A little bitter today,,,

Spring is here which makes us soooo happy to be out and about and playing outside everyday. The mood has certainly been lifted all around and we are anxiously waiting for the trees to start showing their true colors!

We have watched quite a few ecological movies over the past week (hence the title), this is a good thing as we are learning more and more about the importance of nature and how disconnected we are as humans. It is nice for me that Judd & Aidan are also becoming aware of the issue facing us today and they both show genuine interest so I don't feel so alone in my pursuit for information.

This week we took a gander at

Into the Wild - a Sean Penn film based on a true story about a young man who becomes intolerant of society and ventures out to live with and off of only nature. His journey brings him into the wild of Alaska where the movie depicts some very valuable lessons. It is long and really has to be your type of subject but if it is, it is definitely worth a bowl of organic popcorn!

11th Hour - Although this movie was less exciting, Leonardo DiCaprio really did a wonderful job of putting a different spin on our environmental crisis. With some great scientific facts about how humans have an unfounded superiority complex over nature and some brave statements from environmentalist and ecologists alike it does its job well and has some great information

Shark Water - the most disheartening film Ive seen in a while but an important one at that. Depicts the story of how sharks are being killed at a rate of 15,000 an hour and are literally being wiped out due to humans mythical fear of them. It is a great documentary to learn about the prehistoric existence of sharks and how life on earth cannot be sustained without them. It has some shocking footage and I have to say that even with my desensitised mind to most horrific scenes this one hit me right where it hurts most...my heart. This made me so disgusted with our race and how we have become dictators of what species live and what species die all for meaningless profit. It is worth your money and worth your existence to watch and learn more about these crucial creatures.

With that being said, here is some happy news for us on the home front. Our bathroom is complete (aside from some caulking that will be done this weekend). Amazing how a journey to a completed bathroom has taught me how insignificant what my bathroom looks like, the paint color and aesthetics really are in the grand scheme of things. We are constantly learning over here, how to become more humble and less fixated on small things that really don't matter. We are grateful for our beautiful new bathroom and will enjoy it indeed! We used water based varnishes and no VOC paint for the bathroom as well and long behold they work! I actually found that I enjoyed the process more without the horrible smells and found the paint to work much better than the alternative.

Aidan is doing well, enjoying his increased time at home and the wonderful weather we are having. He is a good boy, we are very lucky to be his parents. Our family will grow soon in more ways than one (no Im not pregnant, I meant by others) and we are very excited about that!

Here are some pics of our new bathroom, take a gander and if you're going to be renting movies this weekend be sure to pick up one or all of the above mentioned! Happy Spring everyone!

PS - I wish I was a Sea Shepard!

Lots Has Happened Since We Last Spoke!

So I promise I am not trying to make it a habit to take so long to update this thing, I will keep trying to do my best and be more consistent for those loyal readers!

As usual we will start with the center of our little world Aidan! His 5th birthday went off without a hitch, I think we had just the right amount of kids show up so that it wasn't too crazy and they all behaved really well which was a bonus for the parents. It was nice to get to talk to his friends parents for more than a moment passing in the hallway at the daycare. The theme was Pirates and of course we went all out with decorations, a pirate cake, pirate hats & tattoos and of course treasure chest loot bags! We rented a bouncer which was WELL worth the money for how long it kept the kids occupied! Aidan had tons of fun and was in a daze for the rest of the day and had a bit of a birthday hangover the following day!

Soccer finished up and we will be going to the awards this weekend where he receives his trophy for participating...when I was little we only got one if we won, I guess times have changed and it's all about "participation" not "winning". Aidan is not a natural soccer player by far and was more interested usually in what was for half time snack but I think he had fun none the less and met some new friends. I think next year it will get a little more structured which would be better to watch!

Finally our little man officially started Kindergarten today! He was soooo excited and got dressed really fast this morning, put on his backpack and was ready to go! He seemed a little nervous when we got there but warmed up pretty quick when he saw his new teacher which he has been saying "Bonjour" to in the hallway for the past year! I can't wait to pick him up and see how it went!

Judd has been busy with home renovations and him and Papa have gotten so much done in the past few months! The entire exterior is prepped and ready for stucco. 11 new windows and a new front door have gone in and we love every single one of them! They even built a new little porch in the front off the deck to give us some room for shoes and jackets. It is surreal that this is all happening so fast, I am very lucky to have the father I have who was willing to help us do all this! I will post some completed pictures after the weekend as they will be done the porch then too.

Wedding preparations are still under way and I was able to pick out and purchase my wedding dress in 3 hours flat with the help of my mom and maid of honor! I didn't really feel like a bride until then but I sure starting acting like one after that! I also got my new engagement ring which we upgraded the color and downgraded the clarity so that we wouldn't have to pay any extra. I have to say I absolutely love this one, and although it is not the original it is definitely the next best thing (and much more sparkle).

We are busy gearing up for the Bud, Spud & Steak wedding fundraiser on October 13th trying to get all the tickets out and organizing prizes for the raffle. So far so good and we are really getting excited to see everyone all at once! As a bonus it turned out that recording artist David Usher is going to be playing a show right after and the hotel is giving everyone at the Bud, Spud a discounted price for his show! Hope you all got your tickets so you can join the fun!

Kneessa is really depressed as I have been home with Mono for the past 2.5 weeks and haven't been taking her for walks so she mopes around and gives me puppy dog eyes, although we have done plenty of bonding and she now loves to sleep right on top of me while I have one of my many naps! I was feeling a bit better but then found out I also got strep throat so I am now on antibiotics for that as well! Hopefully I will be good as new soon so I can get on with all this planning I have going on! I go back to work next Wednesday...what a holiday, I spent most of it in bed! Ichabod is much skinnier and is busy killing small animals for sport outside which we find mean and greedy of him but CANNOT keep him inside as he just continuously does his worst Siamese meow at the door until we let him out. If you've ever had a Siamese cat, you know there is no ignoring him.

Well I think that the gist for now! Thanks to those who continuously check and are interested in our lives! Like I said I will try to update more regularly for you! Maybe I will get Judd to start updating...yeah right!

Take care everyone!

Love, Judd, Sarah, Aidan, Kneessa & Ichabod

Hello my name is Sarah and I am a Procrastinator!

Well Hello to you all! So I was sitting here thinking maybe it's about time that I make an entry...or more an effort to keep you all updated on our little world here. I was shocked to learn that it has been almost 2 months since I last wrote...yeesh.

I have no excuse really and I am now wondering why time is flying by me so quickly. I have allowed myself to join an online community called Face Book where I have found mostly all of my old school pals and some long lost friends so I assume that is what has been eating up my computer time enough for me not to keep up. So without further adieu...the long awaited update!

Aidan has been busy as usual, he is so very excited that his 5Th birthday is coming up and is really grasping the idea that he gets to have a birthday party. He has already managed to invite half the neighbourhood, his entire soccer team and pretty much anyone else that will pay attention long enough for him to ask them. We are going to make it a special one as we feel this is a big milestone in his life and he will start a new chapter when he begins Kindergarten in September.

He is preparing for this next chapter diligently as his teacher has given him a portfolio full of preparation activities and he had his first meeting with a Literacy Links worker this past Monday. It is a program offered by the St.James school division to help pre-schoolers get interested in reading and involves the parents in helping them to develop their children's skill set. They also do a small assessment with letters, comprehension and preliminary math and give it to the Kindergarten teacher so she will know what level he is at before he even walks into class. We think it is a very involved, well thought out program but can't help but feel the pressure that Kindergarten with the St.James School Division has imposed on us. We are enjoying all the activities and books that they have given us and are attempting to take it not so seriously as we don't want Aidan to feel any negative emotion surrounding school. He has already charmed the lady that comes here as she left telling us that he is such a sweetheart and has such a beautiful face. It is amazing to watch him interact with strangers, he really knows how to woo people right away.

He has played almost all of his soccer games now and he will get pictures done next week. The last 2 games have been quite interesting as they are all getting much better at the game and it is much more exciting to watch. Aidan is definitely not a "natural" talent at soccer but he enjoys getting out there and really likes the social aspect...ahh our little social butterfly! He managed to score 1 goal in the first game and hasn't come close to a 2nd yet although before every game he tells us he will score "50 hundred this game" and yes we always instill the age old lesson "It's not about winning or loosing or how many goals you score...and so on"

He passed his first level of swimming and received the Salamander badge. He volunteered to be the first one tested and was the only child not to have to be told numerous times what to do or have the aid of the instructor, so we were very proud as was he. He is looking forward to receiving his Sun Fish badge this July.

Other than that he is busy being Aidan, drawing pictures for everyone, being a kid and having fun with life. He is talking a mile a minute to everyone who will listen and amazes us on a regular basis. We can't help but feel so blessed to have him and out hearts are always full when he is around. It sure is hard to stay mad at that little guy for long! He will have to prepare himself for we just got his daycare schedule for the summer months and they have a field trip scheduled almost daily so he will be really busy!

Judd and I are doing great. We are happy the nice weather is finally here and not so happy that we are getting so much rain...especially Judd as it delays precious working on the house time! The reno's are in full force and one quarter of the house has already been ripped of, insulated and is ready for stucco and siding. We ordered all new windows for the whole house which are coming in a few weeks thanks to Uncle Al so we are very excited to see those go in as currently we can only open 4 out of the 10+ windows on our main level and I can be a tad bit claustrophobic at times! I can't wait to see the finished result and Judd is having a nice time learning all this home renovation stuff with my dad. It's really nice to see them bonding and it's nice to have Papa around here more to talk to as we don't do that very often and tend to become very detached from each other. I am definitely in awe of my father as I watched him work in 30+ degree weather and humidity like crazy up on a scaffold hammering up plywood from 9 am until 6 pm only stopping once to eat a peanut butter sandwich. I can not even pretend I would be able to do that for half the time, those are the moments I am proud to have him as one of the halves that made me whole .

This is getting long so some other quick things are that I lost my engagement ring at the pool...luckily it was covered on our insurance and I will get to pick out a new one next week (2 rings without getting a divorce...lucky me!) I am hoping to get something similar to the original as I loved the one we picked out the first time.

We have booked out Bud, Spud and Steak for the wedding fundraiser (instead of a social) for October 13th so keep it open on your calenders as we would love to see everyone there! More details to come with that of course.

I have opted out of the Doula thing for now as the demand on my time was far greater than I was willing to give. My family is the most important thing to me and I have plenty of time to chase dreams a little later on. I found I was missing and was going to miss a lot of Aidan and I am not prepared to sacrifice much of that time when he is still this little. I am glad for the experience and I learnt a lot...it could still be something I may pursue further when I am able to fully commit to it.

The wedding plans are on their way, the photographer is chosen, the deposits for those who are coming are in and I will begin the ever so exciting task of picking out my wedding dress shortly and Judd's attire as well (although he is far less excited than I and just continually gives me high 5's when I talk about the wedding plans)

I am still swimming and have now added running to the roster...oh yes I will look good in a bikini in Mexico I am determined! Judd is not worried about his growing pot belly as he figures he will sweat it off this summer...hmmm should I be so lucky! We are both working and enjoying being parents (well most of the time)...We turned another year older and celebrated another year together (6 to be exact) and looking forward to a lifetime of celebrations to come!

Kneesaa is enjoying all the trips to the dog park and not enjoying that we have had enough of her teenage antics and are becoming more stern with her. Ichabod is MIA most of the time and usually only comes in to eat and enjoy the air conditioning for a "cat nap" He is looking trim and fit from chasing all the mice around outside.

That's it for us...I'm sure I missed out a lot but hopefully included the key highlights. Not too many photos as I haven't been inspired lately to take many, but none the less a couple to please the eye! As always we hope you are all healthy, happy and in good spirits and if not, know that we think of you all often even though our presence can sometimes be minimal. It is one of our shortcomings to be so busy all the time and one thing we are constantly trying to improve. Glad we can at least give little updates here and there, and love to hear back!

Love: Judd, Sarah, Aidan, Kneesaa & Ichabod


Ps - Thanks to Jason for taking the soccer pics of Aidan...we are lucky to have a friend that is a photographer!