First Baby Purchase

Can you believe that up until today we had not purchased one thing for the baby!! But what do you really buy when you don't want to gender neutral clothes... really this waiting thing is killing me. I just want to start SHOPPING!!

So today we made our first purchase for baby, well actually it was 3 big purchases, Crib, Dresser & Armour, and I love it!!

We also purchased a Highchair, so that brings our tally to... 4 down and I'm sure a million more purchases to go... (oh I can't wait!!)

BIG NEWS... about something really small!!

After what feels like forever of keeping our secret this past weekend we told everyone that...

We have really BIG NEWS... about something really small.

Oh my was it ever fun to see every ones expressions when we told them that we are EXPECTING!! Then when they found out that I was already 3 months they couldn't believe that we kept our secret FOR SO LONG! It was not overly difficult earlier on to keep the secret, but as it came closer reveal day we became more anxious and couldn't wait for the day when everyone knew.

We had alot fun telling our families and friends...

My parents were the first to know. We told them about 3 weeks ago over dinner at our house. (We planned on keeping the secret from everyone but as my Dad was leaving for a 5 week job on the Island, we had to tell them first. No way am I going to tell my Dad that he is going to be a Grandpa over the phone) For the past while my Mom has been wanting to buy me something and she keeps asking me what it was that I wanted, so I would say "I'm thinking about it" each time.. So in the middle of dinner I said "Oh Mom, I've thought about what you can buy... maybe you can buy something for the Nursery!!" She was in disbelief, and was over the moon, and for the rest of the evening kept saying "this is surreal". We told them how we planned to keep it a secret until 3 months, so they couldn't tell a soul. My Dad was not so sure my Mom would be able to do it, but she did and boy was she proud that she did.

This past weekend was it... the weekend that we were going to tell EVERYONE, so I had planned a Girls Night at my house with my Girlfriends that I've known for 25+ years (Kathy, Jenica, Laura and Brooke). I had an outfit made for Georgia with the words "I'm the Big Cousin" embroidered on it. At first Brooke didn't get it, but Kathy sure did her face was priceless. Then Brooke took a second look, and everyone was soooo HAPPY with tears of joy!! It was surly a night to remember.

The rest of the weekend was filled with us sharing our news with everyone else, and Monday I told my office. Brooke insisted that I my co-workers in a fun way, so she said that she would send a fax with a message on it spilling the beans. But to my surprise she dropped off this gorgeous bouquet at my office. By the time the girls at the front brought them back to me, there was a big commotion and everyone was standing in my office.

Thank you Brooke for the beautiful flowers!!!!

So since you now know the secret too... I can blab blab blab about all things BABY!!!! Eeeek... I can't believe that we have been waiting SO many years for this and were are only 6 months away from meeting our baby!! I'm off to have happy dreams...

Here they are.... Puppies!!!!

They are here now and boy-o-boy are they CUTE, and super HARD WORK!!!! The first week they needed to eat every 2 hours, WOW was that tiring!!!! I felt like a walking zombie!! Now they eat every 3 - 4 hours, so it's a NICE change, but now you know why I haven't posted pictures any sooner.

Here they are:

3 GIRLS

4 BOYS

All of the puppies have their eyes open now, and a few of them try really hard to walk, and wobble all over the place. Chloe is doing really great being a Mom! But considering she normally sleeps a good 16 hours out of the day she is pooped as well!!

Well hate to run but it's feeding time... again!

Movie Review - Imagine That

Tonight Richard and I watched a new movie being released on DVD this week; Imagine That (that is the title, not being sarcastic here). There is nothing really new with this as it's a normal occurrence in our house to be watching movies, except this one had my full attention from start to finish. Normally me watching a movie consists of my laptop and some work, then maybe some newspapers or flyers to keep me entertained after that.

Imagine That is a very funny movie, about a Father and Daughter connecting via her imaginary world. Eddie Murphy being such a funny man, really makes his role in this movie as a Stock Broker / Father hilarious once he realizes this imaginary world is the key to his success at the office.

This movie had me laughing and smiling from beginning to end. A definite must see if you ask me!

I'm a GLEE-eek

So 2 posts in 2 days, and both about TV, Oh My!

I just watched another episode of my favorite new show glee! If you haven't seen it you are missing out on a 1 hour Musical Comedy, which is WONDERFUL!! I am now a self proclaimed GLEE-eek, and can't help it.



I find myself smiling and thinking maybe I can sing that good, haha who am I kidding!! It reminds me of my days singing in Choir, see I knew one day it would be "cool" to sing!

Next week tune in and watch my favorite new show, and maybe you too will consider yourself a GLEE-eek like ME!

Fall TV

I find that in the summer TV is not at the top of my list of priorities of things to do. But come Fall that all changes with the start of the new primetime TV Series premiers and also the regular returning shows. Yes it is true, I have a schedule & timeline of all the new shows I want to watch (sad I know), and normally these shows are of no interest to Rich (like Gilmore Girls, why was it cancelled, I LOVED IT) so it's just Chloe & I snuggled on the couch watching TV!

Here is my list of what my "must watch" Series Premiers this Fall:

Accidentally on Purpose ~ yet to watch

Cougar Town ~ i'll keep watching

Eastwick ~ really want to watch it again Tomorrow

Glee ~ new geeky show of the year, Love it!

The Good Wife ~ good, will continue to watch

Modern Life ~ haven't watch yet

Some of these shows I will continue to watch over the season, others I forget to watch at all, and of course there is the duds that I loose interest in after a couple weeks. But some how I have to fit my new shows in with my existing returning shows:

18 Kids & Counting

90210

Gossip Girl

Grey's Anatomy

John & Kate plus 8

After all what else is there to do when it's dark & rainy outside.

WELCOME FALL!

Chloe's Ultrasound Says......

Oh my we are soooo excited because today we found out the Chloe is going to have PUPPIES!!! I was so anxious going into the appointment for the Ultrasound, as last time it was such a disappointment when there wasn't any puppies. So when the Dr. said there was puppies, I was is disbelief.

Yes I'm not kidding here, I know they are just puppies! But she is our only baby so until we have some babies of our own, she is our Child. Ok who am I kidding, she will always be our first born. Hahaha

Well in all the commotion I didn't ask for a print out of the screen, nor did I take any pictures of it, but this is pretty much what I saw.

and by October 17th the above will turn into

a bunch of these cute little suckers!

I CAN'T WAIT!!

Our Fur-Baby is 4!

Just wanted to let everyone know that today Chloe has turned 4 years old!!! These pictures are a collaboration of a bunch of pictures from the time she was a tiny, wrinkly, roley puppy, SOOO CUTE!!



I posted last February about our unsuccessful 1st round of breeding Chloe and I hope that next week after we take her to the Vet for an Ultrasound, that I can say that there are puppies due Mid-October!!!

I'm trying not to get overly excited this time, as it was such a disappointment last time, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I will keep everyone posted.

Old Picture

My friend Laura posted an Album on Facebook of old pictures from way back in the day. So I thought it would be fitting since you have seen Our Wedding pictures from 5 years ago that now I show you a picture from the year that we started dating, circa 2000.

Look we both have LOTS of HAIR!! hehehe

5 Years

On this day 5 years ago was the start of our lives as Husband and Wife. I remember that day with beautiful memories filled with our excitement of the thought of our lives ahead, and that joy was shared with our Family & Friends.

It honestly feels like it has been longer than 5 years, and almost like we have always been Married, and I wouldn't wish for it to be any other way.

Here are some pictures from our Wedding; August 28, 2004;

Richard,

I love that you are my Warrior,

My other Half, and Forever my Husband.

Together we can accomplish all of our hopes and dreams.

Forever yours, xoxo

Nadine

Where have I been?

The answer to that question is, not far, just busy. Mainly spending ALOT of time with Brooke preparing for Georgia's Baptism. Yesterday was a beautiful day, and I promise to have photos to follow, but once again I was so involved with the activities that I didn't even pull out my Camera. (So a request to everyone that was there, please send me your pic's)



Update on 30 Day's of Blogging Challenge. My 30 days of blogging have come and gone, it was pretty successful; I posted 20 out of my 30 days. Not too bad considering that is about half of my total posts so far this YEAR! I look forward to posting more often than I did prior to my 30 Days of Blogging.


So with that said..... I will be back! With lots of pics from the last week.

Jenica's & Jeff's Wedding Pictures

Just wanted to let everyone know that Jenica & Jeff's Wedding Photographer has posted pictures on his Blog so check it out, the pictures are great.... click below;

Dan Fontaine Photography

Savings!!

Just wanted to pass on the links to a couple websites that will save you money. Thanks to our upcoming HST as I previously posted about every dollar in our pocket is much wanted and needed.

http://www.flyerland.ca/ is a Website that will not only give you access to your LOCAL flyer's, but also printable Coupons. There are coupons big and small, from $250 off a Used Car at Toyota to a Free Loaf a bread at Cobs. And if you shop at Michaels you will want to bookmark this site as they regularly have 40% & 50% OFF coupons!!!

http://www.save.ca/ is where you can print off coupons for National Brands for tons of things like Toothpaste, Allergy Medication, & Cereal. This site you will want to check back often cause they are always changing it up, and adding new coupons.

http://www.visaperks.ca/ This site gives you two options printable or promotional codes for all of your Online Purchases. The only glitch is you have to make the purchases with your Visa (but if you just pay it off anyways, there is really no difference, right??) I like to think of this site as a bit of a hidden secret, cause everyone I have mentioned it to has never heard of it. It has tonnes of different coupons for many stores that we all shop at... Old Navy, Gap, Suzy Shier

I personally love the idea of looking online for coupons or Promotional Codes when I want to make purchases. I am more than willing to sign up for Mailing List if it means I'm saving money.

Actually the excitement of a Shopping high that you get when you save money runs in our family. Brooke and my Mom all appreciate a great SALE!!

Long Weekend Recap...

It has become almost expected here in the Lower Mainland that with Long Weekends comes BAD WEATHER (well at least that is what is seems like), but our record breaking Heat Wave stayed strong, and we enjoyed wonderful weather all Long Weekend long.

Our plan was to go camping but it was TOO HOT for Chloe so instead we enjoyed a very relaxing and fun Long Weekend around home, so relaxed that I didn't take any pictures to show you the...

BBQ's with family & friends
Swimming
Long walks at the lake

and
Lunch with family

The second best part of a Long Weekend is a Short Work Week, but I'm sure I don't have to convince you of that!!

Long Weekend

We have been having a great Long Weekend filled with Friends & Family. Unfortunately I've taken no pictures!!! I know it's shocking because I have my camera in my purse 24/7. So I don't really have an excuse other than I haven't thought of it. Oh well...

I will be back later with the full details of our Long Weekend Recap.

Email; Abbey & Meredith - Letter to God

I received an email the other day and wanted to pass it on. If you ever lost a pet as a child or if you are an animal lover than I'm sure you can relate to this story about Abbey and Meredith;

Our 14-year-old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4-year-old daughter, Meredith, was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to Heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in Heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her, you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to 'God/Heaven'. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to Heaven.

That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed to Meredith in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in Heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in Heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and send it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.
Love, God

Intruder Alert!

Tonight there was quite the uproar in our Neighbourhood. A family came home this evening, and the 9 year old daughter which went upstairs came running back down saying that some guy was upstairs.

Within minutes there was 4 police cars and a K-9 Unit here searching the house and neighbourhood, but they couldn't find anyone in/around the house.

I'm telling you this because we don't live in a bad area, I don't normally hear of any crime, but it could happen anywhere. With everyone keeping the windows and even sometimes the doors (crazy people) open, it could happen anywhere.

Be sure to lock all accessable window and of course all your doors when you are not home. or even when your around the yard. Better to be safe than sorry (as my Mom always says).

Relief from the Heat!

Each summer we contemplate getting Central Air, but our weather is never that Hot, for that Long, that is seemed like something that was really necessary. Well right now with this record breaking Heat Wave we decided that we have had enough of toughing it out, and Chloe (being a short nose Breed) is having such a tough time of it, panting, and not eating!! So today we decided that we do not want to wait for one to get installed so a Portable A/C Unit will due for now.
Well as it turns out we are not the only people looking for an A/C Unit and I ended up spending a good part of an hour calling all over the Lower Mainland. Costco, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Rona, Sears everyone was Sold Out.

So we moved to Plan B; buy more fans, circulating air is better than stagnant air, right!! So off we all go for an escape from the heat into cooled A/C the car. Chloe loved the A/C and fell asleep right away!! Poor girl was exhausted from being so hot for so long!!

Our first stop was going to be Future Shop but instead we went to Sears, Richard walked in and right away heard a store announcement that they had one last Portable A/C Unit, and as he was telling them we wanted it 3 more customers came up to buy it too! And to think we almost missed the last unit, we are so greatfull for the relief from the heat!!


Now tomorrow I won't have to worry about Chloe overheating in the house, and instead I'm sure that she will be spending most of the day catching up on her beauty sleep!

Jenica's Wedding Ceremony & Reception

You have waited long enough for the best installment of Jenica's Wedding Festivities... the Ceremony and Reception.

Brooke, Laura and I (along with 3 more of Jenica's friends) made up the woman of Jenica's Bridal Party. The Wedding Ceremony and Reception were held at Whonnock Lake Community Hall, which is a beautiful location for an out door ceremony.

It was very nice day, and any signs of rain stayed away for the very special day! Here on the West Coast (or Wet Coast as some call it) an outdoor wedding is hit or miss if rain will stay away, but it did! We were all so thankful for that!



I now pronounce you Husband and Wife! You guys sure do make a beautifully hansom married couple.

While the Wedding Party was taking picture the guests enjoyed an outdoor Cocktail Party. What you can't see from the photos is the wooden pathway that we are all standing is the beginning of a large dock leading to the lake, which makes this location so beautiful.

First Dance, Mother-Daughter Dance, and of course the infamous circle dance. You know it wouldn't be a party without a girls circle dance, right! So fun!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. S...

Wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Budget Buster!!

I don't normally use my Blog to complain, but recent news from our Government has me heated!

As I'm sure you all know by now, July 1st of next year that we are joining the other half of the Provinces in our Country with the new HST (Harmonized Sales Tax).

Harmonizing our current PST and GST, is is suppose to boost investments, increase our economic growth, and create jobs, but I just don't see it. On a consumer level all I can see is less money in our pocket for the same purchases we make now that are normally PST exempt.

At 12% they say we are going to have the lowest HST across Canada, and some purchases will still qualify for a lower tax, such as Kids Items & Clothes and Gasoline but that doesn't really make it any better for other items that we will see an increase too such as;

Groceries

Movies

Restaurant Meals

Used Vehicles

Hair Salons

School Supplies

Bikes

Safety Equipment

Gym Memberships

New Homes (over $400,000)

Some of the items are not everyday purchases, but we are all going to see our expenses increase, and tighter budgets for everyone!

At the end of the day I don't think that this is going to stop us from making our normal purchases, but it frustrates me that we will just have to spend more to do it.

Ok I feel a bit better just ranting about that for a bit, I'm off to bed!

Hot Hot Hot

Wowzers, it's a scorcher today!! I know I said 2 days ago that we have been amazingly great weather and we have, but us here on the West Coast are not use to this heat, and from the upcoming forcast it's going to get even more Hot. Looks like for this week that Wednesday is going to feel the hottest at 44 degrees, but Friday is going to register hotest on the Temometer at 36 degrees.

I've been trying to get a little gaget from The Weather Netork to stay on my blog so you can see what our weather is like, but can't quite figure it out. So you will just have to belive me for now.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to the A/C at my office, even though I need to have a sweater on stand by cause it gets mighty COLD.

Hello from Georgia

We have spent the day and are staying the night at Georgia's House. We all enjoy each other company very much, us girls spent our day shopping for none other than Georgia, and working on stuff for the Baptism. The guys spent their time at the gym and doing some shopping of their own. And the dogs, Chloe and Ellie are non stop playing.


About a month ago Georgia started waving so today while at her house I tried to catch it on film, which turned out to be quite difficult.

Hello from Georgia!!

Thunderstorms

We have had some amazingly hot weather the last few weeks but, right now the Hot & Cold are mixing and were having a Summer Storm. There is something about storms that seem so very cozy! Listening the the rain hit the ground, or the rolls of the Thunder and watching the flash's of Lightning, it all brings back alot of great memories of my childhood.

Brooke and I would get very excited when we were really little when there was a Thunderstorm. My Mom would make us Hot Chocolate and Cookies and read us the same book every time.

I'm not 100% sure that this is the actual name of the book, cause I remember it to be something more like Hop'idees, or Thumper's First Thunderstorm, but all I could find online was this:
Buster's First Thunderstorm.



I will have to ask my Mom what the book was actually called, but considering that I couldn't find what I thought it was than Buster it probably what.

It's small little traditions like this that make a childhood memorable, and I plan on doing the same with my kids. (But I'm sure I can find a more "updated" version of Buster)

30 Days of Blogging... Day 10... Chloe & her Mama

Today is Day 10 of my 30 Days of Blogging, and I'm only 1/3 of the way though and already running out of brilliant things to blog about. So I went through Picasa to see if any ideas would come to mind and thought you might want to see some more of our little Chloe-bears!

To make this a bit more fun I tracked down only the pic's of Chloe & her Mama...

Considering that Chloe is almost 4 years old, and that these are almost all of the pictures of the 2 of us, it looks like I should be turning the camera more on myself.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing me and my baby over the years.

Jenica's Stagette

I promised pictures from Jenica's Wedding Festivities, so here is the first installment.... Stagette!!

We spent the day in Yaletown, first stop was a private party at Pure Nail Bar, where we were pampered while enjoying some Drinks and Appies.


Pure Nail Bar was very accommodating and because this was an after hours event they allow you to bring in your own Food, Drink and Music. For sure this is a definite must do, even just for a night out with a bunch of girls.

After the Spa we went for a Private Wine Tasting at Taylorwood Wines


The beauty of Yaletown other than the sights, the water, shopping, and nightlife is you can walk everywhere, and so we did, and most of the girls did it in 3" heels no less. But those smart cookies had a secret hidden in the their purses, flip flops which saved the night walking from one stop to the next.

We enjoyed dinner at Relish, a night out on the town, finished up at the Edgewater Casino, and Cabbed it back to the Hotel when the sun was rising.

I don't remember the last time I was out that late, but I guess that is one of rare advantages of having no kidlet's yet, well except Chloe (English Bulldog) she's our baby.

It was a night to remember!!

Blogathon 2009

When reading my Local Newspaper I came across this story for the 2009 Blogathon "Blogging for a good cause" and wanted to pass it on for all of you brave brave souls out there.

The Challenge: Blog every 30 minutes for 24 Hours

When: Friday July 25th @ 6:00am

The Purpose: Raise $$ for Charity

Blogathon has been going on since 2001 all across North America, and needless to say alot of people participate including Duane Storey who chose to raised $$ last year for Union Gospel Mission, and this years proceeds are going to the BC Childrens Hospital.

So if you want to have a reason to stay up late and blog blog blog for a good cause then here you go, I will be thinking about you while I sleep, haha. The 30 DAYS OF BLOGING challenge that I'm doing now is enough of a challenge for this Novice Blogger.

July 22.09 - Post edited to correct Charity Name

Georgia's Baptisim Prep.

Georgia's Baptism is coming up quickly and Brooke and I have been busy working on stuff we LOVE to do. That is anything that has to do with planning an event!

The Invitations have been sent out for a while now, and her gown, hat, coat and favors are on order. Today we almost finished all of the Witness Pins, one for each of the 100 guests that will be there to witness's the Baptism.

But there is still alot of work ahead of us... Baskets for pins, and Georgia's keepsakes, candles, guest book, centre pieces, cake.... oh and then there are purchases that need to be made... shoes, socks, robe, blanket, and what she will be wearing before the Baptism, I'm sure this list will just get longer as the day gets closer.

I wish I could show you the picture of the Gown, but I'm sure Brooke would prefer everyone to see it on Georgia and not on my Blog, so I will refrain, but promise that the wait will be worth it.


Ok I'm off to make lunches, then to bed.
Until tomorrow

*N

Past days... why I've been away from Blogging

This weekend has been a tough one for me and my family. I have come to the realization that in life there is death, and at some time in all of our lives our time on Earth will end, and we will be in a better place with our Father in Heaven.

I have been lucky in that I have never lost someone close to me, but we are all getting older, as is my Grandmother. Having to think about the possibility of saying Good Bye to someone who I love has been very difficult for me.

Over the last few days her health has been in question, and we won't know any more details until some test results come back. I would like to hope that it might be a 'bug' of some sort, or a reaction to a change in medication, but nothing is known as of yet.

So in the meantime I will continue to show my Grandma how much she means to me..... and pray.

Johnny's Update

"I cannot believe what happened today!

This wasn't supposed to happen,

they told me that this wouldn't happen...

it is amazing that it happened...

I am enjoying every minute!"

This was Johnny's wife Britt's Facebook status update today. There has really been a miracle today, with Johnny realizing where he is and talking, on the phone no less!! He has been moved from a 4 on the Coma scale to a 12 yesterday and a 14 today (3 being the worst, 15 being the state that we all are in), and now the healing has to continue for his head injury, and of course broken bones & neck.

He is still in the Kamloops Hospital and I don't know when he will be transferred closer to home here in the Lower Mainland, but when he does he will have many many friends that will be wanting to pay him a visit.

On Saturday there is a ATV Ride fundraiser for Johnny at Larson Hill "Ride for JohnnyKTM" which I am very excited to go to. I can't wait to show my support for this family, and get to talk to Britt.

On behalf of the family thank you for your prayers, keep them coming!

Golden Ears Bridge

I have had a few opportunities to drive over the new Golden Ears Bridge since it opened on June 17th, thanks to having a investment property on the "other side", and it saves me about 40 min. travel time and for that I'm so thankful!! The time savings almost makes the 3 years wait for construction worth it.

For those of you that don't live locally or haven't had a chance to take the drive here are some pictures that I have taken of the bridge and the new roadways. Exciting, haha I know but it really is a nice bridge.

If you have not been on the new bridge I would do it quickly cause after this Friday you will charged a Toll to pay off the $1Billion Construction Bill.

30 Days of Blogging.... Day 1

Georgia and her Auntie!!

I know you haven't had an updated picture of Georgia in a while, so here is one of us from a this weekend. She is 7 months old now and is so fun, loves to hear her own voice and talks up a storm, and her laugh is cutest!


I know I have been promising pictures of many many things, and I will follow through. Especially of Jenica Wedding, they are to come PROMISE!

Richard's Birthday

Today is Richard's Birthday! I'm not sure what we will be doing tonight to celebrate, other than him opening his gifts from me, maybe we will go out for dinner or watch a movie. If you don't know Rich personally then you wouldn't know that he is a big movie guy (we have the DVD's to prove it!!), and is up to watching anything. Don't tell anyone but on occasion has been known to watch a "chick-flick" or two even without me (hehe, love ya babe).

This Saturday he is spending the day with the "Guys" to celebrate his Birthday, so I will be enjoying my evening alone with him tonight!

Happy Birthday!!! Love you bunches!!

I would have liked to post a pic of just him, but this is all that I have at my office. Which reminds me I better get back to doing work so I can try to leave early!

Please Pray for Johnny

On Sunday our friend Johnny was in an ATV accident while away Camping in Kamloops with his family. I'm not sure of the exact details of what happened, the extent of his injuries or prognosis, but he is now in a Coma.

I ask that you please Pray for him, his wife Britt who is by his bedside, and their 2 young children who are now back at home being taken care of by family.

Johnny we are all PRAYING for YOU!

Link to: Kamloops Newspaper
Facebook Page: We love you Johnny!!!

Oops...

Looks like I wasn't paying attention when doing some late night laundry tonight, and I put the liquid soap in the fabric softener spot. The soap is suppose to go in the container on the lid, and the Softener goes in the spot on the bottom right. Don't ask, I don't know what I was thinking!

I don't know if you have ever done this, but if you have then you know then you know your next step is to figure a way to get the wet goopy stuff out. So out came a roll of paper towel to try to sop up my mess, a Garbage Can to dispose of the mess, and a toothbrush to get said mess out of all the tight spots.

And 45 minutes later I have a clean Washer! I know 45 minutes is a bit much but I have a tendency to go over board when cleaning, and just can't stop. But now my Washer is sparkling clean, and I love it. So as a Public Advisory Warning... Don't do your laundry at when you are tired at night!! It just delays the process and then you end up being the one waiting for you load to finish at 11pm on a Thursday night.

Were tossing around the idea of going camping this weekend, so hopefully I can get some sleep soon. I have a hard enough time waking up as it is, and my plan is to head into my office early so I can leave before Rush Hour. It's the first weekend of Summer Vacation for the kids so I know the Highways are going to be packed!!!

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. Good Night all!!

Jenica & Jeff's Wedding / Events

This was a very big weekend for all of us, Saturday June 20th, 2009 was the BIG DAY for Jenica and Jeff. Their Wedding was amazingly beautiful, and we all enjoyed ourselves so much!

I will follow up with pictures from the day, but I'm going to first catch you up on the events leading up to it including her Bridal Shower, which there was two of, but these pictures are from the Shower we had for her.

We enjoyed some good food, and fun Bridal Shower Games, with a bit of funny dress up for Jenica when her answers didn't match Jeff's video taped answers to The Newlywed Game. Oh and of course Jenica was spoiled with lots of wonderful gifts.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

I will return with some Pictures from her Stagette.

Baby Quinten

It only took 1 day short of 6 months for the baby of our Family Georgia, to become the big Cousin, so she isn't the baby any more...

Last Sunday June 8th, 2009 we welcomed Quinten the first child of my Cousin's David & Lana. He is the cutest baby boy and has such light blond hair (the total opposite of Georgia). He weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21" long

Here are some pictures of our visits so far;

Proud parents David & Lana (left),

Brooke & Georgia meeting Quinten (right),

Quinten & I (bottom right)

New Purchase

So why exactly am I up at 1:30am, well to let everyone know about my newest purchase of an Eliptical!! So exciting, right?, hummm...

Well I ordered it a few weeks ago and it finally came in last week, but thanks to Camping, and other fun stuff (I will let you in later on the other fun stuff) it's been in the box since then. So late tonight, I decided I wanted to assemble it, but I was alone with that brillant idea. So guess which stubborn one of our household won for the evening, ME!!, what was I thinking. The manual says 2 people, and 1 & 1/2 hrs. are needed for assembly. They should put in a Warning, if your too stuborn to wait for your Husbands help (the next day) then it will take you 3 HOURS!!!

A couple hours into my build Rich told me to "just leave it I will finish it tomorrow". Oh no you won't, I have now decided that this is my mission for to complete this task all ALONE! That and there was no way I was leaving my half constructed Eliptical in the middle of our Hall (don't ask why I decided to do it there, but I did).

So here it is in prior to and after assembly... Oh and when Chloe wasn't sleeping during the construction she was giving me THAT LOOK (bottom left pic.)

I'm very excited about using the iFit feature. Hopefully the Jillian Michaels (the Trainer from the Biggest Loser TV show) program will keep me on track.

Ok well I'm off to bed, I have another really jamed packed weekend ahead of me. I will be back with picutres of the events this weekend, oh and of course from Camping last weekend.

Good night!

Weekend Recap

I enjoyed a very busy weekend and am now tired at 8pm on a Sunday, and am thinking of going to sleep early... but not before updating my Blog.

Here is my Weekend Recap...

Friday after I was done at the office Laura and I went to see Jenica's new Condo, LOVE IT!! I know Jenica wouldn't appreciate pictures of the madness of move in day on my Blog, so I will show you a sneak peak of a unit that we purchased for an investment. Her unit is the same layout but in reverse, and just in a different colours scheme.

While still in Surrey I got a phone call from Richard to tell me that he was at our house to for a surprise weekend visit. I was sooo excited to get home to see him, but when I got home that night it was to a very overly excited Chloe (our English Bulldog) that was limping around. I just panic when anything is hurting her, so needless to say I was a little unnerved that night.

Saturday started out with a early morning trip to the Vet. Sure enough the excitement of Daddy coming home and then jumping on and off... on and off... on and off the bed the night before had pulled a muscle in her knee. Solution... medication and a strict enforcement of No Exercise for 1 week. So yes that includes no jumping up to sleep on the bed or couches, no stairs, and no playing tug or catch (an yes I'm getting stronger by the day having to tote all 50 lbs. of her up an down the stairs). Chloe is a pretty good listener, so thus far we are doing pretty good, and she is on the mend.

Brooke & Georgia came out our way for our Cousin Lana's Baby Shower Saturday Afternoon. If you recall she was my 2nd post on my blog, take a look. She is 3 weeks from her Due Date and I can't wait to meet the little guy!! (Sorry no pic right now, will have to come back with those)

That night we had a Laura's early Birthday Celebration over dinner and drinks, oh... and the Canucks game. Here is Laura enjoying some of her new Birthday presents, and Georgia.

Hope you have a wonderful Birthday on Thursday Laura!!!
Love ya, xoxo

Sunday, Mother's Day!
I enjoyed the day with my Mom and Grandma, doing my Mom's planters. Unfortunately Brooke was too sick with the flu to make it out today and missed her very first Mother's Day. I will be sure to catch a 4 Generation picture of everyone the next time we are all together. Oh and in case you didn't know Brooke was named Mother of the Year 2009 This was passes on to us from a friend hehehe. (Sorry Brooke, Smith was the first fake "lastname" I could think of) Check it out and make sure you pass this on to all the special Mothers in your life, here is the link.

Well that about wraps up my weekend, and tomorrow it's back to the grind of another work week. Luckily it's a short one for us, May Long weekend marks the start of Camping Season, so we are leaving on Thursday. And even better were on holidays next week.

Hope everyone enjoyed your Mother's Day, and have a wonderful week! I will be back with some pictures from Camping, and from my weekend away visiting Rich (Sorry I know, really late in posting those).

Twitter

So my question today is about Twitter. Are you on Twitter? Do you understand all they hype?

I don't! From what I understand it's kinda like a Facebook Status, that you update, but it then send messages or "Tweets" out to your "Followers", humm... don't get it. Maybe because I'm not one that regularly updates my FB Status so I don't see the point. Or maybe I just don't think I have that much interesting stuff to ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD! Don't get me wrong, I joined the band-wagon, and I'm willing to give it a shot, but as of yet I haven't "Tweet'ed"

I'm sure that it's going to be the next big thing like Facebook was years ago, but for now I'm on the fence.

What's your thoughts?

Brooke's Baptism

Last Sunday Brooke (my Sister) was Baptised in the Greek Orthodox Church. I wanted to share a few pictures with everyone so you can see a little bit of the day.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believe in him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.– John 3:16

The Greek Orthodox Church is new to our Family, and this was my 3rd Baptism at the Church. Well, 3rd if you consider the Twins Dual Ceremony individually. But unlike the Twins (Brooke's Baby Sister In-Laws) Baptism, Brooke's Ceremony was conducted in English, so it was alot different when you can actually understand what was being said.

It was a beautiful day and I felt blessed to see and hear her devote her life to God.

Shoe Sale!!

Ladies, did I get your attention with the Title of this Blog....

Humm, maybe not, maybe like me you have a 'love/hate relationship' with Shoes. Ok, who am I kidding, it's more like a 'hate/hate even more relationship' with Shoes. But for the rest of you that love shoes especially the high heels you are probably all aware that today was the start of the Annual 5-Day Army & Navy Shoe Sale!!

Oh how I wish I was half a foot shorter to take advantage of the millions of pairs of soooo cute heels!

Being that I'm not a crowd person, I popped in today with Laura, Brooke & Georgia after leaving my office to see if the crowds had died down to take a shot at finding some shoes. End result, these cute sandals....
I was despratly in need of some cute sandals, and now I have two (1 in very Dark Brown & 1 in White). When you love something buy multiples, right??

So if you have forgot about the sale don't worry I hear they bring out more stock everyday. Some of the shoes are regular $700 and all shoes are under $69!!!! So get your butts down there to get yourself some shoes. I will keep my eyes open and Blog Stock to see what you Ladies find.

*** P.S. - Rich if you are reading this, it was a needed break from the dreaded Tax Prep!!! I'm getting right back at it... only 7 days left until the DEADLINE, oh my!