Foggy Days

Man, it has been foggy around here lately. If it is true that we will get precipitation 90 days after fog, we should have a very rainy May in Central Alberta. Actually, that would be a good thing! We need some moisture so that we can get some hay off this year.

We have had such a great weekend! Friday night we had some errands to run in town and ended up hooking up with Tanya and Ed and having a great visit, some wine and a hot tub. Gotta get me one of those! Saturday we went to Alix Lake to watch my cousin Jack play hockey. Had a terrific visit with Tanya, Kevin, their kids and Aunty Vicki and Uncle Wes. Had some snacks and Kevin and Wes took the boys to Red Deer for hockey pizza and pool party. Rylee got to tag along and had a great time. Aunty Vicki, Tan and Hannah hung around and we had a great chat. After they left, Josh and Jordynn and I played some games, then I slept on the couch while Josh watched a movie.

Today I am going to cook a turkey while Josh and Rylee hook up with the Tees Ag Society to do some cleanup at the ag grounds. It's zero degrees out and I feel we should be doing something fun outside, however, turkey calls.

4H filled weekend!

What a crazy busy weekend. Saturday we had a 4H ride and health workshop. The kids had a fabulous time and were glad to be back on their horses for the first time in 2010. Josh was in charge of the health presentation, so we did height, weight, pulse, respiration, body condition, temperature (yes that included a rectal thermometer demo (Poor Cotton)), etc.

As if that wasn't enough for Saturday, we took the kids swimming in Lacombe that evening. It was a nice family evening out. Unfortunately about 200 other people had the same idea, so the pool and hot tub were very crowded.

Sunday was 4H Public Speaking Day. I couldn't believe that we packed that little hall with family! Thanks so much to Terry, Marianne, Megan and Aaron for coming out to support Rylee - it meant a lot. Rylee did a great job on his speech. His impromptu started out strong, but dwindled off a bit, so he didn't win 1st or 2nd to move to the next level. However, he is the alternate, so if someone else can't go, then he will get to. Oh well, there is always another year! Thanks also to my friends Christine and Michelle who came and helped judge!

Team Canada fans!

Here's a picture of my patriotic kids for the day the World Junior Championships were on. Their artsy dad made them look like proud Canadians! Too bad we lost the game, but they still had fun. They were the only kids in the school with their faces painted.

Surprise Date

Josh surprised me by offering to take me out last Friday, but wouldn't tell me where to. Someone let it slip that we were going on a bus ride which only added to the mystery. Where the heck does one go on a bus when it isn't football season? Anyhow. Turns out Ed & Tanya invited us along with some of their hockey parent pals to go to a Piano Bar in West Edmonton Mall. What a great time. Greg & Cheryl and Boyd & Kari were also along for the ride for people that we knew. Some others we got to know throughout the evening. There was some pretty "amazing" dancing :) A fabulous time was had by all and like a bunch of errant teens we got back to Lacombe and hit McDonald's at 4 in the morning. People in their 30's are not meant to stay up that late and still function the next day!

Hard to believe hubby will be 31 next week - I think he's in denial. Oh well, I am sure celebrating will entail some fun and frolicking.

Josh and I are off to judge public speaking for the Blindman 4H Light Horse Club tonight and the kids are off to the movie with one of their favourite sitters, Michelle.

This weekend will include 4H meetings, 4H rides, maybe a get together with a few friends and then Rylee's public speaking on Sunday followed by dinner out with some family for Josh's birthday. Just another "quiet" Storey weekend!

Time to Build a House

Well, we have the blueprints in hand. Now we need to get cracking on Lacombe County, Apache, other random permits and of course Mr. Banker. So much to do, so much to decide, so little that has been done so far. But, we have prints...

So for those of you who haven't spoken to me in the last 6 months, you may not know that Josh and I are taking a crack at building a house. Depending on how the permitting, pricing and selling the mobile goes, we hope to build this year. If things go sideways on some of the above, then we just keep on planning and tackle it next year. No big deal as we hope to be on this location for the rest of our lives.

If you know anyone who would be interested in buying a 2004 Mobile Home - 16x76, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large deck, nice sized kitchen, big laundry room, etc., have them get in touch with us. I think we are listing it for $88,900. Have to talk to the accountant about GST stuff.

If all goes well in the next couple weeks, we probably won't have much of a life this summer, so if you want to see us you'll have to drop by and swing a hammer ;) Okay, maybe we won't put you to work, but if you are able bodied and have a skill and don't want to help - steer clear!

Anyhow, we'll keep you posted on how things go. Keep your fingers crossed that we can get through the first raft of paperwork and get the mobile sold!

4H Public Speaking time

Thought I would do a quick post this morning. School buses aren't running because of pea soup fog, so I had an hour to kill. I have to tell you that having Rylee in 4H is so great for us and yet so strange. I don't feel old enough to be participating as a parent :) One thing that Josh and I are incredibly proud of is Rylee's public speaking abilities. Last year he did a presentation on Rodeo and won 1st in his club. This year he is doing his speech on bull fighters and he did the research and 95% of the writing other than some fine tuning and it is great. He is determined to go to the next level this year, so we are encouraging him to practice, practice, practice. I will have to post some pics of the actual speakoffs on February 7!

One thing Josh and I have learned from Rylee's 4H experience this year is that we have far too much knowledge and ideas to sit back and just be parents. So, since we are currently going back and forth to Red Deer for 4H, we have decided to start our own western light horse and rodeo 4H club based out of Tees next year. Looking forward to all the trials and tribulations that will be involved with that.

Anyhow, best go get the kids ready for school. Later...ps

Happy New Year!

A new year, a new beginning. I try to keep up with this darn thing and yet, here I am months after Mexico, a month after Christmas and just now getting to it.

Our trip to Mexico was excellent. The weather was between +28C and +35C the entire time we were there. The kids adored swimming and hanging out. We took a Pirate Ship Adventure that was amazingly fun. We also did a day trip tour in a UniMog down there into the back country and around that was very educational and a lot of fun. We stayed at a very family friendly resort in Puerto Vallarta that was right next to the Marina so we got to watch the huge cruise ships come and go. One day we caught a cab to the Malecon where we just walked and wandered and took pictures. If you ask the kids what they liked best about they would say swimming. However, I truly believe it was a trip they won't forget.

Christmas this year was spent at the ranch with my family. Everyone was home for Christmas and my mom and dad's house was fairly bursting at the seems with 16 people for dinner and presents and such. But a good time was had! We had an excellent Boxing Day with Mom and Dad and Terry as well sledding, toboganning and getting stuck in the neighbours field.

New Year's Eve brought about another great time with our group of friends in Lacombe. Lots of games and BS and fun. Some of us made it to the hot tub and some us didn't get to bed until nearly 4am (which by the way at 32 is WAY too late).

Since then it's been back to the grind. Work has been plugging away for both Josh and I. We are working at getting our plans finalized and permits in place to build a house this year, but there are a lot of stars that must align for it to happen, so if not this year, then next.

Til I get on here again, Happy New Year from the Storey's! ps