Oh Canada!

Well, my darling 13 year old has officially travelled further in her short little life then I have.  

(so far, at least;)    Last week she had the chance to travel as a local Girls Choir member to Ottawa.  

OTTAWA!

As in, our nations capital!!  

I spent the week missing her, feeling jealous of her, constantly trying to text her and missing her some more.  Abby on the other hand, spent her week much more productively!

Here are some of the photos that were sent to me:

Abby and her friends left town at 4:30 am on a Tuesday morning.  By 9:30 am - she was on a plane, for the first time ever!

The reason for this trip east was so that the girls could participate in Musicfest Canada.   A music festival in which these girls happened to be awarded GOLD for their efforts.  Woot Woot! 

Th girls didn't only perform at the festival though.   They'd also managed to land some gigs at some nearby churches and even sang one afternoon during a Mass!  Cool experience for Abby, for sure.  (This picture was taken as the girls were warming up.)

  

When the choir was not performing- they were exploring!   They toured Parliament Hill, walked along the Rideau Canal, crossed the river and had lunch in Quebec, visit the Canadian War museum, the Museum of Nature, the Victoria museum and more!

Some highlights for Abby included shopping at the "Long Tall Sally" store (a family favorite) that was conveniently located near her hotel!   (grrrrr....Thanks to kind donations from cousins and Aunts, she had left home with a couple hundred dollars and returned home with only $2 to her name.   I blame LTS for this!;)    The choir girls also got to tour the Supreme Court of Canada and Abby was lucky enough to get to sit in the judges seat (Appellate, Court) for a moment.    It was cool to see Ottawa from her perspective.  I'm not sure she appreciated all the history and intellect that this old and dignified city has to offer - but she certainly did enjoy herself!!!

One night the girls had been eating in a diner and four men approached the group.  They were apparently from Alberta and one of them was actually from Fort McMurray.  (The place that has been so severely devastated this month when a massive wildfire tore through the city)  Anyways, these men asked the girls to perform.  The girls agreed to and the owner of the restaurant even turned the volume down so that all of the patrons could hear the performance.   When the girls finished singing - those four men gave the group a donation of $400.00.   As someone who has helped with the choir accounting this year - believe me - that was a very generous and helpful donation!!!

Another cool experience they got to have came as they were touring the national war museum.  Again, they were asked to sing only this time their audience was a group of new army cadets.   They all stood at attention as they listened to the girls sing one of their best songs "To Believe."  It was so touching to see video of this and it was reported to us that this provided a huge moral boost for the troop before they were deployed.  Cool beans!

I really did miss this girl terribly.  Every night, around 7:30 (9:30 her time) I would start walking around with the phone in my hand, just waiting for it to ring.  For some reason, she couldn't face time, but it was still so great to hear her voice at the end of every day and listen to her relay some of her favorite experiences.   

She returned home the following Sunday afternoon and it was definitely a happy reunion!  I didn't take a picture, but Nate and Jessica had both made "Welcome Home" signs.   Nate's was the funniest.   It consisted of a giant Welcome Home message scribbled at the top and then in little writing at the bottom the words, "I slept in your bed!"   

  It was a week of "firsts" for my girl.   First time on a plane....first time travelling east....and first time exploring the world without John and I being the ones to introduce it to her.   

She seemed to do just fine without us.

....What gives?!!!

Hello Spring

Winter is officially over!

It just is.   

Not only because I have declared it so - but because it is MAY!   

(Goodbye winter, hello spring;)

There are a few things that always make spring spring, to me:

1: Gardening!

Days ago, we had helped John's Dad plant his garden, but eventually, we actually got around to planting our own!  Corn, chard, kale, carrots, radishes, cucumber and more!

The kids each got their own little designated spots as well.   Who knows if anything that they planted will actually grow but I love their effort, just the same.   (I also love how they mapped out their garden plots using string and plastic spoons.)  

2.  Fishing

I'm pretty sure John and Nate would go fishing every weekend, if we could.  They've gone several times already, and spring has barely begun!   Nate has surprised us by being the number 1 catcher of pike lately.   He actually enjoys fishing - when he catches something;)

A couple of weeks ago, John planned a "date night" for him and I and, wouldn't you know it -

he took me fishing!  It turned out to be a most perfect idea.  

John fished non- stop.  I fished a little, put my feet up a bit more than that, and took pictures whenever I wanted.   

There is nothing like being out on a lake as the sun goes down.   So peaceful!

3.  April showers must really bring may flowers - because we certainly have enjoyed an abundance of them lately.   The day before Mother's Day John and Jess had left together to "run a few errands."   

What they came home with though -was stunning!

They'd filled 6 vases with beautiful, handpicked tulips and placed them throughout the house.   It was such a delightful thing to walk around the house and see fresh flowers everywhere I looked.  

The whole beautiful scene reminded me of a quote from Monet, who once said,

 "I must have flowers - always and always!"

Might I add to that - a garden spot and calm evenings on the lake!

Waterton in the spring

Finally, and I do mean finally we made it out to Waterton.   

It had been much much to long since we had driven out to enjoy it's beauty. 

And now that spring is here - there is lots of beauty to be seen!!

We only had a few hours to spare but we made good use of the time.   

* Birds, bighorn sheep, and balsamroot were out in full force

* We had a picnic lunch in one of the camp kitchens

* Sam and Nate tried to lure out some gophers while Abby took selfies

* we walked along the shoreline and stopped for ice cream at big scoop.  (It was their opening day and seeing as the park was not very busy at all, I think it is safe to say that we were some of the first customers of the season!)

* We drove around the park exploring (as much as we could).   Construction on Red Rock Road, the road that goes past Cameron falls, throughout the campgrounds, and soon to be Akimina road- means there aren't a lot of places to go right now.  Waterton may seem a tad different this summer.   

I love the effect this place has on me and my family.   

We really can't wait as long before coming out again!!

Planting time

Last weekend John, the kids and I helped Grandpa mow his lawn and plant his gladiolas.   

The kids were surprisingly excited to spend the evening there.   (I thought the notion of working all evening might, for some reason, not sound very fun to them?)    Turns out - Grandpas backyard in the spring is a little patch of heaven!   

While I mowed and John 'tilled - the kids climbed trees.  They each found a branch to call "their own" forevermore.  

I'll admit, I stopped mowing every now and then just so I could take in the blossoms that were pretty much EVERYWHERE!!

From 3:30 in the afternoon until about 8:30 that night the kids took turns helping Dad plant over 1500 gladiola bulbs.    It was a lovely evening.  We ate outside, the kids rode bikes and visited with Grandpa as he sat nearby.  

It's a good place to hangout in the spring time;)

Thanks April

Oh April sure was a beauty.

April definitely made up for March - and I loved it.

Conference, warm days, a week off of school...and the arrival of SPRING!!

For a good couple of weeks we were surrounded by the most beautiful blossoms and scents.   One day, while riding my bike home from work (oh yeah...I got a job at the elementary school every afternoon so I ride my bike to work with Nate and ride home with him.  Thanks again April;) I rode down one street that was full of blossoming bushes, giving off the most delightfully fresh, spring smell. 

April definitely got us all geared up and looking forward to summer.  

I even pulled out our trusty "milk can" for some good ol' summer time cooking.  

Um ummmm!

April also gave us lots of opportunities to visit with some of our cousins.   

Vivian, Maddax and Savanna stopped by a time or two, and we even enjoyed some wings in Lethbridge with them.   When they weren't visiting, my kids had a blast sending crazy dress up photos their way.     They also got together with Jewel's family and enjoyed swimming and visiting the brand new candy store downtown.   During one visit, they all came home with the grossest jelly bean game I've ever seen.    It involved spinning to see which jelly bean you had to eat.   It would then either be a delicious flavor or a horrid one.    Some of the grossest flavors included: vomit, rotten egg, lawn clippings and stinky socks,  and based on the kids reactions - the flavors must have been quite realistic.  The kids sat for hours (with a communal barf bucket on hand) inflicting torture on themselves and each other.   

Perhaps one of the sweetest things that April brought with it was the seasonal opening of our favorite burger joint - Dave's.  It was a long boring winter without our beloved snack shack.   We've already been there a few times and stood in line on opening day just for one of their tasty milkshakes!  (Thanks for this April;)

During our week off of school, John was asked to build a fence for someone in town.   He usually saves his fencing jobs for the summer, but John and I really want this summer to be reserved for our kids and family - so this was the week (for his one job this year!)   It feels good saying that;)

The kids were delighted when John unloaded a pile of scrap wood for them to hammer, cut and build with.   Sam made a handy little sign for the front of our house.   Nate was determined to build a playhouse for 15 people, which thankfully I was able to halt the production of until a "later to be determined date."   

Sam has started baseball and it didn't take John and I long to remember what it is we've signed up for.   Baseball games go LONG folks!  Twice a week now, Sam snarfs down dinner in a hurry and rushes out the door to be at the diamond by 5:30.  His games begin at 6 and don't end until well after 8.  He gets home and frantically chugs down another meal before going to bed.  (This kid is eating a lot lately - just sayin'.)    I shudder to think of how late he'll get home when he has an away game. 

Still though, despite the time commitment, Sam seems to enjoy playing.   He isn't an all star in any way (he was bummed this past week that he didn't even make it to a base once) but he cheers on his teammates and builds them up, which makes him so unbelievably awesome.  (Just sayin';)    

We've got only two more months until Summer, and what a summer it will be.

For now though, I'm content to just enjoy these last few days of this darling little month.   

Thanks April!

Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was a dream.  

We did nothing of consequence.  Which seemed to fit perfectly well with what we wanted out of the weekend.

On Friday I did permit the kids to paint Easter Eggs.   I swear though, I can only muster up the patience for this craft once a year.   What a mess it can be!   (Especially when your 9 year old decides that nail polish would be a handy artistic medium as well.  Give me strength!!!;)

In an ironic turn of events this Easter weekend - Nate's fish died.   

(You know, that dumb fish that Santa had foolishly bought him?)   Nate seemed to handle it fine when we all discovered "FISHY" (that was his name) but perhaps John and I were a little too jubilant with our celebrations to notice otherwise.   He apparently walked down the street to Jewel's house and could barely hold back the tears as he Brooke the news to them.   

I'm sorry, but the thought of that still makes me laugh.  

I think he was inspired to copy his cousins after the death of their bird months ago, but regardless of his motives, he invited my sisters family to our house the next day for a funeral.   

Again, I couldn't stop laughing at the thought of it. 

But imagine that- his supportive relatives actually showed up the next day at Nate's appointed time!  (I wish I'd taken this all a little more seriously.  I would have changed out of my jammies.  Or at the very least - brushed my teeth;)

Mya had made up some perfect little funeral bulletins in Fishys honor, and his Aunts, Uncle and cousins all lined up to give Nate a handshake and some added support.  

Nate took a minute to say a few silly words.  Ava played "God be with you till we meet again" on the piano.  We sang. We laughed.  I cried. (but only from laughing too hard;)  and that was that.   

In the end, I don't really think his little Fishy Funeral was ever really about his fish.  

It sure made Nate feel good though, and solidified in my heart that he is part of a pretty awesome family!   

Speaking of that family, as if it wasn't awesome enough to get to see them at Fishy's funeral - Abby, Jess and I got to join Brooke, Ava, Mya and Jewel that night as we attended the Women's Broadcast together.   We don't always get together before the general broadcast, but we've decided that when we do - we will try to make it extra special!  This year, Jewel and I drove them around as they delivered white roses and chocolates to various women in our ward.   Some women were single or widowed others were just on our minds, but they each seemed to be truly delighted with these young girls' deliveries.   

A couple of the women even went out of their way to write letters or thank our girls, days after.   One lady's husband had died exactly one year ago and the white roses to her were such a symbolic reminder of new life and Resurrection.   Another women wrote the most lovely and gracious note to the girls telling them that she felt as though she'd had "angels" on her doorstep.   I think the girls (at least mine did) became more aware of how appreciated this small act of kindness was by some.  

After hurriedly making the deliveries we stopped off at DQ for supper before heading over to the stake centre to watch the broadcast together.  The broadcast was an amazing meeting in which we were all encouraged to love those around us more.   

I hope these darling girls remember the good feeling they had that night.  

I certainly always cherish every opportunity (no matter how rare) to be with them!

On the Radio

For the past year (ever since watching her friends perform last year) Jessica has longed to be a part of the Carriage House theatre Children's Academy.    It consists of a Mother/Daughter team who each take a group of registered kids and, over the course of three months from auditions to closing night) teach them all about theatre life!   

It was a tad pricier than most things I usually consider registering my kids in, but Jess wanted it so badly!   She made all sorts of promises to me.  Things like "I'll practise my piano every day."  "I'll do Xtra math whenever you ask me to."  "I'll not ask for a bunny for a pet..."   

Of course, these promises were all completely unkept, but still - 

I'm glad I put her in it!

She rehearsed each Thursday (and occasionally Saturdays) throughout the months of January, February and March.   Her performance nights ran from March 21st-23rd.   (FYI Just so I'll always remember how crazy this week actually was, the 21st also happened to be the day that Max was released from the hospital.  I just feel that I'll want to remember that day as we rushed from hospital to house to theatre and back again over those few days.    

Sigh... clearly I'll do anything for this darling little girl!

I got to help backstage on opening night and I seriously got such a kick out of these young kids.   Jess and her little posse of girlfriends were beyond excited.  They were literally bouncing off the walls!  Minutes before their performance, their director gathered them all together to give them some last minute instructions and answer any questions.   The kids all seemed to have the same question - "What do I do if I feel like I'm going to throw up?"   I laughed as she patiently answered this about 32 + times and reassured the kids that it wouldn't come to that! haha

All there nervous jitters went away though as soon as the curtains opened.   It was a short little play, but one filled with about six costume changes, which really, was pretty intense to witness backstage.   Clothes were flyin everywhere!  Not that the audience would ever know;)

The play was called "On the Radio" and each season depicted a decade and concluded with a musical performance of a hit from that era.   During the 30's the sang "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and as the play moved through the 50's they sang "Hound dog."    

Other songs they sang were:

On the Radio

Ain't we got fun

Sargent Peppers lonely hearts club band (My favorite one) 

and the very entertaining...

FOOTLOOSE!!

These kids had worked SO hard and I could not get over how darling Jessica was up on stage!

I'm not just saying that because I'm her Mother, you know.   She really was undeniably and indisputably darling!!!!

Grandpa insisted on attending her performance on her second night, despite the fact that he'd only been home from the hospital for one day.   We arrived super early to try and find him the best seat in the theater.   He arrived right before it started (he was even still wearing his blue hospital slippers because his feet were still swollen) and John whisked him home as soon as the play was over.  

 What a trooper he was to come out and support Jessica like that!

I hope she warmed his heart as much as she did mine;)

The concluding number was the rockin' song Footloose.  The kids all come out looking like they just walked in from the 80's and show off some pretty slick choreography.   It was always a hoot to watch the girls file out though, because without fail, those letters would be a little bit jumbled at first.  haha

Too funny!

Jess stayed late after on closing night for a "It's a wrap" pizza party.   

When I finally did bring her home, it was hard to bring her down from that cloud she was high up on.  Cloud number 9, I think?  ;)   She kept insisting that she wanted to do this EVERY year and that she'd even put her dreams for a bunny on hold, so that she could save up for theatre instead.

Of course, she totally didn't mean that as just today - she was looking online at bunny cages, but I have to say -  I think I am kinda hooked on watching her on stage.     

Till next year!

Month of Max

Well, I think it is fair to say that (for my Father in law) March definitely "came in like a lion."

Though I've alluded to it in previous posts, I've failed to really explain how he has been lately.   

For the past couple of years he has been aware that he would need to have some open heart search to repair one damaged heart valve.  The rest of his heart is in very great shape, but this valve had become quite restricted and, though they monitored it for a year or so, it was decided that it would need to be fixed.     His surgery was supposed to happen back in January but that got rescheduled until now.

March 1st was the day of the procedure and I don't remember a time when I have ever sensed more hesitancy and nervousness form him as I did in those days prior.   Each night when he would come for dinner, his surgery just seemed to be looming and always on his mind.   John and I would try to reassure him that all would be fine, and then, once Max had left, John would try to reassure ME that all would be fine.   The whole family knew that this was going to be a big deal, but nobody really had a clue what to actually expect.   

On Sunday February 28th (I think) we enjoyed one last dinner with Grandpa before giving him a hug and wishing him the very best while he was up in Calgary!   (Aaron was flying in that night and would take Max up to the hospital and be with him that week.)

  

Aaron sent these two pictures to us on Tuesday morning though and it was so reassuring to see a smile on Max's face, just minutes before he was to go in.   (It looks like John's Aunt Jean Blumell was even able to pop by and say hello.)   

Well, the next few days were interesting to say the least.   

Max's surgery began early Tuesday afternoon.  Around dinner time, we got word that Max was out of surgery but still sedated.   Things looked good and the doctor said that the heart work had gone well.    They would be waking him up around midnight.  Phew!!!

However, near midnight, Ben messaged us to say that the nurses would not be waking Max up as hoped.  His bleeding had still not subsided and they would be going in an again.  Details would come...

Around 3:00 am we got another text that he was now out of his second surgery.  They felt confident that they'd found the cause of the bleeding and would be able to wake him in the morning.   By now I was clinging to my phone hoping for the text that would tell us that he was wake and "out of the woods."     John and I both left for work Wednesday morning unsure of what the status was, but full of hope and prayers.   

Around 10:00 I checked my phone and learned that Max had just come out of his THIRD surgery and was doing great!   He was now responding as they'd hoped he would have after the first, so they felt confident that they'd wake him that afternoon.   

Sure enough, around 4:00 on Wednesday March 2nd (24 hours after being sedated) Max was woken up.  HE'D DONE IT!!!!    I was so relieved and so proud of him.  

Of course, for him - though the surgery was over, his recovery was just beginning.   

Aaron stayed in Calgary with him until the end of that week.  

On Saturday, John and I whipped up there to see him (while Abby performed at choralfest) and later that day Sarah arrived in Calgary.   She stayed up there for a few days until Max was transferred to Cardston for the rest of his recovery.   It was so awesome of Aaron and Sarah to take those weeks away from their families to be with their Dad.   We could tell Max appreciated their devoted care and John and I were so relieved and thankful too.   I could sense that John's time to help his Dad would come soon enough and we used these first couple of weeks after his surgery to prepare our schedules so that we (mostly John) would be able to help him when it would be truly useful.

It was certainly nice having him back in Cardston though, even if he was stuck in the hospital for a couple of weeks;)   John would head over to the hospital every day as soon as school ended and each night before bed too.   He'd walk with his Dad, visit with him or occasionally watch a basketball game on the ipad.   Every morning, after getting the kids off to school,  I would take Nate up to see Grandpa.   Nate loved riding in the hospital and "racing" me as I took up the stairs.   I'd always beat him to the 2nd floor and without fail, every time those elevator doors opened - I'd catch Nate in some ridiculous pose.   It became a fun little game to us but how Nate did not catch ebola or something else from that dirty germ infested floor is beyond me!  

Max's recovery in the hospital went well, though it surely seemed slow going for him.   It wasn't without it's down moments.  Soon after the surgery, Max's limbs swelled with fluid, which later resulted in large blisters on his legs.    They needed constant care and monitoring and caused him a fair amount of stress and discomfort.    In addition to that, partway through his stay, he began experiencing extreme chest pain.  Initially the nurses suspected that this was due to a missed pain med or a pulled muscle.  A day later though, Dr. Low wisely sent him into Lethbridge for a CT scan where it was determined that he had a blood clot in his left lung.   You wouldn't think this would be good news - but it was!   Max was assured that an increase in medication he was already taking (and a little bit of time) would be all that it'd take to clear this up.    His heart was fine!    His recovery was fine!   All was well!!   Immediately after hearing this news Max perked up again.  I could just see the relief wash over him and we knew that it wouldn't be long before he'd be able to continue the rest of his recovery at home.  

On a Monday morning, 21 days after he was first admitted to the Foothills hospital - Max was discharged and able to go home.   HOME!!!   

I'd stopped by the hospital that morning and gotten a list of foods that Max wanted to have at home and was able to fill his fridge a bit before he got there.   Dr. Low gave Max permission to rent a motorized lazy boy armchair and so John and I hauled that over after school.   It was so fun to watch Max walk around his house, hear his radio playing again and see him try to take it all in.   

Life outside of the hospital - how sweet!

Since Max got home exactly two weeks ago, we have managed to find a new normal.   

Three mornings a week, John goes over before school and helps his Dad.   Around noon, I drop off a lunch for him before Nate heads off to kindergarten.   John grabs him and brings him over each day for supper and then, most nights, John goes back over to do any dishes of Max's and help with anything before Max goes to bed.   This arrangement has been working well and Max is doing AMAZINGLY!!!   

Happily, March 24th is Max's birthday and we couldn't wait to make a big deal of this.   

While in the hospital, my Uncle George Toone had visit Max and given him a cookbook full of Jewish recipes.    It was a stunning cookbook and Max seemed fascinated with it.   I told him to chose some recipes that seemed most interesting to him and we would make them for his upcoming "Birthday dinner."      Luckily, John's sister Rachel decided to come out and join us on this evening and she brought along the fixins for Greek Gyros.   You can't beat a yummy gyro and it went well with this cinnamony parsley cauliflower salad, Pureed beet and Greek yogurt dish and Latkes.   Delish!!   For the sake of accurate journalism, I'd better point out that my brother in law Brent fried those Latkes like a boss! ;)

It was a fun and happy night and provided us with the perfect opportunity to celebrate this man who is such a pivitol person in all of his kids' (and their families) lives.    He's the only living Grandparent that my kids will ever really know...in this life, and I'm so glad that he went through this past month to ensure have as healthy a heart as possible.

He's pretty much my hero!

Eagles + Fishing = Spring!

A couple of weeks back, while visiting my father in law at the hospital, he asked me if I'd seen any eagles yet.   That's when I realized - March was already half over and I hadn't even gone for a country drive yet!  It had been such a crazy month for us, but with this new invitation from Max, I decided to stop procrastinating.   

The next day, John, the kids and I hopped in the van and embarked on our annual drive along Beazer road.   We'd chosen the ride day and time to go, as we'd barely set out before finding our beautiful bird. In fact, we saw NINE eagles in total and some of them were so close to the side of the road and hardly shy at all.    It was BEAUTIFUL!

Jessica held a notebook in here hand the entire time and kept track of the wildlife that she spotted.   (We're working on her spelling, but you gotta love her sweet effort;)

As we passed by Romeril lake, the family couldn't help but get out and try fishing for a few minutes.   Snow had fallen just the night before, and the wind was blowing fresh cool mountain air right at us, and yet - these boys were determined!   Nate and Sam had just gotten new fishing rods as a gift and they've obviously taken that as a sign that fishing season has begun.   (Of course John wasn't going to stop them;)

So I guess it is apparent - Spring has officially arrived!

Now if someone can just notify those clouds of that.  Tell them to move on out - we're ready for some SUN!!

Randomness...

Every once in a while (always when I get behind on my journal) in an effort to catch up - I simply  post a kazillion random photos with the shortest explanations possible.   So, without further adieu:

1. Sam and Jess love their elementary school dress up days.   They owned "western day."

2.  First trip out to Walleys beach this year was a muddy one for sure.

3.  Nate has started painting and would do so every day if I let him.   He can pump out 6 or 7 works of art in mere minutes!

4. March is festival month.   Every year my elementary aged kids perform both with their classes and with their choirs.  Nate never likes coming with me to watch but he does OK when given the right bribe;)   Next year I'll be going to watch HIM!

5. Nate loves helping in the kitchen.  He makes his own ichiban, popcorn, toast, milkshakes and can grill pancakes like nobodies business. 

6.   Jessica is always coloring or creating something.  The Gladdings gave her an intricate adult coloring book for her birthday and she loves it.  Knowing of her love for art, her Aunt Rachel also gave her some paint and canvasses too.

7.  Every year a friend of mine (who lives out in Leavitt) calls me when her pussy willow tree is blooming and lets me come and steal some branches.   It is so so so so nice of her and I absolutely LOVE my pussy willows.   They remind me of my Grandma Toone.   She had the largest willow tree beside her house and my sisters and I would play there for hours!

Sigh...spring is just around the corner!!

She's a teen!!!

For a couple of years now, I have been speaking of Abby as if she was already a teenager.   

That may be because, for a couple of years now, she's been acting like a teen!

Finally it's true.    My first baby girl is 13.   

A few things stand out to me when I look at this picture:  1. My nose is big  (that grade 1 boy I work with at school is right;).     2.  Abby has had braces for 7 months already, which means there are only 7 more payments to go.  Woot woot!!    3.  Our selfie skills are sorely lacking.   Abby's friend Falen was supposed to snap a birthday picture of me and my girl but she obviously thought that included her in it as she kept sneaking her way into the shot.  haha.  What cute girls!  I definitely feel grateful for the good friends this girl has right now in her life. 

Abby's actual birthday was (at best) a gong show.   Her Grandpa Hardy had just had a major surgery, I'd worked all week long, and she'd had a week full of girls choir rehearsals.   We did our best to piece together a party but it certainly wasn't anything grand.   On the plus side, her 14th birthday is bound to be impressive by comparison;)

The day after Abby's birthday, we loaded the kids up and headed for Calgary.   John and I were looking forward to visiting with Max at the Foothills hospital and Abby was performing with the Girls Choir in Calgary.  

I had forgotten what city life is like.  

First, we dropped the younger kids off at Ben and Kat's house to play with their girls for the day.   Then John, Abby and I drove up to the University area to visit Grandpa.   

We weren't allowed in though as it was hospital "rest time" so we hopped back in the van.

Drove to Knoxx church located in down town Calgary and dropped off Abby with her group.

Then we headed back up to the hospital, saw Max for a mere 25 minutes and then - 

back to Knoxx church!

We watched Abby for a few minutes, took some pictures, and then I drove John all the way down to Ben and Kat's house at the furthest end of Calgary so that he could take care of our kids again.

I turned around and drove right back downtown to be able to get Abby.   I was able to listen to the final adjudication before grabbing Abbs and heading back down to Ben and Kats for dinner before heading back to Cardston. 

It was CRAZY!! 

You can spend all day driving around in that city and never really feel like you accomplished much, but there is certainly a fun energy to city life. 

I appreciated the brief moments where I was able to pause and take in the beautiful Knoxx church.  

 I'd been here once before, exactly a year ago, and it is one of my favorite places to hear a choir sing!

We got home shortly before midnight and the kids were absolutely exhausted, but it was certainly nice to watch Abby and celebrate her accomplishment a little bit.