Back in the swing o' things

We've had a busy first month of school.

Madeline started gymnastics again and is having a lot of fun.  We also started our family yoga class again through the Cerebral Palsy Association.  

Speaking of yoga...

Madeline is fascinated by the patrollers that we see at Claire's school and hers.  She found a safety vest in the garage from Ryan's landscaping days and used a ping pong paddle to help us all safely cross the back sidewalk.

We had a fun corn day, processing about 8 dozen and giving lots away.

One of my favourite things.  It tastes so much better this way!

We had a fun visit with the Jensens that included fun on the trampoline...

fun in the sun...

good times with friends...

jumping/dress up/dance parties...and a fun late night swim at their hotel.

Big news this month was Claire getting her first bike!  The Edmonton Cerebral Palsy Association graciously bought this bike for her and we love it!

Madeline and Claire on their first bike ride together.

Claire really enjoys it and we can even use it in the wintertime for her indoor gym classes.

Madeline is quite a prolific artist so sometimes we have to take photos of what she does rather than keep the originals.  She took these pictures herself.

I managed to hold off on decorating for Halloween until September 30.  Then Madeline couldn't stand it any longer and we ventured outside to spookify our place while Claire had a nice afternoon nap.

She'll often peek out the window at passersby to see if they notice our decorations.

It was lots of fun and we're excited for Halloween!

Other news this month:

• Claire got a back to school hair cut from Auntie Natalie - we're so lucky to have her!
• Claire's yearly EEG came back without any seizure activity and we've successfully weaned her off a midday dose of one her medications.  She seems to be more alert most afternoons now, so that's great news!
• Ryan and I have streamlined our budget in an attempt to pay off remaining debts so don't be too offended if we're stingy in the immediate future!
• I've headed back to the gym after a summer of indulgence.  Oh, it's hard to get back into that pattern!
• Ryan started a leadership course through the school district, as well as his Masters degree in Educational Technology.  He's been very disciplined and devoted to everything he has to do and it's been a LOT of work to balance everything.  He's doing a great job!
• We had "Meet the Teacher" night at Grace Martin and Campbelltown on the same nights, so we were split up that evening.  Ryan's visits went well and I manned the Parent Council Table at ours.
• I also helped at the Leefield Community League BBQ where we were getting feedback on the site plan for the new park.  Soon we get to pick equipment for the 2014 construction!  
• We had a LOT of help from Uncle Travis in getting the electrical work in the basement up to par.  Luckily he accepts homemade oreos as a form of payment.
• The girls attended the Annual Atkins BBQ while Ryan and I spent an evening with friends.  We all had a great day.  
• Parent Council has started up again and I'm filling a few volunteer roles.  

Snacks, school and September

Quite honestly, the most labour-intensive part of writing a blog post is coming up with a title.  I feel like I let myself down on this one, but it can't be helped!  I have writer's block!

Madeline has a very specific way of eating Oreos as I discovered one day.

Our family has a weakness for 5 cent candies.  After a bike ride to the local Macs, Madeline arranged her frogs and whales so they could drink the cokes.  Ha.

The first day of school came so quickly!  Our kindergarten girl was very excited.

I can't believe Claire is in grade 2 this year.  

I think she could tell it was an exciting day because she was very happy too!

Our big girls!

Madeline started kindergarten at Claire's school...but a couple of weeks in, we decided it might be best for her to start French immersion kindergarten.  So she's now going to our local French immersion school and has been loving it.  It makes the drop off/pick up times a little hectic, but it's worth it.

Claire is having a great year so far.  

We had lots of meetings to make sure we were all on the same page before the school year started and her teacher and aide have been great.  

Madeline has been a bike-riding fiend this summer.  

She's gotten very adventurous and wants to ride it everywhere.

We're in the process of getting Claire a new standing frame because she's outgrown the small one that we have.  One day she was getting quite tired of standing and just couldn't stay up.  

I thought it was pretty cute.  

Our family really gets into Rock Band.

The great basement renovation has begun!  

We spent one entire day, with an amazing amount of help from family, to rip apart the whole basement.  Here are some before pictures:

And after:

We're slowly putting the pieces back together but it might be a long process.  We're getting used to living in half a house, but things are a little crowded.  Anyone is welcome to come over and help!  :)

Madeline walked out of her room one day in this outfit.  

I think our community culture is rubbing off on her.

Claire was most interested in grabbing her necklaces, much to Madeline's dismay.

Other things we did:

We tried out the new VIP theatre in Windermere with friends to see Total Recall.  Fancy but pricey!
We had quite a few playdates over the summer, taking advantage of the beautiful weather.
I wrapped up my stint as preschool board president with my last AGM.  It was nice to pass the torch!
Ryan had a fun night out with friends at Japanese Village and we spent an evening with the Hewitts eating ribs and playing games.

Banff deux

I have been to Banff more in the last 6 months than I have in my entire life before that.  

I feel like an old pro now!

Ryan attended this conference {Destination Innovation} and I got to tag along.  My mom and sister Natalie tag teamed the babysitting at our house and the girls had a great time with them.  I can say that we're pretty lucky to have experiences like this.

While Ryan was at his conference courses during the day, I had a lot of time to myself.  I walked around a lot.  I even had some beasts cross my path on the way into town.

My attempt at a self portrait while hiking.  It's probably not the smartest move to hike alone...but it also wasn't smart to buy a phone without a forward facing camera.  Lesson learned, lesson learned.

Funnily enough, we stayed at the same place I stayed with my friends back in March.  

It's a beautiful resort.  Here is Ryan, communing with the local wildlife.

The hot pools were beautiful.  

Look at that view!  (And the mountains aren't so bad either.)

Our gondola trip this time was better for two reasons.  1.  This time I remembered our gift certificate for the ride (Do you know you can trade in AirMiles for a gondola ride?) 2.  It wasn't a blizzard so we actually got to see...scenery!  (I should include a third reason.  On the way down, we rode with a very nice German couple and it was fun to talk with them.)

This is the Banff Centre where Ryan's course was.

It was a fabulous trip that we'll remember for a long time.

Big Sky Country

We were lucky enough to have a family reunion excursion to a beautiful cabin in Montana.

The drive was long, but we broke it up a bit by stopping often as we went through Logan's Pass.

The views were beautiful!

Claire really enjoyed the fresh air.

A nice stranger took a family photo for us.

There was a section of paved paths so we could take Claire part of the way up to the mountain.

Ryan got Madeline to stand by these little trees so that she could look like a giant...ha ha.

We were so excited to finally get to the cabin and it was beautiful.  

We got a very fancy bedroom.

We spent a lot of time outdoors.  The weather was beautiful the whole time.

There was a fun trail around the house and down the lane.  Rob and Madeline had lots of races and Aunt Jeannette took Madeline on a few bike rides.  We're glad that Grandma and Grandpa had room in their van for her bike!

We spent a couple of days down at the beach.  

We brought Claire's bath chair for her to sit on near the water and she loved it.

Someone was in heaven!

Me and my "ridiculous" hat.  I asked Ryan if it made me look ridiculous, because I feel like I don't look good in hats...and Madeline overheard the question.  She was very helpful and kept asking everyone we passed the same question.  

Claire loved the feeling of the rocks and water on her toes.

We had a nice little section of beach all to ourselves.

Ryan kicking butt at ladder ball, one of my favourite "sports."

The lake was chilly at first, but you got used to it quickly.

This cracked me up...

Claire was making a very model-esque pose as she fell asleep.  Blue Steel.

Another fun day at the beach.

Playing is hard work.

There were a couple of neighbourhood dogs that came to visit us each day at the cabin.  

Claire enjoyed their company.

There was even a beautiful hot tub to indulge in.  

One night we had a fun fire and toasted marshmallows.

I like mine burnt...so Madeline kept burning ones for me.  She got carried away.

I got to do a couple of fun activities while Ryan watched the girls.  

I went whitewater rafting.  (Where the scariest part was the water fights and random people jumping between boats, trying to knock everyone in the water.)

I also went on a trailride.  

I pretended that the helmet was a cowboy hat.  It made me feel slightly cooler.

We all had a wonderful time!