Unexpected

I am having weather envy right now... I know I'm not supposed to... But I'm terribly envious of all the people that are having good weather. All the bloggers I stalk, I mean, follow, for the most part seem to have the 4 different season. Those seasons being winter, spring, summer and fall. In April, they start to say things like, oh things are coming up in the garden, or the trees are in bloom... [Here, we're still waiting for the next snow storm to hit] In May, there are comments about the temperatures rising, things are indeed heating up, they begin to gear up for the end of school. [I begin to see pictures of these same girls wearing sundresses, skirts, tanks and flip flops...] By June temperatures are soaring everywhere it would seem, but here. Now there are pictures of families enjoying baseball games [without a parka on] outdoor pool swim lessons, kids running through water sprinklers, spending the day at the beach, sitting on verandas enjoying a lovely evening. All this makes me wonder WHY DO I LIVE HERE? We had Miss Madelyn's last soccer game of the season last week. This is a picture of how we were dressed, keeping in mind, it was the 19th of June:

 Can you see that all of us have hats on? Doesn't that say something?

And then, this past week, this is what I wore to pick the kids up from their last day of school:

 Do you see that I'm wearing a jacket AND a scarf? On June 27th... I am beyond finding this funny...

And though I dwell a little bit, on all the gals in the mid USA, because it just seems that weather-wise, life would be so dreamy there... I'm glad that it's not only Calgary that is having crappy weather. It's the entire western part of the country. [I really have no clue what happens east of Manitoba, I did hear rumor of a heat wave... But that doesn't do me any good]

So in our little western part of the country, the weather has been total crap. And to add salt to an already tender wound, this is an image, taken just a few days ago, of the place we're supposed to leave for, in a week, for our annual vacation...

Suffice to say, we are no longer heading there... It's certainly disappointing.

Mother Nature has unleashed a fury into this little town. And it totally sucks.

Double Digits

This little dude turned 10 years old yesterday... He's got TWO numbers for his age now... He went from this:

to this:

In what can only be described as 'the blink of an eye...'

He woke up yesterday morning, with a HUGE smile on his face. He is so excited to be 'double digits'. He doesn't care that his Momma wants to burst into tears at the very thought. Nope, he wants to sign up to take the Home Alone course, cause now he's 10, you see... Not only does he want to take the Home Alone course, he wants to stay home alone... Seriously buddy, I don't want to burst your bubble... But your staying home alone is going to happen in intervals of 20 minutes... Long enough to go and pick up a jug of milk, nothing more. 

Gosh it's hard to let go.

We celebrated his birthday this past weekend. He had a sleep-over birthday... Again, once you're 10, you're old enough to do that. The party went great, in the end only 4 kids stayed over night, which was the perfect number. Totally manageable. They stayed up until the wee hours playing video games. There was lots of laughter and lots of noise, but I think I great time was had by all. I have to get my act together, and post a few pictures from his party.

Last night, as is our birthday tradition; the birthday person gets to choose the restaurant they want to have supper at. He chose Vietnamese [seriously, be still my beating heart]. We had a delightful dinner then went over to Ama & Baba's for birthday cake. 

Mason, I can't believe you're 10 years old. I just love you to bits and pieces. Each and everyday I thank my lucky stars that ours is the family you came to. Happy Birthday little buddy!

2012 Summer Manifesto

I decided to make my own summer manifesto after reading Ali Edwards blog. Here it is:

This will be the summer of…being plugged in… Not to electronics, but to my kids. 

This will be the summer of the opportunity to bowl weekly should we choose to. 

This will be the summer of spending less time in the house, and more time outside.  

This will be the summer of spontaneity [because I’m not very good at this]  

This will be the summer of  eating outside more.  

This will be the summer of a camp-out in the backyard.  

This will be the summer of making pickles with my Mum and Chris.  

This will be the summer of less television and video games.  

This will be the summer of no limit on the number of popsicles consumed, or the time of day they can begin consuming them.  

This will be the summer of not cringing if my bare toes feel the grass. 

This will be the summer of fresh fruit, yogurt, granola and mini muffins for breakfasts.   

This will be the summer of truly not caring what anyone thinks or doesn’t think of me in a bathing suit. This will be the summer of not being self conscience every time I have a pair of shorts on.  

This will be the summer of long bike rides and short bike rides.  

This will be the summer of having the kids help me plan for meals and picking out fresh produce. 

This will be the summer of more trips to the Farmer’s Market.  

This will be the summer of movies in the backyard. 

This will be the summer of walking up Nose Hill.  

This will be the summer of planning a little bit better, so that we are excited about things to do each day. This will be the summer of camping with Ama & Baba. 

This will be the summer of watching the firework show in August.  

This will be the summer of reading… I have not one, not two, but three avid readers in my house

This will be the summer of regular spelling tests so the kids are ready to face grade 2 and grade 5.

This will be the summer of science experiments, because Miss Madelyn is so very keen.

This will be the summer of salads for supper.

This will be the summer of late night scrap booking.

This will be the summer of basement organization.

This will be the summer of simplifying...

[By the way, our leaking pipe was fixed. Thankfully we found it before there was too much damage]

Another Fabulous Get-Away

I'm a lucky girl... I won't even try to pretend I'm not. My husband is pretty supportive and accommodating.  That is why I just returned from my second get away in less than a month. I know, right? Lucky me...

I went on a Yoga retreat to Galiano Island, with a group of girls that are actually my Mum's friends. These women are part of a walking group, some walk twice a week, some, once a week, a few of them walk daily. I'm part of the once a week crowd, and enjoy the getting together for coffee and the chit chat more than anything... [Shhhhh.... don't tell anyone] These ladies have welcomed me in to their group with open arms. So, this past week I was lucky enough to go on a yoga retreat with them. It was such a great time, I can't even begin to tell you. Suffice to say, my inner Goddess is shining... ;-)

To top it off with a cherry, I got yet another, ocean fix...

A welcome home note waiting for me.

All my trips are finished for the time being... Though I have made my intentions to travel quarterly known, just to stay up to date with how to do what at the airport. I figure if I travel a bit more, I will be a much calmer person.

Today, I looked outside at Barry, who was cutting the lawn and saw this:

 

Yes... He's wearing a toque to cut the grass... I don't know if it was that cold, but is was certainly that windy. How gross is that on the 10th of June?

I spent the day inside, working on my project life stuff. I went downstairs to my scrap room to use some stamps and thought I heard a drip... Of course, where would there be water? Then I heard another drip... I began to investigate and listen for 'drips' and found this:

That's a big dripping wet spot on the ceiling, in case you're wondering. We spent the remainder of the day emptying my scrap room [not a job for the weak] and tearing down the ceiling. 

Thankfully we found the leak, there is a teeny-tiny hole in the pipe, which is spraying a fine mist now, not soaking and dripping through drywall. This could have been So. Much. Worse. I don't go into this room very often. I had a ton of stuff on the floor, that DIDN'T get wet. Had it been left any longer it would have been ruined. 

I had the kids school albums inches away from the water, but miraculously they didn't get a drop. Only a few damp things, so this was really lucky. And thankfully it didn't happen when we're away on vacation. We have a plumber coming first thing in the morning. Having said that, this is not the first leak we've had... so our confidence in the plumbing is definitely waning a little bit. This could end up being a very expensive venture... We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Defeated...

Now this is just a hunch.... But I'm pretty sure this isn't going to get me mother of the year award...

My dear children... I don't want to be the person depicted in the picture above... But I fear I  morph  into her too often. She points her finger and furrows her brow... She speaks very loudly on occasion... [Some might consider it yelling] It's frustrating that there is another member of the family who only seems to get motivated once 'yelly mummy' morphs onto the scene. Another member of the family sits back sadly... Because he doesn't like conflict.

I am going to do my best to get the happy and joyous checks... Because that's what I want you to remember. I don't want you to remember mad and sad. I'm going to try very hard to tame yelly mummy... I will do my best. You see... I am trying to do my best each and every day.

I love you both beyond measure. Even when I'm scowling, always know, I love you and would do anything for you.

Picture by Mason.