Where has the Time Gone?

Like everyone, it's hard to believe it's almost June. I think where has the time gone? It has been TEN years since I moved to Ottawa. Hard to believe. In that time I have lived in 3 different homes, had 2 jobs, had 2 kids, got married, have 3 nieces, 1 nephew and one on the way and did a lot of travelling to Winnipeg. As I think back, it was hard being away from family but over the years it has gotten easier, especially having a family of our own. As our nephew Daylons birthday approaches it reminds me of how many years I have been gone and how old he is getting. Even though we can't be there we hope he has a wonderful birthday.

Mel in 1999 before I moved

Daylon is born

Daylon Almost 10

Since it is spring it is so hard to determine the weather. One day it's hot and sunny, and the next cold and rainy. Not easy for planning activities, And it always seems to rain on the weekends (like today) That being said Ron has finished his canoe paddles and is trying to figure away to work on his canoe. Kind of hard since there is no space (He needs at least 18 feet to build it. ) I've been training for a triathlon on June 14th. So far running and biking aren't too bad but I need to get in the pool. I'm excited and nervous. But my main goal this year is to complete the race. The kids have been enjoying playing baseball in the yard. But when asked if they wanted to be signed up and on a team they both said no. So Ron and I don't feel to bad as our nights won't be jammed packed throughout the summer. On our nice days or evenings after supper, we have been trying to go for walks or bike rides. We are lucky if we make it to the end of the road without some problem occurring. And since Ron and I have been running, Kiera is constantly asking to go for jogs. It's pretty cute. This past week the kids actually went in the pool. We had a nice sunny day and the pool got to 78F. So with some more sunshine and less frost at night we should have some nice pool temperatures for summer.


Our March/April Update
Since we have no family here, we usually celebrate holidays with The Warywoda's. This year the kids came over to dye Easter eggs and then came over for our Easter dinner. It was a nice quiet evening. We were also invited over to the Quartermains' for an Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had so much fun searching for eggs outside despite the cold weather.
Riley was excited this month as he received the french award in school. He was so proud.

Also this month Grandma came to visit us. The kids were so excited. We had some descent weather so the kids could show grandma how they ride their new bikes. And to teach Grandma how to ride the ATV. A few days before Grandma left, Kiera and I took her to see if the tulips were out since the tulip festival was going to start that weekend, but unfortunately we only found one bed of tulips that were ready. After Grandmas left the kids found out Grandpa will be visiting for a week. They are excited. This is the start of our many visitors this summer. Between our company , trying to get out camping, and working a bit around the pool we will have a busy summer.

Backyard Visitors
Speaking of visitors, we have had a new one this week. A fox! I was about to take the kids to school when I saw something near the pool. At first I thought it was a cat but when I got a second look I realised it was a fox. So I yelled to the kids and Ron to see the fox that was drinking from our pool. It stayed long enough for Ron to get some pictures.
I know we live out in the country but really. Among our visitors we've had wild turkeys running through the yard, a family of deer (even the baby), garter snakes and a snake that was not a garter! (they are definitely not welcome), skunks, raccoons that like to help themselves to our compost bin and frogs. The kids love seeing all these animals. we haven't seen the raccoon yet but we know they have bee here. And by far their favorites are the frogs which they catch and play with like they were pets.

Well I think that's it for now. I'll try to update more as this seems to be the time more things are happening and when we take more pictures.

two and four wheel fun

Kiera did it. She decided this weekend that it was time to ditch the training wheels. She was obsessed with it, we basically spent all Sunday riding bikes and she finally got the hang of it. For her efforts she got to pick out a new bike.

Riley discovered how easy it is to do donuts on snow/ice last weekend.

Mother Natures cruel joke

Well yesterday in Ottawa the weather was beautiful. Our first real spring day. Most of the snow had melted a couple weeks ago, leaving huge puddles that then froze again. But yesterday the kids could wear spring jackets and rubber boots. Ron took out the bikes and the ATV and off they went. They spent most of the day outside, biking and playing. I even had a chance to get a picture of kiera dressed for the occasion.




And after such a beautiful day, we woke up today to see mother nature dumped some freezing rain and snow on us. Oh man. It seems like it will never end. But before I speak too soon, at least we didn't get 56cm of snow like last year at this time. Let's cross our fingers!

A typical day in the life of me

Well just like most of you, my day is typical. I get up, feed the kids breakfast, make sure they get dressed, brush their teeth and their hair. You know they need to be presentable for school. But I guess as I look at Kiera's pants that are too short or Riley wearing miss matched socks with his pants tucked into them - does not really pass for what many call presentable. Instead of telling them to get changed, (They did dress themselves) I think at least I didn't dress them. Once both kids are almost ready, I make their lunch, wolf down my breakfast, get ready for the gym and drive them to school. On the days both kids are at school, you would think oh she gets a relaxing day to herself. But my day is usually spent running around getting groceries, running errans (like getting Kiera new pants that fit!).and house cleaning. Once I drop Riley or both kids off I head over to the gym. This is one of my favorite places to be. I know most people wouldn't say that but I actually look forward to going and I don't look forward to leaving. I have my set workout which is helping me. I'm on a mission to become fit and feel good. It seems to be working as I feel great and I don't have much body fat to lose I'm almost at my goal. On the mornings I don't get to the gym I try to go after supper.I feel lost if I haven't gone. I guess you could say I'm addicted. Which is a good thing. My other goal is to run a 5 or 10k. I'll let you know how that goes. The past 2 weeks , I have had my typical days but I've also painted the walls and ceiling in the masterbedroom, volunteering at the school, scrapbooking and trying to paint a mural at the school. I have accomplished all of this except the mural, due to a few setbacks at the school. But I will be there tommorrow to start.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Canoe Paddle

While waiting for spring to come so I can move to the garage to continue building my canoe, I decided to start on some paddles. The first one I've finished is a kid sized "Beavertail" paddle. I figured I would start with something smaller so less wood would get wasted if I messed up.
The shaft is Ash with dark strips of Aromatic Cedar and the rest of the blade is Red Cedar. It's soft but I figure I would rather have the paddle dent than the canoe when the kids hit the canoe with it. I finished the paddle with Tung oil.

Computers - Love em or hate em. and other February activities

This is not how I planned to start off writing this blog. About an hour ago it started talking about Valentines day, but somehow it is lost so I now have to start again. Arg. So here it begins - again.
Just like everyone, our weekends have been busy. Last weekend I spent some time with the kids making valentine cards. I thought they'd have fun, as well, I though their friends would love them. What I didn't consider was how much time it takes to prepare. Just like most things I do, I think No problem that will be easy. But when I start it seems like it takes 3x a long or 3x the work. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems. So that being said, the kids valentines were more time consuming than I thought. Step 1: buy candy, baggies, etc... Step 2: put candies into baggies Step 3: realize baggies are too big, go out and get smaller baggies. Step 4: fill baggies with candy Step 5: Cut paper, punch paper hearts, get glue etc. Step 6: set up, get the kids and start making the owls. Step 7: realize we ran out of foam hearts, now find paper and heart punch and make more hearts. Step 8: Kids used too much glue, clean up Step 9: finish making owls Step 10: have kids stamp their names, on the backs of their cards, after I realize they won't write their names 23 times. Step 11:take a picture of the final product.

By the way - the kids loved them. And the kids did have fun making them.

This past week and weekend has been a blur. Last week we had some melting and then some freezing, which lead to another snow day, buses cancelled, indoor recess because the kids school yard looks like a lake. Which is now alot of ice. That being said. We now have a nice frozen pond at the bottom of our property. The kids look at it and think it would be lots of fun to skate on. The ice is around the trees, and makes for a nice skating obsticle course. So this weekend Ron went outside with the kids to skate. They went on our ice rink but because of our "pond" in the front, They wanted to go skate on it. So Riley, Kiera, daddy,Uncle Lee, Joey and Katie tried it. Boy did the kids love it. They skated around the trees, played hockey and fell through the thin ice. But that didn't stop them.

If this wasn't enough skating for Riley, he had a tournament this weekend. On Sunday we all woke up at 6:30am and dragged ourselves to Arnprior. (about 45 mins away). Riley's first game was at 7:10. It was a good game. The kids played well, skated well and the team actually scored some goals. After the first game the kids had breakfast and played with their team mates. The second game was at 11:10. When that time came you could see how slow moving the team was. They were dragging. Once they got on the ice who could really tell how they were dragging. The goalie didn't even want to move when the puck came near. Riley tried his best , skated his hardest had some breakaways(no goals though) he earned the hardest working helmet from the team. He was so excited! And if all that was not enough to tire him out. He went over to play at a friends for the afternoon and evening. When he got home he was so tired he was barely able to hold a conversation. Well at least he had fun.

Kiera on the other hand was sad she couldn't go to play, so we set up her Bratz sewing machine she won at the hockey tournament. I used to have one when I was little (I think it was Holly Hobby) Anyway, she wanted to make her stuffed cat and dog a hat. Let me tell you, it's not easy comming up with a pattern that quick. But we did it. and she was happy. Next on her list. Make a jacket for her animals.

And last but not least, Riley has lost some teeth. He now has a toothless grin. He lost two top teeth in a week and that along with his front tooth that was pulled at age 3, he has no top front teeth.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Pics from past week

Here are some pictures that go with the post below...easier to just add them all at once like this!

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