Schools out for summer!!!!!!!

Another school year came to an end. The boys are thrilled to be out of school and are looking forward to a long hot summer!

June...........last month of school!!!

I LOVE the hot summer type weather we've had so far. The boys have been in the pool a lot since we opened it at the end of April.

I took on the task of putting together the photo show for the Gr. 7 farewell....oh my gosh! What a logistical nightmare that turned out to be. Of course I should have left it alone, and not volunteered, but no one else stepped up to do it, and I know how much the gr. 7's appreciate this, soooooooooooo I jumped in with both feet. It probably wouldn't have been such a big ordeal if my computer photoshow program would have let me use some up to date music, instead of the canned garbage that they offer. So then I had to try using powerpoint which I'm not familiar with, and oh the stress I put myself under was something that I don't want to repeat anytime soon. Also, if the deadline for photo submission is May, then why on earth am I still without photos for some kids in the middle of June????

So, I plugged away at it day and night editing, moving stuff around, etc. and the perfectionist in me took over and needless to say I didn't eat or sleep for 3 days! The darn program wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, the photos weren't transitioning with the music, and I was going crazy! It was right down to the wire with glitches, and finally I called a friends brother who was a computer genius and he walked me through it.

The Gr. 7 Farewell was lovely. Speeches were great, and all in all it was a good evening.

The photo show was good despite one minor glitch with the audio, but everyone liked it, and my job was done!

Back to updating events from the Spring..........

May continued to be a busy month with soccer games for the boys. May long weekend took us to Kamloops for Christopher and Michael's tournaments. Michael's team placed 2nd in an intense game against Kamloops. Christopher's team losing against Penticton.

It's hard to believe that the boys only have one month left of school. One month left with all my boys at the same school. Never again will this happen, as when Jacob is in grade 8, Christopher will already have graduated. I wish there was some way to slow down time just a bit. It seems to be going by so quickly.....

The landscaping of the yard continued this Spring beginning with the installation of our putting green on the back burm. The boys were eager to help,and fascinated with the heavy equipment used in the process.

First Communion Day and Party............

Our little Jacob received his First Communion on Sunday May 3rd. It was a beautiful day!

He looked so sweet all dressed up in his suit. Mass was lovely and that was followed by breakfast in the Parish Hall.

That afternoon we had a combined party for Christopher and Jacob at home. I had rented tables, chairs and Lynda was catering the dinner. It looked amazing in our living room with all the tables and linens.

God Bless you Jacob throughout your life!

Jacob and Sophie

Christopher and Jacob

Nicholas turns 10!

Our sweet Nicholas turned 10 years old on April 26th!

Wow time sure does fly by.....

My favorite memories are:

• He was in such a hurry to be born, he didn't even wait for the Dr......a lovely nurse named Marion delivered him!


• He was such a dream baby....ate, slept and sigh, just a dream!


• He was the youngest of the boys to walk at 11 months.


• When he would wake at night I'd go to his room and he'd be standing up in his crib. I'd go over to him and he would reach out for my face, and then put his forehead against my forehead and just hold my face there. Sooooooooo sweet!


• He cut the cord to the baby monitor(that was plugged in at the time)with a pair of scissors!Ok, not funny!


• He sat in his kiddie pool fully clothed!


• He rode a two wheeler at age 4 after begging Andy to take his training wheels off


• He loved his chucho....so much so that he still had it when he was almost 4! One day he came outside with it in his mouth and Andy told him to take the silly thing out of his mouth...he then reached for it in Nicholas' mouth but Nico put up his hands to block him and that resulted in the choocho becoming airborne and landing right in the gutter! Good bye chucho!


• I loved all his chubbiness!


• He's a great soccer player


• He's a great hockey player


• He has lots of really nice friends


• He rode the California Screamin Roller Coaster all alone this past March!

We love you Nicholas you are a joy!

April/May

These were going to be busy months for us with Christopher's Confirmation and Jacob's First Communion.

Christopher asked Carlo to be his Sponsor. We had prepped for the big day and at last it was here. I bought him a really nice suit at Mexx with a bright blue shirt and new tie. He looked awesome!

You know it seems like yesterday when I held him in my arms at his Baptism, and here we were at his Confirmation. He did the first reading....and of course I had tears in my eyes watching and listening to him.

His chosen name was John after Andy and Nonno Giovanni. After the ceremony we came home for a small family celebration.

Meet our newest addition.........

Shiloh is our new mini labradoodle puppy, and she's gorgeous! We brought her home on May 29th. Up till then only me and the older boys had seen her at the breeders. Nicholas and Jacob fell in love with her instantly, as did Andy. She weighed lonly 8 lbs when we brought her home. The car ride home was interesting. She cried most of the way home(a 2.5 hr. drive) and then around Monte Lake she threw up all over Christopher. Poor thing...luckily he had some other shorts to change into.

We settled into life with a new puppy quite easily I might add. She's was a dream from day 1. We followed all the instructions from the breeder. As this is our first puppy, I didn't really know what to expect,and we'd heard horror stories from friends who have had dogs....but really she's slept well in her kennel beside our bed since the first night. She only cried a bit and I'd put my hand beside the door and she'd nuzzle her nose up against it and fall right to sleep....and sleep she did, for over 8 hrs each night!

Spring Part 2

Once the snow finally melted, and hockey was finished for the season, the boys happily moved on to soccer. Both Christopher and Michael were playing with Kelowna United Select Teams and had great seasons. Michael's team came 2nd in two tournaments and Christopher's team was undefeated in regular season play...only to lose in penalty shots in the playoffs. That was a very hard game to watch.

Nicholas and Jacob also played soccer in the U10 and U8 age groups. They break for the summer and have now resumed play for the month of September. I'll get some photos of them soon and post them.

My oh my where has the time gone?

My last real update was in the Spring after my Dad has his surgery, and now it's September, the boys are all back in school, and I finally get some time to sit at a computer!

So, the updating process will be quite lengthy as I recount all our happenings since March 2009.............

SPRING BREAK:

We went to Disneyland....and what a GREAT time we had! The day we arrived we met up with Franca and her family for dinner at Downtown Disney. One of our fav. restaurants there is Napoli. The kids were so excited to see their friends from school. The next day we met at Universal Studios. The weather was somewhat uncooperative, and we crossed our fingers that it would improve as we were just beginning our holiday. We had soooooooooo much snow this past winter, we just wanted some SUN!

Universal Studio's was fantastic. I think I left my stomach at the top of the Jurassic Park ride!

Oh my what a free fall at the end! The boys, Andy and even Franca and John went on alot of the rollercoaster rides there with The Mummy and The Simpsons Ride being their favorites.

The Studio Tour was fantastic....we had Front of the Line passes, so we didn't have to wait in line which was nice. They were filming Desperate Housewives that day. Andy's favorite attraction was the Terminator Show...one of his favorite movies.

The next day we started our 5 day passes at Disneyland. The weather was gorgeous, hot and sunny.....just what our winter skin was begging for! The boys loved being back in Disneyland.

Jacob being the youngest, and tall enough for all the rides in the park has a totally different Disneyland experience than his brothers......all they wanted to do was ride the California Screamin Roller Coaster.....in fact they all rode it 21 times in 5 days....ho hum, it got a bit boring for me around the 15th time watching....but they had so much fun it was hard not to laugh.

I think my favorite thing to do was to spend an entire morning with Jacob just in Disneyland. We got new hats, went to Minnie's House, saw Mickey, Donald, Pluto and all the gang....we even got to see the Fairy Godmother!

Soarin over California has to be one of my fav. rides. Here I am with the boys waiting in line.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. Here we were in hot sunny California(everday that week it got to 86F) and at home they were still shovelling the snow.

Michael had his 12th Birthday in Disneyland.....he got a gift card from the resort so he bought whatever he wanted...a Mr. Potato Head, a stuffed Mickey, a football, 2 t-shirts. Here he is with his Birthday hat..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

You are a wonderful boy with so much love to give. We love you and hope you had a wonderful day!

The evening of his Birthday we surprised the boys with tickets to an NHL game....their first ever! Anaheim Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers.....and the Oilers won.There were lots of Canadian fans on hand cheering them on.

The following day we headed back home. Exhausted, but filled with lots of good memories.

Summer time, summer time...............

I can't believe it's been soooooooooooooo long since I logged on here to tell about our day to day happenings.

The summer is flying by and we're loving our hot, hot weather!

I will post some photos and a complete update real soon.

My Dad..........

I haven't had time lately to blog as we've been busy with hospital visits with my Dad. He went to the hospital last Monday (March 9th) and the surgeon removed a portion of his lower intestine. Everything went well with the surgery, no complications. I saw him the day after the surgery and he looked better than I could have expected! The incision is HUGE! It's a vertical incision that goes from below his belly button to his chest! It is the nicest incision I've seen. Very clean and healing well. He continued to progress well, but was getting hungry as he'd been off food since the 8th. On the 5th day post op, he suddenly wasn't feeling well, was sweating profusely, and was agitated. The nurse called in the Dr. who then called the Cardiologist who ordered some tests. Now I'm getting all this info from mom who is completely overwhelmed with all that's going on, so it may or may not be accurate. Anyway, he's been off his diabetes meds, blood pressure pills, anti anxiety meds and my theory is that he was going through withdrawal of some sort. They gave him something in his IV and that calmed him down. Then they had to call his Dr. so that he could put the order in for the other meds. He's home now and resting. He'll see the Dr on Thursday to have the staples removed,then see his Dr. on Friday to discuss the 'irregular heartbeat' that they found after administering the heart tests. They also have him on Warfarin...not sure why, but Andy thinks it's to prevent blood clots after surgery.


Now for news from the complaints dept.

1. I think my sisters could have come home this week while my Dad was in the hospital
2. I think they could have sent flowers themselves instead of calling me on Day4 post op and asking me to get them
3. I think that since he's home now and it's spring break, that one or both of them could have come home.

Andy says " they're not all like you Maria" I take that as a compliment actually, and secretly wish they were more like me! I know this surgery wasn't life saving surgery, but c'mon, if I was living at the coast, I would have made the trip home regardless of the kind of surgery it was!

So, do I say something to them? Probably not as it would start a huge fight ....sigh

Featured Person of the Day


Kelowna dentist Dr. Andy Macdonnell has been brightening smiles in Kelowna for 15 years. His practice is located in Orchard Plaza, at #209 - 1890 Cooper Road. Whether it's cosmetic dentistry, crown and bridge work, or prosthetics, Dr. Macdonnell is committed to rehabilitating people's mouths and allowing them to regain the smile they once had.Dr. Macdonnell keeps active around Kelowna, getting outside for golfing and skiing, depending on the season, and coaching soccer & hockey. He would really like to see more homes & shelters provided for homeless citizens of Kelowna, and volunteers with the Kelowna Gospel Mission through their Dental Clinic and the 30K Club. He enjoys Rockets games at Prospera Place, and looks forward to our seasonal Wine Festivals.Have a great day, Dr. Macdonnell!

Uugh!

Another vent..............

Andy's away at a conference with his staff. They were all having a great time by the sounds of it when I called last night......I don't have a problem with them having fun, but they were all in Andy's room watching TV, and I think that's inappropriate. I mean imagine his reaction if he'd have called me at a hockey tournament and I had 8 men in my room! It's not to say I don't trust him....it's to say that he shouldn't put himself in a situation where everyone thinks he's their friend. They feel comfortable, and don't respect the fact that he's their boss! I don't like it and I let him know it.....I hung up on him. I know probably not the maturest thing to do, but I was pi$$ed off!

Then a half hour later I called back, and they were STILL there! I asked if they were there and he says NO....so I ask him another question and he says NO, all those one word answers made me fuming mad now, so I hung up on him again! Now I'm steaming mad and if I could have jumped through the phone then I would have.

He calls me back a half hour later....I was on the phone with Tina venting at the time so it went to voice mail. I called him back, didn't really have much to say other than what I said above.

Then tonight I text him because he's forgotten to call the boys to say goodnight(whole other issue that I won't go into now), and so he obviously got the not so nice text I sent, so he calls home. The boys all talked to him, but I don't have anything to say to him. He then says that they all went out to dinner tonight and that his Visa was declined.....so I call Visa, only to find out that it's because it's reached it's limit. So I call him back because he was supposed to have paid it the other night when he paid some other bills. Well, he didn't, so I had to promptly make a payment online. I tell ya, I'm completely sick of being the one who stays home, drives the kids all over the place(and this week has been extremely busier than most) while he's out having a grand old time with everyone. And no it's not a jealousy thing that they're there and I'm at home, it's about staff not behaving and acting stupid because they've had too much wine!

He can take a cab home from the airport on Saturday.

Today may you be blessed.........

Awhile ago I signed up for a daily newsletter that was inspirational and motivational. I have enjoyed reading the verses, quotes and most days it helps put things into perspective for me. Some days I need a kick in the arse to make me realize I have nothing to complain about.

Here's a really good little movie clip that brought tears to my eyes.

http://beblessedmovie.com/

The snow is starting to melt......................

Yipee, yippee, yipee....the snow is starting to melt....we woke to pounding rain this morning, but I'll take that any day over snow!

I just want to see some sunshine and feel the warmth of it. We leave for CA soon and the boys are really looking forward to it too.

I feel like I don't have much to blog about...don't feel much like talking either. Ok, I have to vent somewhere. You know the saying that people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Well, lately, I've had LOTS of time to think or should I say evaluate the 'friendships' I have and quite frankly, it sucks! Days, weeks can go by and not a phone call, or a wave in the parking lot. I just say 'whatever' and try not to let it bother me, but it HAS bothered me. Do I say something? Is it worth it? I don't think it's ok to completely ignore someone for weeks, only to call on them when you 'need' them. I don't want to always be the one who's picking up the phone, going out of my way to send a gift etc. I realize this sounds so petty, but you know what, I'm 42 years old, and I'm just sick of this high school stuff. Why do I wait for them to call me? Why don't I pick up the phone you ask? Well, cause I'm sick and tired of a one sided relationship, and I've chosen to distance myself. Trust me I have a LOT more important things to do in each day than to sit and listen to boring diatribes of nonsense. I'm not on my high horse. I do not think I'm better than anyone else, but no person needs to be sitting there between two people who are supposedly your friends and have them talk across the front of you like you're not even there Now this happens once...ok, get over it, but it happens A L L T H E T I M E!!! Ah, I had to get that off my chest. Now to make dinner.

My husband is the biggest baby!

You'd think that Mother Nature was taking it out on him personally by dumping all this snow on Feb. 25th. He says he's so sick of it all....blah blah blah, aren't we all?

He started to get his boots and coat on to go and shovel the driveway, and then had a hissy fit and said forget it, I'm not going! (Oh my!)

Ok, as I stated in earlier posts, I'm done with winter too, but you don't see me getting mad at everything that's living do you?

He says he's going to retire somewhere hot in the winter.....sionara dude, send me a post card!

Mother Nature has a funny sense of humour because..............

ahem, it's SNOWING outside right now! They weren' t kidding when they said 10-15cm of snow tonight! It started after school and it hasn't let up at all! In fact, now the wind has started and it's blowing all over! I can't even see across the lake atm.....waaaaaaaaahhhhh, I'm sooooooooo done with winter!!!!

Time to hang up one pair of hockey skates...........

Michael's team fought the good fight this weekend, but unfortunately they lost to a much stronger team that should be playing either AAA or AA level hockey!! The whole thing was just lousy from the get go.....really rough play on their part, as well as horrible officiating. I could tell the outcome from the get go. Michael's ok about it....I think he's ready to move on to soccer.

We win...........we advance to round 3!

Bring on Winfield.....round 3 of the playoffs for Michael's team starts next Saturday.....and we're ready! (insert maniacal laugh here)

The boys got to play game 2 vs. S. Okanagan at Prospera yesterday. Playing in that arena is always a great time for the boys....kind of like playing in the big leagues!

It was my turn to sell 50/50 tickets and I sold the most to date! The jackpot was $160. Not bad eh?

Michael woke up full of a cold, so he's home from school today. I took the others to school, stopped to pick up some stuff for dinner tonight and when I called home he didn't answer. I became concerned when I tried again and still no answer. I ran up the stairs calling his name with no response.....only to find him asleep in his bed under his duvet!

Stews in the crock pot, homemade chicken soup is cooking on the stove.It smells GREAT in here!

Playoffs round 2...............

Michael's team is now in round 2 of the playoffs, and they're out of town today. We just won in OT!!! Woo Hoo! Game 2 is here tomorrow.

Jacob's team is in a tournament this weekend and they've won both games so far. Tonight they get to play during the Rockets intermisson and are VERY excited!

Images from Granny Margaret's Life

http://www.mem.com/ViewImages.aspx?ID=2851088

Today was Granny Margaret's Funeral

My heart swells today with love for our boys. They were wonderful participants in their great granny's life and today she would be proud of them for their participation of her funeral mass. My husband was heavy hearted as he stood at the pulpit today to deliver a speech about his granny. I love him, and today my heart broke for him as I sat and listened to the many stories he had about this wonderful lady, and how blessed we were to have had her in our lives for so long.

Unfortunately, Jason wasn't able to attend the funeral, but he was here in spirit and sent along a note for Andy to read.

The funeral service was beautiful, the soloist had the most beautiful voice.

We are home now briefly to change clothes and then will join everyone for dinner at Andy's parents.

God Bless you Granny Margaret.

A poem about Granny:

Her smile can light up a room, her presence is of grace Her opinions are heard without one word but by the look upon her face Her touch is so gentle, her heart as big as the moon Her spirit is kindhearted and warm as a summer’s afternoon Her hair a river of gray, her eyes radiant as the sun Her time she’ll take no matter how long until the work is done Her kisses are so soft, her hugs preferred from the rest My granny is mine forever and ever and she’ll always be the best.

High School.........

Christopher had a really good day at high school yesterday. They all made the gr. 7 students feel welcome. They started the day off with prayer in the gym, and then were split into three groups who then rotated through the classrooms and other stations. Snack and lunch were provided.

All in all they had a fun day and a 'taste' of high school.

Last night Andy and I attended a parent meeting at the school. Got to meet all the teachers and see the school. Wow, it's so hard to believe that we have a child old enough already to go to high school!

Yesterday the gr. 6's held a science fair. Michael and Emmet's project was on Explosions. They did a really good job of their display board and got 77% on their written report.

Its another snowy day here today. Cold out too. I'm quite tired of it already. The poor little cedar trees we planted have been thinned by all the deer we've had in our yard lately. Andy thinks the trees will rebound once the weather gets warmer, but I'm not so sure.

Dad is a the hospital this morning for a colonoscopy. We're all praying that it goes well and everything looks good.

Tonight are the prayers for Granny Margaret.

Andy's Granny...........

On February 7th, 2009 our beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother, who lived to celebrate her 96th birthday, passed away peacefully. Margaret endured much pain after her stroke, but she fought valiantly, for six years in an extended care facility, to be with the ones she loved. Margaret lived for her family and was deeply loved by them. Daughters: Anne Marie (Manuel), Fran (Jim), Chris (Gordon) and Joey have been blessed to be surrounded by a mother’s unconditional love, kind heart, unselfish spirit, delightful sense of humour and courageous ability to overcome challenges. Granddaughters Anette and Michelle and grandsons Andy and Jason cherish their Granny’s gentle spirit, strength of character, great stories and storytelling ability. Margaret’s eight great grandchildren are proud to have a Great Granny who lived to be 96. Margaret lived through the pain of war immigrating from Romania to Austria, then Poland and finally to Germany. In 1948, Margaret with her husband Johannes (John) immigrated to Canada with three children and a single wooden suitcase holding all their belongings. They worked tirelessly at Stewart’s Nursery and within a few years purchased their own orchard. Margaret worked in the fields, orchard and packing house around the clock for many years so that her children could have a better life, and indeed she accomplished her goal. We cherish the time we had with our beautiful mother, honour her spirit, and are comforted to know that she is now in a more peaceful place. Prayers will be recited at Valleyview Funeral Home, 165 Valleyview Road on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 7:00 PM. Funeral Mass will be at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 750 Rutland Road N. on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or Children’s Hospital. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.mem.com

Class of 2014............

Tomorrow is a BIG day for Christopher....he gets to spend the whole day at High School with all the Gr. 7's! I'm to drop him off in the morning and the school will divide them into groups for the day. Snack and lunch will be provided. He's pretty excited about it all....I on the other hand am not quite ready for the 'leap' to high school! gulp.....because I'm definitely not old enough to have a kid going to high school! lol

It really hit me today when was reading the letter from the Principal at the high school....class of 2014.......that sounds so weird to me......how could it be that he's THAT age already?

Thankfully, we still have a few more months left of Elementary School where all the boys are.....next fall we'll have 2 schools to get to in the morning!!

We Won!!!

Michael's hockey team has advanced to round 2 of the playoffs!

What a game this morning! Awesome hockey. All the boys played well.

Maria

Andy's Granny..........

We received a phone call today from Andy's aunt Joey. Granny Margaret passed away this morning.

She lived a long time........96 yrs! It's still sad though as she was such a great lady.

We will miss her. The boys will miss her.

I love that our boys have compassion. Michael was saddened by the fact that his Dad had tears in his eyes when he got the phone call. God Bless him, I hope he continues to have a heart like that through out his life.

We did manage to get a hold of MIL/FIL in Mexico. They're be flying home this week sometime. Andy found out where Jason is staying in Hawaii and we called there tonight. I don't think he'll be flying home for the funeral as they just arrived in Hawaii today.

Why do they wait till the kitchen is clean before........

they decide to fry up some eggs? It's not like they could have done that before I spent a half hour in their emptying the dishwasher, loading it and wiping down the counters!

Jacob just decided that making some nachos in the microwave would be a GREAT idea too, and of course Nicholas followed suit!

Chris is at a Confirmation Retreat all day today and we're meeting him at the 5:30 pm Mass.

Dinner out tonight.........yippee!

This is too funny and so true about people today......

This was sent to me today. It's so funny and so true!


http://barefootmeg.multiply.com/video/item/56

Update on the past week or so...........

Seriously, it's FEBRUARY already???? Oh my!

The boys have all had colds lately, with Nicholas and Michael needing antibiotics for their throats. Both are better now. Then Jacob and Christopher came down with a tummy bug...and not to leave mom out of the picture, I came down with it on Monday evening. We all had stomach cramps and were running for the bathroom, but no vomiting thank goodness.

Andy's finally decided to start taking Fridays off again, and I'm so glad as he's been a really grouchy guy lately. He needs a day off where he can run errands and get stuff done, or just exercise so that he feels better and not so tired.

Yesterday Michael's class went cross country skiing. It was a beautiful day, and we had fun. It is however HARD work getting up those hills, and I was hoping that around the next bend we'd come across a nice little Starbucks and perhaps a bench to sit and enjoy my latte on,but no such luck!

We're into playoff season for Michael's hockey team. Unfortunately the series is tied with Merritt atm, and we HAVE to win this Saturday or we're hanging up the hockey skates till next season. Seems that his season went by so quickly, but in fact he's been playing since September. Really great group of parents, so it will be kind of sad to have to say goodbye to everyone. Think positive though,these are the come back kids and haven't lost a game all season.....the tied so many games though!

The other boys still have hockey till March.

We're all looking forward to our trip to Disneyland! Wish we were there now so we could get away from all this snow!

Oh,this morning at 6:55am I was woken up by this really loud screaming that seemed to be coming from outside....but then I thought it was one of the boys dreaming so I went upstairs. Christopher was at his window and he says"mom come here, did you hear that screaming?" I looked out the window expecting to see some animal dying in my backyard, and there it was............ A WOLF up in the hill behind our house! OH MY! Apparently he was howling at his friend and then he/she showed up and they sauntered off into the hills! It wasn't a coyote because the tail wasn't bushy like one that a coyote has, and it was BIG and blackish grey. I wish I had my camera. Anyway, it freaked me out that's for sure!

A little funny from Jacob yesterday:

"Dad, look at my muscles they're getting bigger" (as he makes a muscle flex in his bicep while holding his breath and grunting to make the 'muscle' pop out)

Andy: "wow Jacob it is getting bigger"

Jacob: " Ya, and look I have a six pack"(as he lays down on the kitchen floor kind of doing a crunch all while grunting and holding his breath again). " See Dad, do you see it, it's a six pack, count them!"

Oh my! Then Michael and Nicholas had to lie down and see if they too had a 'six pack'