Lamprecht Lunacy

Lamprecht Family Reunion

2012-01-08T16:24:00.003-07:00

Nelson's parents arranged for us to have a Labor Day weekend at a cabin near Red Feather Lakes. Nelson rented some ATV's and we headed up. We saw this Elk cross the street one car in front of us outside of Loveland. At first we thought it was a statue in front of this little store, then it decided to cross the street.

We cut down and chopped up some beetle kill pine as a service for the cabin owners. Everyone helped.

Nelson built a rope swing that the kids loved

Hayden lost his first tooth while we were there (the second fell out later that week at school). And we rode Atv's for the first time (of course no photos of that :( ). It was a great weekend!

First Day

2012-01-08T16:12:00.003-07:00

Chloe had her first day of preschool before Hayden and Ella started and the morning that we dropped her off of course I didn't have my camera. I'm just not the best mom photographer, it's not high on my priorities list. But as we were saying goodbye to Miss Chloe, Hayden did notcie the other parents snapping away and was like "mom, where's your camera?" Well that didn't kick me into gear to bring it to the first day of kindergarten either. This was snapped from Nelson's phone. He looks thrilled, right? :)

He was very excited and has been having a great year, I can't believe it's half over and next year, I bet I'll feel like I never see him. We struggled to make a decision about a school, but the simplest solution we decided was the best for our family and so far it's been a great one. I go in to volunteer once a week in Hayden's class and it gives me a good idea about what is happening in the class and school and we have been so happy.

control freak

2012-01-07T16:39:00.002-07:00

All week long I've been struggling with behavior issues with Hayden. He's exerting his independence and I'm struggling to realize that we really have so little control over our children. Blasted free will. I've had several conversations with friends about children and how we all imagine we can control them, when, really the best we can hope for is that we steer them in the right direction. And that steering is probably more like those cars that they make teenagers drive to simulate drunk driving- the response time is hindered, to say the least. So, in the mean time, I'm trying to get more serious with my discipline. Discipline has never been my forte and my increased stick-to-it-tiveness has been met with tears and more defiance. Needless to say we've had a rough week..

This morning I was doing laundry and the dryer had one minute left. I stood there waiting. And then it occurred to me, I might not have any real control over most things in my life, but that one minute wasn't going to make a bit of difference for our clothes to be dry. So I took control of something in my life. I didn't wait that last minute, I turned off the dryer and finished the laundry.

Thinking about how liberated that made me feel was pretty embarrassing. I mean, it's the stinking dryer. But hey, I'll take what I can get. I can't control my kids or my friends or other drivers, but I sure as heck don't have to stand there and wait through the last minute of the drying cycle. And it only took 33 years to figure it out.

California Part 3

2011-12-31T18:09:00.003-07:00

We did 3 days at Disneyland. I thought it was great. [I should mention the 3rd day which was our second to last day on the trip, was rough on Ella she didn't want to get out of the stroller all morning, but she was only 3 1/2 and she did better as went did some different things like shows instead of rides.] With a 3-day ticket you get a Magical Morning (you get into the park 1 hour early). And that morning we were able to do all the rides in Fantasyland without waiting. The entire 3 days the longest we waited for anything was about 45 minutes and that was to see the princesses. Ariel was amazing with the girls. They were equally enchanted with all the princesses but I the best repoir with the kids. And we were in the gift shop afterwards for about 20 minutes when Ariel came out to go on ther break and she addressed the girls by name.

We weren't sure how we liked California Adventure but we spent an enitre day there and it was great. We saw the Alladin show which is basically a 45 minute rendition of Alladin Braodway style. There was a Wilderness Adventure area which was full of obstacle courses and stuff which the kids loved. It kind of gamve them a chance to not be over-stimulated and to decompress a bit.

We took a day at the beach and then went to another beach adjacent to the airport on the last day. This was a great experience as well.

This picture of Chloe says it all. We had a great time.

This is going to sound so chliche and I'm surprised I feel this way, but Disneyland was so fun for us. It was just a great way to have fun as a family. It was pretty magical. Nelson and I were talking about how even though we've been home from Montreal for 2 years now, we still think about it all the time. Well, we think about Disneyland all the time too. Those experiences where your family just has great quality time together are the most memorable.

California Part 2

2011-12-05T15:30:00.001-07:00

We rented a car while we were in California so we could spend some time at the beach and take the kids to Legoland! When we were waiting in the queue to get into the parking lot Hayden rolled down his window and shouted to the kid in the car beside us "I've been waiting for this my whole life!" I should say now that Hayden LOVED Legoland and he still talks about it, now he is more into Legos than ever. For all of us grown-ups, Legoland was great in theory but bad in practice.

We were there on a Friday and I've heard that mid week is better. The place was packed, I don't think they have exclusions on their season passes like Disney does, so there were a lot of locals there. At Disney we never waited in line for the bathroom and there seemed to be always one in good proximity. At Legoland I felt like I had to search and walk a long ways to find a bathroom.

We stood in line for the first ride of the day for 2 hours and the operating hours of the park were 10am-8pm, so much shorter than Disney too (and at Disney the longest we stood in line was 45 min and that was for Princess photos, not a ride). I think that first ride of the day kind of killed it for us.

Almost all of the rides were designed for very young children, they moved slowly and gradually. Which was great for our aged children, but too much older and it might not be so fun.

I will say that the idea behind Legoland is fantastic because of all the Lego fanatics out there. It was great, it just needed to implement a few of the ideas for Disney to make it worth the trip.

Legoland has a waterpark too for an additional fee which we spent some time at. It was nice, but not much more spectacular than the Apex center. They do have free life vests to use for kids but it was so crowded when we went that they didn't have any left.

August Vacation

2011-12-05T15:13:00.001-07:00

We planned a secret trip to Disneyland and Legoland this summer. We didn't get quite the reaction from the kids that we thought we might but it was a lot of fun. I think they were in a bit of disbelief most of the time. My mom came with us which was a huge help (that's an understatement- we couldn't have enjoyed it without her).

First plane trip for the girls.

For memorable one for Hayden.

When we got in and got our rental car we drove to the hotel and the kids luckily fell asleep in the car and were asleep when we drove past the park. Hayden's reading skills weren't quite what they are now and when we did drive around later that afternoon, Hayden saw the Disneyland Dr. sign and commented what a funny street name Dunnyland Doctor was.

Here's the first ride of the trip the Astro-Orbitor. We spent that first morning in Tomorrowland.

Chloe behind the wheel on Autopia. Riding with the girls driving here was a recipe for whiplash.

Ella waiting patiently. The kids did great waiting in lines. We felt like the lines were really reasonable too, the longest Disney line we waited in was about 45 minutes and that was to see the Princesses.

We played hard the first day (and everyday) and stayed late to see World of Color. The girls slept through that in the stroller but everyone else enjoyed it. We didn't really get any great photos of the water show but Nelson got most of it on video.

Favorite Colors

2011-10-15T09:06:00.002-06:00

This morning Ella was the last to wake up and sat at the top of the stairs yelling for Chloe. Chloe ran to the bottom of the stairs and said "We're downstairs, makng breakfast! It's your favorite color, chocolate waffles!"

Hayden's first viewing of a Star Wars movie

2011-08-23T21:21:00.000-06:00

After gettting a light saber at DisneyLand and riding Star Tours, we decided it was time for Hayden to watch Star Wars. So we started with Episode I. This is Hayden watching the movie for the first time with his LightSaber...

July

2011-07-27T22:35:00.002-06:00

We started July off with a fireworks Rockies Game. It was great. I would totally pop for Rockies tickets again over the 4th.

We went to visit Colin (Nelson's brother) at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. We were there for the Children's weekend Pirates and Princesses. Ella:

Chloe at the Mother Goose booth:

The kids with Colin.

Hayden with a Captain Jack Sparrow.

We visited the Museum of Nature and Science and the Botanic Gardens. We went camping at Reudi Reservoir (outside of Basalt, between Glenwood and Aspen). Chloe:

Nelson caught a fish in the Frying Pan River (A BIG Rainbow Trout). Josh helped him release it because you can only keep small ones in the Gold Medal water.

Hayden practiced casting and tried for hours to catch himself a fish - but he said he could share Nelson's catch.

Ella:

On the way home we stopped over Loveland Pass. There was still a lot of snow!

Enough for some snowballs (we even saw some guys witha sled- gave us an idea for next year sledding in July!)

We hiked around a bit. So beautiful!

While we were on this camping trip I was brushing Hayden's teeth and noticed he has a permanent tooth coming in! He hasn't lost his baby tooth, the permanent tooth is just coming in behind it and his baby tooth is a bit loose but not as much as I would have expected. He has a cleaning on August 15th so if it doesn't fall out they'll let us know if we should wait it out or if they'll pull it then.

Heading on our big trip next week! I can't wait.

June

2011-07-27T22:10:00.000-06:00

I don't remember what we did this day, but Ella came inside and fell asleep like this.

We walked around and explored the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

We spent the day at Cherry Creek State Park swim beach.

We visited the zoo with our good friends the Petersons and Hayden was the photographer of the day.

I should also say since I'm not really posting photos of it- we did 3 2-week long, 5 days/week swim lessons this summer. Hayden can swim now, at least a few yards- he essentially went from not going underwater to getting in trouble with the teacher because he's underwater ALL THE TIME. Chloe isn't letting her feet off the ground but will jump in to the instructor. Ella wouldn't get in at the beginning but is now walked around the very shallow end (2-3 ft deep) but she won't go underwater.

May

2011-07-27T21:58:00.000-06:00

Summer is almost over and I haven't updated at all! We've taken advantage of our Butterfly Pavillion membership. Chloe and Hayden always hold Rosie the Tarantula, and the last time we went a few weeks ago Ella did too. Here's Chloe,

and Hayden.

Hayden and I signed up for a mom and son camp-in at the rec center. It was supposed to be a campout but it rained. There were games, hot dogs, crafts, prizes, homemade doughnuts, and a guy came fromt he Snake Conservation Center. It was fun.

For Memorial Day we went camping in Eleven Mile Canyon (near Lake George about 45 minutes West of Colorado Springs). We went into the Springs and went to Cave of the Winds, the Garden of the Gods, and ate dinner at the Flying W Chuckwagon.

We also hiked around in Eleven Mile Canyon. It was beautiful and no rain (Nelson and I have a camping curse with rain it seems).

After our hike the kids played in the South Platte river (it's the river that runs through Eleven Mile Canyon) and Hayden took a load off.

Large Mouth Bass

2011-06-11T11:36:00.000-06:00

Hayden and Nelson went to fishing derby today and hayden caught his first fish!
14 inch long large mouth bass.

Capitalism

2011-05-26T12:18:00.000-06:00

I told Hayden we'd be going to the dollar store. Hayden- Mom, can you give me a dollar so I can buy something?
mom- You could bring some of your own money.
Hayden- I am NOT going to do that.

Later on our way to the dollar store...
Hayden- Mom, can you please give me a dollar so I can buy something?
mom- I told you, you could bring your money.
Hayden- If you gave me a dollar then it would be my money.

Some more funnies

Hayden is shortening some words now, it must be cool or something. He asks for Cheets (Cheetos) and Mac (for Mac and cheese). There's been others but I can't remember.

Ella adds an -ie to just about everything. She wants foodie, her pillow is pinkie, and a glass of drinkie would be nice.

Chloe still has a bit of a lisp from sucking her thumb (though she's stopped and the dentist said her teeth are settle back to when they should be) but now she's started saying things like schwimming. We're not sure if she's just playing around or not, but it's funny.

Hayden says this morning after one of the girls in the house gets done in the bathroom, "ugh, why is it whenever a girl gets done it smells disgusting!"

5.4.11

2011-05-04T15:36:00.000-06:00

Recently....

Ella rode the carosel at the zoo on an up and down animal and LIKED it!

We had an Easter egg hunt and another and another...Hayden thought this was a clever spot.

Swimming lessons

Museum

Weird week

2011-05-04T15:31:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it is Wednesday. This week has been such a strange one. We were out of town over the weekend, so we missed church and the kids were home sick from school Monday and Tuesday. It's been nice to have a couple of down days. I'd say that I can't wait for them to be out of school in a couple weeks but I'm afraid that a couple weeks into summer, I'll be wishing for the opposite. Although, I do have a long list of things to do to keep us occupied this summer. I am very excited.

On Friday morning we headed out of town to see my grandma and to scatter my dad's ashes. We stopped on the way to scatter the ashes in a river. It was kind of rainy and soggy, but the gray clouds provided a nice contrast with the red cliffs.

While we were in Grand Junction we visited GG and my cousins. We stopped in at Cabela's and the kids got pop guns. Here they are with Cisco.

Chloe and Josh

All the great-grandkids and GG.

Two months!

2011-04-12T21:10:00.000-06:00

It's been over that since I last posted! So much for goals. The best part is I hardly have any photos that I've taken since I last posted. I think there are about 30, 26 or so Hayden took.

Hayden's new obsession. Lego Indiana Jones. Legos. Indiana Jones where Dad fast forwards through the scary parts. And swimming. And the Wild Kratts TV show on PBS. And creature powers (see previous). I was just saying a few weeks ago how I wondered how old kids were when they really got into Legos. At our house it was 5 and 5 months. And we're starting allowance since his birthday is still 6+ months away and all I hear all day is "When can I get the Lego police station?".

Chloe is sweet one minute and rage the next. She goes between snuggling up to me and telling me how much she loves me to telling me I'm not a nice mommy about 10 times a day. At breakfast she either tells you she wants to sit by you or she cries because Ella's "looking at her". She's a fish and we took her out of dance class for swimming, she started tonight. She says she wants to be a princess when she grows up.

Ella is a doll most of the time. She doesn't like to listen though which can frustrate me. She is FINALLY potty trained (knock on wood). It's been about 2 weeks and I am thrilled. She seems to do most things in her own time but when she learns them she learns them well. She gets on the bus and goes to school with Hayden without complaint. She loves to sing and she loves her dance class.

Nelson is busy busy busy at his new job. He works from home most evenings and some every weekend. We're both trying to get in shape. I'm secretly making Easter dresses for the girls. We are learning that this settling in to a new house and a new neighborhood doesn't come easily after we'd been mostly unsettled our entire married life. We talk and dream about the next adventure without realizing this experience is an adventure in itself.

February

2011-02-05T21:38:00.002-07:00

After a few days in the 60's it seems that winter has taken a strong hold, where the snow hasn't completely melted before another round begins. Those couple of days about a week and a half ago put the spring fever bug in me. Now I stare out the window watching the snow fall down, all the while daydreaming of picnics, camping, and roadtrips. We've talked already about planning out some summer adventures. I can't wait.

Hayden's preschool class has been talking about space lately and every couple of days he comes home with a new factoid to tell us. We decided it was time for him to take a little trip to the planetarium. Nelson took him last Saturday. Later, this week he tells me "When a star runs out of gas, it explodes and that's called a Super Grover." I told him Supernova. Then Nelson and I whispered to each other about whether he learned that at school or at the planetarium, then he announces, "I learned that at the aquarium." A little confused but very cute and smart.

Lasik

2011-01-16T16:25:00.003-07:00

Thursday night was Lasik night. Nelson came home early and picked me up. We had dinner at Quiznos and went to the Lasik clinic. They give you a narcotic to relax, put little booties and a hair net on you and put some numbing drops in your eyes. Then you go into the surgical suite, lay down, and they start putting a flood of numbing drops in your eyes. They put eyelid openers in, put suction on your eye that makes you lose your vision for a minute and cut the flap with the first laser. After that, they lift up the flap, put the other laser over your eye and that's when the magic happens. After your vision is corrected, the doctor flips over your flap, smoothes it down and your done! (With that eye)

Friday morning I went for my follow up and my vision was 20/25 which is about as good as I've seen with glasses or contacts in that last few years anyway. I'm having some cloudiness in my left eye (which is apparently normal for awhile) but my right eye is super clear. I'm really paranoid about my flaps (sometimes they can move and that's not good), and I have to sleep on my back for now with these uncomfortable goggles, but I can't wait for camping and swimming and running and biking without glasses or contacts!

12 on the 12th

2011-01-12T20:42:00.002-07:00

I've seen this on another blog, so since part of my resolutions is to post more on the blog, I thought this would help.

01: picked up the antibiotic for my eyes post Lasik tomorrow.
02: got to see our friend's brand new puppy Meg today...thank goodness for surrogate dogs.
03: from-scratch Minestrone for my dinner group, filled 4 gallon sized bags and 3 quarts.
04: Hayden requested to watch "How it's made" on the Science channel, Ella practiced the mouse.
05: cut a hole in the tile tub surround to air out the leak we had earlier this week.
06: ate some of mom's date bars that have been in the freezer since my birthday.
07: hoped it would warm up above freezing today, hopes crushed.
08: Ella came home in her back-up clothes from school, bless the teachers.
09: everyone needs flowers in January.
10: love Happy Hour half-price lemon slushes from Sonic, an oasis in the middle of nowhere.
11: Chloe needed a photo.
12: our new year's resolution arrived this week, hopefully next week it won't occupy a box in the living room.

32

2011-01-03T20:02:00.003-07:00

I thought it had been much longer since I'd last posted. When we had Christmas with the Lamprecht's we had family photos taken. Here is the one of our immediate family and an extra that was snapped of hammy Hayden.

I think they turned out very nice. It was a cold day but much better having cold kids than kids running around in a photography studio.

Christmas this year didn't go exactly as planned. My dad went to the hospital on Monday 12/20, for a COPD exacerbation. He was transferred to a hospice Wednesday evening 12/22 with the thought that when he got back to a more normal breathing pattern he would go home on hospice (I think we all thought that would be just a few days). Thursday afternoon when my mom went back to the hospice he wasn't really conscious (if you shouted his name he would try to open his eyes and roll his head toward you). The doctor that came in that night said that he'd be surprised if he made it through the night Thursday. My mom spent the night there on Thursday, and Friday for Christmas Eve we'd planned on having Chinese take-out with my family. So Nelson and I brought in Chinese to the hospice, and we all ate and then sat in the room with my dad and watched Song of the South (I'd gotten that for him for Christmas). Late Christmas morning when the kids had finished opening presents I drove down to the hospice to let my mom go home and take a shower and eat some breakfast. After I'd been there for an hour or so I felt like my dad's breathing had become very shallow. Soon, he was only taking a breath about 4 times a minute, the nurse came in, I called my mom to tell her it was very soon and a few minutes later my dad had passed away.

The nurses at the hospice were incredible, they performed a huge service to my family and my dad. The same nurse was there on Christmas Eve and Christmas day and that was a huge comfort for me. She had talked to me about how even though it was not so great for it to be on Christmas for us that was a great present for my father that he was no longer struggling for each breath, that the suffering was over.

We invited my mom and brother to come to our house Christmas night and we had a nice evening together. My dad always bought us these weird gifts. This year he had bought us these feet scrubbing sandals for the shower. We decided we'll have to buy weird "dad gifts" every year now for each other. We are all handling it a little different than we thought we would but we're getting through it.

Nelson got 3 bereavement days, took a vacation day and had New Year's Eve off. That was a huge blessing for me to be able to sleep and check out a little bit for a whole week. It was nice for us to have some down time as a family at home.

Now we're back to real life so-to-speak. Nelson's at work, the kid's go back to school, and I'm turning 32 tomorrow. Next week I'm getting Lasik for my birthday present.

12.19.10

2010-12-19T18:21:00.003-07:00

I just haven't jumped back on the blog-wagon again. Maybe it will be a new year's resolution, maybe I shouldn't jinx it by making it one. I'll just try a little harder to actually take photos and post them. There.

I can't believe how fast time goes by anymore. It is extremely unsettling to me. There's nothing I can do about it but try to savor the moments. Hayden is generally a real hand-full, he always knows what to say when you try to correct him and he know how to work around things. He'd be a great lawyer some day. Despite that though, I am so impressed by how good natured he is. He gets mad at his sisters and has been known to hit them occasionally but now that he and Ella ride the bus together he really takes good care of her. I tell him he can sit by whomever he'd like but he almost always stays will Ella. His teacher at preschool never has enough good things to say about him and in particular talks about how kind he is to the kids in his class with special needs.

Chloe has a tough-as-nails facade but is a marshmallow inside. When Ella started school, Chloe was fine with it but got her own backpack packed herself a changed of clothes and carried it around the house. I signed her up for a preschool at someone in our church's house and she was really clingy and cried. Right now she is really affectionate and always telling us she loves us. When we left the Nelson's parent's house the other night (we'd brought 2 cars) she was really worried about leaving daddy behind.

Ella seems to be doing pretty good at preschool. She says in the mornings sometimes that she doesn't want to go but never cries when it is time to leave or get on the bus. Her teacher is Miss Michelle and she calls her Miss Chelle. She has fallen asleep on the bus one time on the way home. Her bus drivers are wonderful. She is definitely more tired in the afternoons and while she isn't taking naps as often as I'd hope, she often comes home from the bus and goes up and lays in her bed for 20 minutes or so to decompress. She carries her backpack around at home almost all the time now too.

Here's my slacker blogging update:

Working in reverse: Chloe so thrilled to be decorating cookies...again. But despite the look on her face little miss attitude was the last of the grandchildren to tire of the cookie decorating.

We cut down our Christmas tree. The house smells great and the kids are loving it. They are very into Santa this year. Chloe was telling her friend the other day how Santa doesn't want her to suck her thumb anymore. Hayden is very interested in all the details of where Santa parks his reindeer etc. I have a feeling Santa wono't last long with him, he's very investigative. Nelson says I'm not allowed to answer any Santa questions and that I need to defer those to him. He's afraid I'll blow the cover. When we were downtown for the parade of lights there were two guys dressed as Santa walking down the street together and Ella yelled "Hi Santa!", the fact that there were two of them didn't seem to phase anyone.

Nelson's work kid-party was at Pump It Up. The kids had a ball and then got cupcakes, juice, granola bars, fruit snacks and a stocking full of goodies to go. Then later that day we went downtown, saw Megamind, ate dinner, checked in to the hotel and saw the Parade of Lights. The next morning we swam in the outdoor hotel pool that was steaming but really not that warm.

And I know this is technically November but we hosted Thanksgiving. We had 11 pies for 10 adults and 3 kids. I really don't know why we bothered with everything else. We had lots of fun playing the Kinect and eating, then we all went to see Tangled.

11.17.10

2010-11-17T14:55:00.003-07:00

I know it isn't Thanksgiving yet but I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. It'll be the first time we'll have a normal sized Christmas tree and we're planning going to a tree farm to cut our own. All the kids will be old enough to get it. We are planning on spending the night downtown during the parade of lights. Nelson's new company has a kids party and an adult party. It'll be great.

I am watching this little boy from the neighborhood in the mornings before school and he gets here between 6 and 6:30 in the morning, so I'm up early every morning. Chloe is an early riser and often Ella wakes up too because Nelson, Chloe and I are moving around. (Hayden I have to drag out of bed at 7:15 to get ready for school). But when the girls get up, if I'm downstairs, they are still too groggy to trek down the stairs and so they sit together on the top stairs for awhile until I come up and get them dressed. Seeing them sit on the stairs waiting for me makes me daydream about children sitting on the stairs Christmas morning waiting to come down and open presents. Nelson and I are both really anxious for Christmas this year.

Nelson is adapting to his new job and finding a niche for himself there. I think it is a good fit and we are all happy that he his here in the morning and at night (even if we don't see him every night). I'm doing good, I don't feel like there is really anything I'm doing but I feel like I am perpetually busy. I spend my time taking Hayden to and from the bus, in OT and Speech appointments with Ella, braiding Chloe's hair, doing laundry, cooking, shopping, etc. Nelson and I comment all the time about how the weeks seem to fly by. Time is beginning to move at a pace that I am a bit uncomfortable with. Hayden goes to preschool 4 days a week and he's doing great. His teacher is confident he'll be reading by the end of the year. Hayden is interested in how everything works. Chloe is obsessed with all kinds of dolls and princesses and is constantly doing dramatic play with them. She has to wear a dress everyday and with the colder weather we've had plenty of temper tantrums about wearing leggings or tights under her dresses since she refuses to wear pants at all. Ella prefers to wear a dress but is a little more flexible than her sister. After her birthday this month Ella will move from in home therapy to getting her therapy at preschool. She will ride the same bus as Hayden but I made sure she'd be in a different class. Her speech is becoming very clear but she still is lagging a bit in articulation. She also qualified for OT for some fine motor delays.

When we just had Hayden, and even when the girls were still smaller, I used to rely pretty heavily on friendships with other moms to get through things. Now that even just Hayden is in preschool and the kids are getting older, I'm realizing that although I still need and crave those relationships, it is more important to me that we have down time together as a family. I don't know if that is because my kids are getting older and I have less influence on them in general, or if it is because I am maturing as a mother. I just want more time with the kids and with Nelson alone.

Tis the Season

2010-10-27T20:55:00.004-06:00

This time of year begins a whirlwind for our family. Starting mid-October with Nelson's birthday, then Hayden's, the Halloween, then Thanksgiving, the girls' birthday, Christmas, and my birthday at the very beginning of January. We figured out this year that we can't wait until October to start thinking about Halloween. It's just too late. And I think that Halloween is one of our family's things.

Now that October is coming to a close I'll post some of the stuff we've been up to working backwards:

Our Ward Truck or Treat, I decided last minute to dress up. I forgot my hat in this photo.

Hayden's birthday party- a success! Pinata-ing that eyeball with his sword.

Finally comfortable enough for face-painting at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge Round-up

Picking Pumpkins at Rock Creek Farms

Feeding Horses and Picking Apples at YaYa Orchards, nothing compared to Quebec, but still fun.

Halloween dress rehearsal. Two princesses and a knight.

Starting off October with Lakewood Cider Days.

Flowers in my Hair

2010-09-30T15:38:00.005-06:00

Art Museums
The Thinker, it's a cast, but Nelson thinks it is the same one as in Ferris Buehler's Day Off

Nelson and I have spent a night here and there at a time away from the kids but never a trip. Since he had lots of frequent flier miles plus a free ticket and lots of hotel points we were thinking about going to Hawaii. We went back and forth about it for a long time, never made a decision, and then Nelson took a new job and didn't have any vacation. So we took Labor Day weekend to San Francisco. It was our first time away and I really missed the kids but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

SF's crooked street

Cable car tracks

Aquariums

Alcatraz, I'd been wanting to do it for awhile

Shower, anyone?

it's small even without a bed

I love the streets in SF

Golden Gate Bridge

Historic street cars

And of course lots of good food. Clam Chowder in sourdough bread bowls, Chinatown... and even though the Chinatown in Montreal is smaller I couldn't find what I wanted in SF's Chinatown- a good Chinese bakery... maybe it's the french influence in Montreal.

Arches NP

2010-09-30T15:02:00.004-06:00

We met Rachael and Brady in Arches for a long weekend of camping. I hadn't been there as an adult and it is a really beautiful and majestic place. I loved it. The kids played in the sand, we hiked and had good company.

We took the kids one morning and hiked to Delicate Arch. They did great, though I'm not sure we could've done it without Rachael and Brady keeping tabs on Hayden. It is a 3 mile round trip hike that's considered strenuous with exposure to heights. Hayden did it all and the girls really hardly had to be carried at all, they probably did at least 2 1/2 miles of it. In this picture of Nelson and Ella you can see the slick rock and the tiny dot people walking up it in the background.

Here's Delicate Arch. You can walk up right underneath it, but since I'm afraid of heights, I stayed put. Brady and Rachael went over underneath it.

I think this is part of Double Arch

Balancing Rock

Hayden was a little attached to Rachael. Ok, a lot. I think he was a little jealous of Brady.

Rocky Mountain National Park

2010-09-30T14:54:00.003-06:00

I loved this picture of all the kids posing with dad. They did great on a little up and around Lily Lake.

We camped for three nights. For three nights it rained and rained some more. We were just glad our tent wasn't in a puddle like this one.

And then it hailed on us some too.

But it was a nice little trip, just us with hikes and s'mores and family time.

July 2010 Part 1

2010-09-30T13:13:00.005-06:00

Before we got to Utah we stopped in Grand Junction to see my grandma. GG is 97 and doesn't generally venture out to Denver so we stop and see her very chance we get. Here's the kids with GG and Dylan (my cousin's son).
All the great-grandkids

When we got to Utah one of the things I wanted to do was float in the Great Salt Lake.

Here's Hayden pushing me around by my feet while I'm floating.

Hayden and Chloe

Ella and Dad

Trekking through the hot sand down to the lake.

So I know that swimming in the Salt Lake sounds kind of gross. But honestly I expected much worse. The water wasn't too gross- just super salty and when Hayden rubbed his eyes with his wet hands you would have thought the world was ending. The grossest thing there were the salt fleas. The mostly hung out right at the shore line and when you approach them they move in waves like a school of fish being spooked. And, where we were, Antelope Island there are showers so you don't itch the whole way home. And I know it's weird, but that's us, we love quirky tourist things.

Thanksgiving Point is about halfway between Provo and Salt Lake. It's a big attraction with an IMAX, Dino museum, farm, and gardens. We only went to the farm and gardens. At the farm the kids all got free pony rides, that was the best.

Ella sat on the horse for about 2 minutes and tthe decided it wasn't for her.

Hayden was so proud he was on the tallest horse.

Chloe loved it

July 2010 Part 2

2010-09-30T11:39:00.007-06:00

The main reason we were on this trip was to attend Brady's wedding. Robyn made all the little girls matching dresses and hair bows. The bows didn't last long with my girls but they were cute nonetheless.
Bonding with uncle Colin

Hayden and his princess Tess.

Chloe

Brady and Rachael and the Lamprecht side nieces and nephews

Brady and Rachael

Hayden and Kambria

Ella and Weston couldn't get enough of each other.

After the wedding we went to Temple Square

Our last day we went to This is the Place Heritage Park. It was some kind of free day and a total zoo, but we still had fun with crafts, potato sack races and the petting zoo.

May/June 2010

2010-09-30T11:33:00.002-06:00

In May we went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park for some camping with our friends the Ison's. I forget about taking photos often. This is it.
We also took the kids to Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison. We thought it was pretty awesome, the kids liked the bus ride up and complained because we opted to walk down. Look at those dino tracks though.

March/April 2010

2010-09-30T11:04:00.004-06:00

Hayden running in a PTA fundraiser race for the Arvada West Preschool.

Hayden riding his bike without training wheels. It happened for a few days, and then we tried to transition him to a bigger bike and then he didn't do it anymore.

Some Easter photos:
Had to post this one. :)

Palmyra, October 2009

2010-09-30T10:44:00.003-06:00

When the family left Montreal in October of last year, Nelson took the better part of a week off to help us drive home. We stopped in Palmyra, New York. It is a small town of seemingly little consequence, but to Mormons it hold great significance. Joseph Smith's family lived on a farm outside Palmyra when he had the first vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. It happened somewhere in this grove of trees behind their home, now called the Sacred Grove.

When we walked from the farm into the Sacred Grove everything seemed to suddenly grow quiet and still despite the breeze and rain that was falling that day. The beauty of this region of the country (especially in October) adds to the power you already feel there.

This is the Smith home.

And the Smith farm.

Reminiscing

2010-09-30T10:40:00.005-06:00

So I was looking back to when I was trying to catch up and I skipped around a bit. I'm going to try to condense it as much as possible and try to live in the present. But I don't want to omit anything meaningful either. Again, I will be attempting to do some catch up.

All of our time in Montreal has been largely covered. But as I look through photos of that time, my heart aches. It was such difficult but incredible time for our family. I miss that city and the experiences we had there.

When I look at the pictures from that time, I am also amazed at how much the kids have grown. Physically the girls especially are so different. Maybe that causes a touch of heartache too.

For Grandma.

2010-09-30T10:16:00.004-06:00

It's just me and the girls home this morning. Hayden is off to preschool. Here's Ella,

and Chloe

And here are some house pictures too.

This is from the front door. There are stairs to the left, upstairs there are four bedrooms; ours, Hayden has his own, ther girls share, and Nelson is using one as an office. When you walk in there is the living room opening to the dining room.

Then you walk past the dining room into the family room, eating area, kitchen.

I had everything cleaned up the other day and ready to snap some photos and then I found out the battery on my camera was dead. Things don't stay cleaned up too long around here, and I thought I'd better stop putting this off or it would never happen. I know the photos aren't great, but they're something and maybe I'll get some better ones up soon.

Eek!

2010-09-21T06:28:00.002-06:00

So, I guess making a post and returning our blog to being public was Nelson's way of kicking my rear into gear so I actually do something about it. I've been playing with backgrounds and am really unhappy with the current one so I suppose that will be my first project. Then I will take photos of the house this week and post them. That's all I'm promising for now.

Hayden and the fire station

2010-09-20T09:46:00.006-06:00

I (Dad) took Hayden to an open house at our neighborhood fire station where he was able to climb in and out of two firetrucks, an ambulance and use the fire hose on a sample house. Hayden carried around his firefighter action figure the entire morning and showed each it to each firefighter. Sometimes I think I unfairly treat hayden like he is 15 but when you see him inside a firetruck and how his face lights up at simple things, I remember he is only (almost) 5.

We're in!

2010-07-01T22:18:00.003-06:00

We closed and moved in the same day, June 9. We had some more hiccups with the house and our closiing date was moved back almost 2 weeks. But we're here now and beginning to get settled in.

So, surprise! It is really different that I thought it would be. I'm thrilled to be here, don't get me wrong. But in a way, it is just another transition like the other ones we've had in the last year or so. It's hard to get comfortable and realize that this is where we are settling for awhile. Hopefully a long while. And, for now and hopefully not too much longer. I am alone in a big empty house with the three kids. Nelson has been traveling to Seattle for a couple months working for Microsoft. Great opportunity but I think we're done with the traveling thing. He should be done with this stint at the end of the month and we are praying that he is on a local project next.

Our ward (church congregation) I was really nervous about. We are WAY out here in the suburbs and there are lots of young families with young children just like us. And coming from Montreal where not everyone was just like us (and I LOVED that), I was a little worried. I never seem to have much success in places where there are lots of people of my same demographic; Nelson and I don't usually fit the mold. I have been judging this place for so long in fact that I've dubbed it Stepford. As in, the Stepford Wives. Happily, I have met lots of people though haven't had the time to really know them, and think that there are lots of normal people here and I think it will be a great fit for us and our family. I can't believe I'm saying that, but it's true. I think some of this is also just an increase self confidence and maturity on my part too. :)

So no pictures this time. We're still unpacking and I don't have the energy to find the camera and honestly I don't think we're taken any pictures yet anyway.

Losing it?

2010-04-14T12:26:00.004-06:00

So, I can tell I'm pretty much at the end of my emotional rope when one moment I am pushing my children away from me and the next I am thinking it will be kind of sad when the 5 of us aren't sharing a bedroom anymore.

Nelson's home! It's been 2 1/2 weeks. We're looking forward to the house we still don't have a closing date on. Nelson is currently staffed through the end of next week and we're hoping he has a little down time but not too much- and we have reason to be optimistic.

Hayden loves preschool, he's always learning new songs and new name-calling. The other day we were having dinner at a friend's home and when he was eating dessert he bragged that he hadn't eaten a single bite of his dinner.

Chloe is a little chatterbox. She loves her kitty and likes My Little Ponies. She also is decidedly more a fan of Diego than Dora. She an excellent trike rider.

Ella is just as snuggly as ever and she's talking more everyday. She's very good at saying thank you. She likes to paint and eat with her hands. She loves running and wrestling with Chloe. She is my very best eater, willing to try almost anything.

Today after we'd left the store without gummy bears, Ella screamed about how she wanted "nummy burs" for about 15 minutes in the car while Chloe covered her ears and sang jungle bells.

Coping

2010-03-05T15:45:00.004-07:00

So, when you become a mom, there are lots of things you do that become commonplace that you never think twice about. Smelling bottoms, wiping boogers, etc, etc, etc. And there are other things that you experience that, while not so commonplace, you get through because considering the rest of your life these experience aren't necessarily surprising.

Today I got a haircut and my eyebrows waxed. Not something I do often and usually I do it to make myself feel good about myself, and you know, I don't spend a lot- I go to one of those discount type salons . I brought the girls with me when Hayden was at school. First I got my haircut while the girls spread Legos throughout the store and spun all the chairs around, and dropped the hairdryer on the floor. Not too bad- I mean there are two of them and they weren't making a huge ruckus. Then when I was getting my eyebrows done, I was laying back and couldn't really see what they were up to. I was glad when they came over to watch. One of the girls was holding my hand and rubbing it a little and I was relieved that at least they weren't running around like crazy. Then all of a sudden she started crying and saying "poopy! poopy!". I looked up and she was holding her hand up covered in poop and she'd been rubbing it all over my hand. I had to excuse myself to go and take care of it. It was so embarrassing. But at the same time, it was surprisingly not a huge deal and I think the fact that it wasn't a huge deal is just the weathering of motherhood. You get used to "surprises" like that and all the gross things that go along with the human condition. Maybe that's also why it doesn't bug me that the house we're building is about a mile from a landfill. It's just part of life and dealing with this *stuff* is part of who we are as humans.

When my grandfather died, it was of failure to thrive. Sometimes when people age they stop eating enough and slowly let go of life. My mom would sometimes go over and help clean him or whatever (he also had a caregiver there). I used to wonder how she could do that, why it didn't bother her, and now that I've been changing diapers and cleaning up messes for almost 4 1/2 years (and for about a year, 3 at a time). It seems less and less like a big deal.

Don't get me wrong though, while I'm not looking forward to potty training the girls this spring, I am definitely looking forward to the result.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-02-14T22:24:00.002-07:00

This was the beginning of doing a lot without Dad. There when we first got home, Nelson would only come home every 2 weeks or 3 weeks. It was hard we had do just do some of our traditions without Dad. It wasn't as fun and definitely a little difficult, but, life goes on. It was a windy day, and there had already been a hard frost, so we got our pick of a lot of mushy pumpkins, but it was fun and a nice view of missed Colorado mountains.

Hayden turned 4!

2010-02-14T22:21:00.001-07:00

I know there are only 3 cupcakes in the picture but Hayden turned 4 in October shortly after we got back to Colorado. He took cupcakes to preschool and his big gift was Geotrax, he'd been asking for them for months.

Halloween

2010-02-14T22:14:00.004-07:00

Halloween at the Train Museum. They had a special Halloween event at the Railroad Museum and we went, it wasn't too crowded and we even got to ride on a train (not something they do everyday there).

Halloween Night. This isn't the best photo, but it's the only one I have with all the kids where you can really see thier costumes. The girls tired out quickly but Hayden loved his first memorable evening of trick or treating. Hayden was a cowboy and the girls were fairies.

The Girl's Turned 2 November 2009

2010-02-14T22:07:00.002-07:00

The girl's celebrated their 2nd birthday on Thanksgiving. We had presents in the morning and then just had normal Thanksgiving (we figured they wouldn't remember it- next time it falls on Thanksgiving I'm going to have to be more creative). The got new babies-Ella was very nuturing... And new purses...Chloe knew more what to do with the purse than the baby.

Christmas Tree

2010-02-10T21:43:00.004-07:00

So, I decided to skip the backdating- it won't be worth it so sift through stuff. This is from December 2009.

We're used to not having much space and we've never had a full sized tree, but since this Christmas was spent at my mom's house, we got to get a real tree. We even chopped it (I should say sawed it) down ourselves from a cut your own tree lot. It looks so clear and beautiful in these photos but when the clouds don't insulate...it's freezing!

Catching up...

2010-02-10T21:37:00.002-07:00

So I figured out how to backdate my posts which I think will make things easier to read in the future. So when I write about things from the last 5 months of so, i'll be starting with the present (well Christmas time anyway) and moving back to August or whenever I took my little hiatus. So I maybe updating, but it might not be obvious.

Taking Shape

2010-02-06T17:21:00.003-07:00

In a weeks time we've gone from basement to almost all framed out. It's hard to believe it will still take nearly 3 more months before we can call it home (though we already are). I keep hoping if the weather cooperates maybe we could close earlier than expected- but I really think that is just wishful thinking.

Maybe it is a little nerdy- but I am loving that we're seeing our house in all these stages. It is so fun.

We're buying a house!

2010-02-02T16:45:00.003-07:00

This is very exciting news. From the end of December through Saturday we looked at around 50 homes. We are buying a new home and when we were there on Saturday, it only had a basement. I stopped by today and our garage is getting some walls!

For those that are unaware. This has been an extremely long process for us. In fact, we spent more time (twice as much) trying to sell our townhome than going through fertility treatments, and it seemed as emotional. The townhome was on the market for 2 1/2 years with about a two month hiatus when the girls were born. We had one offer, which at the time we thought was ridiculously low, but which by the time we took it off the market would have made us feel rich. In May we all went up to Montreal and lived in a two bedroom highrise apartment for five months in the middle of Old Montreal (downtown). Now we are all sharing a bedroom in my parent's house, and have since October. They are estimating our closing to be sometime toward the end of April. I'm hoping for good weather, so things move along smoothly and quickly. It will have been 3 years in the works and this is a welcome blessing. Our kids have only had a backyard since we've been in my parent's house and have always shared a bedroom.

I give up.

2010-02-02T16:42:00.002-07:00

So, I've been wanting to catch up on all our Montreal things before continuing but I don't know when that is going to happen. So, I will just go on and maybe someone will tell me how to back date blog posts when we get can access our photos again. I have all our photos from the roadtrip home, so I can do that. My technical support is 2000 miles away and always extremely busy, so when he's home, we'll figure out the photos from before. We will have time now since we won't be spending every spare moment house shopping.

2010!

2010-01-01T21:58:00.002-07:00

It's here! Happy New Year! Nelson's been home for a week and it has been great! We've gone out to look at homes once on our own and twice with the real estate agent. It's exciting and stressful all at once. I keep tring to picture our couch in all the homes we see (it's pretty much our only piece of furniture besides our bed and kitchen table) and I know whatever home we pick, it'll be empty for awhile. But, it'll be great and I imagine we'll pick something up off of craigslist or the thrift store to help make it more homey.

This year is going to hopefully bring lots of changes. Hopefully we'll be in a house, have three potty trained kids and Nelson will be done in Montreal in this year. Lots to look forward to. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up our blog better than I have in the last few months as well.

I will get around to it soon...

2009-12-21T21:56:00.004-07:00

updating that is. We still have lots of photos to share from Montreal and from the last two months here in Colorado. We got a new laptop so it should be easier for me to blog. Hopefully things will become more regular, esp after the holidays.

Our big news is that we are going to start looking for a house. I'm definitely thrilled and terrified at the same time and I hope we can find something wonderful for a great deal. And after essentially living out of a suitcase for 8 months, I can say, any place that it our place will be wonderful.

Other big news is that Nelson is taking a week off for Christmas so we're expecting to have a lot of fun family time and hope we can spend some time outside and it isn't too cold.

And I just wanted to share one thing from my Sunday. I've been attending our current ward for over 2 months now, I know a few people, not many, but some I knew from when I was in the singles ward. Anyway, Sunday I left the kids Sunday bag in the car and Sacrament Meeting was really difficult. Kix all over the place screaming and fighting over snacks (re-thinking church snacks altogether). I took them out into the foyer and just felt so helpless and like no one was even noticing that I was visibly having a diffiicult time and alone. Well, after I went outside this girls who was just visiting for her brother's wedding came out and asked if she could help me. I immediately started crying. I was a wreck and I really needed that, even from a stranger. But I just wonder, why aren't more people like that? Why not the regular ward members and the few people I do know? Anyway, it was eye-opening and made me want to be more aware and proactive helping those who don't ask for it. I hope if someone else is in a similar situation I can listen to the promptings of the spirit and act on it.

Still here...

2009-11-23T15:41:00.003-07:00

We're still here. Leah and the kids back in Colorado, Nelson flying home on weekends (most of 'em anyway). Hayden started preschool and loves it. He's also turned 4 (4!!!!). He is getting so big and smart. He even drew this picture of himself bowling. That's a 7lb ball by the way. And he says those are the velcros on his shoes.

The girls will be 2 this Thursday, Thanksgiving.

A lease has been signed on our townhome. Nelson should be done in Montreal sometime in February.

Leah and the kids are with her parents until we find a new home! Someday soon I'll be updating the in between time.

Parc de la Chute Montmorency

2009-10-03T13:40:00.003-06:00

Just outside of Quebec City is Montmorency Falls Park. These falls are actually 30m (over 90ft) high than Niagara. They were beautiful, though not as spectacular as Niagara...but at Niagara you pay for it by having to deal with the Vegas Strip type tourism. The volume of water coming over the falls obviously doesn't compare but Montmorency was much more serene.
You can even walk over the falls. For me it was nice because they put down plywood over the slats in the wood so you can't see underneath you.

Since we had three young children with us and no backpack babycarriers, we took the gondola up. We ate lunch at a little diner at the top and then walked down these stairs carrying the girls. Our calves killed the next few days from going down those stairs carrying over 20lbs of kid.

A view of the confluence of the Montmorency River and the St Lawrence. Quebec City is about 3 hours East of Montreal and so 3 hours closer to the ocean. Even though we weren't close to the ocean at all, since the St Lawrence is so wide, there was a very Mediterranean feel. There were sail boats on the St Lawrence it was so beautiful.

Parc Maisonneuve with Rachel and William

2009-10-02T12:33:00.003-06:00

We spent a portion of one late summer afternoon at Parc Maisonneuve. William and Rachel came along and we enjoyed the cool summer breeze together.

Ella as per usual was off doing her own thing

Chloe was trying to do everything Hayden does.

Hayden was climbing trees.

And fighting over-aggresssive squirrels that were trying to steal our canola bars (AKA: granola bars).

Parc Safari

2009-09-29T06:31:00.005-06:00

Ella likes to take off her shoes sometimes if she's been cooped up too long... She dropped it in the tiger enclosure (click to enlarge and see her little purple shoe).
Parc Safari is this crazy place where you drive through and feed animals out your window. It can get a little hairy (I know, I'm funny) watch out for the ostriches especially. We brought carrots and apples and I think the carrots were by far the favorite. In the photo below that is the top of Ella's head in the lower left. Hayden watching the zebras go by.

Nelson practicing safe driving...

This giraffe photo just has a cartoon-like appeal to me.

This is Colin feeding the giraffe an apple.

So it was fun, a lot of fun and not busy since it was a weekday and kids had already gone back to school. I don't know how I feel about the ethics of it all, but we had fun and no animals were injured in the making of this vacation. Parc Safari also has a water park play area and carnival rides.

Fete de Enfants

2009-09-29T06:07:00.003-06:00

I threw in a couple of pictures of the park we go to when we run to NY to get mail. It's pretty old school with teeter totters and a merri-go-round.

Every year in Montreal they have a Children's Festival where there are, surprise! Jumpy castles, I think Hayden has been in more jumpy castles this summer than any kid I could imagine. There are also crafts and entertainment geared toward children. It was really hot and miserably humid that day so we got ice cream bars:

And the girls provided entertainment for onlookers:

Mid August

2009-09-28T18:29:00.005-06:00

One Saturday in August we went to a town called St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu where there is an annual international hot air balloon competition/festival. It was a beautiful, albeit hot day with carnival games and rides, a free inflatable jumpy play area and hot air balloons at sunset. So glad we did it, it was a great day.

Life from 3 1/2 feet tall

2009-08-31T19:19:00.004-06:00

I decided to upload some photos from Hayden's camera since if you go beyond capacity it deletes them all. I thought these ones were interesting from Hayden's perspective...enjoy!

This is mom day after day. The street we live on.

Aunt Tess came for a visit...this is one of many he took.

Chloe

Chloe, again.

Ella

The paper maiche pig mom and Hayden are making together...sort of...mostly mom.

Some sky and edges of clouds.

The train at an Ottawa museum- mom forgot her camera on this trip...grrr.

Dad... daddying.

Bedtime whisperings

2009-08-20T19:06:00.004-06:00

We lay with Hayden for a few minutes every night at bedtime. Tonight he was singing a made-up song. I didn't quite catch the beginning but I did hear the end.. "And then they smashed our window, and that, that's the end of this song". I don't know if it's post traumatic stress or what but I think it is probably more from my reaction to it all than the incident itself.

Then, after a long period of silence, he whispers "mom?" as if to say something profound... "sometimes cars are train cars". Thanks Hayden.

Classic Banana Bread

2009-08-13T15:14:00.003-06:00

I know there are thousands of banana bread recipes out there but I really like this one. The kids eat bananas like they're going out of style so I end up buying a large bunch probably twice a week. I rarely get lucky enough to get some overripe ones from the kids. Nelson and I generally don't eat bananas.

8.7.09

2009-08-07T19:38:00.003-06:00

We took a trip to Nun's Island with some friends today. It was an especially beautiful day today. We rode a little ferry across the Lachine Canal from LaSalle, had picnic lunch, and walked to a playground. A lot of playgrounds here have water features and I love that.

This is our crew (minus Rachel the photographer), from rear: Heather and baby Gideon, Haydon, Hannah, Hayden, Ella, Chloe, me, and William, Rachel's son.

Blueberries

2009-08-06T10:20:00.004-06:00

We went to the country to pick some blueberries. We'd gone with a friend from the stake a few weeks ago and did strawberries and almost melted. I was a much more mild day: sunny and beautiful with a slight breeze. We all decided that blueberries were better: no bending over, and much more plentiful than were the strawberries. We ended up getting over 5 lbs of blueberries each. I froze most of them. The kids had their fill at the farm. Chloe gagged on some not quite ripe, and Ella stuffed herself, and Hayden put a dozen or so in his container and when I would look to see how many more he'd gotten, they were gone. We brought a picnic lunch and made most of the day of it. It was wonderful.

So slow...

2009-08-06T10:13:00.001-06:00

Chloe is bothered by the hot dog rounds I put in her mac and cheese. She carefully picks through the bowl taking them out, while muttering to herself, "no, no, no". Then she builds towers out of them. Nelson, I am sure is proud. He thinks hotdogs in mac and cheese is sinful.

Storytime with the Lamprecht's

2009-08-02T18:11:00.004-06:00

It's always an adventure. Yes Chloe is sitting on Nelson's stomach. And that's really pretty lucky.

8.2.08 (It's August!)

2009-08-02T16:02:00.006-06:00

For our first date night since being here we went to Cirque Du Soleil. This is a pretty cheesy photo, but it was so neat and we didn't really buy any souvenir, so I wanted to remember that we went.

Here's Hayden taking a water break with his friends Hannah and Haydon.

This is what I found that dreadful Monday morning.

This is the Brig Niagara, a great lakes replica ship that stopped for a weekend in the Old Port of Montreal. We went on a tour and it was cool. The coolest thing is that we found out that there is a full-time crew of about 15 or so and then the rest of the boat is manned by volunteers, mostly retired folks, but they'll take able bodied folk 16 and up for 2-4 weeks in the summer. Sounds fun!

Haydenisms, part deux

2009-07-30T06:38:00.002-06:00

This morning he was getting dressed, typically a point of contention between him and us. He asks me if he's putting his underwear on right. I say yes that's right, he turns them around and asks the question again, "no, that's backwards" I say. Turns them around, "That's right, please put them on". Hayden says "You always know mom, that's why I call you smart". Feeling a bit patronized, I laugh and roll my eyes. "What?!?" he says, "You're just a funny kid". "You're a funny mom!".

Hayden has gotten into the habit of greeting strangers, "Bonjour!" When they're leaving he's sure to say "Adios!".

In Primary on Sunday there were some visitors, one of which was hard of hearing. She and her brother introduced themselves by saying their names and signing them. When the turn fell on Hayden to introduce himself, he rolled his hands around each other and said "My name is Hayden!"

This one isn't Hayden but I thought it was very funny. There is a family here who we play with from Utah and their little girl Hannah is about 6 months younger than Hayden. When we were at their house yesterday, Chloe was talking in baby jargon. Hannah looked up to me and said "Your baby speaks French!". It was really cute.

A boy after my own heart...

2009-07-27T08:43:00.002-06:00

Last night I made some cookies, and usually refridgerate the dough before baking, but since I had the time I went ahead and made a couple dozen. They ended up a little more crispy than usual, and a bit disappointing. This morning I decided to make some fresh ones for our picnic today and when Hayden smelled them cooking he asked if he could have a cookie (he didn't know I was making any more, the smell hit his brain and he knew we had some left from last night). He came over to the tupperware where they were and started panting and getting really anxious waiting for me to open it.

He grabbed one out, started eating and making ooh and aaah sounds- you know like the kind you make when someone rubs your back after a really hard day. I swear there were four cookies left and now they're gone. Maybe he shared one with Ella. Happiness really can be so simple.

Different

2009-07-22T14:35:00.005-06:00

Chloe and Ella are very different. Today we went to Ikea to pick out some new stuffed animals for them because Chloe lost her beloved alien in said store, and because they keep playing with their leash/backpacks like stuffed animals.

At first Chloe liked this really cool lion. But then as we looked at more and more things she settled on the kitty cat. She still liked the lion but when I made her choose she gave me the lion and hugged the kitty. She says kitty but keeps calling it "mow".

I gave Ella a few different stuffed animals and she pushed a lot of them away. Then I gave her this Ostrich. She loved it. When Chloe chose the more conventional cat, I tried to get Ella to like something less, er, loud. Everytime I offered her something she would hug the Ostric tighter, turn away from me and say "no!". I even called Nelson and he said just get her the other cat that was gray. So I did, and she didn't really cry but she wasn't happy about it and couldn't have cared less about the cat. Nelson sent me a text message a few minutes later saying "Ella can have anything she wants, even if it's the Ostrich". So I got her the Ostrich and she threw the cat at me and grabbed the ostrich with a huge smile on her face.

In the end, Daddy made Ella's day. We both should just let them be who they are going to be. Ella has so far always been the more creative one, moved by music and interested in coloring and art. And I think our little Ikea trip today just reinforced that. Chloe is generally more cautious, and Ella more "moving to the beat of her own drummer". Hmmm...I seem to recall one of Nelson's teachers saying something along those lines about him when he was a kid.

Kleenex commercials...

2009-07-22T14:18:00.003-06:00

You know those Kleenex commercials where there's a guy on the street talking to people on a couch and there's a box of kleenex? It's all about crying and letting your emotions out.

Anyway, for those that don't know. After our car was broken into on Sunday night, Wednesday, a valve in our washer back home broke, allowing the washer to fill with whatever water was left in the pipes, overflowing, leaking through the 2nd floor, to the first floor and through to the crawl space. Well, for me it broke the damn and I was flooding tears all last week. Even today, I was getting so stressed out with the kids that I just went into our bedroom layed on the bed and cried. And now I feel so much better. I think holding back, really just makes the stress pile up- and letting myself cry about something releases all that stress. I equate it to the male version- like is just fine until the last straw makes you punch a hole in the wall (at least that's how it seems to be with all the males in my aquaintance).

As far as practical matters go, we're coping and the strings should tie up just fine. Our car window was expensive, but it was fixed. I know how to get to the important places without the GPS for now and we're shopping around for another one. The damage in our home should be mostly if not completely covered by insurance.

Emotionally, I'm coping too. Somedays are better than others. I think the fact that Nelson and I have only had one date since we've been here and that I can't drop the kids off somewhere to play while I run to the store (or have an emotional break down) is starting to wear on me a bit. I did take the kids to Ikea this morning and they have a free play area for kids Hayden's age so he went crazy for an hour, got beet-red and had fun, while I only had to deal with the girls. And, another thing that I totally take for granted: I think I have a mild case of SAD. I know, it's summer, but Montreal (as well as a lot of North America) has been having an unseasonable amount of rain. I swear the sun only comes out 2-3 days a week. And coming from Colorado, it's killing me. It makes me want to sleep all day and it just gets me down.

So right now, that's where we are as far as a really bad week last week. This week has been a ton better, it would just be nice to have some more answers, and hopefully they will come soon.

Hard

2009-07-13T19:50:00.004-06:00

A few weeks after arriving here when things were still crazy with adjustment for us all, Nelson asked me how I make it through the day without just falling apart and crying. He said sometimes at work when he gets frustrated he feels like he wants to cry, and he couldn't understand how I could not cry.

I've done a lot of crying in my life. I don't know exactly why, but I've only cried a few time since the girls were born. My answer to Nelson and to others has been quite frankly that I don't have the time or energy to cry. It takes time to let it out and it is exhausting. Not crying has served me pretty well. But I'm afraid maybe it has served me too well.

Sometime between when Nelson came home from church yesterday (I was home with sick kids) and this morning when we were heading out for the day, someone broke into our car. A shattered window and a stolen GPS. We got off pretty easy, no other visible damage, our DVD player was still there, our three carseats. We've had an attempted break-in at our townhome in Colorado, and had stuff stolen out of unlocked cars. I think this bothers me much more for two reasons: I've got three little kids and our property was vandalized. Yes, when someone tried to break into our house we had to replace the lock but seeing that shattered glass there today really got to me. And I felt like this person could be watching me right then as I stood there dumbstruck staring at it.

Hayden looked at the shattered glass on the ground and asked me if it had snowed. And I felt so angry that I had to tell him that someone broke the glass, because not everyone is nice. I don't care too much about the GPS. I'm angry that we have to deal with the inconvience of having to pay for and get our window fixed. I'm very angry that I'll be more paranoid now. I really think that Nelson and I are pretty reasonable people. We don't walk around thinking the whole world is out to get us (just the housing market- but certainly not the WHOLE world) and we aren't too naive either to think that everybody is our best friend. I really don't want this experience to sway me toward the paranoid side. I know that things like this happen everywhere, in the city, in the country, in the suburbs; bad things happen.

Back to crying, I've been trying to cry about this all day. Mostly what I feel is numb. Mad, but mostly numb. And it irritates me because I can feel some pretty deep emotions down inside of me, but I can't let them out to deal with them. And I feel them building and building. And if I've put up this nice wall to not feel these negative emotions, I wonder how much positive emotion I'm letting myself feel. And maybe I'm reading WAY too much into all this and I really am just too tired to expend the energy to cry.

But for now, I'm going to see if I can go cry myself to sleep.

Playtime

2009-07-12T19:40:00.002-06:00

We are trying to fill up our time here and enjoy it while we have it. And busy kids are happy kids and happy kids make a happy mom.

Saturday we went to a beach in one of Montreal's nature parks. The forecast called for afternoon rain but we went early and even though it was overcast the kids loved it and there weren't many people there. At this park, Parc Nature-Cap St Jacques, there is also an ecological farm but by the time we were done at the beach it was pouring so we'll have to come again. It ended up raining like an inch and a half in less than 8 hours. We've visited three different beaches in the last 2 weeks, one in Vermont, one in New York and one here in Montreal. I'm learning how wonderful beaches are for kids. They don't easily get bored, it's a license to play in the mud, they can play in the water relatively safely, especially if it is a slow sloping beach. It is fantastic and then they pass out afterwards. The worst part is clean up which is still doable. And I'm loving the lake/large river beach. No salty film on your skin afterwards.
We visited a really cool, mostly indoor train museum. I would like to return with Nelson to this one. Here's me and the kids in front of the snow-blower train.

There are lots of parks here, not many right downtown but lots that are easy to drive to. This is at Parc Angrignon. Hayden was really scared of this the first time we went and wouldn't go out on it at all even when I climbed up and did it with him. The second time we visited he followed some 6 year old kid out there no problems and got really adventurous with it all. Peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.

If we aren't right downtown and there aren't lots of people I try to let the girls walk as much as possible. They are both getting MUCH better at holding hands. I still usually put the leashes on them just because 1 on 3 can get a little crazy and I want the option there if things do get crazy, but I rarely have to use them. Mostly they've just been a threat and we usually just try and hold hands. I'm especially glad that Chloe will now sometimes hold hands with Hayden. Ella will too sometimes but usually for about 3 seconds. Then she's off and running.

Hayden has been such a trooper. He hasn't complained about being here at all and he hasn't once said he wanted to go home. I asked him the other day if he wanted to go back to Colorado and he said no, then I asked him if he wanted to live in the tall building forever, and he said no. That we were going to be here for a little while with Daddy and then we were going to go home to Colorado and have a house with a garage and backyard. He's one bright kid and really seems to get it. When we went to a beach in NY the other day it was closed because of water quality and I explained it to him and told him we'd have to go up the road to another beach to see if it was open and he was fine with that. He had a hard time when we first got here with some behavioral things but the last few weeks he's been doing great. He's also starting to sing church Primary songs and it is so cute and wonderful to hear.

Chloe is really blossoming. She's growing lots of blonde hair (not LOTS, but lots for us). She is saying lots of words too. She even says dinosaur. She tries to mimick Nelson saying prayers. She is very helpful and always tries to help put away toys and pick up her shoes. Both she and Ella like putting on and taking off shoes. She is very sensitive too and is upset easily. She is a Daddy's girl and is always asking where Daddy is. When I tell her he's at work she says "oh". She loves bananas and cookies.

Ella is very sweet. She is always full of smiles and is generally very even tempered. She is saying a few words like please, thank you, hello, bye bye, hi, drink, and more. She often mimicks the things Chloe says. She is a free spirit and seems to think she is invinsible. She doesn't like to hold hands or help pick things up and she's not always the best listener. She is more of a momma's girl. She is our best eater and will almost always at least try everything on her plate. She is sometimes a little reckless. The kids were playing on a grassy hill the other day: Hayden was rolling down the hill, Ella would run as fast as she could, and Chloe would turn around and crawl down the hill backwards. That just illustrates how different the two of them are.

All the three of them get along very well, we've had a couple biting incidents with the girls (both have bitten and been bit) but they all play well together. Nelson asked me tonight who I thought got along better with Hayden and I think it just depends on the day and the situation. Hayden always asks me in the middle of the afternoon if the girls can be done with their nap yet. "I want to play with my sisters" he tells me. The answer is always no, they aren't done with their nap yet and be quiet Hayden, by the way. :)

USA Independence Day

2009-07-12T19:21:00.004-06:00

We were going to find a place in the US to celebrate but with fireworks every week we thought we could find enough to do around town to keep us busy.

At the Old Port there are free circus acts several times a day and this was one of them on a sail boat. It was really cool. They did are really neat acrobatic romatic dramatization, it was choreographed to music and beautifully presented.
We took a ride on a Quadricycle. Nelson and I alternated steering, we both pedaled and Hayden sat in the middle with the girls up front. They all loved it and it was one of the better tourist deals. Chloe and Ella wave at people all day long in the stroller. We always joke that they think they're in a parade.

And, luckily enough, there was a parade. It was a Caribbean themed parade. There were some amazinf costumes.

O Canada

2009-07-12T19:07:00.003-06:00

We even sang O Canada in church the week of Canada Day. It was great. There was a big party at the Old Port with all kinds of stuff, this Canadian Parachute Team...

The kids were more interested in other stuff...Chloe pushing her car,

Ella waving her flag...

and Hayden played in a few of the dozens of bouncey inflatables.

For Robyn...

2009-07-11T20:06:00.005-06:00

who asked for face photos...
Ella Bella- even Hayden calls her that now.
always a nice big grin, though it's hard to catch since she's always on the move.

Hayden, still can't give a normal, nice on-demand smile. Though the goofiness of this one has a certain appeal. Especially the eyebrows.

Chloe's got the smile for the camera down pat. She even says cheese.

Her hair is long enough for a barret or bow or ponytail now (on top at least) We stick with the nice flat barrets since she pulls bows our right away and well, sticky-up ponytails really aren't our style...at least so far. No, she isn't the one with the underbite, she just plays with her jaw sometimes and especially with these cheesy 19 month old grins.

Some more June pictures...

2009-07-11T19:30:00.002-06:00

Don't see many ohone booths back home. We pass several each day and Hayden always likes to stop and see if someone is calling him.
This one is from our Amphibus tour. I included it because our building is the red brick building in front of the tall tan building. We are on the 9th of 10 floors so the second window down on the right side of the building is us! We are about a block and a half from the port.

This is the Amphibus. A little expensive but totally worth it. Hayden calls it his Nemo bus.

The Basilica of Notre Dame- street view. We learned there is a 5 year waiting list to get married here, unless you're Celine Dion.

The horse drawn carriage ride. Nice, but we all think the Amphi tour is best. The girls go crazy when they see horses in the streets. Ella points and squeals and Chloe points and says "neigh!".

Mail Trip

2009-06-30T20:12:00.004-06:00

Once every 10 days or so I pack up the kids and drive across the border to Champlain, NY to check our post office box. It's about a 45 min-1 hour drive each way and so I try to do something special for the kids while we're there. Usually it's McDonald's but I think I can do better if I drive a bit further.

The sixth largest freshwater lake in the United States is Lake Champlain. It lies between NY and VT and Quebec. It is the border between Northern NY and VT. The Quadricentennial of its discovery is this year so there are all kinds of things going on througout the summer and fall. The Lois McClure Schooner is a replica of the canal boats that traveled through the region hundreds of years ago. The were doing free tours off a dock abour 1/2 hour from our PO Box so I thought I would take the kids down there. Hayden got to turn the wheel and learned about rudders. He thought it was pretty neat. Ella had just finished a blue lollipop before we went on the boat. Vermont is really pretty...but again, those New England winters aren't calling my name. We also had a picnic at one of Vermont State Park. There was a beach into Lake Champlain, which surprisingly was as warm as a swimming pool. I didn't come prepared because I thought it would be cold and the kids would just put their feet in, that's why Chloe's diaper looks like it is about to explode.
The beach was a hit and I think we are going to plan more outings on mail days and here in Quebec, there are some beaches along the St Lawrence River.
So, just as a little note. Look at Hayden's hair!!!!!! Holy cow, I don't know if it is the light in these particular pictures or what but it sure looks red. We've had several people talk about our "red head" lately. I'm always in denial but then the other day I was talking to someone who in my opinion has red hair and I compared her's to Hayden's and Hayden was more red than she was. We'll see I think it is darkening so it seems less "strawberry blond" and more reddish, it will be interesting to see where it goes.

Vermont: The Green Mountain State

2009-06-30T20:02:00.002-06:00

Nelson made fun of me for taking pictures on the way home from Vermont but was such a pretty evening. The first one is blurry, but I loved what the clouds were doing. The second is the best of the sunset I got and of course, the only one that had the rearview mirror in it. And the third, after many failed attempts Nelson pulled over so I could get a picture of the rainbow. The street sign kind of annoyed me at first but now I kind of like it.

St Jean Baptiste Day

2009-06-28T18:01:00.003-06:00

Or Quebec Day was on Wednesday June 24. Nelson had the day off and we went to Vermont for some sightseeing.

We went to the Joseph Smith birthplace memorial. Some of the foundations of his relative's homes were still there and it was really neat to see those old buildings. The granite memorial was erected in 1905, and there were some photos of when it was put up andthe pulley system they had to have.
We also visited the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. I didn't realize that this was how apple cider is made. The apples cut and mashed and then put in these hydraulic presses which squeeze the cider out. Cider is unfiltered, whereas juice is filtered. We bought some cider, some cider doughnuts, and some BBQ Chipotle sauce that is sweetened with apples. Above is what's left over, it is called pomace and is usually sold to ranchers and fed to live stock. We started our day though with Ben and Jerry's, and I'm glad we did our tour was full and it was the second of the day and there were a lot more people arriving. It was fun but honestly not the highlight of the day. We got to see the production area through some windows but it just wasn't the best tour I'd ever been on. But we did get some ice cream afterwards.

Boy's Day

2009-06-18T14:04:00.002-06:00

Hayden: Mom, can I get you flowers for Mother's Day?

Me: I would love that, but Father's Day is coming next what do you think we should get Daddy?

Hayden: A Walkie-Talkie. We didn't bring my walkie talkie, I think Daddy needs one.

Me: Well, on Father's Day we buy something for Daddy, not for you.

Hayden: Well, after Father's Day comes Boy's Day.

Sunday Update...

2009-06-14T15:11:00.004-06:00

We're always learning. Some learning is more painful than others. We've made countless U-turns since we've been here. We've also gotten 2 parking tickets. Today there was no place to park at church and I just told Nelson- "Hey, just be careful, we've been here a month and already 2 parking tickets", when we came out of church there were lots of people who came later than us parked in no parking areas...and no tickets.

I learned one of the reasons why people are shocked to see me with the three kids. All of Canada has some subsidized childcare. I'm not sure exactly how it works, to what extent it is subsidized, how to qualify, I just know there is subsidized childcare and there are limited spaces- so not everyone has it. In Quebec, though, all childcare is subsidized. Childcare is $7 per day per child. I think in the States childcare averages about $50 a day. So basically, it isn't common for moms to stay home. Nelson even noted there are a lot more women in the workplace than in the States. Everyone makes their own decisions and has to live with them. I do think that having subsidized childcare takes more parents out of the home, which is too bad.

Montreal is home to an annual international fireworks competition. It started last night and will continue until mid August. Our apartment is perfect for viewing, although I think we will walk down to the Old Port one night to watch. So Saturday nights are planned for us now, except for the 4th of July, I think we'll find some small Northeastern town to celebrate in. I've also learned I love the United States, for lots of reasons, but mostly because it's home. While I'm becoming more comfortable here and loving it in it's own rite- even when I drive to Champlain, NY to check mail, it is so comfortable. I pretty much know what to expect. If my kids are loud and rowdy, I don't worry about anyone seeing the license plates on my car or hearing us speak English. It's totally unfounded to worry about that here, we've had only good experiences with Canadians and Quebecois, so yes, I realize I'm paranoid, and it is starting to wear off a bit, and I imagine it will continue to do so.
Nelson got this shot of the Basilica of Notre Dame. Ok, I'm going to admit that I just figured out on this trip that Notre Dame means Our Lady... duh. The Basilica is one block up and over from us and is really beautiful. There are a lot of buildings all around it so I wasn't sure we'd be able to stand back far enough to get a shot of the whole building but we did. Old Montreal is really crowded with buildings and people.

6.8.09

2009-06-08T12:40:00.004-06:00

I really need to get a walking tour map or something. I can't tell you anything about anything.

This though, is the Biosphere, not to be comfused with the Biodome. The Biosphere is left over from the 67 World's Fair.

Hmm...this might be the Hotel D'Ville which I've read means City Hall. The flags are Quebec, Canada, and Montreal. It is, as many buildings and streets here, undergoing reconstruction.

This is inside the Biodome, which is a transformed arena from the 76 Olympics. The Biodome has about 4 different simulated environments, all under one roof. It was pretty neat.

We are settling in. The first couple weeks were no doubt rough. I'm pretty sure I wanted to go home most days. We've been here for three weeks today and I really feel like we're going to have a great (and at times difficult) experience here. We are getting around a lot by foot, the subway (mostly for Nelson-it is not at all stroller friendly-not many things here are), and in our car. Church will be, as per usual, a huge anchor for us. We've already made some connections and are excited for upcoming activities and getting to know people better. The kids are making an adjustment too and are doing ok. Everyone is extra needy and when we read books before bedtime it is near impossible since they all fight over my lap. Despite the ups and downs (mostly downs) with Hayden- I have to say he's such a trooper. He walks or hitches a ride on the stroller without too much complaint and hasn't whined about going home at all. Today when we got back to the parking lot from storytime at the library, Hayden woke up and said "mom, where are we?". That simple statement hit me hard. I woke him up one morning, stuck him in the car in his PJ's and drove for 5 days across North America; to a place where, and we never thought it was really possible, had less room to be 3 years old than at home. He's doing great and thank goodness it is summertime and we can walk around and look at stuff and go to playgrounds.

Rainy Days

2009-05-30T19:01:00.003-06:00

After the other kids saw how much fun Ella was having they joined in too. Our place is sparsely furnished so we're using suitcases for dressers right now.
Ella, happy as a clam in the suitcase surrounded by and covered with clothes.

Ella started all the fun in the clothes.

Ella puckering up wearing my shoes, and Chloe with her glasses wearing Hayden's. He didn't like it much.

This week was rough. It started raining on Wednesday and didn't stop until Saturday afternoon. In short, I'm not signing up to relocate to Seattle anytime soon. I need my sunshine! Anyway, that left us with entertaining ourselves inside. We did playdoh, coloring, and Memory game and practiced writing our letters. The girls aren't really into all that yet (thank goodness they still nap pretty good!) so they found other ways of entertaining themselves.

Hayden's camera

2009-05-30T18:50:00.003-06:00

Before we took off Hayden received a V-tech Kidzoom Camera from Grandma Karen. While the resolution on the photos leaves something to be desired, this is one awesome camera. Hayden took over 1000 pictures while we on the road which I didn't realize that once you get to 1001 photos it erases them all. That was a bummer but lesson learned. The camera also does some video and has a few preschool appropriate games. He played the games in the car on the trip and took, as I said PLENTY of photos. I was worried about battery life on the camera, because the reviews I'd read about another preschool camera talked about the batteries having to be replaced every 4 hours, but so far we haven't had to replace them and it has been about 2 1/2 weeks of pretty frequent use. The camera automatically turns off after a couple of minutes so I'm sure that helps. Anyway, I'm recommending this camera to anyone who's looking for a camera for a preschooler.

Anyway, here are a few of the pictures that Hayden took today when we were at the Montreal Biodome.

Living in the tall, tall, building...

2009-05-29T18:29:00.005-06:00

that's what Hayden calls it. The following are photos from our windows. We live in Old Montreal which is really neat, but also better than 16th Street Mall so weekends are packed. The "castle" in the first photo is the top of the Basilica of Notre Dame, which has some significance that we are yet to find out.

South to Old Port Montreal

I believe the dome on the left is Montreal City Hall.

Narrow streets in Old Montreal...tourist central, which is nice...lots of English.

Wikipedia Quebec if you have some time on your hands. This "Free Quebec" graffiti is a not uncommon feeling in Quebec of wanting to separate itself from the nation of Canada. There is a history of violent and nonviolent action in this direction. The last time it was put to a vite to separate from Canada it lost by half a percentage point. I think this is so interesting to think that it has been so close to separating itself. In the states we think of Texas, but mostly joke about it. Here, it's serious and real. Montreal is an extremely biligual city, but about 80% of people consider French their mother tongue. Other than Montreal and Quebec City though, most of Quebec is primarily francophone. Being here so far is quite an experience. Nelson was saying that he thought that people looked at us more here, having twins. I think I've decided though that people look at us funny here because we have three kids. We haven't seen anyone on the streets really with more than two and even that seems rare (though we are downtown). But people do ask if they're all mine, or look at us, raise an eyebrow and then put up three fingers. Here, it's like we're the Duggar's or something.

Briefly, we attended church on Sunday and it was good. It is an English speaking ward. We learned how international this city really is. In Montreal there is an English ward (which may split into two soon), a French ward, a Mandarin branch, one or two Spanish wards, and a young single adult ward. Even in the English ward we were the minority. There were very few people of Northern European decent, and a lot of those had come from, well, Northern Europe (Finland, Great Britain).

Poutine

2009-05-28T20:02:00.002-06:00

Rather than explain exactly what this picture is, I will let wikipedia do its job:

Poutine

However, as different sounding as it might seem, it actually has a good flavor.

I have only tried the poutine classic but leah and I are going to try some of the other styles while we are here....

Photostitch

2009-05-28T19:51:00.004-06:00

A view from my Le Centre Sheraton hotel room earlier this month looking at Mont Royal.

I took 4 different photos and stitched them together...my first recent experience with photo stitching

just had to share...

2009-05-28T15:37:00.003-06:00

Chloe seems to be conducting a little experiment with her sister right now. They both have their babies and Chloe keeps intentionally dropping her's. When she drops it, Ella walks over and picks it up for her. It started out with them standing right next to each other and now Chloe waits until Ella is half way across the room to drop the baby. When she drops it, she looks at me and laughs, as though mocking her sister. What a stinker!

Though, in defense of Chloe, she is the one who is generally concerned about Ella. Ella needs a cookie, Ella needs a drink, Ella needs a blankie. So, maybe this is some kind of pay back.

A Couple of Differences...

2009-05-25T19:51:00.003-06:00

DISCLAIMER- I want to be sure and clarify that just because something is different doesn't necessarily mean it's better or worse than what we're used to. Sometimes things take a getting used to, for sure. But I am trying to be as objective as possible about all these ch-ch-changes.

*When driving... exits on the right and the left all the time... rarely in Colorado do you exit to the left but you do a lot here.

...no right turn on red ...apparently this is just a Montreal thing.

...flashing green...you've got the exclusive right of way, so if it's a flashing green- you're safe to go straight, left, or right.

...liberal horn honking.

*At the store... milk in a bag if you're buying more than a half gallon (2L?)

...Walmart closes at 5pm on weekends!

...no frozen ground beef or boneless skinless chicken breasts at Costco.

*Eating out... Rolo McFlurries!

...Poutine- at McD's, even at the Costco food court!

Montreal Parks

2009-05-25T19:23:00.003-06:00

We found a park with a playground today and I found out why Cirque Du Soleil isn't from the States. Our playgrounds are pretty lame. This one was next to one for little kids (5 and under) at the end of some cul-de-sac and there was less grass at this park than sand. It was little. I've never seen a play structure quite like this in Colorado. Too bad Hayden is still a bnit little to really enjoy it. This one isn't close to where we live but it is about right in the middle of Walmart and the church building. So we'll be in that area periodically.

Montreal as a few large parks. By large I mean dozens of acres. Parc Mont Royal is the biggest. It is actually on top of this mountain (hill) in the middle of the city. It was designed by the same guy (I'm assuming he was a landsdcape architect) who did Central Park in NYC. We haven't seen much of it yet but Nelson says there are mountain biking trails in it (and there were a lot of cyclists when we went). There are lakes and lots to explore. In some of the other laerge parks there are swimming pool and lakes where you can rent canoes in the summer and ice skate in the winter. When we were leaving Parc Mont Royal there was a pull off where you could view the whole city, we couldn't stop and take pictures because it was Saturday and there was tons of cars and nowhere to park, but we'll go back. By the way, Montreal is named for Mont Royal, in case you hadn't already figured that out. I didn't really get many pictures of the actual park, just the kids, but, like I said we'll be back.

I've decided we're going to make it a goal to see lots of different parks.

Niagara

2009-05-25T19:05:00.004-06:00

Above is the Canadian (horseshoe) falls. Below to the left of me is the American falls and to the right is the Canadian falls. (Cute hair, huh? I'd already been soaked on the Maid of the Mist.)

I can't believe how tiny the boat is in this picture! The boats go right up close to the falls and just hold there for 5-10 minutes. You really do get soaked by the mist.

Click on this picture to make it bigger. The look on Chloe's face is priceless, and Ella is non the wiser.

The American Falls, I don't know if they are more rocky, but it sure seemed like it. There is much less water coming over that side.

Look at all the seagulls. They just fly in and out of the mist.

Hayden ready to go on the boat ride. The week before we hit the road we went to the Denver Aquarium and they have a flash flood exhibit that totally freaked him out. So, when we were at Niagara, all he could say was I don't want to go over the waterfall in the boat, I don't want to go in the waterfall. He was a little nervous but did great.

We've been told that the Canada side is better so we went that way. It's really just easier to see from the Canada side. We paid an arm and a leg for a falls view room which was worth it. We could see the falls lit up at night and got views of it we wouldn't have seen otherwise unless we paid to go up in some tower. It was quite amazing. The mist from the falls can be seen from miles away..it helps that it is really flat, but still.

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-05-25T18:58:00.003-06:00

When we stopped off in Chicago, we stayed with my friend Julie. I always say i met Julie on the internet, which is true (as funny as it sounds) but we met through a MeetUp for stay at home moms. Hayden and Julie's son Cole are about 10 days apart in age and she just lived on the other side of the park from us. We hit it off as two new moms, tried some mom's groups and talked about how crazy some moms are. They moved to Chicago to be closer to family when the boys were about 10 or 11 months old. This was the first time we were able to see each other since, and even though the boys certainly don't remember each other they had a ball together with Cole's little brother Brady who's 2 1/2. We went to a play area at the mall and the boys were all over each other wrestling. It was so fun to watch and so good for Hayden to get some rough playtime in.

Home Sweet Home Away From Home....

2009-05-20T09:06:00.002-06:00

We made it! We couldn't have done it withough Marietta. It was like having a nanny along for the ride (but better conversation). We left dark-early on Thursday 5/14 and had lunch in Aurora, Nebraska. We got back on the road and five minutes later Hayden lost his lunch. After getting that cleaned up we ended up making it to Des Moines, IA. Friday we went from Des Moines, IA to Chicago to stay with my friend Julie (who we hadn't seen for almost 3 years). Friday was by far the worst day of travelling through pelting, sideways, windblown rain. I was in some parts going only 35 on the interstate and there was some kind of construction on I-80 over the Mississippi River bridge so we had to take a detour around that and then, arriving in Chicago our GPS went on the fritz and we ended up driving the same stretch of TOLL ROAD like 3 or 4 times. But we finally arrived, luggage dry thanks to this wet bag we had for it, in Chicago. Nelson caught an earlier flight for Saturday morning which was bitter sweet because we had to leave Julie's so soon (but hopefully we'll do it again) but it gave us enough time to get to Niagara Falls, Ontario around 10pm. We spent all day Sunday in Niagara Falls and loved it. A little Las Vegas strip-ish but beautiful and aweinpiring nonetheless. We then drove to Syracuse NY, stopped off in Palmyra, but arrived too late in the evening to see anything (we plan on making Palmyra and the Ben and Jerry's Factory weekend trips- Palmyra is about 5hours from us and Band J's is like 2). Monday we drove from Syracuse (ended up paying a couple extra tolls there too) to Montreal and arrived in Montreal late in the afternoon. We are beginning to settle in and catch up on sleep. We bought some food yesterday (we're like 5 minutes from Costco!) and I thought we'd walk down to the Old Montreal Port today but it is raining so maybe it will clear up this afternoon. We are looking forward to church on Sunday and being able to connect to some people. One of the missionaries in Palmyra is from here, and actually the ward we will be attending and said it is an English speaking ward which is a bit of a relief for us. One less change to contend with. Anyway, we'll keep updated through the blog. There is a lot to say already...too much for one blog post.

Pictures from Montreal

2009-05-07T16:36:00.006-06:00

Loonies and Toonies

2009-05-06T08:28:00.003-06:00

The first thing I encountered in Montreal is the Canadian Currency.

The taxi fare from the airport is $38 CAD (Canadian) plus tip (about $42USD).

As part of the change, I got a few coins I had not seen before. As I understand it, Canada has moved their $1 and $2 currency to coins. What makes this interesting, as in the picture below, is you can have $4.52 in only 7 coins. The gold coin is the loonie ($1), and the silver coin with the gold center is the toonie ($2).

Their bill currency is quite pretty as well. Leah pointed out that they have a picture of a Hockey game on one of their bills which, in my mind, further illustrates the devotion that game gets to people here

Nelson

Grand Junction

2009-05-03T22:08:00.004-06:00

We took a very short trip to Grand Junction to see my grandmother. Hayden got to play with my cousin's son Dylan while we were there and got pretty tired out. The morning after we got home he woke up at 9am, then fell asleep at 6:45 that evening, the next day slept until 8am and then took a nap!

Two Peas in a Pod

2009-05-03T22:04:00.003-06:00

Hayden and his cousin Kambria play so well together and have such a fun time. When we left their house to go to the park for a picnic, Hayden said "Mom, I love Kambria, I'm going to have so much fun with her today".

Casa-licous, Easter, and Kite Festival

2009-05-03T21:54:00.003-06:00

Mmmm...Casa Bonita, we splurged when Nelson came home for his <36 hour stint for the weekend. The food was mediocre at best, the chips we stale and the sopapillas were to die for. And it's dark in there so you can't see how dirty it is. And if you want a view of the divers it'll smell like chlorine. Hayden doesn't excel at posed smiles either. We were going to ride the Platte Valley Trolley but apparently 55 degrees is inclement weather to them and they were closed.
We were running late for church and Easter pictures didn't go so well. This is the best we got.

We made it to the kite festival which was postponed because of this wild spring we've had. It was nice enough outside but there wasn't much wind at all. Hayden tried his hardest though and had a ball.
What a good slick-lookin' daddy.

He's leaving on a jet plane...

2009-04-18T20:33:00.002-06:00

I think everyone knows but Nelson's going to Montreal tomorrow. He'll be there during the week and come home on weekends for the next 4 weeks and then we'll hit the road and meet him in Chicago and finish the trip to Montreal. We figured it would be less hairy at the border if both of us are present. We'll be there for several months while he works on a project for the Canadian branch of his company. At this point we are tentatively planning to come home around Thanksgiving and he should finish up by the end of the year. That's up in the air depending on if the project runs on schedule (often they don't) and what the weather is doing (Nelson doesn't want me driving 2000 miles in snow (and come to think of it that doesn't sound at all enjoyable to me either). So we're excited and scared and lots of things. But we are mostly excited. We've been waiting for an adventure to come our way since we got married and here it is! We've had several other opportunities come along that we've gotten excited and worked up about, only to see then fall through the cracks. We are blessed at this time to have kids that aren't in school yet, a home that we are trying to sell (so we don't mind leaving it cleaned up for people to see), and the flexibility to do this.
Au Revoir!

Woes of Adulthood

2009-04-18T07:46:00.003-06:00

I'm not liking it.

I am now incapable to sleeping past 6:30am. I used to be able to wake up look at the clock and roll over and go back to sleep. Now I wake up, look at the clock, it says 6:20 or something, I try and try and then by 6:30 I'm in the shower. It doesn't matter if I go to bed at 9:30 or midnight. I'm up before the kids. I used to want this and now, I'm not so sure. I guess I don't want the amount of sleep I get to be based purely on when I go to bed.

Nelson this morning brought me my former favorite doughnut. A maple frosted long john with white cream filling. I almost gagged. It was like eating sugar-flavored crisco! Ok, well, that's probably not like what it is, it is what it is. But I used to love those and today it was really just overwhelming and not good. I'll have to find a new favorite doughnut, but at least I'll have the extra time in the day to figure it out since I get up so early.

I guess maybe I should just be happy that I got 30 years of deciding for myself when to wake up and eating crisco-filled doughnuts. Here's to early mornings with yogurt and grapefruit.

Tutus and Butterfly Wings

2009-04-18T07:34:00.002-06:00

I tried to get a picture of Hayden yesterday, but he'd already changed before I got my camera. He's been playing in the dress-up clothes at the Ison house lately. He LOVES the butterfly wings much to Nelson's dismay (not really but it's fun to see his reaction) and yesterday he even put on a tutu. This morning Hayden came up in our bed early to snuggle and was telling Nelson how he wants a kitchen and some butterfly wings like Claire and Aubrey. I told Nelson that when he was little he probably would have liked to wear butterfly wings too. And then Hayden said "I wish you could have butterfly wings for your birthday too dad." It was pretty cute. Hayden knows butterfly wings make him happy and wants dad to be so happy too. But his favorite pants right now are camo- just like his uncle Colin, he says.

First Camcorder Post

2009-04-14T15:10:00.012-06:00

So, I finally dedicated some time to posting a video from our camcorder we got back in October.
This is a clip from Hayden's 3rd Birthday where he received some train tracks and his party at Chuckie Cheese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTBtgx711HA

Hayden's classes

2009-04-10T20:37:00.002-06:00

Since Hayden missed the cutoff for preschool, we've been trying to keep him busy in other ways. The other day after his Nature Center class I took him to the optometrist with me and he sat in the waiting room talking some lady's ear off for about 20 minutes. "I have three classes" he would tell her, "I have my swim class, my animal class, and my church class". Then he went on to tell her all the things he get when he goes poop on the potty. He's a charmer.

He likes his swimming class but hates going underwater. He's getting better, in fact, the back float in this picture is one of his best yet. He usually is doing a V with his butt sunk, and his head craned up and his feet sticking out of the water.

He also loved his nature center class, it was once a week for 45 minutes, for 5 weeks. Each week they learned about a different animal, made a craft and had a snack. It was only $15 too...one of the best deals we've found yet. On the last day they did Z is for zebra and made these zebra visors. He was one of the youngest in this class and did a great job but he does need to learn to raise his hand. Every time they talked about how such and such animal has fur, Hayden would talk our of turn and say "Cats have fur".