Back in the U.S of A

The internet hates me.  I have written this post three times now and have had it deleted each time.  So, I need to move on to our current happenings.  Here is a VERY quick recap of 2 weeks ago.
1.  Love being back in USA, love a fast interstate, love welcome centers
2.  We were all ready to be outside and spent most of our first days in Missouri outside working in the yard, catching butterflies and picking blackberries.
3.  Yard Olympics is tons of fun!  Pool noodles and beachballs make for perfect events. 

Good, caught up.  I'm going to copy this and hope it posts.

Cross your fingers.

Canada

Well, as I expected, we were without internet through Canada and now are in Missouri and have had a day of relaxation and calm.  We are ready for summer.  Here is a recap of Canada...

Kluane Lake in Yukon Territory.  Yes, that is ice on the lake still.  We stayed here the first night.  We were COLD!

Bison encounters in British Columbia. 

How we passed the time. 

Drawing and journaling...

Wikki stick creations and playing with our food.

Tomorrow...Our arrival in the U.S.

A battle, a race, and an adventure

The battle:  Me vs. New Blogger Interface
                       I won.  It took me some time to look and learn and fuss and fume.  But here I am. Back to blogging.

The race:  Race to the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer.  We made it through 2 track seasons, the end of wrestling season, finals, end of year paperwork requirements, grades, baby O's birthday, Brad's 40th birthday, and the extreme excitement we all have for heading to warmer weather.

The adventure:  The house is clean, laundry is done, motorhome is packed and ready to go, and the kids are bounding off the walls.  We are ready for warmer weather.  We plan to pull out of the driveway early tomorrow morning for the great drive to summer.  Exciting!

We probably won't get to blog again until we get back to the states.  Check back in a few days to see what is up and where we are headed.  Looks to be a fun filled summer.

Off to Canada....

Easter weekend

First of all I would like to say Happy Spring to all the warm areas of the country.  I wish I was there with you.  Why, you ask?  Can you guess?
If you have read my blog for long you know my problem... snow.  Yes, it snowed this weekend.  It started Friday morning, but that melted off by afternoon.  Saturday morning, however, huge wet flakes were falling fast.  They didn't stop until late Saturday night.  Reports are that we had around 6 inches which took our season snowfall above the previous record.  Yippee (did you hear my sarcasm?).  Easter morning brought blue sky and sunshine!  Thank goodness!  On to the more important events of the weekend...wrestling.

 Can you tell that E is listening to coach?

 This is one tough wrestler...he had a really tough match. 

 Words of encouragement.
Tournament results:
E took 2nd
Av took nothing (young for his weight class, rough group)
Ike took first (better than his club season last year- looked alot like Av's season this year)

 Happy Easter!

I tried to get a good family picture.  But as you can see, they don't all cooperate at the same time.  When I got into the picture...I looked like a giant Amazon woman.  Weird camera angle.  I won't include that one. 

This week I hope to get you some pictures of actual ground at our house.  The weather woman reports lots of sun this week.  With over 12 hours of daylight now, this snow had better melt!

Think warm thoughts. 

Eagles and Hollywood Monkey Girl

I know I put a picture of E's eagle habitat on the last post. But here is the finished product.  Fun!

 So, baby O has declared that her new name is Hollywood Monkey Girl.  She was actually going by her full name followed by Monkey Girl Player Outsider.  Now revised to full name followed by Hollywood Monkey Girl Player Outsider Jumper in Puddles.  Please note the change and remember it.  I have experienced the exasperated sighs when I have forgotten.  It is not pleasant. 

Yes she is wearing black cowgirl boots.  They were given to us and are two sizes too big.  Apparently it doesn't matter.  Also, we started getting some of our spring and summer clothes out.  She insists on wearing all summer dresses around the house.  I can't complain there.  I want to wear my summer dresses too.

Jump over to my craft page and see what fun things I have been whipping up lately!
Happy Easter!

Random Update

I have a nice photo montage of our last three weeks. 

Some crafting...

Celie has been wanting a beret like Fancy Nancy.  This one is made from one of the boy's old ratty t-shirts.

Some dioramas.  Ellis had to depict a bald eagle habitat for school. 

This picture cracks me up!!!  It looks like she is carrying a GIANT goldfish!  It is just one of our sleds that the camera caught at an odd angle.  Hilarious!

 I posted a picture recently of Ellis and his backward clothing, shoes on the wrong feet and pants unzipped.  Then I found this picture.  He is that cool to hold his jump in the air while I take a picture.  Thanks buddy.

 Science Fair!

Granny sent this ridiculously gigantic t-shirt in a recent box.  Ellis decided he needed to shove 2 bean bags into it.  Yes, I said 2 of them.  The shirt is that big.

Oohh, more crafting.  Vintage and newer butterfly and dragonfly jewelery framed and labeled like an insect display at a museum.  Fun!

I'll have more soon.  I build a headboard recently and Ellis is loving it.  I have a few thing to complete on it before I post.  Stay tuned....

Time Sure Flies!

It sure doesn’t seem like 3 weeks since we last spoke. But, it has. Sorry.
Life is a bit busy. When isn’t it?
Let me sum up what we have missed sharing the past 3 weeks.


1. Weekend trip to Costco. Always exciting (note sarcasm). When I get everything unpacked into the pantry, this is what usually ends up roaming our house for a few hours.

We have been asked to refer to them as Robot Box Boys. This one is of the Ellis clan. Their most recent challenge is to walk up the stairs without their legs falling off.



2. I came down with whatever nasty cold is going around. It kicked my butt for a week. Now baby O has it and is miserable. More about that later.



3. Conducting science fair experiments. Little E is lighting up fluorescent light bulbs with balloons. Thanks Aunt Jessie and Uncle Jason for the awesome experiment book!

Avery is investigating whether or not playing electronics before bed affects your ability to fall asleep. Thanks Aunt Elizabeth for volunteering your students!



4. Little E turned 6! Yup. He is a big boy now. He has to officially wear all clothing the right direction, on the correct body part, and fully buttoned and zipped. You would think that a 6 year old would have higher expectations, right? Not little E. He habitually wears his underwear inside out and backwards, his shoes are on the wrong feet 90% of the time, and lately he has decided that buttoning and zipping his jeans is too much work. Goals, it is all about goals.

Yeah, you looked.  His shirt is on backward, his shoes are acutally on the correct feet, but his pants are unzipped.  This his how he starts most school days.  Thank goodness Av always checks him out and fixes him before he heads to class.

5. Avery has finished his volleyball season for school. He had a great time and learned some new skills.

Look at that face. He looks happy don’t you think?



6. Isaak has finished his wrestling season for school. This weekend he, baby O, Brad and I traveled to Fairbanks for the state middle school tournament. He was one match away from placing. The kid that beat him had taken 2nd last weekend. He definitely held his own. It was a great experience. Here are pictures from his first match on Friday.

This is his signature move this year. The cradle. Pins them every time.



Ahhh, I feel so much better now that we are all caught up.



This week starts club wrestling season. Yippee! (again, note sarcasm)



Gotta go however, baby O needs her nose wiped and some snuggles to help her head feel better.

Later…