Catching up

Man, we don't usually go this long without blogging. Not that there's even that much going on as an excuse. Thought I'd get some pictures up though since there will be new ones tomorrow. We were at Hannah's school play tonight and it was great! I'm too tired to go through the pictures for now though so instead I'm catching up on ones that were taken over the weekend.

The weather has been crazy around here. Snowing hard then mild and melting then beyond cold...this poor snowman was so tall and proud at one point and now he's a rock hard little ball on our front lawn.

On one of the milder days we had the boys out for a walk along Seaton hiking trail which now unfortunately has a highway running through the middle of it. Luckily it's a long enough trail that you can get deep into the woods and forget that you saw a highway earlier in the walk.

And the picture of Otto is just for fun. Hannah wanted a picture of Otto for a craft she was doing and believe it or not, I couldn't find one. I used to take so many pictures of the cats...before the kids came along!

So stay tuned for play photos tomorrow...

Another weekend come and gone

Seems we had a lot less than usual going on this weekend. We spent more time playing with the kids and getting active...the kids have been skating a fair bit lately, Jason had the boys out for road hockey, I've been to the gym a lot more, Jason's been running and swimming.

Friday night I photographed a Guiding event that Hannah wasn't even involved in. I feel like I owe that organization so much. I was a keen Guide all the way through and it was really great for me so I'm happy when there's something I can do to help them out.

Saturday night we were invited to dinner at Nicola & Peter's with Karen & Bob. They live in a beautiful old home and cooked us a wonderful meal. It was a cozy, grown-up evening with wine and conversation sitting by the fire. Thanks guys!

Today I was mostly in the kitchen. I'm 4 weeks into this new schedule now and it's really working. I spend Sunday planning the meals for the whole week, getting the groceries for the week and pre-cooking and baking as much of it as I can. This is maybe something that isn't new to most people, but for years I have been stressed out at 3:00 every afternoon trying to think of what to make for dinner. All my meat is still in the freezer and I'm panicking. I really don't mind cooking, I just hate having to figure out what to make under pressure. So don't ask me why it's taken me this long to come up with a system, but it has, and now I'm loving it! We're all eating a lot better too. I'm trying to get the kids to be more adventurous in their tastes...squash is now a favourite but I haven't sold anyone (including Jason) on Shrimp Pad Thai. Too bad, it's my favourite...thanks for the recipe, Doug!

~d

Back in the Swing

I really believe that a lot of exercise makes you less tired. I am finally back to a regular swimming routine, January was pretty much a right off. Halifax, then I was sick, then just plain lazy...

I am back to a regular routine, swimming 3 nights a week this week, and I feel great, I swam about 7600 metres in total this week and last night I swam 3000 metres of that and it felt easy...maybe it was the set we were doing, but I am finally back to where I was before Christmas...taking time off is just not worth it!

I think the busier I am the better off I'll be, this is something I have never, ever believed in, I spent years on the couch watching tv and I have had enough of that....besides there is nothing on.

Macho Beavers

It's so fun when kids learn to read because you find out all sorts of crazy things...I remember Hannah thought that dress was "jress" and tree was "chree" until she was 5 and could read those words.

Well Jack had the best one yet today, he was showing me his Valentine from all the Beaver leaders which was signed, "Rusty, Ringtail, Hawkeye". He read it and said it out loud and said, "oh, I thought that leader's name was "Hot Guy".

Still snowing...

Yay, it's snowing!

If it has to be this cold (-15 and -25 with windchill for the next few days) then we might as well have some fresh snow on the ground. We haven't had the crazy amounts that some areas around us have had (50cm) but we've had about 8 so far and it's still coming. The kids were pretty excited walking to school this morning and we ended up missing the bell, but it was worth it!

Markham Murder

A few blocks away from us two women were murdered, the husband has been arrested and charged with 2 counts of first degree murder. Dana called me to tell me this morning, and the street name and house number sounded familiar, friends of ours live on the same street. It ended up this all happened right next door to the people we know, he coached soccer with me last summer, and Jack and their son are good friends. Dana called to see if everything is okay, and it is, but they were awaiting news, as none of the details of who was killed, what happened or anything was released until later today. They told Dana that they are good friends with these people. The police found two small children in the house, and the husband was gone, later we found out he had fled and called the police and told them to go to the house, not sure if he said what they would find. The children were fine, but now they don't have either parent. Sad, not sure how the story will unfold, very strange thing to happen in Markham, but I guess nowhere is immune to this sort of thing.

Winter Camp

Jack and I got back from Winter Camp tonight and we had a Great time! Busy it was, but we sure had a lot of fun. We arrived at Shadow Lake at 8:45 a.m. and met everyone outside, then we split into 4 different groups - about 50 kids in total, beavers, cubs and scouts. We rotated through activities throughout the day, Craft Centre - where Jack made a coat rack - he used a saw, nailed the pieces together - it's taller than him. Then we used a Ham radio, then ventured outside where we went Snowshoeing - travelling through the woods, then Jack was in a snowshoe relay race - he did amazing. Tricky things those snowshoes, first time I ever used them.

After those activities it was time for lunch in the hall, which was organized chaos. Jack ate two sandwiches and off we went Tobogganing on "Suicide Hill" - a huge hill, bigger than anything I have been on in awhile. Jack's first attempt was a wipe out on a mogul, and went face first into the snow, getting a slight snow burn on his cheek, through tears he said "I want to try again", so off he went 6 more times, and didn't wipe out once. After sledding, we played snakes and ladders in the snow, the kids were the pieces of the game, and they actually jumped from one box to the next, and there were ladders and hoses (for snakes). After being out for three straight hours, we started getting a little cold, and luckily it was time for break, where we got to go back to the cabin to have a rest or play board games, or colour. I fell asleep for 10 minutes sitting on the floor.

Dinner was announced, and off we went to the hall again for meatballs and spaghetti, cake and ice cream. During lunch and dinner they announce which kids won beads (you try to collect these all day) and you put them on your wijjie or wiggy? ( I can't remember what it's called), but they would announce the "best wipe out of the day" or "best group effort", all the kids ended up winning at least 5 or 6 beads today. We didn't stay for the campfire, it was getting pretty late, and we still weren't dry from the daytime activities - next year we are planning on staying the night.

I can't say enough good things about this group of people. The bigger kids, the scouts and cubs, would come and pat Jack on the back for doing a good job at the relay race, or they would help him out if he fell over on his snowshoes. I don't know if it's their parents, or this organization, but all of the kids are really good kids and this is something that I can see Jack being a part of for years to come. Jack had a really good day, not once did he say he was tired, or bored, he just kept going and going. He crashed tonight, asleep before his head hit the pillow - a great way to end the day.

Official Beaver Status

Tonight Jack was officialy made a Beaver!....and on Saturday Jack and I go to Winter Camp...please please let it warm up..please...