just because. {i secretly wish i was there to dance and sing along}

when there's a burning in your heart...

pre-show

 show

post show

now, go get yourself a copy of the album.  

rapture weekend

smoking deal, 3 balls for 1$

eli is really enjoying that hot dog...

it was the weekend of paper glasses.  cj made many pairs for the kids...

ida's easter treat from grandma and grandpa burton, silky princess pj's and wand

eli's easter treat from grandma and grandpa burton, books books books!  he was in heaven

we spent may long weekend at the cabin.  the weather was amazing.  hot and sunny and sun-burny. we ate delicious food, the kids ran around like crazy, we celebrated jeff's 38th birthday with a ice cream cake from DQ that said "happy rapture day, heff", none of us made the rapture {nuts}.  we are really going to miss sitting around the cabin with family chattin', fartin', eatin', laughin', cryin', burpin', yellin'.

family times are good times.

puke

easter morning.  the kids had a hearty breakfast of chocolate bunnies and mini eggs.

i heard ida clunking through the house the other day.  she had on my jcrew pumps, eli's cub hat and her toy horse.

emily's visit!  we went out to the cabin overnight, stopped in banff for supper, went to a movie and relaxed at a pedicure.  so fun.

banff!

earls with nena!

we have had some great times over the last month.  easter was slightly stressful with the kids sick, but they had fun easter egg hunting around the house.  then mothers day came.  i got the greatest handwritten scroll from eli.  it stated:

THE TOP 10 TOP REASONS WHY I LOVE MY MOM

1.  I love my mom because she gives me kisses that warm my heart.

2.  I love my mom because she gives me hugs that warm my heart.

3.  I love my mom because she is a heart warming mom.

4.  I love my mom because she is the best baker in the world.

5.  I love my mom because she talks really nice, not really mean.

6.   I love my mom because she bakes really good food.

7.  I love my mom because she is a really good smiler.

8.  I love my mom because she tells me really good jokes that warm my heart.

9.  She is the loveliest singer.

10.  I love my mom because she is the friendliest in the family.

i got a real good kick out of the reasons.  apparently i am "heart-warming" to the max. hilarious. 

then last week-ish emily came into town like a vision.  we had so much fun and it was seriously the greatest distraction from all of our daily lives.  in fact, it was SO much distraction that, the day she left, we pretty much sold our house.  HA HA!  DID YOU HEAR THAT?!?!  yes, the day she left we had a random showing of the house {that we agreed too early in morning, then actually called to cancel because we felt so unprepared and then said, sure whatever when our realtor said that the people were from out of town}.  later that night, we got a call from our realtor saying we had an offer.  BIZZZZZARRO.

we have to out of the house by august 15th.  do you know what that means? we have a whole heck of a lot to do. we have pretty much decided to sell everything we own and move down with the clothes on our backs.... sooo, look for the massive garage sale on kijiji in the next few weeks.  

we are scared.  we are nervous.  we are excited.  we are freaked out.  we'll get through it.  

right now we are at the cabin for may long weekend and jeffs "rapture" birthday celebration.  i will get things going on tuesday for this mooooove when we get back.  we have had a really great weekend so far.  we are certainly going to miss the luxury of the cabin and good old fashioned family party times. tear, tear, tear   

awesome.

shout for joy

i lied, worked on this today and thought i would share.

this little miracle happened last week.  if you think i sound like a nut screaming, that's ok. you'd be screaming too. eli's been working on riding his bike.... for a while... 

you're awesome e.  keep riding.

visitorrrr

you know what?  emily came to my house on friday.  she left yesterday.  we had lots of fun.  perfect friend therapy.  

i have a lot to blog. but i need to wait a couple of days.  i will blab on friday.  i am behind on pics, i am behind on stories, i am behind on things.  so i will prep for friday and just puke it up all then.  old puke, like, puke from easter puke.  it's gunna be awesome puke.  look forward to the puke.

lady day

this is late.  better late than never.

happy mothers day sandra! lisa! stacey! emily! patrea! mame! kathy! angie! megan! denise! sam! julie! sherie! bethany! anna! kim! and every other awesome lady i know.

amen.

a bit of sunshine

this week we finally had some half decent weather.  it probably snowed somewhere in there and rained and was windy, BUT the sun "out-shone" the other random weather systems.  ida and i actually went to the park in celebration.  she marched around the playground and i got a sunburn.  {my nose is actively peeling now, next will be my forehead.}

showings on our house have been slow.  with the weather warming up the backyard looks terrible.  dirt and rocks, uneven and yucky.  we have hired someone to get it whipped into shape.  at least we will be able to enjoy it during the summer.

eli has been going back to iStar {speech therapy for a stutter that started in kindergarten}.  oddly enough, the week i took him back, he began talking smooth as silk {we hadn't been since 2009.  i notice he had started bumping again so i thought a refresher would be beneficial}.  when we went to our session today miss elizabeth {eli's therapist} asked him to speak with another little boy who was coming in for a session right after us.  he was 6 and could hardly talk.  she wanted eli to tell him his story and show him that things will work out and he will progress with his speech by learning the skills taught at iStar.  it was touching to sit there at the little table and have eli introduce himself, tell him about his stutter and talk to him about how he has overcome this challenge.  he was clear and kind.  the little boys parents sat in the other room so there wasn't a big overwhelming crowd for this exchange.  it was a very intimate moment.  when we left, we walked by the room where the parents were and i couldn't help feeling for them.  it's hard to see your kid struggle through things.

here is great thing about eli and challenges that he has faced thus far:  it never phases him.  it's almost like it doesn't occur to him that the situation could make him sad or frustrated or shut him down.  he just proceeds forth carefree and happy and willing.  it is impressive to watch and experience with him as i am usually his companion at appointments.  he lends a hand at speech therapy, thinks physiotherapy is fun and exciting and hasn't batted an eye since we discovered that he seems to be losing the hair on his head?!?! {still figuring that one out, i'm sure he is fine}.  he is an inspiration to me.  i love him so much.

ok.  enough blabbing.  the weekend starts.... now.

p.s.  click here to see a terrific link to watch a short video about iStar.  very inspirational and could benefit anyone with a stutter.  it is amazing to see the transformation.  either click on the windows or quicktime version and enjoy.

someone more adventurous than i

thought i would pass this along.

my uncle don and 4 of his 8 kids just hiked to everest base camp.  kind of amazing?  an understatement.

here is the link to her blog.... enjoy her adventure and some pics!

almost easter

this is how we read the doctrine and covenants last night...


man, it's almost easter.  the kids have been sick allllllll week.  eli only went to school one day.  when i picked him up after school and asked how his day went he said all his classmates were calling him "a ball of germs".  smart kids.

we have been focusing on the savior this month in family home evening.  a couple of sundays ago we had a knock at the door.  it was our local JW's inviting us to their easter services.  i answered the door, the rest of the family was sitting around the kitchen table listening to the conversation.  they said, "hi! we just thought we would stop by and invite you to our easter services. come help us celebrate jesus christ's death!"  i responded, "well, thank you very much for the invite.  we also believe in christ and on easter we will be celebrating jesus christ's ressurection."  that was pretty much the end of the conversation.  it ended kindly, no hard feelings.  

eli was so confused, why they would focus on his death and not his resurrection?  oddly enough, it was a good encounter to have that day.  we talked about all kinds of things while we finished up our post-church nachos.  it was a significant moment to solidify with the kids what the celebration of easter really means.

we celebrate sacrifice, love, jesus christ and the miracle of ressurection.  thank you easter.

not much happenin'

calgary temple without the spire

 next day, with the spire!

eli's eco-play at school.  he was the dirty, toxic "bus head".  heaven forbid...


honestly, nothing much has been going on here at burtonsnorth.

it continues to snow.  it's cold and ugly outside annnnnd it's almost easter.  you know, the end of april, the time when we should have some spears of green grass poking through the gravel-dusted, frozen dead lawns...  no, just snow.  we have had no interest or showings on the house for the last 2 weeks, then magically this weekend we had 3.  in preparation we did a big clean and now i want to walk away from the place so things stay tidy.

i am in week 2 of an illustrator class online.  it is slowly sinking in.
i bought a book on log cabin quilts.  i'm all over it.
i'm working out and feeling stronger but not losing.  come on.

this week is going to rule.  got to think positive.

p.s.  as i was typing this i remembered the last batch of cookies i put in the oven 35 minutes ago...... hockey puck anyone?

been working on potty training ida...

spring break

good old fashioned spring break in calgary

ivy!

last year for spring break, we spent 3 weeks in oahu.  best. trip. ever.

this year, spring break snuck up on us and we found ourselves feeling frantic like we missed the "spring-break-get-the-heck-out-of-the-cold-train".  we had no plans, no destination and everything last minute was wicked pricey.  what to do?  must  get  out  of  the  snow  and  cold.  .  .  .  .

we decided to head to british columbia to mom and dads cabin for a few days.  it would be a good break and different scene/better weather??!!???  pleasssse?????  nena and the kids decided to come too.  the more the merrier!  how has spring break been going?  good news, we have pretty much hung out in our pajamas all week.  went into town...  in pajamas.  bowling?  pajamas.  c.j. and the kids built a makeshift rocket out of a root beer bottle and a bunch of other stuff laying around.  let's go shoot it off!  sure!  in pajamas!  who wants pizza? pizza pajama party... in the restaurant.  yeah for spring break!  it's been relaxing and pajama-ish.  can't been that... {except for 3 weeks in oahu}


p.s.
nena's little ivy is having surgery on her eyes on friday.  they need to straighten them out {see above}. it's going to be like a whole new world to her when they are all fixed up.  will be praying for you little sister.  it will all work out.

p.p.s
so bummed.  didn't make the project selvage cut.  by the looks of it, i wasn't what they were looking for. rats.

vote for burtonsnorth!

ok folks...

burtonsnorth has designed a fabric!

and when i say "burtonsnorth" i mean jessica {with the fancy fabricy vision/art direction} and c.j. {with the mad computer skills}.  a perfect team.  this little project is a submission for a fabric design competition through spoonflower.com.  i hope i make the first cut of 75 {there are about 780 submissions currently}.  the contest closes tomorrow.  will let you know if i made the cut on the 31st.  and if i do, BELIEVE ME you will know.

i hope you like it, i hope you will support us with a vote.

p.s.  the fabrics name is "eli", inspired by our sweet, one and only son.

 

you can also go here and find us on spoonflower!

oh canada!

who's a citizen of 2 fancy countries now?  this guy.

 before the ceremony

after the ceremony, he wore his red shoes just for the occasion.

watching some t.v. together

the "all canadian" party.  we had some pretty hi-brow guests...
from left to right front row:
snow boarder, justin bieber, eli with red shirt on, david suzuki, a first nations lady, ida with maple leaf tattoo and balloon.
from left to right back row:
noah sans costume was leif ericson, the queen of england, johnny was prince charles, bret "the hitman" hart, celine dion, a figure skater, CJ the newest Canadian family member, a Canada flag - that was me, jeff was a mountie sans the costume.

it's almost been a week.   last friday c.j., ida and i went down to the harry hays building and participated in a Canadian Citizenship Ceremony.  yes, cj is now a Canadian and an American.  how cool is that?  pretty fancy if you ask me.  the ceremony was lovely.  75 people from all over the world were there with their families and loved ones to watch them become a Canadian.  everyone was excited and happy.  i had the most amazing intentions to document it, record it, photograph it, soak it all in.  enter ida.  unfortunately i spent most of my time scooping her off the floor and containing the howling as i ran out of the room.  she even kicked it up a notch when he was called up to get his citizenship certificate, he walked one way and i was running out the other way.  it was all very disappointing.  ohhhh well.  i guess we will always remember the day dad became a canadian...  wahhhh, wahhh, wahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

to celebrate cj's happy day, we had a big fat "canadian" party the next night at jeff and nenas.  it was fun. we dressed up  canadian {the grand prize goes to chuck.  canadian AND calgarian with the bret hart get-up}.  we ate poutine, Tim Horton doughnuts and danced.  good times.

fine art

ida came to me the other night dressed in ALOT of white, silky material...

turns out she likes to pose for portraits.  not unlike the girl with the pearl earring.

street legal

 montreal olympic stadium and tower.  world's tallest inclined tower at 574 feet.

view of montreal from the tower at the olympic stadium.

 can you see the outline of a house on the side of this building?

old montreal

view from our room


well, we are back from montreal.  our flight time going was 3.5 hours, flight time back was 5.  the last time i had a 5 hour flight i was heading to hawaii...  sounds good right about now, eh calgary???

my green card hoop-la is complete.  it was fairly easy.  we showed up at the consulate, was man-handled by the power trippin' "security guards", went up the elevator, took a number, paid $404.00, went to window 9, handed in forms, got fingerprinted, sat back down in the waiting room, called to window 11, handed more forms in, back to the waiting room, called to window 7, raised my right arm to the square and swore to tell the truth, explained where i met cj, why were were moving, what i did for a living, then was welcomed back to the united states by a small squirrelly white man sitting behind thick glass - my green card was to be sent in the mail.  they didn't care my FBI clearance wasn't with me or completed, didn't take a second look at the ream of paper that we used to copy the last 3 years income tax returns and financial reports and only took 2 out of the 3 required 2 x 2 photos.  wow, thanks for being thorough.  glad i was so prepared.

all in all, it was a real treat to visit montreal.  our hotel was fantastic, would stay there again in a heart beat.  the trip was like a little taste of europe, really close to home.  can't beat that!  thank you montreal!


we are pooped tonight.  laying here in bed, i am watching ida on the monitor we have in her bedroom. she has completely undressed herself, diaper and all, 3 times since i put her to bed.  scratch that, just looked over, naked, again.  make that 4 times.  what the heck is going on?!  i go in, re-dress her, explain she has to keep her clothes on, leave and in 5 minutes she is naked again.
dude.  have fun sleeping in the buff.  3 strikes, you're out.