Monday, November 26, 2007

We are ready to free the dog!

Sweet as he may look, he is very naughty. After installing the underground fence and having little Ditto trained to stay within it's boundaries or he gets a "slight correction" from his collar, we lovingly call it the ZAP, he has decided that freedom is better than the zap. So he just takes it, walks right on through, receives the zap and runs free chewing up neighbors garbage, jumping on small children and generally making all our neighbors love us! So on Friday Kevin and I installed the temporary chain link fence which is quite secure in our minds but not as expensive as buying all the posts and parts to the fence. So somehow Mr. Escapist has managed to get past the second layer of defense. We put the spies out after supper but of course then he wouldn't show them the way he was using to escape, so now we wait and decide how much we really want a dog.... or would he rather be FREE of our family entirely??

Saturday, November 24, 2007

A Hunting we will go

So today was the big day for one of my favorite Christmas traditions! We did our annual Christmas tree cut down in the "wilderness". I know it's early! Since the next 2 weekends are full for us, we figured it was now or it would be December 15th, and we all know what day that is! So off we went into the great outdoors and since there isn't much snow yet, only had to drive about 30 minutes.

We have had quite few adventures with the annual Christmas tree hunt since the tradition began for me the year I joined the family back when Kevin and I were dating and he face planted into a snowbank and I caught it on camera. Many waist deep snow piles have been forged and rainy adventures survived when we lived in Washington, to the year we got stopped up the mountain by a tree on the road only to be rescued by real prepared men with their chainsaws. And the year George was hanging off the side of a cliff in pouring rain getting the "perfect tree". Then there was the year 4 other families joined us for the ice slide down the hill backwards in our vehicles - something we care to not repeat. Then we got to see a motorhome do the same thing right beside our campfire, before it caught on fire and bullets inside started exploding. Lars got his photos on the news for that one!




2 years ago Kevin was in his leg cast and looked through binoculars from the road at the trees we were pointing at out in the forest to be included in the choices. Today was less eventful in terms of fire engines, but was a beautiful mild day. It was Ditto's first look at ice and a skiff of snow. We tromped over hill and dale and bush-wacked a fair bit, only to find our Christmas tree right by where the van was parked on the way back. The kids had to wrestle a few weiners away from Ditto, and both cut down their own little trees for their bedrooms. We all came home tired, happy and full of hot chocolate.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Happy American Thanksgiving

For us semi-Americans, only because we lived there once, have a child who is an American and I have a husband who works on the American work schedule... hope this weekend is wonderful for you! We don't have the shopping bonanza they do down there, but with Kevin being off Thursday through Monday, we're taking advantage!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Welcome to my World

So, I think I am going to start a blog. Kevin thinks it'll be one more thing on my to do list, but I so enjoy reading my friends' blogs, that maybe they'll like reading mine, or at least looking at the photos. I thought maybe he could come up with the title for the blog, and then I wouldn't ask him for any other help, since he is the creative one. So I am taking suggestions for a title, since he doesn't care. And really this whole thing isn't going to be about him.