We made it home. . .

We made it home from B.C. and we all enjoyed our trip. There was a lot of water skiing, wake boarding, knee boarding, tubing, sun and sand to keep us all busy. Tod and I both tried to wake board. . . Tod through out his back and had to go to a chiropractor, and as for myself I succeeded for 2 days until on the second day I hit the wake, with a minor concussion and a very sore shoulder I am living through the pain. The girls both got up on water ski's and loved it, Aspen took it a step further and tried out the knee board and loved it. Jason & Autum's wedding was a great party and they looked so happy. . . congrats guys! :) We will definitely be back for more fun, Tod has plans for a seadoo in the trailer, if the quads can fit he is sure a seadoo can too!
As for my Okaly he skated his butt of for 7 days and at the end of the first cuts last night, he was cut. He new it was coming but he was still hurt, he just can't compete with the size of the other kids, you are looking at a kid who is 5' - 85lbs (soaking wet) compared to boys 5'11" - 130lbs. You just can't compare and well basically it is genetics and he is just going to have to blame his parents for this one. It was a great learning experience for him and he is really in the swing of Hockey now. We are counting down our free weekends. . .and going to enjoy everyone of them.
Well I got my call back for work and it was earlier than I had expected, but I am very glad! I started today, so far I am .5 (every morning) in the Early Entry Program, it will be a little bit of a challenge, but what the heck I am up for a challenge and at least I am working, that's the bonus.

BC and Hockey collide

Tomorrow we are on our way to Oyama BC, for a wedding. Along with emotions over Buddy we have been trying to figure out our sons hockey life. He is going into Bantam this year and Thorsby doesn't have enough kids for a team so we have been released to go to Calmar or Leduc. We got him registered for the Tryouts for the "AAA" Oil Kings, on August 29, and then had the scary thought that he wouldn't be on the ice to brake in his new equipment before the tryout.
As a mom you never want to leave behind your kids but when you know that this could be a great stepping stone in his life and an opportunity that not everybody gets to take you make it happen. Oakly will be staying home with G & G P. G will take him to skate next week until the tryouts on Saturday, and we will be home for that. I can't believe that my baby boy is getting to the age of a young adult, and all these decisions that are facing him and us. We are so proud of you Oakly and all the choices you are making, and what sacrifices you are making. Always follow your dreams even when you think they are small, in the end they are bigger than you could have imagined. I love you Oakly! XOXOXO

Good Bye "Buddy"

Today is Wednesday in our house and we are trying to get in the swing of life. Monday was the beginning of a "good bye" that nobody was ready to say. Buddy has not been walking very well, but Monday morning we took him into the vet, only for them to say that they won't even look at his legs until they fix his teeth and do some tests and possible surgery's on his heart. It might grant us 1 month and if we were lucky, 6 months. Tod brought Buddy home and we made the decision to put him down. It was scheduled for Tuesday, and nobody was jumping on the task of taking Buddy in. I knew I could do it, and still hold my composer. Tuesday came and with the help of Ross, Denice, and Keri we all took Buddy in. He fell asleep so peacefully and then I brought him to a new resting place in G & G's yard. G & G left Keri and myself after the vet office, and the hole way home I was preparing myself for what I had taken on for my family. I kept thinking about my cat I had as a little girl, she was a white cat, but her tail had a kink in it, so I named her "Candy Cane". I left for school one morning and when I returned home, she had passed away. My parents took me to my girl friends house and we buried "Candy Cane". I know without the help of Keri, I am not sure I would have gotten through it.

I thank my parents for giving me the blessings to see the gift of life and death. I do know that it helped me through the process yesterday. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about him and all the little things that remind me of him.

"Buddy" would have been 13 on September 6. We got him when he was 2, but had known him since a puppy. When Aspen and Avery were babies Buddy would sleep under there beds and let me know if their was something wrong. He would also keep me safe at night when Tod was at work, I think he slept with one ear listening to the house while I slept and when he would start pacing I new something was up. He was very small but when he had to bark he always sounded bigger. He was always left behind when we took him places because he was so quite. A few times we would get a phone call asking if we forgot something and we always new it was Buddy.

We love you Buddy and will miss you! XOXOXO

YAY! They all passed swimming Lessons. . .

It has been a long 2 weeks of early mornings and lots of laps. Everybody was into the swimming thing for the last 2 weeks and we all did amazing. Avery entered as a first timer in Swimkids 1 and was rewarded today with a pass to Swimkids 2. Aspen was entered into Swimkids 6, and with a lot of hard work and a fun attitude passed to Swimkids 8. That's 2 levels. . .I am so Happy for her and she has what it takes to keep going hard and get started on the life guarding thing. Okaly was placed into Swimkids 8 and also passed. He has 2 more levels to finish and he can start on the lifeguard thing as well. We are really trying to push them into getting there lifeguard so they can get some fun summer jobs. The talk for Oakly is that it will be a great chick magnet and for Aspen she can see some cute guys. While the kids were in there lessons I took to the water and swam laps, some days were hard than others especially if I had run that morning, but it feels good to know I can still do it.
The plan would be to put the kids in lessons at the beginning of September, before Hockey starts so they can get a jump on their next levels. I am very proud of all of you. Great hard work and I know it sucked to get up and out of the house by 8:20am, especially on your summer holidays.

August Camping

We went to our favorite bush camp spot with our favorite things to keep us busy for the weekend, Saunders Creek. It is located between Rocky Mountain House and Nordeg. We have experienced every type of weather possible in a typical Alberta day. This weekend was no different. We had rain, wind and amazing sunshine. It would rain at night and then during the day be absolutely gorgeous. We played in the North Saskatchewan River, swam, built sand castles, and a little fishing. What we didn't expect was a swimming Dean and Quad. Yup that's right, Dean took his quad for a little dip, the only problem was that everybody had left and he was alone. The quad up sided on him, he did get it out to the shore and much to his disappointment he realized nobody was coming for him or waiting for him so he was left to walk the 3km's back to camp wet and angry. I don't blame him. I have never witnessed this side of Dean before and I am sure that many others would say the same. Later Tod and Dean went to tow the quad back to camp, Dean had to empty all the fluids and in the process lost an important plug. Avery's quad was out of service so they took her little plug and it fit Dean's quad. Know she is holding him up to payment of $300.00 for the part. WOW!! You would think she did the labour and install herself. That's my business girl. It was no until the next day that we experienced and rain fall that was a bit nerving. It started with a sheet lightning show, it was spectacular, and then the wind came we were putting things away very quickly. Tod came in when the rain started to fall, but then the thunder got louder and the rain fell harder. We observed under the awning and realized we had a river running through our camp. Between the 2 of us we started throwing things in the trailer to Okaly to put away or stack up. The helmets are always put under the tables under the awning and so we had to get them to dry ground, and cover the containers of various other things. By the time we were all done and back in the trailer, the girls were awake and we opened all the windows to watch the lightening show and listen to the rain fall. Monday morning was a muddy pack up day, but the weekend was fun!

Accountant mishap

Well I can honestly say it has happened. Shawna had an accounting emergency today. I got a phone call just before 11:00 this morning from one of Shawna’s clients. She explained that there had been an accident but not to worry because the ambulance was on its way. Shawna had been hit in the eye with something. I immediately headed for Warburg to see what is going on. As I pull up and go in everyone there looks almost sick to their stomachs. I am starting to think the worst by now. As I round the corner I see Shawna, she is being helped out by 2 other women. I couldn't help but to laugh because It looked pretty funny. I had a look at it and suggested that I would grab some gloves from my truck and remove the object but was quickly shot down by the weak stomached. The ambulance showed up and took her in to the ambulance and we were on our way to Leduc. The ambulance stopped on the outskirts of town and was going to help make things more comfortable for her when it just popped out on its own. We turned down the ambulance ride and I took her in myself and we are happy to report only a couple of scratches on her eye and a bit of bruising in her eyelid. She came out very lucky. I am attaching a picture and yes it is what you think it is …. A true accounting emergency. I didn't think anyone would ever believe me so I took a picture of it with my cell phone. It is a hanging file folder, the metal hook is luckily lodged between her eyelid and eyeball.

By Shane

I never thought that bad lucky really existed but for Shawna it haunts her, actually laughs in her face and finds her around every corner, but with that being said she always has a smile on her face and laughs at all the little mishaps.

You make me smile Shawna ;)