Favorite Moments

It's another Jaymeson moment, but it really just shows how sweet he is.  He has been carrying around a piece of paper for about 2 weeks with a picture of the bedroom he wants.  It's all cowboy themed with red and brown walls.

This picture is the exact one he's been carrying around.  It was from a Benjamin Moore idea book.

He carries it around everywhere.  He LOVES this picture.  So, how can I refuse painting his room like that.  I asked permission to take the picture to the paint store to pick out the colors.  When I got back, he was almost crying because he didn't see the picture in my hand.  When I said he had it, he had a huge smile burst out across his face and was so excited.

Needless to say, one of the rooms we've been painting was for him.  I seriously haven't been that excited to do something for someone for a long time.

Today, he saw the room.

I sent him upstairs and told him to look at it.  It's not decorated or anything.  Just the walls are painted red and brown like the picture.  I wasn't expecting a big response at all, but what I heard was, "WOW!!  This is SO cool!! (pause) I need to go thank my Mom!! (runs to the top of the stairs)  Mom, THANK YOU!!"

This is, of course, while he's in the midst of helping all the men unload a truckload of stuff.  One time he brought something into the house and he paused as he came into the house.  He said, "Oh, I gotta take off my shoes to go inside".  I said, "Oh Jay, you're so good!"  As he ran in the house, he answered, "Yeah, I'm following Jesus!"

He TOTALLY made my day twice today!

Thoughts on this week

What a week!!  It has been nothing but painting and doctors all week long, but BOY does it feel good to have it all done.  I am having a brief break while the last wall gets dry enough to do a second coat, but we WILL have essentially painted our whole house in 4 days!!

On Tuesday morning, I headed over to the new house to start things up and I got a call from my Doctor to come in ASAP, preferably by 1pm.  This is odd, as usually it is next to impossible to get in with her at all.  As I hadn't quite started painting, I thought I'd just head over.

I had hurt my foot in February at Grandpa's Funeral and I had assumed it was a really bad sprain as it if STILL really hurting me.  I had a set of x-rays done, but they were negative.  After 4 and a half months, I talked to MY doctor (instead of a walk-in) and she sent me to do a bone scan.  To my surprise, she got the results from the bone scan and I have two occult fractures in my right foot (meaning they are too small to detect on x-ray).  One is in the Tibia and the other in the Talus.  Essentially, I have been complaining of a sore foot from a sprained ankle since for FIVE months and trying to push through the pain to build up the muscles and get it back to full health... but ACTUALLY every step I've been taking has been re-breaking these bones (as they carry the full weight of your body while standing and walking).  FABULOUS!

So, my doctor put me in an air cast and said she's going to get me a CT Scan and in to see a Orthopedic Surgeon to look at the break and decide what kind of cast I need (whether I can put weight on the foot with a cast, or none at all.  Not overly excited about that... but at least it will fix the problem.  I just wish it wasn't while I was painting, moving and going camping.  Sitting lakeside with your leg in a cast just doesn't sound like a fantastic time.

While waiting to hear from the Surgeon to find out when to go in to the "cast clinic", I've been painting my house, and preparing for the move.  Not overly simple, but with the help of my Superwoman Sister-in-law, Manya, it's possible!  I can't thank her enough for practically doing it all.  The men have been coming after work, but she's been by my side all day long (and driving me around - as that's out too now).

So, today, I heard from the "Cast Clinic".  It will only take me until July 25th to get in and have an Orthopedic Surgeon's opinion on the whole matter.  A whole month?  Isn't that a little ridiculous?  I guess I'll be hobbling around on this air-cast for a month before I get to go see a surgeon to decide whether it's causing more damage or not.  Oh well.  At least I get to go swimming at the lake, right?

Our picnic in Fish Creek Park

We had so much fun here.  Jaymeson loved to throw sticks in the fire.  We loved the hotdogs and marshmallows, the puffed wheat squares, the Frisbee and the butterfly catching.  Most of all though, we loved being there as a family with Gran and Grandpa!  I also was SO proud of Kaia and Kienna who rode their bikes home (an hour bike ride) with Jarett.  Way to go!

*Disclaimer, we were NOT feeding the ground hogs.  They were coming up and trying to take food out of our hands and we would shoo them away.  The only "feeding" was Saryn throwing grass around the holes.

Bikes and such

 Jaymeson has a new strider style bike.  He is really getting confident on it and he loves it to pieces.  Bikes have been a big thing around here this month as the older two girls have gone on multiple bike rides with Manya and Jarett through Fish Creek Park.  They both got new bikes and have been LOVING it.  This particular day, Kaia and Kienna were with Manya, while we took Saryn and Jay to the church parking lot to practice with their bikes.

 Benson watching Jay and Saryn learn to ride their bikes.

 Look at that speed!!

 On a walk with cousin Macy.  These happy faces didn't last long.  They pretty much cried all the way through Fish Creek Park.  But it was a fun day!

 Benson discovered the goodness of grapefruit.  This was for Grandpa's birthday breakfast.  Benson beat everyone to the table (true Benson fashion).

Benson really enjoyed his smoothie that morning too.  Mom didn't enjoy the laundry so much though...

Heritage Park

Probably the most frequently visited park this month was Heritage Park.  We started doing it the right way where we focus on just one decade for the day and really learn about it.  Of course, we always end up on the Midway in the end and have to go on the train, but it's been really interesting learning about different aspects of Canadian History.  For example:
 
Sam Livingston had FOURTEEN children living in the little house they had there.  And if they had a guest, the boys slept in the barn and gave up their room.

Father Lacombe actually started a little settlement just south of Calgary for French Settlers.  It was just north of the River (now in Downtown Calgary).  His work was so extensive that he started an orphanage and a Seniors Residence down here in Midnapore.  The water tower that went with the orphanage still stands high and my kids call it "Rapunzel's Tower" as it is all enclosed to avoid freezing in the winter.  The Seniors Center was still there until it burned down recently.  It has recently been rebuilt with great historical accuracy.  The weird part was that Father Lacombe wanted to be buried in Edmonton (as that was where he was from), but he wanted his heart to go to Calgary, because that's where it belonged.  So they have his heart in a jar at this retirement home.  It is now buried under the monument that was built for him.  Perhaps the rivalry of Calgary and Edmonton was existent even way back then.

 We learned how "First Nation" people make fried bread and bead pouches.

Did you know that voyageurs worked for 18 hours a day, were not allowed to bathe for months at a time (so as to keep the black flies and other pests away), they sang to pass the time as well as keep the rowing in time with the others and they measured the distance they went by "pipes".  We get our "15 minute smoke break" in our culture from them.  They also are where we get "pot luck" dinners from.  They would all go do a little trapping and whatever they caught (aka, what "luck" they had) went into the pot for that nights stew.  You also couldn't be a voyageur if you were over 5'5".  There's so much more too.

The RCMP were, of course, doing law enforcement, but they would also deliver the mail to the settlers as they were making their rounds to see how things were going.  The traveling judge would come around every 6 weeks or so to put on trial any criminals and depending on the severity of the crime, would either be charged a fine or executed or taken to the county jail.  This means that if you were caught right after the judge left, you could be in their "jail" (aka a chair in the corner of the RCMP office with a foot chain attached) for 6 weeks until he came around again.

in a 1960's car at the "drive in"

 We also learned how to do our laundry.  Benson really got into the agitate part of the cycle.  He wouldn't let go of the plunger and just wanted to lift it up and down over and over again.  The lady who worked there commented on how a family just left where their six year old could barely pick it up, but Benson could do it and wouldn't even stop.  It was quite funny!

We've learned so much on our trips.  It really is fascinating if you take your time to really sit down and learn.

(Benson was scared to sit on the seat, but if he saw on the floor in between the seats he was as happy as a clam)

Benson and Macy in June

These two are ALWAYS into trouble.  Macy likes to empty any and every cupboard, and Benson likes to climb up them and get to the top of everything.  Either way, they're both adorable and I thought I'd post just a few pictures of them from the past month... plus a couple others from around the house!

The Zoo Pictures (see below post)

 One of the times we went, our cousins, Jasper and Kindred, came along.  We had so much fun learning and teaching them some of the things we had learned on other trips!

Possibly the cutest Grizzly in the world...

 We got to the Penguins right at feeding time.  SO amazing!  They were right up in your face.

 Jaymeson defended us through the entire dinosaur park.  This is him shooting a bow and arrow at a Triceratops.

Of course, we're always pretty tuckered out at the end.

The Month of June (and the end of May) in 5 minutes or less.

This month has been anything but dull, but compared to the craziness of packing and moving, it has been a relaxing paradise!  My kids finished up their curriculum and met with the facilitator at the end of May, so we have been having "The Month of Field Trips".  We have gone to the Science Center, Heritage Park and the Zoo multiple times.  We've gone on walks, learned how to ride bikes, had a Wiener Roast in Fish Creek Park and learned about nature.  We had a Celtic Feast to close our Social Studies group, got our eyes checked, and caught a Matinee at the cheap theatres (Mirror Mirror).  We went out to Spruce Meadows and got to pet a few horses (our favorite was named Catalina).  We've had play dates with cousins and friends, earned money, started going to a new ward and met new friends, did a bazillion doctors appointments (gotta get caught up when you have a built-in babysitter) and just hung out!

Now, realizing that there's still over a week until the end of June, I am re-capping the month simply because we get POSSESSION OF OUR HOUSE on Monday and I will be spending the following week doing pretty much nothing but sanding, taping and painting... then moving.  It has been a crazy fun month and I'm so excited that I've been able to have this down time before the craziness of summer holidays sets in.  Either way, I know I won't be able to blog for a little while, so I'm going to add some pictures of the fun we've had in a couple new posts.

But, at the end of May, we also got to go to Lethbridge and celebrate my Granny turning 85.  I'll throw those pictures now!


@ Henderson Lake

@ the Birthday Party "Happy 85th Gran, hope you like the Dandelions that my kids picked for you!"

(17 out of 34 Great Grandkids)


My cousin, Justin, became my kids hero when he brought over his girls quad and let them ride it.

He became even more loved when he took them down into the Coulee on his big quad!!  It's so awesome that my Uncle has this all in his back yard.  Makes the traveling much easier!