Vacation

It's been a glorious week - warm enough to go swimming at Aunt Carol's every afternoon.

Happy 4th of July

Dog Days of Summer

It's been so hot! And the kids are putting it to its best advantage: a backyard pool and watermelon-- there's nothing better.

Basement progress

We painted the stairwell down to the basement and it is soooo much brighter! I bought shelves for my all my canning; it's going to be wonderful to have a storage are just for all my canning and canning supplies!

Here is the back entry all spruced up with the white cement paint and a bright blue wall. This is our main entry since the front door pours you right into the living room with no space for shoes, coats or anything at all.

Lily's New Look

Lily took a picture of herself to share!

Picnic

I finally got new rechargable batteries for my camera. It's really pathetic how long it took me and I don't like posting without a picture - too boring. Anyway, this is the only picture I was able to take before my batteries died last time. We went for a picnic with a family from the parish and had a great time. We had a campfire and roasted hot dogs and stayed way past bedtime. The kids had a blast.

Look at this!

It's my husband mixing cement!

The Basement

Before: It was really more of a dungeon than a basement.
During: Brent and Sonia arrived Friday night with 30 packages of foam tiles and their work clothes. They fit all those packages in their little Honda Fit! And Saturday we set about transforming the dungeon into usable space.
After: What an improvement! The kids were playing down there by Saturday evening. Sunday morning they were begging to play down there before church and after church they scooted right down there with all the other kids from church!
So we're not done with improvements; in the weeks to come we plan to paint the walls and put in a ceiling but its sooo much better already!

Lily's Room

Living Room

The living room is so cozy with the new curtain up! Mom made it during their visit and now the living room feels complete.

the Boy's Room

the view from our bedroom

I unpacked the last box yesterday! There were just a few left lurking in the corners - no more! Here's some more detailed photos to give you an idea of our house. The ones of the loft don't do it justice but you get the idea.

Happy Mother's Day

I wish that I had a great old picture of Mom to post with this but the printer/scanner isn't yet set up and so we'll have to do without.
I don't where to start but my Mom is the greatest. I remember outings together as a kid when just the two of us would spend the day together or even go away for the weekend. But when I think of Mom now it's how supportive of me she's been of me all my life, particularly in adulthood. It's not been easy to watch us move to New York to go to seminary and live in a horrid basement apartment with no income. Watch us then move to an unknown city in the middle of Alberta and now move again to the interior of BC. But both her and Dad have never questioned these choices and that has been the greatest gift.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Thanks for teaching me to bake, cook, sew, and how to be a mom.

Scootering

The path between the church and the house is perfect for the kids to ride their scooters! And there's even room on the lawn for the swing set - a project for Dad:)

Making Progress

There are no more boxes in the kitchen! The bunk bed is assembled! We have solved some closet issues! And we've opened the bottle of brandy, yahoo.

We've Moved!

Yikes, after a long few days we're moved in. I can see the mountains from my window and I ran a load of laundry today - things are good!
Here's a link to some of the chaos.

Zoo Break

We took a scheduled break from packing to go to the zoo this morning. And the weather was perfect. We hadn't been in almost a year and the kids were so excited. The new elephant habitat was finished and it's wonderful. In the same area is a new manta ray exhibit that you can put your hands into and the rays swim over top of your hands! So awesome. John was so fun to watch, he got really excited about the monkeys babbling and pointing at them.

Gabe: You won’t see me.

Grandma: Why not?

Gabe: I’m moving to Cranbrook.

Grandma: Oh honey, of course I’ll see you! Grandma can find you in Cranbrook.

Gabe: Mm hmmm. (sob)

Grandma: You don’t need to worry. Grandma will always find you, even in Cranbrook.

Gabe: Mm hmmm. (sob) Grandpa too?

To infinity and beyond!

Gabe as Buzz Lightyear!