Swimming Lessons

At the beginning of August the kids took a session of swimming lessons at the Spruce Grove Triplex. They had a great time and were there everyday fromthe 7th to the 10th. Claire passed her level 2 and Daniel will be sure to get his level 4 next time out.


Daniel had a great teacher and this is the first set of swimming lessons where he swam almost the entire hour. No more water games for him!

Claire had an amazing time at swimming lessons once she got there(didn't want to attend when registered). She made a BFF in about the 1st 10 minutes and though I cannot tell you her name, I am sure that Claire can. One of the cool things that she got to do was swim with flippers and she could make her way across the pool just like an otter. Claire will be moving onto level 3. Way to to Claire!




The last pic is of Claire diving with her BFF (girl in pink) watching on.

A Weekend at the Cabin

The last weekend in July was spent at our cabin at Seba Beach! We had a great time and Curtis took the boat so the kids got to go tubing on Saturday night and Sunday!!! They will have you pull them around in the tube for hours. I took these two pictures on Saturday night when we were out on the water just before a thunderstorm rolled in. I think they are fabulous!


This is the tube that the kids love! They both fell out of it a couple of times and are now over the fear of falling into the deep water and have learned that they can trust their life jackets. It is way too much fun to watch them bounce around in that thing! They are just like a couple of rag dolls.



They worked up the nerve to try out the smaller single person tube and they both decided that they didn't like it. Claire says that it hurts when you hit the big waves and Daniel has rubber burn on his elbows from holding onto the thing. Oh well, maybe when they are bigger they will like it better.

A VISIT FROM THE STANILANDS

At about the 3rd week in July we were very happy to have Curtis' sister, Tanya, his mom, Bernice, and our Nephew and Niece, Morgan and Jorja, come to visit from Lenswood, Manitoba.

Jorja is 2 1/2 and completely in awe of Claire and wants to do everything that she is doing. Morgan is 5 and completely in awe of Daniel and wants to do everything that Daniel is doing. It made for some sticky situations and fast talking on Tanya's part, but all went well and we all had a great time. I was sad to see them get in the truck to drive home.

We spent a lot of our time just letting the kids play together at home. They have not seen each other for almost a year and it was good for them to reconnect. Tanya and I, of course, managed to get some shopping in and we spent one day at the Waterpark at the West Edmonton Mall, which the kids loved.

We also spent an afternoon at Alberta Beach, about 40 kms from our house. Here are some pictures from our beach day!


This is Jorja. She never went in the water. Too funny. She is very sweet, but 2 1/2 and you have to treat her like a bank robber with hostages that you are constantly negotiating with. Claire was just the same when she was this age. You forget how fun toddlers are when your kids are 7 and 9.


This is Daniel, Claire and Morgan. Morgan is 5 and just the most wonderful boy that you could ever ask for. A total sweetheart!


This is my goofy Daniel


And Miss Claire.


The big event of the beach trip was building this sand castle village. Morgan and Daniel had a great time.


These pictures were taken just before we left the beach. The kids were pretending to be sea monsters as they came out of the water and the last shot looks like they are going to eat little Jorja. Thought they were super funny!

Foster Dog Update

Hello everyone, I hope that your long weekend is going well. I just wanted to update everyone on the foster dogs that we have had and have!

After Alex went to his new home we had a week's break while Tanya, Bernice, Jorja and Morgan were here. I should post those pics next! Then we picked up Yoko, a beautiful 6 year old black male that was just a joy to have. He was super easy and slept in the office with no issues. Yoko had a seizure in his previous foster home, but has not had another one to date. Dr. Anne, here in Edmonton, thinks that there is a chance that it was caused by the vaccinations he received the same day. It would be great if that is what caused the seizure because then we would know for sure. We will just have to wait and see if he has another one and make sure that his adoptive family is aware of the situation and all should be fine.

Here are some pictures of Yoko! The other greyhound ladies and myself have never seen another full sized greyhound sleep like this! Yoko is a very subdued dog, but I think there is a goofball in there.




On August 2nd, 2007 the kids and I completed our first marathon trip south. We went from our place to Lacombe and then cut east across country to Alix to drop off Yoko at Barb's house to be fostered. From Alix we zipped down to Red Deer and adopted an adorable Greyhound, Catahoola x from the Red Deer pound. We then stopped at Sonia and Andrew's for a quick potty break and then headed south to Calgary. We dropped of a beanie baby on the north west side of Calgary and then went to out Strathmore to meet Maureen from east of Regina who was coming to watch the Chuckwagons and deliver two greyhound puppies from the Swift Current SPCA. Well, to make a long story shorter, Maureen adopted one of the puppies herself, a little blue brindle female that she named Sage and the kids and I brought her brother home! We have named him Chester and we are taking some time to decide if we want to keep him. He is super cute, but is going to be a lot of work. I think he is worth it, Curtis still has to be convinced!

The first picture is of the Greyhound X I rescued in Red Deer.


And this is Chester. Isn't he just the sweetest thing you have ever seen! Mom, please no comments!

Daniel's New Dojo

Daniel has been spending the last couple of weeks settling in nicely at Arashi Do Edmonton, North. We had a momentous occasion today as he did his kate, tournament style. At the beginning you have to do an announce that goes like this:

"Judges, my name is Daniel Patience and I represent Arashi Do Martial Arts of Edmonton, Alberta, the kata I will do today is ........ with your permission I will begin."

Daniel has said Arashi Do Martial Arts of Red Deer, Alberta since he started karate at the tender age of 5. It was a big moment and I almost cried. He never missed a beat though, so he must be feeling like he has found a new home. Life goes on.

Here are some pics of Daniel's new home.

Arashi Do Edmonton, North is conveniently located directly behind Wholesale Sports. That is for you Papa!


This is the changing area as you come in the front door.


This is the office/front desk area that is to the right of the changing area.


This is the mainfloor mat area. Check out the cool climbing wall!


This is the upstairs mat area. Daniel's new Sensei, Mike is on the left in the picture.


I have to give credit where it is due so thanks Claire for being the photog on this one!

A Day in the Life of Acreage Living

Yesterday Curtis was out chopping wood (already feels the need to get ready for winter, sigh) and he came across a wasp nest quite by mistake. After a very quick trip into the house slowed only by falling over a large tree, Curtis informed me that he had just been stung by five wasps and asked me to inspect them. I was about 10 pages from the end of the Deathly Hallows (very good by the way) so I was less than enthusiastic and checked them out quickly and continued with my reading.

The next thing I heard was a lot of rustling and Curtis getting ready to attend to getting rid of the wasp nest doned in his green long sleeved golf jacket, camo hunting mask, camo hat and gloves taped over his hands. He was equipped with the best catching device available, black tape and a green plastic garbage bag. Well, I had to go and watch and the Deathly Hallows had to wait.

This is the wasp's nest. Curtis says it is the biggest he has seen in a long time.


This is the outfit that was the best for wasp catching. He is preparing to sneak up on the wasps.


He is now putting the bag over the wasp's nest.


One of the wasp's outsmarted him and managed to stung him in the hand through the cloth part of the gloves Curtis had on.


The bag has been successfully taped around the wasp's nest to the piece of wood to which it is attached. YAY!!


Now to cut the end of the stick off that has the nest attached. Please note Curtis' new chain saw. He says it cuts like butter, but I have decided to take his word for it. I think that I should treat the chain saw just like the riding lawn mower and avoid learning how to operate it as long as possible.


Curtis has successfully removed the nest/stick/bag from the wood pile!



Now that we are quite sure none of the super angry wasps have followed the crazy man and the plastic bag we have time to examine it up close and answer any questions the audience may have.


Curtis is now drowning the wasps in the bag in the pond.



Daniel is sure that he has learned enough to take care of the little buggers next time.


AAAHHHHH the excitement of Country living, now back to my book!

New House Part 2

Here are some pics of the inside of the new house
This is the back door entryway.

This is the kitchen, obviously.

This is the diningroom.

This is the livingroom

This is the hallway upstairs that leads to the bedrooms.

This is the spareroom.

This is the materbedroom.

This is the walkin closet in the masterbedroom. Light is off because it is messy.

This is the upstairs bathroom, excuse the mess. Should have left the light off!

and finally, this is the office. Now you have seen the upstairs!