Froze our butts off.

Wow to be back on my computer again. Every time we venture away from home it is always a welcomed whirlwind.

My update is starting off where I left off… Christmas in Panama. (remember if you want you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them)

Christmas morning… (so long ago) in Panama. We woke up to a few surprises from Santa and did our last check in the house before heading to the airport. It was a dream drive through the city NO TRAFFIC, even better than a Sunday in Panama.

This is the beginning of a funny chain of events that happened regarding a vehicle during our trip….+ luggage, oh ya, and a furnace.

event #1 – Trent pulled up to the departure ramp at the airport to drop the kids and I off to get our bags all checked in. We were all unloaded… I was counting heads and luggage only to see Trent trying open the door with no success. He looked PANICKED…. The keys to the truck were in the ignition with the truck running and the doors were LOCKED! Not a great situation with our plane leaving in just over an hour.

-“Who locked the doors?” Trent asked while hopping up and down trying to come to grips with the possibility of smashing in the window.
-Easton very innocently raised his hand and said ” I did it” (good thing it was Christmas morning, his life was spared..haha)
-Emma happened to check the back hatch and…. an angel was protecting Easton.
-When we were lifting the luggage out of the back the piece of carpet shifted and did not allow the back hatch to fully close. A very nice Christmas present. The kids and I filed into the airport and Trent parked the truck with window intact.

Flying Christmas Day was a joy, an absolute perfectly calm, joyful, easy day. Everything was running at half the capacity, giving everyone more than enough space. We will for sure fly Christmas Day again in the future. Don’t let the secret out though, I beg you!

It was the regular long day of airports and we landed in Calgary right on time. All through the US & Canada there were so many delays due to weather but we sailed right through. My mom was there to greet us like she does every time we land in Calgary… a very nice treat for the kids. The Alberta adventure had began.

Upon our arrival, the Richard Family so graciously opened up their home to us to stay. It was great, the kids loved sleeping with the dogs. Boxing Day the kids went to my Mom’s for some much needed Mamma time and got their fill of being spoiled. In the far future I can see how being a Gramma could be fun.

On December 27th we loaded up our truck and headed north bound to Sherwood Park to visit our good friends the Drews.

I am happy to announce that Jodie & Jim embraced their fourth bundle of joy on December 23rd and named her Ally.

It was Jim Drew’s 40th Birthday on December 27th (old man… just kidding) it was alot of fun being all together to celebrate this mild stone event. Wow just a couple more years and my dear husband will be ringing in the event himself. Love you Babe.

(Trent and the girls, Emma & Avery heading out for some good old Canadian fun!)

(Everett * Easton * Nickolas & Nolan wrestling like boys do best to warm up)

(Ev and his best buddy Nicklebocker… They are pals one minute and after eachother the next… cuties)

Remember when I mentioned that we had some funny stories about our car…well the excitement continued in Sherwood Park.

event #2 – A few days in at Jodie’s, Emma asked me for the truck keys to go and get a Hanna Montana dvd. She retrieved the movie and she claimed she put the keys back in the suit case. Well three days later with the help of everyone turning the house upside down, no keys surfaced. Trent went to two dealerships and had 4 keys cut … NONE OF THEM WORKED. We found out that there is a shortage of locksmiths in Edmonton area and New Years eve was not helping us either.Jodie new a guy who we prayed would show up New Years day in very sub below temperatures to help get in our truck. Literally 5 hours later and hundreds of small notches cut out for a key, the locksmith was able to enter our truck and had a heck of a time getting the key right for the ignition.

Still unable to get the formula right last resort was to drill out our ignition. Being New Years day no parts store was open so we humbly drove around with a mickey mouse contraption to start our truck needing the assistance of a screw driver. I sure do hope in the summer we are able to get my farm truck fixed. Oh life of us..haha..

The funny thing is it did not stop here.

The Schmu & Drew’s… expanded by one now. Thanks for the fun time… see you soon. xoxoox

The significant episode with our truck key left us little time to visit everyone in Edmonton. We made a few quick stops unfortunately. This summer we will have more time visiting.

(the kids with great excitement were able to play with Monty… it is amazing the bond that is still there between man and animal. Monty is doing fantastic at my Uncles)

(A delicious meal with my Galbraith Family… Thank you… It is always great to share some laughs or some scary stories… like pet rats)

(The kids embracing their Great Ken (my Grampa) Edmundson. Ken was in great spirits is doing pretty good for a 85yr. old. It has been three years since my Gramma passed away and he is still hanging in there. xoxoox)

The adventure never stops….
event #3 – We left Edmonton late on Jan 2nd to arrive in Calgary around midnight at the house we rented. I open the door to the house while Trent carried our sleepy kids into their beds. It was very cold outside but it was even colder in the house, I could see my breath. The furnace stopped working! Can you believe that?Loaded the kids back into the truck and headed to a hotel for the night until the furnace got fixed.

Harlow turns 4!

Our precious niece Harlow turned 4… she is so much fun and is full of so many questions. Harlow fits right in with our kids without missing a beat. We were fortunate enough to be back home to celebrate a small birthday with her. xooxox

(Emma, Harlow & Mom sharing some squeezes)

(Keidis & Uncle Trent sharing a bonding moment… Keidis loves his Uncle Schmu)

Our little DIVA (just like her mommy… )

(Aunty & Keidis… my cute Buddy)

More adventure…

event #4 – The morning after Harlow’s birthday party, SUNDAY, Trent had to leave to Tampa for a week. It was a mid morning flight so at 9:00am he went out to our truck to start it to warm it up. He came back into the house to finish his breakfast.

Everyone ready we walked to the truck and believe it or not the truck was running and the doors were LOCKED. We threw our hands up and all we could do was laugh.

Our truck was running with the keys locked inside on a Sunday morning…. Back into the house to call locksmiths. Finally found one to come immediately, paid way to much but what do you do when you need to get to the airport :- )

event #5 – Oh I forgot one more thing… Trent made it to Tampa safe and sound but the joke is they lost his luggage. I was beginning to think our luck when we come back to Canada is not the best. Seems to be something going on every time we come back home.

Playtime around Calgary

(the kids having a blast at the Calgary Science Center… a perfect place for Keidis)

(love you guys SOOO much… your amazing kids)

WINTER IN CALGARY… it is really beautiful….
the following picture was taken by my dear daughter Emmy, who loves to get her hands on my cameras… Em loves to take pictures and Easton loves to film documentaries.

(Emma took this picture to show all the kids back at school in Panama)

(Harlow put all the pretties in Em’s hair… You look beautiful chicky. This night Harlow had a sleep over and her bear got a burned … it was heart breaking)

 

(all us girls… xoxoox Emma, Harlow, Bonnie & Jody)A visit to Lethbridge to see Trent’s family for a night. The kids had fun playing with their cousins who are growing up fast.

(last round of Great Grandparents. Here is a picture of Trent’s sister’s family, his parents and us with Trent’s Gramma. She is 89 yrs. old)

(Trent sharing some nice moments with his Gramma)

We had a great time in Calgary! Like usual we ran out of time and did not get a chance to meet up with everyone. However before we know it it will be June and we will be on our way back for the summer.

Despite all the craziness that we inflict on ourselves I would not change a thing and neither would our kids. I figured it out, we moved around sleeping in 6 different beds in our three weeks in Canada, hopping all over Alberta it seemed and the kids loved it. Next Christmas is already in the planning stages and the crystal ball is not showing snow so we will have to do it all over again in 2010.

event #6 – (one more for the road) We are presently in Florida and rented a vehicle. Would you believe me when I say our keys were got locked in the truck because of miss communication… outside a clothing store. Fortunately for us the door was not closed all the way and we were able to wedge a clothing hanger through the door. My husband and daughter should not touch our keys!!!…haha… all you can do is laugh or strangle them.

I love recording our adventures, it helps us to remember and laugh at ourselves when we need it. It helps me especially from going crazy at times! 🙂 Also to remember small things I may forget as I am getting older… so much older in fact my husband has just discovered on my head a few grey hairs…. Yes grey hair, I am taking that as a sign of wisdom…. (I will ride that train for as long as I can! Maybe now is the time to try blue or purple hair color 🙂 you never know the next time you see me xoxo)

Take care and thanks for taking the time to follow what’s up! I am working on my next update…

all our love Jody. Trent. Emma. Easton. Everett…