Track and Field

Here are some pictures of track and field yesterday. It was a nice day with a bit of a cool wind, which was just perfect. This weekend we start moving some boxes and things to our new rental in the city, and then I'm sure June will just absolutely fly by.

Brandon at the 100 M start line. There are some fierce competitors in his class. Go boys!

Jacelyn was more worried about smiling at me for most of her events. 

Brandon's favorite event, the standing broad jump

My little runner...came in first in the 100 M and second in the 400 M

Not Jacelyn's strongest event...ball throw

.......or Brandon's for that matter.

She placed first in High Jump as well... and just about knocked out the teacher on the  try before this picture when  she hit the pole with her foot.

6 year old girl group

Home is for Healing

So after my sojourn to Rosetown and helping out at the farm and in town at gramma and grampa's new house, this is what I walked away with:

this handmade blanket that Grampa made,

these mukluks that gramma made herself, and are lined with flannel and wool (wow),

these old milk bottles that gramma painted,

this unused little crock pot for dips and other yummy treats,

this marble cheese or butter server, which is too nice to use everyday but is sentimental for me (xmas),

and a few more crafty things and such that I couldn't resist.  I had tears in my eyes a few times when we went through these memories, but the thing that made me cry was a silly set of soldiers made of wax that used to hang on the Christmas tree, back when the ornaments were all handmade by gramma and us kids. So I took those too.

It was a great weekend filled with laughs and memories and lots of hard work.

On the way home I stopped by a field, as I had my camera with me, and took some pictures. These were my favorite:

Today Mike and I celebrated our 12th anniversary as well as Mike's 35th birthday. Tomorrow will be Charlie's 3rd birthday. So much life is going on around me right now!

That Old Farmhouse

I scrapped two whole layouts this week! The rest of the week will be spent tidying up before my weekend away from the kiddies and the husband....
Yes, I'm getting a whole weekend to myself.
Well, not really for pampering or anything like that! I wish.

I'm heading to my hometown to help out my grandparents with moving off the farm and into town.  Anyone knows how big of a job that is; rifling through 30 plus years of memories and "things" is a huge deal.  I wanted to be there to experience some of it, as my favorite memories were made there.  I am an emotional nostalgic, as I like to call it, and will shed many a tear as I help to go through some things.
I realize that growing out of my childhood means never being able to hit the rewind button and experience again what I was fortunate to have around me as I grew up, but a part of my heart aches that I won't have the chance to...whether I want to or not.  I feel like the decision has been made for me because I'm not a child anymore, and never again will run loose on those 10 acres.

And I'm not just talking about the fun times growing up with all of my cousins at the farm; the skating on the dugout, listening to hours of music on the old record player, meeting for club house meetings in the fort grandpa made in the trees with cookies we snuck from the counter, and playing kick the can or fox and goose in the huge yard that's been covered in perfect white snow.  But also of the alone times I spent out there with grandma and grandpa...the absolute routine of it all was so comforting and safe without being monotonous or boring.  The smell of baked bread, tea biscuits cooking in the toaster, fresh coffee, the radio set to country 600 CJWW and already playing as I tiptoed down the stairs the morning after my sleepover...which I did whenever I could, I loved staying there that much.  Seeing grandma sitting at her little island table doing a crossword puzzle with her coffee, and grandpa coming in from the yard after just checking the hens for eggs...something he tried to make me do but I just watched. Eating porridge grandpa made for me as he seemed to do each time I stayed there.  And above it all, and surrounding all of that, was the smell of the old farmhouse...so comforting and unchanging.  The smell of home.
Yes the weekend will be bittersweet for me: leaving my kids with Mike and taking away from myself one of my favorite places to be.  Even though time has created a gap between me and the farm, with busy lives, and busy kids, I will never forget the feeling of home that I felt there, or the love I have in my heart for that old house.

Through Charlie's Eyes

Here's a glimpse of what Charlie sees through her eyes on a typical day.

And once she discovered how to edit photos:

...and take videos:

Oh, and who could forget the recovered footage from the day the iPod went missing??  That was a day where everyone pointed the finger at everyone else, but the proof was in the video:

And I bet you thought it was Charlie all along!  So did we all.

More Renos

For my mom's 50th birthday we surprised my mom with a new oak vanity, and we told her we'd put it in for her. Last weekend, while she was at work, we surprised her with a total bathroom makeover, complete with the new vanity, sink, and taps, countertop and backsplash, flooring, baseboards, toilet, new wall color and a mirror that Charlie picked out herself. The only thing we didn't overhaul was the old green bathtub, but since it is still in such good condition, I called a reglazer in Lloydminster, who said he'd come out and reglaze it for $450 bucks...something to look forward to for another time. 

Dance, Gymnastics, Piano, oh My!

Here's Jacelyn's Tap routine from this past weekend's recital at Fame Dance Studios. She had a badly sprained wrist from falling from the top of the apparatus at school the Wednesday before. Because it was so swollen she favored it quite a bit. She also danced a Hip Hop number, which wouldn't upload for me for some reason.
 She's happy/sad that another year is over, but is excited for next year to begin as well. She'll be in festivals in Jazz and Tap, a Ballet Tech class as well as a stretch class. With Charlie in dance for the first time as well, next year will be busy with us at the dance studio 3 days a week.

Brandon's first piano recital was amazing...no mistakes, and he had a good time. We are so proud of him. He played three songs, one of them a duet with his teacher, and his nerves didn't get the best of him at all! A few days before he had his gymnastics recital and badge presentation as well. He received his Bronze badge, and is looking forward to entering CanGym next year as well as piano after we move to the city.

Good job my babies!