Saskatoon, SK

My dad loves whirlwind trips, so he suggested we visit Darren and Erin on Saturday morning, and by Saturday afternoon, we were starting the 7 hour trip (one way) to visit them. Although we didn't get to see their new baby while there, it was worth the trip. Autumn and Marik loved spending time with Alivia and Halle, and I got to see Darren, and my wonderful sister in law, Erin. (Who, by the way, looks great pregnant, but I didn't include a picture, because I know how I would feel about it. Actually, the real reason is that the only one I have is of just her, and she is not looking at the camera, so it would look very sneaky of me. :)

 

 

So, I am not a dog person, but if someone offered us a free dog like this Pomeranian-chiuaua mix...I would have a hard time turning them down.

 

 

Who knew Saskatchewan was so beautiful?! Erin, you are a fabulous cook, and hostess...it was mean of us to make you do that at 9 months pregnant! I am so glad we saw you guys! Thanks so much!

Montana

 

When the kids asked me if leaving Florida and going to Canada/Montana meant they would see snow, I said hopefully not, but they got what they wanted when we left the cabin and headed back to Raymond via Logan's pass. Pretty exciting!

 

Cherry picking in Polson, MT was a hightlight! The cherries were SO GOOD! Porter planted a cherry seed in our back yard when we got home...I guess we'll see.

 

 

We loved staying at the cabin! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Cahoon!

Clearwater Beach

 

 

 

We have heard a lot about Clearwater beach, and how nice it is, so we took the opportunity to go with the Whitings for one last fun event before our Canada trip. It was as wonderful as we had heard, and going with the Whitings made it even more fun! We think we are pretty lucky to have friends whose kids ages match up with ours...although we won't be joining them with the fourth. :)

Happy Fourth! (Just one month late)

 

 

 

 

I have a lot to blog from our Canada trip, but I meant to put this up a while back, so better late than never! We had a fun day...a parade in Micanopy, with candy throwing, no less! BBQ and "Rock Band" with the Simmons and Tanners, and "Trevor's Street of Fire" with some friends later that night. It was our first experience with self lit fireworks, so it was very exciting! Thanks, Smiths!

Family Vacation - Florida Style

 

 

 

 

David had a week off the end of June, so we decided to go camping on the beach! We wimped out and stayed in a hotel for a few days, but we weren't totally prepared for the heavy rains that come, and the heat at night! It is quite a bit different than camping in Alberta! The picture of Porter and Autumn is the view from our tent! It was beautiful! We were able to see Raccoons pretty close up as well as several types of birds that tried to steal our breakfast. A highlight of the trip was that David took a kite surfing lesson. I didn't get very great video, but the first one is David, and the second closer one is his instructor. It looks like a pretty cool sport...I hadn't even heard of it until David told me about it!

Cub Scout Day Camp

Porter had a great week at cub scout day camp last week. I took him and his friend Nadjari every day, and they really enjoyed it. They did all kinds of fun things like archery, bb guns, swimming, pocket knife certification, crafts, and all the other cub scout kinds of things you can think of.

The fire department pointed their firehose into the air and let the boys run through it. They had a blast, especially considering it was 96 degrees farenheit!

Flag Football and Cheer

Porter played flag football this year with "Pray then play" sports. Autumn was able to cheer for his team, Rivercross church. It was really fun and nice for me to have both kids involved at once! I am impressed with the genuine and friendly people here in Gainesville, and the many opportunities for the kids we have and will have here!

Disney World!

We made it do Disney! The kids finished their "star charts", and they offer a free pass on your birthday, so we celebrated my 30th birthday at Disney World. I think we picked the perfect day because the weather was pretty good, and the lines were pretty short, so I think we saw and did everything! It was a great day!

Happy Easter!

We think it was really cool to have our bunnies hopping around the yard at Easter. They are fun...too bad Carlos figured out how to get out again. No worries, he is safe and sound now.

This was the "tent" we set up to watch General Conference from.

I just had to add this picture because despite the fact that Marik doesn't go into the ocean past his knees, he still felt the need to wear these goggles for most of the day. Speaking of the beach, we were lucky enough to meet up with the Newby's, some favorite friends from Maryland. I am kicking myself that I didn't take pictures when they got there! It was so good to see them, and Porter had some boys to play with!

My Rabbits

I have two pet rabbits named Kieth and Carlos. The rabbits were living in the cage because they keep on getting out. My family had an idea. We thought we could dig the fence and put chicken wire under the dirt so the rabbits couldn't get out. When we let them out they jumped with glee around the yard. Every night raccoons open the food bin and eat a little bit. We haven't seen them yet. We are going to put a video camera so we can see if it is really raccoons. We put them in the cage at night becase MOM thinks OWLS will EAT them!

Pinewood Derby

Porter is now a cub scout, and he just took third place in his first derby. David worked hard with him on his car, which I must add, I had already tried to help with, but I just didn't really know how it was done or what was required...I have never been a scout. It was a fun night, and Porter is excited to try to win next year. :) The following is a video of one of his big wins!

St. Pete's Beach

We had a great weekend in Tampa! It is still weird for me that we can go to the beach in March! It was so nice to spend some time as a family and stay at a hotel! (I have always enjoyed staying at hotels, and I think the kids feel the same way!)  David was able to go to an Antique book fair, and we played at the beach all day, which turned out to be a little much judging from the sunburns we have! Have I mentioned how great Florida is? Anyone who is cold, come visit!

Kids

Porter's first Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts on February 27th.

Autumn learning to roller skate at a birthday party.

Marik posing with "Flat Stanley" for cousin Bethany's school project.