Happy 60th Mom

My mom is 60 today, although Annie was the first to blog about her birthday, I will be the first to post pictures. To say my mother is the best, can't even come close to how great she is. She is the ultimate example of a mother's selfless love for her children and family. I thank God everyday for her, if I can be loved by my kids even 1/2 as much as my sisters and I love her then I will be a very lucky mom. Have a great day in BC "old woman"! Can't wait till you get home.

A little break..

...just taking a little break from blogging, some major stuff happening in my family and I needed time to deal with that. Everyone is well, but I can't really explain right now. The kids were happy about the snow and day off school. Hockey and dance were cancelled so we had a quiet couple of days, love that. Trying to get focused on Christmas and shopping but having a hard time with that. Maybe tomorrow. Have a good one

How cute are these........

................little camera's. I found them at the antique place in the mall yesterday. I have been wanting to find old cameras for the shelves in my scrap room. One of them even had the little book to go with it. Book club is tonight, which I am happy about. Trying to finish my homework. Yikes! It's just like when I was in school, waiting till the last minute. There does not seem to be much exciting to tell, life is still busy with the daily stuff. One of the boys on Connor's hockey team broke his collar bone on his 4 wheeler over the weekend. I still remember how much that hurts. Sarah got her report card for the 1st term and she had a 79% average in late immersion. We were happy with that, she says next year when she is back in English she should be able to get 90's. She still has too much homework but has resigned herself to that is the way it will be and comes home and just starts plugging away at it. She is such a great kid. I am starting to freak out a little about Christmas, I need to clean my house and decorate, do not have much shopping done yet. My sister is coming home though so that is what I should focus on. It will be so great this year to have all our family together for Christmas. Last week Annie started a new job, so we had her here for supper the night before as a celebration of her going back to work, notice the cake in the photo........."working sucks"

Have a good one.

This is no Winter Wonderland!

Holy crap!!!!!!!!!! We had a 2 1/2 hr drive home from Halifax last night in that freak'n Nor-easter storm. Connor and I were driving with Kellen from his hockey team and his father. We were on the divided highway and went off the road into the ditch section between the two highways, around and back up on the road and kept driving home. Then I got my truck in Aylesford where I had left it and almost went in the ditch in front of my house. So, needless to say we are not on our way to Halifax for the game this morning, but some are. Here are a few pictures of what it looks like outside the house. Hope all you girls in Moncton are having lots of fun!

Broken "blogging" fingers.......

.........that's what Annie asked me this morning if I had. I am lazy, I read everyone's blog and then skip writing on my own. We made it thru the big storm. Not much happened in Harmony except wind and rain, the power did not even flicker once. Kids and me were a little disappointed the power did not go out. Sarah was at Annie's that night for Elysia's Bday sleepover, so Connor set up a bed in our room on the floor. This is a picture of Sarah, I wanted to show you how here teeth are doing........she is such a good sport about the braces, any kid who wears them should get a pat on the back.....and any parents who pay for them should get a medal. It's a long and painful process on both ends.

So, I will not be going to Moncton this weekend. Connor's hockey team is playing in a tournament in Sackville, and I just can't bring myself to send him with someone else. Jeff has the farm so cannot be at any games and I am always worried he might get hurt and one of us would not be there. I know it probably sounds silly, but I would be worried all weekend. I can't get my registration back, so they will send me the kits. I will miss all the fun with you wild and crazy ex "2MF" girls. Have a few laughs for me. I would say behave but I know that is not possible.

I shopped at "The Barn" , it was great. Ria and Paulette you have a great setup there. I'm sure I will make frequent trips to see you.

Congats Annie on your job, but I will miss you on my days off.

The day after.........

........means too many peanut butter cups last night! Connor had a friend from hockey up last night to trick or treat. Sarah hung out with me, she did not want to go out with her friends in Kingston, cause there are too many weirdos she said. We only had 12 door bell ringers last night, and 5 of them were cousins. Every year it's less and less. Here's some photos of our pumpkins and Connor and his friend.

Snow was in the air.........

..........and I did not like it! I can't believe we had snow flakes this morning. Not ready for that. We were away this weekend for hockey. Sat had a game in Pictou and Antigonish, then stayed in Port Hawksberry overnight and had a game there on Sun afternoon, got home Sunday night at 830. Long way to go for hockey. We lost all 3 games which was kind of discouraging for the boys. Connor did play well, and he "got his clock cleaned" as they say. I really do not like this checking thing, but he does smush people on the boards and gets up when he gets hit. All I can ask for is no injuries. Saturday was also my niece Elysia's 13th birthday, she is so cute as you can see from her picture. And she really is a sweetie pie! Her and Sarah are such great friends, more like sisters which I am so happy about. Now I have to get back to cleaning my office, the entire counter top is covered and such a mess. Hope you all have your candy for tomorrow.

New Camera itch........

...........I have it bad. I sold my camera to a girl at work, well she is paying on Friday. I am sooo excited. I need to save a little more between now Dec because that is when the new Nikon D300 will be available. Sounds silly right, but to me it is the same as a man with a new power tool. Can't wait to get my hands on it. (Jeff wishes he was a camera) Not too much exciting here, I worked the weekend. Have to call the orthodontist because Sarah has a couple of loose brackets. I just wish they were in Greenwood not Kentville. Connor went to school this morning carrying his saxophone, it's almost bigger then him. He does not sound half bad for a beginner. Sarah has been busy all weekend working on her 2 projects. Fri night she went with some of her friends to the high school hockey game............made me feel really old, cause I remember going to those. I see some people have Xmas trees on their blogs to count down till the day............kind of freaked me, cause it's not that far away. Well, here are a couple of pictures of the camera I want. Impressive isn't it!

Pictures today.......I think

Now you have to look at the last three sideways because the stupid computer would not let me turn them.

Is it just me....

...............or are the trees more spectacular this fall? I find driving around this past week, the colors in the tress takes my breath away. Last night we had book club in Lawrencetown at Amy's. Driving the back way there is a little hill you come over and you can see the Church in Lawrencetown in the distance and with all the tress it was such a pretty picture. Of course I did not have my camera with me. We had a great time at Amy's, she has a really "cool" old house. Debbie loved the little doors upstairs and tiny rooms that all connect. At one point we were all hanging out in Amy's bedroom like a bunch of teenagers she was showing us her jewelry. Thanks Amy for having us. The kids both have their last school soccer games today. Jeff will take Sarah to hers and I am taking Connor. Tomorrow I am off to Halifax with four girls from work. Should be lots of laughing I'm sure. Friday I am back to work until Mon and will miss Connor's hockey game in Truro on Sat. I did take my camera this morning when I went to the grocery store. Some pictures you may have to look at sideways because the computer would not let me turn them around. Don't know why. Okay, so apparently I cannot upload any pictures right now, so I will do it later. But let me tell you they are spectacular!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you wondering, Crystal Falls is down the road from us. It is a nice hike in the woods. There is a road you walk down for about 15 mins and then some really nice trails in the woods about 10 min. It is a really easy but great walk back. We actually own the land on the left of the falls. So it's always been a special place for our family. Jeff's sister Dianne who lives in BC, actually got married back there. Everyone went by hay wagon and then walked. I could easily see Sarah doing the same thing because she loves it there. Here's some photos from a summer hike back there. And a photo of our friend we found on a rock in the woods on the high side of the falls.

I'm feeling like the turkey.............

............STUFFED! What a great weekend. Two big delicious meals, one yesterday at my mom's and one today at the farm. Yesterday after lunch we went to Aylesford to Dempsey Corner Orchard and walked thru the pumpkin patch and picked some apples. Today after lunch we went back to Crystal Falls for a walk in the woods. The weather was amazing. I wonder if the trees stayed red, yellow and orange all year would we still enjoy them as much as we do in the fall? This is definitely my most favorite time of the year and I am not ready for the cold weather yet. Sat night, we went to Hlfx for the PBR bull riding. Another great show this year. But I am thinking when those bull riders are 40 years old they are going to be so crippled up. They really are insane to get on the back of a bucking 1500lb animal. Of course there were some sights in the stands as well. Why do some women dress so cheap!!!!!!!! They degrade all of us. So here is a few pictures from the weekend for you. And congrats to my sister Tracey who ran a marathon in Victoria BC this weekend in under 4 hrs, way to go Tracey (and there was no one chasing her...go figure)

What a crazy life!

Another busy weekend comes to a close here in Harmony. It was Pro show weekend for 4H and Connor had hockey. Luckily pro show was in Windsor which was close. The kids did well showing their calves. I think Connor was 5th and Sarah was 3rd in her class, which was not so great but they did a great job getting their cattle ready on their own and a great job showing. Sarah's photography print display was second and she was 3rd for photography judging. Connor was 2nd for beef judging. Connor found out yesterday that he made the PeeWee AA team so he had a practice this morning. He was very excited to make the team. They had 39 skaters out for tryouts and took 15. Not sure how to get myself ready for the "checking" side of hockey this year but I will try. I am hoping now that 4H is done and hockey is settled we will have some kind of routine around here and maybe I can clean up my scrap room and get a few things done. Wondering how other members of the book club are doing with their circle journals?? Mine is still in my bag. (sorry Myleta) My sister and some friends from her work (old job) in Hlfx did the breast cancer walk today. I am sure that it must have been a very emotional day. One of her best friends, her mother is battling breast cancer. Some day I would love to run that, but I guess I would have to get out and start running. Not a very exciting or inspiring post but just wanted to let you know I was still alive and well.
PS: I am trying to sell my digital camera if anyone is interested. It works great and takes great pictures, I just want to upgrade a little.
It is a Pentax istDL digital SLR 6.1 megapixels (uses AA batteries) (original price $1100)
has a 18-55 pentax lens with UV filter (came with camera)
has a Sigma 70-300 Zoom lens with UV filter (original price $600)
Very well taken care of, want $800.00 (firm)

Saturday already

Where did the week go? I worked three days, drove Connor to conditioning for hockey all week, helped with homework, survived meltdowns from both my children about how much homework they have. Of course we all need to get used to being up early and spending the day at work or school. My question is why, if kids work all day at school do they need a ton of homework, after I put in my day at the lab, the last thing I want is to go home and do 3 hours of lab work at night?? The night of Sarah's meltdown, she had 50 math questions, some had more than one part, Social studies and french homework. She has 70 min classes, is that not enough time?? Sorry, I am not knocking the teachers, it's the system just as the health care system has huge problems since the almighty dollar became the number one concern. That's my beef this morning.

Just wondering what everyone is taking for classes at scrap gala??? I am taking:

I Woman with Kah Mei Sat @ 1230-530

Travel Notes with Carol Wingert Sun @ 930

Clearly Listed with Kah Mei Sun @ 1230

I did not order and extra kits, thought I would see the projects first then maybe they would still have a few extra to sell. Only taking the four classes, cause I want to have some time to relax and just hang out.

Really looking forward to book club Tues night to see everyone. Can't believe I miss that bunch of cry babies!!

Last day of Vacation!

Yes, today was day 29, I am back to work tomorrow. Can't believe how fast 29 days can go. But at least we did lots. Today Annie and I went to Halifax to Costco and MicMac etc, had fun, spent a little money, but not to serious. Although can anyone get out of Costco for under $200??? Sarah had a little meltdown on the weekend about school and being "stressed" out. We had a really long talk about how we can work together to keep her organized and she felt better after that, but it broke my heart to see how she can get so worked up. Connor was looking pretty tired tonight and had his meltdown over a speech about himself. It has to be 5min and he has lots to say about himself, but he does not want to bore people. Oh, how fun the first of the school year is. I myself am a little stressed out, over book club!! I have nothing done yet and as Myleta was so nice to remind us today in an email with directions to her house, it is next week.!!!!!!!!!! So I must get my brain in gear for that and I personally think Paulettes challenge is hard, ( a good challenge though) but I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. With all this new approach to book club and the challenges, I think we are now an "advanced" book club. Yup! another photo from BC.

First day!

So, I am supposed to be doing HST, but I want to blog first, but don't tell Jeff. The first day of school came and went. All was good, 6 am was early for both Sarah and I. She was worried when she got up because it was still dark and she wondered how the bus driver would see her. Luckily the sun did come up and daylight was here at 7:07 when she got on the bus. Yes, I did cry when the bus pulled away. ( I had to hide behind the curtain, because in grade nine, your mom CANNOT be seen) I had a really empty feeling when she pulled away, in only 4 years she will be in University. I will never be one of these parents who wish for there kids to leave home. Connor was so excited about being at Pine Ridge this year. He was bouncing when the bus came because he gets to sit at the back of the bus and all his cousins who still go to the elementary school are not allowed. They are both trying out for school soccer teams this week and Connor started hockey conditioning last night. So the Mom's taxi service is up and running for another season. Here are a few pic's from the first day and also the sand castles we saw in BC.

The eagle has landed....

....we are home. Flew all night Sunday and arrived in Halifax at 1030 Monday morning. Looking very weary, wrinkled and tired. But had an awesome two weeks in BC. We went boating, knee boarding, wake boarding (Jeff), beach combing, saw sand sculpture contest, bears on the side of the road, walk through the tall tress in the forest, salmon fishing (Connor caught the 20lb Spring Salmon) shopping and did something called the "Zip" Line. Which is wearing a climbing harness and hanging over a 100ft ravine and sliding (really fast) across two cables. Even I did it, it was great. Jeff had 8 days with us, for the first time ever. We spent time with my sister Tracey and Jeff's sister Dianne and families. Hard to say goodbye. But, after all that fun, it is nice to come home. All ready for school tomorrow, Sarah is going to HIGH SCHOOL, and Connor to MIDDLE SCHOOL, big day for all. They both have mixed feelings and I am just feeling old! I don't have to go back to work till the 11th. Which means my "real" vacation starts. Tomorrow is for getting caught up on the farm books and maybe Thurs will be for scrap booking????? Wondering who is rooming with who for Scrap gala??? I registered. Well, gotta go flat iron Sarah's hair for the morning, not sure how I will get her out of bed at 6am to catch the bus at 7:10.

Back in Nanaimo

We are back at Tracey's in Nanaimo. Had a great time in Port Hardy. looking out the window and seeing the ocean all day long was wonderful. We saw the whale, hunted for treasures on the beach. We also saw the biggest, ugliest slugs in the forest. They are called banana slugs and as Sarah put it, that's their name because they are so "freaking" big. Jeff and Connor left this morning at 5 to go salmon fishing again. We are meeting them in Qualicum beach for lunch. We are back Monday morning, I can't believe how fast time is going.
Paulette, thanks for ordering me the book, you know I would want one for sure. Gayle, Sarah would like the chocolate chip scone recipe she made in family studies. Do you have it at home?
Annie, hang in there the rabbits will go home soon.
Take care everyone

Port Hardy

I am sitting looking out Dianne and Scott's front windows and the view is the ocean. They live right on the beach. It is beautiful. I can't imagine having this too look at every day. We are watching to see if the whale will make his appearance. Jeff and Connor left for salmon fishing on the ocean at 5 am this morning. I opted out of being in a tiny boat out on the water again. We spent Sat on sprout lake with Tracey and Corey, the kids did knee boarding and Jeff tried wake boarding but he could not get out of the water. he tried for over an hour. All that turning around in the boat, I was not feeling very well.so we docked on one of the islands and had a snack. it was a great day. The kids loved being pulled on the tube. Well all the girls are done eating breakfast, so I guess we will go for a walk on the beach.

Has everyone registered for scrapgala yet?? Am I the only one who has not??

Hello from BC

We are having a great time. The girls have grown so much. Jeff just arrived an hour ago. We are going to Sprout Lake tomorrow on the boat. Should be lots of fun. I think I could handle being on vacation full time.

Off to BC!

We are off to BC, early tomorrow morning. We fly out at 625 am. Yikes! Sarah, thought she should sleep in her cloths. I will try and post while we are there. Last night we had book club at Paulette's cottage. What a great time. Great food, fun, laughs and we saw things (two things) we never thought we would see. What a great bunch of women. And Paulette, you were an amazing hostess. If I lived in a house where you cooked, I would be 500lbs. Enjoy the last of our dwindling summer days.

We are at the EX!

So no one is home to blog. It's Lawrencetown ex week, so that means all life outside of that stops and all we do is drive back and forth and spend a fortune on fish and chips from the fireman's canteen. Today is show day which means tension is thick as there is lots to do to the cattle all before 9 am this morning. Jeff and the kids left at 630. I'll follow along later. Poor Sarah nearly had a seizure getting out of bed that early. Her teeth are sore again as she was at the orthodontist on Tues. She is now all hooked up and we don't go back for 7 weeks. Which is apparently Oct 1 and I could not believe we are that close to the fall. Well, I better get ready, I think Myleta is doing a stamp demo today, so I will visit her later. We leave for BC on Wed. Can't wait!

Tuesday Update!

Well, Sarah has the million dollar smile underway. She got them on at 2 this afternoon, I just left both the kids at Annie's for the evening and her mouth is very sore. I feel so bad for her. Wish I could make it not hurt. They said the worst pain would be the first week. She had pasta for supper because you can just swallow it and I'm thinking she is going to be eating a lot of it. Here are a couple of pics of her before and after. Went to Graham's soccer game tonight, the little fart scored 4 goals for me. He really has some good moves. Graham had his own little cheering section. When he scored the third goal you could here him say, "yes! a hat trick!" Here's a pic of our future world cup player.