Our Life These Days

The big news in our lives right now is that we bought a house! It's not quite official yet--we still have to have the inspection done. We somehow missed the work of having to view dozens of houses before we found one we liked. We really only looked at four--and the other three we didn't even need to walk into to know we didn't want them.

We looked at this house on a Saturday afternoon. I thought that would be the end of the adventure. But throughout the week we found that we kept talking about the house.

So on Friday we walked through it again with our friend Jack who knows a lot about houses. He gave the thumbs up.

Now, if you know Jon and I, you know that we talk about EVERYTHING--sometimes we probably talk too much, weigh the pros and cons for too long, deliberate until there's nothing left to deliberate about. We don't jump in. We test the water with our pinky toes and then talk about the that test for weeks before we let our big toes into the water. Okay, maybe we're not that bad. But it was a bit out of character for us to make an offer on Friday night. Sometimes, though, you're just ready.

Well, we heard back from them on Saturday evening. We did all of the haggling and negotiating. And things were not looking so good. We had to crunch more numbers to see if we could go any higher. I, being the dreamer in the relationship, was convinced that we could. Jon, being the realist in our relationship, was convinced that we couldn't. We opted for realism and put in our final offer. I expected a phone call within 5 minutes turning us down. But the phone didn't ring. And it didn't ring. When it finally did ring, they said they needed more time.

So we waited. And waited.

And just as we were walking out the door for church on Sunday evening, the phone rang. And it was good news!

I think I am still in shock! At the end of June, we are moving into a cute little semi-bungalow.

Other than that, we are continuing to try to get bike rides in. (On Saturday we burned off some of the anxious waiting time by riding 60 km).

And we are continuing to have fun watching Laurel change and grow. Here is a little video that I like to call "fun in the kitchen."

Me Think She Doth Protest Too Much

Laurel has just developed the art of saying "no" and has displayed that talent quite a few times today.

And Just Like That...

The buds are on the trees in the river valley.

Laurel is suddenly signing "more," "please," and "all done."

Her naps went from a few short power naps to two long naps a day.

She wants to stand and walk along the furniture.

She had a bit of a face plant...okay, a big face plant...today.

She's got lots more teeth than she did three weeks ago.

She likes to swing at the park.

I'm pretty sure she said "mum" and "Dada" yesterday.

We aren't doing the bike trip, per se.

But we are doing a different bike trip. (same weekend, different route, no fundraising!)

And just like that, life keeps moving by quickly.

TGIF

Well, friends, it's been a long week. We started strong--Jon took Monday off, and we had a bit of a family day. But Tuesday brought with it the challenges of a teething baby. Added to her discomfort is the fact that she is ready to explore the world, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of crawling. So, she gets frustrated that she can't move around or she ends up pushing herself backwards and gets backed into furniture or walls. Much of this week has involved her crying.

And she quit nursing, cold turkey. Just like that, she was done, wants nothing to do with it. That brings interesting challenges for mom.

Last night we watched our friends' 3 month old daughter. Laurel was fascinating by this little baby. She might still have a few things to learn about how to be a good friend, though, because every time little Ruth cried, Laurel laughed. Laurel seemed fine with the fact that her parents were spending time with another baby...until I put Ruth in the sling. Then Laurel was some upset!

Well, it's Friday. And Fridays are good days, even when the week has been tiring. And this Friday brings with it sunshine and warm weather, painted toe nails, promises of a long walk outside, and a babysitter tonight so that Jon and I can go to a movie.

Here's to Friday!

Holy Smokes

Jon is sitting at the kitchen table, pouring over a calendar, trying to figure out how to get in the miles of training he needs for the bike trip. I just heard him say "holy smokes...what have I done to myself?"

I can relate.

I made my training schedule two days ago.

We discovered over the weekend that the trip is not 300 km over 3 days. It is 400 km over 3 days. And they say we should be able to maintain 20 kph.

Are we crazy? Is it even possible?

The first two days are 140-150 km each. Um...last weekend I did a 30 km ride and was tired for the whole day.

(Jon is shaking his head).

Should we bail?

I know there are other trips we could sign up for, but this one is with our family. (By the way, family, if you guys decide you're not doing it, you MUST let us know as soon as you decide).

So. I have broken my training into bite-sized pieces. Each week I add 50 km to my total, so that by 2 1/2 weeks before the trip, I have a total of 300 for the week. And each week I do a longer ride, so that I will have done a 100 km ride before the trip. That's all happening in the next six weeks. (I ask again, are we crazy?) And the hard thing to swallow is that even with all that training, the trip itself will still be way more than we've ever done.

I might be panicking right now.

On Wednesday I did two hours on the trainer. People, I have other things to do during the day--like take care of a 9 month old girl!

You can track my weekly kilometers over on the side of this blog.

Here's hoping this all works out!

Easter on the Prairies

We spent Easter weekend in Saskatchewan. It was a beautiful weekend--I was even able to get outside for two bike rides. By Sunday afternoon, though, it had gotten colder and windy. We had a few minutes to snap Laurel's Easter pictures. I love the contrast between the bright colors of her dress and basket and the duller colors of the earth. I also love the drama of the sky behind her.

We moved into the yard to block the wind. Notice that she has an Easter toque, not an Easter bonnet.

And I got a few fun shots with Jon and Laurel.

Then we moved inside.

The weekend was fun and relaxing. Laurel enjoyed being with her Grandparents and seeing her cousins for a short visit. For Easter, she got a new tooth!

We also found out more details about our bike trip...and things are not looking so good! (More on that tomorrow)