day I could tell he was becoming increasingly discouraged with himself which only effected his performance negatively.   No matter how much I tried to build him up, he'd always come stand beside me after and say,  "See mom?  I guess I'm just not good at anything."  

Of course he is good at lots of things, and I tried to remind him of his awesome baseball game the night before when he'd caught more balls and outed more opponents then anyone else, but sometimes it's easier to focus on your weaknesses then it is your strengths, I suppose.   

It was a tough day for me as I went back and forth between the two cheering and consoling.  I wish our kids would just believe us when we tell them they are amazing!   Sigh....

And then there was this kid, who never seemed to need any attention that day.  He pretty much spent the day playing on the playground and eating whatever junk food I was willing to buy for him.  

Blue Teeth and Band aids.  Love it!!!

He has started randomly pretending to meditate sometimes, and I'm pretty sure it's a direct result of both John and I taking up yoga, though the whole rock/balancing act was a little unexpected;)   

Namaste, little one!!! 

It was a beautifully warm afternoon, and I loved the fact that my kids spent the entire day outside being active!    Unfortunately, to celebrate- we all went to Dave's for french fries and ice cream, so a lot of good that fresh air and exercise did, but the fries were DELISH!

The countdown to summer officially begins!

A hit!

This past week my father in law re entered our lives after being away for a little over a week.    He does this sometimes- just disappears to spend time with other kids and grandkids.   (The nerve!;) 

At any rate, we were thrilled to see him on Saturday night and hear about his adventures and the fun things he got to do.   Once all of the highlights had been told, he shared with me something that he observed my sister in law Sarah doing.  She prepares several days worth of salad and stores it in separate jars, one for each supper time meal.  

Salad in a Jar!

In.a. JAR. People!!!!

I instantly got on Pinterest to see what this madness was all about only to find hundreds of recipes and "how to's."   What cave have I been in all this time?    

I remedied this the very next day by chopping, slicing and dicing everything I could find in my fridge and stuffing it all into a jar.  One for each day of the week.   Now, all we have to do is dump a jar into a bowl and add anything else to it we want.   (Hard boiled eggs...almonds...croutons...tomatoes...the sky is the limit!!!)    

I love it, and so do my kids!  For two nights in a row 3 out of 4 kids have actually had salad!   And all because it was in a jar first?   Who knew?    

I personally just love how they look in my fridge.  They are almost too beautiful to open up!

Sometimes I just go to the fridge to look at them and feel happy.   

Speaking of Happy- Sam has been a happy man this week.  He started Coach Pitch this week and pretty much has the most awesome team ever!  His coach is his Uncle Kendall, and on his team are very familiar (albeit younger) buddies: Dane, Ollie, and Porter.    

Of course I'm obligated to say that I love going to Sam's games and supporting him, but it helps when some of my favourite Moms are there as well, you know?  ;)

Our family enjoyed watching Sam so much that we headed back to the ball diamond later that evening for a family game.  Our old neighbour friend Katie was at the park and joined in the fun, which was nice! 

I've been thinking a lot about Mothers lately, what with Mothers Day coming up, and I've been feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the woman in my life.  I know, and have known, some of the toughest,  bravest, and most faithful Mothers out there, and for that I am so thankful.     I'm glad I get to learn from the Best!!!

Hope every Mother feels as lucky and blessed as I do!

Recap

My last journal entry was one month ago, (a whole month!), and I'm afraid that I am a little unsure of how to catch up now.  So, I decided not to.   Suffice it to say, our lives are uber exciting and full of all sorts of interesting events, and you're just going to have to take my word for it!

Luckily, I did clean off our camera and found a couple of little gems on it that reminded me of some of the fun:

Several weeks ago, my brother in law Kendall was nominated for a Teaching award, and shorty thereafter, him and Jewel attended an overnight conference in which 20 teachers in Alberta (fellow nominees) all gathered.   Ava, May, Brooke and Dane joined us for those two days which added a bit of excitement to my kids' otherwise boring school week.  (First sleepover they've ever gotten to have on a school night and they were thrilled!!)   The night Kendall was being recognized in Calgary, May and Brooke were singing in the year end Spring Choir concert down here.   Again- Abby was especially excited to get to go "with" her cousins that night.   Don't they look so sharp!   

(This concert marked the end of choir for this school year, which means I get to sleep in now twice a week!  Hola!!!)

Our ward Primary had a party the weekend before Easter, and several couples in the ward were asked to be in charge of a room that depicted an account/experience in the Saviors life.    One room was devoted to his ministry, the last supper, the atonement, etc.   The kids were divided into groups and went on a "Walk with Christ" as they moved from room to room learning about his life on earth.    

John and I were asked to be in charge of the Nativity.   We did our best to make the kids feel as though they were in a barn as we retold the story of the Saviors birth from the perspective of the Innkeepers.    It was a neat primary activity, and as I watched them that morning come and go and move through the halls, I have honestly NEVER seen those kids so reverent.  Ever!!    

It was a great way to kick off the Easter Season.

My kids have discovered Studio C on you tube.  (Never heard of it?  That's probably a good thing, you'll be smarter for it;)    Abby in particular LOVES the BYU group and has probably watched every silly skit they've put out yet.   John and I have had to intervene and limit her time on the computer as a result;)     The "Shoulder Angel" skits are definitely my kids' favourite ones though, as you can tell by Nate's reenactment here:

Nate has been my good buddy during the days.   I recently decided to get off Facebook and low and behold that little act opened up much more time in my day to snuggle and cuddle with this little guy!   Who knew?!  haha.  

He's mysteriously been breaking out in hives the past few days (and usually just at night) which has had John and I puzzled.   I'm taking him in to the Doctor tomorrow so that will hopefully help us determine if there is an allergy that he is dealing with, or if it is a reaction to something more viral.   It's tugged at my heart a little the past night or two as he's come upstairs all red and itchy and sadly asking us why "his beehives are here again?"   Sigh....    Poor little bug.  

 Despite the fact that the snow continues to show it's ugly face around here, we've managed to capitalize on a few nice days to do some much needed yard work.  We've weeded flower beds, pruned bushes, power raked, fertilized and trimmed edges.   It felt so good to get that all done, and it's got me excited for the upcoming garden season!  It's just around the corner. ...REALLY!!

Happy MAY!!!

April Fools pranks that may or may not have happened, and other highlights of the week!

The kids (okay and I as well;) spent the better part of last week plotting and scheming all the April Fools jokes we planned to pull off ... just as soon as April 1st rolled around.    Sadly, most of our jokes were focused on the new family that bought our house, because their possession date conveniently happened to fall on April 1st!!    I mean, what an opportunity right?   

I initially thought it'd be funny if I called them that morning to explain that we'd been having second thoughts and that we really needed to pull out of the deal.   Given my back and forth hesitancy already displayed, they'd surely believe me, which would only make it that much funnier!

John didn't think so.

Then Abby suggested that we take a lesson from her favourite episode of AFV and stretch saran wrap over every doorway of the house.   How funny would that be as the movers showed up to unload?  

Again, John didn't think so.

Sam then, sticking with the spirit of saran wrap,  suggested that we cover every toilet seat with the plastic.   I had to remind him that these were nice people moving in.  Besides, we were going for "funny" not "mean."   Duh.

In the end, we just turned our house over to the new family without pulling off any pranks at all.     Well...unless you count that time on April 2nd when I dropped the kids off at school and headed home quickly so I could get the garbage to the curb in time for garbage pickup.   I pulled up, entered the code on the keypad, and watched as the garage door roll up.  It wasn't until I noticed that the garage was now full of OTHER PEOPLES belongings that I realized my mistake.   The new owners had officially arrived, and this.was.not.my.home.anymore!!   I closed the garage door and ran drove away as fast as I could.   A little awkward perhaps?  

Maybe I could pass that off as a belated April Fools joke?  haha.    

My heart felt a little heavy that 1st day of April, I'll admit.  I suddenly missed ALL my neighbours all at once, and worried that perhaps we should not have sold it.  Thankfully, shortly after getting back to our "in limbo home,"  one of my new neighbours showed up with a plate of chocolate brownies and I instantly felt much better. ;)

   

Back to the whole "April Fools" thing.  Despite the fact that John thwarted all our plans for pranking, Abby and Jess secretly planned to pull off a few pranks just the same.    Unbeknownst to us, they set their alarm for 5:00 am and covered their sleeping brothers with yarn and confetti before taking pictures.    Then they pulled the ultimate "no no" and hid an alarm clock right by my head!   (They really went for the jugular there, because everybody knows I hate getting woken up during the night.)    

Those little turkeys.   I didn't know whether to be mad or proud of them!!!

 We felt particularly lucky this week because it only snowed once or twice and we are definitely taking this as a sign that spring is here.  (Yay!!!)    In fact, this weekend the temperature must have reached a balmy (albeit breezy) 10 degrees!    haha.    The kids were overjoyed and made us eat lunch on the patio so that they could enjoy the sun.    Granted, most of them still needed their winter coats- but hey- we'll take whatever sun we can get!!

Our ward had a fundraiser dinner on Tuesday, which included an auction.   They had a real auctioneer come this year to help auction off each dessert and it was super fun to listen and watch him do his thing.    This was the dessert I donated to the cause.    It was a "coconut creme de lech cake with a butterscotch layer."  

 And...it was gross.

I actually didn't know that it would be gross.  In my defence, it looked good and the recipe seemed so promising.   When I got home that night though I tasted one of the samples I'd  left behind in my fridge, and it was bad.   Like- "Bleck...ugh...gag me with a fork" bad!     I pity the poor soul that threw down a small fortune for this thing, though I do take a little comfort in the fact that they did got a handful of delightful mini eggs out of it.  (Next year I'll be sure to stick to something more familiar;)   

This last photo- I love.  

It captures our morning family scripture study perfectly!

Every morning the most stunning sunlight pours through the living room and kitchen windows.

Every morning 3 out of 4 kids are holding their scriptures while laying down.  (They swear they read better that way;)

And every morning Nate builds a giant armchair out of pillows to use as his perch.   

Every morning also consists of frantically made lunches, crying kids who don't want their hair done, the disorganized loading backpacks, and shouts at the kids to "sit UP to read their scriptures for goodness sake!"   Still,  I like the way none of that is shown in this one split second shot.  

  Can we all just pretend this is how mornings always look around here? 

PS:  What a beautiful weekend of Conference Talks!!   President Uchtdorf, Elder Bednar, and Sister Jean Stevens shared some of my favourite messages this year.  Can't wait to go back and read them!!!

71 years and a very snowy week

This past week, John's Dad turn 71 years young!

We had a big ham dinner and celebrated with a Carrot Cake (albeit an ugly one;) and did our very best to convey to him how much we love him.    In truth however, words could never describe just how much we love this man.     

(Of course Nate had to be in the picture.    It's a far cry from last year though when Nate bawled until Grandpa let Nate blow out the candles on Grandpas cake;)

It was Music Festival week here, which meant that three days this week were spent dressing the kids up (often in sunday best) and sending them off to a day of performing.    Abby and Jess did great!   

Sam....?     Well, clearly he loved it too;)

Actually, Sam was miserable the entire day of his performance.   (He literally pulled the whole "This is the worst day of my life" bit.   Several times;)   All because he had to dress up.

  And he didn't even really dress up, he just felt like he was dressed up because his shirt had a few buttons on it, for goodness sake!!

  

All that "dressing up" for festival must have really got them going, because several times during the week the Halloween costumes were brought out.   Jessica wore her little Granny costume for hours!!!!

(I personally can't stand having a bunch of costumes around because the kids always make such a mess with them, but they enjoy it.  And hey- no computers involved!!!)

Speaking of computers - our kids have logged some serious hours on the wii and iPads the past few weeks.  So much so that John and I felt that it was time to reinstate our "no technology during the week" rule.   (The last time we did that - one of our kids learned to read!  Go figure;)   

Needless to say, by Friday afternoon Nate was literally waiting at the door for John to get home so they could "play puters" together.    I think it makes John feel loved to be welcomed home so enthusiastically, even if Nate does have ulterior motives.  

On one particularly boring day Nate spent an entire morning asking me if him and I could go swimming.    There was no way I had time that day, and I'd grown more then tired of telling him so.   I kept explaining to him that "the pool wasn't open" but he obviously didn't believe me (and for good reason. It was a lie.)  Soon he brought me my cell phone and asked me to dial the pool's number for him.   Of course I dialed our home number and when the phone in the kitchen started to ring I picked it up pretending that I was a receptionist at South Country Inn.    Nate sounded so grown up on the other end as he asked me if "he was allowed to come and swim today."     I'd barely hung the phone up in the kitchen before Nate came in sadly proclaiming that I was right - the pool was "broken."

Naturally, I felt a little bit bad.     So I made up for it two days later by waking him up and telling him to get dressed in his swimsuit.   We went swimming right after breakfast!!!  

He was thrilled, and my conscience was soothed;)

Abby and I got to attend the General Women's Broadcast together, which was a first.   

Abby had been looking forward to this all week, and I had high hopes of taking her out to dinner before it began.   Unfortunately we spent a full day at our old house cleaning it and getting it ready to turn over to the new owners, and was lucky to even make it to the meeting in time!

We did enjoy a treat at Dairy Queen together afterwards, as did the rest of the Mothers and daughters in this town.  haha.   It was a party down there for sure!

I was so proud of Abby that night.   She never once seemed bored or inattentive.  In fact, she said there with her notepad and pen in hand taking notes of all the thoughts she heard spoken...and sung.  

It was nice to spend an evening just with her, tough I am looking forward to next year when Jessica will join us.    

It's pretty much snowed every.single.day.this.week.    I'm about ready to take this winter and light it on fire!!   Here's hoping for some warmer days ahead.  I want to get walking!!!!

FYI- Welcome to Spring!!

Spring is officially here!!!   Isn't that great news?

Now if someone could just tell that to Mother Nature, we'd be laughing. 

Despite the confusing weather patterns we've experienced lately, we've managed to have ourselves a pretty great week.   On Wednesday, Abby joined the rest of the senior choir kids on a field trip to Calgary.    I almost didn't want to let her go (she had to be at the school at 5:45 for pete sake!;) but John was a trooper and got her up and to the school.   All I know is that at 5:30 I was woken up for a brief moment, did a little french braid in her hair, gave her a groggy hug goodbye, and then skunked back down under the covers into dreamland.  I'm sure Abby basked in the glow of my "supportiveness" the whole morning long.    

My sister Jewel however IS a supportive mother.   At 10:00 pm the night before, she decided that she had accompanied her girls on every Calgary trip for the past 6 years or so - she was not going to miss Mya's last one!!   So, she made last minute preparations to be a parent helper the next morning.   

 Oh, and did I mentioned that she chaperoned these kids all day long WHILE on crutches!! 

  (FYI: I felt pretty pathetic.  Well...after I woke up, that is;)

The next day was the first.day.of SPRING!!

Can't you tell?

Nothing like waking up to a freaking blizzard on the first day of spring to make you want to count the reasons you love Alberta.  (or pack up and flee to Mexico;)    I soothed myself with the knowledge that these spring storms never last long, and that by mid day we'd surely be seeing warmer temps and melting snow.    

...FYI:  It's still cold.  And snowy.    

But I still do love Alberta.

Despite my devoted love for this chilly province of ours, this morning John and I  loaded up the the kids, grabbed our passports and LEFT Alberta!    (...for all of 35 minutes!;)   We don't leave the comforts of our cozy little town very often, but a Babb run was in order.   The kids had been sitting in front of computer screens for way too long and so this became our weak attempt at prying their devices out of their hands, even if just for a morning.     Our van started making some crazy noise right as we were going through the US Border so I made John pull over and check under the hood.   (I don't think either of us knew what he should be checking for, it just seemed like the thing to do.)  When he got back in the van after an unsuccessful half heart effort (if I do say so myself;)  I insisted that we turn around and head home.   I surely did NOT want to have to tow our vehicle home from the states!   John however,  insisted that I was being ridiculous and assured me that the van was acting weird because, get this, ..."it was cold outside."     Uh...yeah...I'm sure that's what it was.

FYI:  I suspect his motives were slightly skewed at the time, seeing as he was desperately wanting one of the packages that we knew had been delivered.   Apparently wise judgement goes out the window under such circumstances.

 Anyways, to make a short story long....we made it!    I got a kick out of one of the packages we received.   You might not be able to see it, but it is addressed to "John Hoser Hardy."    I knew instantly, as soon as I saw that, that this package obviously came from one of his older brothers!  haha   (I've noticed in John's family, calling someone a Hoser, is pretty much an expression of Love.;)

Oh, and by the way, the package contained a new pair of minimalist style Nike shoes!!   

(FYI:  Minimalist Shoes are John's love language, so basically- this babb run helped John feel loved!)

Despite the initial protests from our kids about having to endure a dreaded Babb run, it ended up being a fun time for even them.    The snowy day made for ideal Eagle watching, they got to ride a giant stuffed bear, and they were each rewarded with giant lifesaver Popsicles.  

  (FYI: Artificially flavoured Popsicles happen my kids' love language;)

    

Before we went home, we swung by the local library and loaded up with a crazy amount of books.   Enough books to keep my kids off the computers for days!!!   See, the trick is to make them think that they are "choosing" to read instead of playing mindless video games.  That way, they'll still think you're a nice parent.  Works every time.   Bwahahahaha!!!

Oh, and here is one last snippet from our week.   Earlier in the month Jessica had a play date with her friend Jovi,  and apparently at lunch they ate grilled cheese sandwiches dipped in syrup.   

 In SYRUP!!

I'm not going to lie, it sounded kinda out there to some in our family, but Jess helped make for lunch today, and low and behold- the famjam loved it!!!   (FYI:  They also dipped their carrots, crackers, and apples into the syrup as well, but it really was the grilled cheese that tasted the best;)

Try it!!  You'll like it too.

Happy First Week of Spring!!!

Waterton Winterfest

This past weekend was Winterfest in Waterton, and I'd been looking forward to getting out there all week!!    (I know this picture looks like my kids are all excited, but it took a lot of arm twisting to get some of the to willingly get in the van. ;)

Lucky for them, wagon rides were being offered, and that was exactly the kind of thing we needed to perk them all right up!

We essentially got a wagon ride all throughout the core of Waterton, and my kids sang and cracked jokes the whole time.

Jess of course was in her element, and even brought her wildlife identification book along for the ride.    Not that it came in handy or anything, but still, she likes to carry it around;)

Nate surprised me the most.   He was the one who bawled the whole morning any time we mentioned a trip to Waterton.   Then he cried as we all got ready to go.   He cried for part of the trip out.  And he cried as we waited for our wagon ride to begin.   

Apparently he warmed up to things as soon as the horses got going.    

He's still talking about the super fun time he had!  (He's such a little scammer)

After the carriage ride, we went down to our favourite family hangout at Pass Creek, where we enjoyed hot apple cider and granola bars in the newly built camp kitchen.     

John thought up a clever way to cool his cider down a little;)

Whenever our family gets out to do something a little special together, I always feel inclined to take a few pictures, you know...to capture the love and all:

And I'm always so thankful for my very cooperative loved ones who value the preservation of memories as much as I do.   (I was being sarcastic.   My kids hate me. I'm sure of it)

Fortunately, John learned a long time ago that when I say "look at the camera" it's really just easiest to do exactly that.   

It was a BEEEAUTIFUL day in Waterton.   Still a little chilly, but warm enough for things to be melting.   It is such a hopeful thing to see the cold and ice begin to dissipate, and to know that spring is just around the corner.  

It is also such a hopeful thing for me, as a parent, to see my kids happily playing together and enjoying the great outdoors.   At one point I looked at John in shock and said, "Look!  They do still know how to play!!"    Lately it seems as though if they aren't in front of a TV or computer, they just don't know what to do.    It would appear that the trick is to get them 30 miles away from the nearest internet connection and new life is breathed into them.  

It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon!!!

Our Week in Hashtags

We've officially got an 11 year old!!   

This past Tuesday was Abby's big day, and she was so excited.    

Jewel, Kendall and their kids came over to help celebrate which made things extra special for Abs.    Because really, how could you not feel special when "Happy Birthday" is sung with accompaniment?  

 And a flute nonetheless! 

Abby asked for a Duck Dynasty cake so that hopefully explains that mess of a picture in the top corner.   (Apparently a cartoon of Si saying "Happy Birthday Jack" was the best I could do.   Luckily- it was all Abby needed!!!;)   It's always fun to visit with family, and on this particular night we were entertained with the longest most ridiculous story my niece Ava has ever conjured up, AND she introduced us all to the wonderful world of #Hashtags.    Forgive me,  but I feel inspired to end my paragraphs from this point on in just such a fashion.   (#Just trying to be cool, #wannabelikemyniece, #11 years already!, #say what?!!!!)

Wednesday brought some warmer temperatures, which was such a relief!  

Sam attended cubs and they all joined their leaders on a nature hike to the "Hidden Valley."    Perhaps you didn't realize that there was a hidden valley right here within town limits, now did you?    Me neither.  Apparently such a place does exist, though the trek there required a jaunt across the frozen Lee's creek - which ...apparently is not so frozen anymore!    Sam came home soaking wet, which prompted me to go off on a 2 hour lecture about how you never... NEVER play on an icy creek in the spring.  Though I'm surprised I even needed to have this conversation again.

    (#isn't that common sense?, #Duh!, #keeping him alive is harder then it looks)

John and I are still in "move out mode", seeing as the new owners don't take pocession of our home until April 1st.   Turns out what we thought was going to be a laid back way to move is quite actually the worst arrangement in the history of the world!  We've spent the last two or three weekends conjuring up work there, and likely will spend a couple of more weekends there before all is said and done.  For the love, WHY do we always feel the need to leave a house better then it was when we got it?   I don't know, perhaps I'm just having a hard time walking away?   

 (#welcome to the move that never ends, #still miss it)

The kids have had a great season of Champs, and this is the first year that Abby, Sam and Jess each got to participate.   I've LOVED seeing their improvement!    There is one week left and I'm not sure John and I know what we'll do with those extra two hours.    (oh wait- yes I do!!)   We're determined to keep the kids working on what they've learned.   Abby was asked to be a part of a spring league team but John and I reluctantly opted out.   She's gotten good- she really has, and I know this league would only help her get better, but we just aren't ready to start planning our schedule around basketball.   Not.just.yet.  Next year we'll put her in for sure! 

(#poor deprived child, #we lazy, #Ihaveaphobiaofoverschedulingmyfamily, #commitment issues much?)

Sunday is undoubtedly my favourite day of the week.   8:30 am church felt particularly painful this morning with daylight savings and all, but the afternoon was enjoyed in the most relaxing way.   We took a drive to look for eagles (the migration is upon us!) and then settled down to watch a movie together.   Can you believe it though- the kids tried to convince us that "NACHO LIBRE" should actually counts as an appropriate Sunday movie!   You know, because "there is a priest in it, and it's about an orphanage, and that one guy asks for forgiveness... "    (Those were my kids justifications, not mine;)    

 (#fat chance, #ifI'mnotcarefulthey'llgrowupdumb  #Saturdays warrior or nothing at all!)

We hope you all had the most fabulous week ever.

SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!

Just Chilling!

Brrr....it is C-O-L-D!!!

The past few days have brought arctic temperatures our way, with windchill making it feel like a balmy -39 degrees!!   I'm not kidding- that is just too cold for any sane person to have to put up with.  

February is always the worst month for me, and I think everyone around me agrees- we are DONE with winter!  It's definitely time to move on to warmer days;)

After a week off of school, and a crazy move, it was nice to be able to get back in to a routine, which of course, leaves Nate and I alone during the day.   Apparently he has grown so bored of our every day interaction that he'd rather read the ensign instead! 

I seriously walked into the room to find him doing this.   I felt so bad for the poor kid that I immediately took him down town for a swim at the local hotel.   

On Monday night, our new neighbour Melanie stopped by with her three kids.  They didn't stay longer then a minute or two, but they left behind the most delightful FHE treat ever.  Crepes, creme and fruit!   So yummy;) 

 It was so thoughtful of her and such a comforting reassurance to me that there are good people all around us.  John and I are so lucky, we seem to "win the lottery" every time with great neighbours!!

(I wish they could say the same about us though;)

On Friday, John came home with a sheepish and confused look on his face.   He explained how he had pulled up to the house...parked in the driveway...realized he was not far enough over, so re-parked the truck....walked up the front steps...put the key in the door...and attempted to enter the house - all before realizing that IT.WAS.THE.WRONG.HOUSE!!!!

For the life of me, I don't understand it, but he swears that in the dark the two houses just look alike;)    Melanie and I were laughing about it the next day and she admitted that she was a little confused herself as to why John was just trying to walk into her house!    haha.    

It was pretty funny, yet despite the joke it has become, we have spent the rest of this weekend shovelling driveways and trying to reassure all who live on this block that we really are not creepy people;)     Well..not the rest of us at least!;)

On second thought...perhaps I should just speak for myself! ;)

HAPPY MARCH!!!