Sister's Weekend

We'd talked about when we could do a sister's weekend and then all of a sudden a couple of my sisters said that they needed a weekend away this month and if we wanted to tag along we could!  Pretty soon, most of us said that we were in and so an AirBNB was booked in Calgary!  (Rachel and Trisha weren't able to make it and then my mom was too sick to come.)

I left at about 4:00 on Friday afternoon after Lennard got home from work and met Shauna, Melissa and Mindy in Fort Macleod.  We stopped at Tim Horton's for some food and then we were on our way.  We pulled up to the house just about the same time as Nysha!

We had a three bedroom house for the weekend (it only cost each of us $25 for the weekend!).  It was nice to spread out and have space to play.  We pulled out all our junk food and played until the wee hours of the morning!  

I think Shauna won almost every game.

 Saturday morning, we had a lazy morning while everyone got ready for the day.  We got to the Cross Iron Mills mall just before lunch, so we had a quick lunch and then got our shopping on!  I'm not a huge shopper, but it was fun being with my sisters.  I did find some cute clothes for the kids on clearance though... and I bought myself some sneakers!

 About 4:00 we went to see "The Greatest Showman".  I loved the nice recliners at the theatre!  It made for a very nice experience.  Of course the movie was amazing!

 We went out to the Olive Garden for dinner afterwards and gave our server a run for his money... although he gave as good as he got.  It was hilarious.  Lots of laughs and lots of wonderful food!  I ate way too much and ached afterwards!

 I was so tired from staying up so late the night before and all the walking in the mall today that I only made it to about 10:00.  The rest of them played for another 45 minutes or so before they all went to bed too.

Sunday morning we all had to be on the road by 9:00 so we started loading up the van around 8:30ish.  Then we discovered that Nysha's car wouldn't start!  Thank goodness for booster cables... and knowing how to use them!

 It was a great weekend away from 'life'.  Thanks gals!  We'll have to do it again with everyone next time!

 The drive home was quick.  Thankfully the roads were clear and I made it home just a half hour before the kids got home from church! 

Date Night

Ben and I got to go on a date together tonight!  He was SO excited to go out with me and got all dressed up.  He opened every door for me and was quite the gentleman.  We went out to Firestone to eat.

 While we were waiting for our food to arrive, we had fun working on his activity sheet that they gave him.  We also had a great talk together.  He informed me that he has owl eyes... but he can switch them to eagle eyes sometimes.  What a sweet boy.

 I had pork sliders and Ben had a Hawaiian pizza.  The food was great, but the company was even better.  We had so much fun just being together.

We stopped at Value Village afterwards and Ben got to pick out a little bag of toys for a treat.  He got a bunch of pirate stuff... plastic knives, etc.  He thought he'd won the lottery.

We made a quick stop at Costco and got his glasses fixed from his fall on the ice, and thankfully they were able to straighten them up.  There are still scratches on the frames and lens, but they'll still work for now.

Before we left, Lennard told Ben that he had to have me home by 8:00 for my 'curfew'.  He was SO concerned when he figured out that we were going to be 15 minutes late.  Thankfully for him, I gave him permission (as his mom) to be that late with his date.  Too cute.

It was so nice to have some one-on-one time with Ben and get to really focus on him.  I feel so blessed to get to be his mom.

Note:  While we were out on the town, Lennard took Emma to the basketball game!  She had a blast as well and hasn't stopped asking to go again.

Saturday Projects

While Ben was at a friend's birthday party, we went out to the airport.  Lennard worked on the canopy for a while and we got things measured so that he was happy.  While I went to get Ben, Emma decided that she would help Grandma.  She deburred holes and did a really good job!  Mom thought that she would have to redo some of it, but she said that there were only about 3 or 4 holes that she had to touch up.

 Lennard got to start cutting the canopy this afternoon.  He was definitely holding his breath and praying it would go okay.  It's a lot of money to buy a new one!

 The compressor can't keep up, so it was a bit frustrating to stop and start.  He finally got one cut done and decided to call it a night. 

ER Visit

I'd been in Lethbridge all morning and had only been back in town for about half an hour when I got a Facebook message from one of the teacher at the Elementary School asking me to call her.  I wasn't sure why I would need to call, but I did.  She told me that she is on supervision and that Ben had just fallen on the ice and split his head open.  

I quickly left the store and headed to the school.  Before I got half way there, Ben's teacher called to let me know that he'd been hurt.  I love our small town and how quickly I was able to get there.  When I got to the school, Ben was sitting in the chairs outside the office with a frozen yogurt tube wrapped in gauze on his cut head.  I was told that they even had to pull his glasses out of the cut in his eyebrow.  Yuck!  He was fine until he saw me and then he got pretty weepy. He'd scraped up his knees when he fell too, so he didn't want to walk.  I ended up just picking him up and carrying him to the van.

We got checked in and they saw him immediately.  There was a student doctor there that checked him out and she said that she was pretty sure it would only need to be glued, but that the doctor on call would need to see him first.  The nurses were great with him and got him some pain killers and a better ice pack.

 Unfortunately, it took the doctor three hours before he finally showed up.  So frustrating!  Thankfully, I had a fully charged phone and was able to get some movies on it for Ben to watch while we waited.

 They were able to glue his cut (although the doctor said it would have been better if it had been done within 45 minutes...grrr....).  At least he didn't have to have stitches.

He was very happy to get to go home.  I was glad that Lennard was able to step in and take Emma out to dance for me tonight.  We both ended up getting home at almost the same time.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I have such wonderful friends and family.  I had a super relaxed morning and then got to go to Shannon's for lunch with her, Dina and Crystal.  After sitting and chatting all afternoon, I got home just in time for the kids to get home from school.  Then, within a half hour of Lennard getting home, my parents came to babysit the kids so that we could go out to eat in Lethbridge!  We went to the Keg and had a fun evening together.  For some reason they couldn't cook my steak enough and after sending it back once and it still wasn't cooked, I just told them not to worry about it.  I couldn't eat the rest of it, but all the rest of the food was delicious.  Thankfully, when we got our bill, they had comped my meal!  It was so nice to get out without the kids and have some time to ourselves.  Best birthday gift ever.

Time with Grandpa & Grandma

I had an appointment with with Emma this morning, so my parents said that they'd watch Ben for me.  Ben dressed himself today and wanted to be 'handsome'.  I love that he had to have a shirt and tie.  I dropped him off at the airport and when we got back, this is what I found.  

Ben got grandpa to help him make a project.  He has such a fun imagination and I love that my dad allowed him to make what he dreamed up.  He drilled, deburred, sanded, dimpled, clecoed, and riveted pieces with the pop riveter.  He loved every minute of it! Thanks mom and dad!

Christmas Vacation

I felt bad that Lennard had to go back to work this week when the kids are still off school for another week.  We had a lazy morning, but then I got in gear and got quite a bit accomplished!  I found a purge/clean list for each month this year and decided that I wanted to follow it.  I managed to get laundry through and bread made.  Then, I went through the pantry and cleaned out any expired cans or stale food (not much, but it all got organized at the same time).  I went through two of my corner cupboards and sorted through all the water bottles, tupperware, containers, cups, etc. and got rid of anything that was missing a lid or looking worn out.  I went through all the mugs, plates, and appliances and got rid of a few things.  I cleaned off my counters and washed dishes.  It's felt great!

 The kids have played on the PS4, done puzzles, sang songs, and tormented the cat.  They helped me quite a bit too!  We took a trip to the library this afternoon and they each got to pick out a new DVD to watch this evening.

 Lennard ended up having to work late and didn't get home til almost 7:00pm.  The kids were sad because he was going to take them sledding again, but hopefully we can do that tomorrow.

Our crazy cat was quite the 'help' as the kids tried to do their puzzle!  He thought the puzzle box was a great bed... and then swatted at the kids hands every time they tried to pick up a puzzle piece.  It was quite entertaining!

New Year's Day

Lennard ended up having to go in to work to remove snow today, so the kids and I hung out most of the morning.  The kids from next door came over and played for a few hours and that helped lots!  When Lennard got home, we decided that since it had finally warmed up to about -6°C (it's been -40°C all week), we'd take them sledding!  They were SO excited!  We didn't go at all last year because of Lennard's broken wrist, so we were all happy to get out!

There were huge smiles (and a few tears when the fresh powder hit them in the face going down the first few runs!).

 It was such a perfect afternoon out playing together!  The perfect way to start a new year.

 Even Lennard and I got in on the fun... although climbing back up the hill kept me from going down more than a few times!  ha! ha!

 I am so blessed to have such a wonderful little family.  I love them to bits!

When we got home, we decided to get the driveway cleaned off a bit better since it was still 'nice' out.  Emma enjoyed digging in the snow and making her creations while we worked.

 Ben got in on the action and helped with the snow blower for a while.

It was such a perfect afternoon that I wanted to just freeze moments of it to re-live.  Happy New Year!