Time to Relax!

I cannot believe how fast the last month went by. Today was our first day of holidays. We are looking forward to a very relaxing next two weeks! This will be our first Christmas in Calgary. We received packages from our parents yesterday. I cannot believe how much stuff we got. I guess I don't have to do any baking now. Mike is absolutely loving having a huge selection to choose from.
Today Mike and I went to buy a few more decorations for the house and ended up buying a Christmas tree. It was on sale and with our cats we decided to go with a fake tree, since they like to eat the needles. It is my first ever fake tree, so it is very strange. I will most likely go back to real next year. It feels a lot more like Christmas now though. Our cats have been good with it so far :)
We will post more pictures of the house once we get a few more of our decorations up. Next year we will have to start decorating a little sooner.
Happy Holidays!

December is Here!

Hello,

It is finally December and our winter holidays are just around the corner :) Two more weeks of work and then two weeks of vacation. This will be the first year we don't go back to Thunder Bay for Christmas. It was time for us to start our own traditions. It will also be nice to relax for the entire time, instead of worrying about getting to the airport, a 4 hour flight and rushing back and forth between visits. With all the busyness of going home, it is difficult to actually feel rested when holidays are over.

This year we will be having Christmas dinner at our house with a few other couples. Christmas Eve will be spent at a friends' house for appetizers. We also have a day of Christmas baking planned! Other than that, we have decided to just spend time at home and maybe a night or two in Banff.

My parents just booked a flight to come visit us in February. I am so excited since it has been over a year since they have been out. This summer we plan to drive back to Thunder Bay and spend a few weeks there visiting. We already have plans to book a camp. I am hoping that Thunder Bay has fabulous weather like this past summer.

I will upload some pictures of the house decorated for Christmas and post soon! Happy Holidays everyone :)

Mel

Our New Baby

We picked up the Equinox yesterday after work. We absolutely love it!!! Here are a few pics...

New Wheels

I have been awful at updating the blog lately...I don't know where the time has gone. Over the last few weeks Mike's truck has broken down a few times, so we made the decision to get a new vehicle. After going back and forth between used and new, we have decided to buy a 2011 Chevy Equinox. We are so excited to have something that we can rely on and I will feel much safer driving to work now. We get the vehicle this weekend and will post pictures as soon as we get it.


For some reason this won't show up as a link...

http://www.gm.ca/gm/english/vehicles/chevrolet/equinox/gallery-colours01

October Already?!?!

It has been awhile. I can't believe it has been over a month since I have posted anything. September was busy with school start up. Mike has taken a new position as learning leader at his school and has also decided to coach 15-17 year olds in hockey, on top of playing volleyball and tennis each week! Very busy guy, but he loves it. I am teaching grade 1/2 again this year and am loving work this year...even more than usual. I am finally starting to feel like I have things under control...only took 5 years hahaha.
This week we are going to try to spend time with our friends who will be moving to Australia on Tuesday! I am sure I will be crying my eyes out when they leave. They will be gone for two years and we are hoping that we will be able to visit them while they are there.
Mike's sister is getting married next weekend. We are so happy for Jen and Curtis. They are two wonderful people that deserve the best. Unfortunately we are unable to make it in for the wedding...I will anxiously be waiting for the pictures! Love you guys xxxooo

One More Week

Hard to believe that our summer holiday is almost over. It has been one of the best summers we have had. We had Mike's parents down for a visit, went to B.C. for a few days, spent some time in Thunder Bay with family and then had the rest of the time to relax and enjoy spending time around the house. We just had our fence done and I love it! It is so nice to have a yard. Next year we will be putting in a patio. Here are a few pics.

Thunder Bay Pics

Just a few pics from Thunder Bay.
The first picture is from my Auntie Karen and Uncle Jerry's camp at Lake Superior. You can sort of see the sleeping giant in the back. The second is of Mike, his brother A.J. and our nephew Brandyn looking for crayfish. We ended up finding a ton. The last two are from our fishing trip to Dog Lake resort. I will post more when I get back to Calgary :)

Great Start to the Holidays

It has been a great last two weeks. Mike and I had a fantastic time with his parents and are so happy that they were able to make it down to Calgary this summer. The first week we were out and about in Calgary. We went to the Farmer's Market, shopping at Cross Iron Mills, walked around Prince's Island Park, went to the Calgary Zoo and drove out to Banff for a day. Mike and his dad also went on a very long bike ride downtown and back.

At the beginning of the second week we headed to B.C. with Mike's parents to visit friends. It was a very long drive, but very beautiful. Mike and I went to Granville Island, Grouse Mountain, Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. On our last day in Vancouver we went to White Rock. I loved being near the ocean and it made me realize how much I miss being around water.

After driving back from B.C. we spent some time relaxing and playing games. Mike's parents headed out to Banff and Lake Louise and we ended off their visit going to the stampede. Here are a few pics from our trip to B.C.

Busy Summer Ahead

Hey everyone,
It has been a while since my last post. It has been pretty hectic the last few weeks. Looking forward to enjoying some time off and seeing family. Two more days left of work and then we are free! We are excited to have Mike's parents visit us at the end of the week. It will be nice to have them see our house and show them around the city. We are then heading to B.C. together for a few days. Then we will be heading home to Thunder Bay July 21 for a few weeks to spend some time with my family. We are excited to spend time on the lake. Last year was the first summer we missed at home. So it will be really nice to be back. I have a feeling July is going to fly by. I will try to post pictures throughout the month - I am sure there will be some great ones! Fingers are crossed that we have great weather this summer :)

24 more days :)

The weekend seemed to fly by as usual, but it won't be long until we are enjoying our two month holiday :) 24 more teaching days and 3 organizational days left. It will be a busy next few weeks getting the kids ready for next year and working on report cards. We also have two field trips this month - swimming and the zoo! Job postings will be coming out in a week or so and I will be looking to see if there is anything closer. Mike has even less teaching days left because of exams...and he keeps rubbing it in my face. Yesterday we met Daxton for the first time. He is absolutely perfect! I seem to always forget how small they are. Jen and Dale are doing great too. We made them a spaghetti dinner yesterday and then brought them dinner tonight as well. I will post some pics of Daxton next time.
Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend!

Much Needed May Long

I am so happy that this week is over. It has been full of meetings and presentations and I haven't been feeling well all week either. The week ended off with a Professional Development day which was spent learning new things to teach in class and presenting to the rest of my colleagues, which is a little intimidating. Came away from the meeting with a ton of great ideas though. Most people think that PD days are for our own time, but there is something always scheduled and most of the time I find it more work than having the kids all day. It will be nice to have a 3 day weekend. Mike and I are going to meet Daxton for the first time tomorrow and we are so excited!! Hopefully we will be babysitting soon :) Then we have dinner plans for tomorrow night. One of Mike's friends from work and her boyfriend are coming over for a BBQ. No big plans for the weekend...just a lot of enjoying and relaxing. The last little bit of school is usually crazy so I need all the energy I can get. I might even start on the final set of report cards this weekend. It is hard to believe the year is almost over. I couldn't imagine not having the summer off...so glad I chose teaching :)

Baby Hull is Here!!

Sunday morning we got the call that Jen was in labour and this morning at 2:33 a.m. she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. They named him Daxton and he weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces. They are doing great and I am so excited to get to meet him soon! Crazy how fast the 9 months went by and that my best friend is now a mom! He is going to be spoiled for sure. I already went out and bought him a few outfits today:)

S.A.L.T.S.

Hello,
Mike arrived safe at home Friday afternoon after a week long sailing trip. He had an amazing time and already wants to go back. He learned a lot about sailing and got to see a lot of cool things - jellyfish, crabs, porpoises, seals and starfish. Here are a few pics from his trip.

Long Week...

Mike left Monday morning on his sailing trip. I'm so jealous he doesn't have to be at work all week. The kids are getting crazy...only 7 weeks left of school. Not liking being at home alone, especially at night. We had a winter storm Monday night. The winds were really strong and it kept me up all night. I'm glad Mike isn't home to watch the Canucks...not looking so good right now. Hopefully he is enjoying some good weather. It is snowing again today and on the way to work I saw over 10 accidents and about 5 cars in the ditch. It is supposed to snow all day tomorrow too. Hoping that when Mike comes back he brings some good weather with him.

Crazy Week

Just over a week ago we had temperatures of about 23 degrees...absolutely beautiful weather...and now this week just above 0!!
Last night there was a winter storm warning and we got snow and really strong winds. This morning I left for work at around 6:30 knowing that the roads would be pretty bad. When I got to work at 7:30 the power was out in the building. So I waited for a while until other teachers showed up to talk about what the day would look like. Most teachers arrived and then the emergency phone line started ringing off the hook - parents wondering if school was still on. Our school board does not close down schools for anything - no snow days, nothing. So we went on with the school day. I had nine students in my class out of 20 and the power was out all day!! No lights, no heat, no phones...the kids even had to bring flashlights into the bathrooms. I couldn't believe it. But we survived. Seems that the area my school is in was the only area that was affected for so long by a power outage.
Mike has had a crazy week as well. Sailing meetings, parent teacher interviews and volleyball...and this weekend will be crazy for him as well with softball, a volleyball tournament and getting ready to leave on his sailing trip on Monday! We will have to pick up a few more things for his trip this weekend.
Only 7 more Mondays left until our summer holidays!!! We are looking forward to having some visitors and also to be going home for a while!!!

Beautiful Sunday

The weather is absolutely perfect. About 20 degrees with a light wind. Mike and I decided to spend some time outside without spending a ton of money. He took me to Prince's Island Park. It is a park that is located downtown right behind the Eau Claire market. This website has some great pics of the park. We will definitely have to go back when everything blooms.

http://www.calgaryarea.com/calgary_parks/princess_island_park/princess.htm

Last night we had a BBQ with Mark and Jill. It was nice to sit on the front porch and enjoy the sun. We had pork tenderloin, grilled peppers, baked potato and macaroni salad. Looking forward to spending more time outside :)

Time is Flying By...

It is hard to believe that I have been in Calgary for 4 years and Mike for 3. It seems like yesterday when Mike moved down to Calgary with me. Work keeps us busy, but it is always difficult being away from family. Hopefully we will be headed home for a visit at the end of July. I always want to go home, but then when we get there it only takes a few days before I'm ready to go back. I guess it makes a big difference because all our friends are in Calgary now.
Mike and I had a great weekend. We had a few friends over to watch the fight on Saturday and went out for lunch with some friends on Sunday. The weather hasn't been too nice lately. We had a snow storm last week and it has been chilly and windy for the last few days. Looks like things will warm up again by the end of the week.
Mike is starting to prepare for his sailing trip, which is coming up fast. He will be gone for the first week of May. He is looking forward to spending time off the coast of B.C...fingers are crossed for some decent weather.
The end of April also means that schools start planning for next year and decide what teachers will teach, decide on surpluses, etc. The postings also come out and I will be looking for a place closer to home this year if possible. Mike plans to stay at his school for another year at least. It is crazy that by April we already start planning for next year and ordering supplies. I just wish we could get through the next 10 weeks before focusing on a new start up.
Jen is getting closer and closer to her due date and we are all getting anxious to meet the new baby! I can't believe we have gotten to that age where everyone seems to be either getting married or having babies...it is kind of crazy!!
I will update after Mike's sailing trip and post some pictures of his adventures!
Cheers,
Mel (and Mike...who doesn't contribute to this blog anymore :)

Happy Easter!!

Mike and I have been absolutely loving our time off. It is so nice to just relax and not worry about school for a while. On Sunday Mike and I went to Banff for a night to celebrate our first anniversary. We had a beautiful loft suite and had a lobster and crab dinner at the Keg. The hotel room even had a fireplace in it. We didn't do much shopping, but enjoyed just being there and walking around. On Tuesday Mike and I went to the Muse concert at the saddledome. For those of you who don't know them - they sing the song from our wedding dvd called 'Starlight'. The concert was amazing - great light show and really good performers. Mike of course bought a t-shirt to add to his collection. I couldn't bring myself to spend $40 on a t-shirt.
On Thursday we went out with one of Mike's friends from work - she just moved into the neighbourhood beside ours. On Friday Mike went to the Hitmen game with Mark and his dad, while Jill and I had a night out dancing. Saturday we made our Easter dinner at our place and had Mark, Jill and Mark's dad over. We made too much food as usual - turkey, glazed ham, potatoes, gravy, cabbage rolls, stuffing, carrots and perogies!! and Jill made a delicious pie for dessert. Wish family could have been here with us. We have 3 days of holidays left and I am going to try to enjoy them as much I can because as soon as Wednesday is here it will be back to the same chaos...but only 3 more months till summer!! YAY!!

And We're Back!!

Okay...I know I said I was going to keep this up, but there hasn't been much happening besides work. Everything has been so hectic and I am finally feeling like I can relax for a bit. One more week of school until our break...a much needed break. Mike and I are looking forward to the Muse concert at the end of March and then hopefully do some things around the house.
Can't believe it has been a year since our trip already...we wish we were heading back. Hopefully we will get away sometime soon. We are looking forward to the summer already...only 3 months left of school :) I have been applying to other schools in hopes of getting something closer to home.
Anyways, I will update if anything exciting happens...but don't want to bore people with our day to day routines.
Mike and Mel