Still Alive!

Yes, we are still alive! This poor neglected blog...I am sure no one even bothers to stop in anymore :(

Sometimes, life just gets in the way and this blog (and the time that it takes to post) seems to have fallen by the wayside. So sorry.

Today, I came to revisit the blog in search of pictures of our family cat who has left us today. So sad :( He has been ailing for a while.... we all knew it was coming.... but when he took a turn for the worse today, we knew we couldn't put it off any longer.

It is such a tough decision to have the life of a pet ended. And it is even harder to try to explain it to the kids. Yes, that's right, we discussed it with the kids. I know not all parents do that. They tell their children that the pet "went to the farm" or "ran away" or....

But we made the decision to have an honest discussion about the difficult but, in our minds, most compassionate choice we could make.

The Girlie said "I don't want to have any pets anymore because they always just die!!" (This is the third pet this family has lost in four years) And as difficult as it was to hear those words between the sobs and tears, it gave us an opportuntiy to talk about life, and death, and how important it is for us to value and appreciate the time we have with those we love.

So thank you, Eddy, for the life you have shared with us and the gifts you have given us all over the years! You will be missed :(

Happy Holidays!!

I have SO much blogging to catch up on but...

in the meantime....

From our house to yours



We are wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

My adorable nephew has turned one!



He really enjoyed his cake LOL



While we were there, the bear took his turn with my camera and snapped this picture of the girlie and I




Please forgive the dark circles under my eyes. I still have a night's sleep to catch up on :)

The Elusive Family Photo

Those of you who have spent any amount of time reading my blog will obviously know...I love taking pictures...especially pictures of my kids. So, while we were all together at Fort Whyte for the Girlie's birthday, I wanted to take a picture of all the kids together. Maybe for Chirstmas cards...perhaps just for us...whatever. I would just like to get a nice pic of my pride and joy.


Humph...easier said than done. Here is all I got...


Hmmmm....the middle child is missing (refusing to get up on the rock because so and so blah blah blah....you know the drill )






Take Two: Where is the Little Man? Exit stage right...climbing a tree









All togther now but wait....don't they look thrilled to be there?!?








Yup, little man gone again.




SO frustrating!!


I think that I may have to perfect my Photoshopping skills (which at the moment are pretty minimal) in order to get a picture of all five of my kids sitting together, looking at the camera, and not scowling.

Until then...this does still give you all a window into my world.

SIX!!

Thursday marked The Girlie's sixth birthday. Wow!! I can hardly believe it!

Here she is...what a happy looking six year old, huh?










Our first stop of the day was Mongo's Grill for lunch. Birthdays in our family are sort of a big deal. The birthday child basically calls the shots for the bulk of the day: ordering up whatever they want for breakfast, lunch and supper, school can be skipped...you get the picture. Mongo Grill was both the girlie and the middle child's choice so this was our second visit this week. Oh well. it is much better than McDonalds!!



Check out these goofballs!








After lunch, we spent a wonderfully warm day at Fort Whyte Alive. We walked the paths, rented a Bison Buggie, heard geese honking and just generally enjoyed the fresh air.

These two are doing their "cool" poses

On "the rock" where pictures have been taken each year for 6 years

Birthday Girl up close

Daddy/daughter duo

By the end of the day, the princess was tired so The Bear offered to piggy back her the rest of the way. What a good big brother (and S had to get in on the photo action :)

And there they go...

What a great day!

Sunday Family Fun Day

A beautiful September Sunday! Who knows how many more days like these we will have left?

We decided to try to make the best of it!

Hanging around...

A stop at Starbucks for Strawerries and Cream

Walking the labyrinth

Father/Son chat

Climbing rocks

Climbing Trees

My favorite flowers

Hopefully next sunday will be just as nice!

Smile of the Day

We hosted a family BBQ on Sunday to celebrate the three September birthdays (2 of ours as well as our niece). Though my camera stayed untouched most of the day, I couldn't let this little sweetheart go home without at least one shot.



SO sweet!

Family Gatherings

We spent the weekend away at family gathering. What fun!


We saw family that came from a distance...







And others that don't live TOO far away but far enough that we see each other only a handful of times each year...


Here is the newest member of the family




"The Boys"

The favorite "Uncle B"

Fun after the "candy scramble"

And flyin' high on the swings

These gatherings have been occuring since I was a little girl and I love SO much about them.

I love to see the kids making those connections with my cousins kids (what are they to each other then? Second cousins? Cousins once removed? I don't get that stuff :o).

I love all of the aunties and uncles around (great and great great aunties and uncles even!!).

I love the songs and the campfires (when they aren't rained out) and the food and the games and the fun. The kids get to run around with one another and laugh and race and...well, you get the picture.

Some people think we are crazy for having these extended family reunions as regularly as we do and maybe it is a bit nuts. But where else can you go, and be with people who have known you your entire life? Who can tell stories about your parents and your grandparents? And who better to keep those stories and memories alive than the eyes and ears of our children?

See you at Christmas!

Family Fun Day -- June 6

On the 6th of June, we had a family BBQ to kick off the summer (although it didn't really FEEL like summer...bbrrr!) and to celebrate the visit of my SIL from Alberta. She and her husband come out to Manitoba to visit us so rarely that a get-together was a-given.

Here they are...buddled up to stay warm.



Here is a shot of our host, my BIL



And yet another brother-in-law (my hubby has 4 brothers!!) and his girlfriend. This was the first time she has joined us for a big gathering and she seemed to just fit right in.



Trampoline fun






The little man...dirty dirty dirty (as always)



Here is the youngest one in the group. SO cute!!

With the girlie...the baby hog. She asked all daylong to hold the baby! I guess she comes by her baby obsession honestly considering what I do for a living. LOL

Here is my niece with her boyfriend

Aren't they cute?!?

And a shot of the gang setting up the fireworks for later (no...that is not a real shot gun in my eight year olds hand! It's an airsoft rifle and the boys spent the better part of the day shooting pop cans. Sigh...what's a mother to do?)

And THIS is my favorite shot of the day! My hubby doing his best imitation of the teenager. Uncanny resemblance!!




Food, family, fun and fireworks! What better way to spend a cold dready Saturday? Thanks everyone for a great day!

Fun at the Dinner Table

Dinner time at our house is often chaos but even more so when we have an audience from outside the family. Here are a few snaps from Sundays dinner....

And who was the audience you ask? The teenager's girfriend. Yikes!

Cute girl. I am sure that she thinks our family is insane but, oh well :o)

Day 5 -- revisited

I am happy to share a few more pics from Janaury 5th (now, with my clients permission, of course :o)

Just look at this gorgeous family!



It is such an honour to particpate in these miracles.




You can practically SEE his parents falling in love with him!




A family is born...

This mother was "born" just moments ago....holding her baby for the very first time.....

Beautiful!!

Welcome to the world! It was such a pleasure to be a part of your journey!