Back to School

School started this morning and the children are back to school for another year of learning.

This 2015/2016 school year we have 7 kids going to school.

Savanna starts her first year of school learning in kindergarten and Brandon is in his final year- Grade 12. 

It is a little bittersweet to see this as Brandon's final year of school but we are both excited for the new adventures that await after high school.

Devin is in his first of high school- Grade 10. He is pleased to be in the High School and on the football team. Go Comets!

Aaren will navigate the halls of the junior high by himself. He doesn't have another sibling in the same school this year. He is in Grade 8.

Cassandra is liking the top dog feeling of Grade 6. But... She is disappointed to not have any of her best friends in her class. (She says that she has all the bad kids in her class.) I hope that Cassandra can have a good year despite this hardship. Cassandra also has a teacher that is new to our family. I look forward to meeting her.

Maren has a good friend in her class and the teacher she really wanted. She pretty excited for the school year. She has been designated the one to see that Savanna gets to school and to her class. We love Maren for her patient and caring nature.

Evan also has a new teacher that I have yet to meet. He is excited for another year of learning. The biggest desire for me in regards to this school year for Evan is that we can improve his reading skills. I didn't invest as much time with him the last few years and it is showing. Reading will be our focus this year.

Savanna has a teacher returning from maternity leave. The same that Maren had. Savanna is so excited to go each day and said that her first day was sooooooooo fun!

(Is it bad of me that I didn't even take her to school yesterday?? She went with the other elementary kids and they saw that she got to her class. We also nearly forgot to pick her up! This Kindy schedule is going to take some getting used to.)

So once the kids are off to school I am left with two home in the mornings. And three in the afternoon. It is quiet compared to a full house in the summer.

My goal for the next few weeks is to reclaim the house from the disaster that it became when the kids we home all day. This is how I also hope to be able to spend some of my time.

Tysyn asked all day when school was over and when he gets to go. We will have to find some activities for him to do so that he won't be so bored while Savanna is gone. 

Rebekka is adjusting to Tysyn being the one in charge and not some of the bigger kids. Her vocabulary is picking up. She is pretty independent. It will be a struggle to see that she stays out of the girls room. When their door is open, she loves to go in and make herself at home.

I'm excited for this new school year. I'm excited for the learning. 

Last Day

Brandon gave notice at his job so today was his last day of work. (He told me that when he came home...)

I'm saddened that he had to have it end but he won't be able to go hunting if has to go to work. He would be working evenings and weekends and that is when he would be able to hunting. For Brandon, the only thing he can think of in Sept, Oct and Nov is hunting. And because he just recently purchased a brand new bow, that's all he can think of.  He really enjoyed his job even though he said that lots of times it was so boring. I'm hoping that he can find another job with the town next summer. 

Bike, Dentist and Pheasants

Savanna figured out how to ride her bike WITHOUT training wheels today!

She asked me this morning if I could take the training wheels off her bike and before I could get to it, Aaren was outside taking them off for her. I left him to take care of it and a short time later I was called back outside to come and watch her ride. She figured it out by herself and is now riding WITHOUT training wheels.

Yay.

And she learned how to ride a two wheeler just in time to go to school with the big kids.

The more she practices bike riding, the better she will get. She is still a little wobbly and needs to get better at stopping faster but it will all come as she gains more experience on her bike.

Savanna was even showing me how she can even take a hand off the handle bars. I told her to be careful doing that because she is still learning but she will be ready for hand signals soon.

I'm excited to see her riding. She told me she can go so much faster with the training wheels off. Happy riding Savanna!

Evan had a dental appointment this morning. It was to see if he was ready for a spacer. It is time!!

He had three impressions made of his teeth. The first two were uncomfortable and painful. The third was better because they used a bigger tray.

Evan thought it was neat to watch the compound being made. Water was added to a blue powder, mixed together and then filled onto the dental tray. Then the tray was put into his mouth. The first time the tray pressed on to his gums and hurt. The second time didn't work either. Finally they were able to get a good impression with the top jaw.

Tray coming out. 

Hurting a little. But he was tough and got through it. 

Last impression to be made. Going in purple. Open wide Evan. It's a big tray!

Waiting for the stuff the harden and change back to blue.

The impression of Evan's upper jaw. Look at all those little teeth!

And a happy smile to finish off the appointment.

While we were waiting for a chair at the dentist, Evan got to enter his name in a draw for some back to school supplies. There was two age categories with different supplies for each.

Evan filled out his own entry and I filled out a entry for each of the other school aged kids. Evan said if he won, he really wanted the huge package of felt markers (65 of them!)

Then Evan had his appointment. The draw was made by Dr. Heggie later in the afternoon and we got a phone call saying that Evan won.

I took Evan back up to the office. He was pretty excited to find out from the receptionist that he won the draw. He was all ready to choose the markers and was quite shocked to learn he got ALL the supplies. A huge package of construction paper, a coil notebook, a deluxe lunchbox with storage containers inside, a pencil case and 65 felt markers!

Getting the felts from Debbie first. 

The prize is so heavy he can hardy hold it all. It's a sweet prize!

Thank you to the doctors at Raymond Dental!

Ready for back to school!

Pheasants

Over the last few days, Jeff has butchered, skinned, cleaned and prepared 18 pheasants for canning. Cassandra shot several of them. I helped clean about half of them and helped with the bottle preparation. Jeff did most of the work. 

It was good to make room in the pheasant cage and add bottles of ready to eat meat to the storage room shelves. Thanks to Jeff for all he did to get them to the point of storing on the shelf. 

Lake Fun

After Jeff's I exam we met up with everyone at Lake Sundance for an afternoon play, swimming and visiting. Justin and Heather brought the paddleboard. The kids had some fishing gear. And everyone enjoyed the water.

After we ate, we had to head home back to Raymond. We were sad to go. 

Eye Exam

Jeff has two rather red and irritated looking spots on his eyes. He sees an eye specialist yearly but was just recently referred to an eye specialist in Calgary, after his last appointment in Lethbridge. Today Jeff and I went to the Seema Eye Clinic. We came to Calgary on Monday night with the kids (minus Brandon and Devin) and stayed with Sherilyn, Jay and family. The appointment was at 1:15pm.

At the appointment Jeff had many of the regular eye exam checks. When the Dr came, he looked at Jeff's eyes. After his exam, he noted his findings on his computer. He said Jeff has about 4 issues, listing fancy medical names for each. Poor blood flow to the eyes allows deposits to form on his eyes. He has a couple of pockets of fat built up and dry eyes due to environmental issues and work, create irritated eyes for Jeff. But basically Jeff has dry eyes.

The doctor gave Jeff 4 things to do to help him. The nurse explained them. 

1. MASSAGE. Every morning massage the eyes. Using your fingers, gently stroke down on the eye lids 20 times. Then go upwards under the eye 20 times. Repeat for the other eye. (Or do it at the same time.) This massage works best when done in a warm shower. Doing this stimulates the oils to release in your eyes so they don't dry out as quickly. 

2. BLINK! Frequently blink your eyes. You would be surprised at how casual your blinking really is. Make a full blink by contracting the muscles around your eye sockets. You can feel those muscles move. No more casual blinking. No more swishing your eyelids over your eyes. Blink! This helps spread the oils over your cornea. 

3. OMEGA 3. Take an omega 3 fatty acid supplement daily (5g per day). Fish oils have been proven to improve health and apparently it does great for the eyes.

4. EYE DROPS. Supplement with artificial tears. He gave Jeff two trial size bottles of Blink! eye drops. He is to use as needed to help relieve dryness.

Unfortunately we live in a very dry climate. Southern Alberta is 2nd driest place in Canada. (That's what the doctor said!) If we lived in Hawaii, Jeff wouldn't have these issues. (Again, what the doctor said.

The smoke from the forest fires is also not helping his eye health at this time and winter time in Canada is often worse than summer. (Maybe WE SHOULD move to Hawaii!!!!!)

....................But because we aren't headed there anytime soon, Jeff will need to do these other things to prevent deteriorating health to his eyes and possible early cataract issues.

We are grateful to know that Jeff doesn't have severe eye problems at this time. We are grateful for doctors with specialized training who are able to monitor and treat him. We are greatful for the vision that he does have and hope that he can continue to enjoy that sense that was bestowed upon his mortal body. 

And a final quote from Jeff-- "I guess I'll have to get more showers."

Funny but annoying

Every time someone asks a question and needs an answer, Aaren will often pipe up with this response. (Whether or not the question was directed to him.)

Question. blah blah blah?????

Answer. Anywhere and everywhere and everywhere and anywhere!

AAREN!!!!!!!!!!

(It makes me smile every time)

Tysyn- Day 2

Saturday afternoon just before the lab closed, I took Tysyn back up to the hospital for an X-ray and another check with the doctor. Cassandra came with us and Tysyn brought back his mask.

After checking in at the desk, we went to the lab and Tysyn had a chest X-ray. He did so good. He had to stand on a platform and wear a heavy little apron around his waist. The technician had a him stand facing the machine for the front X-ray. She took images then had him turn to the side, so she could get one taken of his side. Then we went back to the emergency to wait to see the doctor.

At Tysyn's turn, the doctor listened to his lungs and went to check the X-rays. When he came back, he let me know that the X-ray showed the threads forming in the upper lobe of his left lung indicating pneumonia.

So Tysyn's coughing and wheezing was not a direct result of all the smoke in the air but from an illness also.

I was given a prescription for antibiotics and after another sticker for Tysyn (and Cassandra), we left.

We are still wondering why and how Tysyn can contract pneumonia in the middle of the summer when no one else around him is sick.

But....

I'm greatful for the awesome staff at our local hospital. I'm greatful that we were only there for an hour the previous night when I first brought him in. I'm greatful that I wasn't up all night. I'm greatful for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Without it, I may have not realized how sick Tysyn was and felt like I needed him checked out. I'm greatful that Tysyn wasn't any sicker. I'm greatful for the peace and comfort that the Holy Ghost sends to us. I'm greatful for the relatively healthy family that I have. 

Sick

On Friday night-um, early Saturday morning, I was waiting up for Devin to get home from Lethbridge. He went with friends to a late movie. It was getting later and I figured to go to bed and then he could wake me when he got in.

I made the usual checks around the house and then went to check on the kids.

When I checked on T he wasn't sounding good. His breathing was laboured. I got a flashlight and checked his chest and throat. And watched his nostrils. I compared his chest movements to Savanna's. Back and forth from each kid for several minutes. I had an uneasy feeling about him and so I told Brandon that I was considering taking Tysyn to the hospital to have his O2 level checked.

I woke Jeff who was already asleep and told him my intent. I asked him to listen for the other kids in case they woke. I then found Brandon and asked him to also listen for anyone who may wake up.

As it neared 1am, I gathered my diaper bag with my phone cord and wallet, T's flip flops and van keys. I then pulled the still sleeping boy from his bed and Brandon helped me get him into Evan's coat. It was raining and so the bigger coat was great. I then wrapped his feet in his muslin blanket and headed to the van. After buckling him in and covering his body with another blanket I found in the van, we drove to the Raymond hospital in the darkness of the night.

Here Tysyn is waiting to see the doctor. The room lights were on and he just wanted to sleep so I kept pulling the hood down over his eyes. He kept pushing it back up. 

In Emergency the nurse, Shanna Olds, took his vitals and his O2 saturation level measured 92. Not great. But not life threatening. He didn't have a fever and was breathing alright once he was awake. His color looked ok too. Then the doctor came in. He checked his chart, also looked at him, and listened to his lungs. He indicated that Tysyn's left upper lobe was crackly. Dr. R. Steed wanted to give T a ventolin treatment to see if that would help. So Tysyn got a mask!

I was a little worried that he would not tolerate the treatment, but he was so tired that he just rested on the bed while I held the mask in front of his face. He was a trooper and just took the whole treatment of meds and air blowing in his face and up his nose without a fight!!

While T got the O2 and ventolin, I was texting D. I told him where I was (the hospital) and that I may not be home when he got home. When Devin found out that I was at hospital with T, he stopped texting and called my cellphone. Devin was pretty worried that T was really sick! I assured D that the trip to the hospital was mostly precautionary because of Tysyn's history. I was glad to tell D that T would be fine. 

Once the meds were done, I asked Tysyn if he wanted to hold the mask himself. He liked taking his turn. 

Then while we were still waiting for the nurse to come turn off the O2, we tried putting the strap around his head. He preferred holding the mask. 

Once the treatment was done, more checks were done on T's vitals. His O2 level was better. More like 95.

Dr. Steed told us to come back on Saturday though for X-rays and another oxygen check. We left the hospital with the nebulizer mask and a sticker from the nurse in a plastic bag.

Carrying T back out to the van, I left much more reassured about his health than when I entered the hospital.

Within minutes of arriving home, Devin also arrived home. It was lights out for all. Tysyn immediately fell asleep on a makeshift bed beside my bed. It was just after 2am as I laid down to sleep for the night.

Fall Fair

The AG society had their annual Fall Fair and Bench Show this weekend.

The kids and I were really excited to enter some items.

Aaren had several pictures that he had taken and was proud of.

Cassandra had a photograph of Savanna that she changed from color to black and white. She also entered a doll accessory that she had made. It was a small Land of Stories Book.

Maren wanted to enter a modelling clay fish tank that she made for Jeff's birthday. She also planned to enter an infinity scarf she made for her doll.

Evan and Savanna were both desperate to enter something so they created a Lego entry.

I ended up with 12 entries.

Each entry in the bench show cost $0.50.

On Friday morning at 10:30am, I gathered all the kids and our entries and we headed to the AG building to drop off our items. We were all glad that we made the 12 noon deadline for submissions. 

The judging took place that afternoon. On Saturday morning we were able to go back for the bench show or the viewing of all the entries. The kids could hardly stand that was taking so long in the morning to get going. When they found out that I had been up late the night before, they relaxed just a little. Finally at 11am, we all got back into the van and with great anticipation, endured the short drive back to the AG building. The kids spilled out of the van and rushed inside. They were so excited to find their entries and see the ribbons that they were awarded. ALL of our combined entries received a ribbon.

Red ribbon-1st place. $5.00

Blue ribbon-2nd place $4.00

White Ribbon-3rd place $3.00

Evan and Savanna with their Lego. They both ended up competing against each other. Savanna got 2nd place ($4.00) and Evan got 3rd ($3.00).

Evan was a little saddened to lose to his sister. I told him that I was greatful he entered and that it was about his efforts to enter and ability to create, not about the winning. Next year we will work on entries a little earlier so they have more. 

Maren's entries both placed 1st. She earned $10.00

Cassandra also received 2 red ribbons earning her $10.00.

Aaren entered 7 pictures. He got

1- 3rd place

4- 2nd place

2- 1st place ribbons and came home with $29.00.

The photography display ended up being in the red barn and unfortunately I never got a picture of Aaren and Cassandra near their entries.

My entries:

Horticulture. Largest veggie- (zucchini)

Farm products. Eggs 3-6. I entered pheasant eggs. 

Fabric Crafts- Other- I entered a few of the doll clothes I have been making for the girls. 

Horticulture- Green peppers. They grew so well this year. Mine were the second biggest.

Horticulture- Pickling cucumbers. I submitted these just because I had some growing. I might have done better if the stems were on them. Oh well.

Peppers- Yellow peppers

Horticulture- Tomatoes. Mom said that these are called heirloom tomatoes. We just call them purple tomatoes. It was a variety that I picked up at the greenhouse this spring.

Peppers- Hot peppers. These are some of the biggest at the time of picking. I think they are supposed to be red though. Not sure of the variety. But they are hot!

Quilts- Tied quilt. I made this for Brandon at/around Christmas. 

Preserves- Other. I entered a bottle of venison. 

Preserves- applesauce and salsa

And this me at home with my prize money. $53.00. Yay!

Looking forward to next year. 

Cute

We love this boy!

Tysyn, our silly swimmer.

Wearing the goggles

Check out the ears! This is how he put on the swim goggles. The straps are over his ears lobes!!

New potatoes

The potatoes are growing and growing. Tonight we had potatoes for supper. I dug 3 hills and got plenty. They were big. One hill had 1 large potatoe. The others were a good size. I didn't cook the littlest ones as I ran out of time to clean them. We will eat them later.

They are so yummy!!

Camping trip

With the big boys going on a camping trip on the August long weekend, I told the others we would go on a trip too. Cassandra had decided that we should go on the 12,13,14 of August. We had to be back by Saturday for cleaning. We had peaches to do Tuesday and when that finished, the kids began to pack for camping. Wednedsay morning rolled around and I was less than enthused about a camping trip. By mid morning, they (C, M, E, S, T) had their bags packed to go. (The kids had gathered a few things for R too.)

I still didn't want to go but I saw how excited they were and how much they were looking forward to a camping adventure. I didn't have the heart to tell them that we couldn't go. I didn't even know where we would go! I wanted to take them to GoldSprings down by Milk River but the only sites they had available had no shade and the nightly fee was more than I wanted to pay. I let the kids know that the following day was to be rediculously hot and maybe we should just stay home. All were disappointed at my suggestion. So...... I tucked away my desires and prepared myself for a family camping trip. All the while wondering where we could go that would be fun, convienent and cost effective.

I settled on MAGRATH!!

We would stay at the town campground adjacent to the fish pond. Jeff could drive the trailer over with the truck and help us set up. I'm not confident in towing our vintage redneck camping trailer and then parking it. The kids could take their bikes in the back of the truck. We could ride the beautiful paved trails along the pothole creek and Jeff could join us in the evenings after work. The camping fee was affordable. The only part of the plan that I didn't like was that the campground only has really terrible pit toilets. And no potable water.

I let the kids know we would be going and before too long, they were all helping to get ready to go.

Cassandra didn't want Aaren to come because he already went on a camp with his brothers. But she wasn't in charge. I was. When I told him he couldn't stay home by himself as Jeff and Brandon had work and Devin makes up his own schedule, he started packing too. He came with us.

The van was in for hose replacements on Wednesday morning at Kanyo automotive and was finished by about 3pm. After Jeff and I picked it up, I stopped at the Merc on the way home to get groceries. 

We were finally ready to go about 7pm on Wednesday evening. Jeff drove the truck with the bikes. We got a great little site in the trees and near the fishpond and park. We had supper of hotdogs and chips and then marshmallows and smores. Aaren set up a small tent he borrowed from the scout trailer. He slept in it by himself. Maren had the top bunk with Savanna, Cassandra and Evan slept on the front bed and Tysyn and Rebekka slept beside me on the back bed. Good thing the bodies are still pretty little.

Jeff left about 11pm to go back home to Raymond and stay with the big boys.

Thursday morning we woke up early.  Aaren caught a couple of little fish (pike in the trout pond) that weren't worth keeping.

Cassandra commented sometime around breakfast that it was almost like camping in Waterton. It was a nice peaceful feeling.

After breakfast of cold cereal and fresh peaches, I went with the kids on a bike ride around the Magrath wetlands. I had the bike trailer and it was a nice ride. Aaren down to Savanna had bikes to ride. Tysyn and Rebekka rode in the trailer. 

After the bike ride, we decided to pack and try and find someplace to cool down. It was so hot outside!!!! I thought we would go to St. Mary's to the spillway and check out the campground. We saw people swimming in the canal downstream from the spillway but the water was flowing a little too quickly for the littles to play in and there wasn't any shallow areas, so I decided to try the upper campground. There was also nothing there. Because we were so close, I thought of Wallys beach. The signs didn't indicate a distance which was somewhat concerning to me as I hadn't filled the van with gas since leaving Raymond. I kept constant awareness on the gas gauge as we would need a lot to keep the van cool. By the time we reached Wallys beach we hadn't had lunch. I quickly got out to see if we could eat lunch in the shade. I could've eaten lunch in the shade but the little kids wouldn't have been able to. Because for miles and miles all I could see was sand, sand and sand. So we ate our lunch in the van with the air conditioning running to avoid the sand and heat.

We took only swim stuff and water bottles out of the van. The sand was hot and the walk to the water was long. Maren and Savanna and I also had another long walk to the campsite bathroom just after we got to Wally's beach. The sand beneath our feet was slimy and oozing sand. And so fine grained. It was so weird and icky to walk in.

The kids had so much fun. They played so good together.

A bunch of other families from Raymond arrived and set up close to where we were.  Some of the boys were Aaren's age so he had friends to hang out with for a bit. It was a fun afternoon. We stayed for a couple of hours. Playing in the mud and the sand and water. I even joined the kids for a bit playing in the mud holes.

We certainly didn't drink enough water! It was so hot. When we left Wally's beach it took us a while to get packed up again. We had more snacks and the sand was everywhere.

We got back to Magrath at about 5 PM. The temperature was 37°. So blinking hot!! I knew I couldn't let the kids out in that kind of weather. The trailer was too hot. There was no breeze in the trees. It was a dry heat with no relief in sight. So we headed to the public library. They were open until 6 PM. We read books, colored and enjoy the air conditioning for 45 minutes. It felt so good. We left just before it closed. When we got back outside the temperature had lowered. Only 1°!! At 6 PM it was still 36°.

I was beginning to feel sick and so were some of the kids. The kids didn't want to go to the pool. We were all tired. So I made the decision to drive home to Raymond to stay indoors there was nothing else to do. We needed to get out of the heat. I knew our air conditioning would make our house enjoyable.

At home I made kraft dinner for supper. We ate downstairs in the basement. It was even cooler. But nobody really felt like eating. I told the kids that we would go back to the campground when the weather was a little cooler.

Brandon was off work from the transfer station when we arrived and decided to come back with us to Magrath. He wanted to go fishing in the fishpond. We wanted him to come and join us. Jeff was already in Magrath as he stayed after work. We arrived back just after 8 PM. I was so disappointed the Blue Goose was closed. I was going to buy Slurpee's for everyone. I wished I had bought them at fast gas in Raymond before we left.

Brandon went fishing in the pond. He caught a huge Pike. It was 27 inches long. And then he caught another roughly the same size!! 27 1/2 inches long. Brandon was so ecstatic!

Jeff cooked Aaren's fish from earlier in the day. The kids snacked and roasted marshmallows. 

It was another late night.

Evan saw a dog in the dark. He was soooooo scared!!!!

The kids made some bed changes. And it took a long time for the kids to finally fall asleep. Jeff and Brandon left at 10:45 PM. It was a better night sleep for me.

We were up early again. The sun comes out early in the summer!

Aarenn went fishing early in the morning. We had breakfast of fruit and cold cereal again. And we went on another bike ride after breakfast. This time we went a different way. We saw lots of wildlife. Aaren almost got hit by a deer on the path. We had a great time together as a family. At the wooden bridge we stopped and took a picture. The kids found big rocks and tried to throw them into the water to splash each other. On the bicycle path it took great patience for me because Tysyn wanted to walk and run for a bit instead of riding in the bicycle trailer. Then Rebecca wanted to walk too. It was so slow compared to the bikes!!

After the bike ride we spend a relaxing day at the campground. It was a much cooler day.

I loved the cooler weather. We all did!! We had sandwiches for lunch and then the kids played in the trees and at the park and fished. They also spent time playing by the fishpond and catching frogs.

They loved being outdoors. I spent the afternoon making a nature sign using things I found on the ground. After a while, some of the kids helped and wanted to make their own.

Rebecca had a nap. I was so tired also. I wanted one too. Jeff came again in the evening for supper. We had hotdogs, Smokies and french fries for supper. We bought hot dogs, smokies and french fries at the grocery store in Magrath and cooked the fries in foil over the campfire. We had more marshmallows. Jeff stayed over. He camped with us.

This time Cassandra and Savanna slept on the front bed. Maren slept on the upper bunk beside Tysyn. We used the sink cupboard door up on the upper bunk as a barrier so Tysyn wouldn't fall off. Evan and Rebekka slept on the floor. Aaren spent the third night in his tent. Yay for three nights in a row. (That fulfills the scout requirement.)

I slept well with Jeff beside me but it was pretty cramped quarters. It rained in the night.

Saturday morning the kids played around. We had breakfast of cold cereal and fruit. We didn't hurry to pack up. It was a leisurely morning. We had lunch and then by midafternoon began packing up. I wanted to be home early enough to get started the unpacking before we had to go cleaning at Keeler's. The kids were so sad to leave. They had a great time.

We made lots of good memories. As we were driving back to Raymond, several of the kids commented that they want to go camping in Magrath again next year!