Summer 2011...It's A Long One

We have had a great summer so far and do not want to see it end. This summer has been full of fun, adventure and even learning some new things. 

We have spent a great deal of time in the mountains. Patrick and I had the opportunity to go and explore the mountains twice just on our own while the kids got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. 

On one of our trips we hiked a mountain called Cirque Peak, one of our favorite hikes. Unfortunately conditions were not favorable to reach the peak this year but we got as close as we could. There is always next year and maybe we will bring the kids with us!

It is a tradition in our family climb a mountain every summer as a family. Patrick and I had selected a few that we thought the kids would be interested in doing but then when we stumbled onto Castle Mountain we decided that this was the one that we had to conquer.

Castle hike was 540m elevation gain in 3.7 km (one way). It was pretty straight up for the majority of the hike on a very narrow path on the side of the mountain. I was really proud of the kids for making it to the top with very little complaining, it wasn't an easy hike. The views were incredible all the way up, so worth the work. It always feels so good to achieve something great after working so hard!

At the top!

 

 We hiked Cascade Falls...actually we climbed Cascade Falls.

We loved our time in the mountains and we loved camping in the mountains but the time had come to leave the mountains and go camping at Old MacDonald's Campground. There is definately a difference between camping in the mountains and camping at the beach. Patrick and I prefer the mountains for the peace and quiet and the nature while the kids prefer the beach for all the fun. Wow are we ever getting old! :)

We have also been very lucky to see all of our cousins this summer. The kids and I got to go down to Karri and Dave's for a week and spend time with cousins, we LOVED that! Parker and Matt are Dillon's heros. He wants to be just like them when he grows up and I can certainly see why. Parker taught him how to ride a two wheeler and Matt did everything with him including taking him down a waterslide on his shoulders. "He's the coolest" according to Dillon.

 We also welcomed another cousin into our family this summer. Christy had a little boy, Jones Caddis Switzer on August 8th. This makes 13 cousins for the kids. YIPPEE! Congratulations Switzer family.

It has been a wonderful summer! We have two more weeks left and we are going to play hard right up to the very last minute!

Canada Day Weekend

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

The kids and I went out to Spruce Grove to participate in their celebrations but unfortunately we didn't last very long because we brought Pepper with us and they don't take kindly to dogs in public places where they sell food. :( Oh well! We resorted to plan B and dropped Pepper off at Patrick's office and went out for lunch instead.

When we got home we decided to make a Canada Day cake.

The kids really wanted to make something special because Grandpa was coming up to help Patrick build a deck. You see, we have this huge piece of lawn right beside our current deck that died a couple of years ago and we have tried everything to rejuvenate it but nothing has worked so our last resort was to deck it. I am beside myself with excitement. You might ask 'why are you doing this now when you are moving?' Good question! Without a good answer I am afraid. I guess it just took us this long to come to our senses but now that we finally did, all I can say is YAY!

Grandpa (Ken) arrived around 7:30 and the men (Patrick, Ken and Dillon) worked until about 9:30 and then we decided to take the kids to the fireworks for their first time. It was a riot!

The next morning the men were up at the crack of dawn (ok maybe not that early) and at Home Depot picking up supplies for the deck. They worked all day long. Dillon insisted that he participate in everything that the men did. It was really fun to watch them all work together and build a masterpiece. They did an incredible job!

Before

During

After

At the end of the day we decided to celebrate with a wonderful BBQ on our new deck. I called Mark and Marie and baby Josh and invited them to come over for a steak dinner. We were so glad when they agreed to join us in our celebration. Dillon was especially happy to play with Josh!

It has been a great weekend and we are sure grateful to Ken who made the trip up here to help us build this beautiful deck. I am especially grateful to a wonderful husband who has put up with my whining about our 'ugly' backyard for so many months and has never complained once! (Out loud anyways) You did a fantastic job, thankyou!

Lemonade Stand

Last week the kids decided that they really wanted to have a lemonade stand and sell both lemonade and cookies. So, we made signs that Leah posted all over the neighbourhood while Dillon and I set up a table on our front lawn. I only expected the kids to last for 1/2 an hour or so as there is very little traffic on our street but instead they sat out there all afternoon. They had an absolute riot and I have to admit I had a great time watching their entrepreneurial skills develop.

It's Spring...FINALLY!

May has been such a fun month for us filled with so many great activities! We had a great Mother's Day, soccer is now in full swing and we even had a chance to see our cousins and Nana and Papa! So much has happened so I am blogging about it all in one post. 

Before I get to all of that I wanted to post a picture of my latest cake. As many of you know I love to bake and decorate cakes for my family and friends. My girlfriend turned 35 and asked me to make her a spring themed cake and this is what I came up with.

Mother's Day 
The kids have been so excited for Mother's day for the entire month of April so when it finally arrived they were stoked. Dillon's school put on a Mother's Day Tea where all the mom's were treated like queens for a day. It was a very special day in my life. Dillon painted a flower pot and planted the most beautiful flower and gave it to me at the party. He was so proud of his creation and in all honesty, so was I!

Soccer
Soccer started a little late this year as we were waiting for all the snow to melt but now that it has started we live and breathe soccer. We have games every Tuesday, Wednedsay and Thursday night.
Both Leah and Dillon have become quite the soccer players. Leah has really impressed us with her speed and agility and Dillon is such a go getter. We just love watching them play their games!

Family Visit
Last weekend we had the priviledge to travel down to Lethbridge to visit with Karri and Dave and family and see Nana and Papa. We had an incredible time! There is nothing like spending time with family! We got to watch the kids participate in races and play in games. The cousins have inspired our kids so much that they, too, now want to run a race of their own. So, when we returned to Edmonton I found a kids race and signed them up. They will be running a 1K in August all because of the examples of their cousins.
We were also able to be there when Parker played piano in church and see Matt be ordained a Teacher. What a fantasic weekend filled with fun, and great company! Thanks for everything, we look forward to the next time we are together!

Dirty Laundry

Last week I was in the middle of helping Leah get her research report done and I noticed Dillon carrying a handful of dirty laundry out the back door. I was going to ask him what he was up to but instead I stood back and watched. I am sure glad I did because what followed really made me giggle.

He continued to carry load after load of laundry out the door and then he pulled the slide under the tree in our back yard. He climbed up the slide and very carefully he hung each piece of clothing. Then he came in the house and found his supersoaker and filled it with water. At this point I became very concerned so I decided I needed to intervene. When I asked him what he was planning, he just simply replied "Mom, you look like you need some help with your laundry so I decided to wash it for you!" I smiled and got out of his way as he proceeded to the backyard and supersoaked my laundry. What a good helper he is! ;)

It's Official!

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Our house is officially up for sale! YIPPEE! Technically, it has been listed on Kijiji for 3 weeks but then we decided that it was probably a good a idea to list with Comfree. We had one showing after listing with Kijiji so I am hoping that we will get a little more exposure on Comfree. 

I am just so excited at the prospect of moving! I love our home but I am ready for something new; a new neighbourhood, new ward, new friends etc. I love change and I am ready to move on.

We are hoping to move to a small town just outside of the city called Spruce Grove. Patrick works there so it will be very convenient for him and that also means that he will be home sooner. YAY!  

Needless to say I have been spending every evening on the internet searching the mls/comfree sites looking for that 'perfect' home. It is truly outrageous how little house $350 000 can buy you now. Sad really! I just keep praying that that 'one' house will pop up. 

I am just so excited that we are finally moving on. When we moved in, Patrick promised me that we wouldn't be here any more than 10 years. Well, it has been 8 years next month so I guess he held up his end of the bargain. ;) 

It has been a great home and I will miss it but boy I hope it sells! :)

Hoppy Easter

I have always loved Easter and not only because a big fuzzy bunny that allegedly comes and hides candy all around my house when I am sleeping but because it is a time of gratitute for my Savior. I love knowing that the Savior gave his life for me, for us, because he loved us! I know that he died for us so we could live again and I know that he is risen and lives now! I am so grateful for that knowledge.

This Easter our family decided to celebrate by staying in Edmonton and have a quiet holiday. Unfortunately because Edmonton still looks like this...

we couldn't really have an easter egg hunt in our back yard so on Friday we went to a place called Prairie Gardens and had an Easter celebration. There we had an Easter egg hunt in a greenhouse with face painting and crafts and an outdoor petting zoo. The kids had a ball.

Aside from the yucky, snowy/mucky conditions it was a fantastic Friday afternoon and the first of five Easter egg hunts for the kids.

Sunday afternoon Patrick's parents decided to come up and spend Easter dinner with us which was a good thing because the kids and I made too many Easter cupcakes to eat all by ourselves!

(The orange balls on top are supposed to be carrot tops coming out of the top of the garden. We had a couple of mishaps but I thought they still turned out pretty good.)
It has been a great weekend but it sure makes us realize how much we miss all of our family that is spread out all over this country. We sure miss all of you and love you! HAPPY EASTER!