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.