Summer Vacay - Day 64: New Beginnings

Today was a pretty big day for us. We all went up to Calgary to go check out the kids new school! It was their annual pancake breakfast and so we thought we'd go up for some free food and get a tour of the campus. Since classes started at the Calgary Arts Academy a week ago we were able to see what all the classrooms look like and who their classmates would be. The kids biggest observation was that all the classrooms looked like art rooms with a lot of colours and creations on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. There were piano's in the hallways for the kids to play on their recess breaks and art easels in the hall with paper and paint. There was a dance room for dance class, a nice music room, colourful library and your standard gym. I'm interested to see what the kids think of it once they start and how exactly the integrate the arts into learning. You can find info on the school here. After checking out the school we made our way to see the new house we'll be renting. The kids ran wild through the yard and excitedly picked out the rooms they would be moving in to. Madison actually started crying when we told her we weren't sleeping there tonight and that we would be going back to our house in Lethbridge. I guess they liked it (mostly the yard).

Summer Vacay - Day 63: Class Lists

Today I took Brayden and Sydney to the school to find out what classes they were going to be! Brayden was hoping to be back into Mrs. Ramotowski's class since she was moving from teaching Gr. 1/2 split to Gr. 3. Sydney just wanted to know who was going to be in her class from kindergarten. Well! Brayden ended up back with Mrs. Ramotowski which we think is so great and he has a lot of friends in the class which is even better. Sydney also has a lot of friends in her class so she seemed excited to get back into school. The sad part is that we probably won't be attending classes for too long before moving to Calgary if we find a place that works for us. At least the few weeks they'll spend in school will be good weeks and I love to see them excited about school.

Summer Vacay - Day 62: Overwhelmed

Today I took a personal day from our summer vacation fun. I just could not, for the life of me, get myself together enough today for some type of planned activity. I pretty much kicked the kids outside and tried to pack and clean the best that I could. It seems we have so much going on that I have no family around to help pack the house. I try to keep the blog up beat and don’t use it to vent or complain but today I’m feeling like I’m a lot in over my head with moving, trying to finalize a place to live, finding a good renter for our place, get done the small reno’s around the house before we go and do it while my three little kids just want to have summer fun (and who can blame them?). So what did the kids do today during their unsupervised outside time? I’m not too sure but I was able to take these cute little pictures when I did peel myself away from packing.

Summer Vacay - Day 61: Butterfly

When I was much younger I can remember running around with a butterfly net trying to catch butterflies. I think it was mostly white butterflies that I caught, maybe the occasional yellow one. They were always small but pretty and I can remember setting them free so they wouldn't die. Well today Brayden caught a butterfly and he didn't even use a net ... and it wasn't a small white one either. I have no idea if this is actually a butterfly or if it's a moth but I don't really care. It's huge, it's alive and it's awesome!

Summer Vacay - Day 60: House Searching

Although we've had the intention of moving since we came back from the Philippines I guess it's almost official: We are moving to Calgary! The kids have got a spot in a chartered school named The Calgary Arts Academy, our house is clean and listed on kijiji for rent and today we went up to Calgary to look for a place for us to rent while we figure out something more permanent! Exciting and scary ... I can't wait. It's hard to move forward and make plans when you aren't sure where you are going to be in the next 6 months and that has been the last 6 years of our lives. Not knowing if we should spend the money on registering the kids in sports or other activities because it might be wasted when a move quickly comes up. You don't want to unpack and finally settle in just to pack it all up again ... everything is always up in the air. Finally I feel like maybe we might be able to make more permanent plans for our family for the first time in a super long time! YAY

Summer Vacay - Day 59: Tenting

Sydney got to go tenting with Nana and Papa! They took her down somewhere near Hillspring where they met up with a few friends and learned how to make some amazing Vietnamese dishes we love from The Saigonese Restaurant. They got to play at the park, eat ice cream, and snuggle around the fire. Sydney had such a great time spending the one on one time with her grandparents even if it was a little chilly in the morning!

Summer Vacay - Day 58: Whoop Up Days

While I was busy shopping in Montana Ryan took the kids to Whoop Up Days! When they got there a family on their way out gave Ryan their extra ride tickets so they wouldn't be wasted. It ended up being a great thing because our kids weren't too keen on the rides. I guess they were a little nervous, even on the more kid friendly ones. Thankfully there was a lot more to do then just rides. They went to a petting zoo, watched some circus type thing, saw dirt bikes flying in the air and posed with the army. The fun didn't stop there! They also enjoyed special fair treats like snow cones and elephant ears! I was so jealous. I LOVE fair food. Now we just need to teach our kids how to enjoy rides so we can one day take them to Disneyland and they will enjoy themselves.

Summer Vacay - Day 57: Aunt Candice

This morning bright and early I dropped the kids off for a day with their cousins. My sister and I were headed to the States to do some back to school shopping and so Candice said she'd take the kids for me until Ryan could pick them up after work. I'm assuming they had a really fun time doing all sorts of great things but all I know is that Kait and I made it safe to our destination, did some shopping and settled into our hotel room for the night.

Summer Vacay - Day 56: Ice, Water Guns and Toys

Last night I had taken a few of the kids smaller toys and froze them into a block of ice. I brought it out and the kids stared at it few seconds trying to figure out what to do with it. While they contemplated I went and filled up some water guns with hot water and handed them to 3 smiling faces. They got right to business squirting like crazy! They were squirting so fast that it felt like I was constantly filling up these guns. I got smart and took a big water jug outside with us so we weren't wasting time running through the house. It actually took a lot longer to work through the ice then I thought. Maddy got a little bored of squirting and just stood there waiting for the others to do the work for her.

Once they got their toys out they sat down and ate the left over ice chunks. I'm pretty sure that was the best part for them. They love their ice.

Summer Vacay - Day 55: Sleepover

Today Ryan owed me a date for my birthday so I booked a pair of tickets to the New West Theatre show and we used a gift certificate to go for a nice dinner at Firestone. I was pretty excited to go out and relax without the kids for the evening. The kids went to my moms for a sleepover where they get to eat ice cream, watch movies and get smothered with attention. Even the dog plays with them non stop. While the kids were having fun at Nana and Papa's, Ryan and I had a great night. Dinner was good and the New West Theatre show was fantastic. It was so funny this year, we both laughed out loud numerous times and the music was amazing. I just love all their cheesy jokes and ability to make fun of themselves and audience. If you've never been to one of the shows (at the Yates) then you need to go. It's a semi-annual thing, every summer and Christmas and they are different every time.

Summer Vacay - Day 54: Whoop Up Parade

Today was another parade day. Unfortunately for us the Whoop Up Days parade does not throw candy. Being the third parade of the season already and the first to not throw candy my kids weren’t into it. We walked down to sit with family and they liked being with the cousins at first but sitting on a hard curb lost it’s appeal quick. We waited it out as long as we could before I decided if my 32 year old self was done my poor kids were probably well done so we left. The best part of the parade was learning that tonight kids eat free at Montana’s. I was really unmotivated to think of something to eat so it was a done deal. When Ryan got home from work we took off for a dinner date with the kids. They got free balloon art to play with while they waited for their food along with being able to colour on the tables. Total win!

Summer Vacay - Day 53: Biker Gang

Madison has been borrowing on her cousins Strider bikes since our family reunion and has really started to cruise on it. She easily is able to keep up with Brayden and Sydney and will pick up her feet and balance on her own for a good distance. It's been so fun to watch the three of them ride together up and down the block. Brayden and Sydney are great at encouraging Madison to go faster or to pick up her feet and balance, they all make a great team.

Summer Vacay - Day 52: Happy Birthday To Me

I love birthdays. The only bummer about my birthday this year was having to be at church at 9am. That meant no sleeping in and no yummy crepes for breakfast. Also Ryan got back from his man camp way later then he thought so our date got cancelled and he had no time to prep anything so the kids didn’t even know it was my birthday. Epic fail. Thankfully my dad is amazing and had us over for my birthday dinner which is pretty much the best birthday present you could give me anyway. Free food, no cooking and no clean up. Also for my birthday my dad gave me this beautiful ring that was my birthstone and had belonged to his mom. I have never met my Grandma because she died before my mom and dad were married so it was really, really special to get a piece of jewelry that belonged to her. I don’t really do bling but it’s perfect, simple and elegant.

Summer Vacay - Day 51: MOVIES

Took the kids to the matinee today! We got popcorn and drinks and made a real date out of it. This is very rare for us. We tend to watch our movies Friday nights at home as tradition so to go the theatre was a big treat for the kids. They were super excited and I was pretty thrilled that all 3 of our kids are now at an age where I can confidently take them to the movies on my own and know we'd be just fine. We went to Madagascar 3 and of course the kids loved it and I had a few good laughs that were a little over their heads. Good times.

Summer Vacay - Day 50: Straws, Bubbles and Paint

Ryan is gone for the weekend at man camp so the rest of us are going to have some serious fun so the kids won't get whiney missing him. What can you do for some fun while dad's away? Spit paint out of straws. Wow, the kids loved this. I think it was the fact that they were allowed to do something (spit) that normally I would lecture them about doing. They really went to town and spat paint out of straws as if they needed to do it in order to stay alive.

They all enjoyed it. Brayden kind of made a collage of spitty colours, Sydney's were all nicely in a row carefully placed not to overlap one another and Maddy was just happy to have success. So interesting to see the different personally displayed in spit portraits.

Summer Vacay - Day 49: Stained Glass Animals

Sydney's pick was making stained glass window decorations. Did you ever make those when you were younger? We sure did. I loved it! I was also a little worried about this one. You have to place little beads into the frame to make different coloured glass panels. Sometimes the spots are small and the beads seem to jump around making it tough for little fingers, mainly 3 year old fingers that don't appreciate help. Madison only made it half way through before she started colouring and that was fine by me. Now I know that if I ever have another 3 year old in my family that maybe this isn't going to be the most successful craft. The other two were fine, especially Sydney. She can be quite patient and persistent. It was amazing to watch her when a brown bead found it's way into the section with only white beads. She calmly picked it out and replaced it properly. She has such a great little personality to deal with little hiccups in the road, I was quite proud of her ability to brush it off instead of getting frustrated. She really is getting older!

Summer Vacay - Day 48: Wooden Puppets

Like a lot of little girls, Madison is going through a princess stage. Her favorite is Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and she loves dressing up in the play clothes claiming to be a princess. It was no surprise that when we picked out some wooden puppets to colour that Madison wanted the little princess.


Let me tell you, she took a lot of pride in decorating that girls outfit. Obviously we're still working on staying in the lines ....

Summer Vacay - Day 47: Snakes Go sssSSsss

We love painting at our house. It doesn't matter if it makes it onto the fridge or into the trash, they can't get enough of it. It was no wonder one of the crafts picked out by the kids at the store yesterday had to do with paint. The proof that it was the boy that picked this particular activity was that we were painting snakes. Snakes that were hissing ALL day long and I'm sure into tomorrow.

*note to self: no more snake toys*

Summer Vacay - Day 46: Craft Stores

Nothing too much went on today. The kids were pretty excited to tell me all about their amazing weekend in Invermere and I got to show off my awesome marathon medal and sadly had to admit to them that it I didn't get it because I won but because I finished. Didn't feel like I was so awesome after seeing them realize I didn't win but whatever, it quickly passed and I remembered I did it. To celebrate everyones great weekends we went to Michaels to pick up a couple off different crafts for them to do over the next couple of weeks. Going into the craft store for the 4 of us is like walking into a candy store. The children seem to love it as soon much as I do which only makes it more fun. After we picked out a couple things and got a few ideas we made our way home to go over our new toys!

Summer Vacay - Day 45: Vroom Vroom

This morning we woke up, packed up and started our long drive home. We stopped briefly in Langly B.C. to see the LDS Temple, took a few pictures and got back on the road.

It was a long, slow ride and we stopped plenty so I could get out and move my legs a bit. My worst fear was having them cramp up after the run yesterday. One pit stop we made was at the Dutchman Dairy Farm in Sicamous and bought some fresh B.C. peaches and banana peppers to make some BBQ sauce with and another was at the Last Spike, where the last spike was put into the Canadian Railway line.

After 12 long hours in the car I was thrilled to be home and in my own bed. To just let my body stretch out and fall asleep. Weekend = Success

Summer Vacay - Day 44: Race Day

Today was the day. SeaWheeze half marathon 2012. My first ever half marathon. 21.1km of running in the morning sun. How was it? AWESOME. Somehow I got some sleep even with all the anticipation making by body jittery all night long and I woke up on time. Great start. I ate my banana and peanut butter sandwich and we made our way to the race starting point. What I didn't anticipate was the hoards of people I would have to battle just to get over the start line. It was making nervous looking at all these sporty looking people decked out in their gear ready to go.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long before it was time to go and the first corral was off. In went my ear buds and on went the music and as soon as the hundreds of people surrounding me started to move I was off fighting for my place. Holy, I had no idea so much aggression would be needed just to survive the first kilometer. Thankfully my stuffiness caused by my cold cleared around the 1st km too which was a huge help. The run was so beautiful and I cruised. The first half of the marathon was in the city but still a lot of that along the coast. I was able to see Ryan, dad and Kait cheering me on at one point which was totally energizing. The second half of the run was along the coastline along Stanely Park which was beautiful. I loved it. They had loads of water stations (which I didn't need) and I was able to get my gel packs down my throat without too much gagging on the thick texture in my kind of dry mouth.

The last few kilometers were SO hard. I had no trouble breathing but my legs were so tired. I am proud to say however I ran across that finish line and was greeted by my family and it felt awesome. My chip time read 1:50.05 putting me at an average of 5:15/km and placing me 368th out of 4769 women. My GPS along with everyone else I overheard had the race at 21.7km which would explain why that last kilometer seemed to go on forever.

Overall I am super pleased with my run. Everything went smoothly, I was hydrated the whole time and it felt good.
We celebrated by going to the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer game versus Salt Lake Real where Vancouver won. It was nice to sit in the sun (which was a little too much for some) and give my legs a break and soak up the awesomeness of being able to cross off 'half marathon' from my bucket list.

The kids today: More beach and more biking. Seriously, could life be any better for a kid? But seriously .... I just ran a half marathon!

Summer Vacay - Day 43: Race Day Eve

Today was race registration day! We met Kait downtown, ditched her suitcase and walked down to the Vancouver convention center (which is the race start and ending spot) to pick up our registration packets for the run tomorrow. We thankfully went early enough in the day that most of the lines weren't too bad. First we had to get our chip for our shoes (it holds your race number and helps calculate your race time), pick up our freebies (awesome bright flip flops) and then go check out the SeaWheeze only Lululemon merchandize. Well, WOW, what a line up! There was some nice stuff there in some great colours but there was no way I was going to stand in this line up to spend that kind of money.

With our packets on our backs, our goals in writing and a couple of sweet poses, we were ready to chill out in Vancouver for the rest of the day and take it easy so I will be able to peel myself out of my bed in time for this crazy run in the morning.... which by the way I'm wondering why I signed up to run in the first place?
As for the kids 43rd day of summer vacation: beach and biking. That's the life!

Summer Vacay - Day 42: OCEAN

It is so nice to drive without kids! Wow. We stopped when we wanted not because three little bladders needed to be emptied, we snacked on whatever we wanted and didn't have to share and we could talk to each other without interruption or background noise.

We made it to Vancouver in the afternoon to meet up with my dad and Peggy and did some driving by the ocean. It was so nice to be able to roll down the window and feel that nice ocean breeze flow through the car. Not only was there the smell of the ocean but also all these amazing restaurants filling the car with all their enticing scents. Italian, crepes, Thai, Indian, Mexican, pretty much any type of food you could think of wafting into the car. After we got checked into the hotel and somewhat settled we went out and did some good eating. We turned in pretty early and I drugged myself up pretty good to get some good sleep so I could fight my killer cold the slammed me the day before. Who wants to run 21.1km when they can't breathe? Not me.

The kids also had a good day. They drove to Invermere B.C. and got to run around outside, ride their bikes and watch movies. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a summer day to me!