Baby shots reworked a little!

I am probably the happiest i've ever been right now! Jess is just starting to get a little belly and I love it! I can hardly wait! The last two pic's i posted are waaayy better, easier to see it's spooky little face!

just seeing it what i did made a differance

First Pic's of our new little one!!

If you can see them in this format, heres the baby!! We went to Lethbridge yesterday for the ultrasound. Pretty cool to see it moving around in there, snug as a bug in a rug!
I will try to photoshop these to make these single shots and maybe a bit larger! Crazy! I'm going to be a DAD!!

One Passport in the Bag!

My passport arrived today, talk about a speedy turn around!

The Governor General's Foot Guards

I was on my way yesterday to the passport office when just before Parliament Hill on Wellington Street the bus was blocked by the daily parade to the changing of the guard on the Hill. The bus driver let us all off in the middle of the intersection and I managed to get a batch of photographs of the soldiers marching up the street. Oh, and I submitted my passport application too (ready by August 1st). They've become very efficient.

A nice day off at Chinook Lake

What a perfect way to spend a day off! We walked around Chinook Lake and had a nice little lunch by the water.

More faces in food!

Jessica thought this little guy looked just like....
"WILSON" form "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks!
But really, it's just a slice of swiss cheese!!!

Rum Runner Days

We survived the weekend!!! Poor Steve was sick as a dog during the night Friday night (wee hours of Saturday, actually) so Jessica and Nickie carried the day. I honestly don't know how. I worked the dishwasher and did some background tasks (I can't make sandwiches like Steve !!) . The weather was absolutely perfect and the weekend was advertised on the local radio, Cat Country, and on the CBC, someone told me. I guess people wanted to escape the Calgary Stampede and came down here.
By the time Thunder in the Valley started, Steve and Jessica were in bed and only heard the very beginning and the very last blast.
I thought we'd be sleeping by then, too, but CoCo was absolutely terrified. It began with Dave and his drinking buddies setting off fireworks that give a whistling sound and then a big boom at the end. They were setting them off about 7 pm. behind his house. Idiots! We were going to keep Mook (Dad kept her over here all day so nobody ocver there would need to walk her) but then we thought she might be more secure in her own surroundings so I took her home about 7:30. She actually had little or no reaction to any of the noise, they said.
Then I walked on down for the mail. We were going to walk both dogs over to the Stone's Throw but as I was getting my Book Crossing books into a bag, Dad was waiting at the corner of the house with both dogs on their leashes and Dave & company set off two more firecrackers....CoCo bolted for the door at the first one and into the kitchen at the second one so he stayed home with her.
When I got home, Dad said she'd jumped up on his knee twice and crowded right close to him in between times! She was terrified...shaking and pacing and when I came in, shadowed my every move. After we went to bed, she jumped up and got right in between us curled up by my head and shoulder and every time they set off another, she popped up. We thought when Thunder in the Valley was done about 11:30, everyone would just have their drinking parties and only be yelling, fighting, etc but the idiots had more fireworks of their own to set off and did. I don't know when it ended but it wasn't soon enough for us.
Dad said there were more people around than last year. He found a $10 bill on one dog walk, a $5 on another and a $2 coin. I found a total of 80 cents penny by penny, a couple of quarters, dimes and a nickel. Big deal!!
There was just a continual parade of people walking up and down the street which began early. We thought there's be quiet time while the parade was going by when we'd catch up on things we needed to do but it never happened. People sat in the coffee shop and watched it from their table or people were coming in and out for stuff. Today a young girl at the drug store told me the Stone's Throw is the only place where you can get healthy food...she said there were so many places selling fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.
The carnival people were in and out for food, bottled water , coffee, etc all the time. They leave tomorrow, unless they pulled out tonight. When I came home about 5:30, they were dismantling the rides. Steve got just about the last of the mini-donuts. He didn't even feel up to eating them in case it was too much for his stomach. Maybe they'll nuke them tomorrow so he can enjoy them hot!
Oh, I must get to bed.

A 15 week Milestone!

Steve and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat the other day at the doctor's office! Wow, talk about a spooky and unreal experience! This parasite inside me is alive and kicking! It was racing along at 154 beats per minute.

On July 25th we go to Lethbridge for an ultrasound, so that should be another exciting day. Hopefully everything is going along as it should be. And don't ask if it's a boy or girl, because we don't want to know in advance! There aren't enough good surprises in life, so we thought we'd savour this one. :)

A few more shots for ya

Hike to Ironstone lookout

We decided to try this hike again this week since I was feeling better! But unfortunately my directions were non too good! We ended up doing a little bush wacking and some crazy steep side hilling only to find our path blocked by a super striaght up cliff! We back tracked for about 20 minutes and found the way up over the cliff, and what a view!!! 360 degrees of nothing but mountains! We were gone for 6 HOURS in the baking sun! We left the truck at round 9 am and returned to it at 3 pm! All four of us are totally knackered! We figure we hiked a 12 or 13 km loop, not too bad for a 14 week pregnant lady who rarely gets out of a hike!

Ushuaia Webcam - Tierra del Fuego - Patagonia - Argentina

One of my planned destinations. I think I'm going to need to take warm clothing. Ushuaia Webcam - Tierra del Fuego - Patagonia - Argentina

Booked, Now I Need a Passport

Well, the only way to do it sometimes is to close your eyes and jump in with both feet and hope the water is deep enough (or in my case, not too deep). I booked my tickets to Argentina about ten minutes ago. I'll be leaving Ottawa at 15:00 on the 2nd of November and returning on the 6th of December. It's another 20 hour flight each way between Toronto and Buenos Aires.

Californians hit the highway!

We're counting the hours. What time will we start looking out the window?? Supper Sunday will be prepared ahead of time so we don't have to be watching the pots on the stove.
Bring umbrellas and rain boots!! The weather report is for clearing late tomorrow but we won't believe it until we see it ourselves.
Safe trip! Don't forget your green cards.

NDP Meeting

I went to High River to an NDP meeting today and drove up Highway #22. It is a beautiful drive. At times I was above the clouds....could look down into a valley and see clouds below where I was.

It reminded me of highways in New Brunswick and Vermont.

Met a lot of very nice people. Volunteered to be on the fundraising committee. The organization is not up to SK constituency organization!! But the enthusiasm is just as strong. A plus today was that two people volunteered to be candidates so we will have a nominating convention in the fall. An MLA from Edmonton was there and said the feeling among NDP MLA's is there will be an election in the Fall of 2007 but the leader wants as many candidates in place this Fall as possible.

I dropped off Crowsnest Tourist Guides at many places between here and there....gas stations, gift shops, jerky shop. I left some at a coffee/icecream shop called 'Navajo Mug' which I think is owned by Ian Tyson but he wasn't dishing out the tarts or ice cream so I guess Sunday is his day off maybe????

I took along the petition re: the CPR proposing to put a siding in between Blairmore and Coleman in the wetlands. 14 people signed it which is one side of the page. Nobody was on the side of the CPR....wonder why???

Am I the only one posting on the blog?

Demolition

A huge bin was plunked down on the side of the street two doors up from us. We aren't sure if it's for whoever bought the house or for the previous owner who is throwing everything out that he doesn't want. It's a biggie and I can see the man at 13430 casting an appreciative eye, thinking he might like a 'go' at the house now that he's done a good job on unbuilding the garage. Dare we let Steve see the bin?? Between the two of them, they'll have that house tossed in there in no time flat.

Happy Birthday, Dawn!

Did you go out to celebrate somewhere? For a nice dinner? Or did you fire up the grill? You have some good cooks right there at home to serve you up a special meal. Hope your day was a happy one and all your little folks at school behaved extra good today.

The garage came-a......

tumbling down! You'all should have been here. Grampa had leaned a 2X4 against one on the east side near the front corner and the west wind sort of pushed the structure against that piece of wood. Today Steve came over and brought his chain saw and other tools he was sure would be needed. He'd come over last evening about 6:30, I think he said, with a friend who has a construction business and lives three doors east of us. He gave him some suggestions (e.g. cut a v shaped notch in one of the centre posts holding the centre beam up, etc). Steve and Grampa decided,'Today's the day!' (Steve's day off.) Steve removed the 2X4 the garage was leaning against, moved around to the west side of the building skeleton and gave it a push and down she went as neat as you please. I'm not sure if he used one hand or two. You'll have to ask him. One, I think. We couldn't believe it was so easy. Grampa's removing the rest of the roof boards and stacking everything neatly to reuse what is okay. Much of it looks okay because it has been inside and not out to the elements over the years.

Museum yard clean-up

I went over to the museum in Coleman this a.m. at 10 and all we did from then until 3 p.m. was clean up the branches that bit the dust when the snow storm took them down last Sept. 9th. You can't imagine what a mess there was. There was Wendy, Rudy, Donna, Bruno, Len, Lowry, Barbara and Tony. The last two were just there for a little while. We either dragged or moved the branches in two wheel barrows until someone suggested backing a half ton onto the grounds. That was a BIG improvement. Some of the branches were tossed over the chainlink fence by the people who lived above the treed area. Two of the girls pitched some of it back into the yard. Someone also disposed of the dog poo over the fence. Not the nicest neighbours! I guess they thought the space was public property and because it had so many downed branches, didn't think anyone would notice a few more. The spring garbage pick-up starts Monday and starts with Coleman so we had to get it out or pay for it to be taken away if it couldn't be put out as regular garbage. Dad brought home two sets of Xcountry skis and poles which we'll take to the Thrift Shop in October.

Eye appointments

Dad has an appointment in January, 2007, with a surgeon in Lethbridge who will do his cataracts.
Jessica and Steve bought him one of those magnifying sheets about 8"X11" for in the meantime.
There was no change to my eyes. The health system gives us each one appointment per year so the visits cost zilch. That was okay!