June 17, 2013

I know it's not officially summer, but it sure feels like it. (finally)  The kids got their faces painted at the church picnic.  Jack thought it was the funniest thing ever.  They had a great time playing with their little friends and participating in the races.  Brook won the sprint and the sack race.  I'm extremely proud, and maybe a little too competitive.  We play to win.

 We are hoping to have our basement mud and taped this week.  Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of a semi finished basement in the next few weeks.  We ordered our flooring and ceiling tiles.  It is kind of a blessing that it wasn't all in stock, because we didn't have room to store it anyway.  I am so excited to have that space finished!

Yup, these are the cutest underpants I have ever seen.  Normally I would keep things like this confidential, but they are so cute!  Jack is not potty trained, but we are working on it.  He is receptive to the idea, and that is half the battle.

I wish this was a photo from my living room window, but alas, I have no hummingbirds coming to my feeder.  This one was taken from Mom and Dad's place.  

Sorry I know this post wasn't really informative, but we are doing fine.  Nothing really life altering to announce.  These are just some pictures I wanted to share.

Us Lately

We've been living in Morden for 7 months now.  During supper this evening we watched our neighbour cut her grass, and realized that in the entire time we have lived here this was the first time we've seen that.  Life in manitoba is like that I guess.  7 months of winterish weather.

There has been a lot of things to do on our house, and perhaps we have taken on more than we should, but we are starting to see the fruits of our labour.  We've cleaned up the shrubs in front of the house and put in some new flower beds.  It has taken us a long time, but we are getting some of the stumps out of the back yard.  We spent 2 summers cleaning up all the stumps out of our yard in Boissevain, and I am pretty sure that without heavy machinery we will spend 3 or 4 summers on this back yard.  Argh.  I hate stumps!  If you need to take out some frustration, give me a call and i'll point you towards a tree you can chop down.

The basement is coming along.  I am really excited to get that project done.  Hopefully by september we'll be able to have a usable space.  The drywall is almost done and Trev has been taking his time and doing a great job!  It may not look like much yet, but it's gonna be great to have that extra living space.  We have had a tiny trickle of water coming into the basement, so we'll have to deal with that before putting in flooring, but overall the basement is sound.

Us Lately part 2 - Reptile Gardens

We took a trip to Brandon over may long weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa Fleming.  It rained. It rained a lot, and because there was nothing we could do outside, we went for a trip to Reptile Gardens.  I am not a fan of creepy crawlies or slimy things. This was an entire building FULL of them.  (Full body shiver)  Anyway, they were all behind glass and the kids had a great time.  Brook loved the iguana that came up to the glass to see her.  

I learned that crocodiles can hold their breath for 1/2 hour, and can live 80-100 years.  We did not buy any pets on our way out.  We took a short glance at the bulletin board on a way out and there was a picture of a boa constrictor that had eaten a man, as well as the results of a few snake bites.  At that point I was ready to leave.

Us Lately part 3 - Random Happenings

We took a trip to Stienbach because Trev was taking a course at SBC, which gave the kids and I a chance to visit with Beth and Nora.  We stayed at the Days Inn so we got lots of swimming and visiting done.  Not much sleeping, but we had a good time.  Trev learned a lot too, which was the whole point. There were 3 big pieces of machinery parked by the highway, so the kids and I took some pictures.  Yes, they are in this picture, you just have to look hard.

We had a great impromptu family gathering at the farm about 4 weeks ago. Now that I think about it this was not the best picture to post, because it was a really fun time.  The kids got really dirty playing in the mud and generally exploring the yard.  Brook collided with a cousin on the trampoline and this was the result.  4 weeks later and she still has a little bit of a bruise.

 We were outside doing some yard work and I heard a bird, but I couldn't place it.  It raised the hairs on my neck and brought back memories of feathers in the ice cubes and being harassed about my pet choices.  Sure enough I turned around and there was a budgie perched on the back gate of the red trailer.  We tried to lure him closer, but he was unsure about us and eventually took off.  I didn't want a budgie for a pet, but it was pretty cold out and I was concerned for his life.

As a family we took a trip to the farm for a breath of fresh air.  I have to admit that living in Morden has been a bit of a challenge.  I feel a bit crowded, and although I am determined to love my neighbours, I don't always want to hear and see them.  I am looking forward to our tree's getting some leaves.  It is always great to go to the farm and take a deep breath.  Sometimes just driving up the hill on my way west out of town is refreshing.  I spent some time cleaning up the horses and enjoying Mom's cooking.  Trev sat on the deck and read a book.  Brook and Jack jumped on the trampoline until they were exhausted.  We celebrated mothers day on Sunday, but I think monday was really the day I enjoyed the most.

We made smores over the BBQ.  There was marshmallow EVERYWHERE. It was worth it.

Brandon Winter Fair

Brandon winter fair 2013.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

Jack's Panties

Happy Spring

Today is the first day of spring.  I didn't have to shovel any snow today!    I am ready for bare sidewalks and light jackets.  Im ready for the odd sunburn and the sun being up until 9pm.  I am not even worried about sitting on the beach or putting in flowers,  I would just like to be outside longer than 1/2hr at a time.  I am really looking forward to working on our yard this spring.  There is much to be done, but it will be fun to see what we can do with it.

Below are some random pictures from the last month or so.

 Dino Jack.

 Trev was gone for a youth retreat a few weeks ago, so I made a tent and Brook and I stayed up late to watch a movie and sleep in it.  We made it until midnight.  I was sick of being kicked, so I went back to my bed.  It was a good time.

Joel, Laura and their family came for a visit on saturday.  Brook and Olivia had a great time together, and Jack loved having Judah to play with because he was so enthusiastic about hockey.

 Jack is now in a "big boy" bed.  We took the side rail off his crib and moved Brook into his room too.  So far so good.  He's been staying in bed and respecting the rules.  (Mommy is not much fun to hang out with in the middle of the night anyway)  Now he seems to think he is a big boy.  Everything is "I do it".  He even tried to put on Brook's panties today, which I am hoping is a sign that he wants to start potty training, but I am likely dreaming.

 The other morning the kids went fishing.  The upside down coffee table was the boat, the carpet was the water, and I made fishing rods out of wooden spoons, tape, string and magnets.  I spread a bunch of cutlery all over the carpet and they "caught fish" all morning.  Good times.  They generally play really well together.

So I just realized that I have no pictures of Trevor and I from this last month.  I'll work on that for the next post.  I have a few videos I'd like to post, but my Mac and blogger don't seem to agree, so hopefully I can get that figured out soon.  Until then, enjoy the pictures.