The end of the week is here, the end of our first week pet sitting leaving us just a half a week or so to go. In retrospect it has been relaxing, rejuvenating, and remarkable. Of course I have come to the realization that I do NOT want a dog any time soon… but Gypsy is cool. Now where to begin on my weekend… well… Friday of course! The rain had finally truly stopped so there was A LOT of time spent outside…

Gavin and his mini book report. He read the whole book himself!

Backyard Baby

But in the afternoon I got my long awaited and much anticipated trip to the library. This time Ken dropped me off to search out the books I had found as available while searching the online catalogue… I actually got a whole bunch of WONDERFUL suggestions off of my Facebook friends… I will share some suggested Authors!

1. Carola Dunn… a wonderful author and lovely lady. I can brag that she is my friend on Facebook!!! Seriously – check her out, her new stuff AND her older Regency romances (many are on ebooks I am told!!)
2. Robert Asprin… a punny favourite from long past suggested by a cousin as a reread. 
3. Kim Harrison… great paranormal element… I actual dove into hers first
4. Kelley Armstrong
5. Joanne Fluke
6. Donna Andrews
7. Christine Feehan.

I have books out from all these authors and will of course share some of my favourites as I read them. For now though CHECK THEM OUT!!

While I was perusing the shelves Ken and the kids had gone to the local cable company to talk to them about mom’s spotty internet. Thankfully the town is small enough and the problem house based so they were willing to come out without talking to my mom to check it out. They at first wanted to call us from the house but Ken solved that one by explaining we did not have a landline and not being from a local location do not have a cell number we could give out. (we have added cash to the phone though so we can call just no plan). Besides when the woman finally went to the back to talk to the people out of sight they were able to check remotely and verify that there WAS something wrong. 

Fixing the cable

So I was collected and we ran to the store to get groceries and then returned home to await the repair crew… which brought in an unexpected adventure for the kids! The chance to watch 3 people at work stringing an entirely new wire to the house from the pole. They got a lesson on ladder safety (always have a spotter), got to see how they do the repair and enjoy the excitement of strangers in the yard (which meant the dog was NOT… though she did not go after anyone I took her into the house to keep her out of inadvertent mischief). We also had a discussion about the usefulness of the Internet and what we need it for. All in all a terrific object and real life lesson.

Then there was the added excitement of UNCLE SEAN! He had a free weekend as he is in his last term of school right now so was able to come and spend the weekend. Something he has not been able to do since before this “lovely” extended move saga (adventure? chaotic frustration?) began. For Echo it was a moment of ecstasy… HER Sean was here! She tried to stick to him like glue from the moment he walked in the door.

Eating dinner with Uncle Sean

We ALL went out to the park with Gypsy and met up with the kids’ two friends who live across the street from the park. Sadly after 3+ days of rain the mosquitoes were out and we did not have our spray so it was relatively brief but everyone ran and climbed and played and had so much fun! Even with a little sprinkle on the way there. 

Fun at the park

With new friends

Petting puppy

Then it was back to the house for baths and bed… the kids had a day with Uncle Sean and Daddy ahead of them and Echo and I had a trip to make to Saskatchewan with Lauralee and Karyn. (for Karyn’s dad’s internment)… and that is where our adventures diverged. I think I will start with the kids and the guys. They saw us off around 10 am and then were left to their own devices. I am told the morning was mostly playing in the basement and watching the guys play their games… but in the afternoon Ken (while Sean was napping… he was a little under the weather) took them ALL to the splash park!! Talk about FUN! It is one of the best ones in Alberta. I look forward to taking Echo there this week as well. 

Splish

Splash (Gavin right)

Trinity held out until the last 10 min they were there but then she went all out splashing in the water and enjoying the other children there. I am told we HAVE TO take some sort of containers with us next time to move water around (we later bought some cups for super cheap at Walmart to take). 

Boys all wrapped up

Trinity at play

Then they had time on the computer! I am told much Minecraft was played (ewww) and then a LATE supper that occurred only after I got home around 9pm!! Lucky things! So they had fun AND crossed something off our to do list for the town. 

Now for Echo and MY adventure… it all started off with a late start from here to head out to Saskatchewan with Karyn and Lauralee collecting us, the stroller (not needed in the end), Echo’s seat and her day’s worth of stuff… the first stop was at the edge of the city and a Canadian favourite – TIM HORTONS! That is where the adventure aspect came into play. We got our treats (I got hot chocolate yum!) and returned to the vehicle. As we were getting settled in to drive an elderly gentleman tapped on Karyn’s window. He was so apologetic as he told us he did not want to ruin our day BUT he thought the back tire on the driver’s side should be ROUND! ACK! A flat! Thankfully when I looked up from Echo I noticed that we were exactly across the street from Fountain Tire! So no tow and now call to AMA. Karyn just had to walk across the street, have them come fill the tire and then drive over to the store. 

They had to check out what was up with the tire and the end decision was to put a used tire on and have her replace all 4 at a later date. So we managed… it took some time and almost some tears and Echo had to explore the seating area of the store… but we survived. AND were lucky, they are only open until noon on Saturdays!!!

Digging through Aunty Karyn's purse

Checking out the tv

Snuggling Alaskan Sock Monkey on the road

So that mountain climbed it was time to head out. It meant no dinner in Lloydminster before the ceremony but that was ok. We had our breakfast and there was a lunch AFTER the time at the cemetery. The rest of the drive was uneventful… rocks.. trees.. water.. cows.. and we made EXCELLENT time. There was some concern that we would have to have everyone wait on us but we made it to the gathering right at 2pm. 

It was the perfect day to remember and celebrate Karyn’s Dad’s life… the sun was shining, the birds singing and friends and family gathered together. He was put to rest near his parents and family. During the hugging and general graveside chatting Echo got to play in the grass… though every little gust of wind on the uneven ground almost blew her over. 

Then it was time for the luncheon of sandwiches, pickles and desert. Very yummy… with real CREAM PUFFS! I think Karyn’s Dad would have approved. I know Echo did! After we visited there for a bit and let Echo wander around in the grass by the parking lot it was time to head over to a family friend’s to visit briefly. Echo was the center of attention and LOVED IT. She even warmed up to Karyn’s brother Ian by the end of our brief visit. 

Myself, Lauralee, Alaskan Sock Monkey and the largest rape seed???

Back into the car we went, this time Lauralee drove instead of Karyn and we were off on our way back home. With a car full of left overs from the dinner we were on the look out for a suitable picnic spot but first… the much needed SLURPEE!!! NOMS! Echo was equally excited to share a Pepsi slurpee with her Mommy. We did find a wonderful picnic spot, it had lawn, a bridge, a gazebo and a… TANK???

Walking across the bridge

Luncheon in clean clothes

TANK... Echo thought Alaskan Sock Monkey was NOT making the right statement over there on his own

After the picnic and tank pictures it was time to finish our journey and head back to mom’s. The other kids were still up playing on the computer so they got some quality time with two of their aunties… add to that the continued presence of Uncle Sean and the kids were more than content. Our version of family is so much more than blood relation and I LOVE it! 

Thanks to mom for the loan of the outfit

Have you ever had one of those days where you THINK you have gotten nothing done but when you sit down and look back there actually was a lot accomplished? Today turned into one of those sort of days! Although last night took FOREVER to end – or so it felt.

I simply could NOT get my mind to shut down last night… thankfully Trinity slept through the night in her own crib so I did not have to worry about my tossing and turning keeping her up and Ken was on a nap and accomplish sort of schedule (thanks to his meds he is still a little off on nights and days). I even tried my favourite trick of visualization to no effect.

What I do is picture myself in my favourite era costume (oh don’t worry I KNOW this sounds silly but it works for me!) which just happens to be Regency. (I love love love the books! not the Harlequin ones but if you are interested check out Carola Dunn! Her Regencies are great as are her new books!) I try to imagine it in the greatest detail… the underclothing, the ribbon accents, the texture of the materials, the shoes… how the hair would be styled… Then I picture a curving staircase like you would find in an old tower and imagine myself walking down it – again imagining the sounds the fabric would make, the shoes… (there is a reason! Wait for it!) This downward motion is to mimic falling asleep – the slow relaxation, the sinking of the mind into subconscious, the deepening of breath that goes with sleep. On a good night it is an almost seamless falling asleep before my mind gets bored with the stairs! Except for last night of course!

Anyway, back to the day at hand! Our morning was an odd one – as we ran out of time last night and had promised the boys they spent a large chunk of their morning playing with the Click Start computer. To date we just have two games beyond the ones on the computer already – Thomas & Friends and a colouring one but the boys love it!

Computer Time (Zander)

Trinity was quite upset as she is not allowed to play on their computer so Ken dug through the basement to hunt down my first laptop (seriously old Dell from my 1st or 2nd year of University!) and let her go nuts. I figure since it is the ultimate spare (Ken has my previous laptop to this one as his own) we may see if some of the games my mom found for the boys will run on it… but I doubt Trinity will let them have a very long go! She has pretty much staked it as her own!

The Miss and Her Laptop

Activity wise the boys did a bit of everything! Two of them made more trees out of puzzle pieces that I will glitter up and put felt backs on, for the Fall unit Emanuel went onto the Fisher Price website and we made him his very own picture to print out that he and I coloured together. Fisher Price Site under the holiday link at the very bottom. I am planning on using this site to make Halloween cards for the person of  their choice and then a card to go into their Halloween lapbook!

Proud Artist!

The twins did a more complicated activity one at a time where we went over the letters, their sounds and then tried to match the picture word to the letter. Some success but we do have some work to do on recognizing sounds of individual letters.

Fall Letters (Gavin left)

The boys spent a little time cutting out the spare crayons from one of the colour mini books to paste on the covers of their shape and colour lapbooks later. I accidentally printed out too many so this is a terrific way to use up something we already have! Now I just need a page of shapes for them to pick and choose from and their covers will be quite exciting.

Zander and Gavin did a bit of work on their insect lapbook. Emanuel was simply not in the mood to draw a critter of his own so we let it go, Ken is going to find something a little more fun for him this weekend. It is just a little reminder from time to time that he is NOT as big as the other two… sometimes that 2yr difference just sort of fades away!

Zander's Bee and Gavin's Spider

During the twins’ time in the backyard they took their insect lessons to heart and started their own little bug jar! A poor ladybug was caught and added to a jar of leaves with wax paper on top (holes poked for air of course)… Ken figures we will let them have it for a couple of days and then make a big show about releasing any and all critters in the jar to make their way in their fall preparations. I must admit I am VERY glad they do not have the same aversion to bugs and the like that I do!

The Bug Jar!

Our letter X did not make it very far – in fact we only managed the letter page itself and none of the mini lapbook. A definite first for us but with their excitement about the bugs and the special computer time I figure it was worth it. I am planning on doing the rest tomorrow after our weekly run to H&W. That and some more activities for each of the current lapbooks. Right now we have colours and shapes, insects and fall on the go… and there is PUMPKINS to get started later this month, not to mention HALLOWEEN (oh that one I AM looking forward to – I have a bunch of borrowed Halloween stamps!)… I am determined to keep us good and busy!

A nice chunk of my afternoon was spent with Ken making a double batch of sugar cookies. MMM of course we snitched some dough – that is the best part. So now we have a ton of the sugar cookies and a couple of uses in mind!

Ken at Work

COOKIES!!

This left our kitchen table covered in cookies and the boys in need of a place to eat dinner – so they got to eat at the low table (don’t question the newspaper apparently they needed a table cloth and it HAD TO BE that!). So all in all a day out of the norm for this family!

Impromptu Supper Table (Gavin green)

I am determined to finish the stocking this weekend… and Trinity’s costume, I think we are gaming tomorrow night and Sunday is Sunday School for the big boys… I think I am just really glad that we are maintaining a norm… things crashed around us earlier this year and here once again but we are not falling as hard as last time! I’ve got my “Pollyanna” on!