Lions and Tigers and Bears...

My goodness am I ever a terrible blogger! I had no idea how totally crazy life would be when I started working full time. The last blog post was on the day before I started work...it's been three weeks and I'm just getting back now!! I'm hoping to find a good pace around here and be able to keep up with at least a weekly blog update.

So, the past three weeks? We've been busy. We went to the Calgary Zoo - it was so wonderful. We spent most of our time in the African area (let's face it - they have the very best animals). Matt walked the whole time (I gave away all the strollers when we moved, so he really had no choice) and did so well. He didn't complain about getting tired, or cold when we were outside, or hot when we were inside. He was wonderful the whole day...then slept the whole drive home and was completely wired at bed time. Figures.

We've also been to Edson to visit our friends there. Another wonderful weekend. We always enjoy our time with them so very much!! We relaxed, ate some awesome food (thanks Jansens!) had the privilege of a very professional photo shoot (thanks for that too...I have the frame up in my entrance way and it's gorgeous). Matt loves to visit them so much it's almost a double edged sword. He gets soo excited about three days before hand he can hardly sleep. Then he cries for about three days after we leave. As usual, he had us in stitches a few times. He picked out a little something from home to give to each of the Jansen girls. He then surveyed his choices, puffed out his chest and told me, "Jeepers, lucky girls!" What a kid.

We also had the opportunity to visit some friends from Mackenzie who were in Calgary visiting for the weekend. We met up with them on the Saturday afternoon, enjoyed some wander through the mall time while the men looked after the kids and then stumbled upon the neatest little place for dinner. We tried several "known" restaurants (Olive Garden, Earls, The Keg) and the shortest wait time for a table was more than an hour. So, in a last ditch effort we drove downtown thinking that there may be a surplus of restaurants down there and this would help us find something without such an outrageous wait. Did we ever luck out! We did have to walk past a few very questionable looking characters (if you're ever downtown Calgary - hold on to your kids tightly) and ended up finding the most enjoyable dinner experience ever! It's a two story book store (much like a large Chapters) called Prairie Ink...and upstairs it has a coffee bar and a full restaurant. While we were eating, they had a jazz duet playing at just the right volume (we could still converse comfortably). Even Matt was so charmed that he sat quietly the entire time.

This past week has been a serious roller coaster. Barry headed back to BC on Sunday to finish up some business with Canfor and also to bring home our RV that has been in storage all winter. He arrived in Vanderhoof on Sunday evening and realized that all four keys for the trailer were HERE - IN ALBERTA!!! As you can imagine...he was not a happy camper. Meanwhile...back at the ranch...I have discovered that our sump pump has kicked in (apparently a very normal thing for an Alberta spring). It drains out to the north side of the house. Our house is brand new, and is not landscaped yet...this means that the ground outside is not built up properly, and also not sloped to the proper grade...so all the water was flowing back towards the house and creating a bit of a pond that settled itself right up against our foundation. Our foundation is cement...which is porous...so if left long enough the water will eventually make its way into the basement.

I spent the next two days not only working and looking after Matt, but calling Purolator, Westjet, Greyhound, Expresspost and anyone else I could think of who might be getting to Prince George quickly to take the keys to Barry. In between phone calls, I tried to shovel a little trough for the water to drain away in, but the ground was either too mucky and just slid back into place, or too frozen to move. Then I would go back to phone calls...I tried locksmiths and other people who have RV's to see if we could find a matching key. In the end, we realized that our friends from Mackenzie were flying home on Tuesday morning and could take the keys to Barry - the only problem was that I would have to get the keys to them in Calgary. I've never driven there...and I'm quite sure that I'd get terribly lost. I thought that perhaps our real estate agent (one of the only people we know here in Didsbury) would be able to recommend someone trustworthy who could make the run for me; I could give them some gas money and everyone would win. We trust our real estate agent a lot, he's a wonderful guys and you're absolutely not going to believe what he told me!!! I asked if he knew of anyone who could do this, and he said, "Sure!! I'll run the keys down there for you. I'll stop at your place to pick them up in about ten minutes. If you could jot down the address that'd be great." WOW!!! Talk about above and beyond the call of duty. So, the keys got to Barry, the RV got home, and lake did mostly dry up (I think some of the water drained away in my trough:).

After that week, we needed a quiet weekend. Today, we tidied up the house, hung a few pictures and got groceries. Then we just chilled and played games with our little Matt.

Well folks, I must sign off. Time to wind down.

Blessings to you all,

Laura