Sunday

Let me start my saying the baby of the family is sick. Poor guy. Really not well. I don't think he'll even be well enough for school tomorrow. He's just laying in bed watching The Simpsons (yuck), still in pajamas.

Sterling, after spending two days away from home with N, has decided to grace us with his presence. I picked him up last night at 9pm and by 9:15pm he was asleep in his chair.
I must give him credit though. While Friday was all about fun and biking and the mall and computers and xbox and on and on....with N (it was a PA Day), yesterday he spent all day at a Family Fun day volunteering with the local Fire Services, Police Services, Red Cross and other organizations throughout the community. He worked with the Fire Services filling and pressurizing fire extinguishers so kids could put out little fires. He said he had a great time and has almost completed all his mandatory Community Services hours for his whole high school career. He's done. We're very proud of him. He needs 40 and only started with getting them on July 1st. He says he'd like 200-300 hours but I just want him to get what he needs finished so we don't have to worry about it.

Craig played football yesterday and although he ended up having to ref - which was not a good experience - he still loves being out there, playing, drinking beer, eating, hanging out with his buddies. I am so happy he has that outlet.

I spent the day with Kaedo yesterday as everyone else was gone. We watched The Avengers and hung out. Today I had the opportunity to spend some time with my friend D. It was great. She is so nice to hang out with and always has lots to tell me. Love it.

I can't believe next weekend is Thanksgiving. I'm trying to decide if we need to go out and do our family pictures like we did last year. I would like to so we'll have to see what everyone else thinks. I am also hoping for a round of golf. That was not an option this weekend with Kaedo feeling so crappy, and maybe, just maybe, I'll make a Thanksgiving Dinner. Let's hope Craig doesn't read this or I'll have to for sure. Mom - can you send me some mashed potatoes?????

Year 4 Week 1

And so it begins again.  As mentioned before, the boys have generously agreed to do the gnome picture for another year.  Really not much convincing as they seem to enjoy it except for those times when it has almost been missed and we have had to rush them outside to grab a quick pic.  As you can see, this years gnome is football themed (special shout out to Kelly, Petrica and the boys for providing this one :).  Although we don't typically name the gnomes, Shannon thought we should come up with something for this guy.  I decided we would call him Yac.  For those not familiar with football terminology it stands for 'Yards After Catch' and I thought it just sounded funny for a gnome.

sorry!

Life is a little overwhelming right now but I have made it a priority to work on the blog this weekend. I hope to get some more regular posting up as well as getting the new banner on display. We have taken our weekly gnome picture and can't wait to introduce our new gnome (and tell you his name) and post the photo of Kaedo retiring our Travelocity gnome. Lots to talk about but life is getting in the way.

I'll be back soon!

PS - there have been 22766 views of this little blog and this is the 1331 post! yikes!

Week 52 Baby!!!!!

And there is is. Another year over and done. 3 years. How can that be? We took about 10 shots to get this one. We usually only take the one - no messing around with these two pros!
They have officially signed on for another year so we will be introducing a new gnome, retiring this guy and making a new header for the blog.

We have had a hard week here this week, of which I will write more of through the weekend. Some of the things I do want to mention is that we send out our condolences to both my dad and Craig's on the loss of their uncles. We are thinking of you this week.

The boys are off to volunteer setting up for a corn roast that is happening tomorrow. I am proud of them being willing to volunteer. As Sterling hopes to start working in the next couple of months, I am happy he is fulfilling is mandatory volunteer hours before he ends up not having time to volunteer, work and have fun. In saying that, how the hell did I get a son old enough to be ready to work? Good god!

Terry Fox Run

Bright and early this morning my guys were in the neighboring community volunteering and participating in the Terry Fox Run. Sterling volunteered, working water tables and doing other odd jobs and Kaedo ran/walked 10km in support of the run. I am so proud of both of them. They are giving back to their community and participating in a worthwhile cause.
Sterling is spending the afternoon with his friend C, and Kaedo is lying on his bed watching a movie on his computer. He is so tired. He just wanted to chillax this afternoon.
Craig is still out biking with M and I'm just tidying up around here getting ready for my first day of full time hours. Busy week ahead so we'll see how it goes. Wish us luck!

Week 51

Wow how time flies.  Only one more week before gnomee retires and we start this all over again.  Hopefully the kids want to continue.  Kind of a neat tradition to be able to track how they have grown up,  Maybe some day we can gather them all in an album.

Sweeeeeet!

I went to work this morning and about an hour in I got a message "you've got mail". I opened my email and lo and behold an inquiry if I would like an interview for a job I had been coveting and had applied for weeks ago. Friday at 1pm. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. I quickly forwarded it to Craig so he could share in my happiness and replied YES! I would LOVE an interview. OK, so maybe I didn't say LOVE but trust me, it was implied. She emailed me back with all the details and now it's set. Friday, 1pm. Oh My!

Wish me luck! I need it!

The Honeymoon is Over

The week one fun of seeing their friends again, hanging out, getting to know their teachers is officially over. Last night Kaedo spent three hours doing homework and Sterling has only been home for 5 minutes and he is already working on what he needs to do.

Craig is busy at work and I am on my last two weeks of Return To Work graduated shifts before I need to have a permanent position within the organization or look elsewhere for employment. The next few weeks will be scary waiting to see what will happen. I am so glad to have Craig who keeps me grounded, provides me with his expertise and helps me every step of the way.

Thinking of Jessica tonight! As she would say Bhahahaha!

For Gramma

Kaedo has a wonderful new teacher at school who is part of an organization that breeds and releases Monarch Butterflies. On top of the fact that that alone is very cool, she built a Butterfly Sanctuary in her classroom. Over the past week she has been teaching the students how to feed the butterflies. Kaedo explained to her that his gramma loved butterflies and could he tape himself feeding one so she could see. His teacher invited gramma to come to class to learn herself but when Kaedo explained that she lived far away, she bent the rules and allowed him to use his phone to tape the feeding.

To say he was thrilled is an understatement. He has spoken about the experience many times in the last few days. He also told us that on Friday she made him a "Butterfly Teacher" so he could teach other kids how to feed them.

The video is long - over 2 minutes, but it is worth the watch. While you don't see his face, it is Kaedo holding the butterfly.

They use an open paperclip to sweep under the butterflies mouth to make the tongue (it has a long name but I can't remember what it is) come out. The tongue is almost as long as the legs. They drink with the tongue and taste with the legs.  It is really so cool. You'll see that when he dips the butterfly in the second dish of water it is to clean its legs off so they aren't sticky (a sugar solution is in the first dish). I am so impressed with this teacher and look forward to meeting her this week at parent night. What a wonderful gift to give these children.

WEEK 50!

Sterling was standing over my shoulder when I started editing this photo and he was shocked that we were already on week 50. Only three more weeks until we use our year four gnome. Shocking.

Sterling has a cold today. I think he caught it from Craig, who has been sick all week. Aside from me, they are all quite a healthy bunch, so I don't remember the last time Craig or Sterling has been sick. Craig was actually sick enough to come home early one day and has been in bed well before the rest of us all week. Sterling was certain last night he was getting sick and based on his coughing through the night and the way he feels today he was right on the money. Poor guy!

Craig has gone to football this morning - it wouldn't matter how sick he was, he would still go. HA!

Don't know what the weekend holds for us as it is rainy and gross so our golf game is out of the picture. We still have a month or so left to get in another game so we won't worry too much about this weekend.

First Day of School

While writing this post and reflecting on a conversation Shannon and I had about not being able to believe we have a son in high school I thought I would dig back into the archives and post the school years in review.  Its crazy looking back on these pictures to see how much the kids have grown.  They have really matured into a couple great kids... (ahem), young men and we are both so very proud of them.

Sterling

Kaeden

My how they've grown

Our last day

Can't believe this is our last day before school starts. Man, how the summer has flown by. The boys have been busy and this last weekend has just come up upon us so quickly. It is bittersweet for me as there are a lot of changes this year. The boys will need to be a lot more responsible. I know they can do it. They are amazing but it is sad for me as I think about not being there for their first day of school. It is the first time ever and that hurts my heart. Luckily Craig will be home tomorrow supervising and getting them off to school.

Yesterday was our 17th Anniversary. Thank you so much for all the best wishes. 17 years! My oh My! When Craig did his toast to us yesterday afternoon and said "here's to 80 more", I knew I loved him even more than I did all those years ago. We took a picture but it wasn't any good so I haven't posted it here. Sorry.

To our adorable nephew Jacob who is going into grade one this year - we wish you such good luck! We know you will do wonderful and have a great time! You are bound to be the smartest kid in your class!

To our niece Emma - Our sweet girl - We know you are already rocking grade 2 just like you did grade one! You will be the smartest, of that we have no doubt. Good luck!

To Avery, you little munchkin - hurray for playschool! We are so happy you are going to get this chance to play and learn and meet new friends. We are so happy that you are getting this new adventure!

To our cutie Caleb - hurray for hanging out with your friends, playing and having fun! We know you are going to have such a blast!

We are so proud of our nieces and nephews and everything they do. We love you guys!
Let the School Year Begin!

Sterling

Yesterday was all about Kaedo and today is all about Sterling. The first picture is my new favorite I think. My god is he handsome! The other ones are pics I have taken over the last little while showcasing Sterling's favorite pasttime. Haha! He is a person who needs a nap. If he lays down any afternoon and you can guarantee he'll be asleep in 5 minutes. I am a nap person myself and think it is wonderful that he has the ability to do this. I think with his new school schedule he'll be napping every afternoon.

We're on the last of the days off and soon school will begin. Craig will be home on Tuesday supervising wake-up etc so I hope it goes smoothly. Both of the boys are nervous but I hope we can get a system in place that will work for everyone.