Merry Christmas!

Only family picture of the year, which the girls refer to as the Bank-Robber Mommy picture.

Making gingerbread houses with Edie's class.

Merry Christmas!

I figured that it's about time that I used this site again. I usually hand-write Christmas notes to accompany cards, but found myself too far behind the 8 ball to get at it this year (Celia and Edie are very good at reminding me of the things that I've said that I was going to do, but haven't yet, and somehow sewing up holes in pants that are too small but have seahorses on them trumps actually sitting down and writing a letter to someone I love...).  Given that most everyone who we send cards to live very, very far away from us, I'd like to give you a glimpse into 2014 for Team Jardine.

I must say first off though, we still like it here, 3 years in. I can recognize that I sound pretentious when I say that, but life is really, really good for us here. I can confidently say that our quality of life now trumps every other place we've lived. I know there are a lot of variables at play here (health being a big one, hours of sleep/night too), but yeah, if someone we liked told us that there was an opportunity in Saskatoon for them and asked our opinion on what they should do about that, I don't think we'd hesitate in recommending it.  To anyone! There are so many good things that you can spend your time doing with great people in this city. The biggest downfall in my book is that I wish it was closer to home (NS), but within 6 hours I can fly there. I can handle that, for now :)

We started off the year with a trip to see Tim's parents in Bermuda in January. Gosh that seems like a long time ago now. And we can't find the pictures. But it was fun, and warm. Tim smashed a rotten coconut on the beach and it was a putrid smell, that's the thing the kids recall the most. It was the last visit we had with Tim's grandmother, who passed away within a few months of our being there, and we also got to see Mama Lilly. If we never mentioned her before, Mama Lilly was the live-in Bermudian nanny of Tim's mother's family growing up on the island. She is in her 90's now, lives in a nursing home and can still recall that Tim is Deb's boy every time we visit. Our kids know bits and pieces about her legacy, and Lillian is Edie's middle name, in her honor. We really enjoyed our visit to Bermuda, and the kids made out like bandits in the My Little Pony department. It unfortunately was also our last visit with Amber, the resident laboradoodle at Tim's parents place. Amber passed away very shortly after we left. Celia still talks about her.

Celia and Charlie, like bread and butter.

Which brings me to a big topic of discussion in our house. Animals. We always knew that Celia was an animal lover/whisperer, and it only gets stronger as the days go on. On a rational day with Celia we will engage in role-playing in which I am a (insert any type of animal you want here) mommy, and she is my (insert the juvenile term for above animal). The scenario that plays out can vary wildly depending on the day, but generally the  juvenile gets lost, makes itself found, and wants to snuggle, and this is on repeat, a lot. On an irrational day, I am endlessly consoling Celia (also involving lots of snuggling) because Charlie won't give her enough room on his dog bed. She let me know that she wanted a box of animals for Christmas this year. This kind of stuff is the tip of the iceberg in the deep character that runs through our little one. She is such a unique and fantastic person. And we love all of this about her. 3 has been a bit of a roller-coaster year for her (as it is for many of us), but she's a very determined little girl and she's learning, learning, learning all of the time. She's giving Edie a run for her money. Gymnastics is her gig for the time being. and she'd love, love, love to be in a karate class, but we're not ready to go down that road just yet. For some reason we think we'd have a hard time reigning her in if she actually knew how to throw a proper punch. She also spends a lot of time on her strider bike.

Totally giving up on ice skating for the day.

Celia is in pre-school with a fantastic bunch of 3 year olds. They are such a wild and funny group. I always feel like I need a nap after my helper day. They recently had their Christmas concert where 1 kid wouldn't go up on stage, another girl went on stage but held her hands in front of her face the whole time, another would only stay up if his mom was up there, a little brother (who is not in the class) took centre stage the entire show, and the rest of the kids had their individual 3 year old moments throughout. Celia got hit in the face a few times with tapping sticks...It was very entertaining.

And Edie. Edie has had the great fortune to have had 3 fantastic school teachers so far in her life, and to be genetically pre-disposed to being a super-student, both Tim and I were that kid. Since pre-school she has had access to teachers who have been really good at stretching the kids out of their comfort zones while giving them confidence at the same time. Superheroic. Edie is in french immersion in a grade 1/2 split because of declining numbers in her school and the arrangement is working well for all of the kids, but especially the younger ones, like Edie. She gets great pleasure in correcting our french. She's super awesome.

Writing sentences is one of her favorite classroom activities.

Edie is a swimmer, scientist, writer, mathlete and third parent. And a wonderful person. We love her to bits. She's also very healthy, which gives us great relief. For those who knew her in her early days, we are very glad to report that those days, though valuable, are far behind us.

Nana Midge came to Saskatoon this summer for a visit.  It was so lovely to have her around for a few weeks while Tim was away. She got to help us out with the kids's triathlon, which was a super fun day in June.  She also got to watch the Subaru Saskatoon Triathlon the next day, which I took part it. I have been racing for 3 years now, and think that my favorite races have been the ones that my mom has watched. There's nothing like seeing your mom sitting on a bench reading a book by the river when you're on the last leg (lag) of a three sport race, and being able to cat-call her on your way by. Man, that was a great feeling. There is nothing pretty or lovely about the end of a race, but man, it feels good to see your mom at the finish line. I got to race in Yarmouth in August as well, where the bike course actually went past my parent's house...It was so cool to have a whole family crowd cheering me on while I sped past, and I definitely got that nagging guilty mommy feeling hearing Celia screaming for me as I passed by (in reality it was not me she was screaming for, it's that Edie got to hold the cowbell and not her). My mom was at the finish line on the waterfront in Yarmouth, my hometown. Such great memories.

She's a runner too!

Best help on the course.

Proud dad.

This picture is actually going to be used in promotional materials for this race series.

Tim took the girls for a weekend in June while I took a trip to Lake Louise in the Rocky Mountains with some friends from the cycling club I ride in. This is another event that I hope never to forget. If you're in the area, and can ride a bike, I highly recommend exploring Lake Louise/Banff/Jasper National Park on a bike. Come and visit us, and we'll take you there.

Bow River summit- top of the catchment! Best day of riding ever!

Tim is doing very well on the work and family front. All around great guy. We just watched a promotional video that he is a part of for the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. It should be available online soon, and although it's hard to watch Tim in a serious role, it does a good job of explaining what Tim does and thinks about on a daily basis. I'll post a link to it when it becomes available. Tim also finally got a bike (ok, I got it for him), and it's a nice way to get to work and back when the weather is cooperative. I've even been riding it this winter, which is proving to be another antidote to the winter blues that can be so strong here.

Coffee on a bike.

Tim is still playing ball hockey in the fall, winter and spring. It provides him with well needed exercise and escape from work and family responsibilities. His team generally does quite well in his league, and this summer they ended up at provincials. The girls and I went to Regina to see him play, and we had a wonderful weekend at a hotel with a swimming pool (throwback to vacations of my youth) with rainbow pancakes, which may be the best food Celia has ever eaten, according to her. She has requested that we go back to Regina for her birthday, and never would I have ever dreamed that one of my kids would ever request this. Ever. But we might do it. On our way back from that trip, Celia, Edie and I drove through the storm of our lives, which included a tornado made famous (on the net) for this photo. Cool in a life experience kind of way, but you can believe that all three of us were crying and screaming while I was doing 160 km/h down the highway to get away from the funnel cloud travelling towards us. Life on the prairies.



It's been a good year. Our best wishes to you this season, and for the year to come.

With much love,

Laura, on behalf of the team.

Barb J, this picture is for you. Big dolly's tucked in to her bed.

Brian, this picture is for you- This book was given to us by Brian Fry in Australia. It was his when he was a little guy.

Super fun summer.

Yes, Tim is riding Edie's bike.

Saskatchewan River fun.

Holiday update coming soon!

(read: Get off my case, I'm working on it!)

Winter Legs

So, I get that it's been a while since we've posted.  Just to prove we haven't totally ditched it, here's an unfinished post from April, followed by some more recent information and pictures.  Speaking of ditch, Edie came in the other day and asked if Dad or I have ever played ding dong ditch...Ummm, ya, when it was called nicky nicky nine door, and who taught our daughter how to play that?  And also FYI, it was mid-May when the snow finally melted last winter, and with the leaves changing color mid-August, we're all just holding out hope for a long, warm Fall.

This picture is from August- no snow. We have the cutest. kids. ever.

Happy Spring for real!

After 6 months of living in a deep freeze filled with snow, we have finally had a Spring day.  And the residents of this city are all walking a little taller, smiling a bit bigger and definitely wearing less.  I found myself shoveling snow yesterday (it wasn't as warm, but warm enough) in a T-shirt.  Today we took the kids for a bike/walk around the neighborhood, I am happy to admit that in my T-shirt AND skirt, my legs weren't the whitest. After 6 months of not seeing the sun, we get pretty bright skin around these parts.  We're not out of the wintry woods yet, it's going to cool off in a few more days, but we'll take all the 20+ degree days we can get even if they're sporadic at this point.

Pancakes and bacon got us through a very long winter.

So, we still like it here.  It's been a harder winter then the last, but we've gotten through it.  We had a visit from Nana Midge and Buppa Goldtooth in February, and have been keeping busy with all kinds of fun for the last couple of months.  Most notable fun, is the new addition to the family since January- Charlie, aka Charlie boy-boy, or Charlebois.  The girls are in love, Charlie is in...tolerance.  Celia's love for animals can barely be contained at this point, and she greets us every morning with "I'm awake!" and then runs over to Charlie and cuddles him while telling him that she loves him so much.  It's pretty fun to watch.  Charlie has gotten used to it, and he puts up with a lot of groping, and if he's fed up, he takes a spin around the top floor of the house trying to get Celia off his trail.  He and Edie are much more subtle.  There is not a whole lot of public affection but I do catch them snuggling on the sly, Edie says that she's giving Charlie 'some loving', and it's very cute.

Not exactly the field conditions Tim had in mind when taking this gig...

 Charlie is a 7 year old beagle who has spent most of his life in a nutritional lab trial at the U of S (i.e. housed in a kennel at the university).  When the trial finished just before Christmas, the university had to find owners for all of the dogs who were part of the trial.  We happened to attend a Christmas party at the home where Charlie was being held temporarily, until he was given a permanent home.  I was taken with him the moment I saw him and although it took a few weeks to convince Tim that we really could use a dog, we're so happy we took him.  He sleeps a lot, and now that the weather is warmer, he sleeps on the deck a lot.  He's so easy and seems to like us, or perhaps the super-duper food we're giving him- probably a good combination of both. There is no question about it, this dog lives for food.

Charlie

Tim's got his first semester of teaching under his belt, and has been successful in getting a number of grants to fund his research for a good while.  All in all, I think he's doing pretty well with this whole professional life. He's got lots of traveling and fieldwork coming up for the summer, so we'll see less of him, but it's been lovely having him around all winter.  The girls and I will be heading to NS to visit the family in June while Tim is gone for the month.  No complaints here.

I've kept up with triathlon training throughout the winter and am raring to go with races lined up for the summer.  I've been racing here and there with winter runs and even a skate/ski/run triathlon. Saskatoon is full of crazy people doing crazy things to keep sane during the winter months, and I love it.

Celia turned 2 in March, and boy oh boy, have we forgotten what 2 feels like.  There's a whole lot of development happening in a short time, and to quote Ramona Quimby in Ramona Forever, "I think it is hard work to be a baby".  She's a riot, and a party and the final 100 meters of a 1/2 marathon at times, and she fills up this house with personality.  It's hard to believe how much we love these kids in such a short time.

Springtime fishing expedition

On to more recent news

Tim had a very successful year academically, one of his big achievements was landing a 2 year research grant for work in the Great Slave Lake region (NWT).  He's made the trip up a few times, and we're hoping to get the family up there too, although probably not this summer, since this summer is effectively over next week now that we have a school-aged child.  While he was on one of his trips in June, the girls and I headed east for a few weeks with my family.  It was lovely to see my folks, and lovely to be home.  I miss the ocean, I miss the hills.  I miss what it smells like and tastes like to run in the fog in the early morning on the coast.  I hope I can keep milking an annual trip home out of our budget- it really does me good.  Great for the girls too.  Edie and Buppa fished almost every night, we explored and had a wonderful time just being with our folks.  We also got to see some great old friends, including my cousin Ryan and his family who live in Indiana, but were home visiting his folks- man, I love that guy.  Home is good.

Chef Dee

The rest of our summer has been filled with fun, for the most part.  Edie took part in a cooking camp and a dance camp with her friend Taz, they were both superstars and loved every minute.  The girls and I have been strawberry picking, swimming like there's no tomorrow, seeking out great parks and nature walks, and finding ways for me to get workouts in while still tending them- this can get tricky, but usually means a run to someplace with them in the stroller, then they get their fun, then run home.  No small task, but effective for getting a workout in.  We've also undertaken a few crafty projects this summer, including handmade slipper shoes and stuffed animals.  Fun stuff.  What I life I lead- I know the fun will have to end someday, but I will milk all I can out of this period.  I've managed to keep up a pretty packed schedule for triathlon racing this summer, I go big or go home generally, and took part in 6 races of varying lengths.  Turns out that I really like it, and the longer the race, the better I like it.  I suspected that swimming would be the hardest and worst part of the race for me, and was right, but by the time the run rolls around, I'm in the zone.  I've had great races, and awful races- the fun of the three sport race is the element of surprise- there are so many ways a race can go wrong for anyone, whether you're a seasoned vet or on your first race.  The last race of the summer for me was in Waskesiu, at Prince Albert National Park, it was my longest so far (1.5K swim, 62K bike and 13K run), I loved every 253 minutes of it.  We took a family vacation and stayed at a cottage there for the weekend, it was perhaps my favorite personal sporting event of all time.  I'd love to take that race in every year, and it makes a great vacation spot for us.  Crazy enough, I have no photographic evidence of any of my races.

Ceeley and her subject, PA National Park

Hey! We still like each other!

Observing

Dee and her subject, PA National Park

The girls in PA National Park

We're looking at an action packed Fall, with Dee starting school- yikes, Tim teaching 2 courses and taking a trip to China mid-semester, the girls are starting gymnastics and Celia and I are looking forward to some fun adventure-seeking together. Should be a slice.

Celia's newest trick

Congratulations to my big sister and her new husband who just got hitched, we're looking forward to a great celebration with you next summer.  Much love to you both.

Thanks to our 5 readers for keeping on us about our lack of posting :)  More pictures and stories to come, I promise!

Love to all, Laura