Flurries and the Flu

This week has been a doozy! Friday night/Saturday we got over a foot of snow in one big dump! Had to take 'dad's monster truck' to meeting on Sunday or we wouldn't have got out of the subdivision. The kids have enjoyed it. It's been cold but not too terrible. The flu hit this house too. I can't complain though....I think it's been over a year since we've had the stomach flu. Kylie was so big about it. She walked into our room, puked all over our bed (that was really sweet of her) and then just laid down beside the bed with her bucket. No tears or complaining. Chelsea is coughing up a lung too so we're happy just to stay home by the fire for a few days.

A pictoral Update

I got to go on a date with my hubby the other night. It was so much fun. We played dress up the Steve doll. Isn't he handsome?

We had a wonderful time with our dear sister workers. This is Carmine skating with the girls.

Chelsea doesn't want the red support thing anymore. This hockey stick will do.

Marion reading to the girls.

I love this picture because it looks like big Steve holding a mini Steve.

And.....SOLD! To the highest bidder. The trick to kijiji is paying the little bit of money to get it on the top ads. Then you suddenly get an influx of people looking at your ad and it sells less than a week later. We got about $250 less then we said we'd take but at least its gone! (as of Thursday)

Family day tomorrow. Have a WONDERFUL day with your family.

Warning: Just needed to vent.

I need a holiday somewhere really hot where I can soak up some real vitamine D. I'm feeling blue. My children and I have been trapped in the house for too long with no spouse/dad around, I've been cleaning the house and doing laundry for a week....it was clean for meeting and then my disrespectful children destroyed it in no time flat....now we have the workers coming (this is the good part) and I get to start cleaning all over again. Then Chelsea shot me in the face with a nerf gun and I lost it!!! So Steve took the kids and ran. Hope he brings home food. I'm hungry. Don't you wish you were here?

The Telus World of Science...

Today was quite an experience. We decided to go get a membership to the science center so we could go play whenever we wanted. Invited aunty Jess and kids and a few friends and their kids. It was soooo busy. I thought it'd be good since it was just the surrounding area schools that had the day off, but apparently Edmonton schools planned the day out too. Anyhow, the kids still enjoyed it. Stayed for about 4 hours. We started in the IMAX with the showing of rescue. I thought it was interesting. Some of the kids thought it was great and others thought it was scary. I should have known, being that we can't even get in the CAR WASH line up without Chelsea having a meltdown, that the IMAX would not be for her. So we had to stand in the stairwell where she couldn't see anything or she'd scream. Little brat. Thankgoodness she fell asleep half way through and I could sit down!

Our little computer geek :) This is a new area. Really neat kids area. The airplane area was the biggest hit.

Flying the plane.

Chelsea dreaming of going somewhere warm

Abby chatting up the security guy :)

Kylie putting luggage through the scanner.

Chelsea drying her hands after getting drenched in the water area.

So then we tried to go in to the star theater to learn about stars etc... yeah we didn't even make it to the doors and she had a fit!!! So we sat outside and waiting for everyone else to enjoy the show.

Overall it was a pretty good day. Tired the kids out good. Now we can go any time for free and pay half price on the IMAX shows so I think we will get some use out of the membership. It includes 2 adults and 4 kids which is unusual but perfect for us!!

Also got my gorgeous watch from Jess. Will have to take a picture and post it. Time for tea and supper. I'm ready for bed but guess I will wait until Steve is home and head out to the grocery store. UGH!

Steve's been rubbing shoulders with the high faluten (sp?? haha) people of our city with a little party last night and a luncheon function today.....oh to have the life of a working man. Hahaha. No...wouldn't trade him places.

Have a spectacular day.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

I'm sorry mom C, still no pictures of me. Some day. But I can share a part of me with you...

Just have to share cuz this is so exciting to me (my husband gets soooo sick of my house designing) HA!:

I have spent probably 5 years searching for the perfect house plan and designing my own....I have finally found my dream house. Ahhhh.....some day.....maybe? Maybe not but hey it's a fun hobby. The only thing I would change is to turn the office into a large [ shaped stairwell since we want a basement.

Today was such a gorgeous day. In fact it was so gorgeous that I washed all the windows I could reach inside and out. That would be 9 windows!! My shoulder is now KILLING me. I'm hoping I do NOT inherit my father, mother, and sister's shoulder issues. So far, I'm the healthy one! I'd like to keep it that way. Unfortunately when I'm as old as they are, I may fall apart. I have always been able to dislocate my shoulder but it has never hurt until today. Could simply be overworked as I also helped Steve take all the decals off his truck. What should have been an easy job, is not actually as easy as it looks! He heated them up and then we peeled them off but the adhesive remover didn't work real great so we had to scrub it and scrub it and scrub it.....you get the idea. Now it looks beautiful though and ready to sell.

We get to have our workers next week so we're excited about that. I think there may be a lot of meeting changes coming up as there has been several elders meetings lately so I'm excited to see the new list. No idea if or when it'll come out but I may just ask :)

So my kids have Thursday and Friday off. Anyone want to come entertain some kids? Steve won't even be home much as he has an open house at work Thursday night with the company who nominated them for "construction company of the year for work under 50 million." So I guess he better go. Then he is celebrated hockey day in Canada as is his tradition every year with a game of shinny during the day and supper out with the guys to watch the oilers game. I think the kids and I will go to an IMAX Thursday. Anyone want to join us? Then Friday we might go skiing. Then Saturday we are going to stay home.

Here are a couple picture for you. Chelsea having her Sunday afternoon nap, Kylie skating, and a video of Hayley teaching Chelsea to skate. She is doing soooo good now. At the beginning of the season she couldn't even stand up!

Oh and I found this hillarious statement while browsing for poems about girls to put with my girls picture....

A good answer to give those overly smug parents of children of both sexes when they express sympathy for your lack of ability to produce a son: "If the good Lord thought another man was needed in my house, He would send one."

Laugh of the day

Found this picture as I was cleaning above my fridge. HAhahahahahahaha. Hayley looks like she is about to puke, Steve said Kylie was hanging on so tight she really didn't need the seatbelt, and Steve himself looks a little terrified. I was on a different ride with Abby so we missed the excitment but we'll definately have to try it again....if these 3 are game!!

A heartwarming experience

Today Hayley came home upset. You always know when she is upset because she is cranky and snotty about everything when something is wrong. So I say "Hayley you look upset. Is something the matter?" She says "I couldn't find Abby." and then she starts crying. So between Hayley and Abby this is the story I managed to piece together:

Hayley usually meets Abby at a certain location after school and they get on the bus together. Hayley was a bit late today showing up so Abby just got on the bus. It was almost time for the bus to leave and Hayley started panicking so the bus driver shut off the bus to help her look for Abby, the neighbore boy started helping her look....Hayley is very distressed that they have lost Abby. Of course Abby was on the bus the whole time.

It just made me feel so good to think of how much Hayley loves and cares for her little sister. Especially since tonight after piano her and Abby quit speaking to each other! HA! That lasted all of 5 seconds. Anyhow, we came to the conclusion that Hayley won't wait for Abby anymore and vice versa. If someone misses the bus they will have to wait at the office until I pick them up.

Just had to share my feel good about my girls story of the day.

Now it's bedtime. The house is quiet, Steve is at hockey...OH! Another quick story:

Steve called after piano tonight on his way home and said "You know...it'd be nice to have a fresh chocolate cookie after supper." So I laughed it off and finished feeding the girls and then thought "hmmm....cookies would be good." So to back up a bit, I had this gorgeous kitchen aid that I use ALL THE TIME and I broke the wisk, and somehow putting it away I bent the lever to increase the speed.....so it's kinda garbage. So I go to use it anyway cuz it's all I have, and here on my counter is a brand new one!!! HA! So THAT's why Steve wanted cookies. I'm so slow. IT made some yummy ones too. He had been to a future shop that was closing down and they had all this stuff on for amazing prices. He bought it for $200!!! That's cheap ladies right? I thought so.

Okay well goodnight.

A New Era

I guess it was inevitable...they all have to grow up sometime. *sniff sniff* Chelsea is now completely out of diapers. Well....we still put one on at night even though she wakes up dry because I don't have a plastic sheet yet for any night time oopsies. So my diaper bill has dropped drastically which is a bonus. The sad part is I have no babies anymore :( So that's whats up in her little life. She is just like having another Abby all over again. She could sit downstairs and play with the doll house forever talking to herself telling all kinds of stories. Mostly she takes her babies potty.

Abby reached a new stage in her little life too. She lost a tooth! It was hanging by a thread and she refused to let her dad rip it out. Finally one day she said "Okay dad. I'm ready. You can pull it out!" So out it came. This is our intellectual kid who helps her Gr.2 sister with her spelling. She's doing very well in school and if you can drag her kicking and screaming out of bed, she really does enjoy going and has really broken out of her shell.


Hayley is doing great in school too! It took a few months but we finally adapted some things with her teacher and she has gone from getting 10% to getting 100% on her spelling tests! I think the new confidence she has now will help her do better. She is composing music in piano right now and wrote and really cool song. Will post it when she has finished adding the left hand.

Kylie is our little snuggle bum. Going through an "I need my mom all the time" stage. She had a meltdown when I left to go to Zumba the other night. Her dad was home, and I'm only gone for an hour and a half tops! I had to peel her off me and sneak out the door. I'm terrified for the day she starts kindergarten. Thank goodness we put her in preschool. I've always taken the girls on their first day but I think Steve might have to take over this time.

Steve is still working hard. Having some stressful days I think. They are extremely busy which is a good thing financially but can be hard on the guys. It'll pay off in the long run I'm sure. Steve got a new truck the other day. He's back to using a company truck which is nice for us. It's a nice truck too. Apparently though we are now totally a Dodge family! I find it humerous as we love our Dodge van, but Steve said he'd never buy a Dodge truck! Ha! Never say never. So now we are selling the truck he bought a few months ago.

As for me, I am just the same. I started a Zumba class with 3 other ladies and I love it! Time goes so fast and even though I am clumsy and uncoordinated, I just stand at the back and pretend I know what I'm doing. I have a large rear end which makes it easy to shake it! Hahahahaha. I will MAYBE post a video if I feel brave one day. I need another class to learn the moves. If you don't know what Zumba is, youtube it. It is latin based and it make you SWEAT!! You are moving the whole hour and yet it goes so fast.

Okay well now that I have totally bored you, I will leave you to get on with your day. I have printed my last 2 years blogs in books, so even though this may be boring to you, it is a picture diary for our family to see what we were up to in years past since I keep up on printing pictures of the girls for their photo albums but I'm not so good at printing pictures of Steve and I or other random things. If you are interesting in doing the same, check out blogger books on google.

Love to all,

Jen

Winter Sports

Well it has sure been a Canadian weekend for us! Skating, skiing, hockey....so many precious memories with family and friends. Again, some of the pictures are poor quality thanks to my phone but some are okay cuz I got my charger (thanks mom!) and my camera is back in action.

Friday: Joined up with Raeanne Miles and her 3 kids for some skating at Hawrelak Park.



Saturday morning: Our minds travelled back 25 years or so to the first time Jessica and I stepped into our first pair of skis on this very hill. Now our kids all got to enjoy the experience together (except Nat and Chels but they maybe get to try next year.) They are did exceptionally well. I admit I had some nightmare of kids barrelling down the hill and taking out everything in their path, but they did just fine.


Abby is an interesting child. She doesn't take a lot of risk and doesn't like trying new things. In fact, she didn't even want to go this morning. We got her out there and she just took to it like a duck in water. There were many tears when we said it was time to go. She was ready for the "big hill" she thought and wanted to stay.


I was so impressed how well Hayley did at snowboarding. It looks really hard, but she did great! She loved it so much that she begged for a second lesson (she needed it as she was just really getting going when the first lesson ended) so after 2.5 hours of lessons she was doing pretty good. She was the only one in her 'group' lesson so that helped.


I just love the disgusted look on Chelsea's face in the picture below.


Steve took group lessons too. He was the only one in his lesson as well and he was going like he'd been doing it all his life by the end.


Kylie: "Watch this move guys" So uncle watches her go down the hill, (don't bother with stopping, it's all about speed) crashes into the snowbank, legs go up in the air, skis come off...oh Kylie. You're all about adventure aren't you?


Steve on left, Hayley on right.


Then Saturday evening, because Steve's hockey game was an early one, we had the privilage of watching the Emcee Hammers take down the Moose Knuckles 8-3. Here's some pics. Steve is #4. Yellow laces. The poor guy using my camera only got 400 pictures taken before taking a puck in the forehead!! OUCH!


Now we are all absolutely BEAT! Ready for a hot shower and bed.

Love you all,
S, J and crew.