After a long and heavy day we just made the time to do it

Today was just a beast of a day. It was long and heavy and full of hard things. Locked out of the strata's email, fence blown down from the storm, lots of driving, year end work at VIU, strata meeting prep...and all on not a great nights sleep! Not to mention Dr Henry's news conference today with more strict Covid restrictions coming our way. :( 

The day started early with the kids first day at daycare/spring break camp so we were out the door earlier than we are on school days, then work, then to pick up the boys, do some strata work, pick up KJ, more strata work, chat with my sister, make and feed kids dinner, virtual strata meeting...just another long and crazy day for me! Plus Jim only got home at 6 and had to turn around and leave again at 9 (don't ask, messy shift schedule this week on Texada). 

My meeting ended at 8 and KJ was sound asleep when I went up to check on her. As tired and hungry as I was and really wanted to just sit on the couch and visit with Jim for a few minutes, instead I decided I really needed to get in a quick walk and feel the cold air on my face for even just a few minutes. James asked if he could come with us but he had to stay home with the other kids and even when he suggested he come and Jim stay home, his dad replied with "no way buddy, I haven't seen Mom all day and I want to spend a few minutes with her before I have to leave again" It was a super sweet and touching moment and I was so happy to get bundled up and do our little 15 minute loop around the neighbourhood. 

That 15 minutes was the perfect ending to a stressful and hard day. I am going to bed with a huge smile on my face knowing how much I am loved and how much I love him, and once again really proud of how far we've come. We are putting in the work and we are seeing the benefits of that hard work every day. We are making the effort to connect and spend quality time together and it is making all the difference in the world for us and our family. 

Making time for us ❤️

I wrote a post back in January about how much Jim and I are working hard on our marriage and making time for each other, even if it's just an hour here and there. We really enjoy these short times together and come back feeling so refreshed and connected. 

Yesterday we escaped for an hour long walk through the Penticton trails and it was beautiful! No whining kids and time to just walk and talk and laugh together. We are in a new stage of our lives together and we are both loving it! For years our life was so stressful and so busy and these covid times have forced us to slow down a lot and I don't know that we'll ever go back to being as busy as we ever were before. I love this new slower pace of life we are living now. We're making time for each other and the health of us as individuals and our marriage has proven to be a real positive to our overall life together. 

It was the weirdest weather day yesterday...rain, sun, clouds, hail (not where we were but heard from friends it was crazy in other parts of town!) We timed our walk perfectly and the sun peaked out just as we got started on our walk.

I love this guy who is always up for a random trail selfie with me! 💕

2021 Crib Tournament - how many games can we play in 365 days?

If you know us at all you will know that Jim and I's favorite way to spend quality time together is to play crib. He taught me how to play when we had only been together less than 6 months and we have played thousands of games together over the years.

This year for our anniversary we splurged and bought this awesome huge crib board off of Wayfair. It comes with a stand that you can use between two chairs but we tend to use it on a table between us instead. It was not cheap but we both agree that it was our best purchase of the whole year! We both think that we played more crib in the last 6 months than we did in the last 2 years. 

Before we had kids we used to write down all of our crib games and even played for points/money (which we never actually gave each other). This year we decided to do a year long tournament with each point being worth 5cents (10cents for each hole if skunked!) Then on January 1, 2022 we'll tally all of our games and see who the ultimate money and game winner is. Then that person gets to go and spend that money on whatever they want....with zero guilt! 

This photo was from our first time playing on the new board! Funny story, it arrived to PR after we had left to Texada for camping, but our awesome friend Dena grabbed it from our porch and brought it over to us when she came for a daytrip visit!

We stole away to Lund the other day for a lunch date (thanks Nana and Papa for taking the kids) and the Boardwalk Restaurant has crib boards so you can play while you wait for your food. Jim kicked my ass and skunked me :( 

This is what a lot of our games here at home look like. A child, or two, around coloring or playing on their tablets or eating. They like to be where we are and we don't mind that one little bit. 

Jim says if yesterday is any indicator (I lost both games we played...I'm not off to a good start) then we should call it the 2021 ass-whooping extravaganza! This was from New Years Eve when he kicked my ass horribly (probably my worst loss in a long time!) Thankfully this skunk doesn’t count as we started the tourney on January 1 😉

Note: I started writing this post yesterday afternoon after we’d played two morning games that I lost, then last night we played two more and I beat him good both games! Not quite a skunk but still both games had significantly more points! 

My bet is on Jim winning this whole thing, but you just never know how the year will play out!

I’d like to think he’d be proud of us...

Jim's Grandpa Doug was a very special part of our lives in the early years of our relationship when we lived in Nanaimo before moving to PR. Him and his wife Doris were very supportive of us and helped us out whenever they could. They lent us their truck for date nights and grocery shopping, they had us over for dinner, and even came in the middle of the night to take me to the hospital when I had a Crohn's attack and Jim was out of town working. 

When we announced we were getting married Grandpa was sick with cancer and while he didn't want to do chemo he committed to it anyways. He said he would do anything to be at our special day. 

We asked him to do the sand ceremony during our wedding and we were so grateful he was able to do it. Just two weeks before the big day he called us one day with barely any voice and said he wasn't sure if he was going to be well enough to do it after all. A side effect of the chemo had left him with very little voice. We were heartbroken but hopeful that somehow he would be able to do it. 

Fast forward those two weeks and he showed up for our wedding weekend looking and feeling great and so excited to be part of our special day. Doris even told us how he had spent the day before they came making that special folder with our names on it to to hold the words to the sand ceremony. We still have the folder to this day and it holds those words, plus our wedding vows and other wedding mementos.

This part of our ceremony is truly the one that holds the most memory for Jim and I and it was all because of Grandpa. 

One of my favorite photos of all time. 

Sadly just a few weeks after our wedding Grandpa called to say that he was done with chemo and was ready to go. He died less than 3 months later and while his death was such a sad time in our lives we both love him so much and are so grateful for the personal sacrifices he made in order to be there for us. 

Grandpa's wife Doris is such a special person in our lives, even to this day. When Grandpa was dying in the hospital Jim made sure to tell him that we would always be there for her and she would always be part of our family, and she absolutely is. 

This trip down memory lane was brought on after I posted those photos the other day of our family and how much it's changed since that day we got married. Grandpa was such a big part of our day and his memory lives on for Jim and I very deeply. 

When I looked at the pictures of our family growing and changing year by year and I was thinking of Grandpa, what came to mind was that I would like to think that he would be proud of us and the life we've created for ourselves. I know for sure that he would have absolutely adored our kids if he'd been given the chance to meet them. I think he would have gotten a real kick out of Jordie as he's so much like Jim personality wise. And of James because he's such an odd combination of Jim and I. And of Kennedy just cause she's hilarious and just like her Mama. 

He was such a special man and I feel so very fortunate to have been a part of his life even if it was only for a short number of years. I do believe he's out there somewhere watching over us and smiling down on us as we go about our daily lives. 

True Love Tuesday

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have Crohn's disease. I've been very fortunate for the past several years that it has stayed mostly at bay, with just some random days/weeks where I feel kinda crappy, but overall no big flare ups since the year I got pregnant with Kennedy. I had a bowel resection surgery a few months after James was born so just over 9 years ago and I always said if it kept it away for 20 years I'd be happy, so we're half way there. 

Anyways, all that to say that these are some photos I came across while doing the basement clean out. The first one was when we first got together, and the second was three years later when I was deep into a flare of Crohn's and had been on prednisone for months. It's funny because when I looked like that Jim said he never even noticed it, I guess because he saw me every day, but wow, what a difference a few years can make. That's why the post is called True Love, because it's gotta be true love to not notice that your wife to be looks like a swollen balloon. I'll never forget the look on my dad's face when I walked off the ferry a few months before that photo was taken and he was shocked to see me (remember back when there was no FB, digital photos or things like Facetime, so my parents would go months between visits with no idea what I looked like!)

2003 vs 2006

Then here I was not quite 1 year later...after a lot of walking and eating healthy, and stopping the prednisone, losing the water weight and getting medications straightened out that helped my Crohn's finally. I think I went down almost 25 lbs from August 2006 when the photo was taken until August 200 when we got married. 

Bear Mountain Resort weekend getaway

This post has been a long time coming and has some great photos of an amazing weekend that Jim and I had with Ashleigh and Sean way back in May! We escaped all of our kids and took off to the Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria for 3 nights and it was glorious. We ate when we wanted, drank as much as we wanted and slept in with no kids to wake up and take care of it. It was definitely one of the most fun weekends I've had in a long time!

We tavelled over to Comox by ourselves because we were taking our van to the Dodge dealership for  a repair. It was so strange for us to be in the vehicle alone...that almost never happens in our world!

Here are the boys admiring the view from our room

Looked right down onto the putting green

We had adjoining rooms that made it one big large suite. This was the kitchenette in our room

Our room had two beds...then beside this room was a large kitchen/living room area with a bathroom, and then Sean & Ash's room was adjoined to that living area. 

We went for a walk to check out the pool at the resort. 

Oh and for some of us to try out the gym...hahahahaha

Then we went to do some shopping...and I convinced the boys to try on these awesome short shorts. I was laughing so hard that I was crying...and the sales lady thought we were all crazy!

Back up to the resort to get changed to go out for dinner and drinks

I had a fair amount to drink that night and was having a great time!

Off to the pool for a little late night swim!

Jim snapped this funny photo of Sean that night too!

Beautiful weather for the boys golf round that morning

Highlight of my day...sitting alone drinking my tea in the sunshine!

Here is a shot from the course

Ash and I were in our room when the boys hit the 18th hole so we were able to watch them finish the hole from our balcony.

After golf we did some more shopping and enjoyed these massage chairs outside of Winners

Hahahahahaha...highlight of the weekend was Sean trying on my new and very comfy onesie pajama romper that I had bought! 

Up and ready to go for their second day of golfing!

Second day of spa treatments commencing! Ash got a pedicure and I got a hot stone massage.

Eating some super yummy crackers while enjoying the sun on the patio after my treatment

The view from where Jim & Sean ate lunch after their golf

The view of the hot tub from the spa patio

A great photo of the T's before we headed downtown for dinner with their friends Derek & Laura.

A little group elevator selfie

Harbour sunset

Late night card playing for the boys

Some more golf photos from the boys

Overall it was a fantastic weekend and one that I would love to do again sometime! It was so great to just be husband and wife again, instead of just mom & dad. Plus we always have so much fun hanging out with Ash & Sean! :)