A Week of Company

I mentioned in my previous entry that we got possession on June 21st and began moving our life to our new home that very day.  On June 22nd we were able to visit with Johns sister Sarah,  her husband Ed and their boys.  On June 23 John's brother Aaron came for a three-day stay and brought our nephew Luke along with him.  On June 28 we were able to have John's sister Rachel and her family stay with us.

I wouldn't have normally planned for company during a move, but it truly proved to provide us with the reprieve we needed during an otherwise very unbalanced week.  During a week of 2 am bedtimes and boxes, and trips from one house to another - I can not adequately convey how nice it was to have family stop in to bring us back to reality and provide us with moments where we could be reminded of what matters most.  

Sarah and Ed and fam had taken on an adventurous trip to Glacier National Park so Sarah and Caleb could bike the famous Going to the Sun Road.   We drove down to meet them for some Huckleberry shakes and Pie and of course catch up with one of our favorite families!

Aaron had one request when he came to visit and that was that he and Luke fish as much as possible, which was pretty much music to John's ears;)   It was SO fun having Luke with us. 

  Often when we get together with John's family it is with a whole group of us, which is always a party, but I love, love, LOVE the individual single family visits most.  It gives me an opportunity to really connect more sincerely than I do amidst a large group, and I gotta say - Luke is a party and a half.   My kids are still laughing about some of his hilarious antics.  

The Steven's family definitely got the most unpacked and calm version of our family that week, but that isn't saying much.  Sam was at young men's camp, Nate had a weekend-long baseball tournament in the city, and John and I were still secretly making late night loads from our old house to this one.  

Still though- it was nice to stop, visit, play and laugh. 

What better way to break in the new digs, than with family!

Home Sweet Home

We've not really mentioned it too much, BUT back in March - we bought a house!

We (John and I, chronic gypsies) actually BOUGHT A HOUSE!!  

It's been 7 years since we owned a home.  I can hardly believe that we let it be that long, but we truly had just grown comfortable with the freedom and luxury of not owning, though that may be a little shortsighted of us.

At any rate, the Holts (whose home we had been renting) were due to be released from their mission and we knew it was time (yet again) to find our next home.  The kids were definitely ready to put down some roots and call a place their own.  

We took possession of the property on Friday June 21st.  

John and I still had to work that day, but that didn't stop the kids from beginning the move without us, literally phoning or texting us sometimes to see what they should be moving over.  (It is soooo much nicer moving when your kids are old enough to help with the work!  haha) 

One of the things we love about the house is that it backs onto Sunset park, giving us a feeling that we have more space than we actually do.   I love that I am not looking out into someone's back yard.  

I also love that no one else really looks out into our back yard, because it is in pretty rough shape these days.   The previous owners had truly left the home in beautiful shape, having done renos inside and in the front yard.  The back yard may look like it has green grass, but 80% of what is seen there is actually weed.  (Well...not "weed" but various kinds of broad leaf weeds.  haha;)

We spend a couple of days pulling the green things out, and may just take a tiller to the whole yard this week.  We shall see.  It feels good to get our hands dirty on a property of our own again.

I don't know how John and I got so blessed to live the life we do, but I am so grateful that we have been able to land here.  We are excited to start making some memories in our new 

Home Sweet Home!!!

Joys of June

After a long, long, cold winter and spring, June offered some beautiful days and the kids were able to enjoy a lot of new things!  Some June highlights were:

* Jessica got to go gopher shooting ...twice!   

Not gonna lie - John and I were shocked she was willing to go along with this, being the nature lover that she is.   This is our girl who saves bugs and loves every animal in the whole world.  

Apparently, there is a bloodthirsty side to her as well?

She was also invited out to ride horses with a cute girl she played softball with this year.  It was so funny to watch Jessica come home with an inherited set of cowboy boots and a smile a mile long.  She claims there is no better smell in the world than that of horse poo. 

To each their own, I suppose;)

Abby has made us all happy by learning how to make macrons. And like - she really has learned!

She has mastered these tiny little morsels and my favorite flavors so far have been her coconut and raspberry macrons.   Sooo tasty!

Nate was able to go to the "100% Attendance BBQ lunch" hosted by his school each year.  This bbq is only for students who have gone the year without missing school, and he was SOO proud of the fact that he has not missed a single day of school since Kindergarten.   

This was his fourth time attending!!  

June was definitely a fun month for some of these kids!

Month of Sports

May and June.  Wow.

I've started to think that May/June are just as busy as the Christmas season - only without the soothing holiday lights!  We've mostly been kept so busy this month because of the many sports that our kids had been involved in.

Jess played on a softball team for the first time ever and she really really enjoyed it!

She was a strong player and an even stronger teammate, constantly cheering on the other girls and rallying them together. 

  She has so much athletic ability and absolutely zero competitiveness or jealousy - which I think is a killer combination.   

She ran fast at Track and Field this year too. (I wish I could have watched her, but had to be at work.)
She is just dynamite!

Nate played baseball again this year and really grew as a player.  He did have a kick-butt coach if I do say so myself;)   

I actually really LOVED going to watch Nate's games because they were only ever an hour long.   Just the right length of time for a baseball game;)

I adore that squishy little kid!

Sam had a jam-packed, crazy busy month or two.  He played basketball, went to zones for Badminton, played on a Baseball team, competed in a school-sponsored triathlon, and went to zones for track and field.  

No wonder he is so skinny!! haha

I really really LOVED watching him play baseball.   He loves pitching and got a few opportunities to do that this season.  

He is a fast runner and a particularly good big brother.  I was so grateful to hear of all the times he watched out for Jessica this year as they attended the same school together.  

He has a good core group of friends who are all so athletic.

Unlike Jessica, Sam does have a fiercely competitive streak and he really pushes himself.

He has started working out and can't wait to move up to the High School this fall, mostly because it will mean he will be allowed to access the weight room. 

I've really been proud of all he has tackled and the respectful way that he has handled every up and down of each game/event.   He's a good kid, this one!

That's our month of sports in a nutshell.   

Life on the bleachers has been good!

Fathers Day

In a grand Father's Day gesture, the kids and I decided to let John chose how we would celebrate his special Dad's day.  Of course, he chose "fossil hunting at St. Marys." 

It could not have been a more calm and beautiful Sunday evening.  

The kids and I feel so blessed to have this man leading our family.

Saturday evening Fun

Before school was even out, we were feeling ready for summer!

We stole away one evening to Waterton for our first Can Cooker meal of the season.

It was so yummy!  It helped that we had Grandpa and Jewel Kendall and fam with us.  

The kids always love time with their cousins.  

It was a gorgeous pre-summer outing that had us really looking forward to July!!

2019 - It's a wrap!

June 13 and 14 was grad for so many of the students that I have gotten to work with this past year.   This was a crazy hard year.   My personal work was a struggle at times, and for many of these students, it was equally challenging.  I think we all kinda felt like we were crawling to the finish line.  

Words can not convey how proud I was of so many of these students!

Many of these students have endured/overcome such obstacles to achieve this.  They are grit and determination personified and they don't even realize it!!

I can't wait to see them down the road.  

Graduating class of 2019 was definitely one of my faves!

A Chill birthday worthy of a DQ cake

It was a quiet birthday this year, but a sweet one, just the same.  

I'd had a rough week at work and I felt grateful for the opportunity this day gave me to be with my family.  After work/school we attended the kids' year-end piano recital.  

After the recital, the kids had some gifts for me and John had purchased a DQ cake.  

John had purchased a lightweight raincoat for me to take on our cruise.  Abby and Jess gave me cute coupons and letters, Nate made me a large piano out of paper, and Sam had gotten Abby to take him to the store so he could buy (with his own money) some of my favorite treats.  

It was a day in which I felt special to those who matter the very most to me.

Nothing makes a birthday great like ice cream cake and those you love!

Student Council Retreat

For the past year, Abby has been serving on her school Student Council, which has been a great opportunity for her.  Last weekend, the School sent 12 Student Council members on a two-night retreat, and I got to be one of the accompanying chaperones.   

We spent the weekend staying in a hostel and exploring the Kananaskis, an area in 

Alberta that I had not explored before.  It was so much fun! 

The trip involved a lot of food (orange french toast, wings, pasta night - all at sit down restaurants) soaking in the hot springs, exploring the Banff Hotel, hiking,  watching the newly released Aladdin in the Banff Theatre, and late nights playing every ridiculous game those kids could conjure up!  

I owned the role of "Werewolf" like a boss, pathetically competed (and lost all sense of pride) in a sing-off, and scared the living daylights out of all 12 students with the best late night prank ever.  

Mr. Sloan took the group up to "The Vault" which was a fascinating cave created back during Cold War time, with the intention of using it for a place to store Top Secret Government Documents.   It was fun to walk to the end of it and explore the different "rooms."

I particularly LOVED getting to just be with Abby.  

She is fun.  She is so good.  And she is a genuine friend to me.   I'll happily accompany a handful of students and stay up later than any human should - for a chance to get to be with her!

The Kananaskis is definitely an area we will be visiting again!

Spring Drive

Sometimes (as in like, once in a blue moon) Jessica and I wake up super early and go on a morning drive...

The world is particularly beautiful when it is just waking up for the day!

Native Honor Night

I love my job.  

It isn't easy.  It isn't always fun.  There have been more challenges arise this year for me than I ever thought possible.   BUT... I do love the students that I work with, and because of that, I love my job.

Earlier in May, the school held it's annual Native Honor Night, a special evening dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of our graduating First Nation students.  It is a formal evening (many of these students value this event over the actual grad ceremony in June) that includes dinner, a program, traditional dancing, and gifts for each grad.    This year there are 27 of them from our school, and the hope is that every single one of them will graduate.   

  Oh, I pray that they will!   

I am proud of these kids.  Many of these students are the first ones in their family to graduate, and every one of them is overcoming substantial difficulty to do so.    To me, they are grit and determination personified, and they don't even realize it.  

I am not sure what this next year has in store for me and my work.  Things feel a little unsteady right now.  I hope I will be able to keep working with this group that I love so much.  

Choir and Mountain Play

Last month our local Girls Choir held a 30-year anniversary event in which choir alumni were invited to participate in a joint concert with the current choir.  John's sister Sarah was one of the original members of this choir, and Abby was a part of it a couple of weeks back, so it was fun to get to watch both of them perform.  

It was also fun to have Sarah, Ed, and Malachi with us for a few days.

They always introduce us to new experiences and fun!

This visit, they brought along their bikes and it was SO fun to enjoy Waterton with wheels!

Sarah had wanted to experience riding along the Red Rock Parkway while vehicular traffic was prohibited.  She commented a few times that there was something about being on that road without anybody else that was exciting - and she was right!

The kids loved it.  Even Nate kept up for most of the way, only having to turn back a few minutes before the endpoint.   It was neat to see where the Kenow Wildfire reached, and to see how the land has recovered.  It was also cool to travel this road outside of a car.  You notice things in a different way.   The wildflowers were just starting to come up, with patches of shooting stars blanketing the ground.   I'm pretty sure shooting stars are some of my favorite flowers.  

The dainty little things survive the harsh mountain climate so well.

At one point Nate grew too tired to keep going.  I knew that we were probably within minutes of our destination but he was so so tired and I was tired too wanted this to remain a good experience for him, so he and I turned back.   We stopped at the top of one particular hill, parked our bikes and just sat, right there in the middle of the road.   Not another human being in sight!

Dreeeaammmy!!!!!

After that fun ride, we ate pizza and enjoyed Beaver tails down by the lake before heading home.  

It was a perfectly beautiful evening, one that made me feel grateful for calm moments and company that helps us see the world a little bit differently, even if just for a moment.

  

Mother's Day

I feel so very blessed to have these people in my life. 

 Oh, how I love them!

Moments before the sun goes down...

Earlier in May my brother texted us and let us know he would be at the farm the next day.  He said something about "heather was making chili" which pretty much sealed the deal for us.  I'm pretty sure no distance is too far for a bowl of Heather's chili. For reals;)

All of my siblings and the cousins converged for just a few hours that evening, but as always, it was a perfectly good time.  The kids talked, played outside until the sun went down, and we all visited.  When we had filled up on chili, Tim Tams, Hot Chocolate and Krsispy Creme donuts - we crawled into our vehicles and made the trip home...

...each one of us looking forward to next time.