Potty training - the final frontier

And so it begins. I've got the little potty and the one that fits on the big potty. I've got pull-ups, training underwear, big kid Dora underwear and vinyl underwear covers. My rewards include stickers, high fives and mini M&M's. I've got a training video for girls that includes the song "Bye, Bye Pee, pee. Bye, Bye Poo" with complementing book and doll with little potty that matches the video. My arsenal is full - if only she'd cooperate! We actually made some big strides in the couple weeks we started this and considering we've been extremely busy. Being very impatient by nature, I was going to give up the whole thing but we've turned a corner and now she wants to go on the big potty, has control of her bladder and has kept pretty dry all day. I realize this may go on for awhile with little improvement but I'm hopeful! She's very independent by nature and so this may work in my benefit with the potty "learning" as they now refer to it.

July trip to Calgary

We did a lot of things on our trip to Calgary this year but for some reason I didn't take very many pictures. Our main reason for going was, of course, to see Wayne's family as they all live there now. But it's such a fun city to visit and there is so much to do that it's hard to get it all into a week. We tried! We made a visit to the children's science museum, spent a day at the zoo which is fantastic by the way. We went for a hike in the mountains which rewarded us with this lovely waterfall you see pictured here on the left. We walked around Banff, the cousins played. The weather was typical Calgary - changes at the drop of a coin and plays with your head. One day sunny and 30C and the next it's hailing so much you have to shovel. We got a ride with Jake and Fran in their massive motorhome out to the lake where the family will be building a cottage to enjoy in the near future. We spent two nights with Wayne's brother Jeff and sisterinlaw Steph and four girls. Got a chance to meet the new pastors and their families in the area and had a fun cookout at the beach with them. We really appreciated this fellowship with fellow called workers in Canada and were grateful it worked out that we could be a part of this get together.
Here Zanna is playing in the water at the children's science museum.
We had a fun time in Calgary although maybe not very relaxing but it's great for the cousins to play together (there are 9 on that side now) and it's really neat to see their friendships developing. And as always is the case among this family, it's never a dull moment, often amusing and this trip was no exception!
Brent and Chantal and kids are in the process of moving to Texas for a few years so we most likely won't see them for awhile. Maybe the kids will develop a bit of a drawl - haha!

Celebrations

It had to come eventually - my high school reunion! Wayne and I went to Prairie du Chien, WI on the 28th to celebrate 15 yrs since I graduated from Martin Luther Prep School. My dear boarding school that I spent 4 life changing years at is now a boys prison so we were unable to celebrate on campus due to the inmates (which we always joked back then we were!) Just when I think I've grown up and moved on with my life, I go and attend a high school reunion and turn back into my idiot self. Oh, well. There was not a great turn out from my class (it was a multi class reunion) but we had a blast with those who were there - pictured is Tonya (my dear friend and Matron of honour in my wedding), Melony, me and Janine (fellow pastor's wife and good friend). We had dinner at the banquet facility we had our Senior class banquet 15 yrs ago and then our group moved on to the bar that our tutors apparently frequented in "the day" called the Sawmill or something. (We knew this because Janine married a former tutor - ha!) It was here the classiest of Prairie very clearly hung out. Pitchers of beer were a whopping $6, mixed drinks were $2.50. Janine and I had a very unfortunate experience on the way into the women's bathroom I wish I could erase from my memory. And we all took off when someone in the bar puked and we got our first whiff of it. Needless to say, Prairie itself seemed a bit dumpier to me than when I last was there but my brother thought it looked better and so did my Mom two weeks later when she and Dad drove through on their Harley ride. It's funny how different memory can be from reality. I was sad to leave without having Crab Rangoon at the Chinese place that was still there (maybe someday, Janine)! So while Wayne and I were gallivanting around Wisconsin/Minnesota having the time of our lives - or something like that- my dear Dad stayed with my children. Mom had left earlier that week for Arizona to attend the LWMS convention and Dad was up to the challenge. I'm pretty sure he hasn't changed a diaper since my sister (who's 26) and Mom said she could never recall a time she left us for a night and Dad stayed with the three of us. Nevertheless, he stepped up to the plate. Now, I don't know all the particulars of what went on those two days he was in charge but I do know that when we got back they were still alive, in good spirits and still alive! No really, he did a great job and we sure appreciated it.
On Canada Day our family celebrated by having burgers flavoured with Canadian seasoning and maple leaf cookies. After Zanna's nap we drove into Minoqua and stayed at a hotel with a waterpark. The four of us had a great time!! The fourth of July was also our 10th anniversary and Mom and Dad's 37th. The kids had their face painted in the morning - Zanna had balloons and Will had an eagle. We spent time with my Grandpa and Grandma and we all went out for Friday night fish fry - a Wisconsin classic! Reid and Brenda met Zanna for the first time and it was great to see them both. Wayne got me a beautiful James Avery charm bracelet and we'll go on a trip to celebrate this winter!!!
Here we are with my Grandparents, brother Reid and Brenda, Mom and Dad. Happy 4th of July!!!!

That's pretty much our 3 weeks in Wisconsin in a nutshell. It was a great vacation!!

Wild in Wisconsin

We left for Wisconsin in mid June. We drove 14 hrs through the night (a record thanks to Wayne's "efficient" driving). There's something to be said for traveling through the night - the big one is sleeping children that aren't driving us nuts. We also save money on a hotel, no lines at the border, and stopping for less meals. We got to Mom and Dad's and Wayne and I headed straight for a nap while the kids played with Oma and Opa. We celebrated my birthday on the 22nd. Mom made my favorite meal - chicken salad served in her antique chickens (you have to see to believe) and double crusted lemon pie. I usually make these things for myself if I'm celebrating at home but I must admit, it tastes better when Mom makes it!! After lunch, Wayne took off for the Seminary in Milwaukee for a week of Summer quarter. So for the week he was in school, the kids and I hung out with my folks. Will got a chance to attend their church's soccer camp the first two days we arrived and the week Wayne was gone Will got to go to their Vacation Bible Camp. He had a great time and Zanna made a new friend in the principal's son Noah. We'd hang out at church and wait for Will to finish up and Noah and Zanna would play together. Zanna worked all her charms on him and he tried to impress her by telling her he's potty trained - he's not! While we stayed at Mom and Dad's, Zanna slept in our IKEA castle tent we brought along. We called her the Princess of the castle and Mom got her a crown.
One of the favourite things to do was to take out the pontoon boat with Grandpa. Will got to drive and did a great job on the lake and Zanna drove on Opa's lap. She also did a good job as she followed directions to turn left, even it out, turn right - she loves to be in control!

Here's another picture of the kids on the boat with Aunt Brenda who came up with my brother Reid for a few days. The weather was fantastic almost the whole time we were there. We had so much fun!!

Summer is here!!

Ha! I just thought this was such a goofy picture I had to post it.
I know I'm way behind in this update and now I have to rack my brain thinking of what the heck we did the beginning of June. One thing we did was to go to the Medieval Festival at Upper Canada Village and spend the day watching jousting, play games, eat giant pickles on a stick and watch the knights in shining armor. In this picture, Will is making a candle by going around in a circle and dipping a wick into hot wax. We went with my friend Ruth and two of her girls. It was an extremely hot day and very busy and dear Ruth got to see the side of me that's hot and uncomfortable. Hopefully, she still likes me.
By the way, I have to laugh at the response to my GPS in the last post. 3 people wrote me that they have "feelings" for their GPS too! I was thinking about mentioning Bob as one of the family in our Christmas letter this year but Wayne thought that was taking it a bit too far. His brother and sister-in-law have a GPS that speaks like Yoda. Can you imagine?

8th Birthday Bash

We survived another birthday party!!! Always an accomplishment. The theme of the party was "Mad-Scientist" and we had a blast! I put together a few experiments for them to do including a test tube lava lamp made with Alka-Seltzers, fun with slime and the finale was exploding Diet Coke with a pack of Mentos candies. (what 8yr old boy wouldn't want something to explode at his party - thankfully it was at the park down the street!) My Mom and Dad were able to spend his birthday with us and they were a big help at the party along with friend Melissa. Wayne was in charge of pictures and video. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off.
This is the cake for this year. Much easier than the bike cake from last year! It's a brain if you can't tell. The kids got a kick out of eating "brain" - haha!

At this point I'll catch you up with what I've been up to other than putting together crazy birthday parties. Inspired by my sister-in-law and several other sources, I purchased a grain mill. This means I've been grinding flour from wheat berries (not exactly as rustic as Ma Ingalls - this baby is a fine tuned machine.) and managing to make bread and other baked goods when I get the chance. I've done this because first of all - it tastes amazing. It has a fantastic nutty flavor that you can't get from stuff off the shelves. And second, because it very nutritious. Flour goes rancid extremely fast on top of the fact that they suck out all the good stuff and leave white all-purpose stuff that's supposed to last - how long? Anyway, I've been enjoying it and my family seems to like what they get to eat.
The other thing I've discovered I can't live without and Will's so tired of me talking about it is Norwex products. Now this is a line of cleaning products so you might wonder what I'm so excited about it's the fact that there aren't any chemicals I'm using anymore (for the most part) and I'm still getting things clean. This is very exciting for me. I know - I need to get out more. I have a friend who admits (you know who you are) that she likes the smell of CLR. I do not. And my trusty micro-fiber Norwex cloth cleans better than CLR (I'm serious, Cara).
Finally, the last thing to come into my life and I wonder how I even functioned without before. His name is Bob (as in Bob's your uncle), has a brilliant British accent, goes with me almost anywhere and tells me where to go as I happily comply. My in-laws feared that Bob would cause marital strife but that was when Bob was a women telling my husband where to go. The new man in my life is our trusty GPS. My father-in-law got this little gem for my husband shortly after Christmas and I was not amused. It was set to the women's voice to begin with and she kept telling me to go the long way to church. I know how to get to church. She really ticked me off. Then when we were going on a family outing to Upper Canada Village (which I've been to about 10 times and know the way very well), Wayne listened to HER as she took us all over tarnation and no one would listen to me. But then we found the switch and changed her to Bob. Bob has gotten us to out of town cities, suggested restaurants in the area, gotten me and kids the the kids museum and back to our hotel - I can even take a wrong turn and Bob will "recalculate" and get me back on track. I can now go anywhere in Canada, the States and Puerto Rico and get to my destination. Does it get any better?

Trip to Rochester, NY

The beginning of May the children and I were able to accompany Wayne to his pastors' conference in Rochester. So while he was at conference during the day - the kids and were free to roam about town!!! It had been quite awhile since our last trip to the States so Mommy was in need of a major Target fix (among other places). So for the first morning I dragged (at times this was quite literal) them around the local mall. I had no time or luxury to lolly-gag as they were not amused by this outing. But I had a list!!! Since Mother's Day was fast approaching and didn't want their minds to be focused on this unpleasant experience - I made it up to them by taking them to Chucky Cheese for the first time. I then turned into "super Mommy" thank you very much! We ate OK pizza and Will played video games (a rarity for him) and Zanna rode the machines for toddlers (the cars that vibrate). Sure she sits on these things at our local mall but we never actually put any money in it. Now she knows they do something - rats! We went back to our hotel for some down time and I had hoped she'd nap at some point but she was having too much fun. Then it was time to leave for the children's museum where we were to meet some friends. She fell asleep 5 minutes before we got there. I put her in her stroller and thought she'd wake up during the transition but she continued to snooze. So after refusing to nap ALL day and fussing about shopping she falls asleep at the Children's museum of Play!!! Crazy! She finally woke up about 45min later to find herself in Sesame Street. I thought she was going to pass out. It was like we were there! There was a room that was Elmo's World!!!!! It was magical. I was just as excited as the kids were. There was a Berenstein Bears exhibit that they loved too. They played in Bear Country. How cool is that? We went to an amazing butterfly exhibit in a room like a rainforest flew 80 or so species of butterflies. Unbelievable. This place went on and on and we didn't even get to everything. I can't wait to go back.
The next day was back to shopping and while they were "fresh" in the morning I took them to Target and Kohls. It went pretty well, in Target the two of them sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, little star" at the top of their lungs. Annoyingly cute, but at least they weren't driving each other nuts.

That night after Wayne's meetings were over we drove to Syracuse for a family evening before heading home the next day. After dinner that night, we walked back to the hotel and Will and I played tag and I sprained my ankle. Did it ever hurt. Of course, I can't go to a doctor because I'm in the States, so I put ice on it and waited to have it checked out the next day when we got back. Thankfully it happened after my shopping was done. Whew!

Our school year is winding down. We're finished with everything except Language Arts and should wrap that up in a few days. Will finished his pottery class and made some pretty cool pieces - definitely something he'll do again. He's doing great at the violin and hopes to take his Level 2 test in August. Hard to believe he'll be in grade 3 in the fall!!! Crazy!

Zanna's doing well and likes to take care of her babies Rou Rou and Susie. She's a good mommy and takes them on walks around the house. She still gets her fair share of 10second time-outs for various reasons like telling her brother to "shut your mouth". Consequently, she can count really well in both English and Mandarin.