working mom in the burbs

Goodbye 2011

2012-02-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

2011 was a bad year for a lot of people around me, but for me it was a pretty good year. I had started a new job at the end of 2010 and was well into it at the beginning of 2011, although working from home was getting a little lonely. Spring Break was awesome- we went to Hawaii for 2 weeks- one week on Oahu- where we go to spend time with the Liquorish Ohana. I haven't seen Wes in over 20 years and to get to meet his amazing wife and delightful girls was such a treat. We also hung out in Waikiki for a few days- that was pretty amazing. I think the highlight was seeing an episode of Hawaii-50 being filmed- too cool. After a week we flew to Maui and spent a week with the Chandlers in paradise!

Then Frank and I got to go to England for a week. Frank was asked to be the best man at his good friends wedding. So we left the girls here in good hands with family and headed to the UK. We had an amazing week, first hanging out in Somerset with the bride and groom and all the wonderful sites to see in the country. I think Wells Cathedral was my ultimate fav. We also spent 2 days in London with my cousins- that was so incredible to see everyone- lucky us.

The summer was a whirlwind as always - Oregon was fun and Camping at Golden Ears was great. The Freers lived with us for 2 months too- between houses. The weather was great for these adventures although the rest of the summer left a little to much rain in its wake.

Back to school was good- Dani went to middle school - which was a giant step for us parents. Boo's into grade 3 with Mrs.Chu- she was happy.

November we headed to Cali and Disneyland for a surprise trip with the Quinn's. It was a brief but great trip. We flew from Seattle to Santa Ana airport and stayed at the Red Lion. We spent the first day in Disney and managed to make it through the park in 11 hours or so!! Saturday we headed to California Adventure. It was a pretty cloudy, cool day so we had no line ups to deal with- awesome- hence the need to go on the TOWER OF TERROR 4 times! Ugh! Sunday was Dani's birthday so we went back to Disney for the day- followed by a swim in the pool at the hotel and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. What a great birthday treat. Monday we rented a car and spent the day in Santa Monica- then it was home.

Before we knew it December was upon us and all the fun festive activities- what a great year it was!

Oregon

2011-08-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful week gone by, spent with friends on the Oregon coast. We truly love heading down to Oregon each year and doing wonderful family activities.
Friday July 29th we left work early and headed to the border- thank goodness for our Nexus pass, as we were through the border in no time and on our way to Olympia. Denise and Ian were ahead of us and texting about how bad the Seattle traffic was- so we headed to the 401 and by passed the jam. We arrived in Olympia to the Phoenix Inn and suites and what a lovely hotel it was. We all walked down to the Mercato Italian Restaurant for dinner. They seemed to have a hard time seating 8- but we eventually got a seat in the back of the place. After a great feast it was back to the hotel and to bed after a long day.
Saturday was a gorgeous hot morning- we had the buffet breakfast and then headed towards Salem. We made a detour so Frank could buy a new bass and then headed to the Walmart in Salem. We stopped for subway and food supplies (boy is it cheap!) and then we were coast bound! We arrived in Neskowin at 2ish, go the key and headed up to the house.
Frank and Ian were headed to the the White Snake concert that night - so we made an early dinner and then Denise drove them to the Chinook Winds for their concert. We hit the sack early- all that fresh ocean air is tiring.
Sunday, Denise and I decided to hit the outlet mall for a few hours while the guys headed to the beach with the little people. We shopped for a few hours- got some awesome deals and then back to the house.
After all that shopping we were not in to making dinner so we headed to Pacific City and that wonderful dune. We climbed the dune and the kids ran ahead. The menfolk also ran to the top. On my way up I was greeted with Danica coming back down as she had sand in her contacts- poor thing. So she and I headed to the Pelican Pub to get the sand out and book a table for 8. The rest hung out at the dune and we turned back at one point to see a herd of horses at the top of the dune, poised to run down, and run down they did. The kids got to pet the horses at the bottom. Dune climbing is tiring work, so we eagerly sat down in the pub and ordered our fish and chips. What a great setting for a pub. After dinner we enjoyed the lovely sunset- after all that is what Oregon is about.
Monday we figured that it was time to get some food- so we all headed to the Safeway- the guys were going to drop us off and go to the Lincoln City beach for a while- as we go out of the car, I noticed that our tire was flat- flat- flat! So Frank and Ian installed the spare and went in search of a tire repair shop instead of the beach as planned. We headed in to Safeway to shop.
When we were done, there they were with the tire al fixed- thanks Les shwab! Denise and I went back to Neskowin with the little ones and Frank and Ian and the older 2 set out in search of an Internet cafe! We headed to the beach for an afternoon of kite flying,sand castle building and reading our books. The guys joined us much later. After dinner we were too tired for a campfire so we deferred in until the next night.
Tuesday we started off the day early and headed to Florence and the sand dunes. It was a long 2.5 hour drive but we arrived and headed to the dune site to book our sand rail experience. It was a long wait, which we filled with a picnic lunch and mini golf. But it was so worth it. We had Me, Frank, Dara, Delaney and Denise in one sand rail and Ian, Danica and Quinn in the other. It was crazy- we went up over 800 feet and felt like we were on a crazy roller coaster. The girls screamed and screamed but LOVED it. It was a 30 min thrill ride. What a great experience!! Then it was back home - stopping at the Fred Meyer in Newport for some Starbucks and supplies for the house. We picked up Papa Murphy's take and Bake pizza and headed home. No fire Tuesday either- we were pooped!
Wednesday Frank, Ian , Danica and Quinn, headed up to the Silitz river and rented a boat to go fishing, while we went to the outlet mall and shopped for back to school for the little ones. No fish were caught but lots of clothes were bought. Wednesday night we had a huge fire on the beach- it was awesome. There were marshmallows to be roasted and fun was had by all. Until we had to come home- then it was dark and we had to walk across Hawk Creek in that dark and cold! Then Denise fell on the stairs on the way up - it was not that much fun!
Thursday we had to take the older ones shopping for back to school- so to the outlet mall we went for a hours and then we headed to Foggerty Creek for a BBQ lunch and a few hours of agate hunting- a favourite pass time.
Before we knew it Friday was upon us!! We decided to spend the entire day at the beach. We headed down in the morning spent the day on the beach with a break for lunch and then we were there late into the afternoon until the tide was almost up to our towels. We headed back for dinner and then back to the beach for a bonfire!!
Saturday morning we cleaned up the house and headed for home-too short a trip!
We stopped at the Walmart in Salem for school supplies. Then it was straight up to Tullalip and some last minute deals there.
We reached the border at 9:30pm - exhausted from a day of travel- sailed through the border and homeward bound.
Another awesome trip under our belt and memories to last a life time.

Spring?

2011-05-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well, the one advantage to this rainy Spring we are having is that I have been able to catch up on my scrapbooking. I am perpetually 6 months behind. But with rainy days and some spare time I am closing that gap. I have also been able to catch up on lots of reading as the girls have started Spring swimming-which amounts to 10 hours a week that I am at the pool. So reading and scrapbooking have been at the top of my things to do.
We had a great Spring break getaway in Hawaii- but that tan has faded fast. 1300 photos or so were taken in those 2 weeks away- thank goodness for mac books otherwise those photos might never have seen the light of day!
It has been a pretty busy year so far- so there have been lots of photos taken and so I do hope to get on top of all that. There are so many other projects around the house I wish I had time to do too. I have managed to paint the bathroom, but still have the master bedroom and all the windowsills in the house to paint. Not to mention the yard work. The flowers are late to bloom this year due to the continuous rain, but the weeds don't mind they come up no matter what.

Where is summer?

2011-02-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

As the days start to get longer again, I am so looking forward to summer. It seems the cold is very much in my bones and I long for some sun on my face. Spring break cannot come soon enough for a get away, but oh summer where are you?
This last summer we seemed to cram so much in and yet still never got to do the things I really wanted to- like hang out at the lake more often, go swimming (other than swim club) and more long bike rides. We did actually manage to get down to Stanley Park once- which was awesome. But this summer I hope we can get some more canoeing, bike riding, hiking in. It is going to be a challenge- especially now that I am working 5 days a week- but here's to hoping.

Chucks

2011-02-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Oh my word- my girls love their chucks. I could not believe the state of Danica's when I had a close look at them! I had the hardest time convincing her that they needed to be chucked away! She claimed "they are soooooo comfy"- but I do believe she was walking on pavement through the heels!! So we threw them away and got her her 4th or 5th pair- she seems to need a new pair every 6 months or so. I know how hard it is to find a GOOD pair of shoes so I am glad that she has found that in her chucks.

Vegas Baby

2011-01-25T17:07:00.001-08:00

May 2010 Linda, Denise, Nat and I headed out to Vegas for 4 days. Linda and I flew out of Vancouver at some ungodly hour on the Thursday. Nat and Denise dropped the kids at school and then made a run for the border to Bellingham. As luck would have it we all landed at the same time. We were in Vegas baby!! We caught a cab to the Planet Hollywood Hotel, checked in and we were rearing to go. Wow, is all I can say. I have not been to LV since 1998 and it has changed so much.

The hotels, if possible, are bigger than ever, and the glitter and bling is incredible. Needless to say we shopped and shopped and saw so much (and that was just the first day). While we were there we saw the Cirque show Zumanity- amazing, rode the roller coaster at NY, NY, ventured up the Eiffle Tower, floated down the lagoons on a Gondolla and then shopped some more. After 4 amazing days in Vegas we were ready to come home. We were exhausted. We had so much fun though it was well worth the exhaustion. Denise is the only one who won 'big", we mostly just sat at the slots to get the free drinks! It was a great trip and we hope to do it again soon- thanks ladies for a blast.

It's been a year!!!

2011-01-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

Really, it has been a year since I posted a thing- that is pretty sad ;(
I have been busy scrapbooking this last year- I still seem to be a year behind, but managed a year in review collage. I really like this idea as I can get a lot of info into one page.
2010 was a great year - we had some fantastic family holidays, we did a lot of fun stuff and spent some wonderful family time together. The girls had a most amazing summer- with one camp and the next. Winter brought a tiny bit of snow- but this winter has yet to bring a huge snow dump as was promised. The Christmas holidays were a whirl as always, but a great time none the less. I will try and post more in 2011, really I will.

2010 Winter Olympics

2010-02-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

I remember the day they announced the Olympics would be held here in Vancouver- I was 9 months pregnant with Delaney. Now 6 years later we are enjoying them. For months there has been a buzz about the city- mostly people complaining of the inconvenience. Now as the 2 weeks of the Olympics are upon us, I see nothing but Canada wear, I hear everyone commenting on how much fun downtown is and what a great spirit is in the air. I have never seen so much patriotism, everywhere you look are Canadian flags and people in Canada gear. What a great time for our city and what a lot of great Canadian pride we have.
I took the girls downtown on the Friday of the opening ceremonies-we really had a great time and got to see so much. We even got to see the medals at the Canadian mint. Before we know it will be over- i sure hope we can all hold on to that Patriotism for much longer than the 2 weeks of the game!

Christmas came and went....

2010-01-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year- although the older I get the faster they seem to come and go! We managed to squeeze in all the fun activities we could and still came out ahead of the game. My only problem was that I was wrapping on Dec 23rd and I would have liked to have been done by that time. But the day came- the girls had a great time and as usual were incredibly spoiled. So were the grownups though- it was a great year!
New Year's was a blast- we had a smaller group this year- but we had so much fun. The music was great and the dancing as fun as ever.
After New Year's I even managed to get some tidying in- got the bathroom cabinets done, the kitchen pantry done and filing is all almost up to date- I'd say a good start to the year so far!

Christmas is here!

2009-12-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

The gifts are wrapped, the cookies are baked and fun has been had! Now we wait. I cannot believe that Christmas is 2 days away and I don't have to go near a mall. This must be a first. But it is true- we are now officially just waiting for the day. The girls are so excited- they are bouncing off the walls, this is awesome to see. They have the spirit of Christmas all over them... We have completed most of our holiday traditions and so today we will have to try and find a new one as it will be a long day if we don't do something with these wound up children.
Merry Christmas to all- hope it is wonderful.

October came and went!

2009-11-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

Wow- the time sure flies when you are having fun. My girls were so excited for Halloween- they had their outfits picked out early in the year and could not wait for the day. Luckily this year Halloween stretched over 2 days for them. The 30th was the day they celebrated at school- with a parade and hot lunch. Saturday was a long day of waiting for the big trick or treating expedition. We passed the time carving some great jack o lanterns and raking up the leaves. The weather was amazing- it was supposed to rain but it turned out to be the most amazing Fall day you could imagine. At 6:30 they were off! They returned half way through the night to drop off some of their stash- and then went back out for more candy. 2 hours later we had more candy than we could possibly imagine- now 2 weeks later I wonder where it all went?!!!

Summer is over!

2009-10-19T16:21:00.001-07:00

Summer seems to officially be over. We have had the most amazing weather ever and the rainy wet coast we live in seems like a distant memory. That was until this weekend of course- the rain came with a vengeance - which is fine if you don't have to stand on a soccer field and watch your children play...
The only downside to the great weather is that all the pumpkins ripened very early this year, so the choice for Jack-O-Lanterns is not as large as usual. We managed to grow 2 pumpkins in our garden this year- but they are pretty small so we need to go and get some more from the Pumpkin Patch.

Summer Fun!

2009-08-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy, awesome summer so far. We have been to Oregon, we have been camping and this week the girls are in summer camp all week long. They seem to be having the best time ever and the camp is like the one you see in the movies- honest. Today they did archery and kayaking- amazing. We haven't done as many outings as we had planned but we have had a few local outings around town. There is still so much I want to do and the days are already getting shorter and the evenings cooler... Where does the time go? Next week is the last week of summer holidays so I will be sure to do something extra fun with the girls- what to chose from?

Gone Fisihing

2009-07-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great Canada day at the lake. After a great picnic dinner, grandpa took all 5 of the grandkids fishing. Dani and Boo's have been fishing a few times and are a little discouraged as they have yet to catch a fish. Well what do you know, Dani feels a tug and next we look over and she is pulling in a trout. She was over the moon, until we realized that we couldn't throw him back as he had swallowed the hook. But grandpa gutted him and we had him for dinner the next night. What fun!

Catching up

2009-06-29T09:47:00.001-07:00

I am getting more and more behind on scrapbooking. I have been trying to catch up and every time I get a few pages ahead I take a few more photos!! I am trying to figure out why my camera takes such dark photos. On the automatic setting it seems fine but when I switch to AV and adjust the white balance I have to go 2 F stops up to get them lighter- this is ever since I had a broken camera- I wonder if it was something that broke in the camera!! Anyway I guess I am eternally grateful to RAW photo adjustment in photoshop- I can't seem to look at a photo now without wanting to adjust it. It takes that scrapbooking to a whole different level and doubles the time to scrap a page {sigh}.

Moms gone CRAZY!

2009-06-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hey ladies- here it is! The talent at the talent show was amazing and what a way to end 27 great performances!!

Holiday

2009-05-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

We are back from our 2 weeks away- although it already feels like an eternity ago! What a great holiday we had. The first week we were in Orlando and did the Orlando touristy things- minus Disney. I love SeaWorld, we saw pretty much all there was to see there. My fav of all is the dolphin show. Our second week was on the beach and what a great place. Our condo was literally on the beach. We loved the hot weather and the sea- I have no idea how many sunset photos I took! The high light was having the manatees swim with us for about an hour one day. The next day the dolphins swam by as we ate breakfast- ahhh the little treasures. Now I have over 800 photos to scrap- wow that will keep my busy.

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

What a wet Easter! We had 4 days in a row off and we had heard that there was rain all weekend long, so we didn't bother to get topsoil and work in the yard. But Friday turned out to be a wonderful day, it would have been great to work outside. Saturday started off rainy but ended in sun, another afternoon that would have been great to get out. Then Easter Sunday- oh my word- how much rain could possibly fall?!!! It was not just rain but a downpour all day- yuck.
The girls were up at 6:30am eager to see if the Easter Bunny had been! I was not thrilled to be up that early on an awful rainy day!! My bed was so warm! But up we got and then really lazed around the rest of the day- it was great. A around 3pm I had to put the ham in the oven as we had 14 people over for Easter dinner. And we had a great Easter dinner- what a great, wet day!
I am so looking forward to sun- we are off in 2 weeks for sunny skies and I cannot wait- summer seems so far away. I am still scrapbooking last summers fun and I tell you summer cannot come fast enough this year...

Memories of Summer

2009-03-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Being almost a year behind in scrapping, makes me look so much more forward to summer. I am so longing for long hot summer days. I look at our photos of last summer though and cannot believe that we didn't go to the beach more often than we did. White Pine is 10 mins away and we only went a few times. I think summer is just too busy- we have to take the time to enjoy the little things {sigh}! The good news is it is SPRING AHEAD weekend so the days now become longer.

Fishing

2009-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

With all this snow STILL around I am dreaming of Spring. Not even so much Summer- just Spring would be fine! I look at the damage the snow has done to my yard and I can't wait to get out and clean up. I know that there is no point going out now though as there is more cold weather still to come... I so look forward to the Spring bulbs - oh wait I don't think that I will be able to see any bulbs this years- as the pesky squirrels, of which there are many, have been frantically digging up the garden and chowing down on all bulbs they can find! Oh well, I am looking forward to Spring, bike rides on the trail and fishing at the lake!

SNOW!

2009-01-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a winter it has been thus far. I cannot believe the amount of snow that is on the ground. The idea of a white Christmas was wonderful, but the reality of it is another story! We started off our cold snap up on Grouse Mountain for our annual peak of Vancouver trip- it was soooo cold up there I thought we wouldn't make it. It was roughly -25C with the windchill. That is cold for us West coasters. Then the snow settled in down below.
We had so much snow on Christmas Eve I thought we were going to be house bound- but a power outage made sure we shoveled ourselves out! We went to Frank's brother and sister in laws for our regular Christmas Eve, which is always fun. Coming home was not so much fun- we got stuck on a side street and spent a while digging out of there.
Christmas morning we woke up to still more snow and off to Maple Ridge we headed! Thank goodness it eased up a bit. Boxing day- more snow- then rain and boy did those piles of snow turn to puddles of water FAST. New Years Eve- more snow- enough already!! Then the weekend of January 3rd- we had a further 30cm or so!!! Well back to school on Monday was awful- the little ones were stepping in snow up to their waists, there were no sidewalks to be seen and the traffic oh my gosh- a nightmare. Now we are stuck with huge piles of ugly, dirty brown snow- these piles will be here until the Spring- yuck!

A little behind

2008-11-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

I really love digital scrapbooking but it seems everything gets in the way these days and there is no time for it. I am so behind in my pages, but trying to catch up. I am still working on Spring break 2008. Halloween just passed and now I am even more behind. BUT what should happen to me - the worst thing ever- my camera broke!!! i have no idea how I bumped it- but I did and it is now broken. So I am not taking nearly as much photos as I usually would- so this is a fine time to catch up!

All done

2008-08-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

We finally put the play structure together for the kids. I cannot believe how many parts there were. It took me almost a full afternoon to sort all the screws into their own little areas. We then spread the 200 pieces of wood out- across the entire yard! Then it took us 4 days of working together to assemble the thing. I tell you I thought Ike@ products were bad. But we are finally done- the girls love it and that' s all that matters! I hope that the sun actually stays out for the next few weeks so they can enjoy it- the days are already getting shorter, don't take the sun away!

Disney Photos!

2008-07-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Yahoo, I have finished scrapbooking all my Disney Photos. I still have to do the Santa Monica ones but at least these are done. What fun it was too...

My grid stage!

2008-05-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind in scrapbooking but feeling a little uninspired. Not sure why as I have so many wonderful photos to scrap. i am just getting to Xmas though and it is so hard to scrap Xmas in May- what with birds chirping, flowers smelling lovely and weeds waiting to be dug up! I am trying to just put photos on paper and then move on. So it seems I am at my grid stage- I like grids as you can fit lots of photos on a page. I need to be done 2007 so I can start in on this years photos!

I need a holiday

2008-05-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

I am so amazed at how fast holidays fly by. We went away for 4 days over spring break and it flew by, but we knew we had a 10 day holiday coming up in April. We were so looking forward to it- and it was a fantastic holiday! But now it is over! I can't stand that we look forward to holidays for months in advance and then poof they are over. Anyway Cali was amazing - the weather was great there were many memories to be had, The girls LOVED Disneyland and 5 days was perfect. Then 5 days in Santa Monica was great, relaxing and awesome. Oh- I need a vacation.

Violin

2008-02-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

My DD has taken up violin- her choice. I cannot believe how good she is. She has been playing since Sept 07 and I was fully prepared for the squeaking and awful sounds that might come form learning a new instrument. Much to my surprise there is the odd squeak, but she is amazing. She had her first recital on Valentines Day and I thought for sure she would be nervous- no way. She played the song and it was perfect!

Memories of summer

2008-01-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am still scrapping memories of last summer and am really looking forward to this summer. It has been a very rainy winter and I am not usually one to complain about the rain- but oh my gosh-enough! We have booked our holiday to Anaheim (wink, wink) for April- but that seems like an eternity away. I am trying to catch up on all my photos so that when I take 1000 photos in DL I will be able to come home and scrap them right away. I hate nothing more than waiting 6 months to scrap stuff and then I have forgotten all the great thinks I was going to write about! So I am in August 2007 right now. I discovered MAC books too- which are the greatest books- I love them- if you have a mac and iphoto it is the easiest thing to scrap- chose a book - flow your photos and 5 days later a coffee table book is delivered to your door- WOW! Anyway here are some pages from last summer of Galiano Isalnd- what a great place to go.

It's been a while

2007-11-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Well I have not posted in a while. Life gets so crazy at the end of the summer and back to school. Being on the PAC at Dani's school keeps me busy for the first 2 months of school as I have to look over all the health and safetly forms- what a task. Then soccer starts and all the girls other activities. Somewhere in there my offices moved- which was a great thing as they are now a block away from my house!!!! I have been teaching some intro to scrap classes and generally just a busy bee. I am so behind in my scrapping I am trying to catch up but I have been doing all sorts of other fun projects and here I am. In Novemeber a birthday for Dani looming and photos from June still not scrapped!!! So here are a few pages I did for a competition that was on one of the sites I frequent.

Summer's Over?

2007-09-13T23:23:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that summer is almost over. Mind you the weather the last few weeks has been anything but fall like. Well, last week was back to school- Dani is now in grade 2!!!! It was back to school and then do nothing for the first week- my how times have changed since I went to school. But, by Monday she had her class and they were all settled in by the open house tonight. My baby is getting so big {sigh}. This week with all the activities back on it was like the break of summer never happened- I cannot believe how fast time flies!

Now that Maui is done!!

2007-08-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, now that I have created, and printed all 55 Maui pages I am so far behind in my scrapbooking. This is probably because I have to take photos at every waking moment. Frank always laments that we don't do enough family activities-well you only have to look at my photos to know that is not true. I thought that we had a not too busy summer until I browsed through the almost 1000 photos I have taken so far!!! Damn that is a lot of memories. I am still scrapping last Xmas- so somebody stop me from taking anymore photos. Nah- not gonna happen. But the photos aside we have had a great summer- what with 4 family getaways and tons of local activities. I cannot believe that the kids go back to school in a week- wow. I think it is time though- my girls are at each others throats! Ahh the lazy (???) days of summer.

Maui finished!

2007-08-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

Finally I have finished scrapbooking my Maui photos! That took forever... Now I am only 7 months behind in scrapbooking- I really have to learn to take less photos :)

Galiano Island

2007-07-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

We have had some very busy days these past few weeks. We were in Oregon week before last which was stunning. This past weekend we visited Galiano Island with friends. Wow, talk about beauty in your back yard. A mere 50 min ferry ride and you are in this little paradise. Of course it helped that the weather was co-operative. We had a great stay- we rented a cottage in Bodega Ridge and it was awesome. We got in a great bike ride to Dionisi0 point park (these starfish were everywhere!) The kids had so much fun exploring the tidal pools and seeing who could find the most starfish, crabs and clams. This is a great place and we will go back soon!

Exhausted!

2007-07-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

I am so tired- this weather takes it out of you. I cannot believe what a busy weekend we had. Little miss Delaney turned 4!!! Wow- where has the time gone. What a great birthday weekend she had- with a family party on Saturday, followed by a kids party on Sunday. I was so busy baking all the cakes and making all the food. By Sunday night I was done- but no I thought it would be nice to put together the bed that we had bought her so that she had it for the morning. Did I mention that it was an IKE@ bed!!! 5 hours later (and still not done) I had to go to bed- I was was beyond tired. Then I woke up Monday to continue the giant jigsaw! After all that the matress we bought didn't fit (oh wait- read the small print- it takes 3 days for it to recover from it's wrapped up state- it now fits- thanks heavens!) After all of that I spent the rest of Monday sorting through her toys and getting rid of all the junk my girls collect! Does it ever end???

A walk in the Park

2007-07-03T21:53:00.001-07:00

FINALLY- we got to go on a "hike" with the girls. We have been dying to try a little hike without Delaney crying-"pick me up!!" So on Canada day we took a walk in Minnekhada Park- it was great. We saw so many great sites. There were birds everywhere and I don't think that the girls even noticed that they were walking! When we got to the lodge it was open and we got to go inside- what a great piece of history in our back yard. We are so looking forward to more hikes...

Baby Finley

2007-06-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! My new nephew is here. He arrived after 3 hours of labour on Friday afternoon and I am so happy. He is perfect. Willa got to spend the whole of Friday and Saturday with us too- which was great. She has no idea what is in store for her and she wasn't too impressed by baby Finley at the hospital.
We are happy though- there grows the family!

In the Pink!

2007-06-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am a bit late with the pink week!
These are photos from our weekend on the Sunshine Coast with friends and family. What a great house to get away to. The kids always have so much fun together, it hard to think that they have all know each other for their whole lives! They don't see each other as often as we would like, but when the kids do get together it is like they were never apart.

Cute as a button

2007-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

My nephew is as cute as a button and I realise that I don't take enough photos of the girls and their cousins. So that is my goal this month. As there is a new baby boy due in the next few weeks it seems like a great month for cousin photos. That is my goal and we will try and stick to it.
I realise as I scrap that I take photos of the same events and the costumes, weather, age and sometimes locations change from year to year. BUT overall the same photos. I have to step out of that box and start taking photos of the little everyday things that in a few years will not be everyday. For example the girls love all their stuffy animals and play for hours on end with them- I need to snap some of those moments. Or the fact that miss Delaney NEVER wears what I put out for her each day and proceeds to dress herself in the worst possible combinations. She needs a badge- I dressed myself today! Anyway watch this blog for cousin photos!

Birthday Parties

2007-05-29T19:20:00.001-07:00

My girls get invited to so many parties- it is hard to capture them all. But this princess party that they went to was awesome. It was beautiful and they had so much fun. Seeing them drinking chocolate milk out of their mini teacups was adorable. Since then Delaney has been to another princess party here and loved it equally as much. What a great idea. I know when we were kids we were just happy to have friends over and a cake. Nowadays parties are so extravagant, but I like the idea of paying someone else to host my kids parties- it sure makes cleaning up an easy task.

I miss Maui!

2007-05-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever ago that we were in Maui. I miss it already- and want to go back soon. It was such a great holiday and such a great place to go with kids. We are maybe going to Anaheim next year which would be great- but that seems like an eternity away. I will have to live vicariously through these photos!

The Aquarium

2007-05-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun at the Aquarium. This was lst November, but it has become a family institution for us. We were lucky enough to get a year pass as Xmas gifts- so we go as often as we can. I can never seem to take enough photos. I cannot wait to go there with the new camera.

Halloween!!!!!!

2007-05-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

I know what a weird thing to be thinking of in the middle of May! But that is where I am at the scrapping of my stuff. The worst part is that I have a Xmas and a snowfall to go through too! I am dying to scrap some summer photos- like the ones I took today at Dani's sports day. But alas, if I do not stay on the straight and narrow and do the photos I have to do, I will get all caught up in in wonderful summer colours and have no time for orange and red! So here is a lovely Halloween layout to look at. I created the background paper all by myself. The photos were the most aweful ones I have ever taken inside. I am so thankful that I have a new Digital camera that takes fantastic indoor shots as I am sick of dull, blurred indoor photos.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-05-14T13:44:00.001-07:00

A purple tea party!

2007-05-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago after dinner, Danica said that we were going to have a teaparty. We had recently finished painting her teaset which she had from Christmas LAST year. So her and Delaney set up the tea table and decked it all out. We even had some little cookies left over from Valentines, which worked perfectly for our pint sized party. There were "goody bag" which were their toys in purses. What a great time- I love it when the girls use their imagintion like this.

Brown week!

2007-05-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I missed a few weeks of the colour challenge, but am trying to catch up. So it is working out really well that each week the challenge seems to coincide with the photos I am scrapping. I am still so far behind and now I am even further due to the 800 or so photos I took in Maui! But here is my tribute to brown and my pumpkin patch photos. Loved this paper and it was very inspiring to use. These are some of my fav family photos, as it is so rare that I am in photos. I am the historain of the family so spend hours behind the lens and the seconds that these photos caught of me in front of the lens I quite like.

Back from Maui!

2007-05-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an amazing 2 weeks. It flew by, but the memories stay strong. I took so many photos I have no idea how I am going to catch up now?? It is amazing how my mind thinks now days- I think in scrapbook pages and it is weird... I was so inspired by the sights and sounds of Maui that I was dreaming about scrapbooking on my last 2 nights there. It was a sign that I had been away from my computer and photos for long enough! Home we are and I created only one page as I have now run out of room on my hard drive and had to buy a new HD to copy all my photos to! But one page I created -paper and all. More soon....

I love the sounds of Africa

2007-04-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.wavelit.com/index.asp?ch=Wildlife&sh=africam

This is one of my favourite websites. It is a live camera at a watering hole in South Africa. It is a great site, I usually call it up when I get to work and listen to the sounds as it is night time over there and I cannot see much! I have yet to see any big game, but still just love the sounds. Africa is so loud- but it is amazing.
I have to have noise all around me, perhaps that is what happens when you grow up in Africa. I have the TV on or music or something on at all times. It is not like I am watching TV all the time, but I like the noise of it if I am at home during the day. Anyway as I was sitting here with the dryer tumbling (jeans with very loud buttons), the TV on and the live cam, I realized how noisy my life is! Well I hope you enjoy this webcam as much as I do.

Friday the 13th

2007-04-13T19:00:00.001-07:00

I have never paid much mind to this day. 13 is a lucky number for us it is Dani's birthday. But today- oh no the horror! While making myself a lovely cup of afternoon tea, Delaney decided to jump off the sofa and straight into the coffee table. Heart pounding I tried to assess the damage through the copious amounts of blood pouring out of her head. Off to emergency we raced! Luckily for us there was only about an hour and a half wait before we saw the doc! She definitly needed stitches, but luckily for us he used the super glue! So no pain, no more tears and a great war injury to talk about. I on the other hand am still shaking. Neither of my kids have been to emergency and I really don't want to have to go there anytime soon. I am just glad that she is okay and that a little blood is all we lost. Happy friday the 13th...

Seeing red!

2007-04-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

I am into the 4th week of Rhonna's challenge and it happens to coincide nicely with my happy scrapping. I was about a year behind in photos when I discovered this digital thing. I had no room to spread out all my papers and stamps etc. So I started doing all digital pages. Needless to day it is now incredibly difficult to pull out the paper and glue. Having said that I am still a few months behind in 2006 photos. I am currently scraping my Xmas photos which is a tad difficult to do when spring is in the air. But I desperately have to finish 2006 before we head to Maui next week, otherwise I will be 100's of photos richer and oh so far behind in the scrapbook department! I just printed 44 12 x12 digital pages last week and they are mostly of last summer; my girls have opened that album every day and giggled over the pages- it makes this scrapbooking thing all the more worth while.

The tooth!

2007-04-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

Dani has this top tooth which she will not let me pull. I have tried bribery, coercion and all to no avail. She will not let me pull that tooth for anything. It looks awful, I keep telling her she looks like Nanny Mcphee and she does not like that one bit! It is gross, tonight I had to cut her food into strips so that she could chew it out of the corner of her mouth- otherwise it bleeds all over every time she bites something (sorry too much info I know!) Mind you once it is gone she is going to have a hard time chewing much of anything as there is no sign off the other top tooth and she lost that baby tooth some time ago.
I should just sit back and let it fall out-there is no rush! I cannot believe that my baby is getting her adult teeth. Where does the time go?

Green Eggs & Ham- or Apples anyway!

2007-04-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Week 3 of Rhonna's challenge and a green week it is. It is perfect for our apple barn trip last September, which is exactly where I am in my scrapbooking! 3 weeks until we head off to tropical bliss. I have to at least finish off 2006 before I come back with 2 weeks of beach photos.

Soccer

2007-04-02T00:27:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend it turned out to be! We were supposed to have 2 weekends in a row of soccer, but due to a washout last weekend we had a 1 weekend mini tournament. Dani has come so far in the last 2 years it is great to see her out on the field. All the girls are great, they can actually chase the ball, turn it around and get some kicks on goal. What a difference from last years "swarm ball" where they all just followed each other around.

A colourful weekend

2007-04-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

I was feeling rather "bright" this weekend so I thought I would use this great kit that I downloaded from Two Peas last month. It is rather delicious looking and matched Delaney's jacket quite well. These were photos taken at the end of last summer. Just when I think I am getting ahead in the scrapping department along comes a weekend of activities, that I had to take photos of, that puts me at least 140 photos behind. (okay who am I kidding I love scrapbooking :)

A Blue week

2007-03-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

We were away the first weekend of Spring Break with 2 other couples and my sister and her family. We had a fantastic time on the Sunshine Coast, although the weather could have been better. The house on the beach was amazing and all 7 kids had a blast. My girls had their rain boots and jackets on and they were off. Danica had a great time building a fort out of driftwood - the 3 older friends had so much fun with this. Delaney and the younger 'uns were content just running up and down the beach. That is the inspiration behind this page- here she is just chasing seagulls. Oh to be so carefree and see the fun in everything!

Orange Challenge

2007-03-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy lately that it seems I have neglected my little blog. I have been up late each night doing my digital scrapbooking and getting so caught up in that- I realised that I should start posting those here. Then at least people will be able to share my moments in life through my scrapbook pages (that's the idea behind a blog right?) So in my internet wanderings I can across Rhonna's website (I LOVE her designs) and decided to take on her colour challenge. Well here I am again and hopefully each week will be in a different colour! Thanks for looking.

Snow Boots!

2007-01-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for snow boots. I have lived in Vancouver for 16 years and have never owned a pair of snow boots. Well this season I thought I would go and buy a pair. Thank goodness I did. I have never seen weather like this- we are on storm number 14 and counting. I cannot count how many times we have lost power or the power has dipped and we hold our breath. I usually have no problem with winter but I am about ready for Spring now.
My New Years resolution is to clear out the car port so that I can get my car in. Today would be the SECOND time this season that I could not get into my car!!! I do all the right things get this snow off so that it doesn't form a layer of ice, etc, etc. Then this morning I go and get in the car and no such luck. After attempts to hair dry with a hot dryer the locks- still no luck, I gave up. An hourish later, the back of the mini van seemed to be thawed so I was able to open the hatch- "elegantly- in snow boots!" climb over 2 sets of seats to get to the front to of the car and start it. Only to have the car run for 45 mins while I tried to scrap the ice off. (Sorry Al G0re.) Then I had to drive to work on a sheet of ice. We are so unprepared for this weather- where did all the salt trucks go?
Well that is my rant- although I must say it looks absolutley gorgeous outside. I can see Seymour Mountain from my office window- wow!

I love Halloween

2006-11-06T00:36:00.000-08:00

What a great Halloween we had this year. It sure was chill but so nice out. I didn't like the fact that I had to work this year- only the second Halloween I have had to work - with kids around that is. (Did I ever mention that I love not working Mondays and Fridays). But anyway we were up early, Delaney for once actually wore the outfit that I put out for her!! She went as a little witch - her day outfit. Then came home and changed into her Mini Mouse outfit for trick or treating. Danica was a black cat- both morning and night. I missed the parade at school which sucked as all the kids look so "cute" in their outfits.
Frank got to take the girls out t or t'ing as I had to hand out candies (if I left it to Frank - he would hand out 6 at a time and I would run out and then my house would be egged or something like that!!!). But handing out 2-3 candies per kid I still ran out and I had 250 chocolate bars! The streets around here were buzzing- it is a great time of year.
I was so happy so see my little niece and nephew too - they popped over for the "photo shoot". It is so nice to see my sister, Nat, happy. It has been 6 years this Halloween gone by and the smiles are back. (Graham you are in our hearts, and thoughts always.)

Pumpkin Patch

2006-10-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

What a city we live in. The weather today was outstanding. We spent the day at the Pumpkin patch and it was incredible. We could have (and many were) worn just t-shirts today. The down side is that half of the GVRD was at the Patch, but there were more than enough pumpkins to go around. What fun. I love that we get to do these fun activities with our girls and know that before long they will be turning their button noses up at the prospect of a pumpkin patch-sigh! But it is awesome to ingrain these memories into their heads now- we can only hope that it will make them nicer teenagers.
Dani had such a busy weekend. 2 birthday parties and a sleepover at friends. Frank & I had to go to a function for his work and all I can say is it is great to have good friends. A couple that we have become great friends with looked after the girls. Our kids are all the same age and at school/preschool together. We are so lucky to have found them they are awesome and it is so nice to know that there are people you can rely on in life.
It has been a week of blessings I guess!

Holidays are over :(

2006-08-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

We were away last week camping for the week. The kids had so much fun- it is unbelievable how they can run free for a week. The only thing about camping is the dirt- I have a hard time being that dirty for that long. I would wash the kids in the shower then pull them back in the wagon to the tent and then carry them into bed so that their feet didn't touch the dirt. I figure they can stay clean for a few hours while they sleep! Ahh but the fun we had. I love being away from civilization- no phones, no TV, no email (okay that one is hard), it is so nice to get that far away. (Sigh) that was my vacation time for the year- two lousy weeks- I think that sucks.

Digital Scrapbooking

2006-07-16T23:06:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned my passion for scrapbooking?
I Love it and now I am hooked on digi scraping I love it.
The photos I took in Florida last year were still unscrapped and making me feel so bad as I was so behind and the thought of scrapping 400 photos scared the heck out of me. So I saw this digital site and that was it - hooked.
Now I have just finished Florida and am ready to scrap the 360 photos I took in Oregon. Maybe I should take less photos and then I wouldn't have this problem- nah never gonna happen.

Ah Holidays!

2006-07-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

We were away in Oregon last week and it was so nice. We had the most perfect weather which one can never guarantee on the coast. It was a little foggy in the mornings, clearing to blue sky by 11am. The girls had so much fun on the beach it was amazing. It was also incredible to see their growth in a year. Dani still LOVES the waves and jumps in and out of them like a Salmon up stream; but Delaney was funny, last year in Florida she would not go NEAR the waves, this year she was right up there with Dani loving every moment of it. It was great to be down there with friends too, we had our freinds I & D come down with their 2 little ones- the same age as ours. They were all so into the beach.
The most amazing experience was spending the 4 of July on the beach. We had a campfire on the beach and were surrounded by fireworks, it was incredible.
Did I mention the shopping??? Oh my gosh- the outlet mall is the best place in the world. I was buying t-shirts and shorts for the girls for $1 ( no tax in Oregon either!) I got myself crazy deals- Gap t-shirts for $2.99. The shopping alone is worth the 8 hour drive down.
Sigh! But soon the week passed- the only thing that made it bearable was knowing that we are going camping for a week next week- yahoo. And so the packing begins! I just found the best list ever for all camping stuff- love it!

The Tag

2006-06-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks Karen for the tag- I actually did it!
I AM: A mom, wife, friend
I WANT: To enjoy each moment of life as if it is the last
I HATE: (A strong word) rude, self-righteous, ignorant people
I LOVE: My family- more than words can say
I MISS: Ouma, Oupa & Graham
I FEAR: Not being a good parent
I HEAR: My children's laughter
I WONDER: How life would be Africa
I REGRET: Losing some friends along the way
I AM NOT: ready to be in my 30's!!!
I DANCE: To my own drum
I AM NOT ALWAYS: As cheerful or as thoughtful as I would like to be
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Chocolate chip cookies, pizza dough- play dough!
I WRITE: Things to do on my calendar- daily!
I CONFUSE: Words to songs all the time
I NEED: More time in my days and more sleep
I SHOULD: Finish one of the millions of profects I have started
I START: Lots of things I never finish
I (always) FINISH: A good book

Weeds

2006-05-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

How come the weeds in my yard grow so much faster than the flowers??
When we bought our house 2 years ago I was so excited about the huge back garden- there was so much potential for lovely flower beds- like I had in my towhouse.(I realize now my townhouse garden was 2 foot by 3 foot- so small and easy to maintain!) Now all I seem to do is pull weeds- honest. I go outside just to chuck the garbage and I pull a few weeds- go outside to get the laundry (yes my laundry room is outside under the stairs-sigh!!) and I pull weeds. Last month we had a landscaper come and level off the backyard and returf- while he was there I got him to eliminate some flower beds around the house and he put river rock all the way around the foundation- boy does it look nice- and no weeds. Hmmm maybe I should just rock the whole yard- I used to think people who did that were weird- but I now see this as a good thing.
I do love the flowers but oh all the work to get those blooms- did I mention the bugs??

Still alive!

2006-05-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I would finally post a new entry in case there is anyone who actually reads this!
Well I did it- the Sun Run that is! I actually ran 10km's in 73 mins. I would have liked to do a lot better but- I had to stop for a potty break and frankly the line ups are crazy. I must have waited 4-5 mins just to get into the disgusting, stinky, gross cubicle (no affinity to porta potties here!!!)
But after that I felt much better and I did it. I cannot believe I did- I woke up to a beautiful morning the day of and as everyone was wondering at the blue skies I was wondering what happened to the rain, snow and sleet I had been training in for the last 13 weeks. I was in no way, shape or form prepared to run in the heat, hence over hydrating and a 4-5 min delay.
I was so proud of myself when I finished I almost lost it at the finish line. Then I did lose it when I got home as my darling husband and children had done up a huge congratulatory card and flowers- it was lovely.

Now I just have to keep this running thing up- we have been a few times since then and if I can just keep it up I will feel so good about myself. 30 pounds to lose and summer looms!!!

Finally!

2006-03-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

I get to sit down and post. Where does the time go?? I have 4 days a week off- 4! But before I know it, it is time to go back to work on Tuesdays. I spend Fridays recovering from the week and picking up the disarray of stuff scattered around my house. Friday night I am out for the count - usually in front of the TV- by 10pm (at the latest). Since I have been running (yes I am still there- running 3 times a week for the last 9 weeks!!!!!!) I am so exhausted it is not funny. This last Saturday my DH managed to take the kids for 4 hours while I cleaned the house- woohoo- just the way anyone wants to spend a Saturday. Then I went to Karen's shower- which was awesome. It was so great to see her so happy- that was fun. The sitting on my ass for 4 hours was great too. Sunday I had to wake up and go for a run- the longest I have run thus far. My muscles are still retaliating this morning!! I also decided that Sunday was a great night to have my family over for dinner, so I had to cook for 10ish people (the kids are the "ish") that is once again a fun thing to spend your Sunday doing- especially since I cannot stand from the 1 hour run that morning!!!!! By Sunday night at 9pm that was me- done like the dinner I had just cooked. I tried to stay up to finish that damn book ( A million little pieces) but I still don't like it and trying to read something I don't like when I am so tired- obviously is not going to work! SO here I find myself Monday - once again tidying up (story of my life) and doing laundry, only to have to start my week all over again. I have done nothing I wanted to do and am still tired and (sigh) I give up!!!!

Oh wait a moment I did get ONE thing done- I mastered how to use the photoshop brushes on my computer to enhance my photos (see attached of Dani!!!)

That new baby smell!

2006-02-21T16:37:00.000-08:00

My sister just had a new baby-and he is adorable! I love everything about new babies, the way they smell, the way they cry and the way the nuzzle into you. Oh I miss those days. Coming home today from daycare with 2 kids that don't stop whinning from the moment I pick them up to the moment they go to bed; I sure miss those days of helplessness. My 2 girls have grown so fast and so much in the last 5 years I cannot believe they were once that tiny. It is amazing to think in 2 and a half years Delaney went from this tiny 5lb11ounce bundle to a walking, talking, whinning machine. Those first few years are crazy busy, but it was fun.
Oh well, no more for me, I have no idea how I would handle more than 2. So I guess I will sit back and enjoy all the new babies that are about to be born (sigh)!

2006-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a great weekend! The weather was awesome, I got out for a run- it was all good. We had our famlies over on Saturday night for the usual birthday get together and that even went well. (Any time I have to spend with with my husbands family is usually a drag! That is a story for a rainy day!) Anyway this will be a short post- just wanted to share the best salsa/Guac dip recipe in the world with anyone who wants. I cannot bear the taste of avocado, but this dip is to die for!
BEST SALSA EVER

1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp jalepeno
1 tsp garlic
2 avocados
1 cup corn (roasted in oil @350 for 10-15 min.)
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp coarse salt
2 tbsp purple onion
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp corn oil to roast corn
1 tomato
chop it all up, put it all in a bowl, toss and eat it!

2006-02-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

TO EVERYONE WO GREW UP IN THE 80’S & 90’S…

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE".
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of
Bel-air"...and can do the "Carlton".
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and
tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH” comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars and "spokey-dokes"
11. You can sing the entire them e song to "Duck Tales” (Woo-ooh!).
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to
watch cartoons.
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on
the big screen...and still know the turtle’s names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in
computer class at school.
16. You played the game "MASH” (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House).
17. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
18. L.A. Gear....need I say more?
19. You remember reading"Tales of a fourth grade nothing” and
all the Ramona books.
20. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"
21. You wanted to be a Goonie.
22. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (Some of us...head-to-toe)
23. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before
his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
24. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
25. You took lunch boxes to school... and traded Garbage Pail Kids
in the schoolyard.
26. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
27. You still get the urge to say "NOT” after every sentence.
28. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
29. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
30. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
31. You thought your childhood friends would never leave
because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
32. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. (And like...24,
probably in neon colors, too).
33. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I
know you are, but what am I?"
34. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up".
35. You remember going to the skating rink before there were
inline skates.
36. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
37. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
38. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
39. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
40. You remember Popples.
41. "Don't worry, be happy".
42. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high
top Reeboks.
43. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still
do...getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family).
44. You remember boom boxes…and walking a round with one on
your shoulder like you were all that.
45. You remember watching both "Gremlins” movies.
46. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
47. You remember watching "Rainbow Bright" and "My Little Pony Tales".
48. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
49. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool... and
don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB".
50. You knew all the characters names and their life stories
on "Saved by the Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
51. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
52. You just sang those words to yourself.
53. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
54. Homemade Levi shorts… (The shorter the better).
55. You remember when mullets were cool!
56. You had a mullet!
57. You still sing "We are the World"
58. You tight rolled your jeans.
59. You owned a banana clip
60. You remember, "Where's the Beef?"
61. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin'
about Willis?"
62. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
63. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head,
aren't you!!!

Happy Valentines!

2006-02-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

My husband is a gem. We agreed not to get each other anything for this wonderfully commercialized day. But what does he do- but show up at my work with a dozen gorgeous roses- all different colours. Boy did I feel bad about only making him a card.
When we got home each of the girls had an envelope FULL of valentines and choc hearts etc. I guess I was not the only mom, who spent the whole aftenoon on Monday helping the girls write up their valentines. Then we HAD to make heart shaped cookies last night for 40 of their closest friends! What a day, so much to show each other how much love there is in the air.
Anyway it has been a good day- hope everyone had a great day ( at least the sun is still shining!)

2006-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

Cool look what I can do with my new computer. There is a feature called photobooth- WOW! (okay I will do anything to avoid cleaning my house!)

No rain?

2006-02-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

I went for a run tonight (woohoo- that makes 2 FULL weeks so far), and there was no rain. Too strange, of course the endless puddles and rivers are still there, for people to drive in and splash you- but no rain. I have been out 6 times in the last 2 weeks and this is the first time I have come home dry. Miracles don't cease.
The funniest part of my day was, while walking Danica home from kindergarten, she looked up at the sky and saw the sun burning a hole through the clouds, doing all it could to break through and said "look mommy God is shining his flash light on us". Where does she she get these things?- it was so profound and she honestly believed what she was saying was just the way it was. We don't even go to church- so I have to wonder what they discuss on the playground at school!

Sun Run Training- am I mad?!!

2006-02-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

My idea of fitness- previous to training.--->

I don't know what possessed me this year, but I decided that I need to be fit. Looking in the local parks and rec book I noticed that they had a clinic for Sun Run Training- you have your choice of 3 levels. I decided to go for the learn to run clinic. How hard could it be??
It started 2 weeks ago and I am ready for needing to get fit rehab (get me off that addiction!)

I have to get up at 8 am every Sunday- no big deal you say- you have kids- what is the problem! The problem is that I like to get up on a Sunday laze around, drink 2 cups of coffee, watch Trading Spaces and maybe draw with the kids. Just take it easy. For the next 13 weeks I have to jump out of bed and be ready to walk/run a little further every week. With plenty of perky trainers encouraging your every step.
Furthermore I have to train 2 more times each week. Well have you seen the weather. Tuesday night I was supposed to go for a run- thank you to whomever decided that was a perfect time for a monsoon!!! I was not going out Tuesday night unless there was a millions bucks up for grabs at the end.
Wednesday night arrives- I had no choice I HAD to go out there into the rain. Once again thanks for the rain- okay maybe not a monsoon but enough to have wet socks, wets pants and wet head with rivers running between my eyes by the time I was done.
Now, you have to know that the most exercise I get is going out for a casual walk with the kids (picture kids size steps), or a bike ride- once again with the kids- nothing too crazy. Last night running for 2 mins and then walking for 2 mins -8 TIMES- damn near did me in. I was ready to pack the whole idea in near the end. A stitch the size of the grand canyon in my side and legs ready to drop off - whose idea of fun is this? Did I mention wet!!!
Oh well stay tuned- lets see if I can actually do this. I am going to go and eat a piece of apple pie and ice cream right now- and enjoy every bite- fitness and weight loss be damned!

My first post!

2006-01-31T10:19:00.000-08:00

Okay! So Karen showed me her blog a few months ago and here I am. I so enjoy sitting down and reading all the ramblings of bloggers that I feel I have to join. It is a whole new world opened up to me and I can SO relate to you moms out there. I have just not had time to sit down and take the steps to make my blog. But today I am at home with a sick 2 1/2 year old (up all night with croupe), so I have taken the time to set it up and here I am.