Life at the Truman's

It is warming up so we can go outside again.

It is still snowing.

It even snowed a significant amount when it was -33.

I am sick.

Jude was sick with the flu on Fri.

He turned around just in time for Paul and I to go out on a date that night.

Used a new babysitter, the other one bailed on us twice.

She was great, Jude persuaded her to let him stay up till we got him at 10:30... little Turkey!

Decorated the church yesterday.

Gonna decorate our house on Wed, yay!

Contemplating going to the bush one last time to get the Christmas Tree.

Missed out on our weekly Cinnamon Bun Sat because we were sick, regretting that, which I had some now.

Shaw delivered a new box to us so now we are just like everyone else and can watch shows on demand, watch movies on demand, pause live tv. I hooked it up myself..... didn't work. Paul had his turn.... didn't work. Had to call Shaw guy to come, he went up the ladder outside, removed a filter and now it works. Glad it wasn't us. Paul is still unhappy about the change but it is Sun and there may be more games on to watch!

Got to see a big Buck stand on his back legs to reach way up high to get some berries from our front tree, it was funny to watch but after a few tries he did it.

Running out of ideas......... I'll be done.

Photo Booth

J Man's new favourite thing on the computer is the Photo Booth. He loves to watch himself and take silly pictures. He is even learning how to do it all on his own. Here is some of the Truman silliness.

Winter

So, as you know, the snow is here. It snowed almost non stop from Monday night till this morning. We got to enjoy the snow last night as we went sledding down the steep 106th ave. We all agreed that it was probably the best conditions we have ever had! It was SO fast, we held on tight, and since I couldn't see where I was going due to the snow in the face, hoped we made it to the bottom in one piece! We have also been shovelling at least twice a day just to keep up and have very sore muscles to prove it. The snow took a break for a few hours today so I could capture some of the beauty it has brought us. It has started to snow again, more shovelling tomorrow!

It is Here

It is here.

It made for a very slow and dangerous drive this morning to Cranbook..

It prompted me to buy all the kids new mittens.

It is causing the sound of ploughs outside my window.

It got the kids up early with a lot of excitement.

It will provide much fun this afternoon after school.

It is beautiful.

It is here.

Before the Snow

Before the snow...

We went to enjoy the lake.

It was beautiful.

And fun!

This has been...

The best fall....

Ever!

Tea Betrayal

Last night Paul and I settled into bed with a cup of NEW Chocolate Mint tea. We were excited to sit there and sip the delicious new tea and watch The Cosby Show. There were many disappointments though in our evening. First, the disk didn't work for the last installment of the Cosby Show... oh well. But, more importantly, the tea was awful!

We have betrayed by President's Choice again. Not that this happens often, and as you know we are fiercely loyal to all that Superstore puts out, as noted in this entry. There has only been one other instance where our loyalty has devastated us, remember this? However, when we took our first sip of the $2 Chocolate Mint tea last night, it was gross, cheap and gross. We commented on the grossness, and since we weren't watching The Cos, we went to bed, or tried to at least. I found that while I lay there my heart was pounding. Could it be the sugar in the tea, what was keeping me up, and Paul up for that matter, he was wide awake too.

This morning, I went to make some tea for breakfast when I happened to look at the box of the $2 tea we tried to enjoy the night before. In big black letters it said. "Black Tea". What, it was black tea?? Our other mint chocolate tea that we have been enjoying has a wonderful flavor, it relaxes you and is so enjoyable with dessert. Also, it is a Roiboos tea, NO CAFINE! So, mystery solved. A lesson learned. Don't buy cheap tea, even though you might be tempted to spend $2 instead of $12.

It got me thinking. What if I had tried the cheap one first. I wouldn't know the difference. It would be the only Chocolate Mint tea I had had. I would have thought that they all would have tasted like that, been around that price and all been a black tea. My complaint on the tea only came because I had tried other teas that were far better. My expectations were high, and this one didn't measure up. How often in life I settle for what I think is the norm, like $2 tea, when there are far better "teas" prepared for me. Just a thought.

Here it Comes!

Sunday Nov. 14	Monday Nov. 15	Tuesday Nov. 16	Wednesday Nov. 17	Thursday Nov. 18	Friday Nov. 19
Conditions 6am - 6pm
	Wet snow	Snow-rain showers	Scattered flurries	Scattered flurries	Snow	Light snow
P.O.P.	40%	40%	60%	80%	80%	80%
High	3°C	4°C	2°C	0°C	-1°C	-5°C
Low	-3°C	-1°C	-3°C	-5°C	-8°C	-12°C
Wind	SW 5 km/h	NW 10 km/h	NE 5 km/h	SE 5 km/h	S 10 km/h	E 5 km/h
24-Hr Rain	-	1-3 mm	-	-	-	-
24-Hr Snow	less than 1 cm	close to 5 cm	2-4 cm	5-10 cm	10+More than 10 cm of snow possible cm	5-10 cm

Images from theweathernetwork.com

Preschool

So, remember a few days ago, I mentioned how we stayed up late to register J Man for preschool in the Lower Mainland? Well, tonight I got the confirmation... he is in! The funny thing is is that he didn't get the time of class that we wanted. Why? Because it filled up so fast that they had to bump us to the afternoon class! Crazy! We hit the send button on the application 6 minutes after registration opened! It just proves again the lifestyle that we are heading back to is far different than what we have been enjoying here. I am thankful at least that we got a spot! Just think, another minute or so and we could have been left out. J Man is heading to preschool, boy, I am starting to feel old!

Last Days of Fall

Tonight we took our first "flashlight" walk. The kids were so excited to take our first walk in the dark after dinner. Today was beautiful, sunny, crisp, a perfect fall day. Snow is in the air and will soon find us, but for now, we are enjoying the last glories of fall.

Here is a taste of our fall day today at Fort Steele.

An Extra Hour

What did you do with your extra hour?

We decided instead of using it for sleep that we would use it for more family time this morning. Usually on Sun, Paul is up and out of the house right away, but today, we are spending our extra hour watching shows together and eating cinnamon buns.

Well, to be honest, Paul and I did use it for sleep too, we went to bed at 9:15, which was really 8:15, then the kids slept in a bit to 8:00am which was really 7:00am. Time change has been an art in our house since we have had kids, especially since their bodies have no idea that the time has changed. I think this is the best we have done so far!

Is it Sad?

Is it sad that we made sure to grab one of these today at Superstore?

Is it sad that Paul grabbed 2?

Is it sad that I reminded him to get them?

Is it sad that we got excited at the thought of reading them both in bed tonight side by side?

Yes, we are sad.

The Stefanek's are Great at Golf

Well, maybe not the sport but they are great at having fun at the golf course for the camera! I had the chance to capture some family moments for them. The weather was perfect for a Nov evening. It was a lot of fun and I even got to try out a borrowed lens from our local camera shop. I love living here, they just let you borrow the lenses and bring them back the next day! Crazy! Glad that I didn't break it!

Here are some highlights of the Shoot.

Our friend

This is our new friend

He is big

And tired.

I got home today to see that our garbage had gotten in to. It was too big of a mess for crows, so I thought the neighbourhood bear had had a snack. Then, I looked out my window to see this big fella relaxing in our yard. He must be the culprit and after his snack settled down for a nap. The funny thing is is that I saw this same one at the kid's school the other day, I recognized him from his unusual rack. He walked many kilometers to get here, we feel blessed.