Happy No Tree....!!

You would think that the title of this post is kinda different for this picture.

Well, it's a little weirder. "Happy no tree" has absolutely nothing to do with this tree, any other tree, or no tree. It is Tristan's way of saying happy anniversary! It was James' parents anniversary a couple of days ago. Cathy phoned her parents to wish them a happy anniversary and gave Tristan the phone and told him to say it as well. It came out, "Happy no tree"! It was quite funny.

We are so blessed to have such good parents. They are so very nice and have sacrificed much for others, especially for their family. It is so nice to have parents whom you always feel loved by. Thank you mom and dad for all that you do. And thank you for the love you share for one another. You are wonderful examples to us. We hope you had a wonderful anniversary...or as Tristan puts it, a happy no tree!!

Chain Mail!!

I have no idea what I am doing. I was reading Theresa's blog, and she had me listed as one of the people tagged to do this. So, here we go...

5 years ago...
1. I was working for the Department of Highways.
2. I was single, but got married at the end of November.
3. I had finished my first year as a Heavy Duty Mechanic.
4. I was living in PA.

Things on my list for today...
1. rearrange our bedroom
2. make some Christmas crafts
3. fold my couple loads of laundry from yesterday
4. take care of our crazy kids

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. ice cream
2. hot chocolate (in the winter)
3. chocolate
4. haystacks
5. ice cream cake

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1. pay off the last of our debt including our home
2. invest in savings
3. help out family members
4. travel
5. the last on this list would be a secret


5 places I have lived...
1. Prince Albert
2. Lethbridge
3. Regina
4. Saskatoon
5. Medicine Hat
6. Edmonton
7. Wetaskiwin
8. Penhold
I was on a roll!!

5 jobs I have had...
1. filing in a doctors office
2. cleaned dr's house and office
3. waitress
4. mechanic
5. labourer and equipment operator

This is where I am supposed to tag people. At this time the only people I would know to tag have been tagged on Theresa's blog. So I am sorry but my little branch of tags stops with me.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me a little better. I have enjoyed reading others'!

Happy Halloween

My big Shrek and Little Red Riding Hood! We went trick or treating in our Close and down two streets. It took us 2 whole hours. But boy was it fun! The kids were so good. The weather was beautiful. Our neighbourhood was really nice. And of course our two little ones were sooo cute! Halloween has never been a favorite holiday of mine. However, with nights like tonight, Halloween may make some leaps to come close to the top. (Nothing will ever top Christmas though!!!)

Little Red, that we couldn't get to smile.

Enjoying some of the goods!!


Elwood and Betty. Our wonderful neighbours that welcomed us into the neighbourhood right away. They have been so good to us.

We went to our friends, Robin and Sarah Curtis', who are dear to our hearts, after trick or treating. We had a good visit with them while Aidan visited with their cat Purrsy (or Percy, I am not sure). Even their cat was in the Halloween spirit!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy birthday to my sweetheart!! He loves gummy candies. So, because of this we made dirt cake for him. Love you hun!

Wagon Ride

Marble Works

Tristan loved playing with the marble works that Corinne had brought up stairs. He was entertained for hours with this. Corinne, Dan, James and Cath all played with this when they were kids.

Silence...when there isn't supposed to be silence!

You know when there is silence in a room with children in it, and you are afraid of entering because you know that there is something either broken or permanently marked? Well, I guess it wasn't completely silent because I could hear Aidan giggling and splashing as I was putting her clothes away only 6 regular steps away. But Tristan was quiet. I knew there had to be trouble!! He got into the lotion on the back of the toilet. He sure had fun making faces in the mirror. I am sure glad he made the faces and sang his half hearted rendition of Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes mixed with Sponge Bob Square Pants It made the clean up a little more worth it!

July, 19th was the day that Aidan officially decided to crawl. She was 6 months and a day. Look out world!

SOLD!

While we were pulling into the parking lot of the funeral home in Moose Jaw, we received a phone call from Laura Sorenson, our realtor, telling us that our house was sold. Just over a week later, when the conditions came off we got our SOLD sign! For the record, we think Laura is the best realtor...Theresa and Lindsay can vouch for that. Laura helped us buy this house and then helped us sell it a year later. She also helped Theresa find their house.

My Sweethearts

James taught Tristan how to pick a flower and give it to mom. A few days later he decided to pick one for Aidan as well. What a sweetheart!! (Everyone needs to guard their flower gardens though because he doesn't understand that he can't simply pick any flower he wants to.) The flower Tristan picked for Aidan looks good on her!!

McKay's

Grandpa and Tristan munching and playing solitaire. A common sight at the farm.

Here they are chatting it up!
Tristan loved the quad. Here with mom...
...and here with dad.
Showing off how cute he is with his new cowboy hat. I love it!

He and Jett playing with the freshly laid gravel. Tristan was in heaven with all those rocks!

At the end of June we had a Hjelte family reunion at Speers, SK. We had a great time. We stayed in the Gold Eagle Lodge in North Battleford. They had a great pool there and a tasty continental breakfast. At the reunion we enjoyed the weiner dogs that were there. Tristan thought it would be neat to drive his truck down a gopher hole. Then he was shocked to find out that he might not be able to get it back. But thanks to his dad he was able get it and play with it again. Needless to say, he didn't do that again!! We went and saw the crooked trees. We had a great time visiting and getting to know family. It was unfortunate that a week later we were in Moose Jaw to attend Aunt Karen Hjelte's funeral. She passed away in her home on July 1st. I am so glad that we were able to have an enjoyable time with her at the reunion. (Karen is the lady on the left in the second row in the wheel chair).

Renos to our home

We renovated our bathroom in prepartion to sell our home. We have some before and after pictures here. As you can see we gutted the entire bathroom except for the ceiling. We sure learned alot during the whole process.

Randoms...of different things that are going on right now!!

A common sight. Tristan is always helping himself to the yogurt (sometimes multiples) out of the fridge. We are always finding the sticky tops that are covered in yogurt all over the floor. A little frustrating when you are trying to sell your house!!

The new sod in the front of our home!! Tristan always grabs his mower that grandma McKay gave him for his first birthday, and mows along with James. The funny thing is, Tristan is afraid of the noise of the mower. So he always has his eye on where the big mower is.

Aidan lounging with dad after church, and lounging in her jumperoo.

Family day at Finning! Theresa, Lindsay and their two kids came with us to James' work place in Red Deer. We toured the HUGE new shop, climbed up on some of the equipment, (James built the truck we are all on. The box was not on it though.), played with sword balloons, played with the excavator simulator, and had some hot dogs to eat.

Tristan is a 2 year old!

We celebrated Tristan's birthday party as a family. We will have a larger celebration when most of our family is here at the end of May. Tristan really doesn't understand that it is his birthday...or even what birthday is yet. We opened gifts in the afternoon when Cathy and James were both home. We played a little and had some supper. As we were having supper we noticed Tristan was falling asleep. So we quickly decided to get his cake for him so that he could at least have the experience of having his second year birthday cake. It was all set up on the counter beside him. I couldn't even get the two candles lit fast enough before he fell asleep. Both Cathy and James were trying to get him to stay awake. No luck. So we put the cake in front of him and sang happy birthday to him while he slept in his chair. Poor kid. Overall it was fun. Cathy made a pinata for him that we broke the next day. Tristan has sure been a wonderful addition to our family. He is turning into a great older brother. He has so much fun with trucks, tractors and machinery of any size. He loves animals, especially dogs whom he seems to think all are named Ruger. Elephants are referred to as Babar. Most of all he loves his family. It was a bitter/sweet time for us at Christmas time when he was away from us while I was in the hospital. It was obviously hard to be apart from him, especially at Christmas time. At the same time it was nice that he was able to stay with our families and get to know them all better. He sure loves every member of our family. Believe me. He mentions every one's names often. Thanks, by the way, for helping us during Christmas time (and every other time). It's so nice to have support from our family and friends. And happy birthday Tristan.

The kitchen, entry way and two bathrooms have black tile on them now. The living room will have a brown carpet in it.

The back without the deck.