Owl pellets....

On Monday at the science centre I bought a pack of owl pellets, thinking they were exactly like the pack of 'owl puke' that we did a few years back...unfortunately I didn't read the pack properly, and these were in fact synthetic owl pellets and were balls of dryer lint with plastic bones in them....not very good at all - but Sam still had fun discovering the bones inside and then sorting through them using the enclosed diagram, to work out which animal we had, and which bone was which, to form the skeleton!!  

Worth doing if you've never looked at owl pellets before, but to be honest the 'owl puke' kit with the REAL pellets is MUCH better than this useless kit!!!  ;)

Our day at Birch Bay....

Being talked through how to prepare for the obstacle course:

Sam on part of the obstacle course leading up to the mini zipline:

Sam waiting for his turn on the zipline - it was very slippery everywhere because we had had so much rain!! :

Sam on the zipline:

As part of the obstacle course the whole junior group had to climb on to the tyre together and balance:

This log slowly goes higher and higher - one team went in one direction and the other team went in the other - and they had to cross each other half way along without falling off - not easy when it was very slippery!!:

They had to climb up on these huge tyres then climb across the rope bridge to the other tyre:

horse and trailer ride which took us for a lovely long ride around the grounds of Birch Bay Ranch, by the lake.  Unfortunately a little earlier in the afternoon, this trailer had slipped in the wet mud and had a collision with my truck - smashing the back brake light/ indicator light and bumper....luckily no one was hurt and the horses were fine.  They gave me all their insurance info so it should be sorted out quickly.   :)

Sam enjoying the trailer ride:

My friend Sandy was with the older group all afternoon and was kind enough to take some pictures of Abigail for me.  I will post those when I get them.  

Catching up with old friends :)

On Monday evening we headed to Jackie Parker park with Rosie to take her to the off leash dog park there - the girls have been going on and on for AGES that they wanted to see Owen again, so I arranged with Darren to swing by and pick him up for the evening :)  

We had a fun walk around the park and a bit of an adventure in the woods fighting off man eating GIANT mosquitoes.....and then we headed over towards the splashpark and playground for a while.  

Before heading home we stopped in at Tim Hortons....

When we got back to Darrens house we said we would just go in and say a quick hello - which turned in to a LONG sit down and chat...and it ended up being a late night, but the kids NEVER want to leave that place!!  Sam asked if he could stay for the week....sigh....wish they felt that way about their Dads place....

Friday Fill-ins....

And...here we go! 

1. One of my favorite birthday presents was Swallows and Amazons, and a butterfly bookmark from my Aunty Doreen and Uncle John when I was a child..

2. It was just an accident, caused by too much rain and slippery mud, it was as simple as that.

3. The moon is what is left over of Theia after she crashed into Earth millions of years ago....part of her mixed with Earth and became part of Earth and the other part broke away and became our moon.

4. My family includes 5 children and 2 Dads for now....but that could always change. 

5. I was tempted by the possibility of being with the one person I was MEANT to be with.

6. swimming, walking, reading and relaxing are some of the things I like to do on vacation.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, journaling and maybe watching a movie, tomorrow my plans include having a really lazy day to recover from a very busy week and Sunday, I want to take the children to the art gallery to see the Andy Warhol Exhibit!

Hanging out at Birch Bay Ranch.....

We spent this afternoon hanging out with the SHINE homeschoolers (Society for Homeschooling In Edmonton) at Birch Bay Ranch.  Abigail got to go trail riding on the horses, go on the ziplines and go wall climbing....while Sam got to go on pony rides, a long hay ride/ trailer ride and have fun on the obstacle course/ mini zipline with the younger group!!!  We know Birch Bay well so it's always fun to be there :)  I have more pictures to add but will do that tomorrow :)  

The comb....

Sam has a new comb :)  His friend Owen gave it to him :)  And now Sam is obsessed with combing his hair :)  This picture was taken on Tuesday afternoon at the swimming pool :)  I just thought it was cute :) Sam took his new comb with him to the pool and was sure to comb his hair properly after his swim :)  

My boy :)  so funny :)

Craft day/ play date with friends...

Yesterday we spent the day at my friend Joannes house - she had invited us Moms over to make mini albums that she had learned how to make...really cute ones that unfold cleverly!!  Of course Sam and Abby  had a great day there with their friends - Sam was in his element with his bestest friend EVER who just happens to own the biggest collection of Nerf guns in the WORLD!!!!  :)  We were there for 5 hours and they still complained when it was time to leave!!

And as much as I loved getting together with friends to chat and craft and relax, I have to say that the highlight for me was getting to spend much of the day cuddling and snuggling with THIS little beauty:

Awwww  bliss :)

Theme from Mahogany...

I'm taking the amazing 'Soul Restoration 2' class at the moment....in preparation for Brave Girls Camp next May.  It is wonderful and is all about setting goals for yourself and working on finding out what stops you from moving forward - and preventing that in the future.....creating mission statements and vision boards etc etc...The first couple of weeks have been about looking at what we REALLY want for ourselves...finding out what our passions are, what we love, what we are good at, what the world sees us as being good at....etc etc

Someone in the class posted the lyrics to Diana Ross's Song 'Do you know where you're going to?' and she is soooo right, they fit perfectly with what we are working through.....

Again, I would wholeheartedly recommend Soul Restoration 1 and 2 to anyone.  They are also preparing a class for teen/ preteen girls and thinking of creating one for men too.  They already have a Mother/ Daughter camp now too.  Soul restoration 1 starts again July 26th if you are considering taking it.  You won't regret it.  If you give it your all you will gain soooo much from it!

Theme from Mahogany Lyrics: Diana Ross
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO ?
written by Masser / Goffin

Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know…?
Do you get
What you’re hoping for
When you look behind you there’s no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know…?
Once we were standing still in time chasing the fantasies
That filled our minds
You knew how I loved you, but my spirit was free
Laughin’ at the questions that you once asked of me
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you
Where are you going to?
Do you know…?
Now looking back at all we’ve planned
We let so many dreams just slip through our hands
Why must we wait so long before we’ll see
How sad the answers to those questions can be
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you
Where are you going to?
Do you know…?
Do you get
What you’re hoping for
when you look behind you there’s no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know…?

Thursday tag

{one} what color best describes you + why?  orange.  Lively and outgoing....but can be close to pink (quiet) and close to red (angry/ irritable).


{two} how have you changed in the past year?  Oh wow - I have changed a LOT!!!  I used to be dependent, anxious, nervous, the little wife that didn't know anything.....I was obsessed with my husband and spent my whole day WAITING for him to come home....my nights and weekends were spent focused on my husband and my relationship with him....I was scared to drive in the dark or downtown or anywhere too far...I didn't know how to put gas in my car, pay bills or get my car serviced.  Now I drive anywhere.  I'm well used to dealing with lawyers and making appointments and I drive the kids to Canmore and go downtown all the time.  I survived my first winter and have had the car serviced AND had the tyres changed twice.

Now, I am confident, independent, much happier, LOVE being single, I am soooo much closer to my children and love spending time with them all together as well as apart.  I've even booked my first trip away on my own next Spring!!!  I have been through some intense therapy and I'm calmer, know myself better and know what I want and need from life.


{three} have you ever had any surgeries?  A few minimal things but nothing major.


{four} why did you start your blog?  I started it to keep a record of our lives after we moved from the town to our acreage (hence the original title of Escaping the City) and then it evolved into a general diary of our day to day lives.  I love being able to look back over the years and see how we have changed as a family - how the children have grown...how the house has changed....


{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?  Nigels visit and seeing the children reconnect with their Dad, heading to Canmore a couple of times.  Summer festivals.  Seeing the children head off to camp which I know they LOVE!!!!  :)  Generally making endless memories :)


{six} do you have any family traditions for the 1st of July?  We always dress in as much red and white as we have.  We put on temporary tattoos.  We wear red and silver beads :)  We decorate the house with flags :)  We go to the festival in town.  We come home and have a Canada Day tea with a cake and we sing the National Anthem...we often have a fire out at the fire pit in the evening and then go in to town late in the evening to watch the fire works before coming home to bed :)


{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?  many new art techniques.  Mixed media art - which I LOVE.  I tried an Elephant Ear at the farmers market (yuck).  I tried seaweed gnocchi at Milestones (yum)


{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?  I keep it at about 19c

{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?  Bridesmaids - sooooo hilarious!!!  Best movie EVER!!



{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?  Louis Armstrong.  What a Wonderful World.

Victoria School Grade 12 Award night

Last week was Christopher's Grade 12 Award night.  We were invited to attend because Christopher was to be given an important award there - we just weren't sure what!!  Chris didn't even know what! 

Chris won awards in Shooting the Dramatic Screenplay 35 and Film Studies 35 IB.

He was also awarded the C. O. Hicks Award which recognizes a Grade 12 Male student who exhibits outstanding citizenship.  

He was also given a $3,500  scholarship towards his post secondary studies  at UBC from the 

Victoria School Foundation for the Arts.  

Last year he received a scholarship for a film camp, and he was also given a $1,000 Loran scholarship. 

Unfortunately the lights were very bright in the theatre and the pictures are poor.  

Now Radio garage sale....

Last saturday Laurence and I went to the Now Radio garage sale - it was fun to see all the radio hosts in real life - they were all there joking about and running the stations own table.....and I bought this bike :)

Telus World of Science

On Monday we decided to head over to the Telus World of Science and check out the Sesame Street Body Exhibition.  We were really impressed with it and had a GREAT time!!!  It's a very hands on exhibit - so much to see, do and learn!!  

It was soooo much fun!!!

There were a few school parties there while we were there and they were so rude and mean and badly behaved that I think Abigail was quite shocked by them!!!  She commented quite a few times afterwards about how she couldn't believe what they were like and how badly behaved and nasty they were even though they didn't know her!  

They were rude to the staff at the science centre too and climbing on things they shouldn't and broke off a microphone from a display...were running around screaming and yelling, pushing in front of everyone and basically just horrible to be around!!!  Really unpleasant!  

Hhhmmm yep can definitely see the benefits of sending the kids to school lmao!!!