Creature of Habit

Found some cute pics of my sweetheart.
The Flash shirt:





Patchwork Quilt shorts/pants:





Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Peeps

Kristen has learned some new sayings. Out of the blue, she likes to ask me, "So, do we have a deal?" I've just learned to smile and say, "You bet we do!"

The other day she and I were in the van getting ready to go to her dance class. From the back seat she said, "Let's go peep." When her sisters are with us, we become her 'peeps'. Such a cute kid.

Scaredy Cat

Kristen is my little scaredy cat (which I never call her, it just seemed appropriate as a blog title). She sleeps with a night light as well as a flashlight beside her bed. She turns it on at bedtime, and I turn it off when I go to bed. Halloween last year really spurred her fears on, but she continues to have scary dreams. She realizes that there are no monsters under her bed, otherwise maybe I could take care of them with a little "monster spray". But she says, "The monsters are in my eyes." How do you eradicate monsters from the mind's eye?

Trying It

So Chris and I decided that after almost two weeks of vacation where our girls watched little or no tv nor played games on the computer, that we needed to make some adjustments to their daily schedule--we knew they'd survive. So starting yesterday, Monday, July 20th, they were restricted from watching tv and playing computer games between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm. They could play one hour of Wii games (they don't normally play them much) and they could use the computer if they were doing the SkillsTutor program through the school. I think Kristen had the most break downs, but she was 'off' a good part of the day anyway.

I helped them get started on a 1000-piece puzzle, they are making their own mini-golf course in my house (hmmmmm), they are reading more, and today is a perfect day for playing outside.

Chris and I initially thought we'd try this schedule for a week, but it is working well enough that it'll probably continue until school starts in a month. They are learning to be creative in other ways and aren't just sitting as lumps on the couch watching inane shows.

Shopko

We had a little extra time to burn while in Billings, and I needed some allergy medicine, so we made a quick stop at Shopko. My girls had a little fun.

Going Home

We didn't have any time table to keep in our trip back to Colorado. We were dividing the trip in to two days and had a leisurely seven hour trip to Billings, MT. I think we left around 10:30 am. However, my mom, then Chris noticed that the rear passenger-side tire was a little low. My dad's air compressor was wheeled out and the tire inflated, but it was a concern. Chris found the nearest Big O Tires in Great Falls, MT and we headed out. The tired was holding its own at the border in Sweetgrass, MT as we stopped for about 20 minutes waiting. We pushed on to Great Falls and easily located the Big O. They quoted about 45 minutes to look at it and fix it if necessary.

We headed over to a Mexican restaurant for lunch while waiting. The restaurant came with recommendations, but we left still craving some good Mexican food. The tire was fixed and had been punctured by a screw. I like how Big O has such a great warranty on its tires. And just for your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of the Great Falls, MT Big O Tire Store.



We always laugh as we pass through Ryegate, MT and see this delectable little treasure of a sign. You need to click on the picture and enlarge it to see why.

Whoopee Cushion

I bought Misha a whoopee cushion at the dollar store. I think my mother vacillated between being appalled and fascinated that I would buy one. Fascinated because Misha isn't a girly girl and never will be and we don't try to force her into a mold that isn't her. Misha loved the whoopee cushion, and at some point every day I had to say, "Enough." As we were getting ready to leave on Saturday morning, Chris and my dad were down in the computer room when all of a sudden I hear this raucous laughter from Christopher. Misha had slipped the whoopee cushion under the cushion on the computer chair hoping to "get" Amy. She got Grandpa instead and there was much laughter.

On another funny note, Kristen calls it the Woosie cushion.

More Rain, More Swimming

We came back to Alberta and more rainy, chilly weather. My dad even started a fire in the basement stove it was so chilly. (From what I understand, we had the monster of all thunderstorms in Colorado while we were gone. It shattered the glass of our patio table, and our neighbor was so kind to clean it up for us...and mow our lawn!)

Before we left on vacation, my mom kept talking about how the pool two doors down from their house was being renovated with a slide and new children's area. It was supposed to open on July 1st. It didn't. Talk about disappointment from some of my peeps. Fortunately, it opened a week later after we returned from Kamloops and the first day was a free day! Kristen played on her own a bit and tried to make friends--hard when you are the younger sister. Amy and Misha had a great time.

So Much to Write

The bad thing about vacations is coming home and knowing that there is so much to catch up on: laundry, cleaning, groceries, mail, finances, blogging! Blogging takes the longest, and I am probably only halfway done.

Happy Birthday Misha

My Misha is 8 years old.

"Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Misha,
Happy Birthday to you."

Since we knew we would be in Alberta for Misha's birthday, we gave her a few of her birthday gifts early. All other birthday gifts from grandparents were in the mail at home waiting for her, so she was lacking in birthday presents on her special day. Except for my Aunt Pat, who came for dinner that night. She picked up a small gift of Huckleberry lip gloss on her way home from Kalispell. Thanks so much for thinking of Misha.

As we left on our trip however, Misha received a new MP3 player--a Sansa Fuze--and she loved it. Chris had spent a couple of hours loading it with music, books on tape, and movies. Yes, she can watch movies on its small screen. Talk about a prized present, Amy would have loved it. Chris and I loved it because it kept her occupied.

My mom and dad planned a small family birthday party on the 9th complete with birthday cake and candles AND a roast cooked all day long in the fire pit out back. Delicious! Thanks so much.

Celebrating Misha

I called my parents on the way home from Calgary and asked if they wanted to meet us in Lethbridge at a restaurant to celebrate Misha's birthday. I'm not too familiar with the "good" restaurants anymore but we were able to narrow it down to East Side Mario's, an Italian place.

Back to Alberta

The family reunion ended. We packed, cleaned some more, gave hugs, accepted hugs and were chauffeured off to the airport by Keith. Just so you know, we had fun.

Rain and Cousins

I think by the end of Monday evening, everyone was growing a little stir crazy. Okay, except for maybe Chris, Kevin, Kyle and Riley (Keith's grandson) who had gone mountain biking. It rained ALL day long, by the end of the evening we were checking weather forecasts and coming up with alternate plans for Tuesday--also slated to be a rainy day.

Zoe, Elyse's youngest daughter, joined us for a few days on Monday afternoon.



I learned a new game--Take Two--played with Scrabble tiles, and now I am on the hunt for the official Take Two game. I also had the chance to revisit the rules of cribbage; I hadn't played in over twenty years. I love games.



We went swimming on Tuesday afternoon. The lot of us caravaned down to the Kamloops Recreation Center and spent an afternoon swimming--still wet, but not cold and rainy wet. It was a great diversion for the kids and probably a blessed relief for Elyse.

Mountain Biking

As stated in my previous post, Chris went mountain biking at Sun Peaks resort all day Monday. It was rainy and cold, but as you can tell from the mud spattered across his face, he had a great time. This is quickly becoming a sport that he truly enjoys.

Riding Horses

One of the thrilling moments for my girls was the opportunity to ride a horse. Except for at the fair going in circles, I'm not sure they've had the chance before. Even a little bit of rain on Monday afternoon didn't deter them. David (Keith's son-in-law) helped the girls onto the horse and Dylan (Keith's grandson) led them around the pasture.







Amy got a second chance to ride on Tuesday afternoon after returning from swimming in Kamloops. She was proud of herself to be able to get on and off Marsman all by herself--all in flip flops!

Amy and Callie and New Friends

Being the oldest grandchild by a couple of years can be a bummer. Amy was excited to meet one of Keith's granddaughters, Callie Rose, and they were often stuck together like glue.



Likewise, we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Keith's daughters and their families. They came up to help with the cattle drive. Such an impressive family. They would normally take up residence in the bunk house, but since it was occupato, they set up tents and roughed it for a couple of days. Their tent looked better than this one though:

Cattle Drive

This really should be Chris' post since I didn't go along, but he can post from his perspective later. Keith and some of his family, brought the cows up close to the ranch house on Saturday evening in preparation for their early departure up to the summer grazing land. I thought we would be hearing cows all night long, but they weren't too noisy at all. We didn't even wake up until they were well on their way early Sunday morning. Chris jumped out of bed and was on a bike within a minute to catch up with them. I headed over to the house to start some breakfast, and after a short time, he was back again. He had come back to dress more appropriately, pick up some food, and bring his brother, Kevin, along. They rode bikes to catch up to the herd again, dodging around slick manure, as they coasted down the mountain highway. It was one of those rare moments in life of experiencing something completely new and amazing.

Born to be a Cowgirl

Misha was born to be a cowgirl.

Flower Gatherer

Hmmm, where to put all these flowers?

Chaps, Hats and Posing

Grandma Ball spent hours sewing chaps and vests for all of her grandkids days prior to the family reunion. Amazing! The kids looked adorable and loved wearing their ranch attire. To create the full cowkid look, she also purchased hats for all the kids and bandannas. Becky spent time making skirts for all of the girls. Who can resist taking pictures of so many cute kids?





This was closer to the beginning of the photo shoot and Kristen was happy to play along:



Not so much fun for Kristen after awhile. But we weren't done yet, a quick clothing change for some of the kids and we're set for more!



Family pictures seem to be a staple of Ball family reunions (not to mention the drama of deciding on what color to wear. Whew!) Keith's daughters and grandkids came out to watch the craziness and each were handed a camera. There were so many cameras going, it was just hard knowing which way to look.

Ball Family Reunion

We were fortunate that we arrived at the Golden Bear Ranch before everyone and had first dibs on the rooms in the bunk house. The main house had two guest rooms, which we had been outdibbed on, and the newly finished bunk house had four guest rooms. One room had a queen bed and a bunk bed. That was my first choice because my kids would have a quieter place to sleep, but my ever romantic husband wasn't thrilled with the idea. He finally gave in to my suggestion that we should take that room with a "whatever" kind of comment, and we moved in. (He apologized the next day as we listened to the cousins who had been sleeping in the main area wake up at 4:30 am BC time).

Main House:



Bunk House:



Becky and Kyle finally straggled in after many of us had gone to bed, having gotten stuck in traffic soon after they left home. With their arrival, we were set for a party. Our hosts, Keith and Elyse (as I am trying to remember to call her), graciously opened up their home to a large bunch of us:



Grandma and Grandpa Ball
Our five
Kevin and Candace and four children
Becky and Kyle and four children
Lori and Sam and one child
Jenni and Kenny and one child

With a couple of rainy days, that was a lot of people to deal with. We played games, read books, ate, cleaned, rode horses, had a talent show, swam, boated at Big Heffley Lake, ate, some of us cleaned some more, played Wii games, had a treasure hunt, went for walks, took pictures, posed for family pictures, and ate some more.

Flight to Kamloops, BC

We left early Friday morning for Calgary, AB for a 12:30 pm flight to Kamloops, BC. Chris' family was holding a family reunion at his aunt's ranch in the mountains outside of Kamloops. The rest of his family was driving up from Vancouver and Seattle, we were fortunate to find a relatively inexpensive flight and opted for that route over another long day of travel. I think our kids might have mutinied otherwise. Even so, our drive to Calgary was about 2 1/2 hours and we raced to be out of my parent's house by 8 am to make sure sure we had plenty of time at the airport.

We parked at Park2Go and shuttled over to airport in plenty of time for our flight. We flew West Jet and Chris is now a fan on Facebook. They were extremely friendly, didn't charge for the one hour, in-flight tv service, and efficient. We were deplaning in Kamloops, eleven rows back with lots of slow people in front of us, when all of a sudden we turned around and 'tada' the way opened up to the rear of the plane. I must admit this is my first time using plane stairs and deplaning from the rear--old hat for Chris. I had to take a picture.





Chris' Aunt Lori--or Elyse as she is now known--picked us up at airport and we were off.