Just Four of us Home

Gerald left this morning for Ontario. It was a pretty solemn morning as we started school. Neither the kids nor I particularly like it when he is gone. But gone he is right now and this is part of his job whether we like it or not. Keeping busy definitely helps our days pass more quickly.

After we finished school and lunch today we headed off to the science fair our home schooling group was having. Although we didn't participate with a science project we had a great time seeing all the projects. The kids all agreed that the 'walking on water' project was extremely interesting. Andrew also was talking about the ice melting experiment. I thought that one was interesting too!

Right after that we headed to MacDonalds with another family and enjoyed an early supper. Now that is out of the norm for us to eat at MacDonalds here in town but we jump at most chances to break up our days when Gerald is out of town. We were also invited to a concert at the junior high but we opted to stay home due to the lateness and the bitter weather.

The kids are all asleep now and I am doing a little pick up and a little cleaning. I know that Gerald wouldn't approve of that since I am still suppose to "resting" my shoulder but he is not here and I do have another appointment tomorrow so if I do something that I am not suppose to do it can be aligned tomorrow. That's my logic anyway!!

Sandy

Ballet Class

Today was observation day for the parents at Olivia's ballet class. It is always fun to see all that she is learning and how she is progressing. She has a fun time although she informed me that it is a lot of hard work.

Gerald missed the class since he was in Winnipeg for a meeting that was cancelled due to the snow. Oh well, at least he will be around for the recital in April.

I finished transplanting all my plants today. The flowers and vegetables are now in the pots that they will stay in until they are planted outside. I enjoy working with my plants. Quite a few of them are from seeds that I harvested last fall.

My shoulder is finally starting to make some progress. On Monday the chiropractor told me that we are finally gaining ground. He still wants me to limit the using my right arm and if you came to visit you would quickly notice that I have been doing just that. I am afraid that by the time my shoulder is better and I have permission to fully use it once again I will have to use a shovel to clean the house. The kids and Gerald do help but, well, you women know, it just isn't the same. Mind you, I am not complaining, really, I'm not. :)

Time to clean up from supper!
Sandy

A Long Post with Lots of Pictures

Olivia has lost her first tooth! And we are so thankful. The story behind the tooth is this.... When she was two years old she fell and hit her mouth on a metal Tonka truck knocking the tooth upward into her gums. As she grew older and her teeth grew we saw less and less of the pushed up tooth until people started commenting that she had lost her tooth. We could only see a sliver of the tooth. Last year we took her to a paediatric dentist who said that it had not damaged the permanent tooth and that it would probably fall out on its own but if not they would have to pull it. Tuesday morning as she was eating breakfast she came and told me that the tooth was sticking out farther than normal. As she took a bite of supper the tooth fell out. It was a one day process. We are so thankful that the tooth fell out on its own. Of course she is thrilled that her first tooth has come out.

Last Saturday Gerald took the kids to the winter carnival here in town. They had a very fun time skating, sledding and going for a sleigh ride. Gerald said that they were the first ones there and they had the rink to themselves.

(in front of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic symbol )

(off for the sleigh ride)

(Andrew gliding across the ice)

(Olivia coming in for a landing)

The Awana Grand Prix is coming up and yesterday was cutting day and today was sanding day. The kids are so excited. I am sure that some of it has to do with the fact that they all won trophies last year and they are planning and hoping to repeat that this year. Gerald set up a little shop in the basement last night to keep some of the dust to a minimum.

(Olivia opening the door to the "shop")

(Dad cutting Olivia's design)

(Caleb sanding his car)
(Olivia's working hard to sand the tiny details)
(Andrew's car cut and sanded)

(Leader of the pack)

We are definitely keeping busy around here. Gerald's seminary is going well but he does have to spend many evenings studying. His semester is about half over and the kids and I are happy about that. The kids and I are plugging away at our school too! Caleb asked me the other day how many more days until we are finished with school. We have just over ten weeks left. YAHOO!!!

Gerald is leaving this next Thursday for almost a week. He is going to Ontario for his work. While I don't like when he is gone we have learned how to manage when he leaves. Thankfully we have several things up this week with our home school group so that will give us something to do while he is gone.

Well, off to transplant some more of the garden that is growing in the living room, get lessons ready for tomorrow and finish up a few chores for the day. Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine.

Sandy

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! How nice for me that it falls on a Saturday. Gerald is going to take the kids to the Winter Carnival this morning and then pick up the babysitter on the way home. We will head out right after lunch for a nice leisurely day of being together. It has been awhile since that has happened and I am really looking forward to that!

So, have yourself a wonderful day.

Sandy

February Weather

Three days of above freezing weather have pretty much demolished the slide. So, time to find new entertainment outside. Caleb and Olivia, along with Olivia's friend, decided to make a snowman today. Even though they came inside sopping wet they had a great time and enjoyed their time outside.While they were outside Andrew was inside with his hands glued to the new DS Caleb got. After much negotiation with his father they worked out a deal and Saturday they went shopping after Monster Jam. All the kids have had many turns on it and are already way beyond what Gerald or I would be able to accomplish on it (Gerald might disagree about his ability on it) I haven't even attempted to play it yet.


While everybody else enjoyed two days off of school due to the icy conditions we plugged away. Hard to have ice or snow days when you just have to walk downstairs to the school. But we are now two days closer to being finished with school :)

Time to give the computer back to Gerald so he can continue to work on his paper.

Sandy

Foto Friday (on Saturday)...

So today was a day that our family had been looking forward to for weeks. We left for Winnipeg at 8:00 a.m. and went to MissionFest to spend the morning representing our EMC Mission Display. The kids went to the Children's session while Sandy and I were inspired as we listened to Paul Borthwick share an excellent message.
We ate a quick lunch and then we dropped Sandy and Olivia off at the mall for their "Girl's Nite" time together (although it was during the middle of the afternoon). Then the boys and I went off to the MTS Centre to go and watch Monster Jam, a Monster Truck show that was a gift to Caleb for his birthday back in January. It was a lot of fun. Going back to the mall we found that the girls had had a wonderful time as well.

Here are some pictures that we took at the show from the second row seats we had...

- Gerald