Moving Day

In the fall, we moved the chicken coop closer to the house so the Girls wouldn't have to trudge through knee high snow every day to go take care of the chickens.  On Saturday, we decided it was time to move the chickens back to their "summer home".  So, we hooked up the quad, and started pulling....

 It went fine for a while...until we hit the really, really, REALLY soft ground, and then we got a little hung up!

I didn't get a picture of it, because I was too busy wringing my hands, but a number of times, Art's quad was vertical, on his front 2 wheels, while he was pulling the house.  It was a tad bit crazy.  Then we got a little smarter...I sat on the back, for a bit of extra weight.  That seemed to help a little bit...

It took us the majority of the day, but we finally got it back into place.  Now, we just have to put the fence back up, and the chickens can run outside as much as they want.  I do think they're happier in the summer spot, because the next day, they rewarded us with 12 eggs.  Yippee for happy chickens!

Fairmont Hot Springs

Last week, we met my parents in Fairmont for almost a week.  It was a great time to get away, and we were excited....and packed to the ceiling!

 The Girls always love a road trip, and this one was no exception! 

 The first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains is always exciting!

 It was a beautiful day for a drive!

 My Mom and I went for walks every morning, and the view of the valley was spectacular!

 We also took the Girls on a few hikes, and went geo-caching as well.  This river has the run off from the hot springs, so you can see the water is chocked full of minerals.

 We also had an Easter Egg Hunt in the trails, which was fun.

 This little waterfall was from the hot springs, so it was warm water that was coming down.  We were determined that we would go swimming in it, but that was another day!

 Instead, we just walked around it during this hike.  It was about a 7 minute walk from the condo we were staying in.

 Beautiful!

 

 This is the view from the hot springs, where we did pay the $70 (WHAT?!!  Can you say rip off?!)for us to go swimming.  It was a total rip off, and my Dad was quite worked up that they wouldn't let our family in for the family rate....but that's another story.  Really, a family is a family, right?  No matter how many kids you have....  Anyhoo, it was great fun and Hannah jumped off the high diving board on her own accord without even telling us she was going to and we all got very sunburned even though it was only 12C. 

 We also went for a number of walks, many of which included hunting for golf balls (staying on a golf course has it's privileges!) - I think we ended up with around 40!; going for ice cream, chasing deer and looking through old barns.  None of which I had my camera for... 

 We also took a drive down a scary logging road to Lussier Hot Springs.  It was well off the beaten track, but kinda cool to see.  The first little pool had water at about 110, the second was about 95, and the third was around 85.  And the river?  That was cold!  It was neat to see the water trickling out of the side of a mountain, and feel how warm it was!

 

 We finally made it back to the waterfall by our place, and it was great fun to go and swim under it.  We thought that the pool was about 10 feet deep, but it turns out it was only about 4 ft. deep, so all the Girls could stand.  That was one of the highlights for me....swimming under a warm waterfall!

 Fairmont really is a beautiful place to visit!  And during this time of year, it was fairly quiet, so that was nice!

Here's my parents with the Girls....

 The last day we were there, it poured rain, complete with thunder and lightening....our first storm of the season! The Girls were happy to play outside in the rain, until the lightening started!

It was so great to get away, relax, be outside.... a great little holiday!  We played games, enjoyed this beautiful country that we live in, ate, hung out....Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the fun times!

Eggs

I was at Superstore the other day, and the ceramic egg cartons I had been eyeing for quite some time were finally on sale!  Of course, I had to pick up a few...dozen.  How could I not, when our freshly laid eggs look so cute in them!

We are making plans for what we are going to do with our chickens this year.... hopefully, in the next month or so, we'll have some more chicks to enjoy!

Rain

We woke up Friday morning to rain.  And let me tell you, the Girls were pretty darn excited!  Let me tell you....

In the midst of winter, we had been at Cabela's buying winter coats for next year, and happened upon some Gore-tex jackets there, that they were blowing out.  I think the jackets ended up being $20 each, and the regular price was $90.  Obviously, I bought jackets for everyone, including myself (who knew I could fit into a kids extra large?!  Yippee for me!)

So yesterday, I decided that we should probably crack out the spring gear, since it's April.  It is, however, Alberta, so you never know what the weather's going to be like!  And my work was rewarded.... it rained! 

Of course, the Girls wanted to try out their new rain jackets, and Hannah's rubber boots finally bit the dust, so she got some Bogs, and outside we went.  Umbrella's and all!

I had to drag them in to eat lunch, but after that, outside they went.  Unfortunately, the rain had stopped, but they still loved being outside.  And me?  I loved them being outside too!  I'm hoping with the new boots that it'll be the end of soaking wet, muddy feet all over my couch....

Sunday Afternoons

I know this is Alberta, but really?  Snow?? Again?  This afternoon, after church and Wendy's, we headed home for our medaschlope (mid-day-sleep, for all you non-Mennonites!)  After I woke up from my 2 1/2 hr. coma, I woke up to find the Girls (and Art) cozied up on the couches, playing their technology.  This is their Sunday special treat, not something that they normally are allowed to do during the week. 

Well, not Art, he can play on the playstation whenever, but probably figured that out...

 Molly was on American Girl, in the other room...

There was a time, when the Girls were wee, that I never thought this day would come...that I would be able to nap as long as I wanted on a Sunday.  But alas, it has arrived.  And it's glorious and sad and kinda surreal all at once. 

And I realize that these little ladies are growing up... And they're just getting bigger and more independent.... and it's been a long time coming, yet it's happened so.  fast.

So now, I am joining them on the couch, on my own technology....

Happy Sunday!

Easter Weekend

This Easter Weekend was wonderful.  So wonderful, in fact, that I'm just blogging about it now.  You know how when you have something in your heart, and you have to mull it over, and hold it close for a little while before you talk about it?  That's how I feel about this weekend.

It started off fairly anti-climatic.... our church doesn't have a service on Friday, so Art went to the office for a few hours (sounds sacrilegious, I know, but he's still working on "the project", and wanted to do some stuff there) with the Girls, and I went out to the barn for a quick ride.

After that, we came home and relaxed. Just enjoyed the day together.

On Saturday, we have some of our most favorite people over for brunch. We ate lots, laughed lots, the kids played outside all. day. long....it was wonderful!  I made lemon buns and lemon meringue tarts and waffles and bacon and sausages.  The only thing missing was Paska, but I might make that this weekend....we'll see.

 The Girls helped me make bird's nests for everyone, and they looked so cute!  And that morning, I whipped to town and bought new glasses. They're just mason jars.   I love them. 

 On Sunday, Art's sister, beloved "Auntie Frieda", came over for the day.  We hadn't gone to church (again, sacrilegious!), because Hannah wasn't feeling very good.  We did, however, have our own church service.  We read through the Easter story, and took communion with the Girls.  At our kitchen table.  And I loved it.  Seeing these things through their eyes brings tears to my eyes... their wonder at what was done on the cross for them.  And me.  And you.  It's amazing, really. 

 Looking over, and seeing the ones I love, with Molly reading the Easter story, and all of us having a conversation about how Jesus died and, most importantly, rose from the dead, and what we can do to remember that.  It was very, very special.  So we didn't go to church.  But we met Jesus.  Together.  As a family.  At our kitchen table.  And I loved it.  To me, that trumps church any day of the week.

 After I composed myself....we headed outside for the annual Easter egg hunt.  Auntie Frieda bought the Girls fun things for their playhouse - chairs, foamy floor things, dishes and a blanket.  They were pretty darn excited!

 Then they looked for chocolate....

 ...and Art looked for his present.  A new ranch rope.  He was pretty happy about that!  He, of course, had to try it out, so he roped the dog...

 ...and the Girls.  I don't know if he caught any of them, but it was sure fun to watch him try!

All in all, it was a really, really great weekend.  We laughed, we cried, we cuddled, we ate, we loved.  Really, can it get any better than that?!

A Walk to Remember

On Easter Sunday morning, I got up early (in the freezing cold wind!) to go for a walk. 

Last week, when we made our way to the creek, we noticed this new house on the creek!

 A beaver lodge!  Upon further inspection, we also saw where this little guy has dammed the creek, so it'll be interesting to see how that affects the landscape this spring and summer.

Anyhow, back to my walk... I was walking, and I heard some trees breaking, and I thought that maybe it was the beaver, felling some trees.  I looked and looked, and couldn't see anything, so back to walking I went.  Just down the road, I heard the branches breaking again, and all of a sudden, out of the bush pops this Mama and baby Moose!  I must say, I was quite surprised to see them! 

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous seeing them so close, and when I was walking.  And it didn't help that we had just watched a show called "Moose Attack!".... I kept my distance, took a quick picture, and continued on my way.  It was definitely a walk to remember!

It was Easter morning, and I was so thankful for where we live... it's pretty amazing that I get to see moose and deer and foxes and listen to the birds singing, see the horses and cows in the fields.... I love living in the country!

On a side note, did you know that Mooses symbolizes integrity?

Confused

I showed you the pictures from yesterday morning....well here's the picture from the afternoon!

The majority of the snow has melted, and we are back in our mud pit!  It's a good thing I have my trusty rubber boots!  I have definitely gotten good use of them this Spring!

Since we were snowed in yesterday, I took the opportunity to make some of our traditional favorite Easter goodies...

 Lemon buns are some of our favorite spring treats.  Really, how can you go wrong with a sweet bun filled with lemon pie filling and icing on top?!  Whenever I make lemon buns, I also usually make lemon meringue tarts to use up the leftover lemon filling.  After all, it would be almost criminal to let it go to waste! 

Now that the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the mud is oozing, it's time to go outside.  Hope that y'all have a great weekend!

Happy....Easter?

It's beginning to look a lot like....Easter?!  We woke up this morning to a tiny bit of snow...

 Although it stinks that our snow was almost all gone, it sure is beautiful!

 I suppose we won't be doing an Easter Egg Hunt outside!

Hopefully this is the last snow of the season!

Enjoy your Easter weekend, everyone!



Walking

On Saturday, I started my walking again.  Truth be told, I haven't walked again because on Sunday we got more snow... but it's almost gone (again), so hopefully I'll be out again soon.  It was an incredibly beautiful morning, and I got to watch the sunrise.  I love my early morning alone time....

There's nothing like walking, alone, in the morning... I heard the coyotes calling "Good Night" to their friends, the birds were singing, a few deer were still out in the fields.  It was glorious! 

Oh, how I love country living...

Farm & Ranch Show

On Friday, we made our way into the city to the Farm & Ranch Show.  It's something we try and go to every year, and this year was no exception.  We walked around the exhibits for a few hours, watching cattle handling demonstrations, horse training demonstrations, seeing different livestock and farm equipment.  The Girls decided that they would like one of these for Christmas...

 I told them we could sell our home to buy one, but they decided against that....phew!  They had lots of fun climbing into all the tractors and sitting in them.  Truth be told, I did too!

Molly "hid" from Art....

But he found her....making herself quite comfortable!

It was fun to go and look around, and in the evening, we watched the Canadian National College Finals Rodeo, which is always a good time!