Mixed up Jelly beans

I am not really a jelly bean fan....Actually that's not true. I love the unique "jelly belly" beans. Life these days has been like a bag of mixed up jelly beans.

Cotton candy
Ginny turned eight a couple of weeks ago and told everyone she wanted just money for her birthday because she was saving for a bike. Cool thing is she did just that (Who knows where she got that talent from, neither one of us is good at saving). $100.00 later she found the "coolest" pink bike for 50% off and bought it all with her own money.




Cinnamon
Last year the kids would run through the house playing cops and robbers, attacking each other and pinning each other to the ground. This year they chase each other through the house saying "You have to believe in Jesus, you have to believe in Jesus". Can you tell they are in a Christian school now?


Pina Colada
We crammed in yet another long weekend camping trip close to home and had a really good time. One lesson I learned from our trailer ... when it has rained, do not stand near the awning while it is rolling back up. Can anyone spell torrential down pour?

Buttered popcorn (you know, the one where you bite into it and don't know if you should spit it out or choke it down).
To our dismay, we found out that we have been locked in at $11.99/GJ (for natural gas). By the way, the going rate right now is $3.00/GJ. YUCK!

Licorice
After two days of smelling fish all over, we realized that Malakai likes to pop his omega 3 fish capsules with his teeth and play with the stuff that is inside. DOUBLE YUCK!!

Tooty fruity
We are back in the school groove so our nights are filled with spelling, memory verses and reading.


What jelly beans are you picking out lately?

Toads, lightning bugs and laughter

Last weekend was the all church family camp out. In previous years we were always to preoccupied with our own camping adventures and never took part in the giant church one. This year, I am so glad that I made up my mind and said "we are going!" We had such a great time with the kids and with our many friends. I really enjoyed the fact that in this opportunity Blaine and I were not tied down with babies or toddlers. We are at that stage in life where we could say "mommy and daddy are playing volleyball, we will be right over there if you need us," and that was that.

It was also great for the kids ... Malakai made his way up the important brother ladder. Turns out that he is quite the bug catcher. Altogether he brought us home a toad, a horsehair worm, a few dozen leaches (one attached to his leg) and some snails. Keegan braved his element and joined a soccer game by himself, in the rain, with thunder rolling. Ginny was a little mini me (when I was her age) and wandered around from baby to baby helping all the moms.

I loved playing volleyball like I usually do but most of all I loved sharing a cup of tea in the back of our pick up, in the pitch black with my Blaine. We had great talks and huge laughter when the mystery animal proceeded to break our conversation with his "Nip" sound. I also enjoyed hunting lightning bugs with Blaine while the kids slept in the tent. I was in awe as they flew all around us and landed in Blaine's hand. We ended up using "Keegan skills" and captured one but I only kept it for a day and felt really bad so I released it.

The crazy farm road trip review

It was Tuesday morning when my plane flew out to Hamilton, Ontario. The moment I arrived I hopped in a Suzuki Vitara with my sister law, her two girls, their Collie and boxes up to the roof for a very long ride home.

The first night we only drove 5 or so hours to end up in Sudbury where we spent an hour trying to find just one hotel that had rooms available.

In Thunder bay Corey lost her dog in the middle of the city with cars swerving and honking. Meanwhile I was upstairs in the room wondering if she had been kidnapped or mugged. Then to top it off she left her keys in the cab that pulled over to help her get the dog. All said and done it took us till midnight to figure out which cab company had her keys and for them to locate the keys and bring them back to us.

After One scare of some strange guys following us, one speeding ticket, many, many construction zones, gobbs, and gobbs of dog drool and a total of 40 driving hours we pulled into the familiar gravel driveway

Crazy things that helped pass time....

Singing, laughing, bees in the truck, babies crying, road signs and advertisement boards. Of course pictures were not an option. We did however have a cell phone with the notes feature handy. Here they are for your enjoyment.

~ Bet your bass we have bait
~ Anderson Road
~ Rydeholme Road
~ Jelly Road
~ Yellow Brick Road
~ Gargantua Road
~ Yourchuck Road
and the best one of all
~ Seldom Seen Road

It was a crazy farm trip indeed.

Hey, hey, whats that sound?

You know the saying "A picture says a thousand words?" Yeah well I never really thought about it until we took this picture while we were in Jasper this weekend.

First, the highlights of our trip.

~ Having faith in God is like crossing a frozen lake that has been crossed by a ton of people but still knowing that you could fall through. Hearing the coyotes while your out there in the middle of the lake is another story.

~ No matter how cold it is you will cross any bridge and hike any mile just to hear your child's laughter or see their smile.

~ I still have no idea how a black, cold, metal bar could look so tasteful to a child. I can only imagine what it sounds like when they rip their tongue off. (Ginny was our first child to attempt this)

~ Who knew we had any idea what to do with a gushing tongue in the middle of a canyon.

~ Trying something when you older is almost always harder than it was when you were younger. "I can do it, I can do it!"


This is our trooper Ginny. Ginny did 2 hikes that were both 2 hrs. long. She also crawled into a very confined cave without complaining once or crying. It is so wonderful to see a child who doesn't wine and doesn't complain 24 hrs. a day.


This is me in the cave. I did complain. I was a little terrified to go into it. I had done it before in high school but it didn't help. I did it though!


This is a beautiful picture of the outside of the cave. Don't be deceived! The real entrance was much, much smaller


Last but not least...The picture that says a thousand words
Here we are, in the canyon on top of ice that has lots of cold rushing water underneath. We just set the timer on the camera so we could get a group pic. Just as the camera is ready to click we hear this huge thundering sound. Take a close look. Erin is clutching my arm (like I could save her.) Blaine is looking on the ground waiting for it to swallow us up ( or is he just a little worried about where my hand is going?) and yes I am screaming at the top of my lungs. Then there is Ginny, smiling at the camera like nothing is happening.

A picture says a million words.

The calm before the storm

We found this title the most appropriate seeing as that is exactly what it is. First let me tell you about the calm.

The calm was just that...So good for us. All the food you could eat, all the drinks you could drink. Time relaxing in the sun. Fun on Private beaches, swimming with dolphins, dance lessons, pool basketball, beach volley ball and so much more.

What we learn't about the calm....It is good to get away with your significant other to really touch base once and awhile. I learn't things in our relationship that I could improve on and things about myself that I had no idea he treasures. I learn't that over the years I have grown. Years ago if I had gone on stage and my pants had split I would have cried and never had shown my face again. "Yes you heard me right. My pants split on stage." All I can do is laugh and chalk it up as my most embarrassing moment.
We learn't how much we treasure each other and how we need to dedicate more time for just us more often. We learn't that we really need to hire our own maid and personal chef.

Now for the storm. I ended up catching some bug the day before we left. I was so sick I could barely walk. My parents were 1hr late picking us up from the airport. It took no time at all for the kids to get started on their bickering and tattling. While we were gone Erin slacked off in school and hid out in the bathroom with her friend so she didn't have to go to gym. Malakai's new phrase is "Holy Crap!" And there is now 4 scratches on our brand new counter top.

What we learn't about the storm....It is good to be home. I am now feeling some what better. Kids will be kids and they will eventually love each other. Erin is now going to be grounded for 2 weeks. Malakai will be brainwashed with a new phrase.. maybe one like Jesus loves me! As for the scratches, stuff happens. Our kids are alive, they are well, and they survived a week away from mommy and daddy. As for mommy and daddy we are rested, we are united and we are ready for the many storms to come. At least until next year.