Knox Mountain Hike with my lovies

visitors, kids and more

1 Two days of training and I'm feeling confident in my ability to handle the job. A few tweaks and a lot of notes equals ability.

2 Theresa is a great trainer. I really appreciated her willingness to teach, mentor, advise, correct and cheer lead.

3 They are managing to get a bit of a grip on the jet lag. It's never easy when it's this big of a time change. 

4 Izzy and Kes come for a couple of night's. Sleepovers are so much fun with them. 

5 They have sniffles and coughs but manage to make the best of it despite that. What a couple of tough cookies we have.

6 The two brothers and their wives have an early Valentine's day dinner while we have mac and cheese followed by sugar cookies for our dinner.

7 Shenanigans at the switchboard. Nuff said.

8 A fun hike on Knox Mountain. The fog is as thick as pea soup in spots. We can watch it from our vantage point and eventually thins and finally disappears.

9 Sara has taken classes in nail painting. I love that she's so enthusiastic about life and isn't afraid to step out of her comfort zone.

10 It's Chinese New Year and Nick brings a little of China to our home. He's managed to get a few stickers for the front door into their suitcase without Sara knowing about it. Mr P puts them on the door while we are out and she's suitably surprised to see them there. 

11 I love how she wears her heart on her sleeve. It's so endearing to know such a genuine person.

12 It's G's birthday today. I'm hoping it's been a great one for her because she's spent it with her mom and dad. Love ya hon, happy birthday. 

the last six days

1 Mr P is packed up and ready to head home. It's a long drive. Sixteen hours, so he'll do it in two days.
2 We chit chat over the phone and find him the perfect out of the way place to stay. It's plain and simple, but clean and with a continental breakfast.
3 I make a big dent on my Christmas gift wrapping and gift making!
4 The idealistic me wants to make all sorts of things for everyone, but the practical side of me tells me to think real. I narrow down my selections and feel relief instantly.
5 Making a gingerbread house with Izzy. I love how she says, "I just love Grampa so much."

6 While we are making the gingerbread house, Kesler has found the train Christmas tree ornament along with little village we've put up. He meticulously checks each one out, carefully put one away before taking a new one.
7 It's time for a kitty. We have mice in our basement and they are not welcome!
8 The grandkidlets have a sleepover and in the morning are bursting with energy. Soon the hats, coats, gloves and boots are on and they're exploring the front yard.
9 Izzy finds the sand pile and soon both kids are wielding shovels and pails.
10 I'm glad there's no snow. It's nice to enjoy warmer weather after the long bitter cold snap we just had.
11 Grampa and Izzy get busy making pine cones for the birds. Lots of effort goes into getting the right amount of peanut butter and seeds as well as choosing the perfect length of string for hanging.
12 Mr P has patience. He hasn't been around kids a lot, never had any of his own, so it's a new and sometimes overwhelming experience for him. Still, he has patience.
13 Kes does really quite well despite being overwhelmed with sights and sounds from the busy Christmas morning. He's not ready to face the world yet, and hides his face in mommy and then daddy's shoulders.
14 Our Christmas dinner, well the turkey part is created and boned and served by the one and only Mr P. He follows the directions perfectly and it's a lovely golden brown and the stuffing - delicious!
15 Santa brought Izzy and Kes a few things in their stockings at our home. They each got a battery operated guitar! Kes loves music. Kesler carefully touches each button to hear the sounds. Izzy touches them all at once and dances all over the living room in complete abandon.
15a Chris had taken Izzy to the Dollar Store for Christmas shopping. She was so excited for each gift that she had chosen and each gift was perfect for the person. I'm amazed at the perceptiveness for a four and a half year old.
16 Izzy catches us smooching, grins and says, "You're married. Come on over here and dance. Rock it you guys."
16a Bath time for the little ones after dinner brings the energy level down a notch or two. At least for a little bit. Soon it's time for pumpkin pie and topping and we ride the sugar high.

17 After dinner we talk online with Nick and Sara. They look amazing, happy, cozy and we all get nostalgic. We show them the old home videos of Nick and Chris as toddlers and everyone has a good laugh.
18 Sara and Izzy sing songs to each other. Izzy chose a song from Frozen and Sara sang a Chinese lullaby to her.I look at the screen when Izzy is singing and see tears streaming down Sara's face and she's biting her bottom lip. They are lovely together.
19 The house is slowly being set to normal. The boxes are being filled with ornaments, gifts put away and baking goes into the freezer. All we have left are lights on the house and some turkey in the refrigerator.
20 Mr P likes his wifi weather station. He's putting it up and having fun playing with the install and putting the app on his phone.
21 It's quiet here. Just the sounds of the birds, the whirring of a washing machine down the hall and the sound of the keyboard.

stat, about my sister, and all together again

1 Monday is a holiday! Happy BC Day!
2 My sister is from a very small town so when she comes here visiting it's a big deal. This is the first time she's ever stayed at my home in all the years we've been adults. Either I've lived too far away or we lived close by and there was no need to. So I have the opportunity to share my home with her, share our food and share the fun. And yes, we did share a box of wine!
3 The family was all here. We filled up a tub and the kids splashed about, then we sat down to a family BBQ dinner and lastly we Skyped with Nick and Sara. So great to have us all together ~ best loves ~