Swinging...

... could pretty much sum up Alia's week. Goodness, we've spent lots of time flying through the air.

On the swing at Gramma's house
On the swings at the park with Grampa
On the same swings with Auntie Bev
And countless times at home on the verandah. But at least she's happy as can be, and we're all getting a tad bit of an arm workout!

The Cat lady

Oh Miss. Alia! I'm afraid she's gonna ask for a kitten as soon as she can say the word!! She interacted with kittens for the first time this weekend and absolutely LOVED em!!
At first she wasn't too sure...
But then she got her first feel of fur... and she was a goner. She was squeeling and laughing and barely able to express herself due to the overload of excitement.
But... I haven't told Jon this.... I'm not sure he'll be the most thrilled!!!!!

My little girl

This girl is growing up...fast. I know, everyone says that, but I'm just realizing how true it is! In this pic she was trying to open the door using the handle. For some reason that just makes her seem older than her big ole' 13 months! I dunno... at any rate, Jon and I have re-realized we need to savor every single day with her... pretty soon she'll be walkin' down the aisle. Goodness.

My Daddy

As I was thinking of Jon's love for Alia... it got me thinking about my dad's love for me. I have been SO blessed by him. And I appreciate him more and more as I grow up!
Thanks Dad. Thanks for the many sacrifices you made for our family. Thanks for making anything funny (even a simple dinner would/does end with me laughing uncontrollably!). Thanks for your firm yet loving discipline over the years ("put your hands on the counter!!"). Thanks for your honesty and integrity... you've set a very good example for us to follow. Thanks for your love for me... I'll always be your little girl. And most of all... thanks for your love for Christ. It is evident in every aspect of your life and you have taught us a love for the Word through the hours you spend in it. Thank you Dad.... I love you and I can't wait to give you a huge bear hug in a week!!!!

Jon...

... is such an amazing father. It's on days like today that I really stop and think about his love for Alia. He's patient, caring, protective, gentle yet firm, fun loving - everything a little girl could want in a daddy (to like the 10th degree!). I've NEVER EVER EVER heard him complain about Alia. Or anything having to do with her for that matter! Never. I can't say the same about myself... I've done my share of whining, and Jon's always there to remind me what a huge blessing she is! As I type the two of them are playing together and it just makes my heart swell. Alia adores her Daddy... and for very good reason. Our "Daddy's Day" celebrations were pretty low key. Alia colored Jon a picture in the morning (okay, truth be known she wanted to eat the crayons more than draw... but we finally got some to paper, so it all worked out!), then we made him breakfast in bed. We stopped by Tim Horton's for an ice cap on the way home from church and made him his favorite meal for lunch! We played like crazy in the afternoon and went on a bike ride as a family. Ate some pizza for supper followed by more playing. Today has consisted of lots and lots of playing... and swinging (Daddy hung up Alia's new swing yesterday!!)... it's been delightful!!

Lunch Date

Today we had the privilege of meeting Jon at the park for lunch! It was absolutely lovely! We spread out a blanket and enjoyed the sunshine! It was maybe a little too nice... neither of us wanted to get up and push Ali on the swings! So we didn't! Ahhh... the glory of a 1 yr. old... Ali has no clue that swings are even an option at this point! She was content to simply munch on her pretzels and watch the other park-goers! It was all about the pretzels... I even brought Ali her own sub... nope. Notta chance. She wasn't going for it. But ya know, I was thinking - I'll take a pretzel fascination over a grass or bug fascination any day of the week!

Porch livin'

(Or "verandah" for my fellow Northerners.) Anyhow... we spent almost the whole day on the verandah yesterday!! What a life... I kick back and savor the outdoors while Alia runs around the "big play pen" until nap time!
My oh my, we had gorgeous weather! And no wind... now believe me, that's something to talk about in this area! Our lawn was sprayed for dandelions/weeds on Saturday and I want to be EXTRA safe, so we won't be going on it until Wednesday. Thus the reason we went no further than the white railing. Notice our porch swing still isn't hung?! We have yet to decide the best place to put it. Nor have we rigged up the best hanging system when we actually do decide where it should go. (The place I want to put it would mean a load of 500+ lbs on 1 rafter. Jon doesn't think that would be the safest option! What can I say... we designed and made the rafters ourselves, that would make anybody leary!!) So for now the swing makes an excellent place to climb. Unless it's minutes before nap time... then the simple act of getting down can be traumatic.

Sleep Comes Before the Fall

... at least that's how it went on Saturday! I was feeling quite sick so my wonderful husband got up with Alia in the morning while I caught a few more winks. Around her nap time we all three decided to go back to bed and low and behold Alia actually slept with us in our room! She NEVER EVER does that, even if I try to "make" her stay. I was pleased as punch and just savored the moment... until it was like 11 am and she still wasn't waking up! I couldn't stay there all day so I decided to surround Ali with a truck load of pillows. The plan was as soon as I heard her waking up I would rush upstairs to get her before she could fling herself on the floor.
No warning. No "Yawn... that was a good nap." Nothing. All I heard was a big thump and lots of crying. Oh my gracious I ran upstairs fast. I felt HORRIBLE! Alia cried and cuddled for a minute or two, then she was fine. I kept checking for broken bones, a cracked head, bruises... anything I could think of. Notta thing. Thank the Lord it was just a rude wake up call and nothing more. I will definitely think about that next time I let her sleep in our bed!

Surprise, Surprise...

Everything was working out PERFECTLY!! But... I got a little too excited and blind folded Jon in town, giving him WAY too much time to figure out what I had up my sleeve! By the time we got to our house he had completely figured out there was a party going on for him! On Friday I invited some friends and family over for a BBQ, lawn games, a bonfire and some ice cream cake (see previous post!) to celebrate my love's 25th. It all went good, I was just bummed Jon wasn't take-your-breath-away, on-the-verge-of-a-heart-attack, completely and utterly shocked. Maybe in a few years I will try again!

Hot Fudge recipe

My mom makes a DELICIOUS ice cream cake and I thought it would be good for our friends up here to experience it! As I was assembling the ingredients I realized that one cannot buy hot fudge here in the Great White North. Imagine my shock...my horror...my dismay! (Okay, no, it wasn't that bad.) So being the resourceful gal that I am I decided to make some. Plus, the cake just wouldn't be the same without the hot fudge! I searched the web and found this!

Hot Fudge Sauce
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 squares (1 oz. each) semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a saucepan heat milk, chocolate and butter until chocolate is melted. Add vanilla and stir.
Done. Isn't that so simple? And it's really good! It's the perfect consistency, not gritty at all, a wonderful chocolaty brown color, and oh so yummy!

I'm quite thankful for this little "consumer hiccup". I don't think I'll ever buy store bought hot fudge again... well, I can't up here... but still, you get my drift!

One Year Pics

It's getting harder and harder to take Alia's pictures! She can hardly sit still long enough to smile and *click*. I have to actually take her somewhere I think... none of the pics turned out 8x10 worthy!
Road block #1 - She's way more interested in the props than she used to be...Road block #2 - Very few smiles when I "interrupted" her story... Road block #3 - Making a run for it...
Road block #4 (although a very fun road block!) - Pure giddy silliness... Road block #5 - Flashing her cutest smile and giving me the "Aren't I so funny?" look when she's AWAY from the dreaded white backdrop! Oh girl...

Timber Frame Dream

Lately I've been looking at pics of timber frame houses, researching pros and cons, and basically just drooling over the info that I find! Here's why... ... seriously, isn't this beautiful?!? The more Jon and I talk about it, the more this seems to be a dream for both of us... to build a timber frame house someday. We'll see. It never hurts to dream, right?!
This is what the basic interior of a timber frame looks like -
Somes of the things I'm learning... timber frame homes are superior in strength due to the size of the timbers vs. traditional stick built homes. Timber frame homes cater to open concept floor plans due to the posts bearing the load vs. interior walls being load bearing. Timber frame homes are quite energy efficient... traditional homes have insulation between the studs leaving the studs themselves to have a low R value but with timber framing the wall and roof system are built around the structure thus allowing uninterrupted insulation. Pretty interesting isn't it?! There are drawbacks... such as it costs about 10-15% more to build & not many people build them. But did I mention a neighbor of ours builds timber frame houses? That's pretty convenient huh?! ;)

Weddings...

... I just love 'em! If I could be a professional wedding attendee, I would be living a dream! But I get totally stressed just thinking of the before and afters of the ceremony/reception... so I would have to block that part out and simply enjoy the magic! I think I'm more of a "romantic" than I've been leading myself to believe!
Here's a pic of us on our wedding day (since I'm on the topic of weddings!)

Pioneer Woman

I guess I should admit it... I'm a Pioneer Woman junkie (and it's all Jen's fault!)! I love Ree's (Pioneer Woman) website, her recipes, her photography, her humor, her love story. She just brightens my day! I showed her blog to Jonathan the other day (at his request!) and he didn't get it. "Meh" was his only response, but that's okay! As for this girl... I'll continue to be a faithful reader (and "waste" quite a bit of time in the process)!
-Her blog can be found in my "Blogs I like to peek at" list-

Ridin' along

Ahh... I am pretty convinced that spring is here now. It's been a L-O-N-G, and I repeat, L-O-N-G wait! We have really been enjoying the sunshine the last few days! Every evening we toss Alia in the bike trailer and hop on our bikes for a cruise! It's so fun! I am SO SO glad we purchased the bike trailer... and also very glad that we got our bikes for free!
Get this... last night I mowed the WHOLE lawn at one time. Not a big deal to you, maybe, but I've never done that (in my whole life)! I used the new big mower and was done in about an hour! That's amazing! I'm pretty pleased with myself and must say... I admire the straight(ish) lines every time I look out the kitchen window!! I know... I'm such a nerd!
Well (if my lil girl will actually go to bed soon) I'm planning to head outside and soak up the last of the sunshine on the verandah. I'm looking forward to some quiet time and reflection.
I think this kind of weather just forces a person to smile...I love it!

Water, water everywhere...

The good news is our sump pump has a 5 year warranty. The bad news is it left us high and dry. Wait - dry isn't quite the right word! High and wet... really, really wet!
We got quite the amount of rain last night/today, so had I been on the ball I probably would have went to the basement to make sure the sump pump was working. But... it's fairly new, we've never really had problems before, and I was focused on getting all the party stuff cleaned up (and a nap!). So I was quite surprised to find 1" or so of water covering the basement floor when I finally made my way down there.
I phoned Jon in somewhat of a panic and he was able to get home in about 1/2 hour. He brought home a borrowed pump and started squeegeeing... only to discover the 2nd pump was no longer working! So off we go to town to try and replace our pump. We were quite surprised to find the one we needed in stock and the exchange was as pleasant as could be! Plus we had a coupon for a free pizza and thought it was a good night for one, so that made me happy!
Well... the basement floor is nice and clean! And we've taken this as a hint that it's time to clear out a few things. I've gotten rid of all the empty boxes from Alia's baby gear (Jon has assured me that keeping them just to have all the original boxes when we have a garage sale in 10 years is hardly worth it!) and we've put a number of things up for sale, so that's good!
I wouldn't say I would choose for this to happen again... but it's high time our basement got decluttered and I guess we needed a kick in the pants to get that done!

Big Birthday Bash!

Alia's birthday party went really good! Sometimes I plan and plan an event... then it doesn't go at all like I thought, so I'm sad (possibly a little whiny) and poor Jon has to listen to all the details that didn't go like I wanted them to. Anyhow... this was NOT one of those times!
Alia had so much fun! She opened lots of presents, played with some of her best friends, ate some icing (she never really tasted cake I don't think!), and had somewhat of a balloon overload! Every time she saw another balloon she would get all excited and try to say "balloon"... it kind of comes out like "ba ba oo". It's just so cute... and I never get tired of her cute little attempt!
Here's the cake that I made for the big party. The first tier was a white cake with raspberry and white chocolate filling. The second tier was a white cake with hazelnut filling and the third tier was a smash cake for Alia. If you can't tell... it's supposed to be a purse! The cake was NOTHING like I had in my head - but I've come to the realization that I'm no cake making pro! Oh well, Alia didn't seem to mind and people ate the cake with a smile!
I couldn't really find a banner like I wanted, so I made this one to match the pink and brown polka dot theme.
As party favors I made these cookies with an "A" on them... (I got the idea from my brother and his wife's wedding - I just thought they were so fun!)
Our simple menu consisted of carrots, little hoagies, caramelized bacon wrapped hot dogs, tortilla chips and taco dip, cucumber sandwiches, and olives.

Wowsers, this girl got presents... I was shocked to see how many people brought one despite the "no gifts" message on the invite! Next time I'll have to be more clear I guess!
Auntie Jer and Uncle Joe gave Alia some "Johnny Poppers". They are super cute cowboy boots made by John Deere (a definite plus in Daddy's book)! Alia just loved modeling them around... aren't they so adorable?!

The day ended up being gorgeous, so the party was moved outside! Despite the fact that we have a big verandah we all crammed on one itsy bitsy part to get the maximum amount of sunshine! That's how life is up here though... ya don't want a single drop of sunshine to go to waste!
Alia never actually smashed her "smash cake"! She daintily picked at the icing... little by little by little! (And slowly I might add!) I, the one who hates messes, even had the urge to take her little hand and plop it right in the cake! But I resisted... as did 80% of the other party guests, I think! We moved Alia, high chair and all, inside to finish her delicacy, while we all picked out our pieces! It didn't look like she was going to pick up the pace any... so we just let her be!
Well... I still can't believe she's 1, but she is, and every day I'm thankful for her! This little lady has blessed us more than I'll ever be able to describe - what a pure joy to have her in our lives!

May long

Mom and Arnie were able to fly out from Alberta to join us for May long weekend! It was a quick trip, but great to see them a bit. On Sunday we had a yummy BBQ at Jer and Joe's and were able to eat outside.... glorious indeed!
Then we had Faspa here at our place Sunday evening. Over all it was a very relaxing day - which is what a Sunday is supposed to be I guess!
Monday (which in theory should be nice, sunny, and warm) was cool and windy. Our plans were to work outside... but I chose to stay put in the house! Jon went ahead and spent most the day out there... he was able to mow the yard for the first time this season! He was pumped since he got to try out the new mower deck... he's so funny!!
As you can tell... there wasn't much excitement over our Victoria Day weekend, but it was good none the less!

Peek

Ali and I were just being silly during lunch yesterday... here she is playing "Peek a boo" with me. Isn't she just a cutey?!?!

Water is coming, water is coming!!

This is what a saw when I looked out my window a few minutes ago!! I just started squealing and was bursting at the seams to share the news ...water is coming, water is coming!
For those who have no clue what I'm talking about. We have been hauling water for the past 3 1/2 years... which means we have to conserve every gallon we can. We have a plastic tank in the basement that is our water supply and finally, finally, finally that huge monster can be hauled out of here! Bigger laundry room, check. Long bubble baths, check. Not worrying about running out of water, check. Oh the list could go on and on!

He loves me...

Jon surprised me with a new Monopoly game yesterday! To the ordinary person this probably wouldn't be a big deal - but for me it's huge! You see... I LOVE Monopoly (my poor family has suffered many games with me over the years!) and my husband well... hates it! So, with this game comes a little unspoken "Yeah... I'll play ONE GAME with you" kind of thing! Woohoo!

UUUCCCKKK

It's raining. Usually I don't mind rain, and actually enjoy it... but today I am 110% unmotivated. Make that 125% ... it's ridiculous. My house, which was quite clean yesterday, is in a state of disaster. It's amazing how one itsy bitsy girl can make it as such, only 1/2 an hour after she wakes up.
I haven't accomplished much today, at all. Thankfully Jon won't care! At least I know what's for supper... so it will look like I've actually done something when he gets home!
I think I'll go call my mom and maybe she can get me going!

Out with the old and in with the new

Alia actually wore through a pair of pants because she crawls so much. Isn't that crazy? (Notice the good sized holes in her pants in this pic!)

The same day that I tossed the pants, I bought Alia her new car seat. This purchase was a big decision for me! I researched, read reviews, talked to friends, and was actually dreaming about car seats! So... Alia is now facing forward and it's a welcome change for all of us!

"It's a Good Thing You're Cute"...

I must admit, I've found myself thinking that more than once over the last week!

Thursday night - we're all ready for a bath and I noticed Alia soiled her diaper. Okay, not a big deal. I much prefer it now rather than 2 minutes from now! So I go upstairs to change her and instead of putting on a diaper, I figure I'll just rush Alia downstairs to the bath tub in her birthday suite. We made just a milli-second pit stop to get a tissue. Mistake. I notice my side getting very warm and actually hear trickling on the carpet... she couldn't hold it in I guess. So needless to say she soaked through the 3 layers that I had on, and we were both in need of a bath!

Friday morning - I was all finished packing for our WY trip. In the process Alia found a blue/red western type necklace that I had out and wanted to play with it. Why not?!? So she carried it downstairs with us and continued to play while I did other things. A few minutes later I turned around and saw a smurf of a girl looking up at me. She must have put it in her mouth (why I didn't think of this, I have no idea!) and the dye got on her face and hands. So, we're only minutes away from loading up the Escape to head out and I have a blue problem to deal with! I took the necklace away and started filling the bathtub. Not a big deal until the dye wouldn't come OFF!! I tried scrubbing with baby soap, real soap, and finally my micro fibre washcloth! I think the washcloth did the best.... but her face and hands were still a bit blue when we left! Thankfully by the time we actually got to WY it was all off but her shirt will probably never recover! Although that necklace is one of my favs... I think it's going to the thrift store!

A few minutes ago - since Alia has been bathing in a sink the last few days I thought I would let her take a long leisurely bath. She's set with some bath toys so I thought I would use this time to unpack the toiletries bag. It only took a few minutes, I turn around.... and Alia had, uhhhh, "chunked" in the bath tub, if you get my drift. She wasn't the most pleased to have her bath time so rudely interrupted while I drained, disinfected, and refilled the bath tub... but was happy as a lark that she got two baths in a matter of minutes!

Ahhh....

Wyoming was so good. It was just what I needed! I was able to check off everything on my "looking forward to" list and it was lovely.

We had a great trip down and made it in about 14 1/2 hours... which I think is pretty good considering we're traveling with a 1 year old! And I'm proud to report that I drove from 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. thanks to sunflower seeds. If I would have known how helpful those little things are in aiding awakeness while driving, I would have started crunchin' a long time ago! But yeah - since marrying Jon I have become quite a wuss in the distance driving department so that stretch was an accomplishment for me!

All three of us were able to nap for a bit once we rolled in (around 6 am), so that was a huge blessing! We toured the base and saw the beautiful new log administration building! OHHH, it's worlds better than the dingy offices before... it looks amazing! There is still some finishing work to do, but at least it's usable now! There was a branding going on (that we didn't really know about) and there weren't many staff on base, so we decided to cruise Meeteetse a bit. I showed Alia all the "sights" and we went to the Elkhorn for lunch (sadly enough the Outlaw wasn't open yet!).... it was good, plus Ali got to experience her first bar of the weekend!

We dropped off Alia at a friends house in Cody so we could actually enjoy the ceremony, and it was absolutely beautiful! Nice, elegant yet simple, and so Brett and Angie! Of course I cried, but I just couldn't help myself... after all this time Brett has found his love... and they are PERFECT for each other!! I'm so honored that I got to be part of their day! It was great to see everyone at the reception and catch up a bit, and whenever the CWAM gang is gathered there's gonna be lots of fun... and dancing! So yeah... I think two-stepping is officially one of my favorite things. Jon and I tried, but my husband isn't the most coordinated when it comes to dancing, (he totally admits this!) so we're going to have to keep working on it! One of these days he'll be able to whirl me around the dance floor!

On Sunday we went to Foursquare church and I was beyond blessed! It was so good to see everyone, catch up, and hear Kenny preach a little bit! I think Foursquare will always be "my" church, if ya know what I mean. It is one of the only churches I have been to that I can just walk in the door and instantly feel God. I can't describe how connected I feel to that church... but it will always be special to me!

We had a reunion/pot bless lunch and hung out with some CWAMer's for the afternoon. It too was such a blessing! Sunday evening we played some pool and ate beer battered fries (well... I ate them... pretty much everyone else just nibbled! I don't even want to know how many baskets I actually consumed! My excuse was I didn't know when I would get them again!)Yum... SO GOOD! This was Alia's 2nd bar experience of the weekend! I really can't decide if I'm an awful mother for bringing her with... but in Meeteetse that's just the way things are. She sure enjoyed watching the pool games though!

We were able to visit with Kurt and Heidi at their place for a few hours when we got back. It was such a highlight for us to see their vision for the ministry and to connect with them a bit more. Whenever we chat with those two we are encouraged, challenged and blessed! They are an amazing couple!

Jon joined the guys for prayer/breakfast at 5:30 the next morning so I thought we'd be on the road bright and early! Nope... we ended up leaving 2 hours after I originally planned, and that's okay (visiting it way more important!). We had a great trip back but didn't get home until close to 1 am because of the late departure and a little shopping in Billings!

Overall I am SO glad we went! Jon was ready to pack up and relocate to Meeteetse, I think! Both he and I have a heart for the ministry down there and were encouraged to go back and see what's happening. We would like to possibly go back for a week this summer to help out, but we'll see if God works that out. We are SO blessed that Jon gets the summers off and are hoping to make missions trips a reality during that time! This time was just a great reminder to use all that we have to glorify Him... I am so thankful!

By the way, this is the only pic we took of our whole trip - isn't that pitiful?!?

Alia's birthday invites

Here are the invitations I made for Alia's birthday party... now it's time for some serious cake decorating practice!

BFF's

Isn't this picture the cutest!? My best friend brought her two kids over for a visit yesterday and I had such a fun/relaxing time! The girls rode together in the bike trailer for our walk... by the end, this is what we found!

For some reason...

... the fact that Alia is going up and down the stairs is huge for me. Today I quickly went upstairs to get something and on my way down met Alia half way. She decided she would follow me. I know - it's time to start putting up the baby gate (which I still have no desire to do). What surprised me was that she started backing down when she saw I was heading in the opposite direction she was.

On Saturday Jon and I had a "stairs" lesson with her. We made sure she could go all the way up and then we taught we to go down them properly.... like 3 times. I'm just really surprised she remembered the lesson! She's not a little baby anymore - I know that's a good thing but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow!

Put on your boots...

we're heading to Wyoming! I'm so excited! I have been packing and doing laundry all day (which reminds me, the dryer buzzer just went off) and getting everything organized for our trip! It's just a short little jaunt, but a lovely one none the less!
We are leaving after school tomorrow, driving through the night for Brett and Angela's wedding on Saturday, will see CWAM friends on Sunday, then we'll turn around and head north on Monday. I'm actually kind of wondering about our sanity during/after this trip - but we'll manage!

10 Things I'm looking forward to:
1 - seeing awesome friends from CWAM (this should count as more than 1... probably like 10 in and of itself!)
2 - seeing the mountains
3 - getting that "anxious, happy, butterfly" feeling when we're almost there
4 - driving through Meeteetse
5 - showing Alia where I used to live
6 - seeing the new log administration building at the base
7 - eating beer battered fries at the Outlaw (I'm crossing my fingers!)
8 - seeing the utter joy and happiness on Brett's face during the wedding (he is beside himself he's so happy!)
9 - taking advantage of the long drive to chat/reconnect with my love
10 - wearing my blue dress to the wedding... it's my favorite and there's never a reason to wear it around here!

Pictures to follow!

New wheels all around

So Jon "surprised" me the other night with a new truck. I had no idea what to say. The first question was... "How much?" Well, being the wheelin' dealin' husband he is, Jon bought the truck for a couple thousand dollars from a guy broken down on the side of the road. Right on!

I am now going to be driving a Ford F-250 crew cab long box pick up. This thing is practically the length of a limousine... it's crazy! But, I wanted a cheaper vehicle and had been contemplating a truck - so my husband delivers! It needs some work, thus the price - I'm not sure Jon could ever buy a vehicle that didn't need a little fixing up! But in a week or two I hope to be driving it! The downer... it won't even fit in our garage. It's 6" too long - so we'll be selling it before winter comes!

Alia also gets to ride in a new get up. We bought her a Chariot bike trailer/stroller from a private seller. It is in MINT condition and I feel like I got a very reasonable price! So now we can cruise around, regardless of windiness, and she can just enjoy the view! I am SO pleased with this purchase and Alia loves when we get it out! So... exercise is a fun reality now!