holy smokes, great falls!

september 12, 2010.  age 8.

march 21, 2012.  age 10

tonight i am reporting from great falls, montana.  we have had a few eventful days.  our spring break plans went up in smoke the last few days as we have been monitoring the road conditions to vancouver.  due to avalanches and road closures, we decided at the 12th hour to head south and make our way to california.  pacific northwest!  we will get to see you someday!

eli had a orthodontic appointment on tuesday where they surprised us with removing his braces.  such an exciting day.  since september 2010 they have widened, separated, pushed and pulled his teeth around.  for a year he had internal head gear pushing his lower jaw forward prompting it to grow.  his pallet was split, his brackets broken off a dozen times or more, he became a regular with the ladies that worked on him.  can i tell you he didn't complain once.  eli is an endurer.  he never boohooed, he never became frustrated, he never was bothered by the pain and inconvenience.  maybe deep down he was, but he never complained.  i am so proud of him.  when he originally got his braces on, we wondered if he was too young and won't be able to handle it.  the dude owned it.  i love him for that.  his mouth is now prepped and ready for his last baby teeth to fall out and his adult teeth to move in. {on that note, as we were brushing eli's teeth the night he got his braces off, 2 molars fell right out.}  i am sure down the road he will have another round of braces to fine tune them all.  at that point it will be cake compared to the last year and a half.  good job eli.  way to go.

in 6 or 7 hours from now we will get on the road again.  next stop salt lake.

changing/growing/building

in preparation for the trip i realized the kids canadian passports had expired.  we got everything ready to go and submitted them yesterday.  the kids have changed and grown up so much.  kind of fun to see it through their passports.

the temple is just growing like a weed.  it is changing every day. scaffolding is going up and coming down.  kind of surreal.  i wonder what is going on inside?  it must be busy as a beehive.  won't it be wonderful when it is done.

now

the other night i started putting together my blog book for 2011.  i realized that it was considerably shorter than the few years previous. not a lot to say?  fewer entries?  i think so.  what a bummer.  i should have written more.  a lot flies by undocumented.  MUST DOCUMENT LIFE.

today:

it started with cj running down the hallway at 3:00 am dressed in outdoor gear.  "you've got to get out here!  you should see the aurora borealis!  he had heard earlier in the day there would be amazing northern lights and he was right.  i saw some dancing in the sky through the window, but by the time i threw my boots on and a robe, they were gone.  i guess he got a private show.  i have seen the lights over the years.  i remember driving home late one night and thinking there was a fire or a alien invasion going on right about where mom and dads house was in bearspaw.  the lights were so bright and active it was amazing.

i asked ida what she wanted for breakfast.  her response was "PAINT!".  cinnamon corn pops will have to do.

we recently lost our home phone number and cj's studio number through our phone company.  they told us both were unavailable to get back.  today a technician came to the house to install a box where they would give us a temporary number and line and try to retrieve cj's studio line.  imagine my shock when he gave me my instructions and information and the temporary number they gave us was OUR OLD HOME PHONE NUMBER.  the exact number we were fighting to get back.  weird.

ida and i went to IKEA today.  i haven't been there forever.  cj met us there for lunch.  why is the food there so good and so cheap?  how do they do it?  why is IKEA so awesome?  i ate the tilapia while cj and ida ate 30 meatballs between them.  30 meat balls?  i don't know if that is safe....

the house is coming along.  it's really going to be nice.  the layout is perfect.  the views are lovely.  someone buy it?  i don't want to leave it, but such is life.  if you know a couple in need, send them my way.

i got hair cut today!  once every 8 months isn't bad?  actually it is.  totally lame.  but i found a great stylist and i vowed i would see her again, soon.

we have a fly by the seat of our pants road trip planned for spring break.  its going to be crazy.  we just have to end up in SLC by april 5th for a radio lab live show that we have tickets for.  we are going by way of the west coast to san francisco... so, it should be FUN!


note:  this was written 4 days ago.  just posting now.  so much for keeping things "fresh" and "updated".  ha!

hooray hurrah!

ida is potty trained.  did you hear that?  IDA IS POTTY TRAINED.

it just kind of happened last week.  my week was light with meetings and appointments so we pulled out the princess potty, a pair of panties, stayed home and played all week in the living room.  she popped on and off the potty at her leisure.  done.  she has been dry the last 2 nights, taking herself to and from the potty.  i have to say it's pretty awesome.  very unexpected {even though i knew it was about time}.  it's like it just magically happened and now i don't need to do it!  yah for me!  she's pretty proud of herself too.

the house is really coming along.  this shot was taken a week or two ago {so i guess it's a poor representation}.  i am going to go take a look at it tomorrow.  they are installing all the windows and blocking all the cabinetry on the floors.  they are still saying may 7th for possession, soooooooooo.

the weather has been so mild.  crazy mild.  weird mild.  not calgary winter mild.  which i have to say has been really nice.  i'll take it.  thanks calgary!

i owe you.