Winter play

The weather has been a bit of a beast this year.  I mean it's usually cold here in Jan., but it's been crazy cold here for months now and that's been awful for trying to get out and have fun, but some of us have still found time and inspiration to play-- during a small reprieve in the temps here and there.  With the snow ramp up into the play fort, Saba has been able to get up there and check out the living quarters.  I don't think she ever made it down on the sled though.

Ivan's pretty proud of what he and his dad built.  This is the tunnel at the end of the ramp off the play structure.

Ivan demonstrates.

This was the day Ivan and Dominique got to go skiing with the school.  I was subbing that day, but Brian got to go out and get a few pics.  Ivan got to ride the lift this year and go down some real runs!!  Brian didn't get much in the way of pics or video of him because he was off skiing and hard to find!

Dominique stayed on the easy slopes by the main area and LOVED skiing.  She got a plastic snow board for Christmas and has been using it on our homemade hill at home.  She can stay up on it.  We need to take them to the bike park and some of the other hills-- on a warmer day-- whenever we get one of those!

Emora walking up the snow shute.

She lost her hat going under the arch.  The arch used to be higher, but it melted some, so it needs to be dug out some more.  The kids have to time their zipping under it and duck to not get clobbered.

snuggle time

and goofy time

and supper time... Emora making supper in the bath? and Daddy whipping a little something up in the kitchen.  So our deal is that if I have a sub day, he cooks, so he's been learning to make more and more of our meals.  Here he was making bannock, he's also learned to make muffins (one of our lunch staples) and took us back to Texas the other night with some wonderfully spiced fried fish.  Crazy how a taste can bring back so many memories.

Long overdue Christmas pics

While Nana and Papa were here, Brian and I got to go for a weekend away anniversary.  We went to Moose Jaw this year.  It was cold like it has been all winter in Saskatchewan this year, but it was fun to go somewhere "new".

I love the old buildings- we went to the library there which is phenominal and got a bunch of materials that the kids loved. 

There are murals painted all over the place too.

This was at the entrance to an art museum.

One night we went to the new hobbit movie in 3D and saw this movie poster for the muppets' new movie.

We didn't get to this cafe, but will have to on another trip.  My aunt Mary says that she and my aunt Lavena worked at this cafe in their 20s when they lived in Moose Jaw.

Even though it was cold, we found fun things to do.  The kids LOVED to play on Nana's ipad and Papa's phone.

or just play on Papa.

Their last night in Canada- we ate out at a restaurant that is getting some renovations done.  So the decor was lacking, but the kids still thought it was a very fancy outing- look Mom- sugar in little packets!!  (oh yeah, we don't eat out much!)

Really they just blinked during these photos, my kids didn't wear them out this much so that they would fall asleep sitting up--- did they?

The high school semester is about to finish up and a new one start- meanwhile the kids are enjoying activites.  We went to a library program Sat. that they loved and tonight to a program at the school celebrating family literacy day.  They exchanged books and came back devouring their new finds.  Tomorrow Dominique's class gets to go skating, Thurs is Hawaian picnic lunch where we will all eat together at the school and have pretenda coladas and Friday is another big night... Brian has a gig in Moose Jaw and Ivan is going to test for his yellow belt in Regina.  So even if it's cold out, it's nice that there are adventures to look forward to.

We did finally have Emora's party after postponing it and mom and dad came for a visit for her actual birthday- so I'll have to get those pics up too.

Brrrr!

Some time before Nana and Papa were coming, we got our first hit of really cold weather.  When I mean really cold, I mean like -30 and -40C which is about the same minus amount in Fareinheit- so cold kids can't go out at recess, so cold cards refuse to start- even when plugged in, a water jug in the van freezes solid while I run in to get groceries, you feel your nose hairs freeze and frost forms on your eyelashes and hair from breathing.
I assured my Texan in-laws that it NEVER stays that cold for very long and that it would be warmer when they arrived- like -10 or -20- you know, more reasonable.  Well, it didn't.  They arrived in about -30 and it pretty much didn't let up the entire time.  Nana still got out and ran a few days (she's training for a half marathon) and Papa took our dog out for so many walks that she stopped looking like a sausage roll and more like a dog again.  We took the kids (and dog) out for a long walk on one of the "warmer" days.

They got cold and a bit whiny- but I gobbled up the view.  When you are indoors so much, it is so refreshing to get out, even if your extremities become wooden with cold.

This is one of my favorite walks, no matter the season.

Had to get a pic of the cat tails peaked with snow.

Here we were waiting for Ivan.  He was launching a walking protest by stopping and saying he wouldn't go anymore.  He was quite jealous that Emora got to be in the sled so much.  She has her arms in her jacket with my extra scarf wrapped around them- since she was cold.

Our toothless wonder could still crack out a smile.  See the ice shaping up in her hair?

I did promise them hot chocolate when we got home.

We made Brian come out of the house and take a picture with our actual camera.  The other pics are off my phone.

As Brian says-- to live in Saskatchewan is always an adventure!

in the land of the living

Sorry it's taken me so long to post here!  It's just been a hectic time for us, so the blog has not made it on the list of survival items for the day!  I've had a ton of sub days in Dec. and Jan. -basically everyday unless I was sick, which has occurred some too.  I guess if you're subbing for sick people, there is a higher than staying at home likelihood of getting what they had.

Last weekend, Dominique got a bad cold and next up was Ivan.  I started feeling icky, so I slept all weekend and started off the week subbing feeling fine, but by Wed. it had caught me again- with Ivan and Dominique also missing some days and I actually had to cancel a day I'd already agreed to sub.  So I've been taking it really easy this week trying to make sure this thing is really gone.  I've got 2 days in kindergarten this week and some other days too, and let me tell you, you've got to be at the top of your game to be in kindergarten!  Kudos to my amazing sis and to all the other kindergarten teachers out there.  It's lots of fun, but it requires constant attention and lots of energy!


So, I'm sure you didn't come to hear my whine, but I wanted to share my apologies for not getting anything posted much this year to date!  Maybe I can convince Brian to come on here from time to time when my weeks get full ;)  He has been doing an admirable job picking up the slack around here.  These were pics from Christmas time.  Nana and Papa came from Texas and we had a day in the city.  We went to a new to us museum.  The kids liked the statues in the foyer and that was about it.  They were twits through each room, taking a five second look at "boring" paintings and being more than ready to leave.  They would lay on the floors, hang upside down off ottomans and seats in the rooms and loudly proclaim "We are ART and we are called "bored at the library!"'  When I caught on to their antics, I laughed and laughed.  Of course I couldn't take their picture in the galleries, so I made them recreate a pose once we'd excited.  Thankfully, a kind and understanding guard asked us if we'd been there before and if we'd found the create art room yet.

That made the kids forgive us our BORING time looking at art... because now it was their turn to create.

So it went from them begging us to leave-- then it became me begging them to leave.

We tried to be patient as they created, but it was way past lunch time and I got hungry! and we had many more items on the agenda, some that we had to nix when we realized how much time we really had spent in the gallery!
Each of the kids created at least one masterpiece.

And they found more statues back in the foyer, which they absolutely had to pose with.

Kids are awesome!  And it's so good to be in the land of the living again and have some energy!  Stay tuned for more... but maybe kind of sporadically if that's ok??

Ivan and his friend Kohnomu

Two peas in a pod- these guys have so much fun together!

They like to be crazy together, talk non-stop and live in the world of their elaborate imaginations.

So wonderful to have friends.  Especially for his boy.

The girls have each other and that is awesome for Ivan too, but some days he just needs to be with someone his age and gender who thinks like him in so many ways.

They are good for each other.  Ivan helps Koh find joys in the farm adventures they have.

Kohnomu has no fear and helps Ivan to take more risks.  Ivan is way more cautious and helps Koh to think things through a bit before being totally crazy (maybe).

Their family, their large family- let him experience love in a way that we can't offer him, because he is ours no matter what, but with them, he is also chosen and that is a special gift that only friends can offer.

Through Ivan's connection with the Sinclair's he gets to learn about Japan and learn about farming and best of all about how to be a good friend to others.

I love watching him grow up, hate to see him struggle through some things, but that is part of the journey to, the part that helps us grow and mature, the part that helps us appreciate when we do overcome and rise to a challenge and become better because of it.

Much thanks to all of you, to all our friends and family who help us to experience life and grow in who we are.