9.09.2011

August 2011

Saskatchewan Day holiday
August has arrived and even with some quick thunderstorms in the prairies, the weather is still great - great enough to jump for joy!

August 2, 2011

Regina doesn't have a lot of sprayparks but the ones we have are pretty good and the kids enjoy them.

August 3, 2011

Swimming at the local outdoor pool has turned into a popular past time this summer

August 4, 2011

One of the advantages we love about our backyard is the firepit - which is great for s'mores! Although the marshmallows straight out of the bag are a yummy treat as well.

August 5, 2011

With a daddy day off we all headed for the beach - Regina Beach that is.  A great lakeside tourist town 25 minutes NW of Regina.  We even got to visit Rebecca M (Lyndon's previous co-worker back in Calgary) at her parents cabin - great day.

August 6, 2011
Church summer picnic!
We had a great meal and visit and just finished up when the clouds opened up and we ran for the vehicles - great burgers Bishop Dilts!

August 7, 2011

The Saskatchewan Legislative building grounds are a beautiful display in the summer and a favorite past-time of the family, especially a Sunday afternoon in church dresses.

August 8, 2011

There are few things better in life than a b.f.f.!  We're lucky here to have lots.

August 9, 2011

Blaine (Lyndon's younger brother) is a big wig in law circles in Shanghai, China and regularly meets with civic and business leaders in meetings and on TV interviews, he was even recently in a dance video!

August 10, 2011

The city and area got a crazy wind storm (we've actually had a few this season) and luckily we got off unscathed but our neighbors weren't so lucky.  Their entire tree came down, missed the house but hit the motorhome directly.

August 11, 2011

We decided to go on a little adventure north west of Regina near Craven.  We saw some beautiful countryside among the lakes and rolling hills and kids loved all the frogs in the marshes we tried (unsuccessfully) to catch

August 12, 2011

A rare occasion at our home - a sleepover.  The girls have friends that live out of town in smaller towns and rarely get to see them outside of church sunday school classes.  They had a blast planning it, sending out invitations and they even bought all the treats for the movie portion of the festivities.  We're not sure how much sleeping actually happened but they had fun!


August 13, 2011

Why not jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler on underneath it at 8:30am?  Hey it's a party.

August 14, 2011
 PEBBLES!!
We'd like to introduce the newest member of our family.  She is a 10 week old Shih tzu and Bobbi got her as a 13th Anniversary gift.  She was chosen for her calm temperament,  her smooth and short hair on her face and her breed that is great with kids and allergies.  We got her from a breeder and are now in full new-parent mode as we are potty training, night time wakings and everything being chewed from 6 inches from the floor.  Unfortunately for the other pets we have, its time to say good-bye as we can only handle the puppy now.


August 15, 2011

Facebook offers an automatically generated collage of friends, so Bobbi decided to see what it would provide.  Yep, it worked - she is certainly well liked!

August 16, 2011

Training is slow going as Pebbles is still very young but until the dog run is done in the back yard, the paper at the back door is job#1

August 17, 2011

Happy birthday JJ!  You're turning into quite a little monster - a cute, cuddly, fun and energetic monster!

August 18, 2011

We love the Hall's and we love camping (and we love indoor plumbing) so we combined them all together and had a backyard campout!  We roasted hotdogs, made s'mores and chatted into the night around the fire.  Good times all around.  These two good buddies are getting to be giants and can't fit through the dog door in the tent!

August 19, 2011

It's party time!  With 10 days (and 2 years) apart for their birthdays these two munchkins share a lot in their lives and 99% of the time get along great and are always smiling (unless their barbies are in peril during playtime).  The birthday was circus themed with face painting and a big top show, it was a good time had by all!

August 20, 2011

Last Mountain House hike and BBQ
The older girls church activity was a hit with a tour of the historic cabins which featured a dugout food cellar full of salamanders (both girls caught one each to show the crowd) and then a hike of the ravine nearby - which turned in a 90 degree grade decent and hacking through a overgrown trail.  We survived but just barely!  We ended at the leaders home for a BBQ and driver training on their golf carts, some passed the road exam, some need extra classroom instruction to be ready for a re-test!

August 21, 2011

Sunday's are already busy for Mormon's (and other church goers) and they are usually the nicest weather day of the week to add extra temptation to do leisure activities on the Lord's day.  Today was no exception, what's better than 38C (100F) on the beach but no-no, not today - church, meetings and visits are in order with air conditioning at every step!

August 22, 2011

Luckily the heat from yesterday stuck around which meant outdoor pool time and of course, KFC picnic!!  Nothing spells summer better than that combination.  We don't have KFC chicken very often anymore but you can't pass up an opportunity like today!

August 23, 2011

Summer is a great time for fireworks but because of our long days in Canada, you have to stay up late for it to get dark enough to see them, good thing there's no school tomorrow so the kids can sleep in.

August 24, 2011

We've always loved our spacious, tree-lined backyard and our newest edition to the family is starting to see why.  Pebbles loves to explore, hang out in the shade and chase anything we throw to her.  She is quickly becoming queen of the castle!

August 25, 2011

What would the kids do if we didn't get the trampoline this summer?  Who knows, they are always on it!!

August 26, 2011

End of summer and fall season is photography season.  Lots of people like to get the bright greens and fall colours in the backgrounds or get pictures for Christmas cards ready for the holidays.  We particularly enjoyed today's photoshoot as it involved some of our very best friends - the Howie's!  After the shoot we headed to DQ for some ice cream treats and visits with old friends.

August 27, 2011
 

B's birthday day was less eventful then the party a few days ago but she was just as excited as some gifts from family were saved and a special breakfast was prepared for the bubbly not-so-little girl!

August 28, 2011

After 10 years of service E Gregory Wood has served as leader of the church in southern Saskatchewan and it was time for someone new to take the helm.  We were privileged to have two very fine General Authorities (similar to business executives) of the church from Utah and Alberta come to make the change.  They are great gentlemen and definitely called of God to manage His kingdom on the earth.  We thoroughly enjoyed their messages and Lyndon even got to be interviewed by them!  We are excited that Yves Noblet will be the new Stake President for the next decade.

August 29, 2011

13 years of marriage!!  Sometimes bliss, sometimes work, all times worth every minute to have the family we have and the love we share.  We have seen a lot of change over those 13 years but through it all its been us and we look forward to another 13 years times a billion that is!  We're in it for the long run and we even got to enjoy the evening with Bob and Claudia Gehmlich (uncle bob and aunt claudia now!)  they brought some good times and a Jell-o cake to celebrate our anniversary with us!

August 30, 2011

"It's the most wonderful time of the year......" as the song goes.  New school supplies, new clothes and mommy gets the house back!  What could be a better way to end an amazing summer? 

August 31, 2011

Not so little JJ is officially in Kindergarten. Even though she's been in pre-k for 2 years now in the same school and with some of the same teachers, she is super excited to start real school and help the other kids that are starting brand new and need a friend.