tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55238205026204973252024-03-14T03:08:07.559-06:00From Beer to Babies...My life of Pilsner and Princesses.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03853667532509437306noreply@blogger.comBlogger355125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-85855700581347492552015-02-04T18:45:00.001-06:002015-02-04T18:45:05.597-06:00We've movedHey everyone, in case you're wondering what happened to this blog, I've switched things up a bit and moved here: <a href="http://dado3girls.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">http://dado3girls.blogspot.ca/</a><br />
Later.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-20909451447638476172015-01-01T23:41:00.000-06:002015-01-02T00:17:03.388-06:002014 wrap up<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
December has passed us by and we are now into the new year. Hard to believe. Here are some of the highlights of the month.</div>
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CeCe with Santa at her preschool Christmas concert:</div>
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Ginny all dressed up and ready to perform for her concert:</div>
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Jorja dressed up for her concert:</div>
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Time to make some cookies:</div>
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Decorating cookies with Poppa:</div>
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Nanny mixing up some icing:</div>
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The girls reading the Christmas story:</div>
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Julie taking her parents for a sleigh ride:</div>
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Julie and her Dad hanging out in the shop:</div>
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As you can see, it was a busy month. The girls each had their own concert for school (grade 1-3 on one night and grade 4-7 on the next) and CeCe had her preschool one. We traveled to Tofield and Golden Prairie to spend time with family. And we had our own first Christmas here in Lloydminster. </div>
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The year has definitely had it's ups and downs and major changes. We packed up and moved to Lloydminster from Saskatoon. Julie left her job of 11 years and I left mine of nine. The girls switched schools and piano teachers. We switched churches. We left behind dear friends which we miss and still keep in close contact with. Julie is enjoying work at her new clinic. I am enjoying my time at home with the girls. The girls have all settled into their new schools and classes and are excelling here. They've all taken swimming lessons here. CeCe is taking skating lessons. I kept my Movember mustache and it is now long enough to wax the ends. I started playing hockey again. Ginny made a commitment to follow the Lord and accepted Jesus as her savior. And both my Dad and Julie's continue to battle and fight cancer with all they're worth. The treatment has turned Julie's Dad's hair white and taken my Dad's hair altogether. They have both aged this year, but continue to be an example to us of how to live and always keep God first. He is in control and we have to trust Him. </div>
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I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish everyone the best in 2015. <a href="http://dado3girls.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Check out my new look and new start for the new year.</a> Later.</div>
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-23014663438460048152014-12-10T10:42:00.002-06:002014-12-10T21:16:13.390-06:00Spies like us and word combinations<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Perhaps the first rule of spying should be to not leave your spying rules laying around. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Or maybe 'the first rule of spy club is don't talk about spy club.' </span></div>
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While putting something away in Ginny's room the other day, I stumbled upon her note pad. I probably wouldn't have payed it much attention, but the top line caught my attention. It said 'don't talk to our family.' This piqued my curiosity enough to look a little closer. I flipped back one page and then it all made sense. Ginny and CeCe like to play a spy game where they sneak around the house totally undetected and spy on people. I use the term 'totally undetected' fairly loosely. So here are the 10 rules for spying. (ignore some of the phonetic spelling): </div>
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(I'm also not sure what 'follow the blue light' refers to.)<br>
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I while back I talked about combining words to form new words, specifically coughing and farting to make foughing. Well, this practice is kind of catching on in the house. The other day Ginny came into the kitchen and said she was farting as she walked. She was giggling pretty good too. Then she paused for a minute and said, 'I was falking!' After I suppressed my initial look of shock and awe, I told her we probably shouldn't say that one. Perhaps warting would be better. She preferred falking. I thought it best to not push the point too much or she would really dig in her heels and we'd all be falked. <br>
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This practice of combining words has also spilled over to other children in the house. We were in a store the other day looking at some toques, scarves and mittens and they had some that were combinations. Scarves with little mitt pockets at the end became scittens. They also had toques that had mitts attached. Jorja declared that these were tittens. Again, perhaps not the best way to combine those two words. Oh well, what's a person to do? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Grab your tittens, we're going falking. Later.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-32403279986892895342014-12-05T11:45:00.000-06:002014-12-05T11:45:10.257-06:00Skating, coloring, sledding, new toques and Christmas fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
We received some big news this week. Huge really. The phone rang Sunday evening and it was CeCe's skating instructor. She told us that registration for the after Christmas session was opening this week and if we were going to register CeCe to register her in level 2. Level 2! How awesome and crazy is that. All the parents got the same call and we were all equally surprised. But the kids are all doing great and have all improved a lot since that <a href="http://beertobabies.blogspot.ca/2014/09/cold-hard-skating-lesson.html" target="_blank">fateful first lesson</a>. </div>
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Here's our little star this week:</div>
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CeCe and I were doing some coloring yesterday. She decided that she was going to color Sophia's eyes. Her marker had a bit of a wide tip to it though, and it kind of looked like Sophia was in a fight when she was done. CeCe was not happy with the result and was ready to scrap the picture. But we had colored quite a bit already and I didn't really want to start another one. So I did the next best thing - I turned Sophia into a rock star. Dark sunglasses. That did the trick and everyone was happy. As it turns out, CeCe likes the idea so much that she has done a couple more pictures with sunglasses now. Who's the real rock star here? Anyway, here is our completed picture:</div>
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During one point of our coloring, CeCe was having a hard time deciding between two shades of purple. So I put both of them in my hand and did eenie meenie minie mo. I ended up picking the very best one which was light purple. CeCe was apparently not happy with the result and asked me to do it again. I just gave her the dark purple. She was not happy with that and still wanted me to do it again. (There were only the two choices.) So I did another round of eenie meenie minie mo and magically selected the dark purple. She then accepted the marker and was happy. I guess it's all about presentation.</div>
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Yesterday afternoon we took the sled out to the little hill behind our house. CeCe had a blast as you can see:</div>
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Julie has been learning to crochet and finished the third toque this week. They all had to wear their new creations for breakfast. They all love them, but Ginny would live in hers if we let her.</div>
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Last night there was a family Christmas party/program at church. There was half an hour of carnival type games followed by a program. It was really well put on and the girls had a blast. Here is a little game of snowball race:</div>
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And here is some giant tic tac toe:</div>
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That's it for now. CeCe has a field trip this afternoon to a local radio station, so that should be fun. Later.</div>
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-85687673735452660652014-11-30T20:03:00.001-06:002014-11-30T20:03:49.799-06:00Recitals, Movember, cooking and what did I just say?<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
November is certainly leaving with a lot more snow than normal and crazy cold temperatures. Yesterday we braved the cold to go to the girls' piano recital. It was held at an extended care home, and I think it was enjoyed by all. Here's Jorja:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnvchualSisA7iK-DPB417mnJVF5WdZ-CgV1XLqeYmHMocAuV8wOk7G-38iK2tLUbyHA9RcEzMF8qZXHP5CoBDxRV9OvgPusy14CU9xWNka7T9v5MpH4oV_76elGA27oA-cSu9P-BNJ8/s640/blogger-image-103744220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnvchualSisA7iK-DPB417mnJVF5WdZ-CgV1XLqeYmHMocAuV8wOk7G-38iK2tLUbyHA9RcEzMF8qZXHP5CoBDxRV9OvgPusy14CU9xWNka7T9v5MpH4oV_76elGA27oA-cSu9P-BNJ8/s640/blogger-image-103744220.jpg" /></a></div>
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And Ginny:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabCtAShp8xrMTJ60F7Js-L2iITzMnVE1STJ7FR6h5Tl3zdg5boN849dLeG9XCBfOt8fq_5fvCyBfeMPMgP_RO3qFqE5jSFKRI2HIZyoXxlGST12Qi1brfe3YpXL_7kG3KiuzQ-TrQak0/s640/blogger-image--1976096854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabCtAShp8xrMTJ60F7Js-L2iITzMnVE1STJ7FR6h5Tl3zdg5boN849dLeG9XCBfOt8fq_5fvCyBfeMPMgP_RO3qFqE5jSFKRI2HIZyoXxlGST12Qi1brfe3YpXL_7kG3KiuzQ-TrQak0/s640/blogger-image--1976096854.jpg" /></a></div>
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And Ginny with her duet partner Mom:</div>
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Today is also the last day of Movember. Once again, I grew the stache and raised a bit of money for prostate cancer research. Here is the daily progress throughout the month:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4lN9ZEBy3J0TEWxQkxueKlC6DhExUPDHMw-0umpPD5CuEMmh8RQ1ELH8xAhEZ4_zZMVb1CfRh0ilPTsszOwJTivhC_K2lkHY0IWPmVdzGj4cmOZal8apqEc0E3fVvU-Lrx0O1LDTAjQ/s640/blogger-image--418987232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4lN9ZEBy3J0TEWxQkxueKlC6DhExUPDHMw-0umpPD5CuEMmh8RQ1ELH8xAhEZ4_zZMVb1CfRh0ilPTsszOwJTivhC_K2lkHY0IWPmVdzGj4cmOZal8apqEc0E3fVvU-Lrx0O1LDTAjQ/s640/blogger-image--418987232.jpg" /></a></div>
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Yesterday I was making some banana chocolate chip muffins. Jorja was helping, as she likes to do. I find most of my recipes online and one website I like is<a href="http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/" target="_blank"> Mennonite Girls can Cook</a>. Jorja knows this already, so as we were getting ready to make the muffins, I asked her where we were getting the recipe from. 'Mennonite girls can cook!' she replied. And then she said, 'But so can Mennonite Dads.' Aw, what a kid.<br />
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Do you ever have one of those experiences where you think to yourself, 'gee, I never imagined I would ever say that'? I had one of those this afternoon. The girls were playing polly pockets. We have an assortment of different sets all the same size - some Barbie, some Disney princess and some Disney fairy ones. All was going well for a while, but then there was some sort of disagreement. I wasn't really paying attention, but as it escalated, Ginny came to find me. She said Jorja wasn't letting her use a dress that had originally been designed for a fairy unless she put it on Tinkerbell. So then I went in there and said, 'The dresses are for everyone. Anyone can use any dress. It doesn't matter if you're human or fairy.' Then I left. Then I thought, 'what the heck did I just say?' Then I chuckled. What has life become? Later. Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-81238591736681043392014-11-26T23:07:00.000-06:002014-11-26T23:07:11.330-06:00Ogres, don't say hi and foughingCeCe has some new lip gloss that smells like some sort of fruit. I'm not really sure which one. She put some on the other day and wanted me to smell her lips. You'd think that may be a strange request, but I've been asked to do that on many occasions over the past several years. So I bent down to her face level and took a deep breath and said how nice they smelled. She took a step back and wrinkled up her nose. 'That was too close!' she said. 'That was kind of like an ogre. Eww.' I guess next time I won't be so enthusiastic.<br />
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We were driving home from school today and were stopped waiting for a school bus. Ginny saw a friend of hers out the window and pointed him out. He was talking away to himself and then started climbing a little snow bank, got down on his knees and started punching holes into it. His mouth never stopped moving. He was very into whatever he was imagining. I asked Ginny if she wanted to say hi and started rolling down her window. She said no and then she and Jorja started this whole giggling fit about how it would be so weird to say hi. (They've always been weird about seeing friends outside of school or wherever they normally see them. We'll get home from somewhere and they'll say that they saw someone. Did you say hi? Well, no, of course not. Weird.) He was pretty into whatever he was doing though - it may have been weird to say hi in this case.<br />
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The girls all had a run of bad colds which we are pretty much over now. The one day Ginny was coughing and then she started to giggle. I asked her what was so funny. She said that as she was coughing, she squeezed out a fart. Ahh, the ever funny fart. It never gets old. We chuckled and then came up with a new word - fough. It's the fart/cough combination. She thought that was pretty hilarious. Jorja walked into the room. 'Jorja, I foughed!' More laughter from Ginny and a confused look from Jorja. I don't think they're quite ready for the shart yet. Later.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-33404479821577970492014-11-26T22:19:00.002-06:002014-11-26T23:14:08.919-06:00Christmas is coming<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Maybe it's all the snow and the cold weather, but it seems like we were into the Christmas spirit early this year. And our yard shows it. In Saskatoon we were on a corner lot with a huge front yard, so things seemed a bit more spread out. Here we have our double driveway and a little bit of grass in front of the house. So we filled it up. </div>
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Here's my helper posing with the 10 foot long snowman:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviHgBORr_YxdWo5nFirRB_UPW_3VdCPBaEZjH68mbB87OqHJY7LW-NJLU-rdebOkdqGb03cnw2hYGqwYPEZ7zsmoqOMWxZSl4PCfqnRnbMoZGfrj4i0YpybyVoNgnlFQzjUGsNpMlMB0/s640/blogger-image--1518622505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviHgBORr_YxdWo5nFirRB_UPW_3VdCPBaEZjH68mbB87OqHJY7LW-NJLU-rdebOkdqGb03cnw2hYGqwYPEZ7zsmoqOMWxZSl4PCfqnRnbMoZGfrj4i0YpybyVoNgnlFQzjUGsNpMlMB0/s640/blogger-image--1518622505.jpg"></a></div>
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Here's everything lit up at night:</div>
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This picture was pre-decorating. The other two girls were sick and it was freezing cold, but Ginny wanted to play in the snow. Kids and winter:</div>
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Here's Jorja enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate. It was mostly about the marshmallows:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCyHPBklylc3gAraEcmhySzupQJY5w11Sx23GHFnL1MmoujYEDL6D3KZViR9ulaPm8JQNfrXd2ZxxZtafRwsrwvhhDjIxVJ6M-6zhF89ZwSswbCCdPq84QQAj98aOmf-gvnJU8fOtAeo/s640/blogger-image-1746372097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCyHPBklylc3gAraEcmhySzupQJY5w11Sx23GHFnL1MmoujYEDL6D3KZViR9ulaPm8JQNfrXd2ZxxZtafRwsrwvhhDjIxVJ6M-6zhF89ZwSswbCCdPq84QQAj98aOmf-gvnJU8fOtAeo/s640/blogger-image-1746372097.jpg"></a></div>
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And here's the new prelit tree we bought this year. That was awesome setting up:</div>
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Later.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-49403616764145287092014-11-16T10:28:00.003-06:002014-11-16T10:36:19.698-06:00Ninjas, tire pressure and a tangled mess<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Here we are into the middle of November already. It is crazy how time flies. Looking back over things, I realized I didn't even put up any Halloween pictures of the kids. So here are my ninjas in action:</div>
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And my princess out getting candy and hanging with creepy statues on porches (both ninjas were too afraid of it. How does that work?):</div>
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It appears winter is here to stay. We started off with a couple of nice soft and melty snow falls, but those days are gone. Now it's cold and miserable. CeCe and I did get in a bit of fun before things got too nasty. Here we are with our #Movember inspired snowman. The spring from our old trampoline proved to be the perfect accessory. At least I thought so. CeCe took it off as soon as the pictures were taken. Apparently snowmen shouldn't have mustaches.</div>
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CeCe's preschool class had a field trip to a car dealership last week. I know - it seemed a bit strange to me too. But it turned out pretty good. They got to have tire races, check out the garage and check the air pressure on a tire. They each got to keep a tire gauge too, so they were pretty pumped about that. (No pun intended.) It was my turn to be the parent helper so I got to enjoy the experience as well. Here is CeCe getting ready to check the tire:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO76I1o4dDTiX_px6n4OMeljHxev8HCK_4hyphenhyphenCDv3RujIpPMKLcbJTPgcVxwzQwPe9AY7as4BTB6udqpWBN4v3mn20pAaUoq8cFfNVjtenRqRYZ86sx9EZp9V_HITzrW5GhnnRMW1e8xbI/s640/blogger-image--953681685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO76I1o4dDTiX_px6n4OMeljHxev8HCK_4hyphenhyphenCDv3RujIpPMKLcbJTPgcVxwzQwPe9AY7as4BTB6udqpWBN4v3mn20pAaUoq8cFfNVjtenRqRYZ86sx9EZp9V_HITzrW5GhnnRMW1e8xbI/s640/blogger-image--953681685.jpg" /></a></div>
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The girls had this whole week off school from Nov 10-14 which was something we had never heard of before. But I guess they haven't had any days off yet this year, so it must all work out. They don't have any more days off until Christmas break now either. With the holiday being Tuesday, Julie took Monday off work and we went on a little get-away to Saskatoon. We visited some friends, did some shopping and plenty of swimming and water sliding. The girls were good and tired by the time we came home. Julie and I also celebrated our 13th anniversary while we were there. Nothing says romance like a hotel room full of kids. </div>
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The thing about shopping with three children (especially CeCe) is that you have to realize you have about a two hour window. After that, it all goes for a wreck and nobody is happy. And they are much better shoppers when they are being shopped for. We happened to be in Bootlegger and Julie and I were both looking at things and wanting to try stuff on. The sales person told me that the jewelry the girls were looking at was on sale. It all started out between $15 and $20 each but some was marked down to $2.99. It turned out the $2.99 stuff was further marked down to 5 for $5. So I bought us some time by letting the girls pick out cheap necklaces. It worked like a charm. (Again, no pun intended.)</div>
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One necklace CeCe bought had 5 individual chains on it of varying lengths so that it looked like 5 necklaces when it was on. Well, it didn't really survive the trip home. To say it got a little tangled would be an understatement. Julie and I each took a turn trying to untangle it, but it wasn't happening. Then Ginny came along and looked at it. In the heat of the moment, I told her I would give her $10 if she was able to get it. Then Jorja came alone and thought this sounded like a pretty good deal. Being off school, she had plenty of time to devote to it. And she devoted a lot of time to it. She would think she made some progress and come show me and I thought for a while that my money may be in jeopardy. But then she would have more trouble and it would look like a big ball again. I asked her once how she was making out and she said, 'Good. I'm getting there. It's like Mom's tattoo says - without struggle there is no progress.' Well, in this case, it turns out there was a lot of struggle and not much progress. I think my money is safe:</div>
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The kids have all had colds the past few days. That coupled with the cold weather and no school have made for some interesting days. I'm ready for school tomorrow anyway. Later.<br />
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-48957513614560455262014-10-31T12:11:00.000-06:002014-10-31T12:11:45.132-06:00Swimming, birthday party, glass elevators and pumkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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The girls started swimming lessons this week - twice a week for the next month or so. It just so happened that their first lesson happened to fall on Julie's birthday. The lessons are from 4:30-5, so between that, picking the girls up from school and CeCe's preschool, there wasn't much time for me to make a gourmet supper. So I did the next best thing. Ordered Boston Pizza to be delivered at 5:30 and bought an ice cream cake. (I don't think there were any complaints.) Julie stayed home from swimming lessons just in case the supper showed up early or we were late getting home from swimming - it turned out to be a good thing because the supper was early and waiting for us when we got home. </div>
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The girls all put their bathing suits on at home before we left. When we got there, we just went into a family change room and they took their clothes off that they were wearing over top of their suits. However, there are several different lessons going on as well as a parent/tot group so after lessons, the line-up for family rooms was pretty long. The older two have changed by themselves before, but CeCe was kind of a wild card. She's old enough that she doesn't like to come into men's bathrooms with me. (I don't really like public men's bathrooms either.) After a solid warning and chat, she agreed she would listen to Jorja and accept help if she needed it. I sent them in to the women's room on their own. I waited...and waited...texted Julie to tell her what was up...waited...heard CeCe's name being spoken while I waited outside...waited. Finally they all emerged more or less in tact. One had pants that were soaked, one had no socks and one was commando. But we made it.</div>
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We then had our birthday supper and had cake served on vintage dessert plates with sparkling raspberry cider served in tea cups. What more could a girl ask for? Pinkies out. Pip pip cheerio.</div>
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The girls all love going to the library, so we end up there fairly often. The library here is in the basement of a building and there is a glass elevator that goes down the one floor. It has become a highlight of the trips. The last time the girls rode solo. They were a little excited:</div>
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Ginny's class was carving pumpkins at school this year. She really wanted me to come - the only issue was what to do with CeCe. To be honest, I wasn't super keen on the idea. But I sucked it up and asked the teacher if it was ok if CeCe came along. Somewhat to my disappointment, she said that was no problem at all. There was no going back now. So Wednesday afternoon, CeCe and I set off to carve some pumpkins. It turns out there were a lot of parent helpers and a lot of little siblings. Ginny had fun and got her hands dirty. Once we were both all goopy, we shook hands. Mmmmm, squishy pumpkin gut handshake. CeCe didn't have as much fun - preschool, swimming and birthday party the night before along with skating that morning made her a little crusty. But we made it. The kids drew the faces and the adults manned the knives. I ended up carving four pumpkins and zero fingers. I'd call that a success.</div>
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Tonight we'll be off to get some candy. Two ninjas and one princess. No, I'm not the princess. Later.</div>
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<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-15513605295582063522014-10-21T14:26:00.001-06:002014-10-21T16:13:47.982-06:00Out of birthdays<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I'm not quite sure how to start this, so if it seems like I'm rambling or rabbit trailing, I apologize. I've had this post ruminating in me for a while, just not quite sure how or if I should share it. But here goes. I'll warn you now, you're not going to laugh like most of the stories on here. I'm going to attempt to share how a four year old sees life, death and faith.</div>
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CeCe has said she misses Great Granny ever since she passed away. If you remember <a href="http://beertobabies.blogspot.ca/2014/02/a-life-well-lived.html" target="_blank">this post</a>, you will remember that CeCe was quite curious about death and what happens after. She remembers that your hands get cold and your body stops working and that you get to go live with Jesus in heaven.</div>
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To listen to her pray is quite something. She thanks God for always looking after us and for our blessings. She knows God is always with us to help us. She is looking forward to the day that she will see Great Grandma again. (I tell her that I hope that isn't for a while yet.) I guess that's why Jesus told us we need to have the faith of a child. They just get it. </div>
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A couple of weeks ago, we were at Julie's parents' place for the weekend. The weather was nice, so I took the girls for a quad ride to the cemetery to see Great Granny's grave. They were all quite fascinated. The older two walked around reading all the headstones that they could to see when people died. Some only a few days old when they died, a couple only one day, some long lives. Jorja is getting into history, so she paid attention to the dates and thought some could be from the Spanish flu and some during the depression. CeCe found a couple that she liked, and just sat there for a while, thinking about things. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7Njj1B_KiZwFQzVgxhe7hK_VGY4jnbvgAdQNiTbZTb-4vx3TiU9kk-713NFR8Jzzd5Xx5CbjIeRTbtYC_N29QuAtIrgA1a2EFAy3DSxvFdjZzcA6xDV5mIK1w7nM99KVnKl7c-E3mQI/s640/blogger-image--8202994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7Njj1B_KiZwFQzVgxhe7hK_VGY4jnbvgAdQNiTbZTb-4vx3TiU9kk-713NFR8Jzzd5Xx5CbjIeRTbtYC_N29QuAtIrgA1a2EFAy3DSxvFdjZzcA6xDV5mIK1w7nM99KVnKl7c-E3mQI/s640/blogger-image--8202994.jpg"></a></div>
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And some are nameless. The girls all thought that was pretty sad.</div>
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CeCe has a book she likes to read too. It took me by surprise the first time I read it. It's a Chester Raccoon book (The Kissing Hand) - we had ordered a group of them from one of the girls' scholastic book fairs once. There's The Kissing Hand about going to school for the first time, there's one about bullies, one about moving and it turns out there's one about death. It's called the Memory Acorn. Chester Raccoon comes home from school and says that Skiddel Squirrel had an accident and died and won't be coming back to school anymore. The book then talks about how to make and cherish memories about loved ones that have passed. I got a little weepy the first time I read it and wasn't expecting it. At the end of the book, CeCe looked up to me and said, "I know why Skiddel Squirrel died. He was out of birthdays. Just like Great Granny. She was all out of birthdays too." </div>
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I guess all this just hits a little close to home these days. With both of the girls' grandpas living with cancer, it's hard. But I guess it's just like CeCe says, someday we will all be out of birthdays and then we can see God and Jesus in heaven. It is definitely something to look forward to. It's just hard on the rest of us still having birthdays. Later. </div>
<br>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-31467565664887874112014-10-08T20:10:00.002-06:002014-10-08T20:10:55.637-06:00Authority figures and staying in the lines<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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I feel like I should keep everyone up to speed with CeCe's skating lessons. Today she had her fifth lesson. I know, time keeps flying by. Last week the instructor told all the parents that we were no longer to watch from the bench at ice level. We could now either go up into the stands, or inside behind the glass. She said that it was so that 'the children knew she was the authority figure' out there. Like there was ever any doubt regarding that matter. Not from the parents anyway. So here is my view from up in the bleachers. CeCe is the middle skater in the picture. </div>
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The girls all like to color pictures and usually the picture is for somebody. However, when the picture is not received with the gratitude and praise that the giver feels is deserves, it can just as easily be rescinded. Here is a picture currently hanging on our fridge that Ginny made at school for Jorja. <br />
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I guess in Ginny's defense, she didn't totally cut Jorja out - she is part of the family after all.</div>
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CeCe and I were doing some coloring a couple of mornings ago. We were working on the same picture of Jasmine and I asked her what I should color. She said I could color the lips. 'Red?' I asked. 'Yes,' she replied, 'just try to stay in the lines.' She's kind of a demanding little thing sometimes. I did the best that I could, but in my defense, the markers had a pretty thick tip.</div>
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So we kept coloring and our hands kept bumping into each other. It was a pretty small picture. I would say, 'Ahem! Ahem! You're in my way.' She would giggle and move her hand. Then we would bump again and I would say, 'Ahem!' After the third time of this, she said, 'Or you could just say excuse me. Did you know that?' I guess I just got schooled in manners. Here is our masterpiece:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgut5F3Nq-E3ua8bwdlnmRI83IuWpQjTBctnm6TNlGwk2EDzR1bmp3TohzLHWBUVB60CvbomNjFaBRLg_t8UwMCOjjtZ2uQxZCA9hx41HDrbVdGYAs4dTLi29XumU5C8UaMPLQTDsOS6ok/s640/blogger-image-393770573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgut5F3Nq-E3ua8bwdlnmRI83IuWpQjTBctnm6TNlGwk2EDzR1bmp3TohzLHWBUVB60CvbomNjFaBRLg_t8UwMCOjjtZ2uQxZCA9hx41HDrbVdGYAs4dTLi29XumU5C8UaMPLQTDsOS6ok/s640/blogger-image-393770573.jpg" /></a></div>
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Until next time, stay in the lines and mind your manners. Later,<br />
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-43903530329528502312014-09-30T18:29:00.000-06:002014-09-30T18:29:02.602-06:00Farmer talkToday the girls had a spirit day at school - it was farmer day in honour of the harvest going on. To be honest, we are a little limited in the 'farmer' clothing. We settled on jeans, caps and braids. No coveralls, overalls or work boots here. Oh well, they were happy, had fun acting the part and looked cute doing it. That's what counts right?<br />
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I need to preface the rest of this story with a little background. Just before school started, we made a trip to Julie's parents' farm. It was mostly a down day as far as combining went. The girls spent the entire day out helping Julie's dad and his brothers service the combines. They tightened bolts, did some vacuuming, went for tools as required and watched some greasing (the greasing is the key part). At the end of the day, they did get to make a couple of rounds in the combine with their uncle before it got too tough. They were all in heaven. Jorja even declared that she wanted to be a farmer when she grew up. If you look closely, you can see three little heads riding along here:<br />
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So that was their experience with farming. Fast forward back to this morning. Ginny came in once she was all dressed up and said, 'Howdy there pardners.' Jorja said to her, 'That's more cowboy talk than farmer talk. A farmer would say 'Let's go grease up those nipples!'' That's right. That's what she said. So the next time you want to make conversation, forget the weather. Just talk about greasing the nipples. (I told her she probably shouldn't talk about nipples at school. She agreed.) Later.</div>
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-28691270265682842092014-09-30T16:15:00.003-06:002014-09-30T16:15:59.134-06:00Sasha's pics of the girls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We got back the pictures of the girls that were taken earlier this summer. <a href="http://www.saucysprinkles.com/" target="_blank">Sasha</a> is so talented and so amazing with the girls. They all love seeing her every year. I could post all one hundred and some, but that may be a bit excessive. So here are some of the highlights:</div>
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I know I'm biased, but they are all so beautiful. I want to print them all and put them up all over the house. It's definitely hard to choose. Let me know what you think. Later.</div>
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<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-29727926350742224932014-09-17T19:27:00.000-06:002014-09-17T19:27:31.519-06:00Skating, sweating and cross country<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This morning was CeCe's second skating lesson. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. Maybe even a lot. We had tried on Ginny's old skates (which were Bauer) and they fit, so we had them sharpened. We laced them up this morning and waited on the bench with baited breath. The instructor came up, gave me a little nod and commented that we had new skates. She inspected them and they seemed to be to her satisfaction. And I'll have to admit, she may not be warm and fuzzy, but she does know what she's talking about. CeCe did amazing today. She got up on her own, more or less did everything she was supposed to and I didn't have to go out on the ice at all. She even took a few steps going backward! I guess the right equipment does make a difference.</div>
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On Monday Jorja brought home a note for cross country running. It turns out their race was going to be 2 km. That seemed like a lot to me. There was no way our seven minute training session equaled two kilometers. So I got a pedometer app for my phone and we set out to run 2K yesterday. We didn't run the whole way (had to walk for a few stretches), but we did it. And neither of our chests felt like they were on fire either. It's amazing what even one day of conditioning will do. It was about 25 degrees yesterday while we were running though, so we were both good and sweaty. I sweat when I breath in the summer, so this wasn't a new feeling to me. But for Jorja, this was apparently a new experience. As we were nearing the end of our run, she said, 'Dad, am I ever sweating! I think I'm sweating in parts of my body that have never sweated before. Usually just my armpits get sweaty!' Good times.</div>
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So with her one full run of 2K under her belt, we set off for the race today. She made sure we had a towel along so that she could dry off when she was done. She was anticipating another sweaty outing. </div>
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We were so proud of her. She finished the race, still running, in about the middle of the field. 21st place overall. Pretty good for someone who was needing her inhaler after runs a week earlier and never ran that far before. She was tired, but her lungs felt fine this evening. Here are some shots of the big race.</div>
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In her Team Father Gorman blue shirt:</div>
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Her 'sharpied' number on her arm:<br />
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A little less than half way though, they came by the start/spectator area:<br />
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The final stretch:<br />
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A much deserved drink and towel:<br />
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So it was an exciting day in our house for two kids and and their sporting endeavors. Pretty cool to see the improvement. October 1st is the next race. It will be interesting to see where Jorja is then. Later.</div>
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-52450490262287039562014-09-15T21:20:00.000-06:002014-09-15T21:20:17.930-06:00A leisurely stroll and seven minutes of agony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I went out to the park with the girls yesterday and took my camera along. Then they decided to show me how they jump off of the playground equipment. The places they jump from are above their heads. Crazy. If I were to attempt that, I think I would need a week's recovery time. Here's Jorja:</div>
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And Ginny:<br />
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Then I thought we should go for a walk. There's a ball diamond behind the playground and on the other side of that, there is some construction going on. It will eventually be a lake/retention pond. I wanted the girls to pose beside a tree. Ginny was pokey getting over there so I snapped a shot of the other two girls first. This ticked her off and then she pouted for the picture. Maybe it's not that appropriate, but I think this picture is hilarious:<br />
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Next it was imitate the sign:<br />
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Jorja wanted her own picture on the rocks back at our house, but Ginny wasn't cooperating. You can just see Jorja's disapproval in this shot. Talk to the hand:<br />
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'Finally, the little brat got out of my shot. Now smile sweetly.'<br />
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CeCe always poses sweetly:<br />
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And then there's Ginny:<br />
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On a totally different note, Jorja decided that she is going to join the cross country team at school this year and they have been practicing at lunch hours. Her asthma has been pretty good the past year, but she's never really challenged herself like this before, so we made her take her 'blue puffer' along. She used it after the first couple of runs because her chest felt really tight. I told her I would train with her at home too - I am a little concerned about her getting up to the 2K race distance. <br />
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So after our Sunday afternoon walk, we went out to the park to run. I asked her how long we should run for. She figured 15 minutes sounded good. (I think their practice times are 20 minutes.) I said ok and set a timer on my phone. We stretched and then we were off. I started jogging and she tore off in front of me. She turned around and laughed at me and said, 'Dad, you at least have to start running.' I told her that she had to pace herself and she shouldn't just give 'er off the line like that. She said okay and we settled in for a jog. We went around to the far side of the ball diamond and then she asked how long that had been. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Three minutes. We were both breathing pretty heavy already. We pressed on. There are a few small, rolling hills in the park, so we ran a couple laps over them. Five minutes. We...pressed...on. A couple more hills and we stopped to check the time again. Seven minutes. We were both really sucking wind at this point. 'That's pretty good for today,' Jorja said. I couldn't have agreed more. We walked home and she said her chest felt pretty tight. My chest felt really tight! I told her that maybe that tight feeling wasn't asthma, it was just getting her lungs used to some more exercise. She said maybe, but she liked the way her blue puffer felt. It appears we have a ventolin junky on our hands. Maybe I could use a hoot of that too. We'll see what tomorrow brings. It's training day. Later.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-55125466541802731082014-09-10T22:54:00.000-06:002014-09-10T22:59:19.803-06:00Cold, hard skating lesson<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Today I took CeCe for her first skating lesson. We had found a class one morning a week that wasn't on a preschool day, so we thought it would work out well. Since she only has preschool twice a week, we thought it would be good to have something on another day.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">All three girls took skating lessons last winter in Saskatoon where things were ran a little more 'loosely'. There were large classes and a lot of teachers on the ice that broke things down into smaller groups of similar abilities. They all had fun and they all learned a lot. The improvement they all showed each year was pretty impressive. CeCe only had one year in before we moved, but she went from needing a walker to being able to get up and shuffle across the ice. Her biggest problem is that she gets lazy and would prefer to sit and listen to the teacher as opposed to stand there and balance.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">So when we found this class here, I thought it would be perfect. This was the description on their website:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">L</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">i</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">l' Skaters Step 1 (Ages 3 - 5 years)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This class is designed for preschoolers with prior skating experience who are still unsteady and unsure of themselves on the ice. This class is recommended for skaters that can get up off the ice to their feet with little to no assistance from parents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">They use the word lil' in the title of the class. How serious could it be? The answer is 'quite.' We had a small class today - only four kids came out, but there are only five registered. That should make for a lot of one on one instruction time, right? Not so much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The instructor introduced herself in a thick Eastern European accent. She listed her credentials - certified power skating instructor, figure skating instructor, speed skating instructor, roller skating instructor, in-line skating instructor...okay, maybe I added a few, but the list was impressive. She then said how all kids learn at different paces and that's okay. (maybe she's not so bad) Her son wanted nothing to do with skating until he was four. Every time they took him to the ice he would sit down and cry. Then one day he just took off. Now he's nine, plays AAA hockey and is the best skater on the team. Gulp! Then she sat all the kids down on the bench to inspect their skates. She told me that CeCe's blades were too rounded and she would have trouble. She then said that knee pads were mandatory (website said optional) and face masks were strongly recommended. (When she says strongly recommended, it feels like mandatory.) Then she said that all children were required to be able to stand up on their own, and they would be working on rudimentary skating skills - forward, backward, cross-overs. Gulp! I looked over at the two moms beside me. They gulped. She said that parents would be allowed to stay at ice level for the first couple of lessons and then they would be required to stay behind the glass. She then pointed to her eyes and said that was so she had their attention. Gulp! Moms gulped! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Finally the class began. I looked at the two moms and we all wondered if our kids would be allowed to stay. The lively 'ring around the rosey' playing over the sound system seemed in sharp contrast to the mood on the bench. Before long, she was back at the bench confirming that CeCe had in fact taken lessons and could stand in these skates. (She had a serious hate on for non-Bauer skates.) I said yes. Gulp! The moms gulped for me. A few minutes later she was back at the bench with some grippers for my shoes so that I could help CeCe out. One other little girl had to have a parent help too, but she was better than CeCe. At first CeCe didn't want me out there. But as the lesson dragged on, she leaned on me more and more and just wanted it to be over. By this time, so did I. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After the lesson, she asked the other mom if she would be comfortable going on with her daughter a couple more lessons. She then asked me what I wanted to do. I said we would try it for a while. She asked if we would change skates. Gulp! I said yes. Reluctantly she nodded. I guess we're on probation? No improvement and we'll be sent down to the minors - parent and tot lil' skaters. I've never really been that intimidated by a child's instructor before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's no wonder athletes were so good during the cold war. Later. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-30369612264168505702014-09-04T23:01:00.000-06:002014-09-04T23:01:52.970-06:00Fingers, verbs, cracks, aim and shoot<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Life with CeCe is rarely dull. With her older two sisters back in school full time now, I'm getting to spend a lot more time with just her. I know I'm biased, but she's a pretty fun kid. Here is what we've been up to this week.</div>
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We usually go for a walk after lunch to check the mail. We have to cross one fairly busy street and little miss independent doesn't usually like to hold hands. Sometimes there's a 'I'll walk right beside you,' or sometimes there is a fight. As we were coming home the other day, I had a bunch of letters in my hand that was closest to her. Instead of switching them to the other hand, I simply held out my index finger for her to hold. She paused, looked up at me, nodded very seriously and said, 'Finger accepted!' Then we marched across the street. </div>
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She also has the ability to turn every word into a verb. She likes to sweep the floor - goes to the closet and gets the broom out and every thing. Only she doesn't sweep. She brooms. 'I'm just brooming Dad.' She also likes to 'help' fold the laundry. I don't know why I care. If you could see the inside of her drawers, I may as well just take stuff right from the dryer and cram it in. But I fold it nonetheless. And she helps. 'When we're done laundrying can we watch a movie Dad? I sure am good at laundrying.' Yes you are. Yesterday we had to stop at Superstore after we dropped the girls off at school because I was out of coffee. That's not a good thing. So we went and she sat in the cart and played the drum. 'What are we going to do when we're done Superstoring Dad?' That's a good question.</div>
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We recently purchased an easel and we like to have some art time. </div>
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Yesterday when I was getting supper ready in the kitchen, she was playing with the stuffed animals in her bedroom. I could hear her nattering away, making them talk to each other. Suddenly I heard, 'Dad, come here! I want to see if I have something in my crack! I need you to help me see in there.' This got my attention. Turns out she dropped something between her bed and the wall, and this was the crack she was referring to. Whew. Didn't know what I was getting into there for a second.</div>
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Today we went to the park. After we had been there for a while, I was ready to head home. She wasn't. She said to me, 'Come on Dad, we can stay a little more. I'm here. You're here.' It's tough to argue with that. I asked what she wanted to do. She said we could play aim and shoot. This immediately got my pacifist Mennonite roots worked up. 'What is that?' I asked while trying to stay calm. Turns out it's a game Ginny invented where you run with your arms pointed at a monkey bar and then jump and swing from it. Aim while you're running and shoot when you jump and swing. Seemed harmless enough. Here it is.</div>
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Aim:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE901Mgl1sG5pZp2HW1aEZ2USxJdbrp4x6amYSMCjoqVgN6UlitfL6WjJhjNZFM2Ne2psBm56jw5EzsTJLXdUrYQ5DcNuBnkfRzLNNfU5oteCwjszMeI1h6vyn8KIBkmCMj58tJHjI0o/s640/blogger-image-2120924552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE901Mgl1sG5pZp2HW1aEZ2USxJdbrp4x6amYSMCjoqVgN6UlitfL6WjJhjNZFM2Ne2psBm56jw5EzsTJLXdUrYQ5DcNuBnkfRzLNNfU5oteCwjszMeI1h6vyn8KIBkmCMj58tJHjI0o/s640/blogger-image-2120924552.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WpoeJXyOYs5-dfu8-g1h0d6vFuR2oMdSxmgGpsvTJBnDnUw3XDR3ziBTrU2nUd7MfmVjRRrFtUzwNC4PAwrr5ftRIVnItIGEO0OXZdab5j6_0aWpZ6vRyDpYYjwKjCtGJCKmfzBBDGI/s640/blogger-image--1426959811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WpoeJXyOYs5-dfu8-g1h0d6vFuR2oMdSxmgGpsvTJBnDnUw3XDR3ziBTrU2nUd7MfmVjRRrFtUzwNC4PAwrr5ftRIVnItIGEO0OXZdab5j6_0aWpZ6vRyDpYYjwKjCtGJCKmfzBBDGI/s640/blogger-image--1426959811.jpg" /></a></div>
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And shoot!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUJPNLmiAl6JAHVYP-bkXvuPceuDNkV7sWEuTDuJhD0oj-ave1sLdpnd0CuWtxP-ot8DMQNnRu9TBIG0xWuDaES4LK53J_EuezFGLsNEoTZQyrWHHFU5tiVMtt-G0-WBR1hzW2F52Z9k/s640/blogger-image-2072798191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUJPNLmiAl6JAHVYP-bkXvuPceuDNkV7sWEuTDuJhD0oj-ave1sLdpnd0CuWtxP-ot8DMQNnRu9TBIG0xWuDaES4LK53J_EuezFGLsNEoTZQyrWHHFU5tiVMtt-G0-WBR1hzW2F52Z9k/s640/blogger-image-2072798191.jpg" /></a></div>
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After she saw how the pictures of her turned out on my phone, she thought she should take some of me. Why not?</div>
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Aim:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KM3-673cEN_2BN4b7xDIpO6Dszlcmbx058vdNH720EfQopG_wCgS8zNwdBIGo2IvI3pt2X_25ftoGqcrLRzLiLBqFHiPdgd0xtI3GgFudeD7RrNlF4IgVptGgFxe20wgnvPMJyaVuXI/s640/blogger-image-989639051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KM3-673cEN_2BN4b7xDIpO6Dszlcmbx058vdNH720EfQopG_wCgS8zNwdBIGo2IvI3pt2X_25ftoGqcrLRzLiLBqFHiPdgd0xtI3GgFudeD7RrNlF4IgVptGgFxe20wgnvPMJyaVuXI/s640/blogger-image-989639051.jpg" /></a></div>
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And shoot!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUUew7CIniuyha1ISWovXl8823ZMWF2kAIePh085_4pjBehKphVQH-BPH1loGGlV4ImpVe7fXuLkJZWURzk7Bm11gxDHKVjh6zUV_VpIik5QNsTAgdqZM6GlJeCm2onTKhnZ2cSQfVOI/s640/blogger-image--296710969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUUew7CIniuyha1ISWovXl8823ZMWF2kAIePh085_4pjBehKphVQH-BPH1loGGlV4ImpVe7fXuLkJZWURzk7Bm11gxDHKVjh6zUV_VpIik5QNsTAgdqZM6GlJeCm2onTKhnZ2cSQfVOI/s640/blogger-image--296710969.jpg" /></a></div>
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Holy sh*t, not so close!</div>
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So that's what kind of week it's been around here. Later.</div>
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-77833635313128640822014-09-03T19:29:00.002-06:002014-09-03T19:29:48.275-06:00Back to school<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
There has been plenty of nervous energy and excitement around our house for the past few days. It all culminated yesterday when the girls started at their new school here in Lloyd. I think the parents were just as nervous as the kids if we're being perfectly honest. </div>
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The school put on a back to school BBQ bash last week, which was really cool. We were able to tour around the school, see the girls' classrooms and meet their teachers. It definitely relieved some of the stress. Both girls have great teachers and after two days no, things are looking good. Here is Jorja on her first day:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd06FtZ-GIf-rQbZ9F9_gwPHjEX_c22Wp4ERSTb2aUo5-c84ih-wutgBG_xC1tIwXEn7RjIP3xX3DBes4rt8s9yIuF2ctNcjfn_aJmm4xz4EZnS69CUQOX84zCtNMsI_UvA2FCXxyqmtE/s640/blogger-image-911351361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd06FtZ-GIf-rQbZ9F9_gwPHjEX_c22Wp4ERSTb2aUo5-c84ih-wutgBG_xC1tIwXEn7RjIP3xX3DBes4rt8s9yIuF2ctNcjfn_aJmm4xz4EZnS69CUQOX84zCtNMsI_UvA2FCXxyqmtE/s640/blogger-image-911351361.jpg" /></a></div>
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And Ginny on her first day:</div>
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CeCe even had an abbreviated afternoon of preschool. She was sooo excited. She's been looking forward to this day for over a year now I think. It's all she's been able to talk about for a while now. The first day was optional as far as whether or not parents stayed. I was prepared to stay for the hour, but she told me she was good and I should leave. How's that for a brave little girl:</div>
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I pray this will be a good year for all the girls. So far we're off to a good start. Later. </div>
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-50442159642410581252014-08-24T10:38:00.001-06:002014-08-24T22:17:50.218-06:00ALS IceBucket challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This week, the ALS icebucketchallenge hit our house. First up, Julie was nominated by a friend of hers who lives on the east coast. They must be used to the cold ocean spray out there - probably a piece of cake for them. Out here on the prairies, we're not used to that sort of thing. But Julie is not one to back down from a challenge. Here are some still shots from her video. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1. Saying a little prayer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36XPpYWF1Am2Xov_p6981eEgfZeH1U9FBDmp9Zl7Y96OnGaVWZfgkzLObNLFASigqVUc36fByrPAkEZPyNAZf8TH0hUHyq5kVemMWBWiUbzKwuXwP0QvQmRS1yzva89Rsbz956bkzZPU/s640/blogger-image-566572122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36XPpYWF1Am2Xov_p6981eEgfZeH1U9FBDmp9Zl7Y96OnGaVWZfgkzLObNLFASigqVUc36fByrPAkEZPyNAZf8TH0hUHyq5kVemMWBWiUbzKwuXwP0QvQmRS1yzva89Rsbz956bkzZPU/s640/blogger-image-566572122.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">2. I'm not going to like this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnOBYgJmj4-bJEVkJXfI8Pym6zmg5QMswXZ7JZvSWci9jAiS3UENjxRXsPmk4rZha7gvtsQfiRn7HJehEZAwFducnBHUZgNkwW4aMOXrvijAF4nKA9vFZNGRdDMf8FTf2vcguU2jsfoo/s640/blogger-image-241109331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnOBYgJmj4-bJEVkJXfI8Pym6zmg5QMswXZ7JZvSWci9jAiS3UENjxRXsPmk4rZha7gvtsQfiRn7HJehEZAwFducnBHUZgNkwW4aMOXrvijAF4nKA9vFZNGRdDMf8FTf2vcguU2jsfoo/s640/blogger-image-241109331.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">3. Oh mamma!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15vl6fAvYOX7GUgKHh_xgvhHFIu16OZn72AlEMwu7U614eNjSZyduPWhvHZ6TUwNvSZtMddYFnUMTaxaISDFVLRUvP9qxeG76KoVbjA0_mTuNSbF9l8JDuqAB7LvgNHsRW06_12UTUEs/s640/blogger-image--1186189477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15vl6fAvYOX7GUgKHh_xgvhHFIu16OZn72AlEMwu7U614eNjSZyduPWhvHZ6TUwNvSZtMddYFnUMTaxaISDFVLRUvP9qxeG76KoVbjA0_mTuNSbF9l8JDuqAB7LvgNHsRW06_12UTUEs/s640/blogger-image--1186189477.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">4. The children squeal in delight! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5g-Now8k-rKSpIl4wmSD5C6dBkqdOt8Gh8J_jEyhlodGDFwW9_IdYpcVrnn4nJPDaATnhw6mfpBAUSM9PYekZuVZM5Jm1-zRyBRArSlhX_VNvfhZ8q2ajXpDRDTaKNaIq8yTD23S1VA/s640/blogger-image-1420536983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5g-Now8k-rKSpIl4wmSD5C6dBkqdOt8Gh8J_jEyhlodGDFwW9_IdYpcVrnn4nJPDaATnhw6mfpBAUSM9PYekZuVZM5Jm1-zRyBRArSlhX_VNvfhZ8q2ajXpDRDTaKNaIq8yTD23S1VA/s640/blogger-image-1420536983.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">5. That was cold!! Dave, run me a hot tub stat!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuv35O-Py7A8gudrKaX18TPnz4QV2ny3Utgh7i83d1Dujo8O-tVaB30gs5yZSOiYWDo-GWvUzsFdhaYynVWTAEC6BvuNJmtGCW23uQyonrTj12FCwPPLsm3DHFQ4uuxop1xtR1v1J99E/s640/blogger-image-1956984336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuv35O-Py7A8gudrKaX18TPnz4QV2ny3Utgh7i83d1Dujo8O-tVaB30gs5yZSOiYWDo-GWvUzsFdhaYynVWTAEC6BvuNJmtGCW23uQyonrTj12FCwPPLsm3DHFQ4uuxop1xtR1v1J99E/s640/blogger-image-1956984336.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Late on in the week, I was nominated by my brother. His wife nominated him after he dumped a whole front-end-loader bucketful of water on her head. I asked the girls if they wanted to do it with me and only CeCe was up to the challenge. She was super excited and really into it. Here's some shots of us. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1. CeCe yells, 'let's do it as a team!!'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLHw3pYn5hxkMuxCpYtsIenmkwApC6Hy2mOKOEgtRLBhFpLHP5559gSrm_ZmoaVnYBzQjngo6QjT4RRV44H7A6ek6f2LGCMQWjpvbp3oIxIr01oiFfWrieCYxXr2hrvsuh71pz6dgpdo/s640/blogger-image--466626383.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLHw3pYn5hxkMuxCpYtsIenmkwApC6Hy2mOKOEgtRLBhFpLHP5559gSrm_ZmoaVnYBzQjngo6QjT4RRV44H7A6ek6f2LGCMQWjpvbp3oIxIr01oiFfWrieCYxXr2hrvsuh71pz6dgpdo/s640/blogger-image--466626383.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">2. Her bucket hits her head a little before mine. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszQYQ4j1ZiX-krtFqbqjON60QT9XgDwJYP1OTafbikvIaBrL_XNTFlqK0-xKondrXBaFmnJRA7qCKi_pd581LFNnmL7E67NA2H6u8XkTLMotinEfBfWOOPLkQdWGFlmnGzSx9F0Eph88/s640/blogger-image--1508393918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszQYQ4j1ZiX-krtFqbqjON60QT9XgDwJYP1OTafbikvIaBrL_XNTFlqK0-xKondrXBaFmnJRA7qCKi_pd581LFNnmL7E67NA2H6u8XkTLMotinEfBfWOOPLkQdWGFlmnGzSx9F0Eph88/s640/blogger-image--1508393918.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">3. Oh mamma!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEc7V21ynPXhANhYNPtBtZv0BUVbX-GOe1UgefmbtW-wYe_j7B6R9fnbWaB7_AoqDmVqTCUv-Kvt1FqfVLWj2shsel4d-rpXlXNdp1w-nrmGP4nz18ZNXUDBB2wn0lbLT-8BiW6Pmvms/s640/blogger-image--355487924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEc7V21ynPXhANhYNPtBtZv0BUVbX-GOe1UgefmbtW-wYe_j7B6R9fnbWaB7_AoqDmVqTCUv-Kvt1FqfVLWj2shsel4d-rpXlXNdp1w-nrmGP4nz18ZNXUDBB2wn0lbLT-8BiW6Pmvms/s640/blogger-image--355487924.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">4. That is really cold. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxFiAziRnx1iEpMJjAImXrai03f3Oo9i7t7pWGq_k4-FRaus38rKNNIZbnwRQ9VwwAesolu-tt4EjqC7z1pFaMfXOWrMUaqgPo6bC3ObrJvZXgIq-Bn2l0rj7spfMMpJmPdId9TBASMA/s640/blogger-image--691875257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxFiAziRnx1iEpMJjAImXrai03f3Oo9i7t7pWGq_k4-FRaus38rKNNIZbnwRQ9VwwAesolu-tt4EjqC7z1pFaMfXOWrMUaqgPo6bC3ObrJvZXgIq-Bn2l0rj7spfMMpJmPdId9TBASMA/s640/blogger-image--691875257.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">5. More screaming...mostly from me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OUNu2WnGRwR6dnz2iAFJgbQ_vFsuXwiD74hzwHe5gUKT8NJ8FXHXJKGbC597YsZ8aBQRcBiZsqKTzUeFjierVmstM0gavleJZIeY1kug5n-sUmLHsmVdlsO7rTeoh827Ptc7VhMg9ws/s640/blogger-image-587434651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OUNu2WnGRwR6dnz2iAFJgbQ_vFsuXwiD74hzwHe5gUKT8NJ8FXHXJKGbC597YsZ8aBQRcBiZsqKTzUeFjierVmstM0gavleJZIeY1kug5n-sUmLHsmVdlsO7rTeoh827Ptc7VhMg9ws/s640/blogger-image-587434651.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So there you have it. A lot of fun, but it is bringing a lot of exposure to a worthwhile but overlooked cause. Get out there and donate. Later. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-40371505564642560542014-08-17T22:44:00.001-06:002014-08-17T22:56:45.665-06:00Birthday, Andy Brown, love moments and friendsNot quite a week ago, I had a birthday. Number 42 in case anyone is wondering. Depending on which child you ask, I have either 8 more years or 38 years until I am an old man. I'll go with the 38. The girls made me some cupcakes which tasted really good. I'll let you be the judge of the looks:<br>
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I think they turned out pretty awesome. Especially when you realize that they put the tip of the icing bag into the middle of the cupcake first and filled the middle up with icing. Mmmm. Icing.</div>
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That was on Monday. On Tuesday I was reading the paper and came across an article on a band that was going to be in town. I had never heard of them, but I noticed that <a href="http://www.andybrown.ca/" target="_blank">Andy Brown</a> was opening for them. He is an artist that Julie and I have really liked ever since we first heard a song of his on the tv show Rookie Blue back in 2011. I have since bought both his albums on iTunes and they still get played regularly. Anyway, I texted Julie and told her Andy Brown was going to be here. 'Our Andy Brown?' was her reply. Yup, our Andy Brown. She asked around work for a babysitter and there were a couple of teenage daughters, but they were busy. So Julie told me to go by myself. It wasn't the same without her there, but he put on a really great show. He played a little coffee house in town and there were maybe 25 people there. It was just him and his guitar, some incredible heat (it was really hot in there) and a pint of beer. I talked to him after the show and told him the story of how we heard of him and both wanted to come but couldn't. He was a really nice, down to earth guy. I bought a CD there and he signed it for me. Yeah, I know I already had the digital album, but you can't sign that. </div>
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To top the week off, we had the girls in DVBS at a church here in town, so I had a couple of hours to myself every day. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't kind of nice. But they really enjoyed themselves, even though the first couple of drop-offs were a little rocky with CeCe. She was super excited to go until we got there and then she glued herself to my leg. I sat with her the first day while they sang a couple of opening songs. Then she spied the snack of cookies already set up in an adjacent room. That looked pretty good to her. I told her she wouldn't get any unless she stayed by herself and had fun. She pondered this for about 30 seconds and then told me I could go. Nothing like a cookie to make things better.</div>
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One day they were learning about the ten commandments and made a craft that had them all listed. Ginny was reading them to me and got to the 'no adultery' one. She read it and kept going to the 'don't covet' one. She asked what that meant and I told her. Then she went back to the adultery one and asked what that meant. (You'll need a little background info here first. Every time Julie and I hug or kiss in front of the girls, they chime in with a chorus of 'Love moment! Love moment! Love moment!' and often come over to join in the hug.) So I said to Ginny, 'You know how me and Mom have love moments?' She nodded. I said, 'No adultery means that I only have love moments with Mommy and no one else.' She was satisfied with that and I heard Julie snickering from the next room. We both thought it was a pretty good (and funny) explanation. </div>
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Here are a few more pics from the week taken with my birthday present (I got a new camera!): </div>
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Then on Friday we went to Saskatoon for an overnight trip. (See the previous post for some pics of the pics.) We saw a couple of friends, the girls swam in the pool, we went to their old school playground and managed to get a hold of some of their friends to come and play for a bit. It was a good trip. This evening, we had some more friends from Saskatoon stop in on their way home. It was really good to see them too. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss people until you see them again. Later.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-48101236328930987432014-08-17T22:02:00.000-06:002014-08-17T22:02:48.744-06:00Friday night photo shoot<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
We were in Saskatoon for a couple of appointments and to get the girls' pictures taken. This is now their third summer with an amazing photographer. She is so good with the kids and they all just adore her. </div>
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I have always like those behind-the-scenes photos of the photographer, so I snapped a couple on my phone. Here is the artist at work: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC5qJITH_jC-QNWdMemYtA2CWr_Tff_CRrQTtWYzE62zFnqjPp3l3y-5WKHPrso2Iaz6lXzUYoMxqthEPfXgeMngKRvXWDrzV3v9BsKPadKcmumt_pSgXwp1nKc6F2-Z3GxCH5BNgipc/s640/blogger-image--721639314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC5qJITH_jC-QNWdMemYtA2CWr_Tff_CRrQTtWYzE62zFnqjPp3l3y-5WKHPrso2Iaz6lXzUYoMxqthEPfXgeMngKRvXWDrzV3v9BsKPadKcmumt_pSgXwp1nKc6F2-Z3GxCH5BNgipc/s640/blogger-image--721639314.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaC5qJITH_jC-QNWdMemYtA2CWr_Tff_CRrQTtWYzE62zFnqjPp3l3y-5WKHPrso2Iaz6lXzUYoMxqthEPfXgeMngKRvXWDrzV3v9BsKPadKcmumt_pSgXwp1nKc6F2-Z3GxCH5BNgipc/s640/blogger-image--721639314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFeDDB_0kQqQAesYAZC5IoLbfviksxL65uJNwYbdrhXIRiozFiSBg8VnXYWufGKJKeu6QIwfIXSlZ3C2US4gb_BSCxh8qNNXF6zzovVvca5klQdBXYRuMeWue7eDIEfcUPFvCD-PtPg4/s640/blogger-image--146696024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFeDDB_0kQqQAesYAZC5IoLbfviksxL65uJNwYbdrhXIRiozFiSBg8VnXYWufGKJKeu6QIwfIXSlZ3C2US4gb_BSCxh8qNNXF6zzovVvca5klQdBXYRuMeWue7eDIEfcUPFvCD-PtPg4/s640/blogger-image--146696024.jpg" /></a></div>
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Her props and set-up were so much fun this year. I can't wait to see the final product. I'm sure I'll be sharing more of those when the time comes. Here are a couple more of the girls between shots:</div>
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Check out <a href="http://www.saucysprinkles.com/" target="_blank">her blog here</a> and see some of her other amazing work. Later. </div>
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-36214761678115487452014-08-08T13:44:00.000-06:002014-08-08T13:44:13.754-06:00New lunch ideas<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
One of the things I struggle with most is ideas for meals. Lunch is usually pretty low key - buns, sandwiches, muffins, pancakes, veggies, fruit. I try to make sure there are some veggies eaten and the girls all like carrots and cucumbers, so that goes alright. </div>
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I usually make muffins when the bananas are getting over ripe, but yesterday I tried something different - banana pancakes. I found a recipe online and all the girls wanted to help. So CeCe was stirring, Ginny was adding things and Jorja was mashing bananas. We did make one modification to the recipe - Jorja insisted that if there were bananas, there had to be chocolate chips as well. It's hard to argue with that logic. So we mixed and fried, and even sprinkled some icing sugar on like the picture on the website. Needless to say, they were a hit, even with our fussiest child, Ginny. However, I'm not sure if she's going through a growth spurt or what, but she has been inhaling her food lately. This was no exception. She was the first one done. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Oa7LonpRfZ865KITrY9CKDtff9bG0C5uUDvI-eBiVPV-ZeqlsbgqMH5-lCYhsZdnLjI4IxkmTH3b9QViiIbnxtw8lVIeOSL7GfCpHL-D7ZkY1m0vF4pX3bHCLneYFthV2MjTCdW2zlE/s640/blogger-image-1982420367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Oa7LonpRfZ865KITrY9CKDtff9bG0C5uUDvI-eBiVPV-ZeqlsbgqMH5-lCYhsZdnLjI4IxkmTH3b9QViiIbnxtw8lVIeOSL7GfCpHL-D7ZkY1m0vF4pX3bHCLneYFthV2MjTCdW2zlE/s640/blogger-image-1982420367.jpg" /></a></div>
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Today was a different story. We had chicken, rice and peas yesterday for supper. When I was putting the leftovers away, I cut the chicken up and put it all everything in one container. There wasn't a whole lot left, so I thought we would eat it for lunch. I decided to try chicken fried rice. I've eaten plenty of chicken fried rice - it was part of my favorite combo #3 from the Granite curling club lunch counter across the street from the brewery. But I've never actually made it before, let alone for the kids. They have had it on a couple of occasions before though and it went over reasonably well. </div>
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The girls walked into the kitchen this morning and asked if it was lunch time just as I was dumping everything into the frying pan. I said it would be ready in a couple of minutes. Then I was greeted with a chorus of 'What is that?!' and 'Leftovers are for supper!' and 'We want buns!' and finally, 'I'm not very hungry.' I didn't let this slight lack of enthusiasm deter me. I fried on.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiUmsdG_fC0AjPnOaTGw_7KGMY-n0-lLGLQdubfBty0-pMACtptke2W0FbDXch9k7jv15BQDoAwt45ajX3M3DIsQOj2FQrN0_etHCMXG1DaXdaH0IauUpRRIvWs34X5lNvgk4fgyVozo/s640/blogger-image-1159840149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiUmsdG_fC0AjPnOaTGw_7KGMY-n0-lLGLQdubfBty0-pMACtptke2W0FbDXch9k7jv15BQDoAwt45ajX3M3DIsQOj2FQrN0_etHCMXG1DaXdaH0IauUpRRIvWs34X5lNvgk4fgyVozo/s640/blogger-image-1159840149.jpg" /></a></div>
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And it turned out really good. I made sure I sampled it before I turned it over to the eager mouths just to make sure their whining was unfounded. CeCe asked for ketchup (before she tasted it) and ate it all with no issues. Jorja rolled it around with her fork for a bit and then gave in and tried it. 'This is actually really good Dad!' See, I said, sometimes you just have to trust me. She said, 'There's one thing I won't trust you with though - music.' That hurts. But she was now eating lunch with no issues. Ginny was still saying she wasn't hungry and pushing her lunch around with her fork. I said that was ok, she could have it for snack when she was ready. She didn't like that idea either, so she eventually gave in. She had to separate out all the chicken and put some ranch on it (don't ask - she eats ranch on all meat) but she eventually ate her plate. It was long after the other two were finished, but she made it. Maybe the growth spurt is over. Later.</div>
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-65160427171663596792014-07-31T11:27:00.000-06:002014-07-31T13:53:23.756-06:00Beatles, Buggles and a little loveThe girls and I were heading out to buy a few groceries this morning. I'm not exactly sure how the topic came up - some sort of fight or disagreement - but Ginny said, 'all you need is love.' <div><br></div><div>That's when I broke into song, singing the Beatles. I asked the girls if they new the song, and Jorja said yes and asked excitedly if it was by Rixton (a fairly new group that we first heard on the TV show 'The Voice'). Their song says, 'all I need is a little love in my life.' I said no, that was not the song I was talking about. My song was by the Beatles. Jorja immediately piped up, 'I don't like eighties music.' I said that the Beatles weren't from the eighties, but from the sixties. Jorja then replied, 'But they sing Video Killed the Radio Star.' Close, but not quite. I told her that the Buggles sang that song, not the Beatles. She said, 'the Beagles?' No, the Beatles, like the bug. 'Oh, I think the Beagles would have been a better name.' This was getting more confusing by the minute. Jorja then said that some of the Buggles were dead and one was shot. This was news to me, so I asked her how she knew this. A friend of her's had told her. Then I realized she was now talking about the Beatles. Sheesh, did I mention confusing yet? I'm guessing that this was probably the first time the Buggles were mistaken for the Beetles. </div><div><br></div><div>I suggested a music lesson when we got home, to which Jorja replied, 'I don't want to listen to a music lesson.' And she put air quotes around music lesson. I'm losing her. She's heading into the great abyss of tween music and I only hope she remembers some of her upbringing on the other side. I know my dad cringed at my music, but I grew up to appreciate Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton. Let's hope Jorja does too. Later.<br>
<br></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-81861248261966129392014-07-30T14:03:00.000-06:002014-07-30T14:03:44.505-06:00Coffee in the park<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
When the girls were done breakfast this morning, they took off for the park, which is fairly normal. It's usually pretty much empty first thing in the morning, so I thought I would take my cup of coffee and follow them. Usually I just keep an eye on them from the kitchen, but it was nice (and a bit nerve wracking) to watch them close up.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGOZj6DkxXyTpqMDF6sAREvtjoSfRqkz0I0_wPPVqT4sJH9ogZ8uZ9jsURN_oRFAQaxZT6JpriqdDoLSsn3hn8G0VNe3GMVtxqqNeK6GdxTrM93MnYuWgcCyOX8YSlL7ey406sT3ZMXg/s640/blogger-image--1633552415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGOZj6DkxXyTpqMDF6sAREvtjoSfRqkz0I0_wPPVqT4sJH9ogZ8uZ9jsURN_oRFAQaxZT6JpriqdDoLSsn3hn8G0VNe3GMVtxqqNeK6GdxTrM93MnYuWgcCyOX8YSlL7ey406sT3ZMXg/s640/blogger-image--1633552415.jpg" /></a></div>
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I wanted to take a picture of all three of them together, and this turned out pretty good.</div>
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After they saw that I had my phone out, it was "Dad, take a picture of me!" "Over here, Dad! Take a picure of this!" You get the idea. So I took some more shots. </div>
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Bats:</div>
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Almost a bat:</div>
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Firefighter:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNe4O8TbPbqWSeYZW9aQ5HP4GKmvizoFjf3lWVwc8eRzQgl_LQAlm31TTtiwms8d6JW2kHokqC7VvfcFOQiaxG1808TrA-ikrUMFF1hyphenhyphen3nPPPwnOaBM0M6quyeirE9eTcJn4j-RnabEs/s640/blogger-image--888147182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNe4O8TbPbqWSeYZW9aQ5HP4GKmvizoFjf3lWVwc8eRzQgl_LQAlm31TTtiwms8d6JW2kHokqC7VvfcFOQiaxG1808TrA-ikrUMFF1hyphenhyphen3nPPPwnOaBM0M6quyeirE9eTcJn4j-RnabEs/s640/blogger-image--888147182.jpg" /></a></div>
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Helllooo:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7hP2-taUXlRQTBzsxMQa_6y4pnAnH0ksEMbZF8u9G0iPJxtvNThN4TujbFNPbKCA0FbLBDN9aHdBvLFIngSg3HK8JJ9dMSpBtV4Jl4mFSVW2n5aFABjMa9AR-W-ncUB4vUik_82tOlM/s640/blogger-image-651371173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7hP2-taUXlRQTBzsxMQa_6y4pnAnH0ksEMbZF8u9G0iPJxtvNThN4TujbFNPbKCA0FbLBDN9aHdBvLFIngSg3HK8JJ9dMSpBtV4Jl4mFSVW2n5aFABjMa9AR-W-ncUB4vUik_82tOlM/s640/blogger-image-651371173.jpg" /></a></div>
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Don't forget about me:</div>
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In and on 'the cave':</div>
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Later.</div>
Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0Lloydminster Lloydminster53.254529 -109.996496tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5523820502620497325.post-42710257886266947392014-07-27T21:08:00.001-06:002014-07-27T21:22:54.575-06:00One monthExactly one month ago, we woke up in our new house in our new city for the first time. It still seems a bit surreal. Sometimes it feels like yesterday, sometimes it feels like longer. <div><br></div><div>We are mostly unpacked now and settled in. We've had company from India and from town here. Tomorrow, we will have our first overnight guest (from BC). Jorja had a birthday and turned 9. We found a preschool for CeCe, got her registered and met the teacher. We found a piano teacher for the girls. Our next door neighbor came over with a warm pan of brownies one day (they were so good). This morning God solidified our feeling of what we were thinking would be our new church home. We discovered that the Pizza Hut here still has a sit down restaurant and a lunch buffet. Hello 1995! We've got some pictures up but still need to paint. When you work in health care like Julie does, you have too many things to compare color to. Our walls are bile. All in all it's been a good month. A lot has happened once you sit down and think about it. </div><div><br></div><div>Here are some pics of our first month I haven't already posted. </div><div><br></div><div>My two corn shuckers:</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloTiqvK3eA85TZ0VJOgXe4lvuorb4vdnikAlb0eisH2Mu7WEQvkxy9rw45t3SI6YE3AHis3GbDF1msceMtwPraz_c9S7tn8klTjkzNe0bspb8xDCH-u5DqSsLLCjL74G2fsvPQYgeYdg/s640/blogger-image-1443808027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloTiqvK3eA85TZ0VJOgXe4lvuorb4vdnikAlb0eisH2Mu7WEQvkxy9rw45t3SI6YE3AHis3GbDF1msceMtwPraz_c9S7tn8klTjkzNe0bspb8xDCH-u5DqSsLLCjL74G2fsvPQYgeYdg/s640/blogger-image-1443808027.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dropping Julie off for her first day of work:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Y7u4JUdqVaEI4midLtQ3r3ng95DNRKAqBb72XLoxUiVe0Xy_XG0GlgjeBU9niHHGtG7T1F4tP-hzP9WIZcYwz3G99xuXEUx75HrmAC1hXOi63kK75VlX9Q8ckh39QZsapFIBDfwzdwo/s640/blogger-image-2063714331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Y7u4JUdqVaEI4midLtQ3r3ng95DNRKAqBb72XLoxUiVe0Xy_XG0GlgjeBU9niHHGtG7T1F4tP-hzP9WIZcYwz3G99xuXEUx75HrmAC1hXOi63kK75VlX9Q8ckh39QZsapFIBDfwzdwo/s640/blogger-image-2063714331.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The girls testing out Julie's new 'nest' chair:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKaN5lBFD-nb4sowNyJkMio5gT3LI6bUKvzQ-fa42bJ133tObnZmHB0teDl1EZVo_Q_H2fROX2fcoNhRB5i8XqLb6HRrQ-GRVHdxt82Ayp3z3k6uNLs1fmnMVWULRoLcM-wiVjpkemiQ/s640/blogger-image-441092006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKaN5lBFD-nb4sowNyJkMio5gT3LI6bUKvzQ-fa42bJ133tObnZmHB0teDl1EZVo_Q_H2fROX2fcoNhRB5i8XqLb6HRrQ-GRVHdxt82Ayp3z3k6uNLs1fmnMVWULRoLcM-wiVjpkemiQ/s640/blogger-image-441092006.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My own minion army:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8ffxsXjdmLfCJDY1THh140H4XURixf9YG2C6zNB3o8xXdxekmhw2J6iV3TUe0ubh_58CP8JEhMW76DafMx8wQ89_OQZlXibldULFGjr_UiCjyUqiSmH-DIOyeupyth6Xzmj7ZKIXetY/s640/blogger-image--281544981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8ffxsXjdmLfCJDY1THh140H4XURixf9YG2C6zNB3o8xXdxekmhw2J6iV3TUe0ubh_58CP8JEhMW76DafMx8wQ89_OQZlXibldULFGjr_UiCjyUqiSmH-DIOyeupyth6Xzmj7ZKIXetY/s640/blogger-image--281544981.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">With the help of YouTube I can braid:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiluVdmfMxSo5l9LY3WukdHSj_pL8ZAoW2nejrVlGFDzM-2OqaOHnAzzusEMbn6xMnwLVrjrAlOEyLzYHRR3DZNaEH-LOVoi9YTDSIC7wOZUXky3tQil0Ngb4s_9bGL-3sNqUlwpkjMSA/s640/blogger-image-378325178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiluVdmfMxSo5l9LY3WukdHSj_pL8ZAoW2nejrVlGFDzM-2OqaOHnAzzusEMbn6xMnwLVrjrAlOEyLzYHRR3DZNaEH-LOVoi9YTDSIC7wOZUXky3tQil0Ngb4s_9bGL-3sNqUlwpkjMSA/s640/blogger-image-378325178.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Art time:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEt6X6ILGqw2ri_3KAsislL0QDt8MlItzEuyLJg8Yk198YuPrh-CZGVgKoqjFHtPHi-V8575aJuRvtJ3Aj2nmZ6SDPGaRRulqyGLRfQQ2KDhCjDJAzH_IcAjplk4wvRjG-tBEv6q4vTE/s640/blogger-image--1440798588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEt6X6ILGqw2ri_3KAsislL0QDt8MlItzEuyLJg8Yk198YuPrh-CZGVgKoqjFHtPHi-V8575aJuRvtJ3Aj2nmZ6SDPGaRRulqyGLRfQQ2KDhCjDJAzH_IcAjplk4wvRjG-tBEv6q4vTE/s640/blogger-image--1440798588.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Being this close to Alberta, I thought I should become a cowboy:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k5azGpuigds3rp0ivYFSUPpa1cLkZuFLDfeA9B8xcFXF1onN2zutDqZu6_cjmmPdxFpAw2uLJZkih0O5uORXY3nSP9ltPtCS6-4bGd32RjkU1rcSd0J3oPqL5HOPWaGKUki4rVNr1U0/s640/blogger-image-2068214799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k5azGpuigds3rp0ivYFSUPpa1cLkZuFLDfeA9B8xcFXF1onN2zutDqZu6_cjmmPdxFpAw2uLJZkih0O5uORXY3nSP9ltPtCS6-4bGd32RjkU1rcSd0J3oPqL5HOPWaGKUki4rVNr1U0/s640/blogger-image-2068214799.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Later. </div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162044551216487961noreply@blogger.com0