Celebrating Forever Family

Friday miss Chrystie officially became a part of our family. To celebrate we had pizza for dinner and Kels and Mike made a Princess Castle with their new sister. After 1 year it has finally come true and Crystie has her forever family. Here are some pictures we took of the kids making the cookie castle.





Kelsey doesn't usually look like that. She had been part of a drama presentation at her school assembly and didn't wash off all the make up. Now we are waiting for Christmas Eve when all the of our kids are home, so they can enjoy munching down on this fabulous creation. Sean thinks that him and I should make our own Gingerbread House.
I hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas!

Happy Tree Hunting

It was cold outside, but Sean found our tree after searching for an hour. Mike's feet were so cold he ended up in the truck to keep warm. Kels didn't go at all and Crystal enjoyed hanging out with her friend Winter. The hot chocolate and chocolate muffins were delicious(: Thanks Judy. You are awesome!!! Now we just have to buy some gifts and we will be ready for Christmas.
The gifts under the tree are mostly the ones my kids bought this weekend for some of their friends and I see one for me(: It's so nice the kids have jobs and can use their own money to buy gifts.
Stay posted for some news on Friday the 18th.

Fun in the Snow

What a great time we had playing in the snow today. It sure is nice having a friend to hang out with while the kids go sliding. We went down a few times too, but then my but was getting cold. Not used to sledding. It's been a few years since my kids wanted to go sledding. Good thing we kept the sleds(:


They weren't quite done playing yet so they decided to dress up and be fairy princesses. They are having a great time together. It's nice having friends that live close by.

A busy life in the Puddle

I cannot believe how long it actually has been since I've had time to actually sit down and type about something on my blog. To my sister that checks my blog regularly, I hope you haven't been to disappointed with my lack of posting. All I can say is that we live a busy life in the puddle. We are hoping for some goods news to come in the next few weeks, so stay posted. Most of my friends know what the good news is, but we are waiting until the day comes to share with the rest of my blogger friends.

We had a busy weekend. It started with The Santa Clause Parade and then Sean's work had their Christmas party and now the Grey Cup is on. I am thinking of my friends from Sask. as they cheer on the Riders and wear their green. Then there is the countdown until Christmas.
What an exciting Christmas it will be this year. Well except that our families won't be together for Christmas. But that's OK because I can't hog them every year(: Then just after Christmas (2weeks to be exact) Sean & I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary. We had hoped to go to the Hills that weekend, but that doesn't seem to be panning out. I'm sure we will find something very special to do that weekend. Time sure has gone by fast, but it has been a good fast most of the time.

Take care everyone and I'll keep you posted!

PS I agree with Judy...Facebook is sucking up too much of my spare time. I was on it on a Saturday at 7am. What happened to sleeping in on Saturdays?

Kelsey's New Bed

It took a while before we could find the right color of purple for her curtains. Luckily we found some that were on sale, of which I am very thankful for since we needed 12!

Some wedding pics

The Harvest Party

4 hours of outdoor fun. It was a great time. We went on the hay ride 3 times. Crystal and her friend did the cake walk 2 times and Winter won a cake. It was pretty cool(:Lots to eat too!

3 Sleeps

In 3 sleeps we will finally have our house. I am getting excited, but will miss living with our friends. They have been so great and we are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. I haven't been blogging lately because life has been pretty hectic and I really don't know what to say.
My parents will be here in 2 days to help with the move. I can't wait to see them(: We've been shopping for new furniture for our house and that has been fun, but VERY expensive!
On Saturday I took Kels and Mike to Kamloops with me to pick up Kels' canopy bed. What an adventure that was....
We were driving through Clinton and talking about the forest fires and I said to the kids wouldn't that be funny if we ran into your dad here and at that exact same moment, 2 forestry workers come out of the motel and 1 of them happened to be their dad. How weird is that? So we stopped and the kids got out and said hi and talked for a few min. before we headed back on the road to Kamloops. We make it as far as Savona and about 5 cars ahead of us the road was closed. We saw a campervan and boat on fire at the gas station. The flames were shooting so high I thought the gas station was on fire. Then the black smoke came and the horid smell. We were stuck there for over 1/2 hr. So, by the time we arrived in Kamloops it was late afternoon. We went to pick up the bed, but the box was too big for the Durango, so we had to take the bed out of the box and squish it in the back with Mike. It did fit-thank goodness(: Then we went to Wal-mart to pick up a few things for the house. I didn't stay there long because there were too many people shopping there. There was no evidence of a recession there that day. Mike went to EB games and bought a controler for his Xbox 360. We ate cheese breadsticks at Pizza Hut, went and visited a few friends and headed home. We stopped at Cache Creek for 45 min. to visit Kels' friend. With the rain and fog and constuction/dirt roads, I didn't make it home until 11pm. I was bagged! It was a good trip though. I'm glad to have Kels' bed- it's going to be a real treat to set up. Ha-that's a job for Sean and my Dad!

Hike to the Falls at Golden Ears Park

This was Sean's 1st time at Golden Ears. We had a nice hike to the falls. Mike and Bri fell into the river with a little help from Uncle Paul. It was good to do a family thing that didn't cost a fortune. It got those darn teens off the X box for the afternoon(:

Pictures from our Barkerville and Wells trip

We had a fantastic time with our friends. It didn't rain that much; only a few drops, so, that was great. However, it was very cold for August. Good thing we packed our hoodies. The Wells Hotel was very nice. It was weird that they didn't have a phone or a TV in their rooms. Oh and no cell service there either. It was a nice break. I forgot my swimsuit, so I didn't get to go hot tubing on the roof. Maybe next time! Robin's girls were great. Keeley was so funny when she was having a sugar rush. Michaella is growing up so fast and Baby Kate who is now 2 is as cute as ever. She is always laughing and smiling. Robin & I had dessert and tea with Unlce Herbie and Aunty Marilyn. (They are Robin's family, but I've know then for so long; it's like they are part of my family too). We said goodbye this morning and headed back home. We are making plans for a get together on Labour Day. Summer has gone by fast.

My kids at a wedding

My kids came home from a wedding and this is what they looked like. They had a great time. LOL!

Moving

For those of you that I don't see or get a chance to talk to on a regular basis, I thought I should tell you I'm moving. After living in the same place for 16 years, we are finally buying our first house. I've lived in mobile homes my entire life and though it was time to get a house because we were out growing our home. Why are those teens of mine taller than me?
We moved out of our place on Sunday and are staying with our friends Rick & Judy until we get into our new house in September. We've been going back every night to our place to clean. It's looking pretty good. My parents worked really hard on cleaning it up for me, but mom refused to clean my stove. It's a chore I hate the most and you can imagine how gross the oven was. So, i dragged my sorry but over there to clean it tonight and it looks pretty good. I had some help from Judy. She's such a dear!
We'll go back tomorrow and take out the water cooler and the microwave. My parents have been staying there since Sunday and will head back to Nanaimo with my kids Friday. We'll be on holidays in 2 weeks and will bring the kids back just in time for school to start. It's exciting to move, but an aweful lot of work. Just think in 6 weeks we do it all over again when we move into the new house. It will be all worth it in the end!

You're Never Too Old to Have Fun(:

My sister took these pictures of our parental units when she was on the Island last week. They are very nice shots! It looks like fun(:

Getting to Know You

I was tagged by my friend Melissa,
So here's what I came up with:
1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:30 am, to hot to sleep in

2. How do you like your steak? BBQ'ed med-rare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Transformers 2

4. What is your favorite TV show? Smallville
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Maybe Vancouver Island?

6. What did you have for breakfast? coffee & a bagel

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Anything Greek

8. What foods do you dislike? Liver and Tongue,,,what kind of parents make their kids eat that?

9. Favorite Place to Eat?BBQ on the deck

10. Favorite dressing?Greek with fetta

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? WV Golf Convertible, Dodge Durango.

12. What are your favorite clothes? tanks and capris

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Any place tropical.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full!

15. Where would you want to retire? On The Island
16. Favorite time of day? Quitting time at work

17. Where were you born? Willy's Puddle

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? baseball

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? not sure
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? Not sure!

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? everyone!

22. Bird watcher? No, but if i see them in my yard, I like watching them

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning.
24. Do you have any pets? None

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? WE JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE IN TOWN.
26. What did you want to be when you were little? a reporter for the Daily Planet, then a bit older I wanted to be a Shrink.

27. What is your best childhood memory? Going to my grandma's
28. Are you a cat or dog person? Neither

29. Are you married? Yes, very happily!

30. Always wear your seat belt? Always!

31. Been in a car accident? Yes

32. Any pet peeves? cashiers that don't count back the change and just hand it to you with the coins on top of the bills and when the coins fall to the ground.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? olives, ham. fetta, red onions, peppers
34. Favorite Flower? Rose

35. Favorite ice cream? Triple Tornado

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Wendys. We don't have one so that's probably why I enjoy going there once in a while.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? none

38. From whom did you get your last email? Kels

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? I wouldn't. I don't use my credit card unless I can pay it off. I hate paying interest.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Nah...
41. Like your job? If i didn't have to do 2 f/t jobs in only 40 hrs, I'd probably like it more. It's OK.

42. Broccoli? yup, but prefer it raw dipped in ranch dressing

43. What was your favorite vacation? Disneyland

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My husband and 2 kids

45. What are you listening to right now? Hubby complain about how he can't sleep in this heat.

46. What is your favorite color? Purple

47. How many tattoos do you have? None!

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? dunno

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 7:28 am

50. Coffee Drinker? For sure!

Some puns to enjoy(:

1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

4. A dyslexic man walked into a bra.

5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."

6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

7. "Doc, I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home."
"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"Well, It's Not Unusual."

8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field.
Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning."
"I don't believe you," says Dolly.
"It's true; no bull!" exclaims Daisy.

9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

10. Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.

12. A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident.
He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!"
The doctor replied, "I know, I amputated your arms!"

13. I went to a seafood disco last week... And pulled a mussel.

14. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

15. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, "Dam!"

16. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Not surprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

17. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office, and asked them to disperse.
"But why," they asked, as they moved off.
"Because," he said. "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

18. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named 'Ahmal.' The other goes to a family in Spain, they name him 'Juan.' Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

19. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him...... A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

20. A dwarf, who was a mystic, escaped from jail. The call went out that there was a small medium at large.

21. And finally, there was the person who sent twenty different puns to her friends, with the hope that at least ten of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

At some point I've become just like my father...it's a good thing(:

I woke up this morning and it was like any other Saturday morning. I made my coffee, had a bowl of cereal. Sean is watching the fishing shows until he heads off to work. I think to myself...I've got so much to do today. Laundry, cleaning, weeding the gardens- this list goes on. Then I think to myself, I wonder what is on TV. I turn it on and the weather network comes up. Then I decide that I want to watch the news. Me?? Watching the news??? On a Saturday morning??? Yes, I watched the news until 10am. I found it interesting. How weird is that? I think I am becoming just like my father. Already I grocery shop like him. If I buy beer, I pick his brand because it tastes good and is less expensive than the other kinds of beer. My dad has taught me well. I learned how to budget from him and how to save money. So being like my dad is a good thing. Plus now that he is older and retired, he isn't so grumpy as I remember him when I was growing up. Hopefully my kids don't think I'm grumpy.
Have a great weekend everyone!

It's the end of the school year

I can't believe that the school year is over and both my kids did really well in school this year. I am very proud of them both and extra proud of Mike for keeping up with his school work this year, he made the effort honour roll(: This is the 1st year since he started school that he has had perfect attendance. Praise God he didn't have to go to the hospital this year! Kels picked up her report card on Friday and then went to her dad's, so I actually haven't seen her marks yet, but she always does great. Now the kids are gone until August. It's going to be a quiet month for us. Crystal is coming for a visit the last 2 weekends in July. Hopefully we get to take her camping and fishing. She will be starting kindergarten in September and is going to Cataline, so now we are starting over in elementary. Both my kids will be in high school in the fall. My how time flies!

Mike had a year end party Thursday at Chelsea's house. They had a BBQ, lots of junk food and huge water fights.I bought Mike a new super soaker water gun. They had a blast. The boys were allowed to stay until midnight. Then Mike went over to his friend Billy's for a sleep over. They ate too much junk food and got sick, but apparently felt better after eating an energy drink. But then they couldn't sleep. Go figure! I picked up Mike on my lunch break and brought him home so that he could get packed and go to his Dad's place. He looked pretty tired, but said he was feeling much better. They had a blast and I'm glad he went. He usually doesn't go for sleepovers, so that was good(:

Have a wonderful summer everyone. Hopefully I'll see most of you on our holidays at then end of August!

Cataline students share digs with a mummy

Shantel Hollett, Hayley Johnson, Madisen Gaylord, Briana Mundeling, and Ryleigh Barta experience what it might be like to participate in an archaeological dig at an exhibit in the Vancouver Museum.

Two classes from Cataline Elementary School travelled to Vancouver May 27-29 to participate in the curriculum-based programs at the Vancouver Aquarium and the Vancouver Museum.

At the aquarium the students studied a variety of ecosystems, focusing on the Arctic region.

The highlight here was certainly the night spent sleeping with the belugas.

Twenty year old Aurora was pregnant and volunteers were on a 24-hour watch waiting for the imminent arrival of her calf, who has since been born.

The next day was spent exploring Stanley Park. Students walked portions of the seawall to locate the Girl in a Wetsuit statue, the lighthouse at Brockton Point, the Nine O’Clock Gun, and the totem poles.

The group was also invited to visit the Miniature Railways and the Children’s Farmyard.

Late in the afternoon the group headed over to Vanier Park to prepare for the museum visit. There they participated in the Night of the Mummy program.

This included an excavation activity, mummification discussion, and a flashlight treasure hunt.

Students were given the opportunity to sleep in the room with Panechates, the mummy of a 10-year-old boy.

Memories of this amazing adventure will stay with these students for a very long time. Compliments were received from both venues. Williams Lake should be proud of these young ambassadors.

The trip was made possible with financial help from several local businesses.

Submitted by Janet Sandberg and Trevor Smith. Grade 6/7 Teachers at Cataline

Mega May Weekend

Kelsey made sno cones.

What a fantastic weekend! The weather was just perfect! Last night we went to the Stampede grounds to see a drive in movie put on by the Laker's Car club with proceeds to the Child Development Center. It was a huge blow up screen and we listened to the movie on the FM radio in the truck. We had to wait until it was dark, so we never made it home until after midnight. It was fun. The movie was American Graphitti.
Today we enjoyed the best of both worlds. Sean went to the car show and I didn't get dragged along because I went to the children's festival with my kids and Crystal. We haven't been to this festival in years because my kids are too old to go (apparently). If I went with no kids people might find that a bit creepy. So at any rate we both were able to do what we love to do. Crystal had a blast and we all met up for a late lunch before heading home. Here's a few pictures of Crystal and what she had painted on her face. It's a green butterfly and a pink shooting star.