Back To Reality

I'm back!!!!

My last post was right before the Saskatchewan River was expected to swell and do some major damage on the city of Medicine Hat.  We were packing and getting ready to catch a plane to Victoria to see my family.

Well, the river did swell, there was flooding and there was a fair amount of damage.  But the Trans Canada Highway bridge did not close and the river did not get as high as they had originally thought.

We had no problems driving to Calgary and the flight to Victoria was.....fairly uneventful.

I say fairly as I was expecting to be flying on a JET aeroplane, but when I looked out the window at the boarding gate I saw a plane with PROPELLERS???  Seems Mickey bought Air Canada Express tickets and Air Canada Express tickets give you a plane that looks like this:

A PROP PLANE!!

What's the big deal, right?  No big deal really, but for some reason the thought of flying on a plane with propellers was a lot more nerve wracking to me then flying on a jet plane.  Oh, and guess where my seat was?  Yup, right next to the propeller.

I am not a big fan of "take off" while on a plane and this time was no different. Mickey always gets a good giggle watching me close my eyes and "breathe" as the plane bounces up and down in the air as it makes it's way up past the clouds.

Once we levelled off, and the plane stopped bouncing around I was able to relax.  Stella on the other hand... she was not impressed at all.  She never actually cried, but she did not like the sensation of being on the plane.  Poor kid just didn't know where to put herself! She'd sign "mommy" and then once she was in my arms she would fidget, pull away and then sign "daddy".  Then Mickey would take her and she would do the same thing with him.  Sophie and Livi were awesome travellers! They sat together and giggled and sang and were just really cute.

Our week in Victoria was awesome!  We stayed with my sister, her husband and my two nieces.  Sophie and my niece Emily are the same age (6 weeks apart, to be exact).  They got along so well! Every year they see each other they get along better and better! There were a few arguments between Sophie and Emily and there were a few arguments between Olivia and Sophie, but on the whole.....they were all just really well behaved little girls.  They shared, they laughed, they played, they giggled, it was just so lovely.

Playing "Baby".  Emily is the baby, Sophie is the mommy and Livi just decided to jump into the picture....

These two were just so cute. 

Livi and Abby.

Stella and my other niece Abby (she's 15 months old), got along really well too....for toddlers...  Abby enjoyed pushing Stella every now and then, and Stella got in a good scratch here and there.  But on the whole, they did way more hugging and parallel playing then pushing and scratching.

The Toddlers!! They were the  "silent communicators".  Neither of them said much, yet they seemed to know exactly what the other one was saying.

Too adorable!

It was awesome hanging out with my sissy sis.  It was awesome seeing my parents again and having my girls spend time with them.  It was awesome seeing a few of my girlfriends and their kids again.

Stella loved listening to gramma sing her songs!

At the park with Grandpa

LOVE this photo of my dad and Olivia!

I miss living there.

I miss the mass amount of lush, green trees... and bushes!!

I miss the hills.

I miss seeing the mountains.

I miss having my sister nearby.

I miss having my parents nearby.

Yet I feel like where Mickey and I are right now (living in Butt Fuck, Alberta), I feel like this is where we are supposed to be.

The air may not smell as fresh, the trees may be more sparse, but this is our home.

Life is good here.

I will see my family again next year.

And it will be awesome.

And maybe we'll get a picture with ALL of the grandkids with the grandparents......

So this was the best picture we could get of the grandkids with the grandparents....Sophie, during the whole trip, refused to cooperate and smile for a picture....unless it was just her in the picture.  Stella, clearly, was DONE and not the least bit happy. Abby was nowhere to be found, Emily was distracted with Stella crying.  The only child cooperating was Livi.  But wadaya gonna do?

PS. This post was brought to you by the word "awesome"