November

November was a crazy month. If I thought the other months were busy, I was wrong.

First came an early birthday party for Anna. She invited her friends Hadley, Zoe, Abi, Jacob and Jacob to come over for a movie night. They made their own pizzas and watched Gnomeo and Juliet. After they had some angel food cake and then they opened presents. The boys left around 8 and then Abi and Zoe left around 10. Hadley spent the weekend with us. Saturday night we watched an interesting video on the side of the Macy's building and then went to Starbuck's for some warm drinks.

On November 11th, I flew to Canada to spend the weekend with my Dad and Mom and my sisters. Dad and Mom had decided to put their house up for sale and move out to B.C., so this was an opportunity to spend one more time in the house. We had a wonderful weekend together. We watched slides, ate good food, played games, chatted, laughed and even cried a little. It was so wonderful to spend the time with family. I came home to this special surprise from the kids. It was yummy!
The weekend after that, we headed to South Dakota for Anna's surprise birthday weekend. We gave Anna an envelope as we left Fort Collins that had a map of the trip to Rapid City. We finally made it to Rapid City after about an hour in blizzard like conditions. We went out for a late supper at Texas Roadhouse and then finally to the hotel shortly before 10. The kids were excited about the waterpark and wanted to go swimming. It was too late to then and we headed to our room to sleep.

Saturday morning we woke up and went down for breakfast. The kids were in a hurry to get into the water. Envelope #2 for Anna gave a picture of the waterpark. We headed down for the first time that day and I spent a little bit of time in the water with the kiddos. Later, to the mall for lunch and then a short time sledding and back to the water. This time Paul spent quite a bit of time in the water. He really enjoyed the water slides. Back to the room for pizza delivered to our room. We watched a little TV and then headed back to the water for the last time. This time Paul and I watched the kids swim. They had a blast.

Sunday morning, breakfast and then packing up to head home. Envelope #3 gave directions to Mount Rushmore. We arrived to find that there weren't many people there. We were able to take some pictures, look at an exhibit on the building of Mount Rushmore and then we watched a video. The kids worked on their Junior Ranger badges and we made plans to mail them in when they were finished. We had a quick lunch in Custer, SD and then headed for our next destination, Jewel Cave. We arrived in plenty of time for the kids to start working on another Junior Ranger badge. We watched a couple of videos about caves and then went on our own personal tour (no one else was there). We walked in the caves for about and hour and a half. The guide was great and he even let Anna and Dietrich lead some. There weren't any jewels in Jewel Cave, so that was a little disappointing, but it was still a great tour. The kids took the time to finish up their paperwork for the badges and were delighted to also get a patch this time. We headed home from there (with some bad roads) and finally pulled in around 10p.m.



The weekend after that was Thanksgiving. Paul's parents came over in the morning to enjoy some cinnamon twists. The kids watched parades and a dog show while I worked on getting dinner on the table. It was yummy. Then dishes and finally pie. It was a wonderful day.

Chaos ensued at the Timnath Walmart at 10p.m. My friend, Penny, and I went trying to get some early Black Friday deals. It was CRAZY. I was able to get what I wanted and we were out of there. I went to bed and headed out early in the morning when things were quite a bit more relaxing. I had a wonderful time getting Christmas presents and was especially happy that I could find the ornament for Maleah that I had forgotten to order. It was a nice weekend.

That brings us to the end of November. We are already 5 days into December and it has started out much slower. See you again next month.:)

October

October started with Dietrich's birthday party. He wanted his friend, Ridge, to come over with his family for a BBQ. It was a beautiful afternoon. We had lunch, a pinata, presents and cake. Dietrich chose this pool cake. It was fun because the pool was jello and it jiggled when you shook the cake.

We had quite a few field trips in October and they all happened in the same week. Our first trip was as a family. We went to see the place where a family from our small group processes onions. I've never seen so many onions all in one place before. They store them until they get orders for more.


Our next field trip was Free day at the zoo. Heather Ambler asked us if we wanted to join them for this day. We left early, because I knew what free day at the zoo is like from our visit last year. The kids had a great day looking at all the animals. I think we saw everything except the snakes. I wasn't too sad to miss them.


The day after the zoo, we headed to Greeley to see Centennial Village. It is a little town set in the early 1900s. We got to see lots of houses, the school, and a chuckwagon. I think the kids liked the story of Rattlesnake Kate the best. She killed over a hundred snakes in an hour and then took them, skinned them and made a dress and some jewelry. I hope we can go to the Greeley museum to see them some day.
Our last field trip was a hike/science lesson. Each of the kids learned something different. M. learned about the ecosystem. A. learned about birds and living, non-living and dead things. E. and D. learned about bugs and also about different ways seeds are transported. They enjoyed being outside.

Mid-October, Paul had to attend a Precepts conference in Denver, so I decided to go with him. We dropped the kids and Winston off at Grandpa and Grandma Higman's and headed to the west side of Denver. While Paul attended the conference, I read books, watched TV and did some shopping. Paul and I were able to have a nice supper together and then we saw the movie "Courageous." It was a great movie. The time went quickly, but I had a wonderful time.

The last big event in October was Halloween. The kids dressed up and we all headed out for the evening. It was a beautiful night and the kids enjoyed walking around with their friends. M. was a character from a book that she had read. A. was a king. E. was a 50s girl and D. was a firefighter. We have so much candy. Can't wait until it is all gone, so I am making a valiant effort to help.:) Here's some pictures of the kids.

Well, that about sums it up for October. See you next month!

September

September was full of activities.

The month started out with my first 10K. I was able to finish it in about 1:10:32. I wish I had pushed myself a little bit more. Maybe next time. This day was also my 40th birthday, so after the race, we went out to lunch with friends and then home. I opened my presents and then later we went out for supper. I was so worn out from my race that I ended up going to bed early.
These are the beautiful flowers that my siblings sent me for my 40th birthday. They spoiled me.

Later in the month, my parents came for a little visit. We had a great visit with them. I was so glad that we were able to get pictures of the kids with Grandpa and Grandma Alexander. On the last day of their visit, we went to a Harvest Farm Festival. The kids had a blast riding on the little bucket train, wandering through the maze, feeding the sheep, and shooting off cobs of corn and pumpkins.
At the end of the month, we went to McKee hospital for a field trip. The kids enjoyed the nature walk and the simulation room. I don't think it was the greatest field trip for the younger kids as there was a lot of talking to listen to.

Well, that ends September. Next up, October.

August

We were so glad to arrive at Grandpa and Grandma's house. The kids said hello and ran out to the garden to pick peas. We had a wonderful week visiting with Grandpa and Grandma, Auntie Vicky and Uncle Warren, Auntie Paula and Colin and Andrew. The kids were able to play at the park, go swimming, and shop for trinkets at the dollar store.


Auntie Paula taught M and A how to sew. It was great to see them working on a new skill. A made a pillow out of material with wolves on it and M made a quilt with horses on it. I think they really enjoyed making something.

On Thursday, we headed to Regina for some other activities. We ate a quick lunch at Tim Horton's and then headed over the the Regina Royal Museum. We had been there before, but the kids always love to look at the animals. After, to the bowling alley for some 5 pin bowling. It was so much fun to bowl with everyone. The kids loved it!

Supper was next and we had a great meal at Red Lobster. Yum! We ended our day with a quick trip to Wal-Mart and Starbucks before we headed back to Weyburn.

We played lots of Rook when we were home and ate lots of DQ. I was able to do a couple of other fun things...lunch with my Mom and sisters and visiting with some high school friends.

We left there at about midnight and were able to get home mid afternoon.

We took the next week to relax and then we hit the books. This week we took some time to do an art project. Here's what the kids did.Well, that is it! I am finally caught up with my blogging. Hopefully I can keep up this time!!

July

July started out with a bang!

On the July 1st, we headed over to Whole Foods for the annual Canada Day celebration. We got our picture taken with an RCMP and then had lunch (poutine, burgers, and beaver tails).

On July 4th, I ran a 5K in the morning with two of my friends. This was in preparation for the 10K on Labor Day. After the run, we quickly went home to get ready to spend the day at the pool. We weren't very prepared, but we were able to get some good seats in the shade. Paul's parents and sister, Kristen, and her two kiddos joined us for the day. We played at the pool and then came home to celebrate Paul's mom's birthday. We chatted and had cake.Then it was off to the park for fireworks. We had made sandwiches, so we were ready for the long wait for the fireworks. It was a beautiful evening and the fireworks were wonderful.

On July 5th, Paul and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. We had a nice evening out while our friend's daughter watched the kiddos.

The kids finished their swimming lessons that week and all moved to the next level, except for D. He will technically move up because the next time he takes lessons, he will be 6 and that means he has to be in the next level. I think he will do fine there.

On the 9th, we went to the Wyoming Territorial Prison. I can't say that it was the best field trip we've ever been on, but at least it got us out of the house that warm summer day.

The 18th was our unofficial start of school. We had some rough days and we were glad when it was time for us to head out of town for our vacation.

We headed to Canada very early in the morning on the 30th of July. The kids had been ready for a while to go North.

The rest of the story will follow in our August report.:)

June

June was filled with fun activities. The first activity was VBS at our church. The kids had a wonderful time learning about Jesus through the stories presented by the teachers. M was too old to attend as a student, so this year, she helped in a pre-school class. She had lots of fun helping the kids and being with her friends. A decided that this year she wanted to go to Sports Camp instead of VBS. She enjoyed doing something different than everyone else. She loved playing softball and had a great week.

Also during that first week, the girls had their piano recital. They both did an excellent job of the pieces that they had been working on for months.

M started youth group during the first week in June. She was a little nervous, but she had a great time with her friends. She is growing up far too fast!

On the 20th, the kids went to VBS at another church in town. This time M got to hang out with Mommy. We went and looked for paint, went for a bike ride, and did various other things together.

The last week in June brought the first week of swimming lessons for everyone. I was pleasantly surprised to see E finally taking off in the pool. We had been spending lots of time at the pool and that definitely helped her to feel more comfortable.

Thus ended the month of June.

May

May brought the conclusion of many things for summer vacation. Our favorite was the end of school. We were all ready for a break from the classroom. We did our final oral presentations on May 20th. We gave each of the kids a certificate for their hard work and then made a special presentation for M. We gave her a new Bible, a dozen roses and a certificate of completion for Elementary school. That evening, she got her ears pierced.

The pool opened on May 27th and we were there as quickly as we could be. It wasn't the nicest day to be at the pool, but we were glad to be there.

The last weekend in May, we surprised the kids by taking an overnight trip to Denver. We dropped Winston off at Grandpa and Grandma's and then headed South. We didn't tell the kids anything that we were doing that day. We just drove and arrived at each destination. Our first stop....miniature golfing. It was a very warm day, but we enjoyed our game (except Paul won again). Next, to the same hotel we stayed at in November. We dropped off our things and then headed to supper at Gunther Toody's.

Our next stop, we passed right by the hotel. The kids were so confused about what was next. We ended up at the Chinese Theater to watch "Kung Fu Panda 2". Finally, back to the hotel where the kids enjoyed a swim in a very busy pool.

We got up on Monday and headed downstairs for a yummy breakfast and then packed everything up and put it in the car and took a short walk on a trail behind the hotel. The next mystery destination was to the Butterfly Pavilion. We saw lots of butterflies and even some arachnids. Here's D and E holding Rosie the tarantula.
Here's our bunch of caterpillars waiting to emerge from their chrysallis.

That trip wrapped up our spring and we headed into the summer!!

April

April didn't slow down any. E finished her last Tumble Bumbles class. The teacher said she did great and that we should consider putting her in the next class. D finished swimming lessons and was able to advance to Preschool III.

I had an Usborne book party and was able to earn some free books for the kids. We saved them for Easter and for our trip home in the summer.

M and I went to a girl's simulcast at church one Saturday. It was nice to spend the day with her.

April 17th brought E's 7th birthday. She invited a bunch of her girl friends over for crafts and games. She had a fun time with all of her friends.

At the end of the month, we joined our friends, the Whitakers, at an Open House with Irish Cob horses. The kids loved seeing the horses on the farm. This is a picture with their friend, Brendan.

March 2011

March was busy with lots of events.

We did what we always do (homeschool, co-op, AWANA, Precepts) and added more to our already busy schedule. E enjoyed Tumble Bumbles once a week and then D started going to swimming lessons twice a week.

We had Spring Break in the middle of the month. The kids and I went to the movie "Tangled" at the theater. They really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen. M and A had a dentist appointment on Thursday. The rest of the week, we didn't do much. It was nice to not have a huge list of things to do.

That's it for March! Apparently, I didn' t use my camera that month.:)

Catching up - February

In an attempt to you up on the last half a year, I have decided to try to update each month over the next week or so. Let's begin with ....

February 2011

February was full of events.

The kids finished up their skating lessons. They enjoyed it (except D). He would have enjoyed being in the pool more. We returned the skates we bought him for Christmas after his skating instructor told us they weren't very good and invested in swimming lessons instead of buying another pair.

D took a Tractors Galore class and enjoyed learning more about tractors during the weeks he was in class. He even got to go on a hayride and had his picture taken in the driver's seat.

February brought M's 11th birthday. She invited three friends to spend the night. They had a great time playing X-box and watching movies. She chose Angel Food Cake for her birthday cake and we served it with whipped cream and Saskatoon berries.

Mid-February brought some beautiful weather, so we headed to Devil's Backbone for a nice hike. It was wonderful to be outside enjoying the day.
E started a Tumble Bumbles class and enjoyed her first week. More to come on that in the next month.

Christmas 2010

We headed North to Canada this Christmas. We left at 3 in the morning and were able to make it to Dad and Mom's in about 15 hours. There were a few icy spots and a few snow drifts, but in all, it wasn't a bad drive.

Christmas Eve was spent getting ready for Christmas Day. Mom and I did some shopping and then Mom worked on some salads for Christmas Day. We made soft sauce later in the day for the Christmas pudding to be served the next day. Later in the afternoon, we headed over to Vicky and Warren's for some yummy appetizers and then lasagna. It was good to see all of the O'Dell family. Church was next. It was a nice service. I always love the singing and there was lots of singing.:) Back to Dad and Mom's and then kids were bouncing off the walls. They were so excited to open new pajamas with slipper socks and one other gift. It was hard to get them all to go to sleep. Finally Santa couldn't wait any longer. The gifts were placed and the stockings stuffed after Santa had some Eggnog and pecan tassies.
The kids were woken up at 6:30. I am still waiting for the year that they wake up before me.
It didn't take them long to get out of bed. We opened stockings and then opened our presents. The kids enjoyed everything they got. They were all really excited to get ice skates for Christmas and could hardly wait to get on the ice. The kids played with their new toys the rest of the morning while we got ready for Christmas dinner. Finally all the food was ready and the family arrived. We ate much food and then cleaned up. Later, we played a little game and then ate some more.

The next few days we went skating, sledding, and swimming. It was lots of fun to play together and I was tuckered out by the end of each day.

We celebrated Dad's birthday twice. We had a party at the house a day early and then went out to eat on his birthday.


We left for home the morning of the 30th. The weather didn't look great, but it didn't look real bad (except around Gillette). We left at 8AM and had pretty good weather. There were some icy spots, snow drifts and blowing snow. It wasn't too bad until we got to Douglas, Wyoming. The roads weren't very good and it was snowing. After we left Wheatland, we saw a "No unnecessary travel" sign. We decided to drive real slow. I was a little worried for a while. Finally we made it to Chugwater and we stopped. Paul checked the forecast for the rest of the way and there were no more scary signs.:) We continued on our way and finally pulled into home at about 12:30AM. We were very tired, but so thankful that we were home safe and sound.