Our Summer Holiday

It is hard to believe that 3 days ago we were sitting 2200km away at the top of a glacier that is deeper than the CN Tower is tall and has been there for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

We left for Calgary on Monday, July 23 and got home yesterday, July 28th. In those 6 days, we went to Calaway park, Banff, the Columbian Ice Fields, the top of Sulpher Mountain, the Calgary zoo, the Calgary Science centre and went to see Harry Potter and ate in wonderful places like Chucky Cheese.

Here are some of the pics that we took along the way. This is the bus that took us onto the ice fields. These buses are specially made by a company in Canada and there are only about 25 in the world. The Columbian Ice Field Company owns all but one of them. If you ever decide to take a tour of Alberta, make sure this is on your list of must do. It is about a 4 hour drive from Calgary (2 from Banff) and it is well worth the drive. The Ice Field is located in Jasper National Park and the drive to get there is amazing. When you get to the pavillion and get your tickets for the ride, make sure you have lots of money as it is not cheap. We were lucky as we used our airmiles and were able to get the tickets for free. From the pavillion, we took a tour bus to the site where we got onto the bus you see pictured above. This is the bus that drove us right on to the ice fields. Part of the trek is going down an incline that is a 32 percent grade. This is one of the steepest grades around as most of the ones you drive on is only an 8 percent grade. This part freaked me out a bit but once we got going down that incline it really did feel safe. One woman behind us dropped her camera and it did a pretty good slide down the centre before it was stopped and handed back to her. The cool thing was the couple sitting in front of us were from North Carolina and I had a nice little chat with them. Note in the picture that the girls are wearing sweaters. The temperature that day got to 41 C but on the icefields, with the wind, it was a mite chillier.
This picture was taken at the Calgary Zoo before my camera decided it didn't want to work anymore. We love the Calgary Zoo and it has some of the most amazing animals there. My favorite being the giraffes and the hippos, which I didn't get pictures of, but am just as happy that we got to see them. My other favorite was of the anteater which was one of the coolest looking animals I have ever seen.
This is on top of Sulpher Mountain in Banff. To get to the top of the mountain we got to ride in a gondola. The gondolas are fairly small so we had to ride up in 2 seperate cars. To me, it is not a fun journey as I am totally paranoid during the 8 minute ride up that something is going to go wrong. When we were going down, it did stop for a few minutes which totally freaked me out, but I did my best to remain calm for Boo who was with me at the time. It was only a routine safety check which I am glad that they do but I wish they would have waited until I was off.
The Weeping Walls. This picture was taken on the drive from Banff to the Icefields. Along the drive, there are many points of interest that one can stop and have a look and take pictures. This one was my favorite and the cool thing is that the Saskatchewan River is formed just a few miles from this spot and we were able to go and put our hands in the water. The river there looks nothing like it does when it gets here. The river is formed from the runoff of a glacier rightly called the Saskatchewan Glacier. We got to see where it comes off the mountain in huge rush and meanders along the mountains getting bigger with every mile. There were some spots where the river was much wider than it is here but also much shallower. The colour of the water is amazing because of the rock flour that is mixed in with it that disapears after it leaves the mounains.
This is the picture of the Icefields that we were on. When you are standing on the glacier surrounded totally by these vast mountains, it sure makes you feel small. Where we stopped to get out and walk around a bit, there was a little creek of running water that we were allowed to fill our waterbottles up in. The water was amazing. There really is no taste as it is as fresh as you can get it and there are no pollutants or chemicals to give it any taste. And much colder than any icecube could make it. The kids got a kick out of that.

It was all in all a wonderful trip, knowing this might be one of our last big family vacations before the girls, mostly Kat, become adults, made it all the more memerable.

Both Cor and I have another week of holidays before we have to go back to work so we are going to enjoy some more relaxing days, maybe get some of the work around the house finished and spend some afternoons in our pool in the backyard.

Plant pictures

My Lamb's Ear. I know there is a Latin word for it but I cannot remember what it is called. I didn't know this would get little yellow flowers on it and am quite impressed that it did.
I have thought all along that this was Columbine but it is not and I don't remember what it really is.
My Hosta. Every year it gets bigger. One year I am sure it will get the flowers that it is supposed to get.
I lost the tag for this so I have no idea what it is except that it is a perrenial. There are buds on it so it is going to hopefully flower soon.

My Japanese Bluebells. This also has buds on it so it will flower at some point too.

Last night when I got home from work, Cor was already home and had the firpit going so that the kids could roast hotdogs for their supper. Cor had bought a brand new cast iron frying pan for the bbq and after baking it, then oiling it and then baking it again, he has been using it almost daily on the bbq. He loves to cook cut up potatoes in it and I have to admit, they are tasty. So while the kids ate hotdogs, he made us pork chops with potatoes and salad. I love a husband who can cook.

This weekend he has to work, but on Saturday night, we are going to a friends house for a surprise birthday party and then Sunday being Father's Day, it is our annual family get together which used to be at Pike Lake. Now we have it at my parents house as it is too cumbersome to get everything needed to the lake. It should be fun

The Start of our Summer Garden

This is what this area looked like when we first started out this spring. The clematis from last year was starting to come back on the right hand side and I had rearranged my deck to make it look more homey and more comfortable.

This is the front flower bed that I have been working on trying to get full of perrenials for the last couple of years. There are a few things in there that keep coming back year after year and have basically come with the house. There are a few things that I have added that have come back and a few that didn't come back at all.

This is my little flower bed that is in the front of the house in my lawn. We built this a few years ago and this is the one area where I have not added any perrenials, I keep on doing annuals in this bed.

This is the new look for the end of our deck. We were going to do bricks to build up the flower bed but decided to go with rocks from the farm. What the heck, they were free and it gives it a great look. We ripped out all of the clematis and moved the trellis back several feet. We put the blocks in and then put red bark down. This is now my 'zen' area and I have sat out there on several evenings just enjoying the peace and quiet.

This is the same thing from the other side. There are still a few things we need to do. Get rid of the empty flower pots, put up my lights on the trellis and at some point probably buy a fish or two to put in the new pond. On the end of the trellis closest to the fence is a stain glassed bird feeder that the birds are already using. I am hoping that some of the flower will attract butterflies and maybe even a hummingbird or two. I have never seen a hummingbird and I would really like to.

Too Early in the Morning

Well we are being told that this weekend is going to be a scorcher out. Finally!! We have been waiting for warm weather. The problem with this place though is that it is never just nice. It is either too cold or too hot. Never a nice in between.
My goal this weekend is to finally get all the plants that I have bought into either the ground or a pot. I think it is time. I bought almost everything last weekend and I think except for one more store that I want to go to, I should have everything that I want.
We survived Kat's birthday party last weekend, barely. Teenagers are a loud bunch, let me tell you. I think there were 12 in all, but I pretty much lost track of them. Upstairs, outside, downstairs. They were not able to stay doing one thing for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. But all in all they were a pretty good bunch of kids. Only at one time did I get angry and that was when they decided to smear cake on each other. I think they knew I was unimpressed when I went into the family room with a garbage bag and some paper towels. At least they didn't get any on my couches.
It has been a fairly good week. On Monday, I had to take Shorty to see the pediatric orthopedic specialist for his 3 month hip check up. The last time we were there, she was a little worried about his hip and said that if it didn't improve much over the week, she might consider admitting him into the hospital and putting him on traction for a while.
But when she walked into the examining room with his x-rays and a big smile on her face, I knew that wouldn't be the case. His hip is coming along grandly and everything is going along as it should be. She wants to see him again in 9 months, which to me is great as it is normally 3 months.
Tuesday afternoon was my monthly afternoon off. I had booked Boo into see the family doctor for a quick check up. She has been getting her periods way more frequently than a 13 should be, in fact more frequently than an adult should be getting them. So I wanted to get that checked out. Only we didn't get to see the dr. He ended up having an emergency of sorts with a patient that was already there and I said that we would rebook for another time. Boo was very happy about that as she didn't want to have to talk to him about this problem. So we are going to wait another month or so and see if things change, and if not we will just rebook it.
Exciting news on the work front. I am being upgraded to a bigger office. It is the one right next to mine but is twice the size. At the moment, the whole clinic is being redone with new paint and they are installing laminate flooring. Very nice looking. The three head people meet quite frequently and at the last meeting they were trying to decide what furniture to give me that is already in the clinic. They then decided to let me pick it out instead of doing it for me. I am so tickled about that. So last Friday, the office manager and I walked around so that she could show me all that I could pick from. I got to pick the one that was secretly on my wishlish. Teehee. That office is set up right now with a corner desk that so when you sit at it, your back is to the door. That was one thing that I was really dreading. I have no desire to sit with my back to the door. So instead, my office is going to look like a bankers office. My chair will be facing the door and I will have to walk around my desk to sit down, which is fine. There will also be a chair or two on the other side of my desk so that patients or therapists can sit to talk to me instead of standing at the door. The best part is that I will no longer have people standing over my shoulder watching what I put into the computer. Yesterday, my boss was looking around the clinic a bit and he went into my soon to be office and came back out to say that it should be ready in about 2 weeks. I said that was fine, no problem. He looks at me and I say "but I am really excited about it" and sort of clap my hands. He says "oh, good!". I am dying to get into that office but I don't want to look like I am pushing :) So I have been doing my best to downplay it a bit. I guess I did it a bit too much. hehehe.
Kat started her new job this week too. She is working at Superstore in the HMR department. It is a newer department since you guys last lived here. It is part of the deli and there they make the pizzas, the bbq chickens, salads, etc. There is a till in that dept so that people can buy their food right there to eat. It is like a little cafe type of thing. She started her training on Wednesday and the only fear we had was that they are not allowed to have wild colored hair, green, blue etc. Well on Sunday night, I dyed the girls hair black again for them. Well, they turned blue! Not a bright blue, but you could sure tell it was blue. I did phone the company and complained. I am receiving a coupon for a free hair color :). Anyway, when Kat went in on her first day, she is the one who pointed out her hair and let the manager know what happened. They were okay with it, and so to make it a bit safer, she wears a Superstore ballcap overtop of her hair net. She is very happy to be working. Right now she will be getting about 3 shifts a week until school is over and then it will probably increase for the summer. She will be taking a week off when we go on our summer holiday.
This year we are going to Calgary for a week. July 23 will be the day we leave. We used our airmiles to get us free into the zoo, the science centre, both of which are right in Calgary. Then we are also going to spend a day in Banff and for that we used our airmiles to get us onto the gondola, the hot springs and the ice fields tour. All in all, I think we are saving close to 500 bucks. All of that for free!!! We also plan on going to Calaway park, Heritage Park and the Aerospace Museum. That in total, should come to about 150 bucks. We are quite excited. The hotel that we booked is actually a suite that has a bedroom and a kitchenette. Free breakfast and an indoor pool with a waterslide. So it should be the perfect vacation.
I guess I had better get my butt up and moving and start the day!! Have a great weekend.

Finally A Nice Day Out

We are finally going to be having a decent weekend for a change. Yesterday was the first day we had seen the sun in about 7-10 days. I think I am going to go shopping and buy some outdoor plants.

I am typing this blog from my own very new laptop!! I have been looking and looking for almost a full year for a laptop and we are finally able to afford one. I didn't go for one that cost thousands of dollars, but just your basic dual core 1gig memory and 80 gig harddrive. It is a hp pavillion dv6000 in case you want to look it up. Now if I can only get my wireless internet to work, I will be a happy camper. I think I am going to have to buy a new router.

Kat turned 15 on Thursday. Cor was working nights so I got my mom to order chinese food and the kids and I had Katie's birthday supper at mom and dad's house. It was great for the kids to spend time with their grandparents with all of the scares we have had in the last few months(more on my dad later).

So Kat's birthday party is today. We let her invite a ton of kids here for an afternoon and night party. A few of her girlfriends will be spending the night so I think it will be a verrrry long night but that is okay. We have bought 4 dozen hotdogs/buns, 4 bags of chips, 4 bottles of pop, 48 cans of pop and a huge slab cake. I hope that is enough.

My dad came home from the hospital last Wednesday, May 16. He seemed to be okay when he got home but as the days went by, he seemed to lose more and more of his speech. My dad's sister (who used to be a nurse many moons ago) made mom worry more by either calling and giving bad new or expressing her worry to the point of madness. On Monday, the holiday, my aunt called me to talk and expressed her worry about him. I let her talk because I figured she needed to vent and was okay with that. The next day, I am at work and my aunt calls me there. She had been talking to a speech therapist that she knew at the hospital and after describing my dad's symptoms, the therapist said that dad should be taken back the hospital. So she tried to call my parents and after getting no answer, she called me at work. She was at the point of going over to my parents and sitting there until they got home so that she could personally escort them to the hospital. So I get off the phone with her and try my parents house to get no answer. I call my brother and he said that when he talked to mom that morning, dad was out in the garage riding his stationary bike. Of course, I start to think really bad thoughts and start to panic. I call my boss and tell her what is going on. I tell her that I am thinking that my dad might be back in the hospital. So she tells me to phone the hospital and then to phone her back when I am done. So I phone the hospital and find out that dad was indeed there but he was also released already. So I phone my boss back but her phone is busy and I try and work for a bit until she gets off the phone. A few minutes later my boss comes into my office. She tells me that while I was phoning the hospital, she tried calling mom and dads house again and of course they are home by that time. My boss tells mom why she is calling (they have met several times before) and my mom gets very angry and blames my aunt on all of it. I can understand why she got mad but on the other hand, I think I did overreact just a tad. My boss says that I didn't overreact at all and I am so grateful that she has really big shoulders for me to cry on. I have used her shoulders a few times in the past, more often in the past couple of months.

So, the result of my dad being back in emergency is that they did another cat scan and saw that his brain is still a bit swollen and he still has some fluid left over from the surgery they had to do before. Instead of re-admitting him (thank goodness) they put him back on steroids to help reduce the swelling. By that night, when we went over for a visit, he was already improving. I will keep you updated on how he is doing.

Tomorrow after all of Kat's friends go home, we are off to do a 5km fun walk to help support liver transplant. My bosses' daughter and my co-worker had a liver transplant when she was very young. She is now twenty something, engaged to be married but unfortanately is sick with something they still haven't been able to diagnose and she has been unable to work. We are all praying that she will come out of it okay. So this walk should be fun, maybe not the actually walking, but since a bunch of us from work will be doing this, at least it will be entertaining. Our whole family is doing the walk so it also gives us a chance to do something as a family.

There is more I want to write, but I need to get off my butt and help clean the house before we get overrun with teenagers.

When we first moved into this house back in 1999, this tree barely reached the top of the fence. Now, although a very common tree around here, we are very proud to see it getting as big as it is. At this time of the year it is nice to have some color in the yard besides brown and green.

Thanks to everyone about the good wishes for my dad, but unfornately he has had a set back.

Last Monday night, my mom phoned to chat after my scrapbooking class. She mentioned that she was quite worried about my dad because he was unable to finish his sentances. He had just been diagnosed with a sinus infection and I thought it might be just the pressure and the pain that was causing him to be that way.

The next day on my way home from work, my mom called me on my cell phone to say that they had admitted dad back into the hospital. I guess at lunch time he was not able to say 2 or 3 words together to form a sentence. So my mom took him to St. Pauls to find out what the problem was. While there, they did a cat scan to find out that my dad had a bleed on his brain. They figured it was from the heavy duty heart medication he had to be taking that caused this.

So they took my dad by ambulance to University Hospital where they deal with these sorts of problems. When we went to see him that evening, he seemed fine to me and we thought that he would just be in for the night for observation.

The next day when my mom went to see him, he had gotten worse. I took Shorty and Boo to see him after supper (Kat had seen him the night before) and although he understood everything we said to him, he was unable to have a conversation with the kids. Unfortunatley I didn't realize how bad he was and if I had known, I would not have taken the kids with me. Shorty didn't seem too upset about it but Boo was in tears when we left.

From there he just seemed to go downhill. Although he was on a medications to clot the blood and to decrease the swelling, it didn't seem to be working. By Thursday night although he really wanted to communicate with us he was unable to do so. Evertime he tried to say something, he would get very frustrated and just end up going "shit". If it wasn't that, he would just go "whatever". The new plan was to do another CT scan to see where he was at.

On Friday they did the cat scan and by 4:00pm, they phoned my mom to get her consent to operate on him. He was on the list to have surgery that evening to drill two burr holes in his head to remove the excess blood that had pooled on his brain. We went to the hospital that night to see him but left before the surgery started as he was very tired and spent most the visit asleep.

Dad didn't end up having his surgery until Saturday night at around 11pm. We went and saw him yesterday afternoon and were quite worried because his surgery had to keep getting bumped due to other emergencies that kept coming in. But we were assured that he would get his surgery as soon as they were able to do it.

Last night we went to a friends birthday party who is turning 40. At first I really didn't want to go because I thought I would be too worried about my dad. But I am so glad that we did as it was very comforting sitting with friends and talking about it and also everything else. I had instructed my mom to call me on my cell as soon as she heard any news and around 10pm I called her to see if she had heard anything. An hour later she called me back to say that they had taken him into surgery. At 2am she phoned to let me know that he was out and awake and alert. He had some decreased ability in his right hand and that seemed to be impoving. He was able to talk but I don't know at this point if he is able to form sentances. We will be going up this morning to see him.

It has been a very long week for me. On Monday, Cor had left for a 5 day course in Edmonton and didn't come home until Friday afternoon. On Monday night, about 1/2 block from our house a man was stabbed. He didn't die but it is still scary to have that happen so close to home.

I am so glad that last week is over but I wish it was Friday again so that I could have a day or two of rest. This week coming up will be a very busy one as I have something going on every night until Friday. The good news is that next weekend is a long weekend and I will be able to relax for 3 whole days!!! Kat leaves this Wednesday for a band trip to Moose Jaw to play in the Kinsmen Band and Coral Festival. She is really looking forward to it and has been practicing her clarinet all weekend. They will be playing a Medley from "Shrek". The fact that this trip is costing me $255.00 wasn't all that fun, but hey, what can you do?

I want to wish you a "Happy Mother's Day" and hope that you have a great day!!!

The Pictures I Have Been Promising and Promising

So here are the long lost pictures I have been promising for the last month. I am sorry that they took so long to get on, but I have been sick.

First I had the flu which knocked me down for a few days and that was followed by a nice cold which I still have. I have run out of kleenexes at both home and work on more than one occassion.

So this our beloved new vehicle. I am not sure who likes it more, Cor or I. It is a dream to have to go to work as it keeps out sound and keeps me nice and toasty when I need it and cool when I need that, although it hasn't been that long since I have needed to keep cool.


This is Shorty who I was taking to grandma and grandpas house for the night.
The inside of the truck. It looks really cool at night when the interior lights are shining blue against the dark.















So as you can see we are happy with it and since we are leasing it, it is our for a whole 5 years, which is the average life of a vehicle in most peoples homes.

So things have been keeping me busy with work and home life.

My favorite co-worker, C has her last day of work on Monday as she is expecting her 2nd baby between now and May 11. I am excited for her but am not at all looking forward to her being gone for a whole year. The last year we have really gotten along well and work extremely well together. Change is hard and will take me a while to get used to her being gone.

Home has been a rollercoaster. Kat is most definetely a hormonal soon to be 14 year old. She has been caught skipping school, smoking and going out without permission and then refusing to come home. She has pretty much been imprisioned in our home or else at my parents when I have had enough.

Boo has also been a total joy (NOT) and I have had to ground her as well as she is refusing to do certain school work or participate in class.

Both girls have had their computers and tvs taken away from them until I no longer see red. Boo got hers back today by finishing up the last of her overdue homework and doing extra chores around the house.

I found a pillow other day at Walmart that had the slogan "Next Mood Swing in 3 Minutes". I almost bought it.

Shorty has a new best friend who is now joined at the hip with. I don't mind so much except once in awhile it would be nice to come home or be at home to just us and no oe else. But hey!! what can you do when you have kids. Cor is waiting for the day when he will get to have his "naked room" (watch Failure to Launch if you don't get it)

Okay, I hope you are happy I posted and will try and be a little more regular than once a month. Although quite honestly, my life is pretty boring and you might not want to hear from me more than once a month :)

Our New Means of Transportation

For the past few months, Cor and I have been talking about getting a new vehicle. Our windstar is now 10 years old and is starting to show and act its age. There are several minor things wrong with it but in the long run probably not worth doing as the repairs would cost more than the van is worth.

So we have been looking around at different SUV's. I most definately do not want to get another minivan. I want something that will easily fit us but not have any sliding doors.

We test drove a Ford Edge, a Ford Escape, a Dodge Caravan (I know, a minivan) and a Hyundai Santa Fe. I loved the Santa Fe. The other 3 were okay but it was the Santa Fe that I fell in love with. Both Cor and I easly fit in the front and with Cor being so tall, he has no problem of feeling caustrophic at all. There were some Dodge vehicles that he couldn't even get into to they were so cramped.

So after some negotations, I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe, which is deep water blue with grey leather interior. The one stipulation I had for a new vehicle was that it had to have heated seats :) and I gottem!!

I will include pictures of it on my next post as it is back in the shop right now getting all the protection stuff put on it, inside and out. Right now I am driving a crappy loner 2 seater car, did I mention that I hate cars?

As for my dad, he has been at home for just over two weeks now and is doing much better. He should be allowed to drive again soon but this has been more of a wake up call for him more than anything. He now has to eat a little more healthier (no more bedsnacks of junk food) and he is going to have to do some more strenous exercises (not just curling and golfing). He has kept busy and has just finished building a new bedframe for Kat.

We are all just so grateful that he is doing well and his spirit is still just as good as ever!

The Longest Night of My Life

Just a quick note to let you all know what has been going on around here for the last few days.

On Wednesday night, while my dad was working at the Blades hockey game, he suffered a heart attack. My cousin, D, happened to be at the game and was standing with my dad while he was being the goal judge (the dude that flicks the red light on when there is a goal). He thought he was suffering from bad indigestion but when it got too bad, he decided to go and see the EMT that is always at the game and happened to be at the same end of the ice as where he was.

The EMT took him to the ambulance where they did some tests that revealed what was happening. They called into the city for a paramedic that would meet the ambulance on the way to University hospital. The paramedic was able to administer nitro spray to my dad to help with the attack.

Once at the hospital, he was put in a room where he was given some meds to see if it would help and when it didn't he was then taken to have an angiogram. The angiogram indicated that the main artery that runs behind his heart was totally blocked and with the use of a stint (mini balloon), they were able to remove the blockage totally. From that moment on the pain went from about an 8/10 to a 1/10.

My mom was not at the game and Cor was working the night shift. My mom called me about 9:30 to have me come and get her and take her to the hospital.

I had the brains to call Cor right away and have him come home before I jumped in the van go to my mom's. My brain was on auto pilot as I don't' remember much of the trip to her house. I do remember calling L from the van though. She is my next door neighbour and close friend. I asked her to go and sit with the kids until Cor got home. Thank goodness for friends and neighbours that will drop what they are doing to help you out.

Dad is now doing very well although he is still in coronary care. I think the only reason that he is still there is because there are no beds available in the ward that he will need to be moved to.

He will be allowed to come home in another 2-3 days and from there he will be on many different kinds of medications. But that is the least of our worries as long as they do their job that is all we care about.

We are, and especially dad, are all grateful for the way that night turned out. Almost every hockey game, Josh goes to the game as well but he decided to sit this one out so he could go to his friends for supper.

We are grateful that my dad was at the game so that he had access to the ambulance right then and there and to my cousin D who was there and helped dad out when dad decided to go and see the EMT. It is amazing the turn of events and the way things go.

Just Another Saturday

Hello out there! Long time no write! I can't believe how little I write compared to my friends L and M. I don't know how you do it to; be able to write every day like that. To me, it seems like just yesterday I posted my last blog and here it has been over a month.
Things here have been rolling along fairly smoothly. Work for me has been busy as we have gotten a new coworker to take over another persons position who has temporarily taken over another persons position before she goes on maternity leave. The nice news is that I received a two part raise, one which took effect Jan 1 and the other on Mar 1. It is nice to be appreciated and I am very happy about it all.
Home has been all right with all of us feeling the dregs of the weather and no one at all happy to think that we still have at least one more month of snow, if not longer. Of course we had another dump of snow yesterday which makes for about 5 feet of piled snow on our front lawn. In all the years that we have lived here, we have never had this much snow. Between the cleared sidewalk and the street, there is about a 6-8 inch height difference as there is that much packed snow on the street. We are beginning to think it will take months for it all to melt and we will never have a decent summer. Green grass is on everyones minds.
Shorty has been practicing hard for track and basketball. I went and watched him at a community track meet on Thursday. This was a meet for just relay races. The night before, I had taken Shorty shopping to buy a decent pair of sweats because what he was wearing was not all that great. When we got to the track meet and saw half the kids running in jeans I wondered what I was so concerned about. Shorty ran two races. He was ran 4th in the relay race. The first race they came in 3rd out of 6 and the second race they came in 5th out of 6. As this was Shorty's very first time at a track meet, I felt he did really well. I was very proud of him.
Boo has been busy doing a lot of babysitting and getting ready to finish grade 8. Last weekend she had a valentine's party where she got to invite several friends. They are a great group of kids, who except for being fairly loud, are friendly and well behaved. I never have a problem when Boo has friends over.
With the two new high schools being built on the west side of Saskatoon, the girls are getting excited about attending Bethlehem school which will be the Catholic school. In fact, it is not just the girls who are excited, I am sure the whole west side of Saskatoon is excited.
The project is called the Blairemore Centre. Two schools are being built at each end of the Centre, one the catholic school, the other the public school. The centre will be joined by a civic centre, which will someday house a new library and an olympic sized swimming pool to name a few. This is the first time that the the two school boards have joined together to build such a project. If you are interest in reading more about the Blairemore Centre, please go to http://www.saskatoon.ca/org/leisure/programs/blairmore/index.asp to read more about it and see actual plans for the site.
For those of you originally from Saskatoon, you would not recognize the city coming in from Asquith. The highways have totally been altered to accomodate all of this and 22nd street now runs all the way out to the Dalmeny turnoff. Since my parents live along that highway/street, it is very bizarre to look out and instead of seeing cars going by at 100km/hr, there is actually a set of lights there that people have to stop at.
The schools, although still in the building stage, are set to open for September, 2007. The schools will only have grade 9 and 10 to start, with a new grade being added each year, as the kids go on to the next grade. Kat will be in the first class to graduate from Bethlehem, and Boo will be the first class to go from Grade 9-12.
Although the school board has proposed the school having to wear uniforms, it was voted down by the parents, largely due to the cost of the uniforms. Who would want to pay 30 dollars for one pair of pants and 25-40 dollars for t-shirts and sweatshirts? We can dress our children for much cheaper than that. We figured the initial cost would be around $250 to get them first dressed. I can dress 3 children for that when we hit the sales as Sears :)
Kat only decided this past week that she is going to switch to the new school. This year, she has been going to ED Feehan and has really enjoyed it (although her marks don't reflect that part of it). Her initial plans were to stay at Feehan, which we had no problem with. But in the last week or two, her friends have been all talking and most of them have decided to make the switch. When you are 15 years old, it is not what the school is offering, but what your friends are doing. Kat has come right out and said, that although Bethlehem has some classes that she wants and Feehen doesn't offer, she is switching mainly because her friends are switching. I am okay with that :)
In the years to come, we will be seeng a new Walmart built, which we are being told will be the biggest Walmart in Western Canada. A new one just opened on the south side of Saskatoon, and this store is HUGE. We have only been to it once, but we couldn't get over how big it is. And to think that the one that will be built by us will be even bigger, holy cow! Other stores will be built as well and this will be the newest box mall in the city. It is nice to see this side of the city finally being recognized and having things done as opposed to it always being on the east side of Saskatoon.
My day today has to include cleaning as we are having friends over tonight that we haven't seen in over a year! Why are Saturdays always cleaning day??? Oh yeah, cause I don't clean during the week LOL
Happy Saturday!!

The Great Blizzard of 2007

I am sure many of you have heard by now about the blizzard that struck our city on January 10, 2007. The day before, the t.v. and radio were givings us warnings about the blizzard but when you see clear skies, it was hard to imagine that the storm would really show up.

On the morning of the 10th we had gotten up about about 6:00am to the wind blowing in excess of 50km/hour. We looked outside and although it didn't look too bad, you could see the snow swirling making it hard to see. At that moment I decided it wasn't worth sending Kat to school as she would have to walk to the bus stop and I didn't want her doing that.

Cor started his truck around 7:00am and he left the house at 7:10am to go to work. His work is outside of the city and he normally is able to take the back roads to get to work and not have to go through the city at all. He called about 20 minutes later to see that he was stopped on the side of the Dalmeny road because he was unable to see more than a few feet in front of him and any of the other vehicles he saw were all in the ditch. He decided to turn around and come home as it wasn't worth risking his life to try and get to work.

He got home about 10 minutes before 8am and by that time, Boo had decided to stay home and Shorty was ready to go to school. Since Cor was going to wait until it got light out, I knew he could take Shorty to school and therefore I could attempt to get to work earlier. I had the van running and was ready to leave by 8:00am. I drove out of the driveway knowing that I wouldn't be traveling any faster than 40km per hour the whole way. From our house, I was unable to see farther than 2 houses down the street.

I made it to 33rd where it is totally open and was able to keep going down the street. About 3 blocks up, I had to slow right down as it seemed everyone else decided to go to work at the same time and they all decided to take the same street I took. No problem, I had given myself an hour to get to work knowing that if I got to work early, there would be plenty to do as I knew the cancellations for appointments would be coming in right left and center.

About halfway up 33rd street, my windshield wiper blade decided to come undone after I tried to clean it. Not good. So I pulled onto a side street to see if I could fix and luckily I was able to.

I made it to work without too much incident and it only took me 35 minutes instead of my usual 12-15.

I was working the front desk that day and we have a huge window that I can look up from my desk and see all the way to the street, which is the corner of Circle Drive and Miller Ave. That day, there were times when I could see the lights at the intersection, but as the day went on, I wasn't able to see more than 2 feet past the window.

Cor by 9:30am had been able to drop Shorty off at school and make it to work himself.

Things at work were going as expected with the 5 phone lines ringing non stop of people cancelling their appointments. We were able to stay on top of it and by noon almost everyone had cancelled their appointments.

At 1:00pm, I got a call from my best friend D to tell me that they had cancelled school and that her husband would pick up Shorty and bring him home for me. Shorty called me a while later to tell me that he got home safely.

By 2:30pm, the radio was telling people that if they were going to go home they had better try and go now. Our bosses at work conferred and talked to each of us to see if we thought we could make it home and if we could that we were free to leave. One of my coworkers, Ryan, who lives close to me came up and asked what I thought of us going home together. We could either take both vehicles or just one. I offered to take our van as I know how reliable it is and Ryan only has a small car. He said that worked for him and told me to get ready to go. So I command started the van and called the office manager and told her that Ryan and I were going to attempt the drive home together. She very willingly came and relieved me at the front desk. By this time the radio was telling us of all the roads the city police were closing, including some of the bridges.

The ride home was one of the most scary and bizarre rides of my life. I let Ryan drive as I didn't think I was brave enough to attempt it. So off we go. Our first hurdle was at the corner where our work is, Circle Drive and Millar Ave. It was blocked at one side by the police as they were only letting a few cars get onto the freeway going east at a time. Luckily were were headed west. We finally manuvered through all the vehicles in the intersection and made it to circle drive to head west. Driving seemed to be fine as long as we stayed in the middle of the road as there were cars stopped and abandoned on the right side of the road and many cars were in the left hand side trying to turn to side streets to get home. We decided to take the freeway home even though it is totally open and we knew that the drive would be treacherous. Except for stopping so that one lady could get her windshield wiper that had fallen off of her van, we were able to go without too many problems. There were still cars parked along the side of the road that were abandoned but for the most part, we were able to travel without problems. We made it up to Laurier Drive as I decided I wanted to get my friend's husband to come with us so that I wouldn't have to drive alone after dropping off Ryan.

We picked up Dave with little incident and then started off to Ryan's house. He only lives about 1/2 mile away but because of people being stuck in the middle of some of the roads, we had to do some back tracking. We were able to drop off Ryan without any problems and Dave then took the wheel. Again, the main problems were trying to see and make sure we didn't hit another vehicle. At one point, we were trying to go down a fairly main road but due to a school just getting out, there were a lot of people on the road walking, as there were no sidewalks that were travelable (is that a word?). We ended up having to come to a complete stop due to a van that was in the middle of the road, stuck and abandoned. After the cars behind us finally got turned around, we were able to due the same and were then able to make it home safely.

When Dave got my van home, I was very ready for a drink and thank goodness for a strong vodka at that moment. I thanked Dave over and over again for helping me out and he walked home from our house. Corey, in the meantime, was also in the process of making his way home from work, but his start out was much worse due to his workplace being out in the open in the country. Their parking lot had already blown in once and had been cleared out. Corey knew that his truck wouldn't make it through the snow, so he caught a ride with a coworker who also lives close to us and has a 4x4 truck. He was able to make it home about 1 hour after me.

It was not much more fun when we found out that Cor's dad had ended up in a ditch around 2:00pm and was still in the same spot at about 5:00pm. We had no way to get to him and ended up calling a different friend who has a 4x4 to try and get out to rescue him. In the meantime, my f-i-l was finally rescued by some men in a truck only to have that truck go into the ditch as well. They were all finally rescued by people on skidoos. Cor's dad ended up staying the night at a farmhouse on the Dalmeny road that he knew. The cool thing is that Cor's dad was mentioned in the paper.

During the night, the wind tapered down and the city cleaners started to clean. Many of them cleaned without stopping for many hours. Police and fire crews were actually taking these drivers cups of coffees to help keep them warm and awake. Vehicles that were abandoned were all towed to the closest parking lot and left there. People were able to call a certain number and were told from there which parking lot their car was in.

The next day, all the schools in the city were closed. Corey had taken the day off from work to help his dad get his truck and he was able to drive me to work. It was still a busy day at work, but mostly it was all about the the big storm of '07. For a good look at what the storm looked like, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYs7AP8UPic this shows very much what it looked like here.

Well, I wanted to post my story as I am sure many other people will also be doing.

Our New Year's Eve Tradition

A couple of years ago we used to invite our friends over and do a potlock midnight lunch. That stopped when the wrong mix of people were brought together and one family got upset and left early. We realized that wasn't the way to bring in the new year so instead we switched to a family day and evening that was much more enjoyable.
We spend the few days before the 31st getting ready. This year Cor replaced the carpet in our family room with laminate flooring. The old carpet was extremely gross looking and we are much more happier to have laminate as opposed to carpet.
We like to buy our own used movies and can ususally get them for about 10 dollars a movie. These are the movies that we picked to watch. We managed to watch all but the far left two. Everyone gets to pick one movie and it is a group decision about what we want to watch. It is a big mixture as you can see with a horror, a love story, a cartoon, an action and a comedy.




We started watching the movies about 3:30pm. We buy and make lots of food that is all finger food and munchies that we put out at the beginning and then are able to munch our way through the whole evening. We had everything from mushroom, spinach and crab dips to spring rolls, shrimp rings and chicken fingers and chicken wings and sausage and pickles and cheese. For dessert there was cream puffs and fruit to dip into chocolate.



Here is Shorty digging into the food. He wasn't all that hungry when it first came out but little by little he ate more and more. That was what it was there for.

We finished the evening by 1:30am and all was well. Kat left after the third movie to go and visit with her friends on msn. At 14, I am impressed we were graced by her pressence for 3 of the movies. Not bad at all :)



Now imagine that there are two more pictures that I have somehow managed to delete and will now have to wait until tomorrow to add. One is of Boo lying on the floor and the other of Kat laying on the couch. I can't figure out why this program hates me so much. Argghhh.

More Christmas Day Pictures

I had wanted to add these other pictures when I did the one for Christmas Day but the stupid thing wouldn't let me add more than 5 pictures. So here are the two that didn't make it.



This is Boo with Shorty in the background. She got pretty much everything she wanted off of her Christmas wish list.
This is Shorty opening up his T.V. We had a time keeping that thing hidden. When we first bought it, we took it to mom and dad's and dad hid it in his garage/workshop. The problem is that Shorty spends a lot of time over there and so dad had to cover it and surprisingly enough Shorty never asked about it. Then on Christmas Eve, dad had wrapped it for us and left it out in the open for us to take home later that night. We were all out there having a smoke when Shorty comes out and sees the wrapped box. Next to the wrapped box is our fireplace, which wasn't wrapped because we knew we were getting it. Shorty doesn't even see the fireplace and starts asking us why our present was wrapped when we knew what it was. It was everything I could do to keep a straight face and answer his questions. Later, when we went home, Cor made a special trip out to go and get a coke, but also picked up the t.v. and the fireplace. When he brought the fireplace in and got it set up, Shorty never even asked about the wrapped box, which was still in the back of the van. That box was finally brought in after midnight when they were all sleeping.

So that is our Christmas pictures. Next up will be from our New Year's Eve tradition.

New Year's Day and My Resolutions.

January 1, 2007.
Wow! I can't believe how fast this past year went. Does anyone have any resolutions? I have a couple and they are:

1. Lose more weight. I joined weight watchers in October but I haven't been all that faithful of sticking to it. My goal is to lose 2-3 pounds a week.
2. Exercise. I have these great pilates and exercise ball videos that I never use. I want to start exercising more. I don't like walking very much, I would rather do a video for 20 minutes a day and be done with it.
3. Stay more organized. I have been working on this for a while and have been making great progess. Corey got me a label maker for Christmas and I have been having lots of fun labeling all of the containers in the basement. This morning, Corey and I went through all the boxes and now everything is put in correct containers and they are now labeled along with the lids, so that doesn't get screwed up anymore. I bought these great containers from tupperware in the hopes that my pantry will be organized soon.
4. Continue to scrapbook and do other crafty things so that I don't feel like I never do anything for me.

I think that is about it. The good news is that except for the exercising, I have been doing all this stuff before today, so it is more a matter of continueing to do it as opposed to just starting it.

Happy News Year!!!!