5 year anniversary photo shoot

We are coming up on 5 years of marriage! Crazy! We haven't had any pictures done since our wedding so I thought now would be a great time to get some. I asked a friend with great photography skills if she would take them in exchange for us watching her kids sometime. She quickly agreed...a little too quickly! We had fun taking them and I love how they turned out!

From starving student to starving graduate

My baby sister graduated from University today. I can call her my baby sister and she won't get mad at me because she never reads this blog, despite my repeated efforts to get her to do so. I mean, come on! Who wouldn't want to read my blog? It's funny. It's insightful. It's pretty much the most amazing thing on the Internet! No offense to the other blog writers out there of course. And even though I harass her to no end, and I accuse her of stealing the spotlight and I call her a drama queen... wait, I don't think she knows about that so let's keep that on the down-low... I am very proud of her! Unlike me, she actually did well in school. My motto was (and still is) C's get degrees, and I have the paper to prove it! Okay, so I wasn't quite that bad, but she definitely worked harder in school than I did. And all that hard work paid off, because today she goes from being a starving student to being a starving graduate. Congratulations Babe! You did it!

If family reunions were planned by a 4 year old...

Today I was chatting with my brother about options for a family reunion. My sister-in-law suggested we all save up and go somewhere fun, like Jamaica, in 10 years. I said I thought that sounded like a great idea. My 4 year old nephew, however, had his own plan. He said he didn't want to go to Jamaica. He wants to go to Chuck E Cheese! Sounds like a great family reunion spot to me!

Scene Stealer

I love my youngest sister, but sometimes she can be a bit selfish. Last Tuesday, I went into the hospital for surgery. It was a somewhat major surgery. I had to spend two nights in the hospital and I came home with a wonderful 8 inch incision going across my abdomen. For the first 4 days I couldn't get in or out of bed without help. The first night home, I couldn't even get into the bed and I had to sleep on the couch. The recovery is pretty long: no housework, shopping, or driving for two weeks. I can't go back to work for 4 weeks. And has anyone tried sneezing with an 8 inch incision across the bottom of their abdomen? It really, really hurts! Sneezes are my worst enemy. Anyway, I digress. Back to my selfish sister. As I mentioned, my surgery was on Tuesday. Well, three days later my sister was driving home from school in Idaho when she hit some ice and rolled her car in the middle of nowhere Montana (okay let's be honest here: all of Montana is in the middle of nowhere!). Thankfully she and her 2 passengers were not hurt. This incident led to numerous phone calls and emails that went back and forth amongst my family, everyone wondering how my sister was doing, and wondering what they could do to help. Posts were made on her Facebook wall. Everyone wanted to be updated. Siblings who hadn't even contacted me to see how I was doing were trying to contact my sister to make sure she was okay. My mother sent out emails updating everyone on how my sister was doing. Where were the emails about how I was doing? I was the one who had the surgery! I was the one who can't even use the bathroom without it hurting. All my selfish sister did was roll her car and walk away from it. She didn't have her insides cut open. She didn't need help getting in and out of bed. And yet, everyone was all concerned about her: "Oh dear! I hope she's okay." "I know I just called her, but I am going to call again, just to make sure." Meanwhile, I'm tossed aside, my surgery forgotten. Who cares how I am doing when selfish, scene stealing sister is taking center-stage? This was supposed to be my week for that! I want my week back! My sister says I can have my week back, but it's too late. The damage has been done. It's okay family. I forgive you. Next time I want your attention, I'll just roll my car and walk away from it instead of getting surgery. It will be less painful for me anyway.

Babies!!

It's a good week for babies! This week we added two little bundles of joy to our extended family; a niece and a nephew (this is our first niece, by the way, and I am already itching to buy her some cute little clothes! Why is it that girl clothes are so much cuter than boy clothes?). I cannot wait to get my hands on these babies! Being part of two families is great fun when babies are involved!

On Monday, my sister gave birth to Lucy Rose (6lbs 15 oz, 21 inches long). Isn't she beautiful?

In a lot of the pictures I've seen of Lu-lu, she has her hands on the side of her face like this. It it too cute! I love it!

Then on Thursday, Husband's sister had this little guy (6lbs 9oz, 18.75 inches long)! Hello there, Thales Christopher! I absolutely adore this picture. He looks like he is puckering up for a kiss from his favourite Aunt (that would be me, in case you were wondering!).

Oh man! I can't even stand how cute this picture is!

Let the Seduction begin

Saturday night I received a text message from my sister Margaret, who is very, very great with child and about to pop! The message informed me that she was being admitted to the hospital and they were going to induce her. I quickly phoned her to get the details than asked if there was any of the family I needed to phone for her. She had already talked to our Mom so she asked me to call our brother Joe. When I called Joe to tell him, the conversation went something like this:


Me: Hey just calling to let you know Margaret is being induced tonight.

Joe: Yeah, we know. Mom already called. Ron said they were seducing her. Has she been seduced yet?

Husband: Not yet. They are just buying her drinks right now!



My family cracks me up! My sister is being seduced at the hospital. Classic!

One down, two more to go!

My brother Ron got home from Peru yesterday (He was on a two year mission for our church)! One of the disadvantages of living so far away is that we were not able to be there to greet him at the airport. Nor will we be able to be there anytime soon to see him. But through the wonderful world of Skype, we were able to chat with him and use web cams to see him! He is thinner, and balder and looks older but he's still Ron! (As a side note he said I looked skinner than I did two years ago! Woo-hoo! He is now my favourite brother! Sorry to my 3 other brothers!) We are so excited to have him home and are now counting down until my sister gets home from her mission to Arizona (on June 23!!). Another brother, Jon, is on a mission in Houston and won't be home for another year, so we won't start that countdown yet.

This is Ron the day he left for his mission.

This is after about 20 months in Peru

Forget Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or even exercise! I'm moving to Peru to lose some weight!

There's no place like home

I made a short trip home last week. I don't want this to be a travel-log because those can be boring. So, instead, here's some pictures: (which I admit can also be boring, but I added my own witty comments for your entertainment!)

Oh how I miss the beautiful fields!


We attended my brother's football game (He's #50). Is there anything better than a football game on a warm autumn night?

One of the local greenhouses had a pumpkin festival. This was the largest pumpkin I have ever seen! How in the world does someone grow something this big?

With my 8 month old nephew on the big pumpkin. We took a million pictures and he wasn't looking up in any of them. He has a mind of his own, that's for sure!

Pretty, pretty pumpkins

Goose on the lake with autumn leaves behind him (or her).



A maple dipped doughnut from Tim Horton's. These are definitely the reason I gained 700 pounds in 5 days. I guess 3 or 4 doughnuts a day will do that to a girl!

My nephew, Kaleb. How cute is he? (By the way, in case you were wondering, he really enjoys cookies!)




My other nephew, enjoying his hot dog.

We like to start them young on the whole hockey thing up in the Great White North.




This kids cracks me up! I kept trying to figure out how to bring him back with me. Unfortunately his parents actually love him and wouldn't let me take him. Maybe next time...



One of the emergency vehicles waiting for our plane on the runway after our emergency landing 15 minutes after take off! There was a problem with the landing gear not retracting. Apparently that's not a good thing. I guess it is standard procedure for emergency vehicles to meet planes during emergency landings. I did not know that. They say you learn something new everyday. I would have liked it if this new piece of information came to me in a different way!

Another one in the family

Today we headed to San Antonio again. This time it was to watch our brother-in-law Chris graduate from Air Force Basic Training. He survived training in the heat of Central Texas. (Just so you know, in the month of June, 18 days were above 100 degrees F (38 degrees C)! Anyone who can go through the physical demands of Basic Training in that kind of heat is a hero is my books! I can barely make it from my apartment to the car without melting!) We are so proud to have another family member join the ranks of military service; even if it is the Air Force and not the Army (let the rivalry begin!). Congratulations Chris and good luck on you next phase of training!

A day in San Antonio

My Uncle from Tennessee has been in San Antonio this past week for some business. He brought his wife and granddaughter with him. Husband and I spent Saturday with them. We went to Natural Bridge Cavern and spent sometime wandering through the massive cave! It was by far the warmest cave any of us had ever been in. It was about 70 degrees F (21 degrees C) with 99% humidity!


After the cave, either because we loved being hot or we were delusional because of the heat, we decided to head to the Zoo. (I should probably point out that it has been over 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) everyday for the past 10 days here in Central Texas and yesterday was no exception.) The Zoo was so much fun! I haven't been to a zoo in a few years, and I forgot how fun it was to see all the animals. One of the monkey's had a baby that was a week old. I was lucky enough to snap a picture of it. So cute! Here are some of our favourite pictures:

Can you see the baby monkey?

We finished the day with dinner along the Riverwalk. Big, fat Texas steaks and pink lemonade for everyone as we watched the sunset over the river.

The Riverwalk follows the river through downtown San Antonio. It is lined with shops, hotels and restaurants.

Another good-bye....

I know. I know. Two posts in less then 24 hours. Calm down everyone! Don't get used to this! This is just a quick post anyway. My little brother, Jon (well, I guess he's not so little anymore!) just went to the Missionary Training Centre in Provo, Utah, where he will spend 3 weeks preparing for his mission to Houston, Texas. I am sad because I didn't get a chance to go up to Canada to visit him before he left. I won't be able to see or talk to him for 2 years. The last time I saw him was over a year ago. I guess that will have to do. We were able to spend a week together traveling across the country, and for a 19 year old boy, that is probably enough bonding time with his oldest sister to last him a lifetime!

I titled this "another good-bye" because this is the third missionary my mother has sent out since March 2008, when another brother left for a mission to Peru. My sister, Mandy, left in January for a mission to Arizona. And now this one. I don't know if my mother is going to stop crying!

Jon, I know you won't read this (you never read my blog), but good luck! I'll see you in 2 years!

At the Boston Harbour, April 2008

How does your garden grow?

I inherited a lot of things from my father, some good (such as my quick wit and my love of history) and some bad (like my ugly hobbit feet and my need to use every dish in the house whenever I cook), but the one trait I never inherited was a green thumb. My father could make anything grow anywhere. I remember the flower beds (is that one word or two?) he designed and maintained. They were beautiful. The house we eventually settled in has a huge backyard and the back third of it was dedicated to a vegetable garden. My dad would spend all winter planning out the garden, where he would plant what and when. He would get so excited as the middle of May neared and the weather warmed up. I remember summers spent weeding that stupid garden! Oh, how I hated to be out there pulling those weeds! But Dad loved it. He loved his gardens: flower and vegetable. I never understood what all the excitement was about. After I graduated from high school and moved away, I decided to get a plant. I can't recall what type of plant it was, but I remember telling Dad about it and he said something about that plant being a hard one to kill. Well, 8 days later it was dead. Too much water? Not enough sun? I have no idea what caused the quick death of this plant, but I was pretty sure it was something I did (or didn't do). Since that day, I tried to keep plants alive, and have failed.(One unlucky plant live three days, but I blame the treatment it got in the store before I bought it!) It appeared that I had been cursed with a black thumb.

Well, my dear readers, this may be a bit premature, but I do believe that I may no longer have a black thumb! A few days ago (11 days ago to be exact), I decided I was going to start a container garden on my apartment balcony. So, I went and bought the two plants I figured would be the most difficult to kill: tomatoes and cucumbers. And I am pleased to announce that after 11 days, not only are they alive, but they are flourishing! The tomato plant has grown a couple of inches and even has some yellow flowers on it! The cucumber plant was in rough shape when I bought it, but it too seems to be growing like crazy! I know it may seem to silly to be excited about growing two plants, but given my track record with plants, this is monumental! I cannot wait for the tomatoes and cucumbers to appear! Hopefully the plants will live that long! If they do, I will officially call myself a gardener!

My plants (when I first bought them)!

The issues in my brother's head

Recently it was discovered that my brother William has some pressure being exerted on his brain by some sort of fluid build-up. You will notice by how specific and medically descriptive that last sentence was that I really have no idea what is going on! I don't know how serious it is, but I assume it can't be too serious because his appointment with the specialist is still weeks away (if it was serious they would have got him an appointment immediately right?). Anyway. Every night we pray for William and his medical condition, even though we aren't sure what to call it. Last night, it was Husband's turn to pray. When he got to the point of asking God to bless William he said "Please bless that the issues in Bill's head will be resolved." I couldn't help myself: I started laughing. Husband quickly realized what he had said and starting laughing too! I know God is a God of miracles, but asking Him to resolve the "issues" in my brother's head may be bit a much! He's a teenager for goodness sake! And boy does my brother have issues! (P.S. We love you William!)

I won! I won! I W-O-N!!

I have played countless games of Monopoly in my life, and as far as I can recall, I have won exactly one time. It was about 12 years ago, and I was playing with my dear friends, the Gatz family from Winnipeg, MB. I remember being in utter shock when I won. Since that day, I have continued to play, but winning was always eluded me. I have even lost to children as young as 8! Yesterday everything changed! Husband and I settled in for a nice quiet Sunday afternoon of playing Canada-opoly (which was Christmas present a couple of years ago from my sister and brother-in-law. I have no idea where they got it, but we love it). Just as a side-note, playing monopoly with two people is not nearly as fun. (note to self: find some friends already!). As the game progressed, Husband's money pile got smaller and smaller. I built log cabins and ski chalets. Husband mortgaged properties to pay rent. I kept building and raking in the dough. And, finally, after exhausting all options to try to pay an insane amount of rent, Husband conceded defeat! I had won at Monopoly! Of course, I couldn't let a moment like that pass me by and I became the gloating winner. But hey! I think I have a right to gloat! It's not every day I win at Monopoly!

Good bye, Babe!

My sister Mandy (I call her Babe. No one is really sure where that nickname came from. I think it started around the time the movie Babe came out. You remember that one? With the pig? You can draw your own conclusions!) is leaving tomorrow to serve a mission in Arizona for our church. She will be gone for 18 months. This makes me happy and very sad. I am so happy that she is going to serve her mission. She actually got her call about 9 months ago, but had some medical issues that had to be sorted through. Now she is good to go. I love my sister dearly. We talk on the phone almost everyday (I think the longest we went without speaking was when I was on my honeymoon and most recently when Husband and I were on our cruise and didn't have cell phone reception!), and if you saw our wall-to-wall on facebook, you would be astonished at the number of posts between us!

I think I am going to go through some serious withdrawal without her around. I am glad she is going, but the selfish part of me wants her to stay.

Good luck on your mission, Babe. May God bless you and keep you safe! I love you and I will see you in 18 months!

Making apple pie, Christmas 2007

Swimming at Park Lake, May 2007

Mandy was my maid of honour. She was so good at it that she even suffered a physical injury to fulfill her duties!

I'm an aunt, again!!

Huge congratulations to my brother Joe and his wife Kara on the birth of their second baby boy. Kaleb Arthur was born on Sunday, weighing in at 8lbs 10 oz. That's one big baby. Big brother Benjamin is quite pleased with his new brother. I haven't met the little guy yet because I live too far away. So, I stole this picture from my sister's facebook page! Thanks, Babe!

My week in pictures

Last week my mother came out for a visit. We went to Boston, NYC, Palmyra, Niagara Falls, and Salem, MA. Because I have been to all these places before I only took a few pictures. Here are some of my favourites:

The shadow of the top of the Empire State Building


Apples at a cider mill

At the Erie Canal

Autumn foilage in Palmyra

Niagara Falls at dusk

The ocean