Someone turned the "Thanks" sign on a garbage bin into something special.
(from Urban Prankster)
You probably had to be there.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The little things...
In the midst of packing, I hopped on the computer for a few moments of respite and I checked one of the blogs on my list. I almost busted a gut. I found this so funny at the time and so I wanted to share.
Someone turned the "Thanks" sign on a garbage bin into something special.
(from Urban Prankster)
You probably had to be there.
Someone turned the "Thanks" sign on a garbage bin into something special.
(from Urban Prankster)
You probably had to be there.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Parting is such sweet sorrow
It's been another busy week. The next two promise to be even busier with the move and a family reunion coming up. Tonight I am taking a break and blogging because Sunday is a day of rest...right? Tomorrow I'll get back to packing.
Speaking of packing, I've done a lot of that this week. It seems never ending. I'm feeling very anxious about getting into the new house and making it ours. Right now it still feels like a very foreign place. At least the roof has been re-shingled and we're making appointments for furnace estimates - yay.
Another exciting event on the horizon - Olivia's baby is due soon! Ryan's mom and sister Angela are heading to Toronto next week. I hope that the timing is good and that the baby comes while they are there. I hope we can meet him soon!
The girls and I spent a morning at the museum. I really like taking them there because the lighting is great for Claire's vision and there are so many things for Madeline to explore. The grounds are so beautiful too. It doesn't hurt that Ryan's working at a site right around the corner so we got to stop by for a visit too. While we were there, another little girl (about 6 or 7 years old) befriended Madeline and took her by the hand and began imparting all her knowledge about the exhibits to her. It was fun to watch them toodle around.
Here's Claire enjoying the pagoda outside the museum.
It was a beautiful day to be outside.
Claire was so focused on all the of the minerals and shiny rocks. It was a nice place to sit and observe.
We had our snack time at the tables outside the museum.
There was a place in the hummingbird exhibit for kids to make a puppet show about birds. It was great.
Claire and I
Claire was at just the right height to reach most of the placards with textured objects. She did a great job of exploring with her hands.
The girls looking at the live fish in the Wild Alberta exhibit.
The girls and I also had a wonderful music class at the library where we did lots of dancing and music games. We then went outside to do a craft, but we only lasted about 5 minutes before the heat melted us and we had to leave.
I got to attend the temple with my parents and Greg and Steph as our cousin Carrie went through for the first time. She's going on a mission to Atlanta in August.
I got to be a model again for Natalie as she did her final exam at Marvel College. This time I got a perm! Most of the clients getting the perms were "ladies of advanced age" so I felt right at home. :) Now I get to have fun curly hair for awhile. Thanks Nat!
Ryan and I had a fun date night at the No Doubt concert. They sang a lot of their old songs from Tragic Kingdom - I totally remember buying that CD when it came out and I felt so cool because it was one of the first alternative bands I listened to. It was the first concert we have gone to where we felt like standing up and dancing the whole time. Every song, everyone was standing - it was so much fun. The crowd wasn't too rowdy where we were sitting, the stage was cool, the opening bands were great (Bedouin Soundclash and Paramore) - it was a very fun date.
Here's the No Doubt stage - it was very awesome.
Paramore was so fun to watch. Hayley was hopping around like crazy the whole time.
Ryan and I before the concert started. We had good seats which was lucky!
We had our last Sunday in our ward today. It was bittersweet - we have friends that we will miss and so many people have been great, but almost all our friends have already moved out of the ward. It will be nice to settle in somewhere and start to make new friends and new connections. We had a fun dinner at Jeff and Eva's place - we will definitely miss being 1 block away from them.
Claire had her first and last talk in our ward Primary today. I think it went well - she talked about Family Home Evening and she used her Big Mac switch. I recorded a scripture on it and then we had pictures on an easel representing what we do at Family Home Evening. Claire was very quiet through the talk but pressed her button very well and right when I said "Amen" she gave a big smile. It was great.
We bought our first new couch and table this week. A furniture store in Edmonton is going out of business and selling things at 50% off so we bought a new dining room table and chairs and a sectional couch for the living room. It feels so grown up to have "real" furniture instead of hand-me-downs.
Here's what our couch looks like:
And the table - we can actually have people over and all eat at the table together!:
Madeline has been in quite a mood lately. She doesn't even behave for her fun playdates at Abby's house anymore. I hope that it's just the stress of moving because...I love getting a little bit of a break when she's at a friend's house!
Claire is such a happy girl. She's been very patient with the moving process.
I'm trying to come up with activities Madeline can do in our boxed up apartment. We got some sidewalk chalk and she's been drawing on our deck outside.
I found the shoes I wore for our wedding day while I was packing and Madeline liked them so they are now dress up shoes. You can't tell here but she's also wearing a head band backwards on her head to be beautiful.
Maddie's been on a dressing up kick. Here she is "ready for snow" as she says. Notice the fancy shoes. :)
Yesterday's storm was kind of scary. Our power was out for over 12 hours. Luckily the girls slept right through everything. The transformer right outside our back window nearly exploded and the lines were sparking. The power was out as far as we could see and there was so much rain, wind, thunder, lightning and even hail. We're lucky to have friends next door who gave us candles because all of ours were packed up. We found our flashlight but it really makes you appreciate how much you depend on power and other conveniences. I was grateful that we had our water supply, food storage and 72 hour kits in case things got worse. I'm glad that things were back to normal in the morning.
So that's what we've been up to this week!
Speaking of packing, I've done a lot of that this week. It seems never ending. I'm feeling very anxious about getting into the new house and making it ours. Right now it still feels like a very foreign place. At least the roof has been re-shingled and we're making appointments for furnace estimates - yay.
Another exciting event on the horizon - Olivia's baby is due soon! Ryan's mom and sister Angela are heading to Toronto next week. I hope that the timing is good and that the baby comes while they are there. I hope we can meet him soon!
The girls and I spent a morning at the museum. I really like taking them there because the lighting is great for Claire's vision and there are so many things for Madeline to explore. The grounds are so beautiful too. It doesn't hurt that Ryan's working at a site right around the corner so we got to stop by for a visit too. While we were there, another little girl (about 6 or 7 years old) befriended Madeline and took her by the hand and began imparting all her knowledge about the exhibits to her. It was fun to watch them toodle around.
Here's Claire enjoying the pagoda outside the museum.
It was a beautiful day to be outside.
Claire was so focused on all the of the minerals and shiny rocks. It was a nice place to sit and observe.
We had our snack time at the tables outside the museum.
There was a place in the hummingbird exhibit for kids to make a puppet show about birds. It was great.
Claire and I
Claire was at just the right height to reach most of the placards with textured objects. She did a great job of exploring with her hands.
The girls looking at the live fish in the Wild Alberta exhibit.
The girls and I also had a wonderful music class at the library where we did lots of dancing and music games. We then went outside to do a craft, but we only lasted about 5 minutes before the heat melted us and we had to leave.
I got to attend the temple with my parents and Greg and Steph as our cousin Carrie went through for the first time. She's going on a mission to Atlanta in August.
I got to be a model again for Natalie as she did her final exam at Marvel College. This time I got a perm! Most of the clients getting the perms were "ladies of advanced age" so I felt right at home. :) Now I get to have fun curly hair for awhile. Thanks Nat!
Ryan and I had a fun date night at the No Doubt concert. They sang a lot of their old songs from Tragic Kingdom - I totally remember buying that CD when it came out and I felt so cool because it was one of the first alternative bands I listened to. It was the first concert we have gone to where we felt like standing up and dancing the whole time. Every song, everyone was standing - it was so much fun. The crowd wasn't too rowdy where we were sitting, the stage was cool, the opening bands were great (Bedouin Soundclash and Paramore) - it was a very fun date.
Here's the No Doubt stage - it was very awesome.
Paramore was so fun to watch. Hayley was hopping around like crazy the whole time.
Ryan and I before the concert started. We had good seats which was lucky!
We had our last Sunday in our ward today. It was bittersweet - we have friends that we will miss and so many people have been great, but almost all our friends have already moved out of the ward. It will be nice to settle in somewhere and start to make new friends and new connections. We had a fun dinner at Jeff and Eva's place - we will definitely miss being 1 block away from them.
Claire had her first and last talk in our ward Primary today. I think it went well - she talked about Family Home Evening and she used her Big Mac switch. I recorded a scripture on it and then we had pictures on an easel representing what we do at Family Home Evening. Claire was very quiet through the talk but pressed her button very well and right when I said "Amen" she gave a big smile. It was great.
We bought our first new couch and table this week. A furniture store in Edmonton is going out of business and selling things at 50% off so we bought a new dining room table and chairs and a sectional couch for the living room. It feels so grown up to have "real" furniture instead of hand-me-downs.
Here's what our couch looks like:
And the table - we can actually have people over and all eat at the table together!:
Madeline has been in quite a mood lately. She doesn't even behave for her fun playdates at Abby's house anymore. I hope that it's just the stress of moving because...I love getting a little bit of a break when she's at a friend's house!
Claire is such a happy girl. She's been very patient with the moving process.
I'm trying to come up with activities Madeline can do in our boxed up apartment. We got some sidewalk chalk and she's been drawing on our deck outside.
I found the shoes I wore for our wedding day while I was packing and Madeline liked them so they are now dress up shoes. You can't tell here but she's also wearing a head band backwards on her head to be beautiful.
Maddie's been on a dressing up kick. Here she is "ready for snow" as she says. Notice the fancy shoes. :)
Yesterday's storm was kind of scary. Our power was out for over 12 hours. Luckily the girls slept right through everything. The transformer right outside our back window nearly exploded and the lines were sparking. The power was out as far as we could see and there was so much rain, wind, thunder, lightning and even hail. We're lucky to have friends next door who gave us candles because all of ours were packed up. We found our flashlight but it really makes you appreciate how much you depend on power and other conveniences. I was grateful that we had our water supply, food storage and 72 hour kits in case things got worse. I'm glad that things were back to normal in the morning.
So that's what we've been up to this week!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
T-minus 12 days!
Only 12 days until we move. Things are falling into place. The packing is progressing, the insurance and utilities and cable/phone are being switched, my list is getting smaller. Luckily we have a great lawyer (thanks Uncle Dave & Aunt Jeannette!) so we don't have to worry about that aspect of things. I'm getting really excited and very anxious to move. Ryan's been working long hours to help us be able to afford the house. I think we'll all be glad when he goes back to a teacher's schedule.
We've had some fun times lately. We spontaneously drove to the ACT pool for a family swim one night. It was great - they have very accessible facilities and a great change table for kids/adults with disabilities so we always feel safe going there.
Natalie went with me and the girls to the Art Walk on Whyte Ave and we also checked out the Farmer's Market. I love the atmosphere of these street festivals and fairs.
A painter on the Art Walk.
Claire really enjoyed the singers in the Gazebo park by the Farmer's Market.
I couldn't have done it without Natalie! It's so nice to have her closer now.
Before our leisure access passes expired...I will miss them...the girls and I went to the Muttart Conservatory one last time for free. Despite getting soaked on the way in, we enjoyed looking at the flowers and being in that neat environment.
On our way out of the conservatory, we found a squirrel and Madeline ran to chase it. It ran up the tree trunk and kept running to the opposite side of the tree as Madeline ran around it. She probably ran around about 10 times before the squirrel ran all the way up the tree. They were so funny to watch.
Madeline loves to push Claire and I think Claire likes it better than when I push her.
Claire amongst the cacti...cactuses...multiple pokey plants.
Maddie striking a pose.
The girls liked the waterfall in the tropical pyramid the best.
One thing for all those stay-at-home moms, I want to pass on something. You can apply for a subsidy for approved children's programs for up to $100 per month, per child. You can use them for preschool fees or classes like Gymboree. Here's a website to check out.
I got more pictures of Maddie at Gymboree. She watched a little boy jumping from the high platform onto the bouncy mat and so she jumped too. She spent most of the class running up and jumping. Here's all I could catch of it.
On the bouncy balance beam.
Rocking on the horse.
Here's Madeline's ballerina moves.
Claire really enjoys this little piano. One of our best garage sale purchases.
Maddie and Abby having fun together in their stylish hats.
We've had some fun times lately. We spontaneously drove to the ACT pool for a family swim one night. It was great - they have very accessible facilities and a great change table for kids/adults with disabilities so we always feel safe going there.
Natalie went with me and the girls to the Art Walk on Whyte Ave and we also checked out the Farmer's Market. I love the atmosphere of these street festivals and fairs.
A painter on the Art Walk.
Claire really enjoyed the singers in the Gazebo park by the Farmer's Market.
I couldn't have done it without Natalie! It's so nice to have her closer now.
Before our leisure access passes expired...I will miss them...the girls and I went to the Muttart Conservatory one last time for free. Despite getting soaked on the way in, we enjoyed looking at the flowers and being in that neat environment.
On our way out of the conservatory, we found a squirrel and Madeline ran to chase it. It ran up the tree trunk and kept running to the opposite side of the tree as Madeline ran around it. She probably ran around about 10 times before the squirrel ran all the way up the tree. They were so funny to watch.
Madeline loves to push Claire and I think Claire likes it better than when I push her.
Claire amongst the cacti...cactuses...multiple pokey plants.
Maddie striking a pose.
The girls liked the waterfall in the tropical pyramid the best.
One thing for all those stay-at-home moms, I want to pass on something. You can apply for a subsidy for approved children's programs for up to $100 per month, per child. You can use them for preschool fees or classes like Gymboree. Here's a website to check out.
I got more pictures of Maddie at Gymboree. She watched a little boy jumping from the high platform onto the bouncy mat and so she jumped too. She spent most of the class running up and jumping. Here's all I could catch of it.
On the bouncy balance beam.
Rocking on the horse.
Here's Madeline's ballerina moves.
Claire really enjoys this little piano. One of our best garage sale purchases.
Maddie and Abby having fun together in their stylish hats.
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