A Home for Us!

We found a place to live!!

(finally!)

YAY!!

Move in date is Tuesday :). I am very thankful.

Winnipeg Children's Museum & Assiniboine Park Zoo

Earlier this week we took the kids to the Winnipeg Children's Museum and Assiniboine Park Zoo. It was a really fun day and I wanted to share some more pictures with you all :).


At the children's museum there were tons of fun things to do but one of the kids' favourites was the water play area...

I thought Olivia looked cute walking around holding her purse lol

Aiden was a huge fan of the city building blocks area. He asked me to take his picture with his city creation...

Olivia insisted on playing for a bit in the special toddler area- she was totally the biggest kid there but loved it anyway.

I didn't get nearly enough pictures of either place but I am hoping that my husband puts some of his pictures up at some point too!

It was the perfect weather for the zoo- not too hot and a bit overcast. It wasn't too busy either.  We rented a little cart to pull the kids in when they got tired of walking. I am SO glad we did that!

There were peacocks and peahens wandering all over the place and the kids got a kick out of how close they would come.

They tried valiantly to touch the peacock's tail but they weren't THAT tame!

We watched a raptor show (birds of prey) and the kids got their picture taken with Bruce the Bald Eagle (and Bruce's human friend too).

It was a really fun day! If you are ever in Winnipeg be sure to check out the local sights- the city has a lot to offer :).

Wordless Wednesday: Statue or Jungle Gym? LINKY

ok... not-so- wordless Wednesday...

We took the kids to the zoo in Winnipeg (Assiniboine Park Zoo) today and there was this statue of the real-life Winnie the Pooh ( a female black bear cub named Winnie- after Winnipeg) and the Canadian soldier who owned her. You can read the Winnie-the-Pooh story HERE if you are interested. Clearly my children were less interested in the story and more interested in defiling the statue. Gotta love 'em.


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He's my lobster...

( for those of you who live under a rock and are unfamiliar with that phrase you can watch this "Friends" video to be educated)

Olivia and the Baby Kitties

Olivia is absolutely in love with the "baby kitties" that live where we are staying. She adores them and visits them every day... many times a day if she can!

They really are very cute.

How would you like to have this many babies at once?!!!!

We Need To Support Each Other... (and maybe win an iPad2 in the process)

I am a firm believer in supporting other moms in whatever way I can... and this week that means voting for a few of my friends who have entered a contest to win $15,000 for their home businesses.

I am posting today to ask for you all to vote for them too :)  You can vote for more than one ad and it is SUPER easy to vote.

And also?

Every time you vote you are entered to win an iPad2!! 

If you have a home business in Canada you should really enter this contest too- because I am thinking most of you could use an extra $15, 000 to help your business grow!

Here are my friends' entries- I just copied them straight from their entries on the actual contest page.

1. My friend Robyn (mom of 2):

Beyond Top - Custom hats for you and your little ones!

I create custom crochet hats for all ages!! Fun & stylish, they make great gifts for everyone!! I also offer a Photog Perk, an easy way for photographers to get credits towards free Beyond Top items!!

2. My friend Lindsay (mom of 1)

Stunning Natural Light Photography

Offering amazing portraits, framed art and event coverage; Lindsay Dianne is a cover-published professional photographer available for hire. Travel-ready and easy to work with, Lindsay is the perfect photographer for any situation that deserves remembering. For more info, please visit http://runningscared.ca or contact lindsay@runningscared.ca

3. My friend Kate (mom of 3)

My Yoga ~ Where You Begin, Flow, & Grow

My Yoga will provide a feeling of community by sharing the practice and joy of yoga in the fullness of it's tradition. Yoga is not about the destination, it's about the journey. Yoga classes available all summer long beginners yoga, lunch time yoga, yoga in the park and power yoga.

4. My friend Raylene (mom of 3)

Put Social Media to Work for YOUR Business

Off the Wall Social Media Management provides a range of options for full-service coordination and management of social media profiles to promote your business online. Just a ‘little’ Off the Wall! we are Southern Alberta’s FIRST Social Media Manager. Thinking outside the box to showcase your business in the social media world.

5. My friend Jennie (mom of 5)

Check out our "It'a A Colourful Life" bracelet

25% of the purchase price goes directly to the Canadian Cancer Society...they are hand crafted using 26 Swarovski Crystals...Beautiful for every day wear as well as dressing up. Order yours today!

6. My friend Kim (mom of 2)

The Perfect Atmosphere. Your Special Event.

-AURORA DECOR- Your Event. Big or Small. Corporate or Personal. Classic or Modern. A Beautiful Occasion, Uniquely Suited to You. Packages or Custom Design. NEW business in the Calgary, AB area!

In Which a Thistle Teaches Me a Lesson

This is a picture of a thistle. They are a very common weed that is ugly and really painful to step on... trust me, I have stepped on many a thistle in my lifetime.

(you would think I'd wear shoes more often to avoid the prickles... but I don't... because I hate shoes... summer is for barefeet)

Thistles are ugly but if you let these painful weeds grow and bloom they produce these gorgeous purple flowers....

I think there is a life lesson to be learnt from thistles.

Even painful prickly ugly things can produce something beautiful if they are given the chance. 

The thing is you have to give them time. You have to let the thistles grow big and tall in order to get the flowers.  Most of the time we just mow over them or kill them off with pesticides or whatever so we never get to see the beautiful flowers.

I think we are in a thistle-y stage of life right now.

We are in a prickly painful situation but we are trusting God that He will create something beautiful from it.

I just hope we get to the beautiful stage sooner rather than later. I am not so good at living with the prickles.

Wordless Wednesday: I Found You Daddy! LINKY

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Just go for a drive and Calm Down...

About an hour away from where we are staying at Akeeva Place is a town called Morden, Manitoba. It is actually a really cute little town with tons of big lovely trees and lots of rather "quaint" qualities.

We will often take drives when the kids are getting nuts. Driving has always calmed Aiden down and all three of my kids travel fairly well. Sometimes a drive is the perfect way to help everyone relax a bit.

The other day we drove to Morden and while we were there we found a beautiful school playground - it is really unlike the vast majority of schoolyards I've seen. It had huge trees all over, lots of shade, several play structures in different areas, benches... it was more like a park than a schoolyard. We stopped and let the kids run around a play for awhile and they loved it.

There was a really cool spider-web climbing structure that the kids especially enjoyed. I got Doug to take a few pictures of the kids climbing on it because I thought it looked neat :).

Olivia's hair was absolutely crazy from the wind and the running and playing.

The boys were posing for a picture (surprising, I know!) but Olivia couldn't quite climb to the top to join them.

The best part about this summer has been all the extra time we've gotten to spend together as a family.  :)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

About the Movie:

 Greg Heffley is about to discover that there is something worse than middle school – his own family!  Based on the 2011 Nickelodeon  Kids’ Choice™ Award for Best Book Series, the original film cast returns in DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, available on Blu-ray and DVD on June 21^st. This flick takes sibling rivalry to entirely new levels as big brother and little brother wrestle through growing pains.

Just back from summer vacation, Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon, National Treasure: Book of Secrets) and his friend Rowley (Robert Capron, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) enter the next grade as undersized weaklings in their school. A bully favorite, Greg tries not to get noticed by anyone except the pretty new girl, Holly Hills (Peyton List, 27 Dresses). And at home, Greg is still at war with his older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick, “Degrassi”), until their mom Susan (Rachael Harris,The Hangover) instigates a ‘Mom Bucks’ program so Greg and Rodrick can earn play money by doing chores and—gasp!—being nice to each other. Calamity ensues when their parents return from vacation and dad Frank (Steve Zahn, A Perfect Getaway) finds evidence that Rodrick secretly threw a houseparty with his band, Löded Diper. As they struggle with school and compete for ‘Mom Bucks,’ the brothers discover that avoiding trouble is easier if they unite—and their once-twisted partnership grows into a hilariously playful and sometimes mischievous friendship.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES will be available on single-disc DVD, 2-disc DVD, and 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy and includes the crazy adventures Greg and his friends has over the summer with hilarious all-new “My Summer Vacation” shorts not seen in theaters. It is available in the U.S. and Canada.

OUR REVIEW


My kids loved this movie. I asked them if they liked it as much as the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and all three said yes. They have asked to watch it about a zillion times over the past couple of weeks.


I, on the other hand, did not love it. The movie itself is well done and the actors are great and play their parts very well... but basically it is about bullying and inept parents and teachers who let it happen. In one sense it is a good message- the brothers learn to get along with each other. But that is not the only bullying that happens. And the bullying is never addressed by the parents.  


I felt like it COULD have had a great message- without being cheesy and while still being funny... but it just didn't bother. There is nothing overtly offensive about it, it just left me with a feeling of unease. 


A mixed review from us for sure.

I was sent a free copy of this movie to review.

Fish Hunting

Well, we have officially been unemployed and "homeless" for 15 days.

We are still staying at the lovely Akeeva Place (refuge for pastors and missionaries in crisis/transition) and we still have no idea where we are going, when we will be going there, or what we will be doing once we arrive.

Our current plan is to return to the town we were living in so the kids can carry on in the same school until we find a job. Assuming we can find a place to live. Currently there are ZERO rentals available... but we are praying that changes in the next couple weeks.

Doug will continue to search for a job in a church (anyone wanna hire us?) but in the mean time the kids can be in the school they love with the staff they love and the friends they love. The less transition for them the better.

In other news we took the kids to a nearby creek and had a fun afternoon exploring. It was so pretty...

Don't ever think that Manitoba is all flat and dry prairie!

The kids started out on the shores but ended up fully immersed in the creek within an hour.

The boys were "fishing" for the little minnows with their hands.

There were dozens and dozens of these tiny little fish swimming around...

The creek wove through banks of tall grasses and it was so beautiful.  We did find several wood ticks on us after our adventure though and we figure they probably climbed onto our clothes from the tall grass. eewwwwww. I hate ticks!!

 I saw this gorgeous butterfly resting in the grass and just had to take his picture...

Doug didn't wade into the creek, he was far too busy taking pictures :)

The boys had an absolute blast fish hunting up and down the creek.

Olivia stuck her toes in the water a few times but preferred to stay on shore.

She wasn't a huge fan of the "slimy" bottom and was scared of the fish.

Owen was definitely NOT afraid of the fish :)

The boys played so nicely together. I love it when they get along so well!

I am very thankful for good times even in the midst of the stressful unknown :).