A Work in Progress...

This post is mostly for my Mom and Sisters. I realize that they may be the only ones interested in seeing step-by-step progress of our house rising from the earth...the rest of you can just come and visit when it's all finished and fabulous! Here is a recap...from the beginning, with two new pictures added from the past two weeks. So, bottom right is the latest picture.

Oh...and I have to add this one too. It seriously almost brought me to tears to look in our back window and see our stairs (going to the big open sky...but they're there!) And, I was pretty excited to see that big walk-in pantry next to them! It's just so weird to see a house in this state and imagine that your LIFE is going to happen within those unfinished walls. Crazy stuff.

I drove by with the kids this morning to see the "worker guys" and they've done so much just since last Saturday...they've done tons more framing and we actually have a roof! Too bad I didn't have the camera with me. I'm feeling the need to get on with the packing!

The Day After...

So here we are, the day after Halloween. We had a wonderful day that began with a lazy morning and then an afternoon matinée showing of Where the Wild Things Are (Anno and I enjoyed it, Tyce liked it, but thought it was "too sad", and Macie was a nightmare...so Anno actually saw very little of it, I guess!) Before we went, we took a moment to read the book again, so Tyce would be aware of the monster factor before we were in a dark theater! Funny...I thought the monsters would scare him, but in the end it was the sad parts that had him wailing like a banshee.

Later in the evening, the kids had a blast Trick-or-Treating.

Today, Tyce spent the whole morning, after breakfast, FEASTING on his loot, and hardly made a dent in his HUGE bowl of candy. He was literally bouncing around the house with a crazed look. He needed an intervention. Enter the second phase of the plan: the trade. This worked so well last year, so we thought we'd try it again. We went to the store and he got to pick out a toy (within reason) and then when we got home he traded us the whole bowl for the race track that he picked out. Now, I've just got to make sure that the candy makes it into the garbage before I make my own dent in it! Now he's happy, we're happy, and the dentist will be happy!

For Grandma and Beeps and Meg...

...what we've been doing this afternoon (special thanks to Oma and Opa for this gift! Echt een geweldig cadeautje!)

October

Seems I can't keep up with anything these days! Every time I post on this blog, I vow to post more regularly...which never seems to happen. Oh well! So, what's been keeping me busy?

Well, we're building this...and so excited about it! Should be done in the Spring...stay tuned!

We're loving this little whirlwind...

and trying to keep up with his 4 year old mood swings...

We were SHOCKED with this blast of early winter...

And that's us in a nutshell! Life is good!

Happy Long Weekend!

I don't even care WHAT we're celebrating...I'm just happy to have Anno home for an extra day! We had a great weekend, with mostly beautiful weather. There's definitely a twinge of fall in the air, but the sky is blue and clear! Love it!

On Saturday, we FINALLY had our yard sale. We've been preparing for it for months, and dreading it for even longer than that. We weren't sure how to swing it with the kids, especially Little Miss, but it all worked out in the end. We set Tyce up with a cookie stand, and that kept him busy and motivated all day long! And, Macie wasn't feeling that great, so she either just wanted to be held, or was asleep. Hated that she was sick, but loved that for once, the timing of sickness wasn't totally off.

Macie had to get in on the cookie action too (with a leopard that she rescued out of the 25 cent toy box!) Today we spent the afternoon at Big Sky Garden Railway in Nanton, Alberta. What a random little place. But, with all of the model trains buzzing around, AND the miles and miles of track to play on with dozens of Thomas and Friends trains...Tyce was in heaven! And, Macie had a great time too.

So, September is off to a SUPER start! We're hoping for many more beautiful fall days, and maybe even a few hot ones, so we can sit and soak like this:

Hello!

Summer is going way too fast. We're back home after a wonderful trip to Utah. So sorry that we missed seeing friends this time...I guess it was a mostly family affair! July was so packed full of activity that I'm not even going to try and recap. I'll just say it was full of parades, concerts, movies, plays, shopping and eating out. And, of course, lots and lots of swimming and sun. Hope everyone is having a lovely summer!

No Way!

Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? This is what we woke up to this morning...

AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Please, let me go back to some May memories...to some sunnier days...when things made SENSE!

There was a visit from Grandma...

for lots of play time and, of course, for a birthday party!

Happy Birthday Tyce! He is so much fun lately. I'll definitely dedicate my next post to him, and all of the things I love about him. I have a very good feeling about life with a 4 year old!

There was LOTS of sunshine and LOTS of MUD at the backyard "construction site"

Yes...I let this happen on a regular basis...I may be sacrificing flower beds, but the HOURS (literally) of entertainment for Tyce is well worth the mess!

We had a glorious evening picnic and play time at a nearby spray park...

And then there was THIS lady...

getting so big! She's walking all over the place and trying so hard to communicate.

PLEASE, come back summer!