Back in Calgary

Our family is all together again here in Calgary. It is so nice to have Mike around again...we really missed him. Our first day back, Jesse discovered that a bush in the backyard had edible berries on it. He loves going out there and picking himself a little snack...he even spits the pits out! He gets red juice all over him, but it's pretty cute!

He also found a bunch of red ants yesterday. They are in a place he usually plays. At first he just watched them. Then he decided to sit down and watch them. Since they weren't fire ants, I decided to just him sit for a bit. A few minutes later I see him getting upset, and hitting himself. The ants had crawled all over him - I found them on his legs, arms, head, and even in his diaper. Once we had them all off, he went back over to where they were, but didn't get as close this time. As lesson learned, although I'm sure he will try again in the future.

We went down to the river yesterday after supper to cool off. Jesse had a blast playing in the water, and the rest of us had fun watching him! Rebecca even cooled her toes off in the water (although she didn't have nearly as much fun as Jesse).

Today we have plans to head to the farmers market (I've been waiting all summer for this) and to Calaway Park in the afternoon. It should be a good day, so look out for pictures on the website soon!

Will the heat wave ever end?

Ever since I arrived in Saskatchewan, the temperatures have been horribly high here in Bengough. I don't think we have had a day that was under 30 degrees, and most days were close to 40. I look forward to being back in Calgary just to be in the cooler temperatures (and to be back with Mike...it's been a long 11 days apart from him).

Well, VBS is over, and the crew headed back to Colorado. The church building seemed so empty this morning. I'm sure Jesse was wondering what happened to all the people he was used to seeing there twice a day. But, Lissy is here for a visit so that's fun!

And the most exciting news of all - I joined the Facebook bandwagon! Okay, maybe that's not too exciting, but my friend Jacinthe is excited to have me join. I'm actually kinda surprised it took me so long to join, and now that I have I am amazed at how many people are on it already. So, feel free to invite me to be your friend!!

That's about it for now...we should be headed back to Calgary on Tuesday or Wednesday, so you may not hear from me until then. Laters...

Nothing too new...

Not much new and exciting to report, but I thought I would give a general update on what's happening. Jesse has learned a few new words since we have been in Canada (no, "eh" is not one of them...) He can say truck, which sounds more like "cruck", he can say "blueberries", he has his own special word for drink which I won't even try to spell phonetically for you, he is using his sign language lots and can say "done" too, and he is perfecting his pronunciation of "grandma and grandpa" and "no". He has become exceeding good at going up and down the stairs, throwing a ball, drinking from a regular cup and even getting water from the water cooler. He likes to call Sheba (the cat) "Tim" (which is one of the Coghlin's puppies). I think I heard him say one day "Tim, meow." Jesse is known by everyone at VBS. There are kids who say "hi Jesse" and I have no idea who they are...He gives everyone high fives and likes to "pound it" (ask Dan) with people. One day he was right up at the front doing the actions to "Father Abraham"...I had so many people come and comment to me about how cute he was. Everyone thinks he is the best kid ever...none of his teachers believe me that he has temper tantrums or that he ever cries (how little they know!) Jesse also likes to sing...he will even open a song book and sing along with us in his cute singing voice. He also likes to lead singing - he copies the song leaders hand actions. He's also loving the pool these days...he even doesn't mind getting his face wet anymore.

Rebecca smiles more and more each day. Of course everyone thinks she is beautiful, and can't believe how alert she is for a 2 month old, and how happy she seems all the time.

We are all missing Mike though, and look forward to seeing him hopefully sometime early next week. Jesse looks at his picture of Mike and says "dada" over and over again. I mentioned "dada" tonight at Jesse's bedtime, and he started looking around for him. I felt kinda bad, but I know he will be thrilled when we see him again.

Anyway, I should get going...it's late and the baby is squawking for me again.

It continues to be hot here...today was only supposed to be 26 degrees Celcius (which sounded good after high 30's). At lunch time it was 29, and then it got to about 35 degrees this afternoon and very humid. I can tell that I packed way too many long-sleeved clothes for the kids!!

VBS is going well. Jesse went to class the first day, but wouldn't stay this morning (I think there were too many adults in the classroom, plus he woke up at 5 this morning and was tired pretty early in the morning). But, he and Tyler played upstairs in the Ladies Class. Susan Roberts is here teaching the Ladies Class. We are studying Proverbs. The little bit that I got to listen to (in between distracting Jesse...) was great. Bob Lewis is teaching our evening classes, which are just as interesting. I am collecting all the handouts and hope to get a chance to review them later and see what I missed.

Anyway, both children have woken up and are crying, so I should go for now...

It feels like Texas...

Well, we arrived safe & sound in Bengough. Jesse, Rebecca and I flew to Regina on Thursday morning (we were up by 4:30 to catch our early morning flight...) with Brenda. My mom met us at the airport and we drove to Bengough (Brenda had to fly back to Calgary). It is hot here in Bengough...I think today is supposed to reach 33 degrees Celcius today and 36 tomorrow (that's 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit). It was 25 by 9:00 this morning...plenty warm enough!

Jesse has played in the backyard pool lots, we have taken plenty of walks around town and have enjoyed the slower pace of life the smallk town offers. Today though, the business of VBS begins...mom is baking, dad is cutting grass and running errands and I have a baby attached to me (she's loving her sling Brenda). Lissy should be coming home today too, so it will be fun to have her around too.

Memories from my childhood...

Yesterday was hot! Jesse played in his pool quite a bit. And then we decided to put out the sprinkler since he had never played in one. It was great. He loved it. And it brought back so many memories for me....there's just something about the smell of the grass when it's wet, and the way the water is such a nice relief from the scorching sun. I could just close my eyes yesterday and remember all the times I ran through the sprinkler at home (or grandma's), and playing on the slip & slide. Great times. Sometimes I wish I was still a kid and the summer was filled with camping trips and swimming lessons and VBS...

I hope someday Jesse and Rebecca have the same type of happy memories to look back on when they are playing with their kids.

6 weeks

Rebecca and I had our six week check up on Friday. All is well with both of us. My incision is healing well which is a nice change from last time. Rebecca is growing well and is completely healthy, other than a bit of neo-natal acne. She weighed in at 9 lbs, 14 oz (Jesse's exact birth weight...) and was 21 inches long.

Our Canada Day celebration included going to church as usual, eating burgers and milkshakes at Peter's Drive In, building a railing on the deck in the afternoon, and having a bbq roast for supper outside. It was beautiful out and a very enjoyable day overall. I hope you all enjoyed your Canada Day celebration (or July 4th for you Americans).