Something old (again)

A while ago, I talked about posting about some of my "treasures", and their previous lives.  Well, I thought I'd slowly continue on with that....

Here is a cabinet that sits in my living room. If I were to open the cabinet and take a picture, you would be appalled. In fact, I am appalled every time I open it. This cabinet is our go to place for lots and lots and lots of stuff. I store all my candles in here, our dvd's and PS3 games, some decorations, trays, chords for every electronic device known to man, etc. It's kind of a catch-all for that kind of stuff. My fantastic husband bought it at a garage sale for me in the beginning of my chippy paint days, and I must tell you, I thought it was a bit rustic then. Now, however, I LOVE it! I think he paid $15 for it, and it had been in someones garage for storage. I love how on the left side and top, it is unpainted. It adds to it's character! This thing is a beast - it weighs a ton, so it will never be moved! It's probably 8 ft. tall, so it really fits the scale of that room, and it stores a lot. I'm telling you, friends, that my life is better because of this piece of furniture...it at least makes me appear somewhat organized!

Wicked Awesome Weekend!

We took a long weekend this past weekend to go out to the Wainwright area. We went with some friends, and stayed at their parents house, who were away, but they graciously allowed us to invade their home. With 7 kids and 4 adults in our two families, we really do invade!! We had an amazing and busy and fun time away....

We had picked up Art's new truck on Thursday, so he was excited to drive it and play with all the new features in it!  Ellie Mae as loving sitting in the front between us!

Here was our view....we drove behind our friends, The Fords, the whole time, on "quad duty"...making sure none came loose from the trailer.  We hauled 5 quads out there, so it was a full trailer!

Friday was the perfect driving day.  Not too hot, and just beautiful and sunny.  Take a look at these clouds!

I love seeing these old grain elevators along the way!

Once we arrived in Wainwright, Friday night we headed out to the Stampede and Chuck Wagon races.  It was a long night for the little Girls, but we had a good time regardless.  Gotta love those mini donuts!

Saturday morning, we headed back into Wainwright for the parade.  It was a great parade...and we brought home lots of candy, so it was truly a success in the Girls eyes!  Here is the whole brood!

Both Abby and Hannah got to drive the new truck (before me, even!) at some point during the weekend.  I must say, they both did really well....and were very careful and conscientious!  Check out Abby's concentration level!

Saturday afternoon, we all suited up for the much anticipated quad riding!  Ellie Mae looked quite adorable in her helmet!  She actually fell asleep while riding the quad later on in the afternoon....

Here we all are, ready to go!  We hauled up 5 quads, and the Ford's parents generously allowed me to borrow their quad, so we had a total of 6.  The funny thing is, they were all red except for one!

It started out a bit cloudy and overcast, but as you can see, that didn't dampen our spirits!  We were laughing because at one point, we had to cross the highway, and where we live, people may report quad riders for doing that.  There, they honk and wave!  I love that!

Abby rode with one of the Ford boys at some point, and they all found mud!

Hannah and Shaye especially found the mud.  They were covered....face, backs, pants, boots.  We actually figured it wasn't only mud, but also manure.  Yummy!!  Needless to say, my washing machine is working hard today!! 

We rode down to the railway trestle, which was quite amazing.  I believe it was built around 1908.  We quaded all around the area, and you can see the river on the top left side of the photo.

  I didn't get any pictures of the events leading up to this picture because Art had the camera, but our friend Darcy decided he would try and cross the river.  He was about 3 ft. from the other side when the river got a bit deeper, and he stalled his quad.  He was in so deep that the only thing you could see was his handlebars and back seat.  Then, Art drove in and had to stand on the back of his quad and throw out the winch to pull him out.  The kids, of course, thought that this was loads of fun to watch!  The next hour or so was spent with the guys trying to get Darcy's quad dried out enough so that it would start.  Eventually, it did.  We later found out that there was a cell phone in the quad, so naturally, that was one of the victims of the day!  It was dripping wet!

While we were watching the parade, I had commented that I would

like to drive one of the huge tractors that went by.  Well, Saturday evening, we drove over to one of Darcy's uncles' farm, and they let me drive their tractor....and seeder....and seed bin....This was quite the tractor!  It was a brand new New Holland tractor, complete with GPS and everything.  I think that was definitely the most expensive vehicle I've ever driven....BY FAR!  It was pretty intimidating to drive that whole rig, but also a lot of fun.  There we go...another life long dream has come to pass.  I know, kinda crazy, but it's true! 

One of Abby's favorite things during the weekend was to pick eggs.  I think she has Art convinced to build a chicken house, so we'll see if that happens.  I've only been asking for 5 yrs......!  Here are the eggs the kids picked on Sunday morning, which we were able to bring some of them home.

Sunday afternoon, we headed to CFB Wainwright, as Darcy's mom works there.  She works in the cafeteria, so she gave us the grand tour, complete with hats and lunch.  She was telling us that when training exercises are going on, they make 4000-5000 box lunches for the soldiers to eat.  Talk about a big job!

After the tour, we headed back to the farm where I got to drive the tractor, and they also raise (is that the correct term?) bees, and harvest honey.  They had suits for the kids (and adults) to protect us, and they opened up a couple of hives and gave us an education on how bees work.  Are they ever amazing!

Molly said that this was her favorite part of the weekend!  I must say, it was a little disconcerting, walking up and hearing a loud "bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz", but after you got used to that, it was pretty darn cool!  This wooden frame, when they honey is ready to be harvested, will hold around 10 lbs. of honey.  We got to try a little bit of "fresh honey" as well.

After that, we headed home in time to unload everything in a torrential downpour and electrical storm!  Oh well, that was the only rain of the weekend!  So there you have it.  Our very fun, and very full weekend!  Thanks, Ford Family! 

Peonies

Look...summer has arrived....FINALLY!  And I was able to FINALLY pick some of my peonies.  Yippee!  This definitely takes me to my happy place!

Ahhh, summer

The same day, as our children ran around and played....somewhere, we sat on the lawn, and drank sangria. I've never made it before, and I must say, it was quite delicious!

We mixed fruit (crushed up), with some wine, as well as a bit of sugar, and let it sit overnight.  In the morning (yup, you read correctly....morning), I mixed the sangria with a bit of Sprite.  It was a refreshing and nutritious (I did say there was fruit in it...) treat! 

Like my new fun glasses?  My sister-in-law's roommate was giving them away, and I was the lucky recipient!

Summer Fun

This past weekend, I had a friend come over for a visit with her kids.  She brought along her bouncy house, which conveniently enough, you could hook a hose up to to add water.  The Kids (well, the older ones at least) thought that this was great fun...the littler ones stayed away from the cold water.  As you can see, they had a great time sliding down the slide into the frigid hose water...

Father's Day

On Father's Day, we decided to head into one of our favorite places in the city....Fort Edmonton.  We went with some friends, and enjoyed the beautiful day walking around for the afternoon.  I have some pictures, but for some reason, I'm not able to upload them...

Anyhow, the girls played in the park, did some of the activities that they had there (stilts, wooden skis for 5), as well as saw the horses and enjoyed learning more about the different time periods represented there.  And, of course, a trip to Fort Edmonton wouldn't be complete without ice cream!!

It was a great time, hanging out together as a family.  I love my man, and think that he's a great dad.  I am so thankful for him....and I think that the Girls are as crazy about him as I am!

Sign of Life

Well, it's just been in the last few weeks that we (FINALLY) have some flowers blooming in my gardens.  I picked these lilacs and tulips last week, and enjoyed their amazing fragrance throughout the house.  Unfortunately, the lilacs lasted about 2 days, but the tulips have lasted for a good week.  Hooray for Spring!

These white lilacs are an accident....they were all supposed to be purple...oops!  Good thing I love white!

I LOVE these lilacs! They are called "Sensations".  Aren't they beautiful?!

Anyhow, hope you all are having a fantastic weekend.  I plan to spend the weekend in the sprinkler, while (of course) weeding the garden and mowing the lawn.  It's a good life.

Garage Sale Drought

I have a route.  I call it the "Garage Sale Route".  We take the main highway, secondary highway(s) and some country roads.  Normally, my route doesn't let me down.  There have been many a treasure found along this route.  Lately, however, the route has let me down.  There is a drought here....a garage sale drought. 

Can I just say, "Please...people....especially seniors who have lived on your farms for 60+ yrs.... can you just let me into your outbuildings?!  Please?  I promise I will give your junk treasure a very happy home....I will love it and respect it, for better or for worse.  If it's worse, I'll probably just paint it...."

It's been a dry season, friends....a very dry season.  Here's hoping it's gonna get better!

Nothing to Say

So, this is what we've come to....a post labelled "Nothing to say", yet here I am writing.  About nothing.  Crazy, isn't it?

Isn't it funny how sometimes my ordinary life leaves me with nothing to talk about, yet is so full of, well, life?  I could talk about the fantastic weekend we had, (finally) with some great weather, spent time with friends.... we mowed the lawn, worked in the gardens, ate delicious food, messed around with the kids and quads.... all such wonderful things, yet, "nothing"?!

Or, I could talk about how in love with my perennials I am, and some of them are (FINALLY) blooming?  Come on, peonies!!

Or, I could tell you about my husband's crazy day yesterday, working all day, including making a 2 hr. drive to deliver some cabinets, go to another customers house to finish up a job only to end up twice at the hospital (thankfully, not for him!  Is that bad to say?!), once jump-starting a friends car, only to end up home at midnight when he 'should have' been home by 8?

Yup, nothing to say.... Yet I could elaborate so much on any one of the above topics.... 

But alas, the house is quiet, and I find myself winding down the day with nothing to say....

Revolt!

There are a few things that cause my family to revolt.  However, one of them happened this weekend....

We. ran. out. of. raspberry. jam.

Can you imagine?  In the late spring, I think I did 9 batches, and on Saturday, as we were eating pancakes, Hannah went to the basement to get some more, and it was all gone.  I am telling you friends, lack of the jam puts these people out of sorts....quite quickly...

Thankfully, I have stockpiled raspberries for such a time as this.  So last night, I dug out 5 ice cream pails of frozen berries to thaw overnight, and this morning, Hannah and I made 5 batches of jam.  Again.  Thankfully, they will leave me alone now....I hope!

Here's the craziest thing about this little story.  I still have 8 pails of rasberries in my freezer to get rid of before I start picking again.  You know what that means? 

Yup.  Raspberry everything, coming up!

A New Island

Remember when I told you about the Garage Give-Away? Well, this beauty was sitting in the front yard....along with stacks and stacks and stacks of solid marble and granite countertop. I would really love to use this as a kitchen island, but in our kitchen, it will not fit. I am hoping that we will be able to go back and load this into Art's truck, and he can use it as a workbench in the shop until we have a place where we can use this as an island. The only problem is, that we need to recruit some people to help load this into the truck. This bad boy is heavy!!

It measures 8 ft. by 3 1/2 ft....the perfect size for an island!  Yes, it's definitely a little rough around the edges, but imagine this with a solid walnut countertop like this one below.  I think it would look AMAZING! I can picture it....can you?

My Week Alone

I told you about Art's week away, but now it's time to tell you about my week....alone.....with my 4 kids....and my Mom who was here for the week....

We actually had a lot of fun. We took the girls swimming, which was exhausting (what is it about sitting in a bunch of water that is so tiring?!). We went shopping a few days, when we only had 2 girls with us.  Friday night, the girls had their ballet recital...they were pretty cute little bumblebees....

Saturday morning, we headed into Stony Plain for the Farmer Days Parade.  This has been a tradition for a lot of years!  Here are my ladies in their new Canada shirts from Nana (of course!)

We usually meet up with a few families to enjoy the parade.  Here's the long line of our kids....

I think there were 20 in all.  Not bad for 6 families!  Ellie Mae stuck pretty close to Nana during the parade..

After the parade, we grabbed some lunch and headed out to a park to enjoy the day.  While I was in the drive through at A&W, I looked over at the Tim Horton's to see this:

One of the horse and buggies from the parade decided they wanted to eat as well.  I was quite funny to see an outdated form of transportation making it's way through a modern convenience!  They had a crowd of spectators taking pictures as well.  Those are some pretty well behaved ponies, I'd say!

The little girls got some umbrellas from Nana as well.  Let me tell you, they have been the biggest hit!  I think they have played with them outside every single day since they got them!

Lastly, we took the girls to see the movie Marmaduke.  I was fun to take them all, and other than  Ellie Mae folding into her seat repeatedly, it was great.  Really, who can go wrong?  They even had refillable popcorn!

Yup, a good week was had by all.  But let me tell you, Monday, I was exhausted!!  I need a week just to recoup from my week alone!

He's Home!

Art spent last week away....doing boy things.....with other boys!  Him and my dad drove up to Fort McMurray to go quading for a couple of days with one of my cousins, and then met up with another cousin and a couple of my uncles for a weekend of fishing.  While he was away, he got to go on a helicopter ride as well.  The pictures were pretty amazing from that!

They came home Sunday night, and along with them, they brought a few fish. So, last night, Art did up a fish fry for us. Too bad my parents left Monday am, 'cuz they missed some good eatin'! I was pretty impressed, because although my man is fairly fantastic, he's not really the cooking kind. He typically will make pancakes, french toast, and bacon and eggs....those are his "specialties"! So, I had to take a picture!

He poured some oil over the fillet's, then sprinkled them liberally with a yummy homemade seasoning, fried them in butter until they were a little bit caramelized and crunchy. 

I must say....he did really good!  And it always tastes better when I don't have to cook it.  I told him he could go fishing anytime if he brought us home some fish and cooked it up for us!

Anyhow, although he had a great week away, it's good to have him home with us!

First Time for Everything

We finally made it to the dentist. Well, not me, but the Little Girls. Last year, there was NO WAY Ellie Mae was going to let them look inside her mouth, but this year....she did great! Even sat for flouride and the whole nine yards. Look at this big girl!  Doesn't she look thrilled?!  And, this is a little peek at my new antho blouse....I love it!

Flowers!

Remember when I bought the chicken feeder at a farm auction? Well, I've filled it with flowers...and I think that it turned out quite fun. Obviously, it will fill in lots over the summer, but I must say, I was fairly impressed.  I just planted a ton of pansies and something else which will cascade over the top (which I can't remember what it is called!).

And here are the other normal flower pots around our house...