Thank You List

It hasn't been the most fun spring break on record but there are MANY things to be grateful for. I'm sharing them for posterity!

-friends and family willing to help us move

-finding the right house for us in a great neighborhood with with an affordable price tag

-family support that goes above and beyond

-a fairly healthy winter as far as colds and flues go

-a brother that has professionally patched up all the damage we did to our walls over the years!

-a certain husband's back that has healed up in time for the move

-jury duty cancellation emails (BIG sigh of relief)

-address changes that can be done online....yippee!

-Amazing Race was renewed for another season

-self cleaning ovens

-unlimited curbside recycling pick-up

-more boxes than we needed!

I'm sure there is more but these are the things that come to mind today.

Working Working

We (mostly Keith) got our storage room completely cleared out this weekend. The kids enjoyed playing on the shelves. A great alternative to beds, wouldn't you say? You could stack 'em three high in here!

The garage is slowly but surely getting filled with all our 'stuff'. We have purged quite a bit but it still seems like we have an awful lot of things.

Keith had to remove the closet door to the storage room under the stairs to get our patio furniture out. It's stayed in really nice shape these past five years since we take it in each winter out of the elements.

And much to my amazement Chad offered to make his dad a cup of coffee. Unbeknown to me, Keith taught him how to brew him a perfect cup of coffee. This means it's official that he's given up on me. We've been married 16 years and I still do not know how to make coffee. He's shown me many times but I forget. Chad brewed up that pot like he'd been a Starbucks barista for years. All pressure if off me completely now. Thanks Chad!

Success and Progress

I put Chad into swimming lessons this week. I liked the idea of him going everyday rather than spreading it out over 6 weeks. I'm not sure how smart I was thinking that I'd like to get up early on my week off and drive my child halfway across town every morning but it worked out for the best. Chad did so amazing this time and passed level two with flying colors! Gone (I hope) are the days of him taking 3-4 tries to pass a level. I think that now we're on a roll and we'll be going for level three in May. I've promised him that once he passes level four he can stop taking lessons. By that time the kids are pretty confident in the water and they are simply improving stroke development. My goal in all this was only to make Chad comfortable in the water and able to take care of himself in either shallow or deep waters.

On the home front, my crank-o-meter is rising steadily. I am tired of the clutter and mess of boxes. I have needed to rummage through boxes for things I have packed perhaps a bit too prematurely! I know moving day is so close now...I'm very anxious to get this show on the road!

I've completely given up on housework and as you can see my children are enjoying making designs in the dust. Gasp! I try not to even look at it.

The next big step is to get all the boxes down to the garage. That way on moving day things can hopefully go smoothly and all that's left to get down the stairs is the furniture.

It seems that Murphy's Law dictates that items in your home will fall into disrepair once the house is sold. We had to replace more light bulbs than I can count, replace the broiler element in the stove, repair the hoses in the washing machine and fix a leaky gas valve on the hot water tank. Seriously! I told Keith that from now on we are parking on the driveway because I have a sneaky suspicion our garage door openers will die any day now. It's just been that kind of month!

Going Underground

Today's special outing was a combination of spring break treat and a reward for excellent report cards.

We had so many options for a day out that were weather dependant and since it was raining all day it definitely narrowed down the choices. We chose to head to the BC Mining Museum at Britannia Beach. The boys REALLY enjoyed it. I was relieved because sometimes these things are hit or miss. Happily this was a definite HIT.

We hung out with the old guys.

They were kinda quiet.

It was so wet but that's west coast living. You must just get on with it.

Waiting for our trip into the depths of the earth.

Ready to roll!

A VERY loud demonstration in the mine. They also shut off all the lights so we could experience what it was like without electric lights in there like 1904!

Lots of artifacts and mining equipment on the site.

They have made many improvements at the museum since we were there last (1995!) and it's all first class. The admission prices reflect that :) Thankfully we had a 2 for 1 coupon which helped out a bit.

The boys enjoyed panning for gold very much. I ended up going back into the building to look more closely at the mementos and whatnot as it was a bit cold out there for me. They panned for almost an hour and came away with a few flakes of gold and some pretty stones.

The mine closed in 1974. One fact I remembered from the tour. The guide was a man who had actually worked at the mine for a long time. He was a wealth of information and you could tell he really loved his job. It makes tours so much more enjoyable when the guide is enthusiastic and not just quoting from a script.

On the way home we stopped for supper at East Side Mario's in Langley. Ever been there? Don't bother. I'd sum up the food as 'meh'. It was a nice treat to discover that kids eat free on Mondays so at least Chad's meal was on the house. Always a bonus.

All in all it was a great day. Now back to work for us. Guess what? More packing!

And We Party On

Keith's mom knew that I was going to have a family party for Nathan in April since my house is in shambles due to the upcoming move. She decided that since 13 was such a milestone it could not be put off and so she asked if she could have us to dinner and birthday cake last night. Indeed, I thought. Fly at it! I was more than happy to let her take over. I had worked all day and was pleased to have a nice hot supper cooked for me! She made a great lasagna with all the delicious sides. Yum.

After supper Liam patiently waited for his cake. He's always keen to have dessert and even more keen to sing happy birthday. Over and and over and over......
My, my that's a large fire on your cake Nathan! In a few more years the cake will be full. Grandpa's famous chocolate fudge cake with orange sauce was pretty tasty.
My little sweetie and I. He was such a chatterbox last night....it just plum wore me out. His cheesy grin needs a little work.

Apparently (and I didn't know this) getting a Leatherman tool is a big deal for a guy. Who knew? Keith and I wanted to get Nathan a special memento for this milestone of entering the teen years. I left Keith in charge because obviously I'm not really up on meaningful gifts for the male species. Keith even got the tool engraved with Nate's name and date of his 13th birthday. It was a nice touch. What was funny though was when Nathan opened the box and exclaimed: "Wow! New pliers!"

As you can see he's also sporting a fancy new watch that he picked out himself as a gift from Grandpa and Grandma. He's one lucky kid....er, I mean young man!!!

Bring On the Teens!

March 18, 1998

13 days past my due date

23 hours of labour

3 hours of pushing

15 minute c-section

and we became first time parents of the most adorable little boy we had ever laid our eyes on.

It was quite a scary and overwhelming experience getting Nathan here but he was completely worth it! Somehow 13 years have flown by and now we have this gangly, tall and handsome boy-man on our hands. What a delight Nathan has been! He so great and I love spending time with him. He's so gentle, kind, loving and helpful. When I think about the teen years ahead of Nathan I am excited for him and can't wait for him to enjoy all the privileges and responsibilities as the transition from boy to adult takes place.

Happy Birthday to our finest Nate!

Nathan was the most delightful baby new parents could ask for. Just a happy little guy all the time.

He was happy to get a new playmate a few years later and the transition to being big brother was very smooth. Nathan is Chad's hero...has been from the get-go!

Nathan was a keen student of the Wee College program and received a firm foundation in God's word at an early age.

He was a natural in front of the camera from early on. Now he feels quite at home up on the stage much to our surprise and delight!

He still knows how to be silly and have fun.

He's a loyal friend. His best buddy and him have been tight since they were 2.5 years old!

He's proven himself to be an excellent traveller and has enjoyed a trip to Ireland at 11 years old! What an awesome privilege!

Every birthday has been celebrated in style. He's extremely easy to please as far as birthdays go.

He's been more like a parent than a brother to Liam. Liam adores Nathan and the feeling is entirely mutual. It's the most amazing relationship and we love watching it develop stronger with each passing year.

Nathan treats me like gold. When Keith tickles me or 'play' fights or chases me and I scream, that boy will come RUNNING and beat off his father. He won't have a bad thing said about me in his presence. He would never say anything to hurt my feelings. He still hugs and kisses me before bed every night.

What a blessing Nathan is to all those who know him! Thank you Lord for sending him to our family!

Erin Go Bragh

Translation....Ireland Forever! To be honest there isn't a speck of Irish blood in my veins. Keith does indeed have Irish blood and therefore so to my wee laddies! And well, anyone who's been to Ireland forever feels a little bit Irish.
Happy St Patrick's Day!

Finding Fun

The boys' spring break doesn't quite line up with MEI's spring break. They have been at home this week while Keith and I have been at work. They don't mind being home and doing their own thing but I can't imagine it's too much fun. I had today off and instead of my usual routine of shopping, laundry, groceries and housework I decided to take the kids to Safari Play Zone here in town. Nate said 'it's for kids' but I got him around that by telling him he needed to be with Liam on the play structure. He was good with that! Chad had a rip roarin' good time and found some new friends as usual. He's a social butterfly for sure.
They played for about two hours and then we came home for lunch. Liam was tired enough to go down for his nap without a fuss!
Next week Keith and I are both off work. We do have a lot of packing to do but will fit in some fun things as well. Stay tuned for more spring break posts!

A Quiet 2011?

My very first post (read it here) of 2011 predicted a quiet year. No real plans for our family...we were just going to take it one day at time.

Not even four weeks after those words were put down we began a roller coaster of big changes in our world. The house purchase/sale obviously was a BIG deal. Keith's back issues were an unexpected hiccup along the road. Now our family has come to another BIG decision.

After careful deliberation we have decided to register Nathan at MEI for grade eight.

It feels really good to have finally come to a decision about Nathan's schooling. We had been deliberating our options for two years now! We truly had wanted to keep him in the public school system but things were just not working out as we had hoped with ATMS.

I showed Nate his course selection options and just to see his eyes light up at the fact he was going to get to take Bible as a course solidified my mind in the fact we did in fact make the right decision. Yes, he's excited about the robotics and construction options but it was the Bible class that caught his eye first. Obviously this is something he would never get at public school. Anyone else remember the mornings of starting off school with the Lord's Prayer? Wow...almost seems a bit crazy now.

I started MEI in grade 8 too and it was a very good experience for me. I hope Nathan finds it to be the same!

It's Nice to be Appreciated

This past week it was staff appreciation week at our middle school. We were positively spoiled with a full lunch made by the PAC, deluxe made to order hot beverages, smoothies, cookies, baking, flowers, cards and balloons for some. I felt appreciated at my previous job but not quite to this level! It's really nice to have students come by the office to just say 'thanks' or 'you're doing a great job'!

It's not completely safe to have appreciation week in some cases. I enjoyed an absolutely delightful homemade sticky bun on Thursday that was SO sticky it pulled my crown right off my tooth! I went to see the dentist that afternoon to have it re-cemented and it was rather painful. Lesson learned. No more sticky buns!

My Ski Bunny

Chad had the opportunity to go skiing with his school this past weekend. It's his second time on the slopes and he definitely enjoyed himself.

He asked if we could all go skiing at the family sometime. Hmmm....now that's an expensive hobby! I often wonder just how families afford to ski together. After paying for lift tickets and equipment (buy or rent?) it's just quite a cost!

For now he can enjoy the school trips and perhaps one day we'll make it out there all together!

Keith's turn to go up with Chad. I went with Nathan for two years and that bus ride was enough to just about do me in!

Sitting and waiting for lessons to begin.

Practicing those turns.

Apparently Chad and a tree had an 'incident'! Maybe he needed to work on those turns a bit more.

And home to a very yummy dinner. Chad was one tired and hungry boy when he got home. It was a very long day for him.

WINNER

Keri you are the winner of my caption contest post!!!!

'Thelma & Louise'

I like it. It's quite right as we do have just that much fun together!

Thanks for playing and thanks Heather for being such a fun 'boss'!!!

PS. Keri, please email me with your preference of either Timmy's or Starbucks.

Liam's Moon

Silicone bracelets. I need some. I can't find them in the dollar stores. Does ANYONE know where I can get one or two. Does anyone have one at their house they don't want any more?

The reason being is that my baby boy Liam has an addiction to holding one as he falls asleep every night. He calls it his 'moon' and well, his has snapped in half and he's distraught.
The things we do for our wee babes!

Class Act?

I don't feel I can adequately caption this photo! I am going to challenge my readers to submit an amusing caption for this picture. My favorite will receive a gift card to either Starbucks or Timmy's in the mail!