Thanks

Tis the season of giving thanks! One of my favourites. Here are a few things I am grateful for this year (in no particular order):

1. Our car accident.
It popped up on my memories a few days ago letting me know that it has been 5 years since our accident. Even though at the time it really sucked because it ended my rugby season, gave me a wicked concussion and you know, could have killed us, it turned out to be a big blessing. Because without that accident, I would not have made the decision to move up to GP with Joe once I was done school. Until that point I had it in my head that he would find a new job once I finished so we could live near my family. Now that we are here, I am glad. It's been good for us and I feel like this is where we need to be right now.

2. My month in Calgary.
This year I had the opportunity to take a Pilates course in Calgary. It was such a great experience. It's helped me to do my job better and could provide some excellent job opportunities in the future. There was no way this would have been possible without all the support I received from my loved ones and employers. Which leads me to...

3. Supportive friends and family.
I should shout out to Joe first since without his love and support, there's no way I would have felt confident enough to go on my Calgary adventure this summer. So thanks babe, I love ya. And then there's my parents, who didn't even think twice about taking Astrid for the month I was doing courses. Mind you, she's their firstborn grandbaby, but still. It meant a lot that they were able to change their schedules around to help me out. My friend's grandma who opened her home to me while I was in Calgary. She was such a sweetheart and it was a pleasure to get to know her while I was there. My employers, who generously paid for the course fees, which I am so so so grateful for. And then there is my network of friends here in GP that are more than happy to watch Astrid for me when I need a sitter. I am so grateful to have friends!

4. Growing families.
We gained 2 nephews and a new sister in law this year! It's always fun to get new babies in the family, but I love gaining new in-laws because that increases the potential for more babies! But seriously, my brother found a great girl and I am more than happy that she's chosen to join our family. It is so fun to see the family grow! Speaking of which...

5. Growing our family!
Yup, we're pregnant. Astrid will become a big sister at the end of April next year and we are super excited!

A Night on the Town

Last night we took Astrid to the movies!

It was our first time going together as a family so it was a big night. We saw the new Lego Batman movie and we all enjoyed it. For the most part.

The movie played at 6:50, so we dressed Astrid up in her PJs and had her choose a blanket to bring in case she fell asleep (yeah, right!). We went and paid half price for our admission since it was Tuesday and then we payed a fortune for our popcorn. Thanks, Cineplex.

We got Astrid a booster seat and we chose to sit in one of the side aisles in case Astrid decided to walk around during the movie (smart move!). We got her settled in her seat, placed her popcorn and her drink on her lap and helped her put her glasses on for what would be the first of many, many times.

She sat well for about... 15, maybe 20 minutes. Then she spilled her drink (just water, thank goodness). And then she spilled her popcorn (just half). And then she spilled the rest of her popcorn (the other half).

Then she decided to go exploring. Thankfully no one else was sitting in the side rows, so we didn't feel too bad about letting her wander around our section. But she kept going behind us, so I had to get up and tell her she could walk around the rows in front of us, but she couldn't go behind.

That worked for a little bit, then I decided she needed to run around outside. So I took her out in the hall and had her run up and down the hall several times. We came back in and she sat nicely with us for another 5 minutes or so. It got to the point where as long as Astrid was within our sight and wasn't causing a racket, we didn't need to get up. So yeah, we were those parents with the out of control child who didn't do anything about it.

Astrid wasn't the only one making messes though. One of the times I came back from getting Astrid, I knocked my drink over and spilled it all over the back of my pants and my coat. So I got to sit in a puddle for the last 20 minutes of the movie. It was great.

By the end of the movie, Astrid was sitting with her popcorn a few steps down from us in the middle of the aisle. It was pretty cute.

When we got home we were asking Astrid all sorts of questions about the movie.
"Did you like the movie?" "Yeah"
"What movie did we go see?" "Popcorn"
"Who was in the movie?" "Dark Man"
"What was your favourite part?" "Popcorn"

Overall, I think Astrid would give Lego Batman a review of 8 popcorn kernels out of 10. But based on how long she watched it for, I would give it a 4 out of 10. Try a little harder next time, Batman.

2016 Review

Fun fact, it's been 7 years since I started this blog. The last few years have been pretty slow here, but I'm glad I've kept it going. This year I'll try to post more frequently. Maybe. If not, it may just look similar to what I've been doing lately. Updating you on my life several months at a time. Ha. 

Previous quiz reviews: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

1. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year I said I was going to come up with a theme for the year, but we never really did. This year I've already chosen what our theme will be. "I do not boast in my own strength, as to my own strength I am weak, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things." 

2. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes! Joe's sister Katee had a baby girl in May and we were so excited! Now we're just waiting for my brother's little boy to be born any day now. But it's 2017 already, so really I shouldn't even bring it up on this 2016 review ;P UPDATE: Since I first started writing this post, he was born! January 4th, 2017. I can't wait to meet him!

Astrid and baby Leicee

3. Did anyone close to you die?

My Gramma Mele passed away in June. My biggest regret is that I didn't know her better.

4. What countries did you visit?

No countries. We are lame.

5. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?

A sibling for Astrid! But if I can't have that, then I want to play some rugby.

6. What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

I can't remember specific dates, but my brother Keanu came home from his mission in May. And in July we went on a great trip to Cherry Grove to visit a bunch of Joe's friends and it was great.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Last year I did a 12k mud run and came in last. This year I did the 7k option, trained for it, and did it in 88 minutes! I was pretty pleased. Like last year I also made another stocking like the one I made for Astrid, but this time it was for Joe because the first one I made him was ugly, ha.

8. What was your biggest failure?

There's a few people I wanted to have over for dinner that I never got around to inviting them for it. I wish I was more on the ball about that.  

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Joe had a pretty good ankle sprain in November, but he's bounced back from it pretty quickly in typical Joe-fashion. As for myself and Astrid, there was nothing major. NO WAIT! In the first week of November I got like, 1 or 2 nosebleeds nearly everyday! And then it happened again for a few days after Christmas! I had to carry around tampons with me in case my nose decided to leak on me.

10. What was the best thing someone bought you?

Joe got me an ukulele for Christmas and I love it. A good friend also got me a beautiful watercolor of the Cardston temple for my birthday and it was so thoughtful! I plan to put it up with my Jesus picture and a print of our family theme.  

11. Where did most of your money go?

We paid off the Jeep, so there was that.

12. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Whenever they released a new sneak peek for Moana I lost my crap. And then there was the time I found out my brother and his wife are having a baby, that was awesome. We're still waiting on the little guy to arrive! (Update, no we're not waiting anymore. He's here!)

13. What song will always remind you of 2016?

Try Everything from Zootopia. And PPAP.

14. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier.

b) fatter or skinnier? Skinnier?? Mayyybe? Meh, I'm mostly the same.

c) richer or poorer? The same.

15. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Journalling. With a rambunctious toddler it can be hard to find a quiet moment to keep a journal.

16. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Bleeding, ha ha.

17. Did you fall in love in 2016?

Not with anyone new.

18. What was your favourite TV program?

I watched Community again. And I watched the final season of Downton Abbey. Joe and I discovered The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and we loved it.

19. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No.  

20. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Ukutabs! They're great for learning how to play the ukulele.  

21. What was your favourite film of this year?

MOANA. My whole year was just spent waiting for that movie to hit theatres. We have watched A LOT of Zootopia in our house though. And the new Jungle Book. And over Christmas Astrid discovered Finding Dory and that was a hit too.

22. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

I watched General Conference and had a friend join me for the afternoon session. Joe was out of town that weekend so it was pretty quiet. But, like I said, I got a nice watercolor print of the Cardston temple and I totally wasn't expecting it. Thanks, Angie!

23. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Not much, we had a pretty good year. Unlike the rest of the world... Sorry.

24. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?

Trying not to look hideous.

25. What kept you sane?

Joe, running, Astrid (when she's not being crazy), Volleyball!, and finally making time to go to the gym.

26. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Dwayne the Freaking Rock Johnson. I've always had a thing for him and now the rest of the world agrees with me (Sexiest Man Alive!)

I'll just leave this here 

27. Who do you miss?
My family as usual. But it's not as bad a feeling as it was when we first moved here. We'd love to be closer to them, but we also enjoy being where we are.

28. Who was the best new person you met?

This new couple moved into the ward over the summer and just as Joe and I were getting to know them, the husband lost his job and they had to leave to find a new one. I was really bummed because the wife was the first person that I've really clicked with in a long time. Sigh.

29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016:

Stay humble, be honest and choose kindness over bitterness.

What have I been up to, Part 2

 Whoops, it's 2017. Happy New Year!

I want to do my annual yearly review, but I feel like I should tell you how the rest of my year went first. So here we go...

September: I did the Big Bang Mud Run again! This year's went a lot better than last year. The run was organized way better and this time I didn't make the mistake of doing the 12k. I did the 7k with my SIL and we finished in 88 minutes!

The whole gang at the mud run

We love our visits to the farm. 

Astrid and her cousins at the cornmaze! 

October: My birthday was pretty quiet this year. I debated inviting a bunch of girls out to brunch or something, but instead I just watched Conference at home and had a friend come over to watch with me. Oh, I also made an impromptu trip back home for Thanksgiving. It was quick, but fun. And Halloween was great! For my friend's Halloween party I dressed up as a witch and did green-face and everything. I love dressing up. And then Astrid dressed up as Cookie Monster and we had so much fun trick-or-treating at the mall, and then doing trunk-or-treat and then doing a quick trip down our block with dad in the evening. It was a very busy day.

On the road to Lethbridge

Cookie Monster! She was so cute! 

November: I got so many nosebleeds this month, it was stupid! I was even paranoid that I would get one at work and start bleeding all over a patient. Thank goodness that never happened. Me and some girls did an art date and it was so fun. It was good to get the creative juices going again, even though it was just recreating something someone else has already done. Ooh, MOANA also came out this month and Joe and I actually went out to the theatre to see it on the second night it was out (we don't go out to the movies anymore because we hate Cineplex so this was a big deal).

Nosebleeds. Blech. 

Arting! 

December: December could have gone so much better. It was still good, don't get me wrong, but with my calling at church and making preparations for Christmas down south, I was so done. Astrid's birthday was a quiet affair. We had originally wanted to do the sleigh rides they had going on just outside of town, but we were in the middle of a particularly cold snap that week, so the sleigh rides had been cancelled due to -40 weather. Yeah. Ridiculous. So instead we had some friends of ours with a little girl Astrid's age come over for cake and we let the girls play afterwards. And then of course we spent Christmas with my family and it was such a good visit. Astrid went ice fishing for the first time, we got to see a bunch of family we haven't seen in a long while, and we alllllmost got to see our new nephew - except we left a week too soon. Bummer. I guess we'll just have to make another trip to see him!

We went sledding just before the cold snap, thank goodness!

Astrid and her birthday presents.

Our family Nativity Pageant. All the second cousins!

Grampa was so proud to have Astrid ice fishing with him. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if we'd caught any fish!