Land of the Living Skies

Canola Fields in July

2010-07-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well, last weekend Joel and I actually got to go away for a night to celebrate our anniversary! Friends of ours took the girls for us so we could go up to Saskatoon and spend a night there... it was a great time! We got lost in the city a couple of times, but all ended up okay! We went out for a relaxing supper, went to see Toy Story 3 and then walked along the river - it is absolutely gorgeous! On the way home, Joel took some back roads that he knew, so we passed by a few canola fields... I made him stop so that I could take some photos! I just love the fields when they are flowering, especially the flax ones, cuz they are purple, but we didn't pass any of those! Here are a few of the pics I took...

July - visit from Grandma Willms!

2010-07-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Grandma flew out on July 1st to spend some time with us while she has her summer off! It was a great time and we packed a lot in, but also had a lot of time just to sit and relax, and also do some gardening! Weeding is always better with 2 :) Our first stop was Buffalo Pound. Joel had Friday off because he worked on the holiday so he could have a long weekend. We packed up a picnic and set off for an afternoon of fun in the sun! It was a perfect day and we enjoyed our lunch, and then went for a swim in the lake!

Burying Daddy's feet in the sand on the beach.

Such concentration... we don't really know what she was watching, but she was very intense!

Chloe decided that trying to cover daddy in sand all over would be good, too...

I decided I needed a prego pic, as I don't really have on yet... This is me at 19 weeks - with my lovely sidekick!

Mom and I took the girls to the Mortlach Saskatoon Berry Festival. It was a good time! There were booths set up, live bands playing, lots of people to visit with (the joys of living in a small town) and good food! We enjoyed Saskatoon Berry pie and the girls had ice cream cones... then we took the horse drawn wagon ride. Chloe kept calling it a "party". I guess to her it was!

Sunday after church we enjoyed lunch on the deck and of course had to take a family pic! Too bad grandma is hiding behind Chloe...

Well, it was a great visit, and sad to see it come to an end - especially since we all (except Joel) ended up with the flu right after Grandma left! But at least we get to come to the Valley in a couple of weeks! Can't wait! Thanks for a great visit, Mom!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

These were actually taken about a week ago - the girls took out the bat and ball and Joel was throwing it to them so they could hit it. They were actually doing okay! Pretty good for a 3 and 4 year old! And they have a great coach for a daddy, too! What I find funny is that Karissa bats left and Chloe bats right!

Happy Father's Day! After church Karissa was begging for a picnic, so we packed a lunch and headed out to our beautiful backyard! That way we could enjoy the picnic but Karissa could still get her nap in :)

For supper we ate chicken burgers and corn on the cob out on our deck! It was a really fun day. In the afternoon we had gone down to the store and gotten ice cream - and got caught in a thunderstorm on the way back! It will be great when the girls actually understand what Father's Day is all about, but until then, we'll still have fun!

Oh yeah, these birds built a nest in one of the trees in our backyard! We noticed it last night when some friends of ours were over! Joel cut some branches so we could see them a little better. The little birds are so cute! Especially when mom or dad brings back a worm for them to eat! So fun to watch!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

2010-05-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Chloe is 3 already! On the 26th, is when her actual birthday was, but we also celebrated with friends yesterday (Saturday). I found some cute butterfly cupcakes online (cuz I was dying to use my cupcake tower!) and we had a few friends over to help us celebrate. Chloe had a great time with her friends even though the weather wasn't the greatest...

Sharing supper with Fiona and her 2 girls, Kaylana and Jahnaya, and Matt and Kelly Delong with Caleb.

Happy birthday dear Chloe!

On the night of her real birthday, I had picked up a treatzza pizza from DQ and we had that... she is such a little poser when the camera comes out!

Yeah! The life jacket that I asked for!!!!

Opening up the sleeping bag from Grandma and Grandpa.

Cool dude with sunglasses - she refused to take them off for the rest of the night!

We had to dig Karissa's sleeping bag out too, so that she could be a part of it all, and the girls camped out in the living room for a couple of days while the weather was yucky outside... great fun!

All in all, it was another fun birthday.

May Happenings

2010-05-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

This month has been pretty cold, so I guess most of these are probaly April pics, but they had to be posted! This hawk was in a tree in our backyard! I saw it quite by chance while we were eating breakfast, and thought it was just a big bird... then Joel looked and realized it was a hawk! It's a pretty young one, and I don't know if he was after the squirrels or what.

The girls were taking their babies for bike rides a few days ago. So cute!

Yeah, Chloe's not really allowed to use the markers anymore... this is what happens when she does! Good thing for washable markers!

Easter pics from home!

2010-04-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Yes, this was quite a few weeks ago now, but I'm just behind in everything else, so why not the blog, too? On Easter weekend Joel's parents came out to see us! We had a lot of fun together, and it was a great long weekend! We managed to pack a lot in, despite the fact that Joel's mom was still suffering from shingles - not fun! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we fired up the barbeque for the first time and threw on some steaks... yum! Joel and his dad had to clean everything first, but what are dad's for, right?

Of course we did a traditional easter egg hunt...and we got to do it in the backyard, which was a lot of fun! Usually it's still pretty chilly this time of year, but this year spring decided to come early!

The girls in their Easter dresses after church with Oma and Opa.

The girls and Oma had just finished dying a bunch of eggs - that was a lot of fun! Kind of stressful at times, but still, very fun!

We had a fantastic weekend and were so glad to share it with Oma and Opa!

Easter in Calgary

2010-04-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little slow on the uptake, but here they are anyway! I drove out to Calgary with the girls 2 weekends ago (Palm Sunday weekend). Originally it was just to spend the weekend with my sister and her family, but then our parents flew out and it turned into an Easter gathering!!!! We had such a blast... The girls all decorated cookies that Mom made... then we got to have tea with the cookies and paska! Yum!

Easter egg hunting... that was so much fun! The girls were great :)

After the hunt.

While Rachelle and I hid the eggs, Grandma and Grandpa gave the girls their easter baskets which were full of goodies!

Before church on Sunday. Aren't they pretty?

This was taken at the zoo - we went into the gardens where they had all sorts of amazing flowers! Love the hydrangeas!

Nice pose of the girls... :)

The girls inside the kangaroo pouch.

Hanging out in the dinosaur park... Karissa did NOT like this part of the zoo! The dinosaurs are so cool - they actually roar and move their heads and tails. Not cool to Karissa, though - just scary :)

It was a fantastic trip. We all had so much fun. It would have been nice if Scott didn't have to be in class, and if Joel could have come with us - and if James and Lesley weren't on the other side of the world! such is life...

Ice Skating!

2010-03-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

On Sunday our church rented the Barkman Ice Arena for an hour in the afternoon. We borrowed some skates for the girls and took them ice skating for the first time ever! Unfortunately, two of these photos didn't do what I told them to, so you'll have to turn your head if you want a better look! Sorry about that! The girls had an absolute ball - especially Karissa... she was so proud of herself! They weren't sure off the start, but by the end they were getting a lot better! Hopefully we can go again soon! This is our friend Cindy Latrace with Chloe.

Me and Jen - one of Karissa and Chloe's babysitters - trying to keep Karissa from falling!

First time on the ice!

Daddy and his little girl!

Finally some new pics!

2010-03-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got a new camera that actually works! We were really sad, cuz the girls were doing lots of really cute cheering during Olympics, but maybe we'll just have to reenact it all so you can see what happened! Anyways, we have been having awesome weather lately, so there are lots of puddles around because of all the snow melting! The girls have had some fun in them lately, and I thought I'd post some pics! Best friends :)

Gotta love jumping in those puddles! And yes, I've got the girls decked out in splash pants and gumboots - this sort of cuts down on laundry, but mostly just lets them last a little longer in the water!

There's a lot more where those came from, but I'll work on some different scenery for next time! You can only look at so many photos of the girls jumping in puddles.

Last weekend's blizzard...

2010-01-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we had one of the worst blizzards-actually maybe the only blizzard that we've ever seen here! The highways were closed and we probably got about a foot of snow over 2 days. It's amazing what can happen when it's blowing 60 km an hour, though! We had a few drifts in Caronport that were about 7 feet high! Joel made our stairs into a tobaggan hill - the girls loved it!

Shovelling out the walkway in the backyard!

Sitting on top of the drift once they managed to climb it.

Chloe and Nathan digging holes in the 5 foot drift in our backyard.

The backyard... it was unreal the amount of snow that accumulated and blew to make our backyard into a winter wonderland!

Joel standing by the huge drift the kids climbed up later.

The Jeep got buried by a massive drift! I was grateful that we didn't have renters that needed to dig their car out for work on Monday!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

2009-12-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

On Monday afternoon, we all bundled up and took a ride on a sleigh! It was a wee bit chilly, but so much fun! The girls had a ball, especially if the horses went a little bit faster, or down a hill. What a great memory! I don't have a picture of all of us together - that one is on someone else's camera :) But here are some of the ones I do have!

The sleigh was actually really big! It held about 15 people and the benches just went around the perimeter.
Kinda looks like the arctic, hey? That is our vast, white prairie!!
We just got back from our first ride, and someone took a photo of us all in the sleigh before we went in the shop to warm up!

Christmas in Caronport

2009-12-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already seen these pics on Facebook, here's a preview of our Christmas!!! My parents came out to spend some time with us over Christmas. It was really wonderful! Christmas Eve was a highlight, as we took the girls out Christmas light looking before the service. Chloe slept, because she hadn't had a nap that day, but Karissa was so excited about all of the lights she saw! It was so neat to hear her excitement... what a great night. Christmas morning was also fun. We took our time opening presents, partly to make it last, and partly not to overwhelm the girls! They had fun trying on their new clothes, playing with toys, and just tearing open the wrapping paper!On Christmas Day, we didn't do much for lunch, because mom and I were cooking the turkey that day, so we just had appys in the kitchen for everyone to nibble at... smoked candied salmon (so yum!), crackers with creamcheese and hot pepper jelly, and of course the candies!
We think Grandpa probably had more fun with the train set than Chloe and Karissa did :)
Karissa in some of her dress-up clothes, as well as a new shirt from Oma!
What else is in the stocking??
On Christmas Eve, after the girls were sleeping, we took out all the presents, wrapped some that hadn't been yet, and feasted on appys, chocolates, and peanuts, and watched the Grinch!
Christmas jammies - the girls got to open these on Christmas Eve - they were so excited! Definitely ready for bed in this photo!
Family pics before church on Christmas Eve!

Christmas dinner - almost forgot to take this one!
The girls and I made a cake for Jesus' birthday. We lit 2 candles (1 for each thousand years) and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus! It was a great close to a wonderful day!

We were so glad that mom and dad could be there to celebrate with us... it was really amazing to have them out... next year we will be in BC to celebrate with all of our family and friends there! It's definitely our turn to travel! Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!

Kids Christmas Concert

2009-12-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the Kids Christmas concert at our church. One of my favourite things about Christmas! Both girls were in the little kids part. Karissa was Mary and Chloe was a shepherd. We weren't sure if they would stay on stage, but they did! They were fantastic!
Watching the other kids say their lines.
At the end, after everyone said their lines, the kids all sang "Away in a Manger". Chloe danced!
Can you see Joel? At the Christmas concert, it's tradition for all the men to go up on stage and sing a Christmas carol. This year, they sang "Oh Come all Ye Faithful". It took a bit of convincing to get Joel up there, but he did!
As Pastor John was closing in prayer, I looked over to find Karissa like this, hands folded, eyes closed! It was so cute I had to take a photo!!!

Well, I'm sure there will be more posts in the next few weeks, as Christmas is just around the corner! We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and will miss all of you as we celebrate here in Caronport again...

The Christmas Train

2009-12-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

This morning we went out to Caron so we could see the Christmas train as it went by! The girls were so excited :) We met some friends of ours out there, too, which was really fun! It was so neat and the girls loved it! They were so excited! I was outside trying to take photos, but they stayed in the van with Joel because it was -35!

All of us in Santa hats - we borrowed the hats :)
The girls in their pretty new dresses for Christmas!

Trimming the Tree

2009-11-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I've posted a blog... sorry to those of you who do not have the chance to catch up with our family on facebook! Since last post, Joel and I have been to Australia for an amazing 2 weeks without the girls :) We have a lot of pics on facebook of that, but I never really got a chance to post any on here... since we have been back life has been busy! Readjusting to life as a family again, enjoying the beautiful weather, and now Christmas preparations! It's coming up so fast, as usual! Last weekend we decorated the Christmas tree... believe it or not, Joel was the one to request the decorations because apparently I was "too slow" this year! Chloe got to put the star on the tree this year, which was her highlight!

When Karissa got up on Monday morning, the tree was up. She was so excited to see it! Since we were decorating it that night, there was nothing but lights on the tree. She decided that it needed something, so she went to her toybox and picked out some necklaces, and other things that could hang on the tree. It was so precious!

September so far...

2009-09-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a great September so far - the weather has been warm, like summer should have been! The backyard has been in a constant state of "renovation" since we moved here, and this year we finally put rocks down on one part of it that pretty much only grew weeds for the last few years! Of course Karissa had to help, so she grabbed her little shovel and put rocks in the wheelbarrow too!
This weekend Joel put together Chloe's "big girl" bed. Her toddler bed was just getting a bit too small for her!
All the girls wanted to do was help, so Joel finally let them help him screw in a few screws...

Getting comfy on the new bed!
The girls both love the polka dots, or "polki dots" as they call them :)

More fun in BC

2009-08-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the last of three posts, so if you want to see the rest, be sure to look further down on the page! Anyway, we had a lot of fun in BC, and I know it's all backwards, but I'm not talented enough to think about how it would make sense to do all the right way so it makes more sense to you! (that and it's getting late...) But here's some more pics of our trip!We stopped at a rest area in Brooks that the kids didn't want to leave! It was a great place to eat lunch, but it had just rained the night before so the mosquitos were so bad!
I wanted a picture of James and Lesley with all the nieces... James and Les will now be gone for 2 years to Thailand to teach at an international school - things will have changed a lot by the time we see them again!
We took the girls to see great - Oma at Worthington, and Aunty Ann was there too! What a great surprise! Oma loved seeing the girls, as did all the people in the home that saw them :)
We got to take a dip in the pool at the place where Joel's parents have their trailer parked. It felt so good to swim when it was so hot outside!
This pic should have been at the end, but oh well! Karissa was so exhausted from Dinotown but really wanted a snack. She's practically sleeping in this picture, but trying so hard to eat!
Karissa decided it would be fun to get in the wheelbarrow, and then Chloe came along and tried to push her in it!
Chloe and Grandpa on the train...

What a cute bunch of girls!
At the gate to get in...

To those of you I did not get to see while I was in Abbotsford, I am sorry! The camping trip was kind of right in the middle, and so I was only in Abby for a short time... I don't know when we will be there again, but when we are, I will be sure to visit more!!!

p.s. don't forget to check out the next 2 posts for more BC fun!

Family Camping Trip - 2009

2009-08-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

This year our annual camping trip was in Manning Park, BC. What a great trip it was! We had great weather, minus the thunderstorms on one day, but despite that, we had a ton of fun together! We did miss Joel, however...
Bonding time for James and Chloe :)
Karissa wanted to be like the big girls and walk on the logs, but always needed a helping hand!
Canoeing with the girls and Uncle James (who was behind the camera).
The campsite. James and Dad went out early in the morning on Tuesday to get the site. They managed to get a double site so we could all camp together!
Grandpa and I took the girls on a canoe ride, as well.
Taking a break on the trail around Lightening Lake.
This is how the water fight started. Grandpa and Chloe and Karissa were all splashing in the water, and the Karissa got Grandpa's shirt and shorts wet - then she went to get a bucket!
With the coaxing of Uncle James, Karissa went to get Uncle Scott wet too!
Roasting marshmallows with Grandpa! What a great pic!

This was a fantastic trip! We had a lot of fun together, it was sad to see it end, although by the end we were all wet anyway - so we were ready to get home and get dried out!

Christine's visit

2009-08-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess this is the last post, but should have been the first! To start our holiday, we had a visit from Christine! She flew out so she could spend time with us, and then drive back with me and the girls to BC. What a great friend! The weather was really blah while she was here, but we tried to have fun nonetheless! The last day before we took the trek to BC we decided it would be fun to take the trolley through Moose Jaw and get a "history lesson". Unfortunately, the trolley never started, so we didn't get to go, but we got some good pics, anyway!

We went to Crescent Park (of course) and had a fun walk with the girls around the water.
This was at the rest area in Field. (Is that AB or BC?)
The first day we travelled from Caronport to Calgary and stayed with my sister. We took the kids to the park down the street and they got to play around for awhile and get tired out before bed!
The world's largest Teepee! (In Medicine Hat)
The girls were shouting "hello!" down the gopher hole. He had popped his head out a couple of times and they wanted to see him again!

It was a good trip - the girls were troopers (and so was Christine!). We were definitely glad to be back at home, though - where we didn't have to wake up and look forward to another drive!

Weekend Visit

2009-06-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend Joel's parents came for a quick visit to celebrate a belated birthday! It was a short but sweet visit. We crammed a lot into the weekend... shopped for Chloe's birthday gift (and some other shopping too!), put the present together, played Kanasta (sp?) and the girls got KILLED by the guys... had a fire and roasted marshmallows, celebrated Father's Day, pushed a friend's car out of the mud (well, just Joel did that) and then drove back to Regina to drop the Luypens at the airport! Whew! Karissa does not let go of Oma's purse when she comes to visit... good thing Oma got some new ones this time so she could empty this one and not have to worry about the girls going through it!
Little cutie :)
Putting together the present for Chloe - I forgot to get a picture of the whole thing, but it has a little basketball hoop, a soccer net and a slide.
We picked up some cupcakes from a bakery and sang happy birthday to Chloe...
then she stuffed her face!
Mmmmmmm... good cupcake!!

What a great weekend - thanks for coming you guys!

Father's Day - 2009

2009-06-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

This year was great because Oma and Opa had come out for the weekend - and we got to celebrate Father's Day with them! We opened presents and cards in the morning before we headed in to Moose Jaw for breakfast (more like brunch) and Smitty's. It was a great morning!The girls had to help open all the presents. They were so excited to!
This was the picture that was on both grandpa's cards...
And both of these pics were inside the cards - I took them awhile ago, but didn't want to post them because I wanted them to be a surprise for the dads!

(the pics were cropped to delete the little head at the bottom of each picture - always someone in the way! oh well, they were still cute :) )

A Day at the Park

2009-06-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take the girls to Crescent Park while we were in Moose Jaw. They had a lot of fun, because we don't often go there!Crazy drivers!

Karissa mastered this little climbing wall! She didn't any help at all from me - it was so cool to watch her figure out which foot to put where.
Karissa was convinced that the duck was going to come to her. Maybe if we would have had some bread it would have...
The girls were so excited to just sit and watch the ducks. They thought they were so cool! Hopefully there will be some baby ducks soon so the girls can see them...

Chloe's "Impromtu" Birthday Party

2009-05-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, our plans for this weekend changed slightly, as Joel's parents couldn't make it out to celebrate Chloe's birthday. Our Bible Study group was coming over on Sunday night for a wiener roast (that ended up being rained out) so I decided that I'd make the cupcakes and our friends could help us celebrate Chloe turning 2!The idea for the cupcakes is on the Kraft website. "Bears on the Beach".

Chloe tried so hard to blow the noisemaker!
"Happy Birthday dear Chloe!" She was so tired by this point :) as you can see! She didn't know what to do with the candles, so me and Joel Reimer helped her blow them out.
Shovin' the mouth full of cupcake! Oh yeah!!!

I'm glad our friends could be here to celebrate with us. Living so far away from family, we have made friends that seem like family, and that means so much. I'm sure our family and friends in BC (and other places) would have loved to be here, too, and you were missed! maybe one day...

Community Day!

2009-05-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Caronport had their first annual community day! It started off with a parade (yes, our tiny town had a parade) and then there were booths set up, and push car races, and live entertainment (local, of course) and a bbq for lunch! What a day! We could only stay for some of it, as there was lots to be done in the yard and it was first warm sunny day we've had in awhile. The Caronport Fire Department was in the parade squirting water at all the people watching...
The token fire dog :) She's actually a chocolate dalmatian, not a black one, and she's not even really a fire dog, but her owner is one of the firemen, so it was cute!
The girls went and grabbed the candy as it was thrown out.
Chloe and Karissa waiting for the parade to start.

Spring has sprung (so we think...)

2009-05-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Yes, I know, it's been awhile... we just hadn't really taken many pictures, so there was not a lot to post! But here's the latest!Joel got the bobcat one weekend to pull out a stump in our yard, so Chloe got to ride with him! She had a blast! She got kind of scared when he started to ram the stump, though, so I took her out - and then she just cried for Daddy the whole time we were watching!!
Two-fisted eater... not sure how she ended up with a fork and a spoon, but she handled it pretty well! Too funny :)
Blowing bubbles in the backyard! So fun!

Reading books on the rocking chair - so cute!
Chloe wasn't quite sure what to do with the hamburger - first one of the season! I just cut her burger into quarters and assumed she'd copy us, but no, she has to do things the hard way! What a kid...

A very full week!

2009-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hello! Well, it has been an adventurous week... on Monday we set up Chloe's toddler bed, which she was very excited about! The thing is to keep her from falling out of it! Yes, yes, the smart thing to do would be to get a bed rail - but so far we haven't done that... she seems to be okay, though, and is getting better every day!On the weekend we found a bike for Karissa at Walmart that is the perfect "learning" bike! It sort of is like a trike, but looks like a bike... anyway, she loved it. For awhile... on Monday she had a bad spill on her bike and ended up chipping her front tooth :( Now she is afraid to get on her bike and ride it again. I'm sure if we keep encouraging her it'll come, but for now - it's a no go!
Take a look at the tooth! And the puffy lip... yeah, that happened on Wednesday. All I know is that it involved my water bottle and her somehow falling on it and hitting her mouth... good grief! Well, at least we know where she gets her "accident prone-ness" from!
All-in-all, Karissa is a real trooper. Nothing seems to faze her! It's amazing, really... but I guess kids do that.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess Easter has come and gone once again... we had a really fun weekend, even though our friends couldn't make it out for Easter dinner. It just doesn't seem the same without lots of people around the dinner table on a holiday!The Easter goodies left for the girls to find in the morning - the got up at completely different times (of course) so I thought I'd just take this pic in case :)
The girls in their Easter dresses before church on Sunday morning.
And one with mom...
It rained all morning, so we couldn't really do our egg hunt out in the backyard like I'd hoped. The girls had fun anyway!

On Good Friday we decorated Easter eggs - now that was an adventure! I'm very grateful that I didn't tackle that one on my own :)
Colouring with the "magic" crayon.
What is happening inside that cup?

So focussed...

Oma and Opa's visit

2009-03-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

This is long overdue, but at least I'm posting new pics! Joel's parents came out the last part of Spring Break (in BC) and stayed till Sunday morning, when we drove them to the airport. We had a great visit and the girls loved waking up to find Oma and Opa in the living room every morning!
Karissa and Chloe each got a bear from Oma and Opa when we went to Walmart the one day... Chloe's is about as big as she is... They sure do love them!

Karissa loves colouring with the eraseable markers on her whiteboard (which she's not allowed to do very often) and was so excited to have Opa draw with her.

The favourite passtime. Oma got to the point of hiding that particular book because that's all the girls wanted to read!
Oma was the "horsie" one morning - I don't think she knew what she was getting herself into! That's all the girls wanted to do! (and they're not light anymore!)
Breakfast wasn't even over yet and Karissa wanted to bring out the playdoh. I'm not sure who had more fun, Opa or the girls :)

We had such a great time. Went out for a nice dinner at Boston's Pizza, went to the Spa to go swimming, and of course, played Kanasta after the girls went to bed! Thanks for everything! It was fantastic!

The latest pics...

2009-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Chloe and Karissa were playing one day and Joel found Chloe "sleeping" in the shoe closet! I thought when Karissa was talking about putting Chloe to bed, she was playing in her bedroom!

Utter relaxation! Ah yes, Dora before supper - it's a lifesaver some days!
Today we spent a good part of the afternoon in the backyard, and we built a snowman! I was very excited, as usually the snow is so powdery that we can't. We even had a carrot in the fridge for the nose, which Karissa just had to put on.
Chloe attempted to put on the hat, with the help of Karissa, but in the end, mom just did it. (I could see Chloe falling right into the snowman, and then NO ONE would be happy!)
Will there ever be a picture where everyone is looking? Our snowman seems to be raising his hands for some reason. What a great afternoon!!

Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

2009-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

This last weekend my parents came out to celebrate my 30th birthday, which was today! We had such a great time - it was too short, though... On Saturday, me and my mom had some "girl time". We went for lunch at a little coffee shop downtown Moose Jaw, and then went to get pedicures at a place called "Little Spa on the Prairie". It was pretty cute! We forgot our cameras, of course, so decided just to get a picture of our done-up toes instead.

We decided that we would love to have my parents out here when we dedicated Chloe, too, so that's what we did! We worked it out with our pastor - who just does dedications whenever - and he did it on Sunday morning. It was a really nice dedication.

Grandma found these cute little dresses for $3 a piece at Superstore so we had to dress them up on Sunday morning!
We had a birthday dinner on Saturday night, and grandma even brought balloons and I don't know what you call these things - but Karissa had a blast blowing them!

All set for lasagne, cesar salad and garlic bread supper! With sparkling apple juice to drink. (Karissa could not get enough of it! we thought she'd hate the fizziness! Boy were we wrong...)
Grandpa playing ring around the rosie with the girls.
It was great because Grandma and Grandpa got to read all of the stories that we've read a million times each...
It was the best weekend ever! Thanks so much for making the trip out, mom and dad. You made our birthdays really special - and Chloe's dedication, too!

our new van!

2009-02-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally did it! We got a new van! We are so excited about it :) It is a 2004 Honda Odessey (don't know how to spell that). My favourite feature is pictured right below - a 2nd door to the back!!!! No more climbing over Karissa to get Chloe strapped in! I wanted to get a photo of the girls beside the van, but didn't know how to tell Nathan, the boy I babysit, that he couldn't be in the photo! So, here they are! (the van is gold if you can't tell)
And here she is! Why vehicles are female, who knows, but whatever! Ain't she a beaut?
Well, that's our "new" news. I will have some more pics after this weekend - grandma and grandpa are coming! We are excited to say the least :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Karissa!

2009-01-12T18:33:00.001-08:00

I made a Dora's Backpack cake for Karissa's birthday because she loves Dora! I'm no Martha Stewart, but it was cute!
The traditional birthday cake pose.
All the little girls that came to her party. On the right is Charlotte and Jana Erickson, then Chloe on the end, and Kaylana Graham on the left.
Charlotte, Jana, and Leah Erickson.
The boys at the party - Leah's husband Jarrod, with their son Cooper, and Joel (duh!)
This was hilarious - we got Karissa a Dora movie for her birthday, so she opened it up and shouted - Dora! Then started singing "we did it, we did it, hooray!" It was priceless- I wish we could have got a video of it...
Our little housekeeper. We also got her a cleaning set, because she loves to clean! She was really excited about it :)

Thanks for all the phone calls to wish Karissa a happy birthday! It's hard to believe we have a 3-year-old.... wow!

p.s. - belated happy birthday to Sammy Spring!!!

Christmas - a little late!

2009-01-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sorry I didn't post these sooner. I put all the pics on facebook and didn't think about the blog soon enough... But I know there are a lot of you that only look at the blog! So, here are a few of the pictures from Christmas... they're a little mixed up - party blogger's fault, partly mine.
Karissa fishing into hers to see what was in it...
Of course Karissa has to help daddy open his as well!
Chloe was getting pretty good at opening her presents this year! She still needed a bit of help, but she did well! She was pretty excited :) I'm sure it helped that Karissa was so into it.

This is what was under our tree on Christmas Eve. Most of it is for the girls - the kicker is, all we got them is what was in their stockings! Grandparents took care of the rest... We managed to do the present opening in shifts so the girls wouldn't be too overwhelmed. We opened some first thing, then ate breakfast, then opened a few more, then got dressed, etc. I think the final presents were opened at about 2:30/3:00. It worked pretty well!
For some reason blogger decided to mess up the order of my pictures, but here's a recent family photo (finally!) of us after Christmas dinner with our friends, Bryan and Fiona.
The crazy Christmas face :)
A new toy from Oma and Opa. The girls have fun boppin' along with this one!
This has to be one of my favourites... We were helping Chloe make things with her giant beads.
Not sure about this one. Chloe was pretty excited about the beads she found in her stocking though... (I wonder what all we could fit into that mouth....)

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Hopefully we will get to see you soon... it was nice to stay home, but we really did miss everyone a lot!

Christmas fun

2008-12-15T17:59:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We've been doing some fun things around here - trying to keep the kids occupied inside with the cold weather we've been having! This is a picture of our gingerbread house after the girls decorated it. It's no "El Dorado" (you'd have to know Jeremy to get that) but it's darn cute! The girls had a lot of fun eating - um- decorating the house with the candy!
We don't need the spray on snow to make our windows look frosty! It just has to be -45! (that's with wind... it's only around -28 or so) lol
It's time to decorate sugar cookies! Such as it was. Mom did all the cookies but 2, and those two cookies, done by the girls, well, let's just say there wasn't a lot of cookie left, and the bowl of icing was almost gone! (it was a small bowl) Needless to say, about 10 minutes after all was said and done, Karissa was complaining of a tummy ache!
Alright, I know, the pics are out of order, but what do you do? Joel and the girls did a great job of finishing off the house.
Such concentration.
She looks so focussed! She actually did really well! Only a few candies went in her mouth... :)

Well, we will definitely miss being in BC for Christmas, but are also looking forward to our white Christmas!! (yes, the forecast says it's supposed to snow on Christmas day!) I'm sure there will be lots more to come... but in case I don't... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Kid's Christmas Program

2008-12-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

On Sunday the kids in our Sunday School did their Christmas program. It was early, but we had no choice! They did a fantastic job! Karissa was supposed to be an angel in the nativity. They got her all dressed up and she was quite excited to be an angel. And as you can see, she looked really cute! (That's her friend Jana next to her) Well, she walked up with the kids, but as soon as she was supposed to go up the stairs to the stage, she freaked right out! She started crying, "Mommy!" and so she came back to sit with me for the rest of the time :) It was pretty funny.

This is the nativity scene. Kids are so great!
Every year there is a mens "choir". All the men in the church go to the front and sing "Go Tell it on the Mountain". It sounds really good!
These are all the kids in Sunday School, minus the little kids.
Our high school kids did a Christmas version of Family Feud - Ficticious Christmas Characters versus Biblical Characters. It turned out really well!
Little poser :) This was from her goody bag. The kids all got them - and they were chocked full of candy!
Chloe is fascinated by the Christmas tree at church...
Karissa's divin' in to the goods! This is our friend Leona Reimer. She's a really good friend of ours and Karissa adores her :)

Decorating the tree and stuff...

2008-12-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we put up our Christmas tree. We thought it would be fun because it snowed outside! The girls had fun helping this year. We haven't put a lot of decorations on the tree, because otherwise it will just be too stressful! So far they've been really good, though. They just love all the lights!Chloe got to put the star on top this year with Daddy. She was pretty excited to do that!

The girls liked taking everything out of the box and seeing what it was more than anything!
This one's kinda blurry, but what can you do? I think we have a better one somewhere...
Such a big girl! She had to do it all by herself :)
In their new Christmas jammies! They were pretty excited about wearing them, and we did a little photo shoot to try and get some cute Christmas pics.
Helping daddy make pizza!
What one does, the other has to do! This one was actually taken first - then Chloe (our little "me too" girl) decided she had to help too!

Our "new" house

2008-11-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well, Joel's been bugging me to put more pictures up of the house since he's gotten a lot finished since last time I posted. I was going to take a picture of the back, too, because he started that, but I forgot - another day! Anyway, here's what it looks like! The west side.

The side of the garage.

The front - obviously.

Joel got new work boots, so Karissa thought she'd break them in for him - what a cutie!

Our Beautiful Girls

2008-11-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

I've been having some fun with the camera lately - and the fall colours have been pretty great, so I thought I'd share them! Both girls seem to be very photogenic :) Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This is in our cherry tree in the backyard. I managed to get both girls to sit on the branch - it couldn't have been too comfy, but they did it! I'm thinking of blowing these ones up and framing them :)

The siding's going up!

2008-10-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yay! We have siding! It looks so great :) They started putting it up yesterday, after installing the new window in the dining room - last one!!! There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel... couldn't have done it without Joel's dad, that's for sure... well, at least it probably wouldn't have been done before winter... We love the new siding - it looks so good. Wish you could all come see it!! This is the back of the house - the insulation we put on the outside - right now our house is the "blue foam" house - we don't have an address up :) Although we're getting close to being able to put one up!

It's been super windy and COLD so I can't believe the guys are out there right now working. I guess it has to get done - and I think Joel is excited to finally be at the "easy" part :) It's hard for him to quit once he gets going!

Pics from awhile ago...

2008-10-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Two days before we left for Red Deer, Chloe had her first haircut! We went to a lady the lives just down the street from us, and she did a great job! She didn't cut a lot, but just trimmed it up a bit so it can grow out nicer. Chloe did okay - at first. She got kind of freaked out a few minutes in and I had to sit with her so she'd stay in the chair. All in all, though, a success!

The weekend before Thanksgiving we cleaned up the garden. Joel had the one-ton from work at our house so he could put the garbage from the house into it, so I decided to use it to put the stuff from the garden in too! It worked great! The girls were quite excited to go to the pile in the middle of the garden and pick out things that they could throw in the back.
Karissa's "prize" - looks like a bean plant.
Tossing it in the back of the truck!
Chloe's turn!
The girls were excited to get a chance to sit on the back of the truck so I could get a photo. It was a fun afternoon! Definitely beat trying to bag all of that by myself!

oh yeah, the next 2 posts are new, too!

New Front Door!

2008-10-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

This week Joel's dad is here to help Joel out with the house. Yesterday they put in the front door! It looks fantastic and we are very excited to have a front door that won't let in the winter wind!

Ta da! The finished product - minus the door knob :) Looks good, eh?

p.s. the next post is new too!

Thanksgiving in Red Deer

2008-10-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

This year it was our turn to trek out to Red Deer and spend Thanksgiving and Scott and Chelle's house. My parents came out too! It was a great weekend - minus a broken down van - and we have pictures to prove it! All the girls were vying for Grandma's attention. She needed more of herself to go around! This didn't last long, as 5 on a piano bench is a bit much!
Karissa even got some cuddle time with Grandpa while us girls went out by ourselves for a bit.
Doing "girl" things!

On the Saturday we went to Mackenzie Trails where we spent some time playing at the park and roasting marshmallows. It was a little cool, but still tons of fun!
Grandpa decided it would be fun to roll down the hill with Tegan and Anaya, and when they got to the bottom, they thought it would be fun to bury Grandpa in the leaves!
We tried to get a good shot of the girls in the leaves - I think Rachelle has a better one on her camera - but this one's pretty cute, too :)
We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores - yummy! Karissa was determined to help me, wouldn't let me just do it for her!
We all had a great time in Red Deer. My stay ended up a little longer than everyone else's. On Saturday on the way home from the park, the van died and we couldn't get it started again. Scott and Dad stayed with the van and waited for the tow truck, who brought it to Canadian Tire. The guys at Canadian Tire fixed a bunch of things and sent me on my way. I was about 15 minutes out of Red Deer on Wednesday morning when it died again. I managed to get it started and drive back to Chelle's place. We took it back to the shop and it took them until Thursday afternoon to figure out the problem, and finally on Friday night I got it back. I did get to stay at Chelle's and have more of a visit, but she was sick with the flu all of Thursday, my girls both had really bad colds and weren't sleeping great (so, neither was I) and then Chloe proceeded to get the flu on Saturday, the day we left! Needless to say, it was REALLY good to get home. :)

Our "Big" Girls

2008-09-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Our little girls aren't so little anymore! They are growing up faster than we'd like... I guess that's how it is with everyone, though - that's what I keep hearing! Chloe actually let me put pigtails in her hair - and I have the pics to prove it! Don't know if it'll happen again for awhile, unless I can strap her in her highchair or something. The girl does not sit still! Cute as can be, though :) And of course, big sister has to come and pose for a photo, too!
The leaves are falling like crazy around here. Our backyard gets a ton! I started raking the other day and made a pile at the bottom of the slide for the girls to slide into. They had a blast with it!

Karissa finally has her "big girl" bed! This is the bed that I put together all by myself! (well, I had a bit of "help") It took me probably twice as long as it would have taken Joel, but then, I had 2 kids in the room with me... The bed looks huge! I didn't remember a twin bed being that big! The great thing is that it's a bunk bed so when Chloe is big enough, the other bed will go on top so they can share a room!
And again, can't take a picture of one and not the other :)
Well, that's our little life in a nutshell right now. Joel is still working like crazy on the house. He got a lot done today. The weather has been gorgeous - cold in the mornings, but by the afternoon it's warm again. Perfect fall weather! Hope you are all doing well!

and so it begins...

2008-09-22T21:19:00.001-07:00

Well, it has officially started - Joel tore off the siding on almost the whole front of the house on the weekend! He put up the foam that will insulate under the siding... we're pretty excited! We are still waiting for 2 windows that should be coming soon. Then he can really get things done.
The sund was kind of in a bad spot, so I didn't get a great picture. But that's what it looks like so far! He did more than that after the pic was taken... we'll keep you posted on the progress! It will look great when it's all done!
I could not get Chloe to smile for the life of me in this picture! I picked up these chairs at a baby swap meet thing in Moose Jaw on Saturday - got some other great stuff too! The girls were thrilled about their new chairs, and love to sit in them and read books, or watch cartoons in the morning.

At the farm

2008-09-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

We now go across the highway to a farm whenever we need eggs. They're a lot cheaper, they're fresh, and the farm has cows, which Karissa and Chloe love! We walk right by a calf pen whenever we go, and the girls both have to stop and say hi to the calves. Yesterday they were right by the gate, which is rare - they usually steer clear! Karissa was quite excited to see them so close!
Chloe loves to see the cows, too. She thought it was pretty cool that they were close up this time.
Karissa was just beside herself that the cows were right there. The look on her face is kind of funny, but I think she's saying, "mommy, cows!"
She tries to feed them hay whenever we go. This particular cow was really strange. It kept sticking it's nose through and trying to lick us. Not really sure what that means... Anyway, it's a fun little trip for the girls every couple of weeks!

Joel was working on windows yet again last weekend, and got the bobcat to help. When he drove it back he took Karissa along for the ride. She loved it!
Our masseuse-in-training! Karissa loves to help, and has watched me do it enough times that she's a "pro!" at least she will be when she gets bigger hands :)
Daddy has it made...

The last couple of weeks...

2008-09-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

We haven't been doing a ton of stuff lately, as it's nearing the end of summer, so company is gone and things are pretty hum drum... but I did scrounge up some fun pics anyway! Take a peek...! Karissa learns well from her father... if we're gonna be sitting awhile anyway... :)
The girls have discovered how to "dance" together! Chloe learned Ring around the Rosie not that long ago, so we have been doing lots of that! It's especially fun in the pool, she has found!
On August 21st, Fiona and I took our kids to the circus that came to Moose Jaw. Yeah, it turned out to be kind of a bust! Not the greatest circus, for one, and the kids were too little! After the first part of the show, we went down to see the elephant that you could ride on if you wanted. The girls loved watching... Then we decided to head out, because with Fiona being due the next day - she was pretty tired of chasing Kaylana around, and Karissa and Chloe weren't going to hold out for another hour, either. Maybe another time!

Another shot of the dancing queens.

Summertime

2008-08-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree... seems Karissa has caught Joel's "clumsy" disease... good grief! This happened on Friday afternoon, not too far from our house - thank goodness! Karissa was jumping off a railway tie and her heels caught on the tie and she went face first into the gravel. Poor thing! Her nose got pretty scratched up and she has a nice bump on her head, too. It was not a pretty picture taking her home, let me tell you! I'm sure there were lots of people looking out their windows to see what was going on!
Chloe loves being a "big girl" and going on the swing! She does really well, too - hold on tight!!!
Karissa loves to spin around on the swing. It's her favourite thing right now - she asks me to do it again and again!

My new kitchen window!!! We got new windows for our house on Thursday and Joel has slowly been putting them in. Today he did the kitchen and I am SO excited!!! I can finally open the window because I have a screen! I also have a window sill, which is awesome!!! Hooray for new windows!

Bubble baths, black eyes and storms...

2008-08-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy weekend! Just when you think that you can get all of this work done around the house, Mother Nature decides to step in and put a stop to it! Ah well, we had fun anyhow... Well, Karissa has finally decided that she is not scared of bubbles in her bath anymore... so after 2.5 years, she had her first bubble bath - and therefore, so did Chloe! As you can see, they had a lot of fun!
Karissa liked blowing the bubbles off of her hands. I guess it looks pretty cool!
This is a toy chest that I got at a garage sale not that long ago. I finally moved it from the garage to Karissa's room. It is a great new toy for the girls, and a great new storage thing for the toys!

Karissa was outside "helping" Joel last weekend, and he got a great shot of her in the weeping birch in our front yard.
Ah yes, more war wounds... this was the work of a flying caulking gun. Joel said "Just toss it here!" instead of letting the guy walk around the stuff that was in the way to bring it to Joel. The tube in the gun was full, so the rod out the back was fully extended and that's what hit Joel in the eye. The kicker is, the rod actually bent from hitting Joel's head - that's how hard his head is!!!!
Crazy Sunday rain storm! I think this is the hardest it has ever rained as long as we've lived out here. There was a lot of hail, as well. It started out with just thunder and lightening, then the heavens opened and down came the rain! The pool we have in the backyard for the girls was empty, but after the storm had almost as much water in it as I would fill it for them to play in!
The street in front of our house was a lake! The ditch across the street was overflowing and you couldn't even see part of the road!
I don't think this car realized just how much water there was on the road... oops!

A visit from Bryan and Sam!

2008-08-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

Last week Bryan and Sam came to visit! We had a lot of fun with them - even if we didn't do a ton of stuff. Joel had to work a lot, which was such a bummer. But even still, he and Bryan went out to do a bunch of shooting. (gophers mostly, although they did get something pretty cool, which you'll see at the end!) The girls went out for ice cream, of course! For some reason, Karissa doesn't smile for the camera right now - she just makes a cheesy face! What a goof...
Chloe's havin' a great old time on the bench!
I didn't catch this one in time... Karissa actually had Bryan holding the baby on his lap. What a guy!
This game tuckered Bryan right out, but Karissa could have played for hours! He hopped her from one cushion to the next. He had her in stitches! It took Karissa a couple of days to warm up to Bryan, but by the end of the second day she wasn't playing shy at all! He got her all hyped up the one night and that was it! The next morning she basically ran up to him and jumped into his arms :)
The boys were pretty proud of this kill. They were shooting gophers and then saw a badger behind them. Joel wanted me to post the pic. He was very excited about it! (sorry if anyone's really grossed out)
We did go to the water park with Bryan and Sam, too. Of course, I forgot my camera! We also went to the Tunnels in Moose jaw the one night - kid free! What a great evening :) It was so good to have them here...

Making a splash!

2008-08-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

We've been spending a ton of time in the backyard lately, which has been so fun! The best part has been the pool, because it's been so hot - and the kids discovered that putting the slide into the pool is a fantastic idea! Chloe tries to climb up by herself, and gets about halfway up till she needs help.
Karissa tries to help... well, she's probably just trying to hurry her along so she can go down the slide :)
Ready to go!

This is my favourite picture! It turned out so good! Karissa could seriously do this for hours on end. She just goes up and down the slide - doesn't seem to matter how cold the water is! And if we happen to be outside and she doesn't have her swimsuit on, she just strips right now to her underwear and away she goes! Crazy kid :)
Hope you're all having a great summer!

A weekend at the lake

2008-07-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to camp up at Diefenbaker Lake - a place called Douglas Park. It was a gorgeous weekend, and a great campground - even though we were in the overflow. The lake was a little cool, but it felt nice on the hot days... Chloe and mom hangin' out :) Jalen tryin' to get in on the pic!
Opa and Chloe digging in the sand.
We had to improvise when it came to bath time. Opa had a shower tap on the side of his trailer which he hooked a hose up to, so we filled a green bin from Superstore with warm water and in hopped the girls! The green bins are good for more than just groceries!
Chloe wasn't quite so happy to get in and get clean!
Oma and Opa with all their grandkids... Don't they look so proud?

Daddy and Chloe at the lake.
Jalen found a cool log to sit on and Joel pushed it out into the water a ways so they could float.
Loungin' around the campsite :)
Chloe trying on Opa's hat - so cute!
The girls all sittin' on the log having a great time!

We had an absolutely awesome time while Oma, Opa and Jalen were out. It was hard to say goodbye this morning. We're so glad that they could stay as long as they did, though... it was so much fun!!!

Having a blast!

2008-07-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hi! Oma and Opa Luypen arrived on Sunday and we've been having a great time with them! Unfortunately, Joel had to work up until today, so that's why he's not in any photos yet... It's been fabulous weather, minus one rain day.... take a look! I found a little slide on sale at Canadian Tire (wahoo!), and everyone is having a great time with it!
Wish my kids were smiling like their cousin, Jalen... it was a chore to get that picture, maybe we'll try again in a few days...
Opa had fun taking Jalen and Karissa out on the ATV. They had a great time and even saw 8 deer crossing the road!
Our little 2-fisted eater :) We stopped at Timmy's in Regina after I had to pick something up. We needed a snack before we headed to the museum... Chloe loves her donuts!

If you ever come to Regina - visit the Royal Canadian Museum. It is unreal! and it's free!!! They have a ton of displays from animals that you find in Canada, as well as a bit of history and lots of native history. It is so great - the kids had a blast and us adults did too!
Chloe was just excited to walk around instead of being stuck in her stroller. Her enthusiasm was hysterical! She thought everything was just the coolest thing ever.
Some of the displays...

They even had a fossil of a triceratops! I couldn't read where it was from or anything - it was hard for me to keep up with everyone - I wanted to read more, but I couldn't read as fast as they were walking!

This is 'megamunsch'. Good ol' T-Rex that scared the bajeebers out of Karissa. We just went in to look at him, and then a man and his son came in and pressed a button that made him start to move and roar! Karissa was NOT impressed :) She was quite scared until Oma convinced her that it was a toy. whew!
I got to take Karissa and Oma out on the ATV too! It's pretty fun out on the dirt roads - although it would be even more fun to have some more challenging terrain to drive on!

The kids were throwing water at Angel today - she absolutely loves it! She tries to catch it in her mouth... She was rather wet when all was said and done - and I think Karissa got just as much on her and she got on the dog!

Tomorrow we head off to Lake Diefenbaker to go camping for a couple of days. We are very excited about it, as Joel and I haven't been there, either. I will be sure to post pics when we come back!

Havin' some fun...

2008-07-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

We haven't been doing a whole lot since we've been back, besides being sick... well, the girls were, anyway. So, I just thought I'd post a few pics, just because! Joel calls this the "after-fart" picture... nice. She was tootin' up storm and thought it was very funny... (I think that trait might come from Joel...)
First day in panties! (yes, Sam, that's what we call them at our house... we'll have some fun when you come out!) We started potty training on Tuesday, July 15 and we're doing so well! She's been great about everything... we have a sticker chart, but she's much more into us getting all excited for her a giving her hugs for going on the potty.
I had to get a picture of the pigtails! They are just so cute!!! It's a chore to get them in, but so worth it!
Joel wanted this on camera because it's been a LONG time since she cuddled with him like this. This was the day she was super sick and did nothing but sleep and watch cartoons all day. Poor thing!

Trip to BC

2008-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

After the July long weekend that we spent in Pine Lake, Alberta, I travelled to Abbotsford with my parents and the girls so I could spend a week there. We took a couple of days to get back, stopping in Revelstoke for the night. While we were in Revelstoke, Karissa discovered the ducks! She really liked chasing after them :) It was hilarious to watch.
In the morning we had breakfast in Grandma and Grandpa's trailer before we headed off for home.
One of the days we took the girls out to Guildford mall. Karissa and Chloe discovered the cars that you put coins into and had a blast - it was actually pretty hard to tear them away...
James, Lesley and I took the girls to the park down at Thomas Swift one day. The girls had loads of fun!
Lesley wanted to see what Karissa would do in this little spinny chair - she had a riot and got quite dizzy! It was so funny to watch her try to walk after!

Monday we met Oma out at Mill Lake and played there for a good part of the morning. The girls played in the water park. Chloe would have stayed there forever - shivering and all! She was actually almost turning blue - but still smiling!
Karissa made it to the top of this climbing wall with the help of Oma! Way to go!
I couldn't let the grandma's get away with this and not take a picture! It's priceless!
We went out to Oma and Opa's new house - their new trailer. It's actually quite roomy! The girls had fun exploring the small space - and Karissa almost stuck a key into the electrical socket! That would have made for an interesting evening...
If Chloe isn't quite sure where she's going, or isn't super steady, she resorts to the bear crawl. Hilarious to watch, but gets the job done!

Something Chloe discovered while she was in BC was wearing shoes on her hands! Karissa's fit a lot better, but she also tried out Grandma's, Grandpa's and mom's shoes...
Tea party with Oma!
We had dinner all together on Monday night. We almost got everyone looking in this picture!

Hanging out in the pool in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.
Picnic at the park. It was such a great day! The weather was perfect and company was great!

I had an absolutely fantastic time in Abbotsford... Sorry I didn't see everyone, but I was only out for a short time this time around. One of these times when we are out we will just invite everyone we know to a park or something so we can see all of you!

July Long Weekend

2008-07-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

This year we had our family camp out in Pine Lake, Alberta - about 15 minutes from Red Deer. It was a great campground right on the lake. The weather was gorgeous all weekend, except for a little bit of rain. We had a lot of fun as a family, it was great to all be together again!

The girls had fun on the beach digging holes to put water in, and building sand castles.
When we needed a bit of a break from the sun, we came up to the site, put a blanket in the shade and let the girls play with the little people.
Dad brought his canoe out, so all of us got a turn taking it out on the lake. Karissa had a great time - she kept leaning over and putting her hands in the water. I actually had to sit not quite centred so we would tip because she was leaning! The water was really disgusting. There were weeds everywhere, and lots of algae and gross motor boat stuff. How people let their kids swim in it all day is beyond me!
Karissa caught sight of a hot air balloon that went right over us! She was so excited - she kept saying "balloon!" and pointing, then she would run after it when it got too far to see. She even wanted to climb the fence!
Grandma's girls.
Karissa loved walking into the water. She would never stay in for very long, but liked to cool off her feet anyway :)
Naptime! The best part of the day!!
Tegan was quite happy to hold her little cousin on her lap.
It was a great weekend! Wish it could have lasted longer... I guess we can always look forward to next year!

Look who's walking!

2008-06-07T20:17:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a big weekend already! Chloe has been standing by herself so much more, and taking steps! She's only taken about 3 before falling, but she's definitely getting lots of practice! She's absolutely proud as punch of her new found skill, and will be running after Karissa in no time, I'm sure! It was kind of hard to get pictures, as it's still faster for her to crawl, so she often will get down and crawl to whoever is holding the camera, but we got a few! Not sure what this face is about, or what she's doing with her hands, but that's our Chloe!
Look at me! I'm walking!!!
And along with walking, she discovered how to climb! Oh the joy... whatever is closest to the coffee table she'll use to get up. Yesterday it was her farm, and today the toy box. Yes, she climbed over all the toys so she could try and get onto the coffee table. Oh my goodness!
I think we might have a busy summer ahead of us... crazy girl... (I can hear all of the grandparents laughing as I write this...)

Summer fun

2008-06-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

She finally got her way! Chloe has been hinting at the fact that she wanted to start eating with a spoon for awhile, but I wasn't up for the mess yet, so she's either been eating with her hands or I feed her. She refuses to take food from me and HAS to do it herself, now! Half the time she uses her hands anyway, but she's doing pretty good!
Still not walking by herself, yet, but I guess everyone goes at their own pace! She does love to walk behind the "Pooh-mobile" so that is now a backyard toy.
Hangin' out on the swingset. The girls love this thing! It'll be fun to get a slide or something for Karissa and Chloe, too.
Thanks for the swing, Grandma and Grandpa! This was a birthday present that has gotten a LOT of use, so far! Chloe usually has to fight Karissa for a turn.
Karissa loves watering the flowers. If she sees me with the watering can, she runs after me and shouts "Water! water!" She gets pretty excited.

Happy First Birthday Chloe!!!

2008-05-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

We decided that we would celebrate Chloe's birthday on Saturday evening. Not a big party, but just a few close friends. It was a lot of fun! We got her the little people farm for her birthday, and I opened it a little early so I could use the animals for her cake! :) The table all set and ready to go... on the menu was barbequed hamburgers and hot dogs, veggies and dip, popcorn twists and iced tea.

Josiah, Chad and Fiona with Kaylana are the friends that came to celebrate with us.
Is that my cake? Let's dig in!!!
Chloe inhaled her cake. Joel just gave her the whole piece and she just shoved all she could into her mouth! It was really funny... nothing compared to Karissa's first cake experience, but probably in less than a minute that cake was gone...
Of course, the icing is the best part!

This was a few days ago, when our weather was a little nicer! Karissa loves to pull Chloe in the wagon. She actually does pretty well! If I try to help her, she will remove my hand from the handle and say "No!"

Blowing bubbles in the backyard.
All right, if no one's gonna get me out of this sandbox, then I'll do it myself!
I wish this picture was a little darker... Joel figures Chloe is about 6 feet over his head. (how are you doing, Mom?) She loved every minute of it!

We wish you could have been here to celebrate Chloe's first - or that we could have been there... at least we can show you pictures!

Outdoor fun!

2008-05-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we have been enjoying a lot of time outdoors! Chloe can finally play in the sandbox with Karissa this year... too fun! They look so cute playing together in it :)
Karissa decided that the kitchen floor would be a good place for her and her baby to have a nap !
Don't see this every day! Our neighbors from down the street offered us their swing set because their kids had grown out of it. So Joel, a friend from church, and the man who owned the swingset walked it down the street this afternoon!

Joel figured it was time to do a little trimming on one of our trees in the backyard.
We got a wagon for the girls to ride in on walks this summer. They absolutely love it! We went on a very long walk this afternoon... the girls loved sitting across from each other.
Karissa trying to pull the wagon around the yard.

Road trip!

2008-04-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

The girls in the van, getting ready to go on our big road trip! Little do they know what lies ahead of them... Chloe fell asleep almost instantaneously... Karissa liked the novelty of having her sister right beside her...
This was a bit of a surprise! I was actually dozing a bit when Joel poked me and this is what I opened my eyes to! Good old rocky mountain driving.
Mountain sheep! (Goats?) We saw quite a few of them in this area. We saw a bunch of deer, too, at different places. Very cool.
Sittin' in the sunshine in Rachelle's backyard! Hard to believe that 2 days later this same backyard will be covered in snow... We had a great time in Red Deer. The kids played together in the backyard, while the van got fixed at the shop :) We saw the town, went to the pool in the evening and Chelle and I went to Montana's for their Mile High Mud Pie. SO GOOD!

Chloe heads straight for the rocks under the deck!
Tegan decided it would be cool to copy Uncle Joel and lay exactly like he did on the floor. too cute! Thanks so much for having us at your place, Chelle and Scott! We had a lot of fun and are so grateful for the place to stay!
Just before we got to Red Deer, we stopped at a rest stop in Banff. It was a beautiful little stop, and a gorgeous day! The girls argued when we put them back in the car, but it had to be done! It was a really good thing we had a day of rest and no driving when we got to Red Deer.

Well, we made it home safe and sound... the next post is a few of the pics from our time at the coast. There are a lot, I know, and not everyone we saw is in all of the pics, but you know how it goes!

our extended vacation - kind of back to front

2008-04-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

We stayed at Oma and Opa's house for the last bit of our time in BC. Karissa started out the trip by being terrified of the dogs, but by the end she was giving them treats, begging to go outside to see them, pet them... and even throw the ball for them! Wow... I didn't think it was going to happen :)
We had a fun night out at Aunty Char's place - Karissa got into everything - she even surprised Char with her reach! Char tried to "baby-proof" but underestimated a little!

We got a chance to go visit Jen Spring and her three great kids. Chloe and Gabby (in this pic) are about 6 weeks apart in age. Trying to get them to sit still long enough to get a picture of the two of them proved to be a challenge!
We're not really sure what Karissa was trying to do in this pic, but poor Aunty Chris! (yes, under all the hair, it's her!) Looks like Chloe will be walking before we know it!
Playing on the floor with Oma and Opa.
This was taken at the park close to where Oma and Opa live. We visited there almost every day that we were in Aldergrove! Chloe and Karissa loved the slide. Karissa always waited for someone to put Chloe up on the slide next to her so they could slide down together. It was very cute!

The swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house... 'tis a favourite of all the grandkids! It wasn't super warm, but we went out anyway!

Reading Curious George goes for a hike...
Uncle James came over one afternoon and played blocks with the girls. Well, he built towers with Karissa and "baby-zilla" ,as he nicknamed Chloe, came to knock them down. Very fun to watch.
Just chillin' with Grandma...
Have I put this one in already? I couldn't remember (and didn't look at the previous post) but it's cute anyway.

We had such a great time on the coast. It was awesome to see everyone as much as we did. Thanks for everything... we love you all!!

our BC trip so far

2008-04-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are in Abby! We were planning to come out in April anyway, but I have an extended visit due to my grandma passing away on Easter Sunday. Me and the girls flew out last Tuesday so I could be here for the funeral on Wednesday. The weather is starting to get really nice - and it's so nice to see green grass instead of brown! On Sunday we went to Mill Lake and froze - just cuz the sun is out does NOT mean it's warm! Karissa befriended this little boy there. She just grabbed his hand as they were walking over a bridge. They were about the same size so I guess she figured he was safe! Very cute :)

We spent some time outside in the backyard yesterday afternoon. It was so fun! Chloe loved crawling through the grass... a new experience for her!
Karissa found the rooster in grandma and grandpa's backyard. Of course she had to ride it!
This is the only way I get in any pics - if I take them myself! Just havin' some fun with the camera and my girls!
Hopefully I can keep updating. For now, however, it is time to rest! 6:00 was a long time ago!

Chloe

2008-03-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Chloe decided one day last week that it might be fun to crawl under the car exersaucer rather than sit in it! We thought for sure she would get stuck... but she found her way out! She was pretty excited about it, so I'm sure it won't be the last time!
Chloe has become very attached to this little bear! She absolutely will not let go of it :) The other night while I was trying to nurse her, it kept getting in the way - so I grabbed it and threw it back into the crib. Well, that was not the best idea, as she began screaming. So, I had to get it again before she would calm down enough to eat and go back to bed. Crazy girl! It is a very cute attachment, though.
Yes, we are tall enough to reach the piano keys - barely! She loves to tinker on the piano keys, especially when her big sister is around doing the same thing :)
Well, on the 26th Chloe will be 10 months! Where has the time gone? We're not really sure, but she sure has grown fast! It's funny, because the clothes that she's wearing now, Karissa was wearing when she was closer to a year - and even a bit after! Wow. I think we might be working on some top teeth now, which isn't all that fun, but has to be done, I guess! She is a lot of fun, as you can see!

FINALLY some new pics!

2008-03-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Our little smarty-pants Chloe has been pulling herself up on anything and everything for the past few weeks. Crazy girl! Any chance that she has to stand she will - it's great but it also means a lot of bumps and bruises when she loses her balance! Who is this headless monster?
Karissa! She decided to put on mom's jacket and have a little bit of fun.

This cat was played with by my dad when he was little and then by all the grandkids and now Karissa is playing with it! The poor kitty doesn't have front paws, but it also doesn't try to run away from her or get mad and swat at her if she pushes a little too far!
The "9-month-pic". She's growing up so fast! What a sweetheart :)

We are looking forward to Easter and Joel's parents coming out to celebrate with us. I'm sure the girls will love seeing Oma and Opa!

long winter days...and LOTS of snow!

2008-02-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

After we took Chloe's new carseat out of the box, Karissa and I constructed a little playhouse for her! It's not too fancy, cuz we don't really have paints, but she still has fun going in and out of the door and peeking through the window! It's provided a bit of entertainment for these long days that have to be spent indoors because of the cold weather.

Joel surprised me on his way home from school on my birthday! A dozen white roses! They are absolutely beautiful - and still blooming strong!
The pictures totally don't do justice to the amount of snow we got yesterday. Joel figures that he was outside for about 3 hours total shovelling the driveway. In the morning we had a huge blizzard and got the biggest dump of snow. It's the most we've seen since we've been here. Crazy!
This is our back walk - I think the snow is at least 2 feet deep in the backyard.
It's like walking in a tunnel when you walk out the front door. The snow piles are huge! I would probably lose Karissa if I threw her in! When is spring coming again?

Time flies when you're having fun...

2008-02-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

Chloe is so excited to be getting around now. She's already pulling herself up onto things, but not quite standing yet. She's a quick learner, though!
Karissa pulled Joel's gloves out of the closet one day and put them on. Too funny!
All wrapped up in her blanket. That's where rolling gets ya!
Having fun with her "whipped-cream art". She loved that kind of finger paint! She kept pointing to the can and saying "more". hmmm...wonder why?

We've been trying to keep busy in our 30 below weather - when is spring coming? This last week everyone in our house managed to be sick... but we're all on the mend! Joel is almost done school - only 2 weeks left! We are very excited about that! We'll keep you posted!

Just for fun

2008-01-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd throw some pics on here that had nothing to do with anything, just a bit of fun pics thanks to the girls! Karissa's latest things is taking her pants off - she doesn't like to keep them on worth anything! Then she'll put on any shoes she can find, like these boots - and walk around the house! We've taken to wearing dresses now... :)
Don't bite off more than you can chew! This was one of Karissa's birthday presents from our friends from Montreal. It's soft so apparently it's a good "chew toy".
Just hangin' out!
Yesterday I came back from putting Chloe to bed, to find Karissa sound asleep in her chair! Too funny!! I just had to take a picture before I could put her to bed.
Chloe's 7 month pic - a little late. I have an awful feeling that I missed 6 months, but what can you do? I think she'll probably forgive me.

Happy Birthday Karissa!

2008-01-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we celebrated Karissa's 2nd birthday! Hard to imagine that we have a 2 year old... Anyway - we had a few families over to help us celebrate which was a lot of fun :) A lot of people in the house, so it was busy, but a good time nonetheless! This picture is kind of funky one - not really sure what happened. Karissa blew out her candle like pro!
This was the cake :) A big pain to ice, but it was fun!
Yummy cake! This girl can never get enough :)
Cool dude! This was one of her presents - she was pretty excited about them.
Guess who she got the Tupperware from?

Well, we missed having family and our friends out in BC at the party... it would have been great to have you here!!

Christmas 2007 cont'd...

2008-01-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Yeah yeah, I know, I did this backwards - but I wasn't thinking about that when I started, I just knew there would be two parts - so now you know to keep scrolling down when you get to the end of this post! It was too hard to only pic a few photos, so I have a million! Well, not quite, but anyway... This was playing out front in Joel's parent's front yard the day after it snowed really hard. Chloe had a good time with Opa - as you can tell.
The snowmen that the boys and Karissa put together. (Karissa managed to gather a few rocks for the mouth... that was her contribution)
When I went to my friend Jen's place - she had a special little cake with a candle just for Karissa! Her little Sammy had celebrated his 2nd birthday on the 1st, so there were leftovers! Thanks, Jen, for making a special day!

Ah yes, tubing at Manning Park - Joel, Jeremy, Jalen and I had a great time! Karissa... not so much! Next year we will remember that BC snow is a little wetter than SK snow - therefore, we dress differently! Poor little thing!
Chloe was bundled up pretty well, though! Her and Oma hung out while the rest of us went down the hill...
On the 28th we all trucked out to Stanley Park to ride the Christmas train! What a great night :) Unfortunately, my dad was sick, so he couldn't make it :( We had a wonderful time, the lights were amazing!
Karissa enjoyed seeing the animals as well, she went through with us once, then with Grandma again!

We had a really awesome time in BC. It was so good to see all of you - for those of you we couldn't see, we are sorry! It's hard to fit everyone in at Christmastime... hopefully we can come out in summer this year for a little while. Cross your fingers!

Christmas 2007

2008-01-07T18:09:00.001-08:00

Hello! I finally downloaded some of my pics from Christmas - I think they'll be split up into 2 posts, just cuz there are so many! and here they are in no particular order... who are those beautiful girls with Karissa and Chloe?
It was pretty tough adjusting to the 2 hour time difference... Grandma's always good for a cuddle, though!
Karissa had so much fun with the Christmas wrapping this year. She was quite anxious to get into it all!
Opening the "little people" doll house from Oma and Opa.
All the cousins! Karissa, Jalen and Chloe.

Visiting Joel's Oma - she had quite the time holding Chloe. She's not the most relaxed child!
My Grandma was excited to meet Chloe as well.
Grandpa and Chloe playing on the floor - hey look, they even match!
How does Grandma always manage to get the baby to sleep?
Grandma and Grandpa bought a singing snowman. Karissa loved it and would press the button and dance to it all the time.

2007-12-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas at our house! We wanted to do a little Christmas with just our family - I think that in the future, we won't do it on a Sunday, because Sunday's are always just a little bit messed up... anyway - the girls got to open a few presents... Karissa actually gets it this year! You just rip!

Of course Karissa has to help!
Chloe loved her train from Grandma and Grandpa... goes straight to the mouth, of course!
and we finished off with a family dinner - with an "extra". Our friend Amy joined us, too. She's a college student here and has exams this week. Karissa's posing in the corner - that's her new thing. Pull out the camera and that's what she does!
Well, it is now time for us to pack up and go! We leave tomorrow morning and get into Abby at about 3:00. Wahoo! We are excited :) It will be so good to see everyone! Yes, Jen, I will give you a call. I had planned on it! See you all soon!

A week of firsts!

2007-12-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

It was a big week last week! Karissa got her first haircut! We went to a girl here in town that does my hair, Mel Vlaming, and she did a really good job. Karissa wasn't sure at first - I was worried that she wouldn't let Mel cut her hair, but once she started combing Karissa's hair, Karissa settled down - she loves getting her hair combed! We even got to keep some of her hair for her baby book! I can't believe how fine and blonde it is...

Well, we made the switch. Karissa is now in her toddler bed. I wasn't sure if she'd be ready for it, but it wasn't that big a deal for her to switch! It's close enough to being her crib that it's probably okay. So far I haven't been woken up with a child staring into my face - I'm sure that will come!
She was quite excited to be able to crawl into her own bed.

Only 8 more sleeps till we come to Abbotsford! I am quite excited to see everyone :) We'll be there till January 3rd, so hopefully we can visit you all!

New Pictures - finally!

2007-12-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, it's been FOREVER since I've added new pics... but starting a new business is hard work! I am officially a Tupperware Consultant - yay! It's really fun, and off to a pretty good start... perhaps I can entice some of you to buy from me while I'm in BC... :):) Just kidding - anyway, a couple of weeks ago - Grey Cup weekend, to be exact (you know, when the Riders won!) we set up our little Christmas tree. Karissa was very excited to help this year. She watched me while I put the branches in the holes and then decided that she'd like to do that too.

I love this picture, it's so precious! She took one ornament and basically stuck it on a branch, then took it off and put it somewhere else - hey, whatever works!

The tradition of putting the star top!
First bath together! This was the other night - with Chloe sitting up no, I figured they could be in the bath at the same time. Karissa thought it was really neat. Good thing Chloe was a good sport, cuz Karissa initiated her by dumping water on her head!
This last week we were all pretty sick - everyone got the stomach flu but Chloe! Karissa was pretty exhausted and cuddled with Dad a lot :)

Happy Thanksgiving! (yeah, a month late...)

2007-11-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

This last weekend, Scott and Rachelle came with their girls to celebrate a very belated Thanksgiving with us! We had a great time all together...didn't get a lot of sleep, but it was worth it! The turkey dinner turned out really well - gets better every time we do it, I think. It was so great to have them here with us for the weekend... Thanks for making the trip out, you guys!

Karissa got some new musical instruments from Tegan and Anaya. Apparently she wanted Chloe to play the drum... crazy kid!
The girls had a lot of fun tossing the leaves in the air. The morning we decided to go to the park it was FREEZING outside, but they had fun, anyway!
Chloe is somewhere in there! Trying to stay warm and out of the wind...
Karissa had to hold hands with Chelle. This pic is so cute...
Family picture! We had to be quick, because the wind was strong and it was COLD!

Guess who's sitting up? She just started this a few days ago and has gotten pretty good! She sits for longer and longer times and loves it! She's getting so big!

2007-11-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it's November already... not too much longer till Christmas! (50 days to be exact) :) Karissa is such a helper - the other day Joel and I were unloading groceries from the bins and she had to help! She put away cans and some stuff into the freezer - she was delighted that she could put them away too! She also loves to try and pick up the cat... which the cat isn't too excited about! I'm amazed at how Scooters tolerates everything, though.

She gets so excited when we pick up the cat so that Karissa can "hold" her!
I was having some fun with the camera one day - can't wait till both the girls can sit in the tree! This is the tree in our front yard. It's a weeping birch.
One of Chloe's first tastes of cereal. She hasn't quite got the hang of eating yet, but we're working on it!
Aren't they sweet!

We went to a dress-up party at playgroup on Halloween afternoon. I didn't really have any kind of costumes, but Chloe got dressed up in the mariners outfit that Oma got her in summer.
Our friend Fiona brought a piglet outfit that is too big for her little girl - so Karissa put it on!
All of the kids (minus Chloe and little Caleb) posed for a picture. Aviana is on the far left, then Liam, Kaylana, Karissa and little Sadie (Aviana's sister - she's about a month old)
Me and the girls - all in pink! (wasn't even planned!)

Round and round!

2007-10-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

This video was taken a few weeks ago already, but I decided to post it anyway - it's just too cute! I love the way Karissa makes sure to give Chloe a kiss after she turns the music back on...

Just hangin' out...

2007-10-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well, not much is happening around here, except that it snowed last night! It didn't stay - by the afternoon it was all gone. It can stay away for long time as far as I'm concerned... Chloe had her shots on Tuesday. Poor thing. She actually doesn't react too much to them, except that she gets really irritable... Get this - she is a whopping 17lbs! She has more than doubled her birth weight and she's just barely 5 months old! She's also 27 inches long, so she's a big girl :) Gets that from her daddy for sure! Anway, here are a few cute pics of the girls for ya...
This one makes me laugh. Chloe looks like one of those smiley faces you make with the half circles on either side of the smile... too cute!
Wish this one came out right... it showed me it would, but whatever. Karissa found a pair of Joel's socks in the clean laundry basket and decided she wanted to wear them. She walked around for quite awhile in them!
Me and my little (big) girl!
We're borrowing this Bumbo chair from a friend - it's a pretty cool invention! Chloe usually doesn't like to sit in it for anymore than a few minutes, but at least she gets to sit up like she wants to!

October

2007-10-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it is a rare rainy day in Saskatchewan! This morning Karissa got her first taste of Playdoh - literally! I had to watch her like a hawk, but she had a lot of fun mushing it around and using the spoon in it. It was fun to watch!

Ah the famous sitting on the hand picture! Chloe's a little bigger than Karissa was when Joel did it with her, but she loves it just the same! Joel has a hard time holding her up, though! She's a big girl!
I love this picture - her little grin is so cute!
Finally got her in the leaves! She wasn't cranky this time so she actually enjoyed it! It didn't even phase her when a little spider crawled onto her face! Sure freaked mom out though! (no, I didn't scream)
Two cutie-pies... couldn't get them to smile, of course, but hey, you can only do so much posing!

Chloe is trying so hard to sit up now - we put her in this little chair that we have, and she just pushes herself so she's sitting. If she didn't have a belt around her, she'd tip forward, but she's determined!

Playin' in the leaves...

2007-10-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, I know... sorry about that... things have been a little nuts around here - and of course there's nothing to show for it :) A few days ago I was outside with the girls and Karissa had some fun in the leaves. Chloe was NOT happy camper when I put her in the pile, so that's why we don't have a picture of her, but here's Karissa!

Just chillin'
Checkin' things out...
Oh hey, a camera I can pose for! I love this one - it's too cute!
Our friends Zoe (with Karissa) and Amy (with Chloe) came over for dinner on night last week and they had a ton of fun with the girls. There's never a dull moment with Karissa around!
Chloe's 4 month pic - does she really look much different? I don't know - but she's cute as ever! She's starting to roll over - well, she has a couple of times. The other night I went into her room to check on her because she was making a bunch of noise. I found her on her back (she sleeps on her tummy) and she was giving me this huge grin almost as if to say "Look what I did, Mom!" It was really cute.

All in a day...

2007-09-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Karissa decided that it would be fun to give Chloe a "bath". She hasn't figured out how to get the soap out of the container yet (thank goodness) but she kept pretending to put soap on her hands and wash Chloe. It was really cute.
After bathtime - before we brushed her hair!
Yesterday morning Karissa helped mom bake muffins. She helped me put a few ingredients in and mixed it all up. She had a lot of fun! One day we'll have a little baker!
The girls are both growing up so much! Karissa gets more and more fun every day... she's already starting her imagination! She takes one of her spoons and a small bowl and pretends to eat out of it, then will give it to me to feed her. It's really cute. Another one of her tricks in throwing everything she can find into the bathtub when it's filling up with water. That's always fun - for her :) She doesn't really have a lot of words yet, but her babble is getting really cute - hopefully this means words are just around the corner! That will be so nice...
Chloe is still growing like a weed! She is such a big girl already! She smiles all the time and "talks" our ears off! It's very cute. She sleeps through the night (most nights - well, when she's not sick!) and is such a good baby. We have been blessed with 2 wonderful little girls... wish that they could grow up with all of you...

Chloe's 3 months! (well, 3.5)

2007-09-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to taking Chloe's 3 month pic for her scrapbook - which one do you think I should put in?

Last "outing"

2007-09-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

On September 4th it was Karissa's friend Kaylana's birthday... she was 1! We celebrated at Besant Park on a not so warm day :) The sun was shining, but it got cool pretty quickly! We enjoyed good food and good company...

Karissa was a big girl sitting at the picnic table with Daddy...
Yummy! Birthday cupcakes! Can't get enough of those :)
This is how Chloe spent most of her time.
Exploring with "uncle" Bryan and Kaylana...

Last visitors...

2007-08-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Been awhile, I know... well, it was a crazy August, but a lot of fun! Last week James and Lesley came out to spend some time with us. It was so much fun! Unfortunately, Joel couldn't get any time off, but we made the most of the evenings! Thursday night we took the girls to the spa, which was a lot of fun. Wore them right out! Of course all of the old people thought they were the cutest... :) We also went to the parks here in Caronport, and of course, to Crescent Park. Seems to be the "hotspot" for us this summer. We had a blast together and wish we lived closer... maybe one day! We still need a rematch of Settlers...

One of Karissa's favourite games. She was getting pretty tired by this point in the day and this was one of the only ways to keep her happy!
Cute pic of Uncle James and Karissa...
Somehow Chloe always manages to either get this thing on top of her, or do this - whatever it is that happened... crazy girl!
Just hangin' out!
Look at her hold her head up!

Uncle James going down the slide with Karissa.
Awwwww... how cute :)
Daddy was trying to get Karissa to hold on by herself - didn't work, though!
Piggy back ride for the walk home.
They brought bubbles for Karissa to play with. Uncle James was trying to show her how to do it... one day she'll understand!

A visit from Oma and Opa

2007-08-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Oma and her girls :) Karissa is trying to be such a helper by wiping Chloe's face - don't think she actually spit up, but hey, it's the thought that counts... Oma was quite happy to have them both on her lap!
Joel's parents brought out the ATV and Opa found this helmet at Canadian Tire. He saw it and thought that Karissa had to have it... She loves her Pooh bear! She had a riot on the ATV, her favourite thing to do (when she wasn't trying to press buttons that she wasn't supposed to!) was pushing Joel's thumb that was on the gas... she loves the speed! For her, faster was better! (our little daredevil)
I got these while we were out on the ATV - had to post them to show you "non-prarie" folk the gorgeous view that we have!
I'm sure this farmer thought I was kinda crazy - who wants a picture of a combine at work? Well, we won't live here forever, I'm sure, and it'd be kinda fun to have in a scrapbook.

Karissa was enthralled with Angel chasing her stick. Joel managed to get this shot as Angel was waiting for me to throw her stick, which actually happened to be a log from the fire pile :)
On Tuesday we went to a little town called Willow Bunch. It was about 1.5 hours south of Moose Jaw. What a cute little town! We stopped at the Jean Louis Legare National Park for lunch and Karissa had a blast on the playground. She loves that merry-go-round! Anything that goes around she's up for :) The park was incredibly quiet and really well-kept - maybe next year we'll get really ambitious and go camping there!
Opa sure had fun with his granddaughters - he even attempted the slide!
Our future basketball star!!!
We stopped at a little museum in Willow Bunch. It used to be a convent and they turned it into a museum. Cute little place! This man, Jean Beauparte, made Willow Bunch famous... he was the tallest man in Canada! When he died he was 8 foot 2 (I think) and apparently was still growing... he wore size 22 shoes and slept in a 9 foot bed. They have a room dedicated to him with some of this things in it.... very interesting!

Well, now we look forward to James and Lesley coming out! What a busy month - but fun! It's so great to see everyone!

A busy month...

2007-08-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of August we had a garage sale with our renters - did pretty well, too! Josh was having fun with the camera, and of course Karissa was the star of the show! Karissa loves her little sis - as you can see... For some reason the second pic didn't flip for me when it downloaded, but it's still cute!

The next weekend we had a visit from Sam, Bryan and Claudia. It was so good to see them - we had a lot of fun! I think Sam got played out from Skip-Bo, although Claudia could have played forever! Claudia was so great with the girls... finally someone who could go in circles with Karissa for as long as she can! (Joel and I seem to get dizzy a lot faster....)
The boys were exercising their thumb muscles all weekend... them and their war games - oh they did play golf, too...

Karissa wanted to play cards so badly! I think she probably made more of a nuisance of herself than anything, but Aunty Sam was sure patient!
We did go to the waterpark (of course) which seems to be the thing to do with company! Everyone had fun, there, but there were a ton of wasps so the visit was cut a little short...
Sorry Sam! This is a great pic, but for some reason it's sideways.... I guess I just don't know how to use a computer.
We had a campfire in our backyard and made s'mores one night while they were here... All in all it was a great visit - thanks for making the trip out, you guys!!!

Just havin' a ball!!!

2007-07-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

Proud Daddy! He was very excited because Chloe actually fell asleep on his chest... Karissa used to do that all the time with him, but for some reason, Chloe doesn't very often! This time he wanted a photo :)
If you leave your shoes where Karissa can get them, be prepared to have her try them on! Dad's flip flops are a bit too big!!!
I couldn't decide which of these photos I liked better, so I posted them both! Joel was standing on the landing and tossing her up in the air - I was in the living room and it looked hilarious from where I was - so I had to take the pic! We weren't even late for church because of it!

Sisterly love... Karissa is so good with Chloe - she always tries to help - especially when Chloe is crying. I can tell she wants to play so bad, but doesn't always understand that Chloe can't yet! It's really sweet to watch them, though. From where I stand right now, I think they will be really good friends... How fun to watch them grow up! They are both so precious.

Chloe...

2007-07-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Funny how time gets away on you when it's summer time, and you have an 18 month old to run after! I have been way less diligent at keeping up with my blog since Chloe was born - sorry to those of you who check often! Chloe loves her bath - she looks kinda stunned in this pic, but that could be because of the flash :)
Smiles are becoming more and more frequent - though her first one was on July 4th. Joel finally managed to catch some on camera today - I've been trying for days but she only gives me her best smiles when she's about to nurse!

Chillin' out in the "farm" chair. She likes to look at her animals sometimes - I think she gets bored cuz she's always in the same place - up where her sister can't smother her!!!

Our New Maid...

2007-07-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Amazing how quickly they catch on!!! She loves to clean! Give her anything - a rag, a piece of paper towel - and the duster if mom leaves it lying around... funny how one day she'll end up hating her chores...

This one's for you, Oma! Oma got them matching pjs a little while ago and the night was actually cool enough that they both had to wear them! Of course, we couldn't really get a good picture without Joel "pinning" Karissa down... she doesn't like to lie still! Especially if there is a sister next to her to give kisses to!

(p.s. - check out the next post, too, it's a new one!)

A Visit from Auntie Char

2007-07-11T13:11:00.001-07:00

This last weekend Char Barkman came to visit! It was short and sweet, but a ton of fun, nontheless! Chloe loved to snuggle with her - sorry the picture is so dark, but I didn't use flash for it and Char wouldn't let me post the other one I took! :)
I wanted to get a pic of Karissa in her dress from Guatamala that Grandma and Grandpa got her... she doesn't like to stand still for pictures anymore!
We took Karissa and Chloe to Crescent Park to play in the water... We tried the water park but Karissa hated that - freezing cold water spraying her in the face just wasn't quite cutting it :) So we took her up to the little wading pool and Char tried teaching her how to splash with her feet in the water... Karissa was more intrigued by all of the other kids playing in the pool, too...

Thanks for coming Auntie Char! We had such a great time - hope to see you again soon!!! (When will you take another business trip???)

Opa's girls

2007-06-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Joel's dad came out to see Chloe... and to help Joel with a few things around the house. Karissa decided she'd like to paint, as well, so she grabbed a paintbrush! Headed for the wrong place, though - the house is the other way!
Opa loved holding Chloe - and she made sure he got "the treatment"! Let's just say Opa had to put a few shirts in the wash before he left!
Opa and his girls :) This was taken on the morning that he had to leave - what a great shot!
Karissa found my oven mitts the other day. We have to keep putting things farther and farther up on the counter or the table, because if she wants it, she'll get it!

Second Week - we're getting better!

2007-06-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Grandma was here this week - which was great. Chloe loves to snuggle in to anyone - and she loves to be swaddled! Very different from Karissa who would have nothing to do with that!
Grandma and Karissa had a lot of fun, too. Karissa enjoyed playing piano with Grandma - they had a great duet going :)
Karissa loves her little sister! Not always - but most of the time :)
On Sunday afternoon it was really warm and we had planned to go to Crescent Park for a picnic. We packed a few things and stopped at KFC for some chicken - haven't done that in awhile! It was a really great time. Karissa loved the wide open space to explore and had a lot of fun doing that with Dad. (fyi - I am not nursing Chloe - she's having a bottle - just so you know!)

Our apologies for not keeping up with emailing and stuff - I'm sure you all understand :) It's going to take a little while to get into routine with these two girls - but it's already getting better so there is hope! Hopefully we can talk to you all sometime soon, but until then, take care!

Survivors of the first week!

2007-06-01T19:15:00.001-07:00

What a cutie! She sleeps really well during the day :) Hopefully the trend will start at night, too - last night was great, I only got up twice with her - this compared to staying up for nearly 4 hours with her the first night home! Good thing Joel didn't have to work the next day - cuz when Chloe was up - everybody was up!
Tummy time! Dad's trying to protect Chloe from getting accidentally stepped on by her big sister. Karissa is doing really great with her little sister. We're slowly learning the meaning of "gentle", but it's hard to grasp! She loves to give Chloe kisses and hugs, though. It's great.
Oma loves getting her cuddles in with her 2nd granddaughter :)
We had our first bath today! As you can see, it didn't go over very well :( But now we're all clean!
Mom and her girls :) We try to make sure that everyone gets their cuddles in at some point during the day. I can't wait till Chloe's older and nursing doesn't take so long anymore!

So far it's been a pretty good week. We are very grateful to have Joel's mom here to help out - don't know what we would have done without her! We're also looking forward to my mom coming next week. It will take a bit of adjusting, but it's also a lot of fun... outings will be more interesting now, that's for sure! Can't just "pack up and go" like we used to! Soon enough...

It's a girl!!!

2007-05-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Our happy little family :) Chloe Janae was born on May 26, 2007 at 2:37pm. She weighed 7lbs 12 oz and was 51cm long. (anyone know what that is in inches?) Labour was about 12 hours again - same as with Karissa. No comment on that :) We're all home now, happy to be a family again. Chloe actually seems a lot more content now that we're home.
Joel had a little bit of fun with the camera and Chloe - leave it to him!!! She definitely has a long tongue! Looks a lot like Karissa, too. I'll try to post more pics in the next week or so - seeing how things go!! Rest is a little more important at the moment :)

Lovin' life!

2007-05-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Karissa absolutely loves being outside - what kid doesn't? The other day she found the spade that was left in the garden. She knows exactly what to do with it! Gettin' down and dirty is one of her favourite things :) Should be an interesting summer!
Karissa has discovered the joy of wearing hats - until she has to go outside, that is:) Then it usually comes off within a few minutes :) On Mother's day when she was up with Dad in the morning, she found one of her hats and stuck in on her head and just ran around the house happy as a clam! Diaper and a hat - what could make a kid happier!?!
Tonight she was being a goof while Dad was outside with a friend of his. She kept pressing her mouth against the screen. Wonder who she learned that from?

Any Guesses????

2007-05-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

So, I've had a few guesses so far - as to what this baby is going to be and when it's going to be born, etc... If you haven't already and feel the need to make a guess - please do! It's always fun to hear when people think we're going to have this baby... and what it's going to be, and what the name is... no I don't have a "latest pic" to go with this post - and I'm sure I will get requests for that! Trust me, I'm big :) Much like last time... if you can remember - it wasn't really that long ago! Anyway, I'm just blabbering now, so make a guess!

Our brave little soldier

2007-05-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Karissa's been pretty sick lately, and last weekend the Doctor prescribed a nebulizer for her. She has to wear the mask and breathe in the medicine - not much fun! It actually took us quite a few days to get to the point where she would wear it without fighting, but now she's a pro! She's such a trooper... Poor little thing... she's on her second bout of antibiotics - hopefully these one will work!

Karissa's new "look". She puts her chin down to her chest and looks at you with those big blue eyes - and it's really hard not to laugh. Not good if she's getting into trouble!

Well, no pics as of right now - but there's only 3 weeks to go! The countdown is on! Let's hope this one's a little early, at least. The back could use a bit of a break :)

Spring has sprung - finally!!!

2007-04-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Karissa has discovered what to do in puddles! Someone down the street emptied their pool, so the street was full of puddles! Because it was so warm, there were kids splashing in the water, and Karissa figured that she should join in! It was quite entertaining watching her splash in the puddle, then try to figure out what was under the water.

After what seemed like a really long winter - and lots of "fooled ya" spring days - the buds have finally appeared on the bushes and trees around our house! For some reason my other pics didn't download, but maybe I'll try again later... I'm so excited to have a promise of leaves! It's so brown and ugly here - so green will be a nice change :)