Back in Ontario

After about 7 days, 300 or so pictures and 1 red-eye flight we are finally home from Alberta. Gerben and I had a great time in Alberta. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Especially when we got up into the mountains. It was definitely cold and dry but the views were breathtaking. Our first stop was in Edmonton where we spent 4 days. Gerben had a booth set up for a show so we spent a few days at that. On Saturday, Gerben and I drove down to the Banff/Lake Louise area where we checked in to a beautiful log-cabin hotel for 2 nights. This place was so tranquil and relaxing. I would definetly go there again. The hotel was simply stunning inside and the views were equally as wonderful outside.

On Sunday we went to Banff to ski but unfortunely for me that was fairly short lived. The area was beautiful and they had some really nice runs but my poor legs just couldn't handle the skiing. In no time my legs were just killing me so we had to call it quits pretty early. After that we heading into Banff and enjoyed wandering around the town and a relaxing meal. After that we heading back to the hotel and relaxed in the jaccuzzi in our room. It was heaven after a long day on our feet.

By Monday, it was check out time. On our way to Calgary we decided to stop at a trail and check it out. I learned pretty quickly that it was just too steep of a climb for me to handle. Gerben decided to head on up the trail without me. It ended up being a much longer hike than he anticipated but I think the views at the top were well worth it. Once he was safely back at the bottom of the hill he confessed to me that the climb was actually very steep in parts and that he almost turned around. Of course, Gerben is a very stubborn man and he toughed it out to the top. I don't think that giving up on a challenge is in his vocabulary.

All in all we had a great trip. It was nice to have some time away from the kids. They had a wonderful time at their aunt and uncles home in Strathroy but by the time we got there tonight they were really excited to see us and ready to come home. The girls were exhausted so I know they had a great time. Emma said that her favourite part was jumping on the trampoline and playing with all the Barbies. I seemed like both kids grew 2 inches while I was gone and Natalia seems to have expanded her vocabulary by about double. I can't believe the change in her in only a weeks time.

Thanks Mariska, Al, Miranda and Kirsten for giving the girls a fantastic holiday while we were away. You are the best and we can't thank you enough.

We did it!!

Gerben and I went indoor rock climbing yesturday. It was a blast. I would definetly try it again even though I sucked. Gerben was quite good at it and managed to climb to the top of the wall several times and never fell off once. In all honesty, I think he was scared to death that I would drop him if he fell so he made darn sure that he didn't. For me, well, I think I spent more time swinging from the ropes rather than actually climbing the wall. I think I only ever made it about 1/3 of the way up the wall before I would lose my grip and fall off. Lucky for me, Gerben was always on the ball and made sure that I didn't drop to the floor.

Today I feel pretty good. I completely expected to have aching muscles all over my body but I am not bad at all. My forearms are the only part of me that are sore and they really are not bad at all.

Tomorrow, Gerben and I are heading to Banff for a few more relaxing days before we head home. If all goes well we will be going skiing on Sunday. The latest ski reports state that 55 out of 107 runs are open so as of right now we are planning to hit the slopes. I am totally excited and can't wait.

I'm in Edmonton!

At 10:30 yesturday morning, Gerben and I boarded the plane for Alberta without the kids!! Yeah, an entire week of pure adult time. It's so nice to relax during a meal and not have to constantly be on the lookout for the girls. Emma and Natalia are enjoying a fun-filled week with Mariska, Al and the girls. I am sure they are having an absolute blast. So far I haven't had any phone calls so I am sure all is well. Gerben and I will be staying here until Saturday and then we are travelling to Banff to spend 2 nights relaxing in the mountains before heading back home.

Oh So Innocent!!

This little beauty may look innocent enough but let me tell you...She has put her Daddy and I through one CRAZY day. I realize she looks ever so cute while taking a bath but this is not her first bath today. This is her....FOURTH bath! Yes, you read that right. This was Natalia's 4th bath. Our day started out as a pretty average Saturday. We decided to get up early and take off to Sears and Price Club. Everything went very well. I got a great deal on some new workout gear at Sears and for once we didn't spend a fortune at Price Club.

Natalia has always had issues with her diapers leaking in the car. We have no idea why but it happens all the time. Today was no exception. By the time we got home from Price Club she had soaked right through her diaper and the carseat. So I scooped her up and took her straight inside to the bath while Gerben took care of the carseat. After a short while in the tub I went to check on her and finish getting her cleaned up. To my complete surprise Natalia had pooped in the tub. YUCK! I hate that. It totally grosses me out. I called Gerben and we took Natalia out of her tub and put her in our tub to finish her bath while I cleaned up the poop. Did I say "Yuck?" 'Cause trust it's gross!

After lunch I put Natalia down for a nap around 12:30 and by 1:30 she was still playing in her crib. This happens frequently and I just leave her because she usually falls asleep and what could she possible get into in her crib. After about an hour or so she finally fell asleep and had a nice long nap. When she woke up from her nap I went in to get her and to my complete shock...there stood my little girl totally naked from the waist down and absolutely COVERED in dry, crusty, sticky POOP!! I freaked out and yelled for Gerben, we set about scrubbing down Natalia and her bed. The poor kid had poop in her hair, all over her face, and on the bottom of her feet. It was so tough to get off because it had mostly dried. I scubbed and scrubbed. If you are counting this was bath number 3 for the day. I finally finished washing all the poop off of her and took her back to her room to get dressed again but she still stunk. It was discusting!!! So back to the tub we went for bath #4 with about 2 cups of bubble bath to help drown out the odour eminating from my " lil Stinker."

We always joke that Natalia is our little "shit disturber!" Now, she has truly lived up to that name.

I don't think I have ever been more grossed out in my life. It was aweful and yet all you could do was laugh about it and keep on scrubbin'. Thank God for Clorox wipes. I think I used about 20 of them to clean the poop off the spindles on her crib.

What a crazy, crazy day. And to add to this caos our washing machine is leaking and I HAVE to get the laundry down for our upcoming trip to Albert plus the wax seal on the toilet in the kids bathroom is gone and it's leaking too.

Phew! I am so glad this day is almost done.

A Beautiful Fall Day Outside

On October 30th the weather was fantastic and I decided that we should head outside for some fun in the fresh air. We had a pile of leaves on our front yard that needed raked. After Emma and I raked up all the leaves I let the girls go crazy playing in them. They had a blast throwing them up in the air and burying me. By the time we heading inside we were all filthy and tired. It was a lot of fun.

We also decided to get out the wagon and bikes and do some touring on the street. Natalia loves riding in the wagon that my Dad built. Especially when it's Emma pulling it.

It's so nice to get outside and enjoy the weather because before long it will be snowing and I hate being outside in the cold. It's going to be tough walking to school twice a day in the freezing cold.

"I Hate Skating!"

"I hate skating! I want to sit on the bench with Mommy. I don't want to skate!" This was Emma's reaction after only 2 minutes on the ice on Sunday at the Cambridge Center. It turns out that they rent skates at the Cambridge Center so we figured it would be a great opportunity to try Emma on the ice. She was very willing to go but quickly changed her mind when Gerben got her out on the ice. I don't think she liked the lack of control that she had. There was tons of people on the ice so I am sure she found that overwhelming. I can't say that I am surprised because Emma never does well with new situations but I was a little surprised at how strong her reaction was. I don't know if we will get her back on the ice again this year. She really hated it.

On the other hand, I think if we had skates small enough for Natalia she would have been on the ice in a flash. It was all I could do to keep her off the ice and when Gerben picked her up and took her for a quick skate she loved it. It's really cool to see how different our two little girls are.

Please excuse the crappy photos. It was all I could get given the situation.

Trick or Treat

Halloween has come and gone for another year. What fabulous weather we had. It was about 14 degrees out but quite windy. Emma and Natalia had a blast going from house to house with Gerben. Natalia was dressed up like a skunk and Emma was a chicken. Gerben said that everyone commented on how cute Natalia looked. It even had a heart on the bum that said "Lil Stinker." The kids collected lots of loot on their travels included a few full-sized chocolate bars. I was shocked to see those.

It was a quiet night for us at home. We only had about 50 kids come to our door. Our neighbour was also commenting on the lack of children. By the end of the night we were putting fairly big handfuls of goodies in their bags because we didn't want tons of leftover. Several kids commented on the awesome load of candy they got from us.

We also received tons of comments on how great our pumpkins look so I made sure that we went outside with our tripod and camera and snapped tons of pictures of them lit up. I also went over to my neighbours house and took some pics of her decorations because she did a great job on them.

Enjoy the photos