First Day of School

This morning Jenn's home was busy as three out of five children packed their backpacks and got ready for their first day of school.

They stopped on the way to the bus for a group picture.

After a few more hugs and well wishes the bus arrived and the three oldest climbed on the bus.

And they are off...the cutest little trio on their way to school.

Sarah begins grade 2.  Emma is going to be the perfect little kindergartener and Jacob is just starting his school career by heading in to Jr. KIndergarten.  It's going to be an exciting year.

Fall is in the Air!

As the mornings get cooler and the night air makes you pull a blanket tighter you just know that fall is quickly creeping up.  It's time to change my summer wreath on my front door to the colourful leaf one that I have stored in the basement.  Today I am wearing a sweater and I even pulled out my socks.  Yes, it's that time of year.


Another indication of Fall is seeing the schools gearing up and once again I am part of that rush.  Two weeks ago the students of Prairie starting returning and the noise level went up a few octaves.

Picture used from Prairie Facebook page.

I worked 4 days and then took a day to go and help out my own boy with his renovations.  We worked like dogs....okay, much harder than dogs.

We cleaned, straightened, trimmed, painted and then went to bed (or in my case, the couch) and did it all over again the next day.  Thankfully for all of us the renovations are coming along nicely and things are starting to look really good.  Here is a sneak preview of the bathroom:

 On the way home I was extremely tired but happy that I could help out.  I had to pull over to take a picture of a beautiful Fall field. 

On Tuesday, I went back to work and worked long hours through the week to try and get things done for orientation and for myself being oriented.  Part of the day I spent with "my boss" chopping meat and onions for a big dinner the next evening.  I've never been paid before to prepare dinner.  This may just be my perfect job!


Wednesday was a full day...first desk work and then dinner work.  Emma's house was full of students and there was lots of food.

It was interesting to hear and see the students respond when the RCMP showed up.  This was the first time that they had met me and were just learning that I was married to a police officer.

I think Ron enjoyed visiting with the students and faculty and he especially enjoyed the dinner.


On Thursday I had another interesting day.  First we had chapel.  (I get paid to go to church too!)  Brian Doerksen led in worship.  I have paid to go to one of his concerts before and now I'm getting paid to listen to him.  Not bad!  Right after chapel we loaded up a team to head to the airport. 

This group will be gone for eight months travelling to many different countries.  I will be following them through their blogs and personal emails.  It will be interesting to hear all about their work on the Mission Field. 


It's been an interesting couple of weeks.  I'm looking forward to understanding my job a little better and I love the flexibility that they have offered me.  Everyone else has a 3 day weekend but I've got a 4.  Fall also means that most people are returning from their holidays and I was so excited to welcome Andrew and Brianne home from Ontario.

So as the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder I will be settling into the school year as I have done so many Falls before.

Family & Friends - Ontario Style

We are back home and back to work  but we had a whirlwind trip to Ontario.  Everyday was packed full of family and friends.  We flew to Ontario two weeks ago today.  We were excited that our son was able to fly home too.  He just got off of working nights but he kept right up to the schedule.




Thursday - We went and met our newest little grandson and I got to hold him for awhile and then we packed the oldest 4 up in the van and headed to the beach.

Abby was a little uncertain of these strange grandparents from the west but since the other three seemed fine with us she decided she would tag along.


After the beach we headed to a "play park."

Friday - Was Ron's birthday and it seemed like it was all about him. 

Okay...maybe not.


We headed to Belleville where he left me with my besties to have his birthday lunch without him.  We met up later to meet some wonderful friends in Frankford and then we stopped at the hospital to see one of our son's friends who just became a dad.

These girls mean the world to me!

Saturday was family day.  First a Frizzell family reunion.

And then finally a birthday dinner for Ron with the Clark family.

Sarah and Emma stayed with us overnight.




Sunday - We headed to Gananoque for the day.  First we went to a church where we assisted right after Ron completed bible college and we had a nice visit with so many old friends.  We visited over lunch and then Jenn and the rest of the kids joined us for a Thousand Island Cruise.

It was a perfect day and very restful even with a whole whack of kids.




Monday - Ron and I went to Kingston and spent a little time at a nice lake front park.

Enjoying a tea by the water is the best.  We then met my mom and dad and sister and brother-in-law to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday!

Right after the candle was blown out we headed to pick up the kids again for a night at a hotel.

Abby was starting to relax with us and we had a lot of fun....swimming, shopping and sleeping in the hotel.




Tuesday - Jenn came in the morning and we did some shopping before she had to go to work.

We are so happy that Jenn found a job that she is enjoying so much.


We kept the kids for the rest of the afternoon and took them home tired.  We might have been a little tired too!


On our way back to Napanee we stopped to see my cousin who had a serious bike injury.  It was good to see her.  She has already been a special cousin to me.




Wednesday - There is a must when we come to Ontario....first we need to see family and friends and then we have to head to Sharbot Lake.  It's a little bit of heaven on earth for us.

We met up with the Irwins for lunch and to catch up on the news of the area.  We stopped to see special friends that owned a cottage where we spent many holidays after leaving the area.




Thursday - Was our day for mother's.  Ron took his mom shopping, out for lunch and a drive.  I took my mom and sister to jail.  I guess that doesn't sound too good but that is what we did.  We did the tour of the Kingston Penitentiary.  It was interesting and it was nice to have a girls' day.

The tour was quite interesting.  We had a guide that took our group to each area where a guard that had worked in the pen told us about the area.

It took a little negotiation but we got my sister released.  After the tour we went across to the museum and saw just how creative the inmates can be.

Hollowed food trays help inmate escape maximum security.

Thursday night we went to spend the evening with Jenn and do a little bit of shopping.




Friday - Another kiddie day.  By this time Abby was excited to hop in the van and see what adventure was awaiting.

We headed to Lake Ontario Park to the splash park.

After a good play in the water and the park and a little walk in the hot sun everyone was feeling a little tired.  Even poor Uncle was exhausted.

It was another good day.  We said our goodbyes to the kids and to Jenn and drove away in a quiet van.  We stopped to see my cousin again.




Saturday - We left for Toronto right after lunch.  We had a little wait at the airport due to a delay but all was smooth for our trip back to Alberta.


We had one day to rest up before we were all back to work.  Wow, I'm tired just looking at our schedule.  Good thing we are back to work to rest up.

Where Did That Week Go?

This past week flew by and I'm feeling it today.  Monday was the last day of a long weekend and Ron was just recovering from nights but we kept busy with biking, walking and enjoying the time around home.

On Tuesday we left home bright and early to meet up with our son to do an errand for him which didn't quite work out but we did deliver some meals for his freezer and then went on a hunt for a new purse.  After walking in every store at the Crossiron Mall that even looking liked like they might have purses we finally found the right one.  Success!

When we got home we went to Andrew and Brianne's for Catan and Ron won both games. Enough said!  We just got to bed and one storm after another rolled through Three Hills keeping me awake until 2:00 a.m.

On Wednesday it was off to work for both Ron and I.  It was a full day of talking, meeting people, tours and cleaning out and setting up my new office.  By the time I got home I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.

On Thursday, we were both back to work.  After work the grass needed to be cut but we still had the energy for Catan.  This time things went a little better.  Andrew finally won and I took the second game.

Friday morning I left in the morning to help our boy with painting.  We worked hard and got things closer to where he needs his renovations to be.  I got home at 10:00 p.m. with sore muscles and awful looking hands.

On Saturday, Brianne picked me up and we headed to Airdrie for a bit of pampering.  We sat in massage chairs beside each other chatting while we were given pedicures.  We moved across the salon to have our manicures done and my finger nails improved!

I'm still amazed that those are my real nails!  With fancy toes and fingernails we headed out for a sushi lunch...yum!  A stop at Walmart and Tim's and we headed for home.  Relaxing day and fun company!

I finished my day up by sending Ron off to work and then calling our oldest granddaughter who was turning 7 today.  The last two birthdays she had spent with us.  She was having a great time ....having her cake and eating it too!

 Happy Birthday Sarah!

We ended our phone call with the regular "love you's" but this time I got to add, "See you on Wednesday!" 

So this week might have been busy but I have a feeling the next two will be even busier!