Bon Jovi Fans!!!!

The concert was awesome! Do we sound old if we say that it was very loud?! :) Don't answer that! We had a great time and are a bit hoarse from singing "Living on a Prayer". Jon Bon started singing about 10 rows down and 10 seats over from us - at our end of the stadium, not on the stage. That was a huge surprise to us! He came back for two encores and sang 20 songs in total!

Time to go home now and act like responsible adults again!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:31 Ave NW,Calgary,Canada

More Than I Bargained For At Costco

Today was a perfect day for a Costco grocery trip. Especially as Dave and I leave in a few days for the weekend. Freezer meals are always handy! I found some good, healthy, processed freezer meals ( :) ), paid and happily went out to load them in my car feeling like a very GOOD mom.

When I arrived at my car, this is what I found.

After my initial shock wore off, (It took a few moments!) I followed my first instinct, and called Dave. Not sure what I thought he'd do about it! :) He said, "Maybe, they just slid into you." He's so forgiving! Unfortunately for the other driver, it was perfectly dry where I was parked. There was no note or anything on my windshield. So, I am the victim of a classic hit and run! The police officer we talked to said that hit and runs happen more often than we would like to believe. He also estimated the damage at $2000! We'll get it looked at later this week.

You always get more than you plan on at Costco but this wasn't really what I had in mind!

Moonlight run

We went out a-moonlighting tonight. Big brothers helped sisters and mom and Amy tackled the 10 k course together. Sara even placed first in her age category with a time of 33:59!

There are pizza and cookies at the end and we came home to watch the recorded BYU basketball game after. Fun night!

What I Learned Today From My Kids...

Sorry, there's no pictures with this one. I didn't take any tonight. I was busy...counting. Tonight was a Swimathon. I didn't know what that was - until tonight. Parker, Sara and Hannah have joined the Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club. It is a fantastic organization that helps kids develop their swimming abilities at their own rate. Tonight, all the swimmers were challenged to swim for two hours straight or 200 lengths - whichever came first. I thought that was crazy. Have you ever tried to swim for two hours - or do anything for two hours? In my mind, if they made it for one hour, I was very impressed. But not them. Tonight, they taught me determination.

Sara actually didn't get to participate. She had basketball. But, I have no doubt she would have shown the same fortitude.

So, I was the counter. I had a clipboard, a pen and a sheet for each of them. We were instructed to count by twos because that's easier they said. There was a sign up by the pool that said, "Parents/Counters - While you are counting, don't get distracted. That makes the swimmers mad." Point taken.

At 4:30, they rang a bell and they started. I actually felt a little upset. Two hours is too long I thought. But, not them, they just kept swimming. After 20 minutes, Hannah got a drink of water. That's allowed. I asked her how she was. She said "Fine! I'm going to try flippers now." That's also allowed. She just became a little pink swim cap back and forth in the pool then. And I kept counting.

Parker did not stop. He had told himself he would just keep going. At the end of each length, he would pop up, take a quick breath and keep going...and going...and going.

At the end of one hour, I would have stopped. I would have said, "That's pretty good! I'm done." But, they didn't. They both swam for two hours and completed personal bests. Next year, they can try and top their personal best because they keep their results.

By 6:30, they rang the bell again. All swimmers were to complete the length they were on and then get out of the pool. I marked off their last length. Hannah had completed 122 lengths (with the aid of flippers). Parker had swum continually and completed 152 lengths. Me, I just counted - in awe.

I am not blogging this to brag about their accomplishments though I'm fiercely proud of them. I'm blogging this because this mom learned a great lesson in tenacity, or never giving up - from her kids. Thanks guys.

A Birthday Celebration!

We got to have more family around this weekend! Aren't we lucky? Patrick, Kim, Leah and Dillon drove down from Edmonton and Jeff and Lindsey and their boys are out for Lindsey's sister's wedding. We all gathered yesterday to celebrate 2 big birthdays. Jeff turned 30 (doesn't he look good for his age? :) ) and Dillon will be 5 on wednesday. Kim made a cake for the celebration. Isn't it unreal? It tasted great too! It was so much fun to have everyone here!

A Wedding + B-ball + Choir Concert + Family = A Fantastic Weekend!

This past weekend required a pen, paper and diagrams to figure out how we were going to get everyone where they needed to go and on time, with the right equipment... What a great adventure!

There were a few extra breathing moments and we filled them in with fun cousin time - sledding at the Sugarbowl and playing at the church. We even BBQ'd outside in -24 degree weather. (Crazy Canucks!) It was wonderful to have Annie and Carolyn here for a few days!

Matt's basketball team qualified for Southern Alberta Zones. They were held in Taber on Saturday. They played well and ended up winning the whole thing. So, they had a perfect season with no losses. A feat to be proud of!

Saturday was also the wedding. It was be

autiful, we hear. We did not make it there. But, we did get to two other basketball leagues for Sara and Hannah and got Parker to his afternoon choir practice in preparation for his concert that night. Back to Taber for the final game and then to Raymond for the reception.

Thanks to all our other shuttlers that day. (Amy and Aunt Barb)

We managed to all get to the reception on time for an amazing meal - catered by Vinnie! She is surely Southern Alberta's most famous caterer - and the groom's aunt! The decorations were beyond amazing!

It took two trailers to bring all the decorations to the church. Woah! Not sure that will be happening for the Stewart girls weddings! :)

Parker and Mom left after eating to get him to his Spring Concert at Southminster Church. The Chamber Choir did a fantastic job! It was a real treat. They are really working hard to perfect all their numbers in preparation for their trip to Italy next month. Meanwhile, Dave was the MC at the reception with Aunt Barb. Look out Donny and Marie! (No purple tights this time though!)

It was great to have so many events packed into one weekend, though it made our heads spin! We had a brief visit with Uncle Jim, Aunt Karin and crew. They drove down from Edmonton for one day - Saturday. That's dedicated! You should see Mark's moves on the dance floor! We topped it off with a big family dinner at Grandma's on Sunday with Aunt Carolyn, Bev, Aunt Ramona, Uncle Hugh, Bruce, Amy and boys and Justin and Heather and girls. Barb, Annie and Carolyn had to fly home yesterday. It was so much fun to have them here to play with!

We Love to Throw a Party!

It all started when Aunt Barb decided to come to Canada for Bonnie's wedding. Bonnie is Dave (and Barb's) first cousin. She is sooo much fun and so, everyone was on board when Aunt Barb suggested that we throw her a shower. The invites went out. Being from Southern Alberta, both Bonnie and Joel have a lot of family. So, there were 55 invites mailed out - to family only! It all turned out really great - thanks to a lot of help!

The highlight of the night was Dave's imovie of Joel answering questions about Bonnie. The girls (Sara, Hannah and cousin Carolyn) asked Bonnie predetermined questions and then we showed Joel's answers. She did really well! We also had two "Hutterites" come and give marriage advice!

We had wraps, croissants, heart shaped sandwiches, fruit, veggies, squares, mousse and cupcakes. It was so delicious! Sara and Hannah spent days making heart shaped pink lemonade ice cubes which we floated with limes in water.

So, it was a great success! It's always fun to have a party!