Terry Fox Run

This year for the Terry Fox run I was not able to run with my kids.  I stood on the corner and got a quick picture before going to work.  They all looked like they were having a great time.  This year they did something different.  They each filled out a giant sticker and said who they were running for.  Then stuck in on their shirt/pants as they were running.  I was in a hurry to get my pictures and didn't even notice them until Leah.  She was the last one through.  My sweet thoughtful girl ran for my cousin that we just fasted for.  I can't wait to see who Blake and Cora ran for.  I am betting Grandpa Puzey.

I actually enjoy turning on the camera and seeing what Cora has been up to.  Don't ever tell her that or else instead of 15 pictures I would have 50.  These are her latest.  I think she likes close-ups:)

This is our candy sushi that she took a picture of.  It was really yummy and they kids thought it was cool.  It has been so long since I made it that nobody remembered.

Dave said he wanted to eat peaches until he was sick of them.  Last week I ordered a box just to eat.  We have been trying all sorts of different peach recipes.  My favorite is still fresh peach pie and Dave could probably eat peaches and cream every night.  Last night was another big hit.  Frozen Peach Yogurt.  So simple and unbelievably good.

Frozen Peach Yogurt

3 C Peeled, pitted cubed peaches

1/4 C honey

2 1/2 C Greek Yogurt

In blender blend peaches until smooth.  Add honey and yogurt.  Blend again till smooth.  Put in ice cream maker.

That is it!!

Dave thought it should be a little sweeter, but Cora and I LOVED it. I can't wait to try this with strawberries or raspberries or maybe....anything.  I seriously considered having this for breakfast.  That is OK right??  It is yogurt and fruit.  Go and try it right now:)

School Pictures and Reunion

We went to the farm yesterday to take the kid's school pictures.  I had decided to take some of the family as well.  It was a little bright.  I don't think I got many of Leah when she was not squinting.  But here you go.  Picture overload:)

This is not the one I thought I uploaded.  OH Well...

And some fun bloopers.

We had a great time.  It will take me some time to go through the kids pictures and decided which one I am going to develop this year.  Especially with all of Leah's squinting.  And I will probably use one for our Christmas card since we got family shots.  After the picture taking we headed to Calgary for the Puzey Reunion.  Dave has not been able to go to one since Cora was only a year old.  I really don't know any of his cousins at all.  It was nice to see them and met them again.  On the way home we stopped at the mall to show Blake the Lego Store.  I wanted to take him for his birthday but it just didn't work out.  All my kids loved it.  They had so much fun building the people.  Blake was a little mad, he said I should never take him to a store that cool if I didn't plan on buying anything.  I can't believe how rude I am, mean mom!!!  It was a pleasant ride home.  Cora prepared her talk for Sunday (which was awesome, she did a great job) and Blake and Leah watched a short movie then tried to sleep.

This week we had a family fast.  When Leah asked me if I had fasted I said yes.  She said she had forgotten.  Leah decided that next week she would just fast two meals. (My kids start fasting one meal when they are 8 them we have them do both when they turn 12)  I told her of course she could if she wanted but why did she decided that?  Turns out that one was for the family fast and one for Fast Sunday.  I guess that she thought you fasted one meal for each thing you were fasting for.  I asked her what she would do if she has 10 things?  I explained it all to her again, but it made me realize that I need to make sure my kids understand the principles and the reasons.  I thought we had explained fasting, but she had heard something else.  Maybe that is why we hear the same council over and over again from all our church leaders.  If we get told enough or teach our kids enough hopefully the true principles will sink in one day.

Corn Maze

The Young Women went to the Corn Maze for their activity yesterday.  This is always a favorite.  Cora invited a friend to go with her.  We knew the church was paying for Cora but brought money to pay for her friend and our family.  We thought if we were dropping off and picking up we might as well go ourselves.  After going through the maze the youth always have hot chocolate and donuts.  As Dave is not in the bishopric this year we didn't make the hot chocolate so I didn't think it was fair that we ate any of it.  I brought our own hot chocolate and cookies.  This was my plan.  It did not turn out that way.  The church paid for Meghan even though I tried to pay them back for her.  Dave told me just to let it go.  I really did not feel it was fair since we had invited her.  Also my kids are so used to having the snack that they helped themselves.  I tried to remind them that I had stuff in the car but it was a little late.  I did try to not take advantage of the church.  As always the kids had a great time.  They have built a new slide.  It was really fun.  Long.  Leah forgot her jacket so I gave her mine.  Since it was a little chilly Dave had an old farm jacket in the car, complete with manure on it, that he lent me.  Of course this is when I see and old boyfriend's sister and people from high school.  Never fails.  We love this annual event.  We were not sure until just a couple hours before hand if we would all be going or not. So glad it worked out.

Best FHE Ever

Tonight it was Blake's turn for the lesson for FHE.  He told us the story of Joseph Smith.  Then for our activity Blake told us all to build the first vision scene with Lego.  He wanted clear blocks below Jesus and Heavenly Father so they would look like they were in the air.  Besides that we all got to do what ever we wanted.  I thought this was a brilliant idea.  He combined FHE with a family favorite activity.

Smart boy.  Blake also made us chocolate cake with chocolate icing for dessert.

What a day

One of my kid's favorite meals.  We had this the first day of school.  Panko chicken and homemade french fries.  Yum Yum.

Last night the girls and I had a spa night.  We smothered our hair in coconut oil, I did a sour cream face mask, while Cora and Leah did a salt and baking soda mask for their black heads.  Our hair was so smooth and soft after.  And the mask for the girls worked great.  Almost all blackheads gone.  I will defiantly do both of those again.

It stared out that we were supposed to have a relatively quite day.  Dave was going to the farm and I had a baptism to go to.  As it turned out we ran from place to place most of the day.  We had breakfast then Dave took Blake to the farm.  I did dishes and laundry then found out that Leah had been invited to a birthday party.  I ran Cora to the corn maze for the party she was invited to, came back and had a quick lunch, switched laundry, cleaned bathrooms, then ran Leah to her party.  I then had two blissful hours all to my self.  Dave had gone to a funeral in Champion then back to the farm.  I read Edenbrooke.  It was a great story Nicole had lent me.  I picked up Leah early and then off to the baptism.  Dinner. Now we are going to get somethings ready for dinner tomorrow and fold our laundry.  Maybe fit in a movie.  We'll see. 

This Week...

We have been rolling forward this week.  I have updated our emergency kits and got them all back together. (I was so glad that we had full tanks of gas, another thing you don't usually think about).  Leah's glasses came in.  She had a headache the first day but seems to be adjusting well.  You can not even see the seam unless you look very close and at just the right angle.  She was pointing out things that she could see.  Her eyes were pretty bad!  Cora got picked to play the trumpet.  It was her third choice but oddly the one that she is the most excited about.  We have decided to buy rather than rent so she will always have it and we figured with all the rent money in the next two years it would probably be the same anyways.  So those of you that have bought instruments before I need help.  Best place to go, etc.  I have had the week off and it has been great.  Storage room cleaned, frozen meals made, Big Bang Theory season one watched, (that was important:)) and lots of time spent with my kids.  I got lots of primary stuff done and house plans accomplished. Blake really likes his teacher and is making some friend in his class. And things seem to be going well for Dave.  So that is us in a nutshell. Now I am off to lunch with my mom and sisters.

Evacuation

Yesterday we were evacuated from our home.  We had been on alert in a different episode several months ago and as a result were quite prepared this time.  There was a big grass fire quickly coming across the reserve towards our town.  The wind was blowing 104km/hour.  I had been in the storage room cleaning when Dave called and said I better turn on the radio.  I picked up the kids from school and started setting everything on the table that we would need.  We had just finished this when the radio started beeping and the police came around with big bull horns to tell everyone to leave.  The kids were a little nervous, but not near as much as last time.  It is true that if we are prepared we will not fear.  Everyone was being re-routed to a near by town.  We went up to where Dave was working instead.  From there we headed to the farm.  I am so grateful for my mother-in-law taking us in on short notice, feeding us, and giving us a bed.  Amber brought over some delicious cupcakes (she is the cupcake queen, we are always get to try new flavors and have LOVED every one of them).  We had a short FHE and sent the kids to bed.  Dave and Jared where trying to get updates about the fire to know if your house was OK or not.  This morning we got word that our town was safe and we could come home.  I will ever be thankful to the firefighters that worked so hard and risked their lives, (we are writing thank you notes after school today, to my in-laws for being so kind, and for every one's prayer.  We even had one ward member call and offer her house.  We have felt very loved and cared for.  I also have learned a few things.  Our 72 hour kit is filled with food, toothbrushes, radio, our important papers,and underwear for the kids.  But there are a few things that I didn't think about until I needed them. I didn't have a brush or elastics for the girls hair, Dave and I didn't have a change of underwear, and we all needed a change of clothes.  I had had the kids grab pj's and jackets but not the other.  I need to add shampoo, conditioner, soap, and probably cash in case the bank lines are down and the debit or credit card doesn't work.  Plus a few other things.  We have had two close calls now and I have learned more each time.  I am being prepared slowly I guess.  I would have been very devastated to lose everything but was so grateful that we were together as a family and that we were somewhat prepared.  We really had only minutes to grab our stuff.  The relief that I felt driving up and seeing my house standing unharmed was huge.

Calgary Temple

I just booked our tickets for the Calgary Temple open house.  I booked Oct 12 at 5:45pm.  I am so excited to do this with my kids and thought it would be a great thing to do on Cora's birthday.  It has been open to book for 1/2 hour and is pretty full already.  So if you are going hurry fast.  If you come the same day as us then let me know and we can make plans to met up somewhere.

Seriously?!?.....Urrgh.

September is never a great month.  With school fees, clothes, supplies, piano, gymnastics, etc.  I knew it was going to be worse this year with our passports being due and paying for house blueprints.  Yesterday the kids had their annual eye Dr. appointments.  Blake went first, Dr. came out and said eyes are healthy they look good, no problems.  Cora is next, same things.  Then in goes Leah.  I knew her eyes had gotten worse, but I was not prepared.  When she was done I got asked if I could please come in and discuss my options.  So feeling like I am going to the principles office I follow our eye Dr. into the exam room.  Leah's eyes have not only gotten worse they have changes significantly.  He starts going through all my different options.  They have a new round top bifocal that in some cases has slowed down the progression but it is a little more expensive and is not guaranteed.  Also there is a new lens from China that is big buck and he hasn't personally used yet but is supposed to be good.  As he is talking my brain is going, cha-ching!  Cha-ching....my 10YEAR OLD need BIFOCALS...(to quote Kita "WwwwHAAAAAT!?!")...cha-ching!  Cha-ching.  With Dave's new benefits we also don't have eyeglass coverage at all.  Ever.  Leah's eyes are almost as bad as mine where when I got eye surgery.  She has to get her lenses high-indexed, which is huge.  I hesitantly asked my doctor (who I am aware can not see into the future) trying not to scare my daughter who is sitting in the room if her eyes will continue to progress to the point where they can not be corrected.  He said he didn't think so because her eyes are healthy and everything else looks good.  So we ordered new glasses. (There goes the new itouch I really really wanted)  Just think I also get to start paying for dental corrections soon.  Yipee!!!!!  He wants to see Leah back in 6 months instead of a year so we can catch it this time.  For the next 6 months I will be praying fervently and maybe leaving a collection jar outside my front door.

PS
Dear Cannon:
I realize that this is not grammatically correct in the slightest. (Really they never are)  IF you read this and IF you made it to the end with out crawling out of your skin, I am sure it pained you in the extreme.  I do apologize.
Sincerely your sister,
Char

Back to School.

Today is the first day back to school.  Cora is in 8th Grade.  I can't believe how grown up she is.  Leah is in 5th and Blake in 2nd.  We stuffed their backpacks full, had a great breakfast, read scriptures, gathered laundry, took pictures, and where off.

I went through old back to school photos and this is the first time that it has not been sunny and warm.  Outside it is rainy and cold right now, but it is not snow:)  We went to school, met the new teachers, paid school fees, and said good-bye.

Wow!  Doesn't Blake look excited  We are taking a different approach to our scripture reading this year.  In the past we have rushed through trying to get that chapter read before school.  This year we are reading for 15 mins.  If we get 5 verses great if 45 grand.  This way we can stop and discuss what we are reading and let the kids ask questions.  We have been doing this for the past week and I feel it is going much better.  (I am sure you more experienced parents are thinking Duh I could have told you that)  My kids are understanding more and they are each taking a turn to read.  It may take us years to get through the scriptures but who cares they will know what they read.  It is not a competition right!. 

First day has gone well so far.  My house is very quite.

Zoo...finally

We finally made it to the zoo today.  We have been trying to go since March.

The kids loved it as always.  The line for the penguins was an hour long, so we decided not to go seen them. There were a few outside and we just looked at those.

The tigers are always Dave's favorite.  There was 3 baby cubs.  They must have been born a bit ago because they were bigger than I expected but still very cute.

I think the metal animals were just as fun as the live ones for the kids.  After we went to Ikea to look around.  We haven't been there for year.  Dave decided that we needed to eat there also.  It was pretty good.  Cora and I shared the fish and chips, Dave and Blake got the meatballs and french fries and Leah had the spaghetti.  When we got home we had FHE.  I was thinking that I needed to ask the kids if they wanted their before school blessings.  Before I could, Cora asked Dave if he was going to give her one.  I am so glad of the young women that she is becoming and the righteous decisions that she makes.  All the kids were happy to get their blessings and then off to bed.  Blake and Leah's school starts 10 min earlier this year and we have heard rumors that Cora's does as well.  But have not heard anything definite.  I hope we make it on time tomorrow:0

Classics

Over the summer I have been re watching some of my favorite classics movies as I run.  My kids have seen all of them before and enjoy them, but it was really fun to watch with Cora this time.  She is now old enough to really get them.  We have seen 'Pillow Talk', 'Sense and Sensibility', and 'Anne of Green Gables'.  Cora loves Rachel Lynde, the noisy neighbor. Cora says she is hilarious.  It has been a delight.

Cora was made Beehive President today.  She is really excited about her new calling and looking forward to what is ahead with that.  She will be going to BYC, and contacting other Beehives (both active and non active).  I think this is going to be a great learning experience for her.

Our passports are expiring soon.  I have been working to get them renewed.  My last picture was honestly the worst picture that I have ever had in my life.  Even my good husband has been making fun of me for the last 5 years.  I have a  natural frown.  So just sitting there I look very angry.  You are not allowed to smile in the picture, can't show any teeth, you have to have your ears showing, and can't wear a hoodie.  This year I made great effort to do my hair and make-up very nice.  Wear a good shirt and smile just enough that I wasn't frowning anymore but not to much that they could tell I was smiling.  A couple days later I went to pick up my pictures.  I had slapped  on some mascara, done my hair at red lights down Mayor Magrath, and had on an old T-shirt under my hoodie.  When I got there they informed me that my picture had not worked and I needed to do it again.  So off came the hoodie.  And I sat down.  Nice!!  Dave did say it was still a huge improvement over last time.  I guess that I am just not destine to have a good passport photo.  Here is to traveling. :)

Flower Power

As promised here is the flowers for our hair that Natalie taught us to make while at my parents this summer.  We had a great time and the girls have really enjoyed wearing them.

 My latest find.  I have no idea what Leah was doing but I had 10 of these pictures on my camera.  All at various degrees of closeness.

We are finally all ready for school.  The kids have learned what class they are in and we have all the supplies. One last weekend and we will be back to schedules.  Piano, gymnastics, and so on.  It was a great summer. It went by very fast but the kids were good and had a fun.