July 2017

On Canada Day we headed back up north. The boys went to stay with my mum and step-dad for the week and I went to E-town for a visit. That next Tuesday I went to see the Queen + Adam Lambert concert with my friend. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I went. I also got through the entire evening without a single anxiety issue, which completely amazed me. I spent the next few days after that visiting with my best friend and her family, before we all headed back home.

My niece has been staying with me for the summer to help out with the kids, which has been the hugest blessing. John is still working up in Edmonton for now, which has been very difficult.

I switched my cell number to a local one so that the kids can call me from the house phone if they need to. We spent a lot of time in the irrigation sprinklers before they asked us to start restricting our use. It's been extremely hot and we've only had a dribble of rain 1 night in the past month.

Caleb started seeing a doctor here and we are going to start dealing with the anxiety itself, which will be a huge help to him. He's also being referred to a child psychiatrist, which will be good. I got the go ahead to get my Pertussis shot, which was a huge relief. I ended up with 2 needles that day, since apparently my MMR wasn't up to date.

Ty and I slept out on the deck one evening. Well, I made it until 3:30. He made it the whole night.

John came home for a week and we got to be with him for town celebrations and his birthday. The kids loved the parade, but they loved the fireworks the most. I managed to sprain my ankle after church, so I was barely moving for several days. I felt so bad for being injured during John's week here. However, on the Wednesday we finally were able to go in to Lethbridge to visit a few stores together and have supper at Firestone (yum!). Brettley ended up with croup and is just now getting over it.

The other two boys were doing swimming lessons last week and this week. Tomorrow is their last day.

John took the bus back to Edmonton so that my niece and I have the van to use for this month. And that pretty much sums up July.

June Part 2: We've Officially Moved

I decided to get this done today since I have gardening and cleaning to do tomorrow and John will be here on Friday.

We got here on the evening of Fri 16 June. The next day a few men from the ward came to help us unload the moving van. I was meant to be helping direct where things were going, but Ty injured his knee pretty badly right as people showed up so I was busy calming him down and trying my best to clean his knee up for most of that time. We've been through a few minor injuries down here already, ha ha.

On Sunday we met with our new bishop, which was probably the most relaxed meeting I have ever had with a bishop/branch president. It was really good. He sounded so excited to have a new "young" family in the ward and was so happy when I said I was ready to accept a calling as soon as one came for me. The very next day I was asked if I would be willing to substitute in Primary for the summer until I have an official calling. I felt needed right away and it was a great feeling.

We got the address on our licenses changed, got Caleb's prescription from the pharmacy, got our Shaw hooked up, I met with the principal, registered the boys with the school for the fall and bought a family pool pass for the summer.

John went back to Edmonton and did the final walk through to hand back our townhouse. We officially have no home up there anymore. He bought me a bike last weekend. I'm excited to get it tomorrow!

I have loved being able to send Caleb to the store if I need something and he's really enjoyed picking the mail up for me from the post office each day. I got to substitute teach the Valiant 11 class this past weekend. There are 4 girls in the class, so it was very similar to teaching Beehives. They were a lot of fun.

The boys all camped out in a tent on Sunday night and on Monday it was just Caleb and his cousin, which they really enjoyed. We've started helping in the garden. We spend about an hour out there each morning. I have so many more opportunities to be active down here, which it great. The only downside has been that mine and Caleb's allergies have been way worse down here. Hopefully we'll eventually adapt.

This afternoon I got a surprise visit from one of my nieces. It was a great afternoon and we got some yummy ice cream Slurpee's together. She is going to help watch my kids for most of the summer, so it will be great to have her here so much.

Caleb went to the pool by himself this afternoon and made a friend while he was there. It was such a HUGE step for my boy who struggles so much with anxiety. It was definitely testament to how beneficial this move has been for him. He is thriving! We all are!

June Part 1 - While Still in Edmonton

I could probably sum up this time period in only three words: I was stressed. Almost all of the packing was done by just Caleb and I. I was arranging things and cleaning and still worried about what felt like a thousand different things. It was the longest I'd ever lived in one town/city and the longest I'd ever lived in one home (and it was still only for 6 years in that home). I was gifted a couple of tubs of Cookie Dough Dynamo ice cream by John and my friend, Jenae. It helped a lot when things got too hectic. We also took a few breaks to the park in that last week when I needed a break from the house for a while.

We were officially released from our callings on the ward level and John's final act as ward membership clerk was to move our records to our new ward in Magrath. I got to a point in the last week where I just wanted to set fire to our home and all of the belongings in it, but I stuck it out and we got it done.

We ended up getting to move a day earlier than planned thanks to many people who came to help us load the moving truck and to clean the old place. John and Caleb drove down in the moving truck and my dad drove Brettley, Ty and I in our van. It was the fastest that drive has ever felt, even though it took the same amount of time it always does. We are so grateful for all of the help given to us our last few weeks there.

May Part 2

Our beloved hamster, Rogue went to her new home this month. It was toughest on me, I cried when she left. I know that this was better for her than trying to trek her across the province, though.

We went down to Magrath for the long weekend to get some things organized there and got our own post office box there. Apparently May was a crying month for me because I did cry tears of joy when we walked out of the post office. Don't judge me :)

When we got back home my dad had taught Brettley how to ride his 2-wheeler bike. Little man is sure growing up.

I finally got to do Relay for Life. I managed to walk 5 miles that day before I got ordered by my family to stop walking. I had hurt both of my legs (and both feet, even though I didn't know it at the time). I was finally able to start walking relatively normally yesterday. It was 100% worth it, though, and I've already researched what I need to do to prevent it from happening again if I choose to participate next year as well.

I did my 3 weeks with teal hair and got it coloured again last night. I'd love to tell you what colour it is now, but I'm not entirely sure, ha ha. Depending on the light it can look black, brown, red, purple or even a super dark blue. At any rate, it looks more toned down than the teal :) I had an amazing hair dresser, stylist (?) who I got to see a lot of over the past couple of weeks. We ended up with 3 appointments in 22 days. She was wonderful!

It's June, people. This is it, we're in the home stretch!

May Part 1

I feel like I've been giving a way most of what we own. It's not really true, there's just a lot of big stuff we're getting rid of so that we don't have to store it for the next few years. The one sad part is that Rogue is one of the things we've had to find a new home for. She goes there on Wednesday. We'll sure miss her!

We got Moana and the boys love it! I also finally fixed Caleb's bike tires and bought him a new helmet, so he's a happy guy.

After raising a lot of money for the Canadian Cancer Society through a fun fundraising idea, I held up my end of the bargain and currently am rocking teal hair. Luckily, my 3 weeks with it will be up at the end of this month and I can dye it back before the move, ha ha.

Sadly, the Oilers were done in the playoffs after round 2. It's a sore topic up here in Oil Country because of 'certain people and events' involved in a couple of the games, but I'm looking forward to them having another good run next year.

We went to visit my mum for Mother's Day. I woke up in a lot of pain and it continued throughout the day. *sigh* back spasms. I did get treated to a wonderful breakfast of bacon, hashbrowns and eggs, though. The boys gave me a few fun and cute items. I also decided that next year I'll end my annual boycott of Mother's Day and actually go to church that Sunday. (side note - Mother's Day is always my hard day of the year as a birth mother)

John and I went to IKEA for a supper date this evening. Today is 12 years since we first met at church. I still feel like the luckiest person in the world for getting to be his wife!

April

We started April off with General Conference. We spent that Saturday with our friends watching it at their house, which was a great time.

That week we met with the boys' school facilitator in a meeting that went very well. Ty is reading at a grade 4 level (he just finished grade 3) and Brettley's reading for just finishing grade 1 was extremely good. I am so thrilled with what they accomplished this year. It may very well be the best year I'll ever have with them. We grew so much closer as a family. No regrets!

We had a nasty bout of croup and colds go through our house. We mostly avoided illnesses this year since they were home schooled, but this one snuck through and did a number on those poor boys, and then on me.

We had a major shakeup here in the Edmonton LDS area. A fifth stake was created. Our ward was moved from one stake to another. The man who was our bishop when we first moved to this ward is now our new Stake President. He is definitely a man willing to let Heavenly Father work through him, I felt instantly that it was an inspired calling.

Our hockey team, the Oilers, made it to the playoffs for the first time since I was pregnant with Caleb. Game nights have become a big thing in our house as of late.

We went to spend some time at my sister-in-law's while her kids were on Easter Break. It was the best time ever! The kids had so much freedom there, my anxiety was better than it has been in many, many years and we all had a blast. As a fun story, I decided to drive part of the way there. That was the first time I'd driven in years. I felt pretty good, but the sun set just before we were passing through Fort McLeod and the town was experiencing a black out. It was so nerve wracking and, of course, the one pedestrian I managed to encounter was wearing all black. I made it about 5 minutes past the town before I had to pull over and let John drive again. Driving through the black out shook me up just a bit too much, but heck. I did it! I drove again!

I also managed to get hooked on herbal iced tea. Yum!

And for our last bit of news for April, we announced that we are FINALLY making the move to Southern Alberta. Most people who know us have known that this has been our eventual plan ever since we were still engaged. We knew back in February that it was supposed to happen and after countless prayers, many people fasting and a few visits to the temple, we felt strongly prompted to make a move of faith. John's permanent address will be down there with us, but he will stay with my dad and still work up in Edmonton until the job issue works itself out. This is the scariest thing we've ever done (and probably will ever do). Our moving day is June 17th and we are extremely excited, nervous, scared and many other things. But we know this is the right plan for our family and are looking forward to our new adventure. The boys will be attending the local school there in the fall, which we are all excited about. But we really want John to be with us down there as quickly as possible, so please, please, please keep us in your prayers.

And that's our April :)

March

We did some major decluttering in our house this month. No room was ignored. We got rid of so much stuff. It was astonishing how many things we've accumulated over the years. We still have a lot, but the amount was reduced significantly.

I read some James L. Ferrell books. They were amazing. I borrowed them from a friend and definitely plan to get my own copies at some point. I learned so much from them and would highly recommend them.

My Relay for Life team reached its goal this month, which was really exciting. I reached over double of my initial personal goal. I'm really looking forward to taking part in this in May.

John and I took the boys to the Telus World of Science for a day. They had a blast. We checked out the Angry Birds exhibit. Ty and Brettley had fun in Discoveryland and Caleb enjoyed the Robotics Lab. It was a fun family day.

I'm pretty sure that was where Brettley picked up his croup from. All 3 boys ended up with it, but Brettley's came first and was the worst by far. He had to miss several swimming lessons because of it.

We took the boys to go see the temple. We love being there and feeling the spirit just walking on the grounds. That was where I'd told John that I knew I was supposed to marry him. The boys really enjoyed hearing that story during our trip.

I started watching hockey, which has prompted a lot of texting between my step-dad and I. A few days ago our team, the Edmonton Oilers, clinched a spot in the playoffs. This will be their first time in the playoffs since I was pregnant with Caleb, when we went for the Stanley Cup, so we're super excited.

The boys finished school this month! They worked so hard and finished their curriculum early last week. They still have some things we plan on having them work on over the summer, a bit of extra work to strengthen their weaker areas, but they are technically done their 2016-2017 school year and finished before Edmonton Public kids even went of spring break. I also put their portfolios for the year together and they are ready for the facilitator visit next week.

 Yesterday was my late father-in-law's birthday. We had our annual tradition of having some sort of cake to celebrate. This year was cheesecake.

The boys also finished their swimming lessons yesterday. Caleb was the only one who passed, so he'll move up to Swim Kids 4. Ty just has to work on his distance. Brettley, well, we knew going in that he would take a few different rounds of lessons to pass. Swimming coordination is not his forte. They had so much fun, though, which is great!

Well, that's about it for this month, I think.