here he is!

my little sunshine.




we've been chatting a lot about "when we were young" in our house. there is a bit of confusion though. Kiara thinks she remembers what i {her mother} was like as a baby. they love to hear stories of things they did before they can remember. it has been a reminder to me how important it is to get those stories written down. the only problem is that time seems to be moving along more quickly than i can write and document!

the above photo was taken when he was about two and a half years old. how i would love to be able to have that old truck as a prop in a photo now. in 2006 my parents sold the farm i grew up on. the following spring they held an auction for anything that did not move with them. since my younger cousin and his wife bought the farm, this was not a problem. it was all a good thing. but it felt so odd to drive up to my childhood home that day, and have the main driveway roped off. i had to park in the field with the rest of the deal seekers.

that rusty old truck had been a part of the farm as long as my memory goes back. i even remember my dad remodelling the interior in the mid-70's. red vinyl. with brass studs. he was so proud of his work. he must have done a good job, because that is exactly what it looked like when it was sold at the auction! my parents spent many days preparing for the auction. i was asked about what i wanted, but it was hard to remember what was at the farm that i would be able to have. as it turns out a great deal of "junk" was taken to the community dump. towards the end of their clean-up, they apparently got tired. which is totally believable considering how many years worth of things they had to go through. there definitely is a lot of junk that accumulates in a farm. instead of hauling the junk to the dump, they massed it together onto a few flatbeds and sold them in groups. to their complete disbelief many people came and paid a lot of money for the junk. ha!

ok. got a bit sidetracked!

it is incredible to believe how big his world has become. {and don't remind me how it is still quite small!}




Kris took him skiing today. i wished i could have gone. not to ski, but to take photos! truthfully, skiing has not been something i want to do. i've done it. but there is no love. Kristian enjoys a good day of downhill skiing now and then. it appears that Aidan may just follow in his Dad's footsteps in this area too.

i got iPhone photos updating me on the excitement of the afternoon.

apparently Aidan was quite miffed at a few of Dad's rules:

he didn't think he needed to practice on the little bunny hill. {as it turns out, they ended up on the chair lift and went on the "steepest" hill. i guess our son got his Dad's skiing genes. took to skiing quite quickly.}

he didn't think it was wise to use the snow-plow to glide down the hill in a zig-zag pattern. {it made more sense to Aidan to go straight down the hill, and pick up speed.}


the few hours of skiing they managed to sneak in today was a dream come true for Aidan. he has been asking to ski for a few years now. finally! i'm glad to hear that they both enjoyed themselves.


since i couldn't get photos if him skiing, i had to take one before he left. Kris was outside just scraping up some of the ice, and getting the melting snow moving away from the sidewalk. usually Aidan would be right beside him. offering advice. asking to help. not this time. he was in the car and waiting! i can't say i blame him.

six more weeks of winter....

...ha!

last Friday we got some more snow and Kiara cheered. Aidan too. they were alone in their enthusiasm. one thing for sure is that if there are still snow piles in the backyard in June....there just may be unified groans from everyone in our house!

at least the days are getting more obviously longer. i like to see the sun still in the sky at 4pm. the sunsets are also very pretty at this time of year.

we have had a few days' break with warmer temperatures and the kids have been able to play in the backyard mountains.



all smiles. until the snow got in her boots!



as long as Kiara didn't get in his way, he had big smiles on his face too.



it took all night for his winter clothes to dry out in time! i think i threw them right in the laundry. figured they were soaking, they may as well drip dry after being cleaned.



both of the kids have been growing like weeds in the past few months. i lost track of the number of times Kiara had wet socks in the last two weeks from snow getting trapped into her boots. we managed to find an incredible sale on a new pair. then i realized that she also needed longer snow pants. we had a two sided problem on our hands! new boots, larger snow pants and she is much more content to play longer.

i played a trick on them a few weeks ago. we set out their clothes for the next day and they leave them on their beds just before bedtime. after they were asleep, i swapped their pants. it had been a cranky few weeks and we desperately needed a good laugh. a good laugh was had. Aidan just figured he grew overnight and Kiara thought she shrunk. okay, maybe i was the one laughing.


i was proud to hear that Aidan and some of his classmates would be reading a special poem in their all school assembly today. it meant that Kiara missed an entire swim lesson, but it was worth it to be there.

he looks so grown up standing there with his hands in his pockets.



every kid, teacher and some parents were in attendance. approximately 700 students from K-9. he was a bit nervous, but he did it. even managed a bit of a smile.



can't believe this is the same kid who refused to participate in a little church Christmas concert when he was 2 years old. okay, i know 2 is young. but the same trend continued as he got older! i'm proud of him because i know that i could not have done this at his age. i could barely stand in front of my classmates...and there were only 10 kids in my class at the time.


well off to ballet class with Kiara. should be fun!

this morning

i woke up to -36 Celsius.

with a -41 Celsius windchill.




when it was time to walk Aidan to school, i checked the temperature again. NO CHANGE!!

bbbbrrrrrrr.......


last Thursday the temperature was 9 Celsius for most of the day.


the only thing in common? the sun is shinning!



the good news? we are expecting warmer temperatures. which we have learned we have to experience to believe it! tomorrow it should warm up to -16 for the high. the day after that 1. yes. how is that even possible?! i am holding on to the hope that the forecast will actually happen. except for Sunday. when we are supposed to dip to -10 and have snow.


still, it's better than flooding. or earthquakes. or tornados.



that said.....i am sooooo ready for summer and tank tops!!

it really is a marshmallow world!

will it ever stop snowing?!

apparently we have only broken the record made in 1974. we still have several centimetres to go before we break the 1971 record. personally, that record can remain unbroken.




i snapped this yesterday morning after our walk to school. notice Kiara's feet do not touch the ground. i think the mountain of snow sitting at the end of our driveway is about 3 1/2 Kiara's high.

for comparisons' sake, i found these photos from last year and earlier in the winter season.....






the above 2 photos were taken nearly a year apart. notice the difference in the piles of snow?

i purposely did not adjust the photos. we have not seen. the. sun. for. days. it comes out in brief intervals to remind us that it does exist. then it goes back behind thick clouds.






in March 2010, we had a warm spell which melted some of the snow. then we had another spring snowfall. we had even been out bike riding the week before the snowfall. BUT notice the change in the height of the snow? the slide is really a joke right now.



watch the tree disappear.....






crazy!



oh, is that what grass looks like?



pretty....



and we thought we had a big snowfall at Christmas.



you can still see the plastic trunk protector on our apple tree.



we have all watched the snowdrifts grow on our rooftops. hoping our vents remain free of snow....and the trusses stay strong!



Kristian braved our garage roof to free up space for more snowdrifts. i was a bit worried he had frozen his brain and would try to climb to the second level. fortunately he did not!




the driveway was covered again right after clearing. i think he spent about 3 hours shovelling snow in total on Saturday. only to return and spend another hour on Sunday.







just last week Kiara had the "bright" idea to climb over the fence. using the chair. it worked. until she wanted to get back into the yard. i think she thought she could stand on top of the pile of snow on the other side of the fence... you can imagine her surprise. so she trudged through the snow to the gate. which Aidan decided to help her by digging a path in front of the gate. she would have been rescued by nightfall. ha! i came out and lifted her up and over the fence. using the very chair she had climbed over!

check out the snowpile on that little birdhouse.

ugh. such grey skies.




this is what our backyard view looked like yesterday.

it is snowing again today. big. flakes.

last week the temperatures were brutally cold. Aidan had a bad cold and missed the entire week of school. i'm just thankful that he happened to be sick the same week. between the snowdrifts and horribly cold temperatures, the walk to and from school would not have been exciting or enjoyable. it is warmer (slightly!) and most of the sidewalks have been shovelled.

yesterday took us to the doctor because of Aidan complaining about his sore ear for several days. (no infection, good news!) on the way home a car right behind us spun out and landed in the centre snowbank. amazing it did not get hit. so glad it wasn't us! and it was a 4x4, so it drove out pretty easily. in all irony, the vehicle behind it was a tow truck.

the day before i took our car in for an oil change. they discovered i had a nail in my tire. fixed before i had to deal with a flat. wow.

all true stories.

today is my birthday. this will be the last year i am 30-something. how did that happen?!! Aidan is feeling better, and wished me a happy birthday at bedtime and this morning. Kiara is now sick and is as grumpy as one could ever be. she proclaimed that it was NOT my birthday today. fortunately she lived. she finished her breakfast and is now quietly enjoying TreeHouse all by herself. and the peace is back. that's all i really need. although a hot beach and sunshine would be pretty nice too......

life

here is the finished layout that Aidan made a few weeks ago.




i think i need to make a layout entitled "blink". each week seems to be flying by. it seems like the house is cleaned and laundry done, when i realize that it is time to do it again! the past few weeks have flown by so quickly that i had to remind myself that today is only Wednesday. we have a busy end of the week, while this part of the week has slowed in comparison. i find my mind jumping ahead. i suppose that is in preparation and hope that i don't forget anything?

ironically these last two months of winter always take forever to end.

the sun has been vacant for quite awhile. when it does shine we certainly stop to take notice! i also tend to take more photos when the sun is shining.



this is Kiara's recent art projects. they have been learning about the olympics and the mascots. i do believe i know more about the mascots than anything else olympic related! her colouring and attention span has grown so much in the past few months. as well as her creativity. i need to share a picture she made of me. yes! she's already using her imagination and making it come alive with markers. another reminder of time speeding by.
when i was working on my B.Ed. degree we had to take a lot of child development classes. one of them was in the development of the art in children. pre-scribbling, scribbling, etc. Kiara is right in the stage where everything begins with a circle. a fleeting stage! most of her pictures of people look like our heads are suns because she also adds the lines shooting out of the circle. radial drawings. usually when they add the bodies they only add legs, with the arms coming out of the legs. they draw what they see adults looking like from their low vantage point. Aidan never did this. we will see which direction Kiara will follow!

both of the kids started in an AWANA program last month. they are loving it. they are in different classes, and Aidan is being rewarded for memorizing bible verses. Kiara is often in the room when we practice with him, and we discovered that she is learning most of the verses too! great for the 5 year old ego when the words he gets stuck on his 3 year old sister can recite. it's funny. she mostly knows the words that he gets stuck on! last week Aidan earned the red vest. this week he is hoping for his hang-glider badge. then there are wings and jewels. Kiara was not feeling well last week, so she missed her class. i think she will have some verses to practice too.



i downloaded the CD onto my ipod so that Aidan can have access to the stories and verses on his own or if we are in the car.







last Friday i took my camera with me while i waited for Aidans' bus. it was a beautiful clear and sunny day. i particularly loved this one of Aidan running home. see how the camera was able to capture his feet above the ground?! i added a ttv texture and loved it even more.

we are all looking forward to the long weekend. i love that all our regular activities are cancelled and we can live without a schedule.

maybe i can catch up on other projects that have been neglected?!

baby it's cold outside!

Friday brought nearly 20 centimetres of snow. the temperature was around - 2 Celsius. then the wind picked up. by Saturday morning much of the snow was piled into drifts. Sunday was fairly calm, but cold. this morning the thermometer had dropped to - 28 Celsius. brrrrr!!!





this morning we awoke to discover that the power had gone out during the night. the house was a bit chillier than usual. Aidan's bus was late for the first time ever as well. i took this photo from my back door. {i had it open long enough to snap 3 photos...only because i couldn't handle the cold any longer!}

apparently the cold is with us for the week. at the very least. we can only hope that we will get a break from it for awhile so that we can enjoy our new winter wonderland.

more smiles

this has seriously been the most amazing month!

there is some "gossip" about me. heehee

craft gossip. yup. go HERE.


it's been a long and busy couple of weeks. i am really looking forward to putting my feet up and watching a movie with the kids. or maybe even just sleeping while they watch the movie. either option sounds great. i have a hair appointment to look forward to. ahhhh pampering. one of these days i need to schedule a massage and then the hair appointment in the same evening. that would be bliss.


before i forget...i have decided that learning to take better photos is soooo worth it. again, i came across the most perfect photo moment and did not have my camera! murphy's law strikes again!! this morning there was a bit of hoar frost and light fog. clear skies. a completely visible full moon. even better were the colours with the sun just rising. i really hope i get another moment like that when i have my camera and the knowledge of how to do the photo justice to the real thing. a nice way to start the day don't you think?

terrible "two's" day

we need spring!
if it never comes, we're moving to Australia!! (or somewhere where they don't have ridiculously long winters....)

i think we have spring fever. we don't want to leave the house. and we don't want to be in the house. what a terrible dilemna.

and a certain sweetheart needs a nap! yes that would be you, Kiara. you are having a "terrible twos" day.

sigh. if only moments like these lasted longer...

these are those terribly sweet moments that are simply far too fleeting at times.

i like it when this happens.

so cute...

this is a ritz cracker and prune sandwhich....yum?!

what a day. it is nearly bedtime. phew! at least tomorrow is a new day. will spring be here?

baby it's cold outside...

it was not even a week ago that we were watching the snow melt...making a snowman....throwing snowballs....and could feel spring in the air!


now a week later we're ready to throw a snowball in the face of this resurgence of winter!!


yesterday was the day that Daylight Savings Time started. also known as "spring ahead". we turn our clocks one hour ahead. and lose an hour of sleep! to add more misery to this never-ending winter, we also had a blizzard. very cold air. very cold and strong winds. very yuck! no "spring" in this "ahead".


we decided to leave the warmth of our home and drive away in the cold to check out some open houses. {good weather to not worry about crowds...but not good to have the sole attention of fiery and opinionated realtors!} i think if the weather were warmer Kristian would have enjoyed bouncing along the snowdrifts in the city!! one of the communities we looked at has a lake...with a beach...canoes...picnic area... was that not ironic?! if anything, it did give us a chance to be reminded of what summer will be like again.




to imagine not needing our heavy winter coats. hats. mittens. boots.
to imagine not having to come back inside to warm up!
dreaming of cooling off in the backyard with popsicles and sprinklers and water guns!
remembering that the only blizzard will be the kind with smarties and get eaten with a red plastic spoon!!

this morning the wind has stopped blowing. there is a bit of falling snow. but the temperature still says "brrrrrr...."! we're hoping that this will be the last burst of cold weather and we can get back to puddles and watching this snow melt before our eyes....

phew!

it is Thursday.

only!

Kris was out of town on business the past few days. makes for some long days! i was soooo glad that the kids have really been on their best behavior for the duration. if only the weather was as cooperative. nearly -30 degrees Celsius with the windchill. no fun to play outside or even take short walks.


here are some glimpses of a recent project i made. not my original idea. this was one of the projects i learned in my he(art) class. click here to see the rest of the album.

my goals for today is to finish the Thursday laundry. and wet mop the floor. big goals for today! lol! i really hope the kids and i can squeeze in some time for wii games and crafting. if we can handle a step out into the weather i will try and send a parcel out today too.

stay warm!

he shoots, he scores!

this boy amazes us.


skating. tobogganing. i think we were outdoors more when Kiara was a baby! with all the germies, we have not had a chance to get outside much and take advantage of winter. {as i write it is snowing. again.}


we were amazed at how well Aidan did being on skates this year. he took to it so quickly. even skating with the hockey stick. and successful in hitting the ball (our puck) very well.

this is at the beginning.

he's Candadian. eh?

driving, he will notice all the hockey rinks. hockey players. hockey games.

did i mention that we rarely watch hockey {unless it is the final playoffs for the Stanley Cup}. gasp! we LIKE hockey in this house. we don't LOVE it. we're too busy knitting....lol! hmmm. yeah. right. anyways....neither of us can see ourselves being hockey parents. and the $$$ for that! i guess we will have to see what sport Aidan ends up gravitating towards.

on the weekend we were at an outdoor event. horse drawn sleigh. hockey. bonfire. hot chocolate. snow sculpting (not good snow for that!). bannock cooking (definitely a must-try). and they also had snowshoes. which brings me to my point. as soon as he was strapped in he started his walk. took a few steps....and started to run! is there a sport that uses snowshoes? i think he may be gold medal worthy in that one....and i have no pictures of the boy wearing them.

winter amusements

all the extra clothing in our home is getting double the use...

one of my favourite stories when i was their age was 'Heidi'. we had a record and i could read along with the storyteller. Heidi lived in the mountains and had to leave her home. she wore all her clothes because she couldn't carry a suitcase. my own children have never heard the story of 'Heidi'. yet here they are, partially acting out the story. (without the leaving home, of course!!)

they only escaped to the basement with their backpacks.

funny moments with these two!

one day Aidan was actually in a bit of trouble for getting ready for bed. he decided to put on every single pajama bottom shorts he owned on his legs. he looked like a caterpillar! if he hadn't been such a little troublemaker earlier, i would have taken a photo of his crazy outfit. maybe he'll choose to do it again...on a day when he has also chosen NOT to be a naughty boy and i can get a picture!! given the situation, i didn't want to reinforce his behaviour...so no photo. but after he walked back to his room to adjust everything, it gave me some much needed comic relief as i laughed over his appearance! how does he get such a crazy imagination?!