Present

Yesterday at work one of my students made me a chocolate as a thank you for, well... being a wonderful teacher! (tooting my own horn) I actually like having students even though it takes twice as long to do anything because you have to explain things as you are going along.  It's a great way for you to ensure that your nursing practice is up to date and as good as it can be, because they question everything.  Anyway, I just thought the chocolate was really cute.  She made the top part with the frogs from a mold and in the middle were nuts and caramel.  yummy!

Summer with the Kidlets

So, after a quick trip to the coast and back to pick up the kids again, we somehow ended up with an extra child....his name is Jake and he has been Gav's friend since he was about 6 years old. We have now claimed him as one of the family.   Here are a few pics of Gav, Shayla and Jake during their time with us this summer.  We camped, swam (no picture documentation of this activity), played rugby (not Karen) chopped firewood.  The kids had "airgun" wars (again, Karen not involved.... she just sat quietly with her first aide kit waiting......), ate a lot of candy....  Overall I think a lot of fun was had,  And once again, we can't wait for them to come back!

Garden 2011

here are some pics from my front garden that I started 2010 and then the back garden also started in 2010.  All plants are deer esistent, hardy to zone 3 perennials and have doubled in size from last year when they were planted.  I cut up cut up the old hottub with a recipricating saw (Daryl had to show me how to use it, but then it was really fun.  A good way to de-stress after work, that's for sure! and took down the fence which was falling over around the gravel area.  Daryl put in the landscaping ties and we just added some 1/2 inch round to level it out.  We kept the corner post of the fence and added hanging plant hooks and a solar light on top which we both love.  I also painted the deck and shed this summer so they look better.  I bought some 16x16 cement stones as  a walkway for in the gravel oveer to the grass.  I need a few more.... next pay-cheque. It's so nice to have the blog working again!  Daryl just had to update something on the computer!

attempt to blog

unable to publish new entries. now trying from a different computer.
K

Relaxing

This spot and position in the living room has quickly become Logan's favorite....much to the chagrin of Daryl. It's always a race; will Logan get there first so that Daryl is unable to put the couch into the "recline" position, or will Daryl get there first and be able to put his feet up? In the end, Daryl almost always puts his feet up, and Logan, sadly, lays underneath the foot rest instead of rolling onto his back with his legs propped up in the air. Logan also has to be careful if Daryl wants to put his feet down. There have been many times when he (Logan) had his head accidentally whacked with the foot rest coming down too quickly when his huge melon has been in the way..... silly dog. Ginger's the smart one. She just stays on her little bed, out of the way.

Spring Break

Daryl went to the coast to pick up Gavin and "Shifty" (shayla) for spring break a few weeks ago. We really enjoy having them here with us! This visit, we played a lot of games. We also watched movies, got firewood (at Gavin's request) and shot the rifle (at Gavin's request). Shayla and I (Karen) made a stuffed pig from the plans out of the back of a Jillian Jig's story book. We also did a lot of art projects together. One evening we had a fire in the backyard and roasted smokies. Please note the "little helper" Daryl has in the bottom corner of the first picture.

The Door

Downstairs in our games room we added another door going into the washroom. Daryl had to reroute electrical, measure and cut a big hole, frame, drywall and mud the new opening. We made a new doorway because the original layout was stupid and required anyone in the main area to walk through the utility area, through another bedroom and finally into the bathroom. the guy who layed out and "remodeled" the basement originally, was not skilled nor did he have any knowledge as to safety and building codes. Thankfully, Daryl has been able to tear most of the work out and make the place safe for us. Karen's job, during all of Daryl's hard work is to paint (insert Karen's gagging sound here, as she sooooo loves to paint.) Actually, I don't mind it. We have wood throughout the house and it is framing everything, but some of the doors in the basement were white, and have stickers and glue and sparkly stuff all over them which I (karen) was unable to scrub off. Therefore, I decided to "faux" paint the doors to cover up all the mess and to try to make them blend in with all the other wood.

New Years With the Kids

After Christmas, Daryl went to the ferry to pick up the kids, except for Justin as he did not want to visit. Though our time together was short (like Karen) it was great to see them again. We spent our time together doing various activities such as: several games nights which incuded billiards, darts (we have just finished patching the wall) foosball, wii video games and lots of board games. Our favorite quickly became Apples to Apples. We also went tobogganning, ice fishing and attended a WHL hockey game. Unfortunately, we only remembered the camera once (for the ice fishing trip) and sadly the batteries died after three pictures. At least we have our memories!