Happy Easter!!

...Complete with Campfire Sunrise Service, A visit from the Easter Bunny in the backyard, a church service and an afternoon of fun activities at Fort Steele.

It's only 3pm but it feels like I should be getting to bed soon! Phew!!
pics to follow..

Spring Break with the Walls

What an awesome week had we with our friends the Walls..
4 adults,
4 kids under 4,
1000 square feet filled to the limit with fun fun fun.
We slept amazingly well, and enjoyed adventures and good food.
And now, on this Good Friday we eat fish and miss our awesome pals.

Happy Valentine's Day

a little Valentine's Day Dress up.



Chocolate for breakfast..and thus we LOVE this day. Hendrix joined us at 7 am as he does each Thursday and was pleasantly surprised by the Kinder surprise...



The scene where the Baba leaves the house each day...

My Mama's Birthday

Just a few things I loved about my Mama...and a candle for her BIG Birthday!
...from her most youngest child.

-her favourite blouse (10 blouses sewn from the same pattern with different fabric-a smart woman)
-her laugh-til-you-cry way of humour
-her crazy labeling the shelves thing (i get that now!)
-her love to "Make it by Hand"
-her ability to listen to all things at the end of a school day
-her rye sourdough "black bread" on weekdays and "white bread" for weekends
-her "let's make a new dress for this wedding" sewing in scantily clads
-her love for all things green and growing
-her afternoon Earl Grey ritual and weekend "Kaffeetrinken"
-her total eco-friendly way of reusing everything, wasting nothing, buying local-WAY before it became "trendy"
-her ability to laugh at herself
-her ability to love me

Matchy Matchy Hand-me-downs

OPA turns 70

We have just returned from a weekend in Calgary via Lethbridge.
Nana took the kids we dropped off in her cozy little house, and we travelled on to Calgary to celebrate my dad's big day.
Mike and I were the first to arrive @ Opa and Omi's on friday night.
Moni and Richard were a close second flying in from Salmon Arm, and with whom we shared accomodations. Christian and Shari flew in a few hours later from Colorado and stayed at Irene's house.
All came prepared for a good time-and all came sans enfants. So much fun!

And thus was spent a weekend-chatting and laughing over good food, planning and re-planning for our short evening "program" (where the four of us sibs got up and sang 2 songs and made a picture powerpoint and told stories of our Papa), getting food ready and dressing up for the big event.
it was truly a wonderful time.
Our kids kept Nana on her toes, and we became time millionaires for the weekend.
Ahhh- a short February reprieve-who woulda thunk!?


Opa preparing for his 30 guests!


All the prettiest girls on one couch


Many years have passed since this hike in Austria, 1975

Oh the weather outside is frightful

so this is what we are doing.....getting into some good literature and "helping mama" with Laundry.

Pull up crisis

I have FINALLY-after many tedious and agonizing months, decided to give in to "pull-ups" for my pee trained-but NOT poo trained son. I realize how petty this is to you who have no children underfoot, and franlkly I cannot myself believe I am ACTUALLY blogging about this. But perhaps it is the sheer volume of poop that I am dealing with these days-that causes me to write this rather desperate change in tactic.

I was so excited about the whole aspect of cutting down the disposable diaper waste-when Finn said he wanted to use the potty back in September. He definately has all the coolest underwear an almost 3 year old could have, for sure. And he is brilliant in the #1 department. But as we hit month 5 of "pooping in my underwear", the Mama here-who is trying sooooo hard to patient and say 'its ok, it is just fine, no problem'-is giving up her environmental moral almost entirely and is going to pull-ups fulltime.
very difficult for some insane reason, an thus this entry sounds like a confession.
another lofty ideal thrown away...ah, a loss of innocense..or shall i say naivity?!

So here is a post about poop.
no pictures.
arent you glad.

a little skating and such

Every thursday our buddy Hendrix comes and stays with us. pictured here is "Curious George hour" when i drink my coffee and read and sit and meditate and do dishes etc.



Wrenny's new birthday poncho-handmade by Auntie Irene!!!


Finn has been thrilled that he has now a helmet for all occasions one for skiing (hand me down), hockey (thrift store special) , AND biking...so many helmets, not enough heads...so Wrenny helps out.



Finn, Wren and i just came back from a couple of hours of skating and sliding around the outdoor rink here in town. We came home ruddy and ready for some hot chocolate..and a treat. it was decided that today would be a good day for us to dine on the gingerbread house we made before Christmas. Here is the before picture...

Slip slidin' away

backyard zippy fun..as kids barrel down the slide with snowsuits...
and some baking powder bisquit ducks that finn helped to make with supper tonight.
complete with raisin eyes.
a proud moment for he.

First weekend of the year....

...included Finn and Wren's first swim lessons (Thanks Nana, Opa, Pops and JoAnn), a visit from Nana, some Potty Training Highlights as well as a brief visit for me to the hospital without any direct results (but good pain drugs!!) for some severe abdominal issues. Also pictured here is a painting Mike did this week of his office at the Elko train station, and a popcorn picnic in the kitchen today before and after pics!

happy new year!

wrenny, my lion tamer..boxing day at the zoo..and then a pic of our whole clan.



a few pics of our (oh so beautiful) kids at Ian and JoAnn's wedding on the 28th


we started the year at the sledding hill with a wienie roast and good friends!!! weeeeeee

Christmas with the Schwarz's..and more!

here are a few photos to start..strangely the rest keep refusing to load..hmmm..maybe i will try again tomorrow!
Happy New year!

The Hepher Clan..

a month gone by

well here we are lately....Wrenny's first chocolate fondue and various bathrobe/bath poses as well as an afternoon in the snow with Auntie Moni and Kai...who aare visiting (and Tomi) for a few days!!