Walk Now ...

September 9, 2012

The 5th Annual Edmonton Walk ...

at Rundle Park ...

for the support for Autism Speaks ...

Ian ... Kendall ... Daigen ... Nixon ...
and their friends ...
spent their Sunday walking for these kids affected by Autism ...
Kendall raised over $1300.00
We are proud of her for successfully raising this amount of money ...
2,000 Walked to raise more than $216,000!

Our family hopes to join in this walk next year ...
to help support these families in need ...
to find the answers ...
Autism Speaks ..."It's Time To Listen"

With 1 out of every 110 children now being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and the growing number of children growing into adulthood with little supports and services to meet their needs, now – more than ever – we need to find the missing pieces of the autism puzzle. If you wish to learn more, please go to here

Birthday Girl ...

September 9, 2012

After breakfast Sunday morning ... before I left ...

Ella opened up her birthday cards ...

she is having a few of her girlfriends from school ...

join her at the dance studio ...

to have a little party ... 

on Saturday ...

xoxo

 A few more pictures from Butterfield Acres 

  By the pond ...

 Going for a wagon ride on "Old Blue" the Tractor ...

Playing in the large dirt area ... 

riding the truck and wagon down the hill ...

Ella going thru the tunnels ...

and rocking in the shaded picnic play area ...

Going To The Farm ...

I ended up going to Alberta ...to celebrate Ella's birthday ...

instead of just taking the kids to a park to play ...

decided to go visit a farm for kids for a few hours ...

"Butterfield Acres"

Posing for Grandma ...

We spent quite a bit of time in the bunny cage ...

 these bunnies were quick ...

escaping and hiding from all the kids ...

They all enjoyed being in the area with the goats ... kids  and the sheep ... the best ...

Ella wasn't to impressed being in the pig pen with the stinky piglets ...

one little piglet was chewing on Craig's shoelace ...

didn't stay in there too long ...

Craig was also showing Ella how to feed a horse some hay ...

So much for the kids to do here ...

tire swings ... horse ride made from tires ...

and peddle go-carts ...

This place is open from May - October ...

has many activities going on ... functions ... lots of animals ... play areas ...

Hope to go in the spring when all the babies have arrived ...

with all the grandchildren ... 

Maybe grandpa will come along as well ...

 as he has never had the opportunity to spend the day at the farm ...

Check out their website here for more information ...

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Dagmar ... !!!!

Hens & Chicks ...

It was still a nice sunny day ...

to take a few pictures ...

of the Hens & Chicks ... spreading thru the rock garden ...

few rose blossoms blooming ...

and the spiders ...

busy spinning their webs ...

I believe we will have a few more ...

nice warm sunny days  ...

before the frost settles in ...

with Fall approaching ...

Around The Corner ...

What a find in the quaint little town of Eureka ...

walking along ... checking out the stores ... 

a sign caught my eyes ...

Antique Store ... just around the corner ...

and it was ... down an alley ... 

"Around The Corner Antiques & Art"

I believe I was guided and was meant to walk into this place ...

Some of the items outside ... she lives in the house on the other side of the fence ...

The door was locked ...

a sign said to push a call button ...

from the backyard of this little shop ...

this dear lady ... slowly went to the back of the building ... and unlocked the door ...

and welcomed me in ...

she had some real treasures in there ...

I looked around at the items she had ... then this book caught my eye ...

I was really drawn to it ... 

I started talking to this lady and found out that she is the one that had written it ...

Alicia R. Edwards is her name ...

an amazing women ...

she is also an artist ... she had numerous paintings hung in her shop ... 

a former concert pianist ... and now a writer ..

and she was just finishing up writing her second book ... 

sitting in her backyard when I arrived ...

I was overwhelmed ... 

Mrs. Edwards is 88 years old ... 

and is writing her life story ... she was born and raised in Eastern Poland ... until the age of 16 ...

when war broke out  ... Alicja and her family were sent to Kazakhstan into forced labour for 3 yrs ...

she also spent time in Iran ... met her husband and moved to the states ...

her book "And God Was Our Witness"

tells the story ...

Alicja Edwards has gone to many schools and libraries here in our area to talk about her life...

She is a special women ... I was grateful to have met her ...

I will make a point in stopping by to say hello ...

the next time I travel that way again ...

our paths were meant to cross

a new friendship transpired ...

A Rainbow Over The Field ...

A flash storm blew thru our valley ...

sun was shining ...

displaying this brightly coloured rainbow ...

A double rainbow at the end of the field ...

Beautiful ... !!!!

Alberta Sunset ...

Travelling on Coal Trail ...

the back road to go visit the kids ...

had to stop and capture this ...

amazing sunset ...

Was a beautiful site ...

Orientation Day ...

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012

This was Daigen's Orientation Day ...

he was so excited ...

and wasn't happy when it was time to go home ...

Daigen was having just way too much fun ... !!!

His actual starting day is Sept 10th ...

at a brand new school ...

On Site ...

Mike is way up north ...

as the Electrical Instrumentation Consultant ...

at the new Gas Stripping Plant ...

140 km north of Fort St. John ...

Here having his picture taken ...

with the Refrigeration Unit ... being placed in position ... 

Refrigeration Unit

Cranes hoisting up the Flare Stack ...

These are the LPG Bullets being put in place ...

Mike is enjoying being out in the field ...

in this construction phase ...

although he is missing home ...

See you soon ... !!!

1st Day of School ...

Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012

Hard to believe the summer holidays are over ...

how exciting for for these three heading off to school ...
waiting for the school bus ...
Craig entering Grade 3 ...
James in Grade 2 ...
and Ella starting Kindergarten ...

And away they go ...

hoping they have an awesome day ...

seeing their friends ... meeting their new teachers ... !!!

Celebrating begins ...

 Mingling with friends ...

while the wedding party was having pictures taken ...

and final touches for dinner being completed ...

This young lad ...

asked Van & Shelagh ...

to go to the stage ... for him to sing ...

 a beautiful love song ... especially for the happy couple ...

 A delicious dinner ...

BBQ'd pork ... baked beans ... salads ... potatoes and turnip ... cabbage rolls ...

and a lovely carrot cake for dessert ... and copious amounts of refreshments ...

mmmmmmm

 After dinner ... the traditional speeches were addressed ... 

many so called "family & friends " told stories about their individual lives ...

 and how they met each other and what transpired ... to this glorious day ...

Van & Shelagh then sang a cute and comical duet ...

professing their love for one another ...

Then the fun began ...

what a special treat for all of us ...

this wonderful lady from a Hutterite Community in AB ...

came to entertain us ...

she was a hoot ... quite the comedian ... she had us all in stitches with laughter ...

singling out some of Van & Shelagh's family and friends ...

telling stories about them ...

and then explaining about Communal Living ... with a twist ... 

 since the men decided that instead of the women canning their goods ...

they would now use a Dehydrator that the men built ... since it took days to process the food ...

and took even longer to rehydrate them ... in order to eat it ...

especially chickens ... (she had a rubber replica of how they looked when dehydrated) ...

the women had time on their hands now to knit ... she had a bag full of handmade socks ...

 (that were for sale) 

again she singled out some guests and had them put the socks on ...

giving them instructions on some moves ... for them to dance and entertain us ...

it was hilarious ....!!!!

Their first dance ...

as a married couple ...

Congratulations .... !!!!

Van & Shelagh 

Wedding In The Valley ...

Sept. 1, 2012

 Gathering together ... listening to music ... waiting for the ceremony to begin ...

Groom ready on stage awaiting his bride ...

since no one had the music for the "Wedding March" ...

we were all asked to put our voices together ...

singing "Daaa ... Dat Da Daaaa" ...

as Shelaghs' father walked her up the path ...

to meet with Van ... on the stage...

he was hoping he could stay there to be a witness ...

but Shelagh had to remind him that he was giving her away ... 

and he had a seat out in front on the grass ...

 Van and Shelagh reciting their vows to one another ...

they had us all in tears ...

such beautiful words were spoken ...

then placing of the rings on their fingers ...

and sealing it with a kiss ...

A few moments were taken ...

for Van & Shelagh ...

along with the wedding party to sign the register ... 

then the Piper came to welcome ...

the new Mr. & Mrs. 

as they made their way down the stairs ... 

to greet their family and friends ...

Let the party begin ... !!!