Renovations...ugh

Well...it has been a long, very long, 4 months to
say the least. If you ever want to put your
marriage and your sanity to the test, just renovate
an old house. Here are some 'before' and
'after' shots. Enjoy 'cause God knows we are!


Ahh! Finally, a functional kitchen. I can't even
tell you how much I love this kitchen. It is perfect,
perfect, perfect! If you ever get the chance to
buy a display model, jump on it! You get "all the
bells and whistles" for a fraction of the cost.


I remember the day when Curt took out that wall.
It was fall and also fly season. That really sucked
hard.


Fortunately, my husband is a genius and oh, so
very talented! He likes to remind me of how much
money his skills have saved us thus far!


The Kitchen. I won't say anymore. (Note: the
microwave. This was before we splurged on
the toaster oven)



Our dining room now. We still have a long
ways to go, but it is so rewarding seeing progress,
I just had to share! :)

December!

On Thursday, Dec 17, Peyton's kindergarten
class had their Christmas party and invited parents.


They sang some songs and had a few poems.
Then it was time to play games and eat goodies.

On Monday we had an early birthday supper for
Aimee at mom & dad's. It was also Gail's birthday

that day, so we had a double celebration.

The weather outside was beautiful today so
the girls decided to go tobogganing on our yard.

There wasn't much snow left on the dike by the
creek so they used the one in the front yard. Not
very steep, so they practiced going down standing
up instead.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Peyton's 5th Birthday!

On Friday, November 20, we celebrated
Peyton's 5th birthday at the pool in
town with friends and family


The kids all enjoyed the pool - what a good way
to burn off some energy!

The birthday cake, made by Aunt Cheryl

Opening gifts - she had been waiting for this since

September!

Lucy enjoying her cake!

Aimee's Trip to Churchill

On Nov 3 at 10pm, a group of Gr 7 & 8's left
Parkside on a chartered bus. They arrived in
Thompson the next morning. Here is a picture
of Pisew Falls.


They did some sight seeing and museum tours
that day, and later in the afternoon, boarded
the train to Churchill. It was about a 15hr train ride.


They arrived in Churchill on Nov 5. The weather
was very mild.


A gift shop.

The Tundra Buggy building.

Hudson's Bay

Aimee said if you looked far out into the water,

you could see whales

The kids were cautioned to stay off the rocks
because polar bears like to hide in them.

The Great White North!

These dogs are raised by a breeder as sled dogs.
To adapt to the tundra, they are kept chained
up outside.

Aimee has a photo of these dogs with a polar bear
in the background. I asked if the bears ever
harmed the dogs? Apparently they don't have
enough meat on their bones, so the polar bears
leave them alone.

The polar bear tour

The bus returned to Altona, last night at 11:30.

She was exhausted, but had an amazing time.

What an experience!

This Halloween Peyton dressed up as a cowgirl

Aimee's first science test...

Yes folks, we have a smarty pants!

Best Friends!

Today we had Rhubarb Roots come out and take
some pictures before Maggie moves back to AB.
These are some shots her mom took afterwards.


Oh, the good times these 2 had and
the memories they'll share!

This is what I saw on my jog this afternoon. I

had to stop and take a picture with my phone. The

snowfall was beautiful, just too bad its Oct and

not Dec!