Family: The Best Grandma

Grandma turned 88 in October. We went out for fish and chips. I hate fish, but I think they're cute. We sat next to the giant aquarium and I took pictures of fish.

They're pretty cute, and so is Grandma

Family: Mom Keeps Everything

I love the fact that my Mom has kept some of my toys from my childhood. I spent some time reminiscing when we were visiting:

Shirley my Cabbage Patch Doll in full 90's clothes:

Jo from New Kids on the Block, Troll Barbie, and Pocahontas:

Third Grade photo. I'm in the red shirt and overall-skirt thing:

Family: The Cottage

After Niagara Falls we took off to the Woltz family cottage. I've had friends ask me where it is, but my GPS was like ??? when we were there. Georgian Bay area-ish. It was absolutely beautiful! We spent two days filled with hummingbirds, chipmunks, boating and outdoor showers:

Family: Windsor/Niagara Falls

We came back from Windsor a few weeks ago, and instead of writing a reflection I went and organised the ENTIRE apartment! Label ALL THE THINGS! Anywho, we didn't spend as much time in Windsor, but road tripped it with the Mom and Mark. When we landed this is what the forecast said (EEEP), and praise the Lord for air conditioning!:

We did a family BBQ in the backyard, as Tom and I melted. The locals did a bit better than we did. My Mom has this beautiful backyard, and I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures! Next time. On the Monday we took off to drive up to Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Oakes Hotel, which I have to say, wasn't the best hotel I've stayed in. The view was beautiful (see below), but the room was meh.

Tom was a sweetie and did the "Maid of the Mist", also known as the Hornblower Tour (I don't want to call it that), with me. We got soaked and rocked a poncho:

We went to the Keg for dinner for delicious delicious stakes. Pretty good time overall:

Family: Going "Home"

Going "home" is something that is foreign to me. It's one major thing that my husband and I don't have in common. He grew up in the same house for his entire life, went to the same schools, and has parents that have been married for 29 years. I've lived in 10+ houses over the span of my life. And I know I'm not done yet. In one day Tom and I are off to Windsor. The place I spent 9 years of my life and 4 houses of my life. When I lived there I felt trapped. I had moved away from everything I had ever known. We moved three weeks before my 10th birthday. It was tough. I went with my Mom, but my Dad stayed in Calgary. I felt like I had been cut in half. Now I need to admit something. I've spent years hating Windsor. Hating it for existing. Hating it for taking me away from the city I loved. The only thing that anchored it to me way my Mom. Now I'm going back (I've been back plenty of times), but I want to reflect on what it truly meant to me. Honestly I think it's probably a really beautiful place. Filled with history and sights to see. So I'm going to put myself in Tom's shoes. I'm going to SEE it for the first time. Something tells me I might actually love it. It won't just be the place my Mom is, but the place that contributed my history.

Loss

It has been a hard two weeks.

I had my darling Grandfather pass away in Ontario last week. He had dimentia and failing health but it doesn't make it any less hard. I think one of the hardest things was seeing my stepmom in pain. It was her father, and she had to go out on a red eye flight in order to get there before he passed. It's been a long time since we've had a death in the family and it really has been thinking out what it means to die. I'm a Christian and so I have reassurance about where I'm going, so death is kind of a "it happens" thing in my mind. I know that Grandfather is in a place now where he feels no pain and gets to see his wonderful wife Pat who has been gone for a few years. I like to imagine his face when he sees her again.

Now I just want to remember him as he was. He had this hilarious Irish ballad that he liked to sing about a man marrying a woman and on their wedding night she takes her wig off and pulls out her teeth, and all sorts of horrible things until he realizes she's not the teenager he thought he married. Even in his dimentia he could sing this song or recite these hilarious poems that he had memorized so many years before. The last time I saw him was a year and a half ago and he told us stories as he enjoyed his Black Forest cake in the nursing home. He later showed us his medals and reminded us all that he was a lifetime member of the legion. He was an amazing man and he will be missed.

On top of all this we had to say goodbye to our darling family cat Mischief. We had her in our lives for 16 years. Now some say this is old for a cat, but it felt like she would live forever. Turns out God had a different plan. She passed away purring as my Dad and Tracey patted her on a veterinarians table. It's a particularly hard blow when I think that we got her a month or so before my brother was born, and she's the last cat we had where me and my siblings were all living under the same room. In that it seems like a chapter has closed. She was so beautiful and gave you the most painful sandpaper tongue baths a cat could give.

Despite all this I am grateful for the time that God gave me with them. Everyone that you meet and love adds something to your life. These two contributed to who I am today and I will be eternally grateful for that. I rest in Christ that they are happy now and with Him.

 

 

Family: My Niece & Nephew

My brother David is a single Dad. A single Dad of two adorable 4 month olds. Oh did I mention they're kittens! Yes cats are children! They came over for a play date tonight and Sofia was soooooo not amused! The fluffy grey one is Ghost and the orange one is Cheddar. Enjoy the cuteness:

Family: Happy First Adoptaversary Sofia Gray

So last year I took a trip to Canmore with the family. We had been in contact with the SPCA there and we're interested in a kitten named Pie. Little Pie didn't work out but we decided to drop into the SPCA anyways. There was a large corral next to front desk with a few kittens in it. I picked up a little gray one named Gray since she was the one climbing around and looking so cute (the others didn't respond to our hellos). She was cuddling in and mewing and melted my heart. I handed her to my Dad and he lifted her up. She started licking his nose and wouldn't stop. My Dad was in full on man-giggles. I didn't decide right then and there, and we went for a walk. Well I couldn't get the ball of fur out of my mind. We went back and just about gobbled her up. She mewed in her carrier all the way home. She grew up into the spazzling that we know and love today! Happy Adoptaversary little fur baby!

Family: Beautiful People Getting Married

Last weekend I had to privilege of going to a really good friend of mines wedding. He met this beautiful woman two years ago and unfortunately I was in Spain for most of their courtship (So I hope she'll be a really good friend of mine soon). It's fun to get gussied up and celebrate. Not to mention that this couple is pretty darn good-lookin'! They're all tall and fit... hence "Beautiful People Getting Married". Oh and Brittany got her dance on (even though I'm about as coordinated as Napoleon Dynamite).

Family: Mom's 50th

I recently flew to Ontario for my Mom's 50th Birthday (She's the pretty lady in the middle). We took off to Michigan for some shopping and a day at the spa with her three best ladies. Although they are all old enough to have birthed me it is really fun to hang out with them. I'm so very happy that they're in my Mom's life. Especially being her only child and living on the other side of the country, it's comforting to know she has a bunch of wonderful people to keep her sane. 

Oh an I went to J-Crew for the first time. This is the one store we don't have in Calgary yet. And even though I don't need it... I bought this delicious red straw clutch!

Family: Friends as Family

What can I say about good girl friends? They are something that is incredibly hard to find. Especially when they come in groups of 4! These ladies have been in my life now for three-ish years, and I couldn't have gotten this far without them. We're all different ages, but we've all decided that education"y" careers are what we're called to do. So we stay together. We drink excessive amounts of coffee and vent about life. We bounce ideas off each other. We talk each other off ledges. I truly believe if we stick together we can be even better people and professionals. So ladies: I tip my hat to you! Oh and weekends away: we need to do more of them!