The Grey Cup

On Monday the Grey Cup came to Vulcan!! It wasn't something that really interested me but it is an iconic symbol! Three of the Stampeders came along with the Grey Cup, they paraded down Main Street on the Starship Enterprise, which has won first place in the Calgary Stampede Parade! Not that I could tell you any of their names but I did Google them!!!

#56 Randy Chevrier has played with the Stampeders for 11 years.

#42 Deron Mayo has played with the Stampeders for 4 years.

#25 Keon Raymond has played for the Stampeders for 8 years.

 Armin wore his Stampeders Jersey and off we went!! We met up with our friends and waited in line to get a picture next to the Grey Cup, it was really quite neat to see it in person!! 

Two of the three players signed Armin's jersey while he was wearing it and he also got a players card and they signed that too!!! The guys were very nice and did not act at all like visiting Vulcan was a waste of their time!!! 

I was really glad we took the time to go and support our little community! It's not everyday something like this happens!! And hey, we got a free hotdog out of it too!!!!

Goat Farm

Last month the Kindergarten kids were able to take a trip to a local farm.  We were able to see African Pygmy goats that were only a few hours old...Oh did I want to take one home with me...The kids loved them I think as much as I did! It really was quite a learning experience for me!  Baby goats, or kids rather, will start to eat solid food literally hours after being born.  The mothers will only nurse them for about 2 months before they are shipped out to families purely as pets!  And it is very common and almost expected that a mother goat will give birth to twins or triplets!! 

It was so much fun!!  It is neat to learn about the interesting facts of other animals!  I especially loved holding the little goats and looking at all their different markings and color patterns!!

Spring has Sprung

Springtime to me is when the baby calves start to come!  I just love seeing them being born, and shortly after running and frolicking around...literally hours after being born!  There is just something about having new life on a farm...I guess much like a brand new baby...

I ljust love the marking on this little guy!! A perfect rectangle!!

This one was a one in a million shot!!!  

I love this momma's hair!!  

The kids all love going to check for new calves with Daddy, Emry lives for it!!!  I am thankful our children are able to witness these precious little miracles first hand.  I am thankful I can look out our windows and see if anything is happening or just to see the little ones bounding around!!  We have only just begun but Spring truly has Sprung!!!!

Easter

This Easter was a quiet one! We were able to spend Good Friday with my moms side of the family. It was so nice to see my grandma and aunts and uncle.  We were also celebrating my grandmas 87th birthday!! What an accomplishment!!!! My older sister put together an Easter scavenger hunt for the kids and they had a blast looking at the picture clues to find their next prize!!! The weather was beautiful considering what came on Saturday.....snow!!!!! 

Saturday we got all cozy under blankets in the basement and watched general conference!!! I love being able to stay home to watch it, I find I get so much more out of it!!! I loved ALL the talks given Saturday morning, all of them seemed to be just for me, exactly what I needed to hear!! After the session was over we all headed up to Vulcan to grab some groceries and we got subs for lunch!! We made it home just in time for the second session!! It too was very good!! We were able to sustain the First Presidency and all the general officers!!! Such a great opportunity for us to be able to show our love and support to those who are called by God to lead and guide us!!!  Not too long after the second session finished Jared headed into the Priesthood session with his brother while the kids and I had waffles for supper and decorated Easter eggs!!

Sunday morning we were encouraged by our bishop to attend the morning session at the church! I'm glad we went, even though I said I get so much more out of conference when I can watch it in the comfort of our home...well our kids behaved reasonably well so I was able to get exactly what I needed from it!!!! We came home and had super yummy beef dip, my favourite after church meal, and got ready to watch the last session of conference....again just what I needed!!!

I have been in quite a horrible funk lately :( I just can't seem to snap out of it.  My mind is spinning with so many thoughts, my stomach constantly hurts, I can't seem to stay focussed on anything for more than a minute, I've gained so much weight because all I seem to do is stuff my face with food, and not good food :( but through all this restlessness I was able to glean some hope from general conference. Our Prophet truly is called of God and his councillors and all other officers are too. The things they said spoke to my heart. Now to put those words to action...if only it was as easy for me to do than just say! Some quotes that really spoke to me:

This week as I remember the gift our Saviour gave to us I hope I will be able to pull myself out of this funk and apply His teachings more fully to my life. I truly am grateful for the gospel in my life or I'm afraid I would be pulled fully into the depths of despair.

Welcome Baby Max

A friend of mine had a baby boy 6 weeks ago and I asked her if she would mind if I had a baby shower for her.  She already has an almost two year old boy so she wasn't really needing anything but its always fun to shower a new mom and her beautiful bundle with "new" things!!!

This was the first "unfamily" party I had in our house and I had so much fun getting things and making treats and decorating!!

The shower was a success with lots of ladies in attendance! I loved the quick little games we played...one was guessing the number of days a specific animal was pregnant, for example those creepy little furry things (mice) are only pregnant for 21 days....EWWW!!!!  Cats are pregnant for 61 and dogs for 63.  Elephants are pregnant for 624 days, thats almost 2 years...YUCK!!!  The other game we played was guessing what item in the bag matched the letter on the outside!  The letters on the bags spelled out BABY SHOWER and each bag had an item used with babies that started with that letter!  It was fun and once the items were pulled out of the bags a chorus of "oh right" was heard among everyone!!!

I found the cutest old style milk jars and put string around the top with a tag that had Max's name written on it.  I also found blue polka dot and stripped paper straws and used them to slurp up the chocolate milk I served in the milk jars.

I made heart shaped sugar cookies and iced them with blue icing.  I decorated with the blue baby shower bags filled with yellow tissue paper and wooden blocks set up as block towers.  It was so much fun!!!  I just love doing things like this!!

I even spruced up our house to make it feel more springy!!!  I changed the red table cloth for a yellow one and put out yellow and blue pillows on our couches, and I bought a bouquet of yellow and orange gerber daisy's (my absolute favourite flower!!)

Welcome to the world little Max....

Family

I'm so thankful for both my mom and my dad!! They really helped me out this week. 

My dad drove down from Calgary yesterday morning to watch Armin while I worked at the school. They had lots of fun and even met my Uncle Brett for breakfast at McDonald's!!!  Having my dad do this allowed Myrna to go see Lalainia and her little family for a much needed visit!!!

Friday my mom came over for a visit!!! She was looking after Gilbert and Lily and while Gil was at a birthday party Lily and her came to our house to hang out!!! It was nice to have my mom here especially since she helped me clean my house!!! She swept and mopped the floors while I cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed!!!! She then helped me ice my sugar cookies for the baby shower I'm hosting at our place tonight!!! 

I take for granted all my mom and my dad do for me. I truly am thankful for their love, support and example in my life. I'm grateful for my parents and love them very much!!!!

33

Another year has come and gone and I find myself at the odd age of 33!  There was nothing I could have wanted for my birthday that I don't already have!  I have a wonderful husband who really is my best friend...he helps me with everything...from putting the kids to bed to sweeping and mopping the floor!! He really is amazing.  He is also very supportive of my many foolish thoughts and will usually guide me to a more realistic way of doing things!!  Together we have three amazing children who are the world to me.  Yes they are trying at times, but at night time when the day is over and all is quite and I tiptoe into their rooms, I see the most angelic little faces so peaceful and my heart melts, and I remember why they are here and why I have been entrusted to take care of them!!!

I had a wonderful birthday!  I was given a Bosch by Mom Puzey, something I have always wanted and it even helped me make my first really good loaf of bread!!!  I got to spend the day of my birthday with my favourite girl!  We shopped and then met Mom Puzey and Rachel at the theatre to see Cinderella!!! A truly magical movie!!  I loved every minute of it and was happy my girl was sitting beside me!  We then met Rachel's little family at Tony Roma's for dinner!  I was thankful to Jared for letting me have that day, even though there were a million and one things he could have been doing he sacrificed his day to spend inside playing with our boys so I could celebrate!!

In keeping with my tradition of listing the things I am grateful for I am going to revise and add to my list from last year!!

1. The Gospel.  I am so happy I made the decision to be baptized into such a wonderful religion.  I have witnessed many blessings in my life because of my faith!

2. Jared!  He truly is a wonderful man, so caring and compassionate.  He is very supportive of my many crazy ideas and helps bring me back to earth when my ideas really truly will not work!

3. Our three crazy kids!  I love each one of them more than words can express.  They each have a unique personality and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to be their mom!

4. My home.  It truly is a beautiful home, I love the fact that Jared built it and together we have made it a house full of lots of love and laughter!

5. Books!  I LOVE to read!

6. Chocolate!  Milk chocolate...I am addicted to Bubbly Mint Cadbury Bars, I don't understand why they only come in a family size chocolate bar, I can't stop eating it once I start!!

7. Sweaters!  The only good thing about this unbelievably long snowy winter is the fact that I have been able to wear sweaters everyday!

8. The mountains!  I love being able to see them off in the distance, snow covered and majestic!

9. The flat prairies!  I love looking out any one of our windows and being able to see for miles on end.

10.  Durum Wheat!  I think this is my absolute favourite grain crop!  I love the brown hues on the bearded wheat.  I love it when the wind is gently blowing through the crop making it look like waves in the water.

11. My family...my mom, my dad and my sisters!  I am so thankful for them in my life, for all they have taught me and continue to teach me.  I am thankful for their love and support and for words of advice in time of need.

12. My extended family!!!  I am so thankful for the Puzey family and for the way they have accepted me with open arms of love.  They are always there when I am in need, showing support and encouragement.  I am so thankful to have married a man from such a kind, loving, caring and compassionate family!

13. Broccoli!  I am not supposed to eat too much of it because it has so much potassium, which can thin out my blood too much!  But I really do love it...it is so yummy!

14. Walking.  I don't do it nearly enough, but I really do enjoy going outside for a walk.

15. Making cards!

16. Being able to have a calling in such a wonderful Church!! My calling now is in the Nursery and I have the best little guy to teach and to play with!!!

17. Cupcakes.  I really enjoy making new cupcakes.  I haven't made one yet that I don't like!

18. Baking in general!  I love trying new recipes!  I find it absolutely fascinating to mix flavours and seeing the way things come together from a liquid type form into something so moist and fluffy!

19. Cats.  I have liked them better outside in more recent years but I love the way they like to curl up on my lap and purr.  The sound of their purring is so soothing!

20. Dogs!!  I love how loyal dogs are. I feel safe having Gibson keeping watch outside.  When he barks it lets me know that either a strange car has come in the yard or there is a coyote out in the field.  I like how strangers are leery of him even though he really is harmless!  He has a very intimidating bark! And now we have a huge monster of a dog to keep Gibson company!! I absolutely love Fender and how he looks so ferocious but is really a big cuddly fur ball!!

21. Bread!  Especially now with my new Bosch!!!! I hope I never have gluten intolerances because I don't think I could give up bread!

22. Lego!  I love how the kids LOVE to play with it and will play for hours using their imaginations building things for all their mini figures!

23. Trees.  Though we don't have a lot where we live I love how every single tree is different, how they can be planted right beside each other but they grow in such different ways.

24. Autumn.  I love the colours of fall.  How the leaves change colours at different times and create a menagerie of tones and textures!

25. Cookies!  Any cookie really!  I love baking cookies and eating cookies.  My family calls me The Cookie Monster!  They can be homemade or store bought, it really doesn't matter!

26. The idea of gardening!!  I want to love gardening, I love having fresh vegetables but I don't like weeding it and thinning out the rows.

27. Decorating our house to suit the season or holiday!

28. Movies!  There really isn't a movie I haven't liked.  I always seem to find something I like about it.

29.  Cuddling on the couch with Jared.  Though he describes it more as leaning against him!  I love that time in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed when we can just sit together and watch t.v.!!

30. Music!  I particularly love the Disney music from the most recent movies, but I really love all types of music (except rap!!).  I love playing it loud while cleaning the house.  I love how all our kids sing along and dance.

31. Visiting Teaching!  I am not always very diligent about getting it done but I love going and I also love having Visiting Teachers come see me!  I love the common bond we share in the gospel, raising our families and generally trying to do our best!

32. My country!  I am proud to be Canadian and would not want to live anywhere else in the world!

33. For my job at the school!! I love being able to work where my kids go everyday so I can get a hug from them when I see them at recess or in the halls!  I love working with children and seeing how much they grow from September to June!!!

Here's to another year, new experiences and many more memories!!!!