Visitors

As our time here in Edmonton comes to a close (yes, I realize I haven't written anything about that. I will! Just not quite ready) I was thinking back to what made this such an awesome experience. The number of people who came here to visit us blew our expectations out of the water. I was thinking back and wanted to write it down because it was so amazing. This is mostly just for me to have all written in one place...sorry if it's a bit long to read through it!

April 2014: Chris was living here alone and his brother Jeff flew up to go skiing for a few days in the mountains for Chris's birthday. Little did we know...this would be an annual event for the next 3 years!! Jeff came back April 2015, 2016 and March 2017 to see us and go skiing. Pretty sure he won't know what to do next April!

June 2014: David drove with Chris and Chloe up to Edmonton. They got the house ready to go before the big truck came in with all of our stuff. The kids and I flew up here to live on June 6th and since Chris was already here, my mom came with me! Ivy was pretty little and I wasn't sure I could handle three kiddos on my own. It ended up working out great...we got a bump which meant she had enough delta money to come back 1 1/2 more times without paying! It also worked out great in that she helped me get this house in order and when she left a week later, it pretty much was! I remember being extremely homesick once she left.





September 2014:  My parents, my sister Tara and niece Quinn came in September 2014. Tara was en route back to Japan and was able to knock a few hours off the long flight if she left from here so she did! I'll always be so grateful that she came. I've said no to visiting friends/family other places because it seemed like it was too much work. Then I looked at what she did...traveled with a 3 month old by herself from Edmonton to Calgary to Tokyo to Okinawa. No excuses...just make it happen.


April 2015: My friend from Dubuque (currently Chicago) came with her two kiddos Maeli and Weston! I hadn't seen anybody from home since Christmas so I was super super happy to see her! This trip was not an easy one for her and I will always be grateful that she came. Her original date to come was March 12, but her mother in law unfortunately died on March 11 so she had to cancel the trip and rebook. She was told by teh airlines that if she presented the death certificate, she could get the cancellation fee waived. She sent in all the paperwork and never saw any money. So that trip cost them a pretty penny! We had a wonderful time...even had a night out by ourselves and I took my first uber:) My parents came at the end of the month and we took them to Banff for the weekend. It was still pretty cold there, but we had a nice time!




June 2015: We had lots of visitors this month! First up was my brother and his family! The kiddos were thrilled to see their cousins. We had a great mix of time in Edmonton and time in the mountains. We watched a lot of NBA finals action and spent lots of time out on our deck after the kids went to sleep. Second to come in June was Rachel. We headed to the mountains for a couple days by ourselves and although it was freeeeezing, we had a wonderful time! We took in a World Cup game as well which was awesome. At the end of this month my friend Marie and her son William (Max's first buddy in Dubuque) came to see us! We celebrated Canada Day, spent a day in Drumheller, 2 days in the mountains, drove the Ice Field Parkway and took in a World Cup game as well!






October 2015: My mom and dad came to take care of the kids while Chris attended his 15 year Luther reunion and I went to Portland to go on some wine tours with my college friends!


March 2016: The Arling family from Dubuque came and we went skiing and dog sledding in the mountains. Unbelievable experiences!


April 2016: My mom came for a visit...we did some Edmonton site seeing and also went to Olds, Alberta for a gymnastics competition for Mya. She won 4 golds and the all around gold so she was good luck!



July 2016: Chris's parents came to celebrate Canada Day with us! We toured the legislature, drove around Edmonton, watched fireworks, and spent lots of time on the driveway watching the kids play! We had wonderful weather that week.



August 2016: My dad drove us back to Edmonton from Decorah and then stayed a few days! He played with the kids while I put our life back in order after being away for 3 weeks!



October 2016: My sister in law Amanda nad her mom Linda came up for a few days and we headed straight to Banff! We had a great time and got to stay at the Banff Springs Hotel which was amazing. We hiked Sulpher mountain, they hiked in Lake Louise while I sipped wine at the Chateau Lake Louise hotel:)

  

November 2016: my parents came up and we celebrated US Thanksgiving with them! They also got to see Max and Mya in the church musical and Max play hockey. We hadn't celebrated Thanksgiving in November for awhile so it was nice! We also fit in the turkey trot while they were here:) For some reason I can't find any pictures from that trip!


March 2017: The Arlings from Dubuque had such a great time in 2016 that they decided to come back again!! We headed back to the mountains for more skiing, skating and all around winter fun. Later in the month, Chris's parents came for spring break. We went to Lake Louise skiing and had a wonderful time! David hadn't skied in a number of years so it was great to get him back on the skis...it was like riding a bike for him!

Anybody next?!?! We still have 7 or 8 weeks left! Plenty of time to get one more trip in to the mountains!:)

Running Club and Oiler Mania!

One of the things Max loves most about school is the running club. In the fall they do outdoor running club and have three races throughout the city. His class had a lot of success with this and they finished top 5 in the city for 4th grade boys. This winter they did an indoor running club. All of the events (except field events) were relays so they got to learn how to pass the baton also. The first race was the Running Room race. Apparently these used to be called the "Journal games" put on by the Edmonton journal and all of my friends who are originally from Edmonton remember running in them! Max was on the "B" squad and his team qualified for the quarterfinals! Our school also qualified the "A" team and the girls "A" team. It was super exciting to get 3 teams to the next round.

The quarterfinals were a few weeks later and Max's team did not qualify for the semis, but their boys "A" team won over the entire city! It was so exciting to be a part of that for Max. They all wore their running jerseys to school on Monday to celebrate.

The last race of the season was the Klondike Relays. It was super fun because Mya got to be involved too. They were short a couple kids so they asked some 3rd graders who had siblings involved if they wanted a chance to run. Mya only got to do one race, but she had a blast. It was the mixed shuttle relay. They practiced together the weekend before:)

 Max ran in 3 races and did the long jump. His buddies and him got first in the city in the 4X200 meter relay!! He also got 10th in the mixed medley and 4th in the shuttle relay. They combined everyone's score on the long jump and our school ended up 2nd in the long jump! Another super successful track meet!

To see the 4X200 click here. The first runner for our team is Robbie. He's in a white jersey and hands off to Max. Max's mixed shuttle relax is here. You'll see his teammate Alera (in white) first, she hands off to Max.

Also we have caught the Oilers bug around here. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and for a city who bleeds blue and orange, this is a huge huge deal. In the weeks leading up to the playoffs there were shirts for sale that read "pray for playoffs". Kids at Max's youth group were requesting prayer that they make the playoffs too! In fact, it has spiked a huge jump in the economy here with jersey sales, tickets, restaurant sales, etc. Pretty exciting to be a part of it. The kids' school has Oilers days on home games so everyone has to wear orange and blue. The kids and I are hooked...Chris is still a Minnesota Wild fan:)


 Below...Oilers colors for his braces! And side note...this is his last run with all of his appliances! Found out Tuesday everything will come out on July 5th. Phew!! 

Since these games are on so late at night, the kids have been going to bed before the end. This is a note Chris left for the kids after game 1. The kids went to bed when the Oilers were up 2-0 so he knew they would be so disappointed when they found out they lost in the morning! Thankfully, they ended up winning the series and game 1 didn't make a difference! 

Catching up! Max's birthday in Jasper

The kids had March 2nd and 3rd off so we took off to Jasper for the weekend! We stayed at one of my favorite places on Earth..the Jasper Park Lodge. It's actually really hard to leave once you get there...they know how to do winter! We haven't been there in the summer (they double an already expensive price) but we love it there in the winter. We drove through a snow storm, checked in, had some free appetizers (our room wasn't ready) and then headed to our room! They had birthday cupcakes for Max in the room waiting for us when we got there. We started a fire, kids went out to play in the snow and we ordered pizza! After the pizza we headed over to the outdoor pool and hot tub. No pictures this year of snow angels..it was snowing and I didn't want to wreck my phone. We had a great time!



The next morning we got up bright and early and made our way to Marmot Basin ski resort. Normally it takes 20 minutes or so to get there but it took over an hour this time. Apparently they got so much snow the plow got stuck! It was my first time skiing in this much powder. I loved it, but it was so hard on my legs! I was taking tons of breaks and felt like a wimp! Ivy had a tough morning, but rallied and ended up having a great day and ended up improving a ton on her speed and fearlessness.



Sunday we woke up to -24 degrees C (-10F) so we went into town for breakfast and then decided to brave the cold and go skating on the lake at the hotel. It didn't feel as cold as it was when we were out skating. The kids and Chris played a little hockey, we raced around the track, and had a great time. After skating, we packed up and drove home. It was such a great weekend!

Happy 10th birthday Max!!

Dear Max,

You are a decade old! Can't believe it...next year you won't have enough fingers for the picture! You are pretty happy to be 10...you're one of the first kids in your class to turn 10 and it's also an even number and you are an even number guy for sure. We are very proud of you in every way. I had many highlights with you over the past year, but my number one moment was the prayer you said before our Thanksgiving meal. You blew your dad and me away with what a great young man you are.

You remind me a lot of Uncle Brian with your eating habits. You are a meat and potatoes guy. You choose milk over anything else to drink..even with pizza which grosses us out. Your favorite meal is shepherds pie and your 2nd favorite is meat balls. You are not a huge steak guy yet because your mouth is so full of metal that it's hard for you to chew it sometimes! Hopefully all of that metal will becoming out in the next few months! I have to push you to eat breakfast everyday. If you could eat a scone from Cobb's bread every morning, you would. Namely the blueberry lemon scone. It only took 10 years, but you are now a crust eater. Now if only you could get your sisters on board and my mornings would get so much easier with packing lunches!

You are becoming much more self sufficient which was a goal of mine for you this last year. You can make your own hot chocolate, toast, and pb&j sandwiches. When I was sick last week you put Ivy to bed one night on your own. You read her books and sat with her until she fell asleep. You are starting to stay home alone for short periods of time during the day. Now we just need to work on putting dirty clothes in the hamper and putting clean clothes back in your drawer or closet. You still lose a lot of things, but we are working through that and trying to focus on slowing down and thinking about what you'll need, what you brought, etc. before leaving a place.

You are not afraid to speak/sing in front of crowds, you're good at talking to adults and having adult conversations, you are the world's number 1 eavesdropper, you love sports talk radio and learning all the teams, players, news, etc. You have quite a collection of hockey cards and football cards. One thing we didn't see coming was that you have become a big save the earth guy...you let us know when we put something in the recycling that belongs at the ecostation and when we put something in the garbage that belongs in the recycling. You have already told me that dad won't be washing the car in the driveway this summer. I'm not sure how that will go over with dad though! You have found your rhythm with friends. It took a couple years, but you have made some really nice friends and I feel confident in your ability to choose good ones. You are 63 pounds and 53.5 inches. You are becoming quite good at pulling your loose teeth out. They're not loose too long before you get really tired of it and pull them out! I'm half convinced it's because you need the money!

You love to try new things, but you're also ready for them to be over when they're done! In the past year you have participated in hockey, ball hockey, parkour, chess club, running club (both indoor and outdoor), guitar, piano, the church musical, soccer, skiing, and probably more that I've forgotten! I think this year will be the end of your piano career which is too bad, but I understand too. We are headed to Jasper today for your birthday to do some skiing, skating and swimming! Love you tons Maxwell David!

Love, Mom and Dad

March 3rd, 2007


March 3rd, 2008


March 3rd, 2009


March 3rd, 2010


March 3rd, 2011


March 3rd, 2012


March 3rd, 2013


March 3rd, 2014


March 3rd, 2015


March 3rd, 2016


March 3rd, 2017

Top 3

Top 3 things I want to remember about my top 3 right now!

Max

1. Max is loving sports right now. Loves listening to sports talk radio in the morning, wants to know who won the game when he walks down the stairs when he wakes up, loves wearing sports clothes (in fact he has specific days for certain teams/brands..Tuesday is Vikings day, Wednesday is Nike and Fridays is Oilers) It's fun because Chris and I like to talk sports and now he's joining in. He even sat and watched the entire superbowl party with us at our friends' house!



2. He had his first big boy weekend a couple weekends ago when Chris, Mya, Ivy and I were out of town for a gym meet. He got dropped off at a friends house after school, spent the night there, went to his ball hockey game and then went with a different friend until we got home that night. He was pretty nervous, but did great. We're very fortunate to have friends who are like family here that we felt comfortable leaving him and being out of town. It was so good for him to get that first experience behind him!

3. He is very motivated to finish all of the books on the YRCA list of nominations. (YRCA is the pacific northwest's library association list of books) Once you read all of them, you can vote on your favorite one. Things like that are all the motivation Max needs to get reading. Here's the list...he's on the last one right now and then he can vote!


Absolutely Almost – Graff, Lisa
Loot – Watson, Jude
El Deafo – Bell, Cece
The Fourteenth Goldfish – Holm, Jennifer
Rain Reign – Martin, Ann M.
The Thickety: A Path Begins – White, J.A.
New Kid – Green, Tim
The Circus Dogs of Prague – Rachelle Delaney


Mya

1. She's in competition season right now with gymnastics. She works super hard every week (10.5 hours of weekly training) so we are super excited for her to finally get to compete. Her first competition was in Lethbridge (4.5 hours south of here..close to the border) and she ended up in first place overall! Chris and I are basket cases at these events, but she's as cool as a cucumber. We have this weekend off and then 5 meets in the next 7 weeks. Luckily, 4 are in town so it's not as big of a commitment.



2. Mya is a great big sister to Ivy at school. They play together every day for morning recess (the only recess that Ivy is at school with the half day program). When I pick Ivy up at lunch and ask about her day, the best part is always that she played with her sissy at recess. I'm hopeful this relationship will continue to be a good one for both girls and maybe, just maybe we can even skip the horrible years when sisters hate each other!

3. She is loving reading right now too. It wasn't too long ago that I was sure that day would never come. Right now she's very into my babysitter club books (she even talks to me about them like I still remember..."Mom! I'm at the part where Maryanne is babysitting and someone is calling her and hanging up!!" She also likes the diary of a wimpy kid series. She had to do a current event this week at school and chose to do an article about the Muslim ban. Her teacher sent me a nice e-mail afterwards saying she did an awesome job and he appreciated her bringing that up so they could have a class discussion. It's fun to have kids with opinions.


Ivy

1. Ivy is doing great in school. She's starting to read and loving all of the attention she is getting because of it! I could have 10 kids and I would still be amazed when the 10th one learns to read. I just think that whole process is unbelievable. She's sounding out words on signs along the road and loves to write notes to people at home. Her spelling is hilarious and even some of the words she's sounding out. She pronounced "nice" today as Nike. Still trying to learn all of those pesky rules!

(still finding lots of selfies on my phone!)


2. She is in gymnastics once a week and is training with Mya's coach. Christianne is big on conditioning so Ivy is getting quite the workout each week. She is very proud of herself and all of her rope climbing and frequently asks me to feel her muscles even though she doesn't know how to flex:)

3. We have not had much time for her to be involved in anything except the gymnastics one afternoon a week when Max and Mya were still in school. Next week though that's all changing and it could be crazy for us! She starts swimming lessons and ski lessons. Honestly we kind of forgot about the fact that she still needs some major swim lessons. Max and Mya do too, but they're at the point where they can swim a lap and pass the swim test, so we've kind of put lessons on the back burner. Ski lessons will be great and hopefully will speed things up for her in the mountains.