August 14th.......Nicholas' Party

Thank goodness it was hot out today for the pool party!

Nicholas had 5 friends over for a pool party and they all had fun.

I'm so done with parties, and sadly I still have another three to go this month!

August 11th

Jen and the kids left today.

We had such a good visit, I'm sad to see them leave.

Alex is such a cutie,and sooooooooo funny!

One day I was helping him get his shoes on, and I asked him to slide his foot to the front of the shoe, and he winds his fingers through my curly hair and says........"you're pwitty"

Then the next day he had jumped into the pool with his diaper on, so I asked him to come out so that I could put a swimmer on him. We peeled off his massively wet diaper(had to re fill the pool after that load came out!) I asked him to jump so that I could slide the swimmer on which is not an easy task when you're soaking wet and 2 yrs. old! He says......."Ok pwitty Mawia" I laughed myself silly!

Lucas grew a ton while he was here. He's so sweet. The boys had fun playing with Alex and carting Lucas around.

August 7th..........Andy's Birthday!

Andy went golfing today, and I'm so glad that he took the time to do that. He's been so incredibly busy with work, that playing golf has become a distant memory.

The weather was fantastic today, and he played a good game.

We had a BBQ tonight.

Were originally going to have steak and chicken, but Karin P. called and asked me if I wanted a fresh salmon that they'd caught at the coast. They were kind enough to drop it off here and we cooked it on the BBQ for supper. It was amazing!

We got Andy a golf cart cake which was delicious by the way! Two cakes in two days, are not good for the old saddle bags! lol

Here are some photos. One is of the beautiful sunset we could see from our patio.

Happy 42nd Birthday Andy!

It's my Birthday!

I think this was one of my best Birthday's ever!

I had the most relaxing day which started with sleeping in! Andy took the boys to hockey school this morning, then came back and made me breakfast, and I was told to just go and sit by the pool and read my book! H E A V E N!

I did just that, and even had a nap in the lounge chair.

I got spoiled again with flowers that arrived from Jason, many phone calls and Birthday cards, and two beautiful charms for my bracelet, and a cream and sugar set from Pottery Barn that I love!

Hockey School Week....August 3-9th

Well, it's upon us again...........another round of hockey...in the summer no less.

As much as I like watching them play hockey, I have a real problem with going to the rink in the summer! I mean do you dress for the scorching heat of the outdoors, and then freeze you're butt off inside the arena, or do you dress for the cold rink and then sweat off 10 lbs. when you get outside?

The boys had a great week of camp. Christopher and Michael were in the same group this year which was fantastic. Nicholas was in the younger age group and made some friends as well as met up with a boy who's been in his camp for the last few years.

They all came home with medals for the Ironman which is a team relay skating laps around the ice.

Christopher also won for the hardest slap shot clocked at 53 mph(84km/h)!

Here's a photo of them with their medals.

August 2/08

The Macdonnell's arrived from Vancouver!

Alex and Lucas are so sweet!

The boys are loving having their cousins here and I'm thrilled that we can all be together for the week!

Here are some photos taken in our pool, and one of all the Macdonnell 'Men'!

The last week of July.............

The last week of July was filled with pool time, and just hanging out. Jason and Jen were to arrive with their kids at the beginning of August, so we were gearing up for that visit and getting excited, as they've never stayed with us before.

The weather has cooperated a bit more, finally realizing that it IS summer and it SHOULD be HOT!

Andy finishes work this week and then will have two weeks off! Yay!

We are enjoying our pool this summer! (July)

Christopher

Jacob surfing in the pool!

Our first outdoor dinner at our new table!

Our first pool party July 19/08

Julianna and Matteo are having a blast at our place!

Everyone came over today for a pool party.

When I say everyone, I mean all our cousins, Uncle Sal, Auntie Darlene, Mom and Dad etc.

We had the best day, and it was freaking hot out!

Everyone arrived in the early afternoon and stayed till about 11 pm. I love it when we all get together...we may have to make this an annual event!

Maria

July 15/08

Uncle Tony and the boys stayed in town for a few days after the Wedding. They came over for dinner and Jeff helped me cook Linguine and Prawns! Here are a few photos that Jacob took of us.

July 14-18/08

Golf Camp for the boys!

This week starts the beginning of summer camps for the boys. They've been attending this camp since Christopher was 6 yrs. old. Both Christopher and Michael set course records at the mini tournament they had on the last day of camp. The weather cooperated for them too which was nice. I got to have an hour and half to myself each day...and learned that you cannot possibly go to Costco and back in that time frame! Uugh! They managed ok though for the 20 minutes they had to wait for me. The staff there was great and gave them a bucket of balls to hit at the driving range.

My sister Gianna arrived on the 16th and they're staying with us till Monday. My nieces are having a great time swimming in the pool! I tell you Sofia is a fish! She was in the water yesterday from 10am-10pm! She only got out to eat!

Maria

HAPPY WEDDING DAY LISA AND RON!!

Today we woke to a beautifully sunny sky! What a great day for a Wedding.

Mom and Mina got up early to get to Lisa's so that they could do all the hair for the bridal party and Auntie Darlene. When I say early, I mean 5:30 a.m.!

Carlo and Andy made pancakes for the kids this morning. The ceremony was at 12:30p.m. and Lisa wanted Christopher and Michael at the Church early to start handing out programs.

Mom and Mina arrived back to Mina's at 11:30 a.m. and mom quickly pinned my hair up.

The Wedding was spectacular! The flowers were amazing....the food was delicious! We all had such a good time, I hated to see it come to an end....as did the boys as we had to haul them off the dance floor at 1:15 a.m.!! They didn't sit out a dance all night!

Here's a photo of me with mom as she's pinning on my corsage.

All 4 boys at Church.

The entire extended family!

Andy and I

July 11/08

We arrived safely into Vancouver. Mom and Dad travelled with us.

I spent the better part of the day finalizing the writing of everything required for my duty as MC at the Wedding.

I am praying that it all goes well. I'm not exactly a fan of speaking in public.....ya I like to talk, but not in front of 250 people at one time!

Everyone went to the rehearsal dinner and mom and dad had dinner with us at Mina's.

The suits are all laid out, my dress is ready to go. Have to get the boys to bed early cause tomorrow will be a fun day and I'm sure we'll be dancing till well into the early morning.

Maria

July 6-11/08

This week was spent getting ready for my cousins upcoming Wedding in Vancouver.


The boys needed to try on their suits, dress shoes etc.

Michael and Nicholas needed new suits, and three of the boys needed new dress shoes. Darn it anyway, Christopher is now into a men's shoe and it's getting pricier to outfit him in clothes/shoes! :(

I was happy to have found suits for Nicholas and Michael at The Bay and they were on sale!

We also had dental appts. this week(no cavities), orthodontic appts.(no braces required yet for Christopher or Michael), and Michael had a follow up with our family Dr. (He can resume normal activities now as he's been headache free) She also gave him the ok to go to hockey school in August.

I had my follow up with the OB/GYN and all the test results came back ok. No signs of anything sinister going on with my uterus! Yay!

We were supposed to leave for the coast on the 10th, but this freak storm came in with winds in excess of 100km/h and snow was flying on the connector so we decided to wait till Friday to go down for the Wedding. That afternoon during the storm, the boys and I were literally running all over the place chasing seat cushions that had blown down the hill, our patio table was turned upside down and the glass shattered, our pool cover that's on a roller blew into the pool and became submerged and had to be fished out. There was a lot of damage done to boats in the marina and trees were uprooted all over the city.

Went to bed early on the 10th as we wanted to head out early the next day.

Maria

Dropped our bags, and then packed some more.........

July 2-July 6/08

The boys and I are off to the coast today(July 2) in preparation for the Provincial Soccer Championships.

Unfortunately, Andy has to work this week, but he will be joining us on Friday.

The drive down was pretty good. Thankfully the boys travel well.

We arrived at Jason and Jen's in the afternoon, and Alex was thrilled to see/play with his older cousins.

We only got to see Jason for a day as he was headed to Paris on a business trip the next day.

Granny and Grandpa travelled to the coast to cheer on Christopher's team.

Unfortunately, we didn't play well and lost most of our games.

Auntie Chris, Uncle Gord, Auntie Joey, Auntie Jen, Uncle Jason and Alex, Uncle Carlo and the kids all came out to cheer us on too. It was so nice to see all of them!

The weather was less than spectacular....it rained almost every day! :(

We finished the provincials in 7th place. Not too bad.

Of course there were some parents who were disappointed that we finished that low in the standings as we claimed the 1st place position at home in league play. It's an entirely different ball game at the coast. Bigger kids, stronger teams. Greater population to pull talent from etc.

We did win our last game though so that was good for the boys morale.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Maria

Happy Birthday Jacob!!!

June 28/08

Happy Birthday Jacob!

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is 7 today!

You are such a sweet and loving little boy, and I thank God everyday for you.

Here are some photos of you opening your presents!

Maria

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

HAPPY CANADA DAY LONG WEEKEND!

We went out to the lake with Jen, Tim and the kids. The weather was hot and sunny.The boys had fun tubing, wakeboarding and just hanging out with their friends.

We had a big pasta dinner one night and a BBQ the next few.

Andy and Tim bought some fireworks in town, and set them off. They did a GREAT job!

As usual the kids were sad to leave the lake.

Here are some pics from our weekend at the lake.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, what a great day! This school year went by so quickly....my brain is telling me it should only be May, but my body and mind are ready for the relaxing days of summer!

The boys all got great report cards, and will continue on in the following grades:

Christopher: Grade 7 (GULP!)

Michael: Grade 6 (When did that sneak up on me?)

Nicholas: Grade 4 (What?)

Jacob: Grade 2 (NO WAY!)


Despite Michael missing the last bit of school, he managed to get the best report card yet!


Today after school the boys are going to various pool parties. Christopher is coming along with Nicholas and Jacob to Sophie's pool party. He's going to help supervise the younger kids.

Jen hired a lady to come and build teddy bears for goodie bags! The kids each got to pick an animal, stuff it and then decorate it's t-shirt. They turned out great!

Now that school's done, we can start getting ready to head out to the lake for the long weekend!

Maria

The last week of school!!!!!!!!!!!

The boys are on cloud nine this week. The LAST week of school before Summer Break!

Michael's been feeling much better. He's been back at school for only short periods of time, but is doing all right and has been headache free.

Nicholas and Jacob wrapped up their soccer for the summer this past Saturday with some wins. Christopher's team will play till the end of July and take August off. His team is going to the Provincials July 3-6th in Richmond. Michael had to quit soccer due to his injury...he's not that bummed about it as his season was just so so. Not a lot of organizational skills on his coaching staff this year, which is too bad.

While Michael's been at school I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to pick up Teacher's gifts etc.

The boys also have a few Birthday parties to go to before School lets out.

Maria

June 23rd.......Looking ahead day!

Hi everyone,

Today is a day the boys look forward to....it's when they get to line up in their next years grade, meet their new teacher and spend 2 hrs. in that classroom!

I'm sooooooooo thrilled with all the teachers the boys got!

Maria

June 20th Family Fun Night...........

With so many things going on in our lives this month, I had to step aside and let the others take over the organizing of the Family Fun Night at school.

They did a great job. Everyone had fun and we made money to boot!

The kids loved the inflatable obstacle course and the bounce house. They came home with all sorts of treats and prizes.

Maria

June 19th.............

June 19th I had surgery(hysteroscopy). The lead up is always the worst, and I had made myself sick in the past worrying about stuff. This time was different though as I had so many people thinking about and praying for me. I will admit that I was a bit nervous, the unknown frightens me, but it all went well. Whatever they gave me for sedation worked really well, cause I was in recovery until after 4 p.m. Andy took the afternoon off to take me to and from my surgery.

I was pretty groggy for a good 24 hrs. afterwards and had some bleeding, but not as bad as I'd expected.

The next few days I took it easy, but was getting bored of watching TV, so I decided to go outside and pull some weeds in the backyard. Andy told me to go lie down, but you know me, I don't take orders well (lol). I paid for it though as the bleeding got worse and that was accompanied by cramping.

The nurse told me that my cycles probably wouldn't return to normal for 6 weeks(right on!) I was looking forward to missing a cycle....but alas my body runs like a Swiss watch and my cycle arrived right on the date it was supposed to! Shockingly though it was THE lightest cycle I've ever had! Makes me wonder why I didn't opt for this surgery sooner!

Michael and I are quite the pair though. He's still pretty tired and will nap during the day. We both had a nap this afternoon...I don't know who looked after who more today!

Looking forward to summer holidays!

Maria

Recap of June/08

It's hard to believe that summer holidays are almost over.

So much has happened since June, and unfortunately,I never did get a chance to document it all here.

To recap the first part of June:

June 4/08

Andy and I headed to Seattle for a few days. He finally found some time to take a dental course at the Kois Center for Dental Excellence. Granny and Grandpa were in charge of the boys this weekend. I picked up our rental car and headed to Andy's office to pick him up. (We had to leave the van for the grandparents to transport the boys in). We had just gotten onto the Coquihalla Hwy. when we received a phone call from Christopher that the van wouldn't start! (uugh) So I called our friend Tim and he turned around to go back to the school to see what was up. Apparently the battery was dead.(not sure how that happened, as it was running completely fine when I left them 20 minutes prior!) Anyway, they took the van to Honda and they replaced the battery.

5 hrs + later we arrived in Seattle. The hotel we were at was great! The concierge was fantastic! See today was our 14th Wedding Anniversary and after telling him that he promptly called Chandler's Crabhouse across the St. and made a reservation for us. We were seated immediately at a lovely table overlooking Lake Washington. An appetizer was brought over(compliments of our hotel.......very nice!) We had a great dinner and left completely stuffed! lol

June 5/08

Today Andy was up early and headed to his course. I heard him leave, but fell back asleep and actually MISSED breakfast!(it was included in our stay and only served until 9 am) So, I stayed in bed watched a TV show, as it was pouring rain outside, and I wasn't in a huge hurry to get out there. I located the nearest Mall on my GPS and headed out that way.Only trouble is that darn GPS wasn't cooperating with the fact that I wanted to go shopping in Seattle, and it took me WAY out of the way....kept thinking I was in Arkansas! Whatever! I finally got it to work properly and found the mall I was looking for. I had the B E S T day shopping and found lots of great things for the boys. I tell you, Macy's and Nordstrom's are my new FAV. stores!

June 6/08

Today I did some more shopping(sooooooooooo much fun!) Also had my nails done at one of those places in the mall that does nails for cheap. I had a french manicure done and it only cost me $15. I went back to the hotel and then waited for Andy to come back from his course so we could attend a dinner cruise hosted by Dr. Kois and his wife on thier yacht! I had purchased a nice pair of black dress pants and a sweater to wear (as it was STILL raining in Seattle and I had only brought 'summery' type clothing to wear). I had on some nice wedge heels and my blue trench coat. Anyway, we got to the boat and everyone was dressed in jeans and fleece jackets! Hmm, can you say overdressed??? I hate when that happens! We learned all about Seattle, got to see the outside of Bill Gates' residence. Did you know that his house is built on a cliff and 80% of it is built into the hill, so you don't even see that from the water. When they were building it, they needed to do a lot of blasting, so as a courtesy to his neighbours, he paid off all their mortgages! Nice!

June 7/08

Today was the last day for Andy's course. I was headed out to the Super Mall in Auburn, which was a 30 min. drive from the hotel. I almost turned back because the darn rain was coming down so strong and driving on the Freeway in those conditions in the rental car had me a bit freaked out.

I found the mall all right(thank you GPS unit). Found a Nordstrom Rack and GREAT deals on all kinds of stuff for the boys. All those brand names they love like Volcom, Hurley, Quiksilver etc., and sooooooooo cheap too....I had to restrain myself! lol Then I went into Bed, Bath and Beyond and let me tell you.....I was in there forever....they had Quiksilver bedding and accent pillows to boot! I got each of the boys some bedding and pillows.

On my way back to the hotel, I found a Target and got a Margaritaville Machine. Much less $ than in Canada.

My phone rang at 3:05 p.m. and it was Jacob. He was crying saying......" Mommy come home Michael's hurt bad". I asked him what happened and he said that Michael had fallen off his bike and was bleeding. My first question was did he have a helmet on? Jacob said he did. Now at this point I'm assuming that it's nothing major, that Jacob would call me if it was a small scratch, so I asked where Michael was bleeding from, and he said his mouth...to which I replied...."ok, that's ok, just give him a popsicle" (the cold would constrict the blood vessels and stop the bleeding). I then asked to speak to Granny and she came to the phone and said," I can't talk to you right now, I have to call 911!" Now I'm driving in the rain on the I-5 heading back to Seattle trying to figure out what the heck is going on at our house! Either A) Fran is over reacting, or B) She's a nurse and it must be pretty bad! I immediately call Jennifer to ask her if she could go over and see what's going on, but she's not at home.

The next phone call I get is from Fran who says that they're at the ER and that they've started an IV and are doing a CAT scan. My heart is in my throat, and I'm trying not to panic. I start to pray for Michael.Jacob and Nicholas rode to the hospital in the ambulance(both traumatic and exciting I'm sure).

I arrive back at the hotel. Jennifer and I are on the phone constantly trying to figure out what's going on.I then get a phone call from Liana who says that Tom phoned her and that they're all praying for Michael. My first reaction is to get my stuff and leave, but Jen convinces me that Andy will have a heart attack if he comes back to the hotel and finds a note that I've left. So I wait, and I try not to pace. I had all our stuff packed and ready to go at the door.

Andy arrives back at the hotel around 5:20 p.m. He's excited because we were 'supposed' to be going out for dinner that night just the two of us and the next day we would drive home. This sudden calm came over me and I said......." Andy, we need to leave now. Michael's been brought to the hospital via ambulance....they've started an IV and are doing a CAT scan." His reaction wasn't as calm. We packed up the rental car in less than 10 minutes and headed for the border. I don't think we spoke to each other till we reached Canada. Both of us were scared about what condition we'd find Michael in once we got back.

We did however finally get to speak to Fran about what happened and this is what she said Nicholas had told her:

Michael, Nicholas and Jacob were out riding bikes behind our house. Michael had taken a jump on his bike and flew over the handle bars. He landed on his chin and had a seizure. Nicholas sent Jacob back to get Granny. Poor little guy, he must have been so scared. Anyway, Granny runs up to where they are and realizes that she didn't even bring a phone with her. They flag down some guy who's out dune buggying and he brings Michael down the hill. He is bleeding quite badly from his mouth, but they can't figure out where it's coming from. Michael is conscious, and is screaming in pain. It's by the Grace of God that Michael wore the helmet that he did that day, or his injuries would have been much worse. He couldn't find his actual bike helmet, and instead found the proper mountain biking helmet with a full face shield!

We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 p.m. and Michael was still in Emergency. He was heavily sedated and they had just finished stitching his mouth. Apparently when he fell the iron jaw on his helmet pulled his lower lip down which tore the gingiva away from his mandible from bicuspid - bicuspid. He had 12 stitches in his mouth, and a severe concussion. No brain bleeds, no broken jaw, nothing done to his face on the outside.

The Dr. said he'd need to be in the hospital for a few days for observation. I stayed with him on Pediatrics. They woke him every hour and asked him all kinds of questions. His reaction or lack thereof scared the crap out of me....the nurse asked him if he knew where he was, and he was completely blank, no response. She kept repeating the question as he fell back to sleep.She woke him again, and then told him that he'd had a bad accident on his bike, that he was in the hospital etc.This went on all night long. He finally was able to respond to her at about 5 a.m., when she asked him if he knew where he was. He was able to get up to use the washroom and when he saw his face in the mirror, he cried. He was very swollen due to the trauma and all the IV fluids, but in the grand picture, it wasn't too bad considering what might have been.

The Pediatrician looking after him was Dr. Duncan whose son plays on Michael's soccer team. He was very good and stayed at the hospital late to make sure Michael was all right.

June 8/08

At 6:00 a.m.the nurse came in to check on Michael and wake him up. He answered her questions, then when she left, he says........" Mom, Nicholas and I went up to the sand hill on our bikes", and I said "do you remember that?" He said yes, but that's all he remembers.

Jen, Tim and the kids came to visit him today.They brought him some candy and magazines. He didn't want to come out of the bathroom because he didn't want them to see his face all swollen, poor thing.

The boys and Andy brought in balloons, and 3 stuffies for Michael.

Nonna, Nonno, Granny and Grandpa also came to visit. Michael slept a lot.

June 9/08

Elaine Johnson and Michelle Graham brought me a Starbucks Latte this morning! They're so sweet! Franca came in shortly thereafter and brought me a coffee and a balloon for Michael. He was doing a bit better today, and the nurse said we could probably go home.

Good thing Grandpa came up, cause we needed help getting everything to the van.

Michael was on IV antibiotics for an infection he got in his jaw from where the stitches were. He can't open his mouth very wide, so can only eat liquids and yogurt for now. Dr. Medinsky and Dr. Docherty came in today. We got the orders to go home! Yay!

Michael still had a long road to full recovery and we had to have him lay low.

The first few days/nights at home he slept most of the time.

He had to quit soccer, and couldn't go back to school until he was symptom free(no headaches, dizziness etc.)

He did manage to return to school for a few days at the end of June.

I thank God that he wasn't more seriously injured.

I thank God that Nicholas stayed with him and sent Jacob to get Granny.

I thank God that she called 911 and went to the hospital.

I thank God that Dr. Duncan was on call that day.

I thank God that he had caring nurses.

I thank God that he had a WONDERFUL Teacher this year.

I thank God for the wonderful loving family and friends we have.

I thank God that today he is back to normal and one of the many joys in my life.

I thank God that we belong to a wonderful school community that prayed for Michael everyday and sent him get well cards.

I thank God for the many amazing online friends that prayed for Michael even though they've never met him.

I thank God that we still have Michael in our lives.

Maria