Well, everything at work came to a head last Friday. After much consideration this past weekend, I decided to leave the job. Let's just suffice to say that it wasn't a fit for me at all. I had originally thought that it would a great fit and everything seemed to happen so fast that it just had to be the right place for me to be...alas, it wasn't. I was still on probation so I could leave without notice. Part of my decision to leave was that this week is very busy as we are planning to leave for family camp on Friday and it's good to stay home and get laundry done as well as get things organized as far as packing and stuff is co'sncerned.

So my two best friends, from back home, came to visit me yesterday!!! It was way cool to have them here and visit and laugh and drink coffee. The only thing I can say is that it was too short. It's always too short but always lot of fun too.

I guess I need to go now and take my step-kids to visit their mom right now. She is getting grumpy, which I think is great, because she is hungry and therefore getting better I think. She did have a blood transfusion yesterday and says she feels a little better today from it. Anyhow, until next time.........

A wild last couple of weeks!

I know it's been a long time since I have posted on here because it's been really busy and a little stressful on the home front. Joanne has been hospitalized since Monday with severe abdominal pain, severe dehydration and an infection in her insides. She has been in severe pain for five weeks now probably from the infection. Anyhow, she remains in the hospital (maybe two weeks or more) until her infection is completely gone or they do surgery to take out her bowel. She opted out for the hospitalization. We all hope that she gets better quickly as she has a trip with the kids booked for Aug 7-25 to Nova Scotia. If she isn't better by then, she will send the kids by themselves for the family back home to enjoy.

On another note, Kelvin, myself, Clayton, Cody, and Sam have a trip booked to Toronto for Aug 4-9 for Kelvin sister, Krista's, wedding. We are all going to fly out there and enjoy some time with Kelvin's family a little before the wedding and take Krista's kids on some day trips with us.

Work is going good for me. It's different being the last one home from work with all waiting for me.

Last week we had Clayton, Cody, and Emma at camp and this week we have Maggie and Sam at camp. We pick them up today after work and have the BBQ with them and then they come home. July 25th after work is when family camp starts. We all go there for ten days minus one so that we can come back early and get ready for the Toronto trip. I'm looking forward to this as always because it is where my beloved and I met. It's a special time for our family and we will all enjoy it very much.

Well, I think that's about all caught up from last time so until next time.....

So we're back and everything is almost back to normal. On Sunday after church, we took three of the six kids to youth camp. That leaves three of them here. Clayton, Emma, and Cody all went to youth camp while Daniel, Maggie, and Sam are here. Daniel didn't want to go to camp this year so he's just going to stick around and this Sunday, Maggie and Sam are going to kids camp. This will be Sam's first year to go and he is currently very excited about it. He's been going to family fun camp at our local Military Family Resource Center this week as Daniel and Maggie leave to go to their mom's after breakfast. He really loves it! They get to go swimming and see movies at the 4 Wing Theatre....lucky dude!

Work has been pretty busy the last little while and that has made the time go very quickly. I like it when times goes fast when I'm working!

This past Sunday I managed to completely butcher a hymn in church. I was lead instrument with the pipe organ sound and it was pretty bad. I told the leader that I haven't played in quite a while and I wasn't comfortable playing lead with such little practice. Oh well, you can't say that I didn't warn him. We have cancelled Thursday night practices for the summer and only practice for about an hour Sunday morning. That's just not enough for this green horn!! It's really alright cuz I never claimed to be perfect anyway....now EVERYBODY knows it!!

Well, I better get ready for work now. Until next time.......

This is the badland near Terracotta (sp) just south of Georgetown where Kelvin grew up.
Forks of the Credit river.
Bell's Falls
The infamous Niagara Falls
This is our ride on the Maid of the Mist boat that took us incredibly close to the falls.

It was a very nice trip to go on and it made me realize how much of a country bumkin I really am!!!

Our trip

Ok, so we're back from Toronto and visiting Kelvin's family. It was a pretty good time that we had too. Toronto and the rest of the GTA is pretty huge for this country bumkin so the amount of people was, to say the least, a little overwhelming for me.

The first night I stayed with my Uncle in downtown Toronto and had a nice visit. He has this really cool bed that comes out of the wall and is uber comfortable. I had a good sleep that night even though I lost two hours just going to Ontario.

The next day I met Kelvin at Union Station where he came by Via train. We boarded the Go Train to Bramalea and then a Go Bus to Georgetown where his mom lives. We visited with her until that Thursday while catching up with all the folks that still live there and remember Kelvin growing up. We did a day trip out to Terricota (sp?), the bad lands, forks of the credit river, and Bell's Fountain. It was very pretty there. The best thing about Georgetown is that we actually had to leave Toronto to get there. Everything is so much all one big city that we never seemed to leave Toronto to get to the next city. Georgetown is pretty rural and a very beautiful place...it was my favorite by far. It was also way cool to see where Kelvin grew up and meet some of his friends that are still there. It's a whole side of Kelvin I've never been able to see before last week....pretty nifty!!

On Thursday, Kelvin's mom left for her road trip and Kelvin's dad came to pick us up and we spent the rest of the week with him and his wife. They live in Etobicoke (which is really Toronto) and only about 10 minutes from the airport. Kelvin's dad is a retired Air Canada worker and so it was really nice to be able to get him to give us the drive to the airport when we needed to go.

While we were in Etobicoke, we were able to take a day trip to Niagara Falls with his dad and step mom. It was the second time that I've been there and it was just as beautiful the second time. This time, Kelvin, myself, and his dad went on the Maid Of the Mist boat tour. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. They bring you so close to the falls that you can't help but be completely in awe!! I will try and post some pictures when I get them. Kelvin took them on his cell phone and I have yet to upload them to my computer but when I do....

Yesterday, we went to the Canada celebrations at the beach. It was totally loaded with people like usual and a good time was had by all. We all got sunburned a little but nothing that will keep us from anything. The fireworks last night were truly awesome and again there were thousands of people there taking it in. I love Canada Day in Cold Lake!!!!

Today, is the first official work day for Kelvin as a Master Corporal. He got his promotion officially for June 30 but that was the day we were travelling back from Ontario. He had to sport his new rank this morning before he left for work....looked good on him too!! The part that I don't like about it is that, he will have to go to Borden, I think, at some point to do a course. This course is seven, yes seven long weeks of 14-16 hour days away from all of us. I'm hoping that they won't get on that too quickly and maybe he won't have to go before next April when he has the opportunity to retire from the military with his pension and do something else. He isn't looking forward to it either as it is a super hard course that is brand new and long.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I best be getting ready for my first day back at work after my holiday. The kids are all still sleeping and it's so nice just to have peace and quiet while I do my morning routine. I hope this continues since I was thinking that I would lose my quiet time now that school was out...perhaps if I stay really quiet.......

Until next time.......