QUESTION OF THE DAY

O.K. I actually have two queries:

1. Why does the dental hygienist, after giving you a fluoride treatment, ask you not to eat or drink anything for half an hour, when you have to sit and wait for the dentist to come into the room for at least that long anyway? It's not like they have a buffet or open bar there to 

to temp you to ruin the protective coating.

2. Why are Jon's mens' vitamins called "The Ultimate One" when it clearly states on the bottle to swallow two per day?

ZOOM ZOOM

We may have thought we were snowed in before, but last night it was so impossible to drive that we had to park the car three blocks down in the school parking lot. We trudged down the hill this morning, one kid in the sleigh (two were in until we tipped one out), one kid in arms, two shovels, and dug the car out. Sounds like an adventure, I know. But last night at around 10:30, Jon mentioned that he should get his snowboard out and take a run down Josephine Street. I said, "Of course you should"! And there you have it! Jon's first run in two years; his first run down a city street. He yelled to me, "This is great!" as he flew by.

NEW YEAR

Uh... I've fallen into the trap of the new year's yearning to be a brighter, better person! I've signed up for exercise classes, compiled some healthy new recipes, am keeping the television off more often, working on keeping my brain agile... In the back of my mind I know that yearning for better habits at this time of the year almost always sets up disappointment from broken promises, but I'm still hopeful, willing to give it a good try. Maybe I'll even start flossing my teeth! But first I should take stock of what an excellent year I just had. It'll be pretty hard to top.

Here's the list of a few 2008 highlights:

Jon sold the restaurant
Celebrated our dear friends' immigration to Canada
We took a cruise holiday to Hawaii with the kids
Became officially engaged
Ran my first 10k race
Got involved in local/provincial politics
Completed skilled trades training at college
Turned 35, a great number!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

One of my New years resolutions is to contribute to my blog on a more regular basis. Sorry to those who have checked here only to discover that it is still Halloween here in Blogger land...

Betty Boop - Betty Boop's Halowe'en Party (1933)

Reverse today's date and you've got the second best day of October. In honour of 18 days left until Halloween, here's a classic cartoon.

Summa-Summa Summa'time

Well, it's almost the middle of August. The nights are getting cooler, and so are the days, since the last rain storm. I've just had another look through the Fall Sears catalogue and picked out a few nice sweaters I might order. I really wish I could locate my other slipper; I haven't worn them for a while and the floors are chilly in the house. Summer is almost over.
Here's this year's favourite summer photo... blue skies, green lawn, and soaked kids.

Kraft Powder Cheesiness

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

This may not be the Hokey Pokey, but it sure is what it's all about! Totally inspirational.

HOLIDAY SYNOPSIS I

The first five days of our Hawaiian Holiday were spent on The Big Island; three days in Kona on the west side, and two days in Hilo, the east side. Our first hotel was straight out of the seventies- The King Kamehameha Hotel- it was a huge resort that had lost most of it's charm, but none of its odors. Sophie called it the "stinky hotel". But it was right on the beach, had a great swimming pool and scrumptious breakfast buffet. Outside the property was a huge Banyan tree that was gigantic, but turned out to be one of the smallest we'd see. In Hilo, there is an amazing Japanese park with rows of Banyan planted by sports and Hollywood greats of the 1940's (Babe Ruth, Cecil B. DeMille...). We discovered the Hilton Waikoloa Village ($$$$). Words cannot describe it so please check out their website. We had only lunch and a brief swim there. Perhaps some day Jon and I will retreat there... a honeymoon perhaps?!?
http://www.hiltonfamilyhawaii.com/hilton-waikoloa-village.aspx

Most of the first few days of our trip had an underlying theme: "Find Sophie the Damned Drink From a Coconut We Promised Would Be So Easy to Get in Hawaii". We did find one, finally, and Sophie honored the occasion with antics only immature parents like us could appreciate...

BACK FROM THE CRUISE

We're home! We had a great time and we're glad we are home. Here are a few pictures of our cruise ship, The Carnival Spirit. It was really a giant hotel on water. The staff were so helpful and friendly, the food was great, the entertainment, entertaining...

HAWAII CALLS

See you again soon; when we're tanned! xoxo

TRIPPY LEXY

WE THINK SOPHIE IS FUNNY

A LITTLE AFTER DINNER FUN

As you may already know, Sophie enjoys painting on things other than paper... and especially on herself. One evening the rest of the family decided to join in and try to find out why she finds it so fun. This is the result. Don't try this at home unless you are only a few feet from the bath tub.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY LEXY!

KID ART GALLERY

Time to share my favorite art again. I found this one on the dining room table the other night. I love that each figure is completely different than the next. Sophie has drawn quite a few characters here. I was completely blown away when I saw this picture. What a little artist! Sorry Grandparents, but I won't be parting with this one. You'll just have to print a copy for your own refrigerators.

Rockin' Out

When Lexy hears music it's as though she becomes possessed by it. She often holds on to herself, pulls at her clothes, and raises her arms into the air like she can't stand it. And then she "rocks out!" She jumps up and down, sways back and forth, shoots her fingers out to the sides and pumps her hands into the sky... all to the exact beat of the music. She just LOVES to dance. She begs you to put music one for her by pointing at the CD player and then doing a little jiggle to show she wants to dance. This happens at least five times a day. We love it!

THREE YEAR OLDS

Now that Sophie is three and so in tune with her world, it's really interesting to see her personality blossom. There are so many things that she is interested in and becomes infatuated with.
She's so amazing to watch when she's on the computer. She has no fear and just figures it all out. She can navigate her way through her favourite kids' website and figure out all the games and colouring pages. It's truly amazing!
You should hear Sophie sing. What a wonderful voice. She is always coming home from school with new songs that she has memorized and she makes up the most hilarious words to familiar tunes. It's like being in an operetta around here some days.
Sophie's imagination is alive and well and I think she may spend more of the day as someone or something else. FIrst she's Pippi Longstocking, then a mermaid, then a turtle who eats soap. It goes on and on.
It'll be interesting to see what she does in life. May she always be as funny and smart and beautiful.

B B B BUSY

One of the things that has been keeping me from updating my blog- besides two kids etc- are the courses that I have been taking online since the Fall of 2006. I'm slowly working my way through a diploma in Applied Business Technology. I've been doing only two courses at a time since Lexy was born, but I'm seeing the end. I should be finished before next Christmas. Arrrg! But I am proud of myself; I'm maintaining a high grade average and I'm definitely learning some handy things.

CHRISTMAS DAY

This year was our first Christmas at home in Nelson since Sophie was two months old. There was tons of snow to play in, lots of food to eat, and a nice long day to enjoy with our little family. We were once again spoiled with gifts from our friends and family and it was a wonderful day. We ate a fantastic Christmas Dinner with Tracey and Ross and Fred Easton, Jon and Tracey's business lawyer. We enjoyed getting to know Mr. Easton a little better and were enthralled with the story of how he came to be a lawyer; a very interesting story, indeed.