Fringe

As you all know, my daughter was born with A LOT of hair. I had dreams of pig tails and cute little barrettes, but Emma is not very cooperative. Whenever I put pig tails in her hair, she screams and cries. Whenever I put cute barrettes or clips in her hair, she rips them out. She even swallowed one once, we didn't know until we found it in her diaper. Poor baby. Since she doesn't allow cute things in her hair, it is always in her eyes. So, we decided to take her to a professional. She sat very still on the booster seat at Great Clips, it took maybe 2 minutes to cut her some bangs. I was a little sad because it is such a "big girl" thing. They grow up way too fast, don't they?

I can see those beautiful brown eyes now. Hooray!!

A Viking's Life for Me

This month, Braxton's class learned about Vikings. How fun is that!!! Today they did a Viking play called "A Viking's Life for Me" for their parents. It was so cute. The kids wore fur vest and carried swords. Teachers are so awesome and creative, how do they come up with these things?

Braxton played Berserker #1. Berserkers (according to Wikipedia) were Norse warriors who were reported in Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk.

The Longship

"One, two, three, four. We are fearless, hear us roar." Miss Emma waiting for the performance to begin

Pinewood Derby

Last night was Braxton's Pinewood Derby. This was our first Pinewood Derby and Braxton did a great job designing his car. He wanted to do a lego car. His car looked very different than the average car. He didn't win any of his races, but he had so much fun. I think the best part of the evening was when the races were over and all the boys just put their cars on the track and raced each other. They had a ball.

Braxton with is car.

Ready to go. We had to take off a few of these legos to make weight, though.

A Quick Summary

Some pictures:

Mom and I stopped at Mother Webb's on the way to Sydney. It is a restaurant that is half-way between Halifax and Cape Breton. I have been having dreams of this place, they serve some good down-home Nova Scotia cooking.

The Canso Causeway, the gateway to Cape Breton Island. Why did I ever leave this place? The Seal Island Bridge (almost home)

The BEST pizza in the world.

Well, on March 16th, I stood at the airport in Denver getting ready to hug my husband and children. I am sure that the folks in the security line thought I was crazy with my sobbing and tears. Let's just say I will not ever leave them again on purpose. When my plane got to Chicago, it was 1/2 early. So, I had a 3.5 hour layover!!!! At first I thought I would be bored, but then I realized something, I was all alone. It felt strange, but then as I opened my book and read without anyone saying, "Mom..." or anyone needing their diaper changed, it felt so right. I wished my family was there, but I am not going to lie to you, having these 3.5 hours of "me time" was so nice. I ate my Twizzlers and read (how spoiled am I?)

I arrived in Halifax, I was teary-eyed again. I also get that way when I see the "Welcome to Canada" sign and the nice customs agents tells me "Welcome Home, Dear". I was also very excited to see my mom waiting for me on the other side of the door when I came out of customs. We stayed the night at my sister, Mellena's house. We stayed up and laughed until almost 3am. We headed to Sydney the next morning. When we got to the island, I looked out the window and noticed the water, it was looked so great. I knew that it was freezing cold, but I had an urge to just jump in, I really miss that. I can't wait to go back in July so I can swim in the ocean.

I was home for 11 days. I was able to spend time with my family and my friends. I got to know my nieces and my nephew and had soo much fun with them. I had girl's night out. One evening we stayed up really late and ate junk food and laughed, that really made it worth leaving my family in Colorado.

My mom made all my favorite meals, she baked bread and we stayed up late and talked. I ate alot of yummy Canadian candy. (I heart you, Cadbury).

By the time Day 10 rolled around, I was so ready to come back to Colorado. I really missed Ryan and the kids. I am so grateful for Shelley. She took care of my family and home while I was gone. I was sure that Braxton wouldn't have a problem with mom being gone and grandma being in charge. He had a great time with her. I was worried that Emma would forget me, that was a foolish thought, I know. When I arrived at the Denver Airport, we got landed 1/2 hour early. I wished that I could have gotten a ride on one of those little cars so that I could have gotten to the baggage claim area quickly and hug my family. When I finally got there, the first person I saw was Ryan and then I saw Braxton running towards me, I didn't want to let him go. Emma reached out to me and I was so happy to be back with the 3 most wonderful people in the world. I had to sit in the backseat with Emma on the way home because she cried when I left her sight, well, she still doesn't let me go too far from her. I am going back to Nova Scotia in July, but I am taking my clan with me.

Nova Scotia's Masterpiece

I grew up in Sydney, Nova Scotia, which is on Cape Breton Island. It seems like as soon as you cross over the causeway onto the island you are home. Ask anyone who grew up there and they will tell you that their physical address can be anywhere in the world, but Cape Breton is the home of their hearts. The island just has some sort of pull that I really can't describe. There is something about that cool sea air that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Good News

My dad was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago. He had surgery and then started chemotherapy about a month ago. Cancer is such a scary word. When I first heard the word come out of my dad's mouth, I felt helpless and it took a few days to wrap my head around the whole thing. To make matters worse, it seems like not only does he have cancer, he also got bad news every time he went to the doctor. It's hard to stay positive when all you hear is negative reports from doctors. Well, the first days I was home, my dad finally got some good news. They had thought that the cancer had spread to his brain, but they did a scan and it shows that there is no cancer in his brain. HOORAY!!!! My dad still has a long road ahead, 9 more chemo treatments, but this good news really helped him stay positive and give him the hope and strength to fight even harder. When we go back in July, we will have to have a "Farewell to Chemo Party".

Dad and Brenda at dinner.

Farewell Party

I left for Nova Scotia on March 16th, on the 15th, we decided to stay over night at a hotel close to the airport. The next day while I was travelling, Ryan took the kids to the butterfly and insect museum. I heard that they had a great time. Braxton had a tarantula crawling on him and a butterfly landed on Emma's head. It's moments like this, that I wish we had two cameras. Anyway, back to the evening of the 16th. Ryan and Braxton have really been into "food shows". They love Man vs. Food. We decided for dinner to visit Jack-N-Grill which was featured on Man vs. Food for the 7 lbs burrito challenge and also on the Travel Channel's 101 Top Restaurants to Chowdown in America (they were #13). We saw the 7 lbs burrito and there was no way we could ever finish it, even as a family. So we asked our waitress for a recommendation. She said that they were known for their burgers, so Ryan and I got a burger and Braxton got a quesadilla. They brought out the food and I laughed and laughed at the thought of us finishing all the food. It was the biggest burger that I had ever seen, but it was also the best burger that I have ever tasted. I could barely finish half of it, Ryan finished a little bit more than me and Braxton's quesadilla was grandote.

Braxton in front of the Wall of Fame. If you can finish the 7lbs Burrito, you get your picture on the wall and the burrito is free. If you are woman and you finish the burrito, you get your picture on the wall and you eat at Jack-N-Grill for free for life.

Ryan's burger. This picture makes me laugh because the burger looks bigger than Emma's head and she looks appalled at how big it is. Wow!!!

OOOOOOH CANADA

During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Ryan and I were lucky enough to go to Canada House. While there, we were able to sign a petition in support of Vancouver to get the 2010 games. So, it was great to watch the games this year, knowing that it was just a dream 8 years ago.

Team Canada won 26 medals: 14 Gold, 7 Silver and 5 Bronze.

Out of all the medals won during the games, this one is really the one that feels the best and the only one that matters!!!! It was an amazing hockey game, which ended in OT. Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal, he is a fellow Nova Scotian (Anne Murray is too, what great company)

Ryan was rooting for Team USA and I felt bad for Braxton. What's a boy who was born on the 4th of July with an American father and a Canadian mother to do? He, of course, cheered for the USA, but was still very torn since his mom was cheering for the other team. He told me that next time I should cheer for Team USA, I told him that would probably not happen. So, every 4 years, our family will be split and I will try not to gloat. I am hoping that maybe Emma will join me in a boys vs. girls thing.

Ancient Rome Party

Braxton's class has been studying Ancient Rome this month. He loved learning about Rome and we loved hearing about it everyday during dinner. What a fun subject. Today was their Ancient Rome celebration. The kids got to dress up as a famous Roman and had tell a little about that person. Braxton was Jupiter (aka Zeus). He was really nervous that he would forget his lines, but he did a great job. They also had an authentic Roman meal with Little Caesar's Pizza, grapes, Capri Suns and cheese.

"I am the GREAT GOD JUPITER!! I am ruler of all gods and goddess. I live on the mighty Mount Olympus and rule over all the kingdoms of heaven and earth. I control the sky, lightening, thunder and rain. The Romans gave me credit if they were healthy and rich. My Greek name is Zeus. I am married to Juno and my brothers are Neptune and Pluto. I have many sons and daughters. I use lightening bolts as weapons, so DON'T MAKE ME ANGRY!!!" (I caught myself saying this today while I was standing at the sink doing the dishes).

Help

I have these 2 ledges in our house, one in the living room and one in the kitchen. They are empty and I am trying to figure out what to do with them. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

Livingroom

Kitchen (Ryan put the basket up there)