Summer #3

This is the third summer now of moving back and forth. Living in sparsely furnished houses, without the vast majority of our own things. I don't have anything new to say about it really. A new city to explore this year which I am stubbornly resisting learning how to navigate. The usual.

I feel the more children I have and the more often I go through this the less energy I have to care, or to put into trying new things. It's a terrible attitude, I'm well aware. But I am a home body. I am a creature of habit if there ever was one. I like routine. I like the same places and the same things. I like knowing what I'm doing and being comfortable doing it. I like being home. I like knowing where all my stuff is, and the days of having all our own things readily available, building flowerbeds and gardens and driveways and horse sheds seem far behind us.

I sound awful boring, don't worry, I'm well aware. 

The kids of course adjust much better than myself. Give them some room outside to play, some goldfish crackers, and some Paw Patrol and I'm pretty sure they'd happily live anywhere. We have a little 5$ blowup pool from walmart that they happily splash in all afternoon long, they don't need much, despite me sitting here looking at play structures and swing sets on pinterest. I hope I'm doing alright with them. I do try now and then, I really do. They seem pretty happy most of the times anyway.

Birthday "happy cakes" to celebrate our William

I sit and dream sometimes of things we will do when "real life" starts, and I need to slow down and remind myself that this is real life. Right now. The babies are growing and football is exciting and these moment won't happen again. Days filled with land developing and fence building and flower bed tending, they'll happen again.

Life Happens

There are so many things in life that we cannot control, and a football players life is often, in certain ways, particularly unpredictable. And there is nothing really to do about it but be thankful for your blessings and roll with it.

The last few months have been overwhelming and underwhelming all at the same time.

The off season was full of so many ups and downs. We had an amazing trip to Austria to visit my family. Showing Keith and Will the country which I'm from was an experience I'll treasure for ever. We had the shock of finding out that a new chapter was opening in our lives, which would take us to a new football team in Ottawa. I suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage at 13 weeks which was one of the darkest times I've ever been through in my life. We got to spend more time and birthday parties with our family in Alberta, something I'm looking forward to doing more of in future off seasons. And we spent so much time together just the three of us. Just us, playing on the floor, laughing, being goofy, and discovering the world all over again in the eyes of our wonderful son. 

We are now in Ottawa.

It is warm here. And humid. And the whole city just oozes summer like I haven't quite experienced before. Everything is lush and green and sometimes I feel like I'm living in a jungle. Yesterday evening on our bike ride we came across a little turtle crossing the path and I screeched to a halt in my excitement, I've never before seen a wild turtle. See, jungle. Everyone rides bicycles everywhere. There are parks everywhere and just down the path from our place there is a little beach that is open every day, complete with life guards and sometimes even a DJ sets up and everything just has a festival vibe. We visited the Byward Market this weekend and amongst the  Saturday hustle and bustle all of a sudden a spontaneous Brazilian parade burst out celebrating their latest FIFA win. Drums, horns, flags, and people doing the salsa down the street. The whole city just seems happy.

It helps ease the difficulty of leaving our home. 

These little piggies.

It is so hot here compared to what we're used to. Will hasn't worn socks or shoes pretty much since we've gotten here.

The walking/bike paths are absolutely gorgeous.

Rarely did I get to see these alive at home. Nova killed them quick as a wink. But this little guy just hung out beside Will's stroller while I took pictures down by the river. Only once the camera was in his face a little too long did he slither away into the bushes.

We have had a lot of time with just the three of us, relishing our family time. We spent a few weeks apart for training camp, and are now all together in Ottawa and enjoying every minute of it. Watching Keith and Will play together just fills my heart in a way nothing else can, and I know that where ever we are all together, that is home.

Not to mention when this little man laughs it is positively the best thing in the world. Who could possibly feel anything but joy when this little face crinkles his nose and laughs?

It feels strange moving back into a city once you've worked so hard to get out. In a way everything seems small, simply because things are smaller. The yard is small, the houses are closer together, it's just the way things are in a city. But on the other hand it feels so big, so many people doing so many things, so many buildings, so many cars... it makes me feel like the small one and everything else is just big and busy around me. I definitely still feel more comfortable and more myself sitting in the middle of an empty field.

I have been trying my best to settle in and make things our own. The place that Keith found for us is absolutely gorgeous and right by the river, so I had a pretty good canvas to start with. I got a few flowers and tomatoes and herbs planted. It feels good to tinker outside. After having such a vast area to tinker on and a bazillion things to get done my little pots and little townhouse yard feels like it's all taken care of very fast. But that's ok too. I am very happy with what I have.

These guys are some of my favorites. However the ants seem to love them too and I am currently devising ways for them to meet their demise as they seem to want to make their residence the pots these flowers now live in.

My herb pot seems to have gone a little crazy now that they have some room and sunlight.

Nothing beats cooking with fresh herbs in the summer.

So sometimes I may feel like a small little country mouse living in a big city, but then we go for a bike ride, see people laughing and playing on the beach, watch street performers and buy flowers from the market, and life is pretty good.

I guess if I do have to live in a city, this one isn't too bad.

Craven (almost)

The last few days have been lovely July days. We've had temperatures ranging from mid 20s up to mid 30s, summer storms, and all manner of lazy to extreme summer weather. I've been doing my best to get my work done outside in the mornings  before it gets too hot out. This tiny furnace inside my basketball-shaped belly seems to really take it out of me in the higher temperatures. All in all my lists for the week have gone well though. I spent one afternoon on the phone booking pretty much everything I can book for July, have been able to go for lunch dates, get the last few baby things on our list, and I even got my coffee table done.

I think my first week of maternity leave was a success.

I attempted to plant a small garden this year. Some things are working out, some not so much. I didn't plant tons as the weeding is really no fun whilst pregnant. And I'm hoping that next year I can plan things out a little better and have better success. My thumb is nor green, nor black, for now I think I'm somewhere in between.

However.

I'm very proud of this strawberry and I'm pretty sure it's the most perfect strawberry I've ever seen. And it just so happened to come out of my garden. Keith and I cut it in half and shared it. And it was not only the most perfect looking, but also the most perfect tasting strawberry my taste buds have ever had the delight of knowing.

We found this impressive thistle along a seasonal back road.

Craven is a small place. It is very much just one of those teeny little Saskatchewan towns that has a general store and a gas station and one or two streets with houses along them. However, every summer for a weekend in July, it is flooded by about 20,000 people for the Craven Country Jamboree. This is a pretty big deal in Saskatchewan. It is like the province's ultimate summer party. People get very into it. They line the highway with their campers to get in, do their best to get through all kinds of muck (the fairgrounds happen to be in a flood plain), and for most people I believe the 4 days is spent partying like crazy.

The music is right up Keith and my alley, this year the big names brought in were Tim McGraw, The Dixie Chicks, and Kenny Chesney. However at 9 months pregnant I said I really didn't feel like investing in a ticket and spending much time walking around for hours amongst the drunken Craven crowds. So instead we opted for a more peaceful option.

We took some back roads and walked through some fields to find the perfect little spot overlooking the valley. To our surprise no one else had this bright idea and we had the edge of the valley all to ourselves. It was lovely. We sat with the dogs and had a little look and a little listen. Once we doused ourselves in mosquito spray the entire experience was wonderful.

Nova enjoying Tim McGraw.

We found an actual cactus beside where we were sitting. Glad I didn't choose that spot - ouch!

The sun went down and we (well I) got cold, so we called it an early night. I wouldn't change any of it though. Next year we may splurge and actually get a ticket for a day, now that our interests have been sparked by our quiet little adventure.

And last but not least. A glimpse at my coffee table. Of which I'm oh so proud. And so glad that my first "big" furniture building project was a success. Keith and I are now formulating a list of all the things I need to build to outfit our house. I hope this baby is content being out in the shed with me, because it looks like we have a lot of work to do in this maternity leave!

Freedom (or so I think)

(I'm just going to start off like I never left...)

Today is my first day of freedom. AKA maternity leave.

Keith took me on a beach-date after my last day of work. 

It was fantastic.

It is a Monday morning, I woke up with Keith at 5:45AM, got an important email sent off, and am sitting at my kitchen island in the sunshine with my tea and my toast. Sounds pretty good to me. Today is my official first day of maternity leave. Before this it was just the weekend. And I'm so happy that I live in a country where we get a full year for maternity leave. Most of the pregnant-lady forums that I've lurked online are predominantly American and I don't know how people manage to go back to work say 6 weeks after having baby. So in the spirit Canada Day having recently passed us, I say thank you Canada for maternity leave.

I am now 36 weeks along and I feel pregnant. In the past week things have gotten quite awkward. Baby has dropped and is riding low now. And while it's nice that it's not jammed up in my ribs all the time any more, I feel pregnant. I get hot swollen feet as soon as I'm warm or the slightest bit dehydrated (which it turns out happens quite quickly in July). I have difficulties rolling over and getting up off the couch. If I'm laying down my belly needs its own pillow for support. Ah pregnancy joys.

Swollen pregnant summer feet

Everyone is asking me what I'm going to do with my "month off" before baby comes (I believe my "freedom" then may end and I'll be thrown into a brand new schedule that I really can't plan for). And I am quite excited about my few pre-baby weeks. I am a huge fan of day planners. I just got my new one for the next year (I only ever get the academic ones and there is a very specific make-model that I'm addicted to and am now on my fourth year of using, if they ever discontinue it I'm not sure what I'll do with myself) and it is so exciting. I get to look all the way into 2014 now. Anyway. I have been writing myself to do lists in my day planner and it's just so satisfying to see all my necessary tasks laid out before me like that. Examples:

Today:
-write that important email (check!)
-make vet appointment for the dogs
-book hospital tour
-do laundry
-drill pocket holes
-put up upstairs curtain rods with Keith

The pocket holes are quite exciting. I've decided to finally try building the coffee table that I've been telling Keith all winter I was wanting to build. So of course now with the sun shining and an enormous belly I've decided is the best time to do so. We got the lumber yesterday ($50 total, I'm hoping I can make this project worth it, if I see a similar coffee table for less than $50 I am going to be quite irritated) and I made all my cuts. Just a little proud of myself. I even had some angled cuts that I'm pretty sure I got right (thanks to a helpful YouTube DIY tutorial - insert a picture of me sitting on the shed floor with my cellphone watching YouTube clips). So today I learn how to use my fancy Kreg-Jig to make pocket holes and maybe I can figure out how to start putting this thing together.

Don't be expecting a step by step blog post. It takes me long enough to sit there and stare at the instructions confusedly, add a camera into the mix and I may never get this thing done.

All in all there is a lot to do. We had our last ultrasound on Friday and they said it looks like baby may come in July rather than it's original expected early August. Which I would be quite alright with. I told Keith that as long as it gets to full term and he's home baby can come whenever it wants.

Well maybe not this week, I'm pretty excited about my pre-baby to do lists this week. 

Keeping Warm

This winter has been a difficult one so far.

Last winter was fairly mild as far as Saskatchewan winters go (so I hear, it was my first Saskatchewan winter, so it was a welcome change from a Northern-Alberta winter). So when this winter hit early and hard, it made for a bit of a shock. Not to mention it's our first winter out on our acreage, two former Alberta farm kids fending for themselves, and it's been a bit of a learning process. For example, in November we bought ourselves a quad with a blade on it to push snow, and scoffed when we were told "with no tree cover you'll need a snowblower, you won't get by with just a blade".

Psh. Come onnnnnnn. We are from the wilderness of Alberta and even with way more snow than southern Saskatchewan can imagine, no one I know has ever needed a snowblower. For their driveway. Snowblowers were for city folk who didn't have a quad with a blade.

And as usual, humility will be provided.

We arrived back home from four days at our parents before Christmas, and came home to such a blown and drifted mess of a driveway, we got stuck and trying to push it out with the quad was like running into a brick wall the drifts were so hard. So we had to invest in a snowblower for the quad. And it has indeed been a lifesaver. The last winter storm we had a week and a half ago blew drifts in overnight that were higher than my waist. I've been avoiding taking my Nikon out too much in the frigid temperatures, but managed to snap some crappy phone pictures...

Nova and I with the monster drift that had taken over our driveway.

Markus promptly turned lemons into lemonade and made a fort our of our monster drift.

We were able to go snowshoeing still!

Frosty fun :)

Markus and Allison came down last weekend to celebrate my birthday. It was a laid back and quiet weekend with no real agenda but it was absolutely perfect. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my birthday any other way.

Usually I am a fan of winter. I love winter sports, I love skating and snowboarding and skiing and snowshoeing and toboganning and pulling the calf sled around behind the quad, I love it all. But. It feels like it's been a long winter so far. And today it is -29C outside and I was planning and going to chip frozen dog poo from the icy ground, but with a windchill of -40C I've decided I'm better off safe and warm inside. And what better way to warm up than to look at warm memories of summer time?

Summer means football of course (can you see my hunny?)

 Our amazing gnome! (He even got a newspaper story that made it all the way to Calgary!)

 Going for long drives with Nova

 Making Keith wait for ever in the truck while I take pictures of weeds

 Happy woof

I hate all the alfalfa in our field... But it sure did make for a few good pictures.

Fresh delicious corn from our neighbor

 Stopping on long drives to appreciate the beautiful scenery near the SK-AB border

 And welcoming new family members :)

It truly was a lovely summer.

I do believe I've had enough of the snow and cold and wind and am ready for another.

Catching Up

A week seems to go by very fast. Looking back on it anyways. During the week perhaps not so much. But another week is past and yet another weekend rolls around and I'm left to my own devices while Keith is gone on yet another away game.

This week the weather is starting to cool down, and I'm loving it. The nights are cooler, it's less humid, one day I even wore a sweater! It is so comfortable outside right now. I could just be out there all day. Today I was out at the property and I just didn't want to come back in to the city, it was so beautiful, just the sound of the grass, the leaves, the grasshoppers, and my camera lens clicking away.

Lets start at the beginning though.

Keith and I took a long drive through the valley one evening after work this week. It was lovely. Exploring back roads that we haven't explored yet, and like I've said, the weather and the late summer sun is just so lovely.

We found this guy snoozing beside the river. I was too slow to get my camera out while he was laying down.

 
It was such a great little evening drive. We do this often enough, when we can, go for a little drive down some road we haven't explored before. With the windows down, the sunroof open, and the music going it was just about as perfect as an August drive can get. 

Friday rolled around and apparently it's shower season. Within four days I have two showers to go to (first baby then bridal) which is more social eventing than I usually do in a month. I'm blessed enough to work in a place with amazing coworkers and we all have such a great time together. This Friday we were lucky enough to formally meet Mital's new baby. Raahi was adorable and handled being passed around the room like a football quite well.

Beautiful new Mama!

Welcome to the world baby Raahi! We all look forward to watching you grow.

Today I went up to visit the house. It's already been almost a month since we've last been up, and our cooktop has been sitting in the spare room and delivering it up to the house sounded like a good way to spend my lonely Saturday (and a good excuse to see the house!) Since we've been up last the siding has been installed, the cabinets are in, the walls are painted, and the (pine!) ceilings are almost all done.

Because it's getting close, I'm not going to get into too much detail quite yet (not to mention the inside still has scaffolding and construction everywhere) so I will just give everyone a glimpse of the exterior. 

It's going to be our colorful little house on the prairie :)

I'm getting ridiculously excited for the house (I know I probably say that every post). I spent almost two hours in there, taking pictures and measurements, opening up and closing all the cupboards and cabinets. It already feels like home. Even with the scaffolding and the sawdust. I grew up in a house that was constantly under construction, so maybe that's why I feel like I could settle in there tomorrow, but it feels right. The outside is cute and colorful, the inside is bright, warm, and cozy. I'm so excited to have that house as our home.

On the way home I stopped by at the property. The basement walls have been poured. The well has been finished and capped. And it's Saturday, so it was peaceful and quiet with no one working out there. I was free to wander with Nova and take pictures. I could have done it for hours. 

Beautiful girl.

After poking around the house we went to our little oasis on the prairie. 

Our "oasis" is a small old dugout. It's really gross but Nova just loves swimming in there. She comes out gross but happy. I'm ok with it.  

I love sun flare. I know it's an imperfection. I know that the people who make cameras try hard to prevent it. But I love capturing the sunlight like that. 

I love looking at a picture and going "ah, I can almost feel the sun in that picture". 

Anyway I'm a newb I've been having difficulty figuring out the camera to find my perfect flare.

Until today!

  

Oh hello f20. You look so pretty today.  

 I could have danced all night

I could have danced all night

And still have begged for more

I could have stayed out there and danced with that little sun flare for hours. But Nova got hungry and so did I so we had to call it a day. I look so forward to evenings spent wandering the yard with the camera, taking pictures of little sun flare.

Until then I will sit in my little north-facing cave and dream... and look at pictures in which you can almost feel the warmth of the sun.