living

like we mean it.


i promised to post some cute photos of the kids.

i think i mentioned that i found a skateboard at a garage sale for $3. (that's $1 for each year of his life! good deal?! haha)

he decided that he wanted to try it out on the sidewalk. those toys look so simple....until you step on it!

my second year in teaching grade six i had some very active boys. definitely memorable. they were in trouble a lot...at least it seemed. but when i look back on that group, they include some of my most favourite and memorable students. these boys definitely had spunk! some of the problems they got themselves into we could have all done without. but they were great when it came to class discussions. they truly put all they had into their comments.

anyways one group of them were into skateboarding.

growing up in a family of girls, on a farm, in between skateboarding phases....was new to me! i had - ONCE - been allowed to sit on my cousin Bobby's skateboard in Lloydminster and ride it down the sidewalk. and that is all i knew of skateboarding. truthfully.

skateboarding really came back into style that year. it was something to watch these kids learn new stunts on the little chunk of yucky tarmac we had. it was also amazing to think that they spent most of that year enjoying that activity during recess. the tarmac was resurfaced a few years later....much needed resurfacing!

one day i thought it would be fun to learn a trick or two. they made it look easy. so they tried one trick. i failed. they taught me another one. the "apple turnover". no clue if they made these names up themselves or what! i had to lay the skateboard upside-down across my toes. then quickly jump up, turning the skateboard over in the process and land with my feet on the top of the skateboard. i had great beginners luck with this.

then one day i was wearing perfectly slippery dress shoes. and a long dress. and definitely not good skateboarding attire! it all happened so fast...i landed face first and totally flat on the tarmac. and was quickly reminded of how painful it was to have scraped elbows and knees. i hobbled in to the school....i think it had even been my supervision recess...so definitely a scene. Mrs. T - our school secretary cleaned and bandaged my wounds. and i promised her no more skateboarding stunts. i do wonder if that would have been covered under workers compensation?! and that ended my skateboarding career. yes i am sure the world will never recover!

the boys were horrified. when i returned to class...it was the most silent i had ever heard from that group. out of pity and fear, they pampered me the rest of the day. which only had an hour remaining. they confessed that they were worried i would sue the boy who owned the skateboard. now would that not make for humorous and interesting courtroom drama?!

now let's look at how my baby boy did with the skateboard.....

he's already a number of steps ahead of me. proper footwear and attire. great start! and look at that safety equipment. smart kid!

see that smile of excitement on his face? i'm not sure he has ever seen someone skateboard before.

off he goes. no tricks. just trying to move.

and oops! maybe he needed someone with skateboarding knowledge to tell him how to get going?

and the look of failure and frustration. actually he is holding back....

maybe next time he'll have more success.

it was at this point that he decided to go and get his bike. he could do that. and he enjoyed it!


now Kiara is not doing something as cool as learning a new athletic sport.

this girl LOVES shoes. and like every child her age, loves to try on big shoes.

as far as stunts.

her latest trick is to climb out of her crib when we put her in it to nap or sleep.

lovely.

this is a trick that Aidan never tried. but Kiara has mastered it.

we put her in. she climbs out. we put her in. she climbs out. and can repeat this for as long as two hours. how is that for stubborn? and diligence? or a pain!

finally, we have decided to just close her door and hope that she doesn't find more trouble to get into...like climbing her dresser or the walls. thankfully she has not mastered door opening. which is made more difficult by our 60 year old doorknobs. one thing to be thankful for these days.

this is how we found the princess a few nights ago.

you would have thought she would climb back into her crib where it was comfortable. but i guess she had not intended to fall asleep. wait for her parents to allow her to stay awake until whatever hour she wanted to go to bed.....and then grew tired of waiting?!

sigh.

stuff like this is funny. when it is someone elses' kid.

so some updates on the garage building.

Kristian and his Dad finished the concrete forms on Saturday. so we will soon have concrete. yay!

you can see the playhouse off to the right.

the railing is finished. it is going to look so cute when we finish the outside. we want to put wood shakes or boards to give it the look of a seaside cottage. i think that might be on the list for next year.

i took the kids to a couple of hardware stores today to see if we could find a good mis-tinted colour. Rona had the cheapest prices. just so you know! HD had a gallon mistint for $9. R had the same size for $5. i'm sure you were curious to know! Aidan really wants a dark brown colour. i am not so sure. but we did find a dark brown at Rona. my adirondack chairs need to be repainted....so maybe that will be our test. at least he didn't pick pink or some bright and tough to get used to colour!

and tell me i am not the only parent with this problem. Kiara insists on climbing anything and everything at the store. put her in a cart. and that becomes something to climb too. ugh! at some point she is going to have to learn shopping etiquette. i'm quite sure i've learned enough about patience.....

we had our final good-byes to Julian Dabbagh yesterday. Kathy spoke some words at the end. what an amazing woman she is. her children are so fortunate to have her as their mother. our children are fortunate to know both these children and their mother. this is a terrible time for all of them right now. but i am confident that they will all rise above this tragedy and inspire all of us to do the same. and yesterday it rained. most of the day. i'm sure it was God crying with us. He understands. a few months ago i had posted the words to a song by Mercy Me called Bring The Rain.

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

so hard to say those words right now....

but i am also working at repeating and remembering psalm 121.

thankfully God is more patient than i am.

more

of the same.

more work on the garage.

more progress on the playhouse/shed.

the concrete forms are now in place for the garage pad. just waiting for the gravel to settle as we get quotes and dates from concrete companies. the sidewalk forms still need to be formed. i guess that is not as difficult? hmmmm....

the playhouse looks even cuter. Kristian completed the railing while i took the kids to a nearby splash park. without the camera. (which is probably a good thing?!)

i need to take some photos of the yard this week and share them. our yard used to look so "together". it was never a manicured yard. but it hardly seems worth mowing. sigh.

i've been taking photos of my peonies this week. they are only single petal. so they don't last long. the day after i took these the colours were severely bleached by the sun. and the petals looked a little worn from the wind.

this is earlier in the week. still a few buds had not opened.

and the buds that had opened were still not open fully.

and then...

so delicate.

this poor flower. i think Kiara played her own version of "loves me, loves me not". who taught her that?!

and there are the remnants.

check out the bugs. i have seen a few of them around this year. i wonder what they are. and i wonder if they are good to have around.

it was good to keep busy today. we are all quite tired. the day was hot. and our house is now a bit warmer after baking LOTS of cookies for the memorial tomorrow. i pray for my friend, Kathy and her kids and her family a lot during the day. i have not successfully made it through a single day without thinking of her and thinking of some new way to pray for them. we are so thankful that Ella was finally released from the Kamloops hospital today so that they could return to Edmonton. she will still be in the hospital, as i understand. but at least she is getting closer to home.

i took some great and some interesting photos of the kids. i can't wait to share.

garage at stage two

it seems hard to believe that our garage has been "gone" for over a week.

Kris' dad came over on the weekend to give Kris a hand. some advice. and teach Aidan a thing or two.



over the week, Kristian was able to do some leveling around the new garage pad. but there was so much existing "ancient" gravel that the job was tough and slow going. he pulled out a few more of the concret blocks. and we now have a good stack going. all the blocks are in good shape. know anyone who wants concrete? they're free. to a good home! really there must be some way to recycle these things? yes we want to know!


here is one view after the weekend of work. there is now a gravel crush pad from our house to the ....ugh....alley...

we see a lot of things now that the alley is open to us. mostly people driving by slowly and staring at the ....uh....progress?

i would like to take the kids out and away from daddy and grandpa working. but that is tougher than it sounds. Aidan is worried that grandpa (or uncle John, when he's here) will leave before he gets home again. he isn't too bad....for a three year old.

grandpa got help with installing the playhouse/shed windows and door.

daddy got help shovelling.

grandpa discovered the first day that Aidan LOVES to hammer nails. again not a regular activity in our home. phew! so grandpa just cut out some wood, got some nails started and let Aidan do the rest of the work.

isn't this adorable?!
grandpa has had experience being a foreman. Aidan certainly has had experience with direction.

this is my most favourite photo. it turns out the project was a flower box for a playhouse window.

installation with a REAL DRILL!!

and the flowers need dirt.

grandpa thought yellow flowers would be a perfect addition. you know the kind that start yellow, then turn white and fluffy. the kind that can last forever without water......

thank goodness we had lots of flower seeds already at home to choose from! Aidan has been helping to water my plants for two years now, and he also helped me plant seeds last summer. this is his second year picking out his own seeds. yes, i'm a teacher. why do you ask?

so hopefully we'll see a teddy bear sunflower, nasturtiums, morning glory and brown-eyed susan vine.

this is just a cute-sy picture of Aidan. he was posing for me. i need reminders like this when the days are glummy. is that a word? i think it fits. so it will stay.

again cute-sy picture. i think she's eating food. every single photo has her hand in her mouth. hard for me to believe but she kept this dress quite clean that day. one of her grandma's brought it back from Madagascar.

yesterday i took the kids to the zoo on a whim. and i purposly left the camera at home. {{{gasp!!!}}} it was nice to not have to carry it. and it was just fun to hang out. they were both good. Kiara had one moment, but i'm sure it had a lot to do with getting tired. and after it passed, she resumed to her happy self. i like those special days when there is no agenda and we can just do stuff because it looks like fun. so we rode the train. Aidan wanted to follow the train. and well he did actually. i had to laugh because he was slowly getting further away from us. he was just too excited to wait for us. Kiara is a good walker, but she's not always as fast as Aidan. and she also tends to want to explore and focus more than he does at times.

they have a petting zoo with farm animals. and the most incredible bunnies. they seriously looked like they could be in a storybook. i've never seen bunnies like that in my life!! Daphne the mommy sheep was super friendly and so was her lamb. and the goats are ironically quite nice too. one of them sneezed and frightened Kiara. she got over it.

i'm sure she thinks a lot of these animals are like extra-large stuffed animals. and i'm sure she'll figure the differences out soon enough. Aidan seems to think that the animals eat people. of course we can't let him believe that nonsense! so he is now starting to grasp the concept that animals like to nibble people without swallowing us. hmmm....

we went out for a last minute grocery shopping trip to Andy's IGA. i like to go there when i need to pick up just a few things. Aidan loves this little grocery cart. so far Kiara is fine with letting him push it. i figure i have about 3 or 4 more months before this will become a new sharing issue with them. they make yummy cookies. so maybe there can be some kind of "sweet" deal arranged? ohhhh my neighbor, Jenny, informed me of the high quality of their apple fritters. so for the past year.....i have officially lost count of how many of these scrumptious treats i've consumed. i picked some up for our mom's group one morning and they were still warm. i may have heard the angels singing....much too beautiful for my voice!

the kids and i get to babysit their friend, Will tomorrow. we're all looking forward to it. last time they both drove him crazy rubbing his little head. not that i blame any of them! then they smothered him with love as they took turns hugging him.

so much

to blog about these days!




life has been so exciting this past week. garage knockdown, babysitting, playing with cousins, kids morning out party, gymnastics, visitors from out of town, playschool, crafts.....and it looks like we'll have our share of excitement for awhile yet.


this is what part of the kitchen table looked like after a small project! of course all the messy stuff was brought upstairs.... while Kiara slept.


Kristian surprised us by coming home early from work. he is such a hero when he walks in the door. you can hear the stress oozing from my body as soon as i see his face. and the kids' faces light up like the morning sun as soon as they see him. and i'm sure he feels the same as us!

their faces are toned down right now. the initial excitement of seeing daddy is over.

now something else is keeping their attention.

a dump truck. full of gravel. backing into our backyard.

Kristian came home in time to be here when they unloaded the gravel crush - or whatever the heck it's called! the dump truck captured the attention of these two. this is the first time either of them have seen this vehicle in all its glory.

for me....it's one of those things....one step closer to a new garage....

and for now the kids have a new place to "play" in the yard.

i guess i mentioned before that we tend to ignore child labor laws.

is she not cute?!


and i love this one...Kiara actually ended up picking up her wheelbarrow and dumping it into the large wheelbarrow! Aidan on the other hand was wanting me to take pictures of him with his shovel. and for the record....i believe it used to be red. hmmm.....maybe a little bit of photoshop might be a good idea here?!

he was very proud of the work he could do with this shovel. and i'm sure he would have used the "real" one. if he could lift it full of gravel. without injuring himself.

i thought this was sweet too. i'm not sure if she is pointing out that his shoes were wet or enjoying the marks she could create on them.

i seriously could not get these two to play anything by themselves all day. then just before bedtime...they found something to entertain themselves. i love how Kiara is laying down on the couch. it made me picture her 15 years from now with a phone tucked behind her ear and a bottle of nail polish...

work continues today. it is painfully slow to watch. for the sake of speed and safety i'm sticking to taking photos and minding the children. i'm not complaining that Kristian is slow. and certainly not his helpers. it is just so much work to do! Aidan is presently helping Grandpa Olsen put windows in the playhouse. he barely let Grandpa relax after supper...he was so anxious to get back out there and work. we're glad that the rain held off this afternoon and let this much work get accomplished. it rained most of the morning, so we took off for the special Ikea breakfast. and then we ran into lots of people we knew.

and a last piece of advice. when at Costco, do not stand in line behind someone buying a big item....like a large screen tv. i started out in the shortest line. then had everyone else in the long lines...and the people behind them finish before i even made it to the till. and better yet. maybe it would be wise to just avoid Costco on a Saturday afternoon. as i was paying one of the staff brought a voucher for a movie night out for two. i thought it was a gift for having to wait so long. wrong. it was for a lady who had already paid for it, but was waiting for it to be brought to her. darn! at least i saved $5 off my pork roast. yeah. that's it. end on a positive!

photos

at last!


i've always loved spring blossoms. and then i started getting allergies. my love for spring blossoms is now bitter-sweet.

this will be the last year our spring blossoms will have our run down garage as a backdrop.

rather sad. it is so shabby that it has an odd appeal about it!

the old original apple tree is closest, on the right. the pear tree is on the left into the distance. the siberian larch is in the middle, straight ahead. the year we moved in, the top of the tree could barely be seen above the fence.

this is what you see when you come around the corner of our house. the maple tree on the left hides the new playhouse quite nicely.

here you can see the top of the siberan larch. well....barely!

the blossoms on the new apple tree. some are still needing to get to full bloom.

the rain has put some bruises on these blossoms....

interesting how apple blossoms kind of curl up and pear blossoms spread out.

today a swift breeze blew, and you could see the blossoms in the breeze...like out of place snowflakes...one of those times you wish you had a camera....knowing if you ran for it, then you would miss the photo and the sight for your eyes...

the needles on our siberian larch are nearly grown now. last year for you buddy....

i cannot believe how awesome this vine is! tons of new shoots. ready to bloom already. was it only a few weeks ago i noticed the first leaf?

pretty soon we'll have irises and daylilies. they always bloom right before Father's Day. i used to have a gorgeous red oriental poppy. i plan to add one or two of these when i get the chance. it took a few years to get to a good size, but i think it is a sensitive plant....we did some rearranging one spring, added better soil and raised the flower bed it was in...it never forgave us.

the shed/playhouse is getting there. this is what it looked like before the weekend. the boys were busy at work today, so now it has osb walls!

the gable will have a little window eventually.

isn't it adorable? maybe Kris will have to quit his day job and just make playhouses?! hahaha many, many years ago - maybe ten years - his brother was involved in a competition for Kid's Cottage i think. there were three or four teams of apprentices that designed and built a kids playhouse. then there were competitions for specific aspects like the colours, overall design, etc.
i think they were auctioned off with the money going to support Kid's Cottage. and i think John's team came in second. they were all so cute! lucky kids that got to play in those.

we want to make our playhouse look similar to a cabin we stayed in two years ago. we'll see how well the ocean look will transfer to our prairie playhouse! we looked up some old photos today to remind ourselves of specifics we had forgotten. it was tough to stay focused. i was pregnant with Kiara. very pregnant! and Aidan was sooo little. we had some videos too. those were fun. i just wish they had been longer. he was just a little older than Kiara at the time. he enjoyed watching himself too. a good reminder to keep taking regular photos and documenting these fast growing lives.

i've also been doing some top secret research...trying to come up with a little something for Father's Day. if you have ideas for me. or if you want to take advantage of my ideas, leave a comment. or e-mail me! i have one idea at the moment that i'm trying to "tweak" in my head....hopefully it will work out as well in real life?!

bad

luck?

Kristian had 2 extra days off to enjoy this long weekend.

we had perfect weather.

he managed to get the garage permit. we we are one step closer on that project.

still waiting on more information regarding the gas line situation. that is way too complicated to explain....

the plan for this long weekend? build a shed/playhouse. yes that one.

the luck? just over two weeks ago we all came down the same cold. i was feeling not too bad. i didn't seem to get it as badly as everyone else. but mine hung around for almost a week longer than everyone else. in the middle of the long weekend shenanigans (i think that is a word!) i feel worse than i have felt in years. i couldn't remember the last time i was this sick. fever. headache. exhauseted. the works. bad enough to go to the medicentre.

that is bad.

we are lucky to have one that is only a few blocks away. i've gone when i've had strep throat. i've taken the kids. everytime they pronounce us healthy. only to see our own doctors when the weekend is over and to be told that yes we were sick and meds are necessary to heal.

i decided to try a new clinic. i just couldn't wait another 24 hours.

and these people actually know that when you come to a medicentre on a weekend - like a long weekend - you might actually be sick.

so yes i now have a sinus infection. figured something like that. but i also had the beginning stages of bronchitis. that was a surprise. and they gave me antibiotics too. phew!

why is it that the majority of illnesses occur after office hours?

Aidan had a field trip to the John Janzen Nature Centre today. i was bummed that i didn't get a chance to help. but it took all my energy to drive him there and back again.

this is so crazy.

this is the first time in two days i even sat at the computer --- except to check my e-mail and inform the teacher i couldn't help. oh and i did try last night to check some stuff, but didn't get past updating my facebook status. pathetic.

we're doing an awesome craft at our mom's group tomorrow morning. and i have to miss it.

blah.

and the shed/playhouse? Kristian put in a call to his dad. the plan was for him to stop by for an hour or so to assist with the roof. it ended up being the entire day. i think carpenter dad was a little over-optimistic of his non-carpenter son's carpentry skills. (could that be a tongue-twister?) between the two of them...and a little three year old carpenter want-to-be....the roof is now on. i was out of commission. fortunately grandma came along and hung out with the kids. gave me a chance to go to the dr. and get some sleep. if they hadn't come by, the building would be substantially behind. building, taking care of a one year old and three year old, feeding everyone, napping the one year old, taking care of sick wife, etc....just a little much for one man to do alone. thank goodness i had done laundry....clean, just not put away!

i got a few pictures one day. i can't remember what day it was. i saw Ruth with her camera yesterday. i'll have to bum the photos from her. it would be fun to make a mini album of the playhouse for the kids to enjoy. i hadn't anticipated the involvement they would want. right down to drawing on the wood....using the scrap wood to build stuff....can't wait for Kris to share more stuff that i missed out on. (the fact that i'm even thinking of this is good....little jump for joy!)

the plan is to tear down the garage this coming weekend. and there is major stuff to prepare beforehand. and i'm really helpful--NOT!

yeah frustrating.

before this "ick" set in i even managed to complete Kiara's twelve month layout for her scrapbook album. but no energy to take photos and download them. sad.

i'm feeling better - slightly - today than yesterday. as you can tell that i've said a lot. so i'm hoping for more improvement in the next 24 hours.

the long winded post may also be due to the fact that i have not been able to do much talking for about 3 days. yeah, that is like death itself for me.

another bummer. can you believe there is another one?

a long time friend of Kristians' was up for a visit this weekend. Brent was a groomsman at our wedding. they've known each other since they were in grade five. he is also quiet. like my man. and both of these guys married women who are natural talkers! that is a big surprise. they have had a rough time of things for about the past 18 months. we haven't had a chance to share much of it with them. and instead of hanging out with them, we had to cancel. the last thing they need in their life is a bug like i've got. if i could have stayed upright long enough to talk....

well....naptime for a certain one year old. i think a movie for a three year old. i hope he picks a really long one! and naptime for mommy.

poor Kristian. works hard all day. then he comes home and can't get a break until bedtime. and a huge building project to worry about as well. i think it's a toss up between who has it worse....mommy or daddy....

hopefully July will be here and all building will be over. and we have great summer weather. we're healthy. and the kids get a lot of park/playground time. and Aidan will put in lots of time riding his new bike. that's the dream....well....part of it!

still waiting

for those answers!!!


any idea how difficult it is to get macro photos on a windy day? possible. but a little more tricky. or maybe it is just me?

here is our huge Siberian Larch. the needles come in brand new and soft in the spring. really not a nice tree to look at during the winter months...but it redeems itself in the spring.

apparently the family farm had a larch or tamarack. {the family farm was not something that had been passed down from generation to generation. my grandpa had sold his tractor business and moved his nearly grown family north.} along the east side of the home property were a row of conifers. by the time i came along these trees were monstrous. and within this row of pine trees grew a larch or tamarack tree. so all winter the tree must have stood out like a sore thumb. before it had a chance to redeem itself my grandpa chopped it down thinking it was dead. keep in mind that the majority of his life was spent in southern Alberta. where a tree is rare. and apparently not a place to grow these special conifers. i never did hear the part of the story where he learned what kind of tree it actually was. given it was a small farming community....it was probably coffee news that week at the community store.

and our Golden Spice Pear tree. the year we moved in (planted by the previous owners) it had about a dozen blooms. now it is covered in blooms each spring. and actually produces a large quantity of pears. not very large. but in time we've learned more about when to pick these pears and when to start eating them. they aren't worth using for cooking....unless you have A LOT of free time!!

and our little newest apple tree Kris and Aidan planted last spring. hmmm...wonder what name it has? can't believe that i can't remember that. add that to my 'to do' list.

we do have an old apple tree. but we think it is at the end of it's life. it has had some issues with its health the past few years. last year it grew apples, but dropped them all. in the past we've had more than enough apples for us and lots to share with friends and family. they are great for cooking and juice. but visitors have enjoyed eating them fresh as well.


so the date is nearing for our garage to be torn down.

still amazed that the original owners never put a stucco on it.

i was on a walk with Kiara last night and noticed another garage built recently in our neighborood. like in the last twenty years. and it has also never had siding or stucco on it either. it is still covered with OSB. and i would bet it will still be like that in another twenty years.

little itty bitty garage. can just fit a single vehicle. and then a few yard and bike stuff. we still chuckle at the shabbiness of it....and it has these pristine automatic garage door. ironic. of course the red paint was added just after Aidan was born. it still looks great. thanks Benjamin Moore!

so the new garage just over twice as wide. wow we'll be able to fit both of our cars inside! and off the street away from those punks that get bored at 2 a.m. see the wacky sidewalk in our backyard. that will also be gone. the new garage will end at about where the sidewalk is. did that make sense? hmmmm..... anyways. new fence. new sidewalk. new garage. and yes we bought siding with the package. no way we're going to allow it to sit for fifty years naked! oh yes and a concrete parking pad behind the garage. and it means our siberian larch has to go as well. but the fruit trees will be saved. even old man apple. he may be saved this year....but his time is coming!

i am so glad that i'm not doing any of this labour. Kris has his brother and dad lined up to help. the plan is to get it completed over the course of three weekends. compared to the house his brother just built, this will be like a cracker box project.

we did have a slight problem. our garage has a lot of stuff in it that we don't want to leave in the backyard. like my bike. lawnmower. shovels. saws. anything that may get stolen or injure kids.

the idea of a small shed was born. so for the month that it takes to build the new building, we'll have a shed to hold the small stuff.

then when the garage is done....back it all goes.

and the small shed?

it gets turned into a playhouse for the kids!

the boys {aka Daddy and Aidan} have been hard at work this weekend. hammers. saws. the works! Aidan is in heaven. i think Kristian is somewhere not too far behind.....