Finally, some nice weather

Good morning to all!

It's already the 21st of April and yet again I am shocked at how time the weeks slip by. The last few have been full of fun and have gone by in the blink of an eye.

The weekdays themselves have come and gone without incident. Erin continues to happily go about her days at the Nursery School and is loving her new Kindergarten experience. That transition went by without a single incident. After a busy couple of weekends, we actually had a fairly quiet one. Gord took Erin and left me to study for my looming HR National exam. I have to admit I have not been studying for it like I should be. It's tough when you live the stuff everyday and then read the theory part that is really only theory. There is really not too much that you see in theory that actually happens in the real world in some areas of HR!! At least not where I work!! I will get that all back on track tomorrow though - I hope!!

This past Monday brought an absolute shocker to us when we woke up. Imagine, a blustering snow storm on April 16th. Yup, you read it right. I couldn't believe it. It took me 15 minutes to get Erin in to daycare in Merrickville - normally a very short 5 minute drive. Nothing was plowed and the roads were just plain awful. I worked from home that day because I just didn't want to chance it. The weather has been so gloomy for most of April and it really has affected me. I can't remember being in such a gloomy mood for so long. Everyone was feeling that way. Boy, do we ever underestimate the power of the sun. It is back though, and we are seeing temperatures in the 20's. Yesterday was simply brilliant and my mood and the mood of those around me reflected it!

Last weekend also brought news from Elliot Lake. There is a new little one in our family. Our nephew and his girlfriend had a baby boy - Mark Rees. So Erin is no longer the baby of the family, and I have a new title I didn't expect to have for some time - Great Aunt!! Our nephew's father - Gord's brother Douglas is travelling down this weekend to pick up many of the baby offerings we have offered to loan to them - crib, changetable, etc. They may as well go to good use as they are sitting in the basement right now. We don't have plans for another one - we love Erin with all of our hearts and she is just destined to be an only!

This past week has been pretty wild - beyond the snowstorm on Monday - what with me running a summer student recruiting process. The process has changed dramatically since the last time it ran and employees are not shy about letting me know their displeasure with it!! I have discovered that people who have been used to things one way for 50 plus years, don't react to changes when a new company takes over!!! Oh well, this too shall pass.

Monday also brought news that my 4 year old car was done. People, avoid Subarus at all costs! Gord and I sit back and are amazed at how much money we have put into that car in such a short period of time. Well Monday we found out the transmission was done. Instead of pouring another $5000 plus into it, we traded it in and now we have a brand new Toyota FJ Cruiser! Very fun!! Gord picked it up on Friday and we took it for a nice 'Cruise' into Brockville for dinner. I haven't ever had a truck that big before and I just love it!! We were planning on getting one anyway in under a year, so we figured we would invest in a new car rather than the Subaru money pit. There is nothing more fun that a new car on those first few days!!

Today is a busy day, but I am looking forward to it. This afternoon I head into Ottawa to take a fused glass course. I have been dying to take one for ages and I just found one and decided to jump at it. Now I realize I should be studying, but....... Tonight we are going to a fundraiser for Erin's Nursery School - Yuk Yuk's - with our neighbours. Erin gets to have wonderful Emily babysit tonight, so she is looking forward to that!

Well, I know I have likely missed something, but that's as far as my thoughts will take me this morning. Enjoy the pics and.....

GO SENS GO!!!!!

All Hail the Easter Bunny!!!

Easter morning began with Erin waking me up at about 7:00am wanting to use the washroom and get a drink. When she entered the living room, she saw that the Easter Bunny left her a brand new bike for Easter! Not to mention some new books, a new barbie and of course some yummy chocolate eggs!!

North Bay Grandpa was down on Friday afternoon as planned. We had a great visit and he amused her for hours by playing with stickers! We spent Saturday morning having breakfast at the Maple Sugar house - nothing like fresh pancakes and syrup! Then we took a special trip in to Ottawa, where North Bay Grandpa took Erin to Build-a-Bear and she built a Bunny named Fluffer, complete with a pink outfit and pj's!!!

Enjoy the pics and Happy Easter everyone!!

Happy Easter!!

Good morning to everyone. It's early (I'd say bright, but it's just not bright out yet!!) and everyone is still sleeping so it's a good time for a blog update!

All is well with everyone. As usual, life has been busy over the past two weeks, so here we go!

Believe it or not, on March 29th, we registered Miss Erin for Jr. Kindergarten!! We went to the school to register and we got a chance to meet the Principal, the French Teacher, and the Kindergarten Teacher. Erin also got a chance to check out her new digs for the new year, and she did just great! She went in and looked around and found some great stuff to play with. She also ran into a friend or two from the Nursery School that will be going on the same days she is, so the transition in September should go well. We have an appointment to go back so she can see what a day looks like (well, for an hour anyway!!), and we made sure she will be going on a day that Erika will be there. I'm so proud of my big girl!!!

On March 31st, we had a big gang over for Erin's Easter Egg Hunt Party. The kids just had a great time! The Easter Bunny even wrote them a note (this was for the adult's benefit) and sent them on a big egg hunt. We did it a bit differently than we have done it in the past. Since we had some little ones here, we wrote names on the eggs so that the kids could help each other out. Once the egg hunt was over - there are a couple out there that we just couldn't find, which surprises me because I didn't think the Easter Bunny hid the eggs in such hard to find places - the kids spent some time running around outside, playing on the play structure, and bombing around on the Hummer! We had a marvellous day out, a bit cool, but sunny and dry. Next we fed everyone, then sent the kids outside again for the pineta! You have to like Bulk Barn, where you can find pinetas for every occasion. It literally took the kids 20 minutes to break the Easter Bunny pineta! The Bunny was looking pretty ragged by the end, but finally the full brunt of the bigger kids' whacking broke the prizes free!! Next we played a round of jelly bean bingo, followed by some cookie decorating. The kids played outside for the rest of the afternoon. It was funny how many kids just didn't want to go home! There were parents chasing kids around the yard when it was time to leave!! I think it's great because it meant they had fun!! All of the kids, and many of the adults, slept very well that night!!!

The start of April meant that Erin was moving from the pre-school program to the Kindergarten program. This went off as smooth as glass! I am amazed at the confidence in Erin and how much she has progressed at the Nursery School. They have really been wonderful.

The week has just been plain old busy for both Gord and I in terms of work, but we both made it to Thursday in one piece, and are all looking forward to a long weekend! North Bay Grandpa is coming down later this afternoon for the weekend, so Erin is pretty excited about that. The one disappointment in the week came on Thursday though, as we got to witness the return of the snow!!! Aghhhh!!! I think we were far too spoiled this winter. It's not much, but it's still snow!

Anyway, enjoy the pictures from the party and I'll check in again soon to tell everyone about whether the Easter Bunny comes to Erin's house or not!!!! (As if he wouldn't!!!)