Ethan's last hockey practice

Thursday nights were always Ethan's hockey practices. After tonight they are no more, and Ethan moves up a level from Jr. Novice to Sr. Novice to play with Caleb next winter. Of course, we will still be going to Jr. Novice practices because of Titus. Oh, yeah, Ethan is the one on the furthest left, good old number 13 like his Dad and Grandpa. Eth sure improved a lot this year, and spent more of the practices and games on his skates than on his butt. The whole family got to skate with the team tonight and I got to show the boys how horrible my skating really is. I have no problem picking up speed, but stopping is another story. Titus even got out on some skates for the second time and did waaaaay better than I had expected. No tears, no tantrums, no whining. Just skating. I have to say, for such a dramatic child, this was almost miraculous. Sure hope it continues into next hockey season!

Hockey Night in Alberta

This is our typical winter Wednesday eve. Caleb's hockey practice. He is pictured here in his usual position - defense and goalie companion. No, they aren't chatting about the weather. At the beginning of the season, he was under the assumption that the defenseman stood on the blue line, whether it was in their end (correct) or our end (incorrect). I am pleased to report that after a couple games of his mother (yep, that's me) screaming at him from the stands and his coach telling him in a much calmer and reasonable way where he needs to be has paid off. He is the only defenseman on his team who is always in position. I am a proud mama indeed. Doesn't he look cute? Too bad his last practice was tonight. I think I might miss the hockey season this summer.

long time no see

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! Not much of an excuse either - in fact, there is no excuse at all. It simply slipped my mind for the past couple of weeks. Maybe it had to do with the fact that spring is in the air! Observe.

Before spring (March 18 or 19)...

And today...

Notice the fence (or lack thereof). If you look real close in the first pic you can even make out snowflakes. See? Meltage has occured. I wasn't counting on it this year, due to the largest snowfall here in over 30 years. 30 years. That's as long as I've been alive!

Well, I had a fun day today. Heather and her boys came and picked me and Titus up in her cool van and took us to GP for lunch and a little shopping. Did you know that you only had to press a button to close the sliding door on the new vans? Not me. You should have seen me trying to close it by hand. Frustrating! AND a little embarrassing to tell the truth. We went to Rotten Ronnies (Mcdonalds, for the uneducated) for lunch and early enough so there wouldn't be a zoo in the playplace. Or so we thought. Turns out people hold birthday parties in there for their kids. What complete mayhem. Then we stopped by Sears so I could look for a new winter coat - yeah, that's right, I shop at the end of the season just to save money. Apparantly, the Sears aisles had the markings of a race track and Titus, Riley and Kyle had a heyday terrorizing the other shoppers and salespeople. After that grocery shopping and then on to home. My best friend is so funny. I almost peed myself on the way home. Did I mention I had a fun day?

more quilting

You remember that ugly quilt? The one that annoyed me to no end? Well, someone saw that quilt at the raffle and commissioned me to make a baby quilt. No kidding. Someone is willing to pay me money to make a quilt. When I asked if she had something in mind, she replied, "I trust you. Do whatever you think would be best." Now how is that for a dream job! I had been obsessing over an alphabet quilt ever since I saw it in Australian Patchwork & Quilting vol. 9 no. 6. designed by Caroline Price. So, I made one. Mostly my own ideas, a few inspired by the magazine quilt. Sorry about the bad picture - I haven't quite figured out how to photograph quilts yet. I love it. I want to keep it. But I can't, so I won't.

Matrix ping pong

I don't know about you, but I laughed and laughed and laughed at this. You'll just have to see it for yourself.

Favorite Blogs - Part 2

I have been incredibly busy these past few weeks. What with hockey and leading music and another quilt - well, lets just say that my head has been spinning and my body isn't quite sure which way to go anymore. So, I'm going to direct you to another blog that I've been reading for more than a year. I have to say... is the online writings of a mom and crafty person (as in makes things, not sneaky!) which I have a lot of fun reading. She makes some beautiful stuff and usually has great insights about life and the world around her. So, if you've got some free time, go ahead and check it out.

p.s. Thanks for all the comments lately. They've made me laugh alot and brightened up my days! Keep 'em coming!

Not little anymore

Titus has been on a "big boy" kick now for a couple of weeks. He used to answer any and all questions with either his name or his age (which really confused the heck out of a lot of adults) and has now moved onto his size and strength. You don't even need to ask him anything. We went to Slave Lake yesterday to take Luke to a curling bonspiel and watch a game. Didn't know anyone except the guys on Luke's team. Titus still managed to walk up to three or four men and get their attention long enough to tell them how strong he was and show them his muscles. He is truly a force of nature!