Cowgirl Kenna

The Stampede is here and we are getting into whole heartedly! This is Makenna all dressed up for a local Stampede Breakfast that we went to on Saturday. Friday night, Kevin and I went to the chuckwagon races and a portion of the Grandstand show. We also walked stampede grounds for a little bit. On Wednesday (my birthday) I am joining Kevin and his coworkers for the rodeo. In all my years of living in Calgary I guess its only fitting that I finally get the full stampede experience as I make my departure from this great city.

In other news, I also thought I would mention that Kevin has just achieved his official "permanent resident" status here in Canada. Yes it is a bit ironic considering that next week we leave Canada and become residents of the United States, but it never hurts to keep options open!

Yet Another Week in Review...

Once again, I must apologize for the lack of recent updates to our website. This time it was that our internet connection that was down. We finally got someone in today to fix it so I am back up and running. We had a great visit from Oma this past weekend. I should include a picture with her in it but the only shot I have to share is this cutie patootie in her lovely new dress that Oma brought her all the way from Italy. What a lucky girl!

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to YOU, Happy Birthday dear Kevin, Happy Birthday to you. We celebrated Kevins patriotic fourth of July birthday this year on the 3rd of July because that was the day Kevin had off of work. In this picture Kevin is sporting one of the many new outfits he recieved for his birthday. Doesnt he look fabulous? In keeping with tradition we made the famous flag cake. It was delicious as usual.

And lastly, I couldnt talk about this week without mentioning the heat. We have had beautiful weather- perfect for laying out at the splash park, (which we did plenty of) but not so perfect for sleeping when you don't have air conditioning. That aspect of the weather has had me wishing for a cool down and rejoicing when we had showers this evening. As you can see from the pictures below, the kids did some rejoicing in the rain too.

Kids are Cute

Lately, Makenna is into sunglasses- hers, mine, whatever she can get a hold of.
And Brayden is into posing. He knows that if he hugs or cuddles his sister I will usually take a picture- so he arranged this "Kodak moment" and then he posed with his serious, somewhat gangster-like facial expression.

The Week in Review

What a busy time we have had lately. Many of you have been wondering if Kevin was able to survive his time alone with the kids? The answer is YES--but just barely. He was certainly happy to have mommy home. The weather in Calgary has been miserably cool and rainy, which always makes it more challenging to keep the kids occupied. I think he did a terrific job.
I indeed had some success in the house shopping department. We bought the above house, which is located in South Provo, on your way to Springville, it's up on the mountain to the east. Mom and I had quite an adventure working with three different realtors, and then ended up buying this one that was for sale by owner. House shopping ended up being quite stressful but in the end I feel very lucky and blessed to have found this house. The rest of my time in Utah was fabulously fun. It was great to see Scott and my other good friends, and it was great to do some shopping too. All in all it was a successful trip. It's very unusual for me to have that much time away from my kids...in fact I have never been away from them for that long. It was a nice break.

Brayden finished swimming lessons this week. He graduated from "Floaters" and is now a "Glider." I have signed him up for some more lessons in July. He has really come a long way and he really enjoys it.

Yesterday was a sad day for both Brayden and Mom as Brayden enjoyed his last day in his current preschool. I have enjoyed it as much as Brayden (or probably even more). He even got a diploma and a special certificate for completing the "Alphabet Bus." Good Job Brayden!

I have been working this morning on sorting through all our stuff in search of "garage sale" material. We plan to have one this Saturday. So if you are in the area...drop on by!

Mommy Goes To Utah

As much as these little munchkins would love to tag along on my trip to Utah, this is one airplane ride I will be enjoying in peace. I can't wait. Kevin is taking a few days off work to watch the kids and he is really looking forward to his four days alone with them (yes there was a hint of sarcasm in that comment). Any prayers and phone calls offered on his behalf will be greatly appreciated I am sure. The purpose of this trip is to find a house, which is a hefty and somewhat stressful task. Hopefully there will be time to enjoy all the family, friends and food Provo has to offer.

CHEESE!!!

Isn't she charming? It would be quite a miracle if I could ever capture a picture of Makenna without a dirty face.

Buddies

When we told Brayden we were moving to Utah, his first question was, "Do Benjamin and Daniel know how to get to Utah?" I reassured him that they knew how to find us and would come and visit sometime. After he felt better about that point his next question to me was "When we move to Utah are we going to live outside or inside?"