The Rain Has Stopped

This morning my dad drove up from Lethbridge to come visit and take us all out on a 3D movie date to the movie Epic. It has been raining up in Calgary for 4 days straight and so we were all ready to get out of the house to do something really fun. The kids were so excited that they had a really challenging time keeping it together just on the drive to the theatre, I was getting nervous that maybe they wouldn't be able to handle sitting for 2 hours. Thankfully once we were all sitting down in our chairs the kids seemed to calm a bit. It may have been that they had Grandpa and Auntie Kait to talk to that helped, I find that when they are talking to people other then Ryan and I they always seem to be fine.
Once the movie started they just sat there with their big eyes glued to the screen eating their movie treats. Madison even lasted up until the last 20 minutes when she snuggled into dads lap when it got a little climatic.
Epic was a great show. My kids loved it, my dad loved and I loved it. It had Ryan and I laughing out loud a few times and even though I seem to be easily entertained, Ryan seemed to enjoy it as well.

As I mentioned before, it has been really raining lately and so this afternoon we were pretty happy to be outside. Our rhubarb plant seemed to have gone crazy in the last few days and so I chopped a bunch for a yummy crisp. It's been about the 2nd or 3rd good crop we've cut this spring and I'm wondering how many crisps and pies I'm going to have to make this summer to keep up with it. I'm really going to have to venture out of my comfort zone and try a few new recipes.
While I was busy cutting the rhubarb Ryan was busy teaching Brayden how to mow straight lines into the grass and Brayden loved it. Sydney was pretty jealous but sometimes, even though she is the harder worker and braver of the two, she just isn't quite big enough yet.
With the grass getting cut the gophers seemed to be out in full force exploring the grass cuttings and trying to stock up after the rains kept them in their holes all week. We seized the opportunity and set our 2 snares and within 20 minutes both snares had done their job. Banks wasn't too sure what to think about them and when he went to sniff out the situation the one squeaked so loud it made us all jump. The dog settled on just barking at them for a while. We'll have to make a hunter out of him yet.

The First Burn

Those of you who know Ryan know that he loves a good fire. Even after he lit Brayden on fire 1 1/2 times it still gives him warm fuzzies inside.
I'm sure that he has been anxiously waiting to burn our ever growing weed/leaf/branch pile since we moved in and today was that day and it was a good burn, good enough that maybe he's had a fix for a little bit.

Boys Best Friend

We took Banks to the dog park tonight for the first time and he had a good run with some bigger dogs. It's always nice when he's tired because he's so calm. Brayden was a little bummed out he missed out because of Cubs but he enjoyed the cuddles he got from the tired pup on the ride home.

Newly Weds

Today was Ryan's little brothers wedding day. To say that it came at a stressful time for us is an understatement so it was a very welcomed break from the everyday. My kids were very excited to spend the entire day with cousins so we had no need for an alarm clock to get us up bright and early. I got them all ready and looking perfect and then tried to keep them in a little bubble into the car. I don't even know why I tried because after the drive to Cardston the girls had serious hair rat nests from the back of their pretty curls rubbing against the seat for almost an hour but we picked them out and I quickly stole a picture before any damage could be done.
Babysitters came to watch the swarm of kids while the adults went to the Cardston, Alberta temple to see Derek and Meg sealed together for all time and eternity. They both said 'yes' and sealed the deal with a kiss so it's official.
After the sealing we rushed back to get our children so that we could be back in time to see them come out of the temple together as husband and wife.
Once they came outside it was a whirlwind of activity. Kids running all over, people pinning flowers on the wedding party, the poor photographer trying to boss everyone around when everyone isn't even there yet. Somehow it got done and those of us not in the wedding party were dismissed.

Next up was the family dinner and a program. To be honest I can't really say how it was because I was in a different part of the building and only made it out for the second half of the program which was the Beattie side of things. With that being said the Beattie side did an amazing job. The kids all performed a short musical number, Dereks sisters gave a really great dedication to Derek and welcomed Meg into the family and Ryan shared, no word of a lie, the best slide show I have ever seen.

The reception followed and people started to trickle in to congratulate the couple on their marriage. The decorations were amazing and I thought everything came together so nicely. They had the receiving line set up at the back of the gymnasium (that didn't look like a gymnasium) but the line up of people waiting to chat with the bride and groom was nicely out of the way of everything else. The feel was vintage which complemented the wedding colours and they did a nice job of spreading out the decorations without overwhelming the eyes. Everything was lit up with stringed lights which made it glow in the dim lights of the gym and there was this chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. It was very pinterest so if you ever doubt you can duplicate what you see there, it can be done.

For some reason earlier that day Madison seemed very focused on getting herself a piece of cake. Thankfully her determination wore off when she noticed the candy bar and little grab boxes waiting to be filled with sugar because she didn't make it long enough to see the cake getting cut. The candy bar had a half dozen different candies to choose from and you could scoop them up into your little box to take home with you. I'm sure that the intention was for every person to fill 1 box on their way out but I'm quite confident my kids went back to fill their boxes a third time before decided it was time for them to go elsewhere.
The cake miraculously made it to the end of the night without any kid sized finger holes in it and was cut and shoved into the bride and grooms mouth just like in the movies.

Here are just a couple more pictures of decorations:

I'd like to finish by saying CONGRATULATIONS to happy couple and if I have to share my name with anyone, I'm glad that it's you Meg Beattie.

Men At Work

We were in Lethbridge over the weekend for Ryan's brothers wedding. We came down Friday and Ryan had some work he needed to do and so he dropped us off at my moms for a visit. While we were there, Papa put Brayden to work helping him build a green house. Brayden worked along side of Papa until the task was complete and then made sure that whatever little flowers they had were put inside for safe keeping. Hopefully it can withstand those Lethbridge winds.

Wind + Sheet = Fun (for kids)

I can remember back in my youthful years when I would stand at the edge of the coulee and lean forward letting the wind keep me up. It was fun, I would run with the wind, let it push me faster and cared less what it was doing to my hair. When did I grow out of that?
I can see the kids running in the wind and they don't even seem to notice it, I even catch them laughing when it blows them off center having a great time. Today after church the wind was really blowing and Ryan grabbed a fitted bed sheet out of the closet and took it outside. They made a parachute and let the wind whip them around, they laughed as they tried to lay down but the wind filling the sheet kept them up and when the wind gust slowed and they fell to their bums no one seemed to hurt themselves.
I hope they never grow old like me and always have fun in the wind!

A Taste of Summer

It was such an amazing day today. We spent the entire day outside running around. The kids helped me with some yard maintenance and earned $1 each to buy a treat at the dollar store (or save for something bigger). We got out the sprinkler and they hung out in their swimsuits running through the cold water and then warming up while decorating our sidewalk with beautiful chalk artwork.

I can't resist posting these pictures of my girls. We've been so busy lately with moving and packing that I haven't really been bringing out the camera enough to capture the little changes as they get bigger so this is more for me then anyone else. But aren't they beautiful?

I'm a Hunter

We have a lot of happy gophers on our property. They like to stand there looking at you through the window with their big guts hanging out like they don't have a care in the world. Well, we decided we were going to fix that. Ryan went out and bought a pair of snares and yesterday morning while he was at work I saw one of those gophers taunting me with his high pitched squeak. It's almost as though he thought to himself "It's just a girl, what is she going to do?"
I set the snare right there in the hole he ran down when he saw me coming and then I waited. About 30 minutes later I can hear him squeaking and I look out the window only to see him a few feet away staring at me. I grab our second snare and go after him setting it up in that second hole he went down. Again I waited only to be completely frustrated at teh sight of him at a third hole. Well, we only have 2 snares so the bugger outsmarted me and I felt like a big sore loser. I left my snares and we played outside and I forgot about them until the next day when the kids were at school. I went out to check on my snares and guess what!!!? I got him, mua haha (devious laugh). The only problem was that he was very much alive, the snare only got his wrist. When I tried to pull him out of the hole he was fighting me and I was afraid I was going to rip his arm off so I did what any wife would do and got Ryan. Ryan did what any man would do and got his gun and put that poor thing out of his misery in the hole and then pulled him out when he couldn't fight back.
So what did I do today? I snared my first gopher and then we shot his guts out. I ain't a city gal no more (does that even make sense?)

Banks

Ever since our poor little kitty was taken by the coyotes Madison has been praying every morning and every night (no exaggeration) for a new dog. After months of asking we just started to tell her that when we moved into our new house that we would get a dog. Well, she did not forget. Moving day I walk into our new house and Madison looks up at me and asks me where our dog is. We have finally fallen through on our word and today we got ourselves a new dog. Banks is a Lab/Australian Shepard cross and he's 13 weeks and he's the newest addition, now I'm trying to remember if a baby was this much work!

Changes

Well, getting back into the normal life routines after vacation is a hard thing. There are a lot of 'new' for the kids coming up: new school, first time to take a school bus, church, and cubs. To help them with all these changes happening all at once I took them to the bus stop this morning before school. The first day I take them and then the next day they take the bus. The bus driver comes to the end of our driveway and so we walked down to meet her to make tomorrows ride a little less intimidating.
Already walking back to the house Brayden was chatting away about how nice she seemed and that he was excited to ride the bus tomorrow. This is pretty good for our guy who is more of an observer then a do-er compared to Sydney where anything goes.

Forts in Old San Juan

Today is our last full fun day of vacation before we leave Puerto Rico and enter back into the real world.
We had a whole day planned out including a nice picnic at one of the old forts in San Juan where we noticed everyone was flying kites the day before. The one fort was a short walk from our hotel and we left early enough it wasn't scorching hot. The first fort we went to seemed to be more of a historical background and it was so interesting.
Christopher Columbus landed on the island during his second journey and the Spanish were the first to settle. It was a very well known island quite quickly after they had settled because of its perfect location and natural port. Only 20 years after San Juan had been founded they already had a University, library and hospital (in the 1530's). With it's location and resources the island became coveted by the other European countries. The Island only lost an attack once to the English who only have a very short period were driven off by illness and resistance and the Spanish reclaimed the island.
Over time the Spanish built this amazing fort with huge walls, tunnels and secret passageways. They also built up resistance on either side of the port so if any foreign ship were to try to gain entry if it survived the jagged rocks it would be attacked by cannons on either side. You could also see anyone coming because of the location and because of this they were able to win even when the British invaded with 60 ships.
During the Spanish-American war the Americans outsmarted the Spanish by landing on the opposite end of the island and because the Puerto Ricans were not happy with their current administration they surrendered without much of a fight. The end to this war was with the Treaty of Paris in which Spain surrendered Cuba and ceding Peurto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and parts of the West Indies to the United States in 1898.

Well ... with all that war you're going to need weapons, no?

You obviously need a place to put the pirates and enemy soldiers and your dead loved ones. I'm sure that only the best got burial by the sea! Just a heads up I want ocean front burial when I go:

The view from these forts was incredible with the waves crashing into the rocks the sea spray adding a misty look to it, a very beautiful city.

After we had walked through the two different forts we got onto the trolley and made our way to the Capital Building. Sometimes its hard to remember you are in the U.S.A. with all the Spanish colours and culture but then you see a building like the capital building and you're reminded. It just screamed "AMERICA" and looked a little out of place but it was a very pretty building. From there we took the stairs down to the beach and went for a little walk before turning around and heading back to the hotel.

It was a good day but I have to admit I was excited packing up to leave because it means I get to go home and see those kids of mine I've been missing!

Disembarkment Day

This morning we woke up to our last veranda sitting before breakfast and it was like the sky new it as it showed off a rainbow over San Juan. While we were standing looking down into the water we saw this blog swimming by. It was the strangest thing and we couldn't figure out what it was. It was sort of the colour of a dolphin with that same shiny skin but there was no dorsal fin. I quickly ran inside to get the camera and took a couple of lame pictures and that was that. We left our room for the last time and headed to the buffet for breakfast.
After laying in the lounge chairs until our turn to leave the ship I started to get a knot in my stomach. What am I going to do now? I have to worry about preparing food again, I was leaving my comfort zone and I still had a couple of days in Puerto Rico to go before I got home to see my kids. How quickly I had grown comfortable in our cruise boat bubble. We now had a full day ahead of us and nothing to do with it.
We dropped our luggage off at the hotel, checked in with the kids and walked around Old San Juan. We hopped on one of the free trolleys to see where it would take us and we watched as the beautiful scenery flew by. We got off at a ferry port and walked inside. Along one of the walls were a list of animals found around the area where the salt water mixes with the fresh water run off from the island and we were looking at all the different species and there it was! The animal we had seen early this morning from our room ... a MANATEE. Yes, we have seen a real live manatee. Had I know what it was I would have tried harder to get a picture of the blob in the water.

Later in the evening when the sun started to go down Ryan and I made our way to a little courtyard area where there had been some street fenders set up earlier. We grabbed some food and sat down to watch people when we noticed there was a huge group of people setting up their lawn chairs by a stage. We were curious so we walked over and noticed a band setting up and an empty bench so we sat down to watch the show. After a while we noticed that the crowd was all quite old and a lot of them had brought their own instruments. There were sticks, tambourines, and maracas. A couple came to sit down beside us and explained that every Saturday night they play Spanish music and have an open mic where people can get up and sing. In fact our new friend had serenaded her husband just last week. They introduced us to teh crowd as celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary and they pulled us up and made us dance before letting us sit back down.
It was a fun night and the music was good. There was an older gentleman dressed up in his slacks, a nice button-up shirt and hat like my Papa used to wear and he had some great moves.

Dinner Mates

Every single night on our cruise we ate at 6:00pm at the same table with the same people. Best idea ever. We had the best table mates ever. They were funny, kind, and happy. Each night we would sit down and get to hear about with they did on the island that day and what they thought about it. We got to hear little bits about their families and lives back home and we got to see how some couples match so perfectly. We loved going to dinner. One night we were tired but really wanted to make sure we made it to the Illusionist show. They would have one show each night but at 2 different times to accommodate everyone. Since we were at the early dinner service we would have to go to the late shows but the night of the Illusionist we decided we'd do the early show instead and just eat later at the buffet. We had a late lunch and weren't really hungry anyway but we still had to go to our dining room to meet up with our dinner mates if even just for appetizers to hear about their days. These people were all wonderful!

Our Dinner Mates

Our Little Buddies

Aren't these guys so cute. This is what we have been finding on our bed when we get back into our room at night. I love how the dog is wearing Ryan's shades. He's a cool dude.