Calgary Pictures

Here are a few shots from our trip to Calgary.

The Uncles (Liam, Randy, and Markus) and
The Kids (Asha, Kezia, and Joel)



Joel with his new book



Asha enjoys her Uniqua doll



Kezia, Liam, Randy, Dad, Markus, and Joel all piled on the couch

Our Calgarian

Kezia enjoying a story with her Grandpa



SNOW!!



Asha really enjoyed spending time with her Grandma



My Mom and My Girls



Kezia and her uncle Liam had so much fun playing together



My Uncle Henry and Auntie Sonja, "Ray" and "Lasagne"



Fun at the Pool



My Grandma Buhler and the kids



Asha styling Uncle Randy's hair



Asha and her Uncle Markus

Calgary Bound and Back - Part II

The first morning in Calgary, Thursday, we all slept in until 11:00 a.m. It felt so nice. The weather there was cold, but only a few degrees below zero. And there was hardly any snow on the ground. My Mom had coffee on and the kids played downstairs while Asha warmed up to her Grandma and I talked and talked and talked. It was a good morning.

The boys came home at 3:30 and were so happy to see their nephew and nieces. They all went downstairs and I didn't see them until supper. It was so good to be at my parents' place.

On Friday we had Christmas. My mom made a turkey with all the trimmings. We had the meal for supper and then afterwards, we opened presents. Joel got a Pirate toothbrush, a new Veggie Tales DVD and a book with CD. Kezia got a Mermaid toothbrush, a book, and a Little Peoples set. Asha loved her new blocks and her Uniqua (Backyardigans) doll. It was quite cute. And of course, my parents gave me a box of Almond Roca. I love that stuff!

On Saturday my parents had friends over for brunch. My Dad had married Rob and Arlene in'98, and I graduated from high school with them. It was nice to reconnect again. That afternoon, the kids went outside to the park to play. I think they aren't too accustomed to the cold because Kezia came home frozen like a popsicle. Joel said it was WAY too cold to stay outside (okay, it was only -7, that isn't that cold).

On Sunday we went to church and then in the afternoon my Grandma Buhler came over. Asha wasn't too sure who this Grandma was, so she wasn't happy about sitting on her lap. Thankfully I knew that we'd see Grandma again and so she'd have time to get to know her. My Mom made something amazing for supper and I again ate myself way too full. I don't know where my Mom gets all her great recipes. It was sure good to eat her cooking and then afterwards load all the dishes in the dishwasher.

On Monday my Mom and I went to Ikea. We dropped Joel and Kezia off in Smalland and did a bit of shopping. I was so proud of myself; I only spent $4 on a stacking set of plastic bowls. I didn't have much room in my luggage! I gave my two cents on a rug that my Mom was looking at and then we headed back to get the kids. On the way home, Joel complained that he was feeling gross. Oh no. He may have caught the boys' cold. So we go him home, he inhaled a bowl of apple sauce, threw up, and then headed straight to bed. I was sad to think that he would be sick; he'd miss out on valuable play time with his uncles. When he woke 3 hours later, he seemed much better. Thank you Lord!

On Tuesday, Asha, Kezia, and I went to visit my aunt and uncle, Henry and Sonja. Joel stayed home with my parents since he was still a bit sick and Sonja is slated for heart surgery on the 24th. We had a good visit with them. Sonja is the master of feeding her guests. It's always better to go to her house famished, or else you'll burst by the time you leave. She can never sit still unless you are eating, constantly eating. Kezia was in her glory. As soon as she finished her 4th cookie, Sonja was already up getting her an ice cream cone. Once she finished that, we went downstairs for a handful of jellybeans, chocolates and some taffy. Kezia started shoving the goodies into her pocket to save for later, but Sonja just kept dishing it out. Oh boy. I guess you're only young for such a short time. It was funny because throughout the visit, Kezia kept asking what Auntie and Uncle's names were, and I would tell her Henry and Sonja, "Ray and Lasagne?", No, Henry and Sonja...."Auntie Lasagne, can I have more candy?".

We got home and Joel was looking much better. He had a good time hanging out with my parents. My Dad was home since he was finished a house and not starting the next one until a day later. That evening Kezia played with Liam the entire time. She really took to her uncle and they had a marvelous time playing. Joel spent the evening playing video games with Markus and Randy. He was so excited he could actually play! And Asha spent the evening bouncing off my Mom's lap. It was like she was in a jolly jumper the way she just kept jumping and jumping and bouncing. She also loved to suck on Randy's hair and my Mom's neck. Mmmm....baby drool.

That evening we watched Hairspray. What a good movie! It was sure fun and I also enjoyed all the chewy candies, chips, and pop, that we munched on. There's definitely perks to being home at your parents. I always can count on good munchies.

On Wednesday evening I went to my Mom's cousin and his wife's place for supper. I was pleasantly surprised at the invitation. We had a nice meal and visit. Joel really took to Charles and had a great time with him.

On Thursday (had I already been in Calgary for a week?! Where did the time go?) I went to visit my friend Kendra and her two kids, Ethan and Abigail. It was good to see her. I had a chance to see her briefly at Sandi's wedding in Winnipeg the month before. But now we were able to have a longer visit. The kids played really well; Kezia and Ethan had a fun time together. And Kendra's husband Dave came home early, so I was able to see him too.

On Friday, my Mom, Dad, the three kids and I drove out to see a house that my Dad was working on. The drive was very nice, since there was more snow than in the city. The development was surrounded by tall pine trees and with the snow was like a winter wonderland. The house was gorgeous and for a slight moment I wished I had an extra 3400 sq. feet to live in. But then I reminded myself that more space = more mess to clean. So I'm still okay with our 600 sq. ft.

Then after we went to see the house, we drove out to see my Grandma. We had lunch there and Asha had warmed up enough to Great Grandma that she was happy to sit on her lap. We took some pictures, gave hugs and kisses, and headed back into the city to pick up the boys from school.

That evening, my Dad and I practiced music for church on Sunday. He had asked me if I would play piano for him while he sang and played guitar. It was so nice to practice with him. It was like old times in La Crete. And it had been ages since I've had the opportunity to serve with music in church. I miss it. After all the kids were in bed, we watched Amazing Grace. It's a powerful movie and I would recommend it highly.

On Saturday, the weather got cold and it started to snow. In the morning I walked to the drug store up the hill to get a few things. It was so nice to walk with the snowflakes falling onto my face; although my cheeks were quite cold by the time I got back. I miss the snow.

After lunch we all packed up and headed to the pool. Joel and Kezia had an amazing time playing in the water with all the boys. My mom stayed up on the deck and took care of Asha. Asha spent the first hour looking at all the kids playing in the wave pool and the second hour chewing on an assortment of things and drooling on my Mom. I was proud of myself that I bobbed in the water for 2.5 hours with Joel and Kezia. But I chickened out on the water slide, so my Dad took Joel about a dozen times. When we got home, we had soup for supper and had a nice quiet evening. I did some laundry and packed a bit. It was hard to believe that my trip was almost over.

The next morning I got the kids up, we got dressed and packed up all our stuff. I was so proud of all of us because we left for church 10 min. sooner than we planned. Talk about amazing! I played piano with my Dad and after church we made a bee line to the airport. We were hoping to have lunch together, but there wasn't enough time for me to postpone my check in time. Plus, once you check in for an international flight, you need to go through customs right away. So I got my luggage tagged and said goodbye to my family. It felt a bit weird leaving, I should be heading to Winnipeg to go home? I should be going with Carl? I got teary eyed thinking about leaving. The visit went by way too quickly. I told Randy that we'd be back through Calgary in less than 5 months, and when you can say, "See you in 19 Saturdays" it doesn't seem that long.

Joel pushed the stroller, I pushed the luggage cart and Kezia pulled her purple bag. Off back to California; would our journey home be as smooth?

Calgary Bound and Back

It's been two weeks since my last post...Did you miss the news? There's lots to tell of our adventures to Calgary.

On Wednesday the 9th I woke up bright and early and felt a bit overwhelmed at the things I needed to do before 8:30 a.m. I decided to book a hotel to stay in on our return because it would be too late to drive back to Fresno. So I was on the phone for 20 minutes trying to arrange that. I needed to print off directions to the hotel as well as the airport. Then I needed to load the luggage, wake, feed and dress the kids, oh yeah and feed myself too. It was a good morning even though my nerves were a bit frayed.

At last we got into the van at 8:45, we prayed and I pulled out of the parking lot. At that moment it hit me what I was about to do and I almost cried. I must have been crazy to think I could travel across the country with three kids. Take a deep breath, Kathy.

The drive to Sacramento was a good one; except I had to ask for directions to the hotel. At 12:15 we arrived at the hotel, I parked the vehicle and went inside to book my room. The shuttle then took us straight away to the airport with all our luggage. Once we got to the airport, I realized that we would have very little time to get lunch before our flight. I was really hoping that the snacks I packed would tide the kids over until we got on the other side of security. And I was hoping that Asha would last too. As I got up to the ticket counter, I gave the lady our passports, she double checked the flights and then announced that my flight to San Fransisco was canceled. My heart sank and panic set in. Now what was I suppose to do?

A very nice Indian couple helped me put my bags up on the scale, but I still had no idea which flight I would be put on, or how this would impact my arrival time in Calgary. Maybe I wouldn't even get there that day!! Finally she found a flight to Denver, CO and booked me in. I would have to hurry because the flight was leaving in 45 minutes. I was feeling pretty discouraged and worried that I wouldn't have time to get the kids lunch.

We got our boarding passes and the kids and I hurried to security. I dumped out my water, chucked my oranges (boo hoo) and tried to remain composed so that the kids wouldn't get spooked. We had to take our shoes and jackets off at security in order to go through. All of us went through without any problem, except Kezia. She set off the metal detectors and I couldn't figure out why. She had to be taken over to the side and a female security guard did a pat down of my three year old. I was proud of her that she didn't cry or get upset. She just stood there, arms out, legs wide while they checked her over. Finally we realized that her anklet had set off the detectors (I can't believe I didn't think of it; but Asha's anklet was fine...) and that she wasn't hiding any weapons. They let us through, we put on our shoes and jackets, I praised Kezia, and we ran to our gate.

I had just enough time to purchase a sandwich for $8 for the kids before we had to get on the plane. Joel was so excited I thought he would pee his pants. The kids spent the entire 2 hour flight looking out of the window and talking about being pilots. We didn't even get to pull out the books, Barbies or activity books. Asha slept the entire time and Kezia had a little cat nap.
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I was relieved to get to Denver so that the kids could have something decent for supper. I called my parents and told them that our flight was changed and I wouldn't be getting into Calgary until 11:30 p.m. Oh how I had wished that I could have made an earlier flight out of Denver. Oh well. We found a Crocs store and went in to window shop. Kezia was thrilled out of her mind. She couldn't decide which ones she was going to buy; I had to clarify that we were just looking. The kids did their exercises (jumping jacks and relay races), worked in the activity books, and played with Asha. We had McDonald's for supper and Joel questioned me loudly on how they got the blood out of the chicken McNuggets....
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At 9 p.m. we got on to the plane to Calgary. The flight was almost empty so Joel, Kezia and I each had our own seat. The flight attendant was super mothering of us and got blankets and pillows from first class. The kids slept the entire time while Asha lay beside me on the seat and played with her feet.

Once we arrived in Calgary, I was so tired. Joel was a huge help by pushing the stroller while I got our bags onto a cart. Kezia insisted on pulling her new suitcase. She looked so cute! We rolled out into the receiving area and my parents were there to greet us. We finally arrived!

Joel talked my Mom's ear off in the van on the way home. It was 1:30 by the time we all made it to our bed. I was so exhausted that I was sleeping before I hit the pillow. But we did it. We made it safely to Calgary.

Traveling Mama

The last four days I have been on my own because Carl is away. He's taking a cross cultural course in Los Angeles and left on Saturday. The days have been filled with much activity, and not much of a break for me. Whew! It's tiring being a single parent. Bath night is crazy if you've had to prepare the meal beforehand, calm a fussy baby while doing it, and then have to tackle the dishes afterwards. It's hard emotionally to be there all the time, 100% for all three of your children. Logically it doesn't add up, but somehow as a parent you do it. I have missed having snipits of time with each of the kids one on one. Over the last few days I have been reminded that I'm a very blessed woman to have a husband who enjoys parenting his children and partnering with his wife.

But thankfully I don't have to do it on my own for much longer. The kids and I are flying to Calgary tomorrow to spend time with my parents and brothers and grandma. We'll first drive to Sacramento, then get on a plane tomorrow afternoon and then get to Calgary at 9 p.m. It'll be a long day, but in the end the hugs and kisses waiting for us will make up for it. I am looking forward to eating my Mom's cooking and being able to load dishes into a dishwasher. I'm excited about having adult conversation. I'm so thrilled that the kids will have three uncles to play with and entertain. I'm anticipating connecting with some old friends from high school. And I'm looking forward to a little bit of snow and just a teeny bit of cooler weather. No crazy blizzard or cold snap or anything, but just a little taste of Canada.

Joel and Kezia have been looking forward to this trip since I came back from Winnipeg. "When is it our turn to go on the airplane?". I've packed snacks, books, activity pads, cars, Barbies, new water bottles, toys for the baby, snacks for me, lip balm, passports, visas, diapers, a sleeper, crayons, pencils and a sharpener....have I forgotten anything? And that's all in our carry-on bag!

I may be crazy to travel with three small children, but I'm always up for a challenge. And Joel is a huge helper, so I know that he'll get to exercise his gift of service on this trip. Kezia is also very helpful and knows to stay close and not to talk to strangers. Asha is a veteran with this whole flying thing. She'll be no problem.

So depending on my internet connection (which at my parents' place is always hit and miss) I may be absent for a while. I think I should encourage the other Heppner here in Fresno to do a bit of blogging. His course in L.A. will have been quite intense and full of unique experiences. Anyways, toodle loo and ta-ta for now! I have a bit of last minute packing before I tuck myself into bed.

Silly, Sentimental ,Shoes

I used to have an amazing pair of shoes. I remember the day that I bought them, it was just before I left for Europe in June of 2000. I got some birthday money and I decided to go to Aldo and spend it ALL on a pair of shoes; I was looking for a multiple personality shoe (if I can call them that), teacher shoes, Europe tour shoes, I'm-still-hip shoes. People thought I was crazy to spend $75 on one pair of shoes; bet those people don't think I'm that crazy since they lasted longer than most large breed dogs!

But sadly, last week Carl pointed out that my shoes were cracking. It's been 7 years and 6 months since I got them. And I'm a bit sad about letting them go.

I'm in a time of life right now that anything of no use gets trucked off to the Clothing Closet, to the dumpster, or someone else's house. I feel good that I'm not a clutterbug, and really, why should I hang on to the material? It's not what really matters.

So why am I so sad about getting rid of my old cracked shoes? Well, those shoes were worn from May when the snow was gone, to October when the frost came, for 7 years. If the weather was nice, they got to come out of hibernation sooner. I wore them almost every single day to school (but there were days that the other shoes were getting jealous, so I wore them once in a while so they'd feel loved). I don't know how many Sisler miles those shoes have seen. They kept me comfortable through three pregnancies, every Braeside summer service and countless weddings. And they made it all the way to California with me. They were my favourite shoes and I have so many good memories with me wearing them.

But I can't wear cracked shoes, so last week I said goodbye. It was a bit drawn out because first I took them outside and put them by the shoe rack. Then a few days later I put them in a plastic bag. And then finally on Friday I took them to the dumpster out back. Tomorrow is garbage day and I know the dumpster will be emptied and I'm going to try not to go diving. There will be another pair of shoes that come along with me while I make wonderful memories.

The Beginning of Scary Diapers!

Yesterday, Asha had her first taste of solid food. It was an entire family affair. Everyone had a great time but Asha wasn't that impressed....take a look.

So now with the introduction of solid food, there's no going back. No matter how scary the diapers get. But just think of all the yummy foods Asha gets to try now!

What an Inconvenience

On the 20th, right before we were leaving to pick up Byron and Kristal in San Fransisco, our van got hit in the Foods Co. parking lot. It was really quite a silly incident. I was parked and ready to pull out, when a big SUV pulled in beside me. I thought he was parked, but then he decided pull out and park behind me. Okay, what are you doing buddy?....so then I waited and then saw that he had put his vehicle in park. I started to back out slowly and when I was fully out and ready to put the van into drive, the SUV decided to move for a second time and backed right into my side. ARG! My heart sank as I heard the sound of metal crunching which to me means only one thing...losing time and money. Now I'm familiar with what to do in this situation in Canada (not like I'm in accidents on a regular basis), but I was a bit unsure of what to do here with private insurance etc. Well, I guess now was the time to learn.

I got out of the van; and of course it was raining hard, go figure for Fresno...and stood there waiting for Mr. FenderBender to get out of his SUV. He apologized and tried to give me $100 so I wouldn't report it. I looked at the van and knew it was more than $100 of damage and so I said, "Sorry buddy, but I can't take your money for that. It won't cover it". I didn't want to be a jerk, since it was just a few days before Christmas. And then he told me he didn't have a license and that he would pay for the damages when I took it to a shop. He didn't want to go through insurance because his Dad's insurance would skyrocket and it was his fault, not his Dad's. So I got as much of his information as I could, and feeling quite peeved with the situation, went home. I called the guy and told him I'd be in touch with him in a few days. I'd have to deal with this once we got back from San Fransisco.

After the 25th, Kristal came with me to an autobody shop to get the damages assessed and a quote written up. Well, when I tried to get in touch with Mr. FenderBender, he didn't pick up his phone anymore. I guess he decided not to honor his word and morphed into Mr. NastyPooHead. Now I was really peeved. Here I was left with a damaged van, not enough information on this guy or his dad, and a $250 deductible if I made a claim. Double ARG!

Not to be a total downer, I was treated very well by the insurance company, and was fitted with a lovely rental vehicle while mine is still in the shop getting repaired. But because the damages were over $1000, I need to fill out a DMV report and I'll also be calling the police to make an accident report. What a hassle, eh?

I think what really gets my goat is the fact that I was lied to and taken advantage of. I'm usually a person that thinks the best of everyone. I didn't want to be a scrooge with the guy and I felt sorry for him. Here he was stuck with a bill for hundreds of dollars of damage, right before Christmas, just because he's a bad driver ( maybe that's why he doesn't have a license).

But now this situation has tarnished my view of people. I'm tempted not to give them the benefit of the doubt. How can I do that when it cost me? How can I protect myself from being taken advantage of without turning into a suspicious, unmerciful person? How many times have I wronged people and they still forgave me; how many times have I been given a second chance? Oh what's a girl to do.