Guess Who??

Bad Day for mail...

So we recieved this lovely picture of our new van in the mail today. It was soo nice of the city police to send it to us, along with a not so nice yellow peice of paper. AHHHHHHH!! Tsk Tsk... I'd like to blame this on John but I can clearly see it was taken on the way to a certain store for "Tall Girls"! Drat. Note to self: Yellow lights don't stay yellow for long. :(

John looked at the ticket... (and the price we have to pay) and all he said was, "Hmmm. That's about the same amount of money it will cost for my new 27C Stryker."

I wonder if I could fight this one...what do you think?

Tagged...

For those of you who have never been "tagged,"...today may be your lucky day. I was recently tagged by a friend, who is actually a very talented writer. For her this task was probably a peice of cake. For me...not so. Nevertheless, here's how it works. Thanks Nikki!!

People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

My list of Seven:
1. I love to fish. I started fishing when I was attending college in Edmonton. I've never caught a thing but I love having a "tackel box" of my very own. My favorite spot is along the North Sasketchewan.

2. Bad Habits? none. ok I am a bit of a worry wart. ...just a bit:)

3. Patience is not my strongest virtue. John always pronounces my maiden name as "Rush," which is not at all how it is pronounced...that's just his way of telling me to slow down.

4. My favorite thing to watch are old M*A*S*H re-runs. We own all 11 seasons on DVD. The perfect date night for me consists of John, a bowl of popcorn, and the good ol' 4077.

5. I love to paint and draw. A man was once interviewing Robert Batemen and asked him, "How are you so good? I'd give my right arm to be able to paint like you." To that Batemen responded, "Are you willing to give one hour a day"? Some say practice makes perfect...I'm still practicing.

6. I would love to travel. I say "would" because my experience consists of a quick trip to Salt Lake once and a week spent in BC. I would love to take the Via Rail across Canada one day.

7. I think I have the best family in the world. I happen to have a husband who is, (as Mary Poppins would say) "practically perfect in every way!"

"Tag" goes out to:

Chad
Jewel
Crystal
Lauhni
Jen
Michelle.L
Paula.K

This past week

My sister Jewel told us about a travelling reptile show, she'd attended with her kids on Friday. John and I then decided to take our kids to it on Saturday as part of our celebration of "Earth Day." It turned out to be a lot of fun.


Abby and Sam had fun seeing all of the reptiles and the presenters did a great job of helping the kids appreciate the animals around us. Except for the snakes. I don't think we have to appreciate them.



We also bought the movie Charlottes Web recently. It has become a favorite of Abby's which makes me happy. I have such fond memories of my mom reading it to my siblings and I when I was little. This is a picture of Abby fast asleep. If you look closely you'll see her new bedtime buddies...wilbur and charlotte as well:)

Earth Day

Sunday April 22nd is National Earth Day. First created by Senator Gaylord Nelson in the United States 37 years ago. I remember celebrating Earth Day in Elementary School. All grades would meet outside to pick up garbage in the schoolyard and along the nearby ditches. Afterwards we'd be rewarded with a popsicle. It's funny how picking up garbage seemed so fun... on that one day.
There is an older man in our neighborhood who walks his dog every day and I've noticed that in his hand he also carrys a big bag for...garbage. I've seen him all over my neighborhood cleaning up the schools, churches, parks etc. What a kind deed. That reminds me of another kind deed I once witnessed my brother do. I was driving home when I noticed a cop car a little ways ahead of me flip a U and drove up on the sidewalk right behind a young teenage boy. It only took a second to realize that the cop was my brother. Later I asked my brother what crime that teenager could possibly have done to invoke such a response from him. Turns out that kid was not a theif or a vandaliser...just your ordinary litterbug!! You can bet that young boy will think twice before littering again...the ticket was hefty:)) So hats off to that old man and his dog...and to the men in blue who make it a priority to keep our earth clean!

I'm looking forward to celebrating this day with my kids. (Unless it is still snowing and then forget it:))

Here is a list of ideas and activities I found on line. Go to this page and try a few yourself!

www.ecokidsonline.com/pub/eco_info/topics/environmental/earthday_events.cfm

John's Passion

...it's an F-27C. Johns brother has him hooked on flying airplanes. Don't ask me to explain it in any more detail then that. All I know is that we have a very big plane that takes up lots of space in our bedroom and John takes it everywhere we go. I wouldn't normally include something like this but when John looked at this blog he told me basically that I should make a GOOD post for once. :)) It is a video of his brother flying the plane. It is impressive I have to admit. Sorry girls.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Zoo Crew

On Saturday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and make a trip to the zoo. We are so glad that we did. The animals were active and fun to watch. It was little Jessica's first real outing.

Abby loves getting as close to the peacocks as she can.

Sam got so tired but I didn't want him to fall asleep. In desperation I went and bought the kids an ice cream cone thinking that would help keep him awake. No luck. This is a picture I took after I noticed he kept dozing off...right into his ice cream.

Abby and a little boy she used to play with. We ran into him and his Dad while we were there. Those two kids held hands all morning. Uh oh!

Superstar!!!

Abby got a brand new pair of sunglasses this past weekend. They are sparkly pastel blue with a tiny Tinkerbell in the right corner of her eye. She loves wearing them around. They were meant for wearing in the van but she's been known to wear them in the tub with her as well:)) Today she came to me and said, "Mom...when I wear these I feel like a Superstar" I coldn't help but laugh out loud at that. (Maybe it had something to do with her undone hair and old play dress. To me...she looked like anything but)
Since then Abby has continued to refer to herself as a superstar. "Mom...your superstar needs a cuddle." "the superstar needs breakfast..." "Sam is bothering the Superstar." etc

I guess when she starts calling her bedroom her "dressing room" I'll know I'm in trouble.

Out with the old

Well we did it!! We've reluctantly made the big step from our family car to a new van! It was sort of a sad moment for us when we turned over the keys to our little toyota corolla. We felt like we were abandoning her. Yes our car had a gender. John and I obviously get very attached to our vehicles. There have been so many memories made during the time that we owned her. However when you are trying to squish three car seats into the back seat of a corolla, it quickly becomes apparant that it is time for a change. Besides... Sam was seated so close to Jessica that it was too easy for him to reach over and poke her eyes out. Yes...he was trying. So we tearfully said goodbye to our faithfull car and left the dealership in a 2006 Grand Caravan. The kids love the extra room...and Abby is constantly asking if she can go outside to play in the van. I on the other hand am very nervous to drive something so big. I'm pretty certain I will never parallel park again:)

With the first day of Spring having arrived-we've begun a bit of spring cleaning. It is so nice to be able to open up our windows and enjoy the fresh air. I love it!!

With March coming to an end I've been reflecting on the events of this past month. Jessica is now 1 month old and it has been such a blessing to have her in our home. With the passing of my Dad this past month I've been so grateful for the distraction that Jess has provided as well as the reminder every time I look at her, that life is awesome!!

We hope March goes out like a Lamb for all of you. Here are some pictures including one of our "little Lamb" fast asleep.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I was so excited to celebrate this holiday for some reason this year. Holidays have become so much fun now that my kids are getting old enough to enjoy them. Abigail woke up this morning and the first thing she got was...a pinch! It's her fault that she was wearing pink. (never mind the fact that I dress her every night.) I started to tell Abby about a Leprachan who goes from house to house to make sure everyone is wearing green. Uh...I think I got some stories crossed. I decided I need to research the history of this Irish holiday. I do know that GREEN is the color of the day so for breakfast we ate green eggs, green pancakes and ham. (I couldn't bring myself to dye the ham green. I figured it had enough dye in it already:) We are off to spend the day with family and pinch as many people as we can!

"Saint Patrick's Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck."

I hope it is a LUCKY day for all of you!

Remembering Dad

It has been a difficult week for me and my famiy but also a week full of awesome memories. After learning last Saturday evening that my Dad had passed away suddenly, my siblings and I have spent a lot of time together remembering all the wonderful things about my Dad that we loved. My brother has really stepped up to take care of us and handle all the details of a funeral and my sisters likewise have been so great. I on the other hand feel like I'm five years old all over again, but I've enjoyed spending this past week with them.

I've thought a lot this week about all the things I never said to Dad or the times recently that I should have called him and didn't. I hope to never feel that kind of regret again and I'm determined to be better at letting those I love know it.

Thanks to all of you who have written, called, and sent flowers. It has meant so much to our family.

My second attemt

Yes this is my second attempt at blogging. We had created a blog before Christmas and I think we made a couple of entries but it did not last long. I went to update it today and realized I've forgotten our old username and password, so I'm starting fresh. For a look at our old one go to johnandtanis.blogspot.com and you can read about our lives back in 2006.

What's new for us? Our little Valentine that we were expecting did not actually arrive on Valentines day as we thought she would. One very long week later than that infact. We are so glad that she is here. Life without morning sickness and heartburn is good. Abigail LOVES taking care of her however, I really need to monitor her carefully. Yesturday Abby was going to help me bathe Jessica. I went to get everything ready and when I came back Jessica was stripped down to her diaper! Yikes. I've been checking Jess for signs of trauma ever since. Sam is good with Jess as well although he is obsessed with removing her hat and he loves to tickle her. Sam is not the most gentle of ticklers. It is more like scratching while he says,"Ticka Ticka Ticka."

These are our cuties!