Here and Now

We've been traveling down memory lane for a long time now.  I thought it'd be nice to blog about the present for a change.  Things are crazy around our house lately.  We have been renovating the house.  We got our permits approved and got started with the demolition in July of last year.  What exactly are we doing, you ask?  Well....renovating!!

It has taken it us a lot longer than we had hoped to finish, and it doesn't help that our plans have been tweaked and changed all along the way either.  Regardless of the craziness we have had a wonderful few months.  We had our Webster reunion again in July.  This time we went to a B&B in Mountain View.  Thanks to the Jim Steeds for all their hard work!  It was the perfect place for the reunion.  We had this big cabin and another smaller one.  We played games, hiked, went shooting, went golfing, had a talent night, had a baby shower for the twins, went for ice cream, had lots of bonfires, went canoeing, ate LOTS of food, and all the adults did a session at the temple.  It was sooo much fun!!

Here's the whole clan!  See how happy we all are?

The rest of the summer was fun also.  Maren and Blake did well with swim club again this year.  Blake brought home quite a few ribbons.  They are improving every year.

The kids started school in September and Micah was especially excited to start Preschool.  Evy is doing well in Mr D's class in Grade 2.  Blake is in Grade 5 this year, and Maren has made the leap to JR HIGH!  I still can't believe it.  She is a good student and does well in her classes...except for social...but we're working on it.  She is enjoying jr high, especially things like Home Ec and Shop and all the new things she's learning in Gym.  It was an adjustment to have so many different teachers, lockers etc.  but she has adjusted well and is all about having fun with her friends!

In October we drove out to Vancouver for Cindy's wedding .  It was beautiful!  She was a lovely bride and the wedding and reception were wonderful.  She is doing well and loving married life.  We are always happy for excuses to be with family and this time was no different.  Here's a shot of the happy couple.

In November the Twins were born!  Yaaaay!  Dan and Andrea waited a long time for these 2 cute little blessings.  I think I my be addicted to them.

Some of my favorites

Today I decided to post some of my favorite pictures of the kids growing up.

This is gonna be fun!

I am starting here because we didn't start using a digital camera until Evy was born.  I don't feel like scanning pictures today, although someday I will get them all scanned.

Happy baby girl!

Blake made this face A LOT!!  Every time you asked him to make a funny face....this is what he did!  I am so glad I got a picture of it.  Actually, I have 3 or 4!

As I am typing this and reading the date on the picture I am realizing that it must be wrong.  There is no way that Evy is 6 months old in this picture.  Maybe she is?  Still cute though.

The kids wanted to help me clean the bathtub...I think we all look great!

We took a trip to Washington to see my friend and her family.  They took us to this fun farm where you could visit all sorts of animals, play on these tractors and they had a playground too.  It was so fun!  Don't you think Blake looks hilarious behind that HUGE wheel?

No more Front Teeth! She was in Kindergarten when she lost these.

I Love this picture....they really look like they love each other!!  I know they do.  And look - those teeth are starting to grow back in!  I think this picture was taken when we were in Waterton for our first Webster Jam!  That was a fun time!

Here is one of all 3 of them.  I swear I have the cutest kids in the world!!

Here is our family picture from the first Webster Jam in Waterton 2004!

Ahhhh....swimming lessons.   We have taken LOTS of these pictures over the years!  Congrats guys!!

This picture was taken at the old 'Ton of Fun' place in Lethbridge.  The kids used to love to go there and play on all the jungle gym equipment.  What a cutie!!!!

This is at the lake in Kelowna.  We love visiting Gramma and Grampa Brinton in Kelowna...especially because they only live 1 block from the beach!

Same day....different kid.  Remember when Evy would suck her thumb like that?  On a side note....please notice how CLEAN and NEW Lamby is!!  I really should post an after picture...but I am too embarrassed.

Evy has always been an entertainer....she keeps us laughing all the time.  She loves to perform and have her picture taken.

The last picture and the next one were taken in Waterton.  We LOVE going to Waterton with Gramma and Grampa.  We usually have a picnic, play in the water and at the park, try a little hike or walk, and it wouldn't be right if we went to Waterton and didn't stop for Ice Cream!  What a cute bunch!

Maren's First Day of Grade 1....

And Blake's first day of Preschool!!  Ahhhh!  I can hardly stand this!  I want to roll back the clock and hug and squish these little people.  Time just marches on...I need to take more time to appreciate all the little moments that make up our memories!

If memory serves me right, after the kids went to school, mom and I  left for the airport in Calgary so we could fly to China.  I went with her to help her pack up their stuff to ship it all home.  I think we were gone for 3 weeks!  Wow!  Has it really been that long since we went?

Oh, Curious George!  Mrs. Court let each child in her class take Curious George home for a weekend.  They were supposed to take VERY good care of him, do lots of fun things with him, and then write in a journal about everything they did!  All the kids have loved doing that.  Except Micah...Mrs. Court retired this year,  so he won't have the chance to have her for a teacher.

There's that hilarious smile again!  Can't you see the mischief behind those smiling eyes and silly grin?

THIS was our FIRST Wacky Wednesday.  Every year at school they have a day called Wacky Wednesday and all the kids can come to school dressed Wacky.  Blake and Evy wanted to get dressed up too, even though they weren't going to school.  Crazy Kids!

After school they went outside to play in all the puddles from the crazy rain we were getting.  They really Ham it up when they know the camera is watching!

This was a fun day....we stayed overnight at the Sheraton in Calgary(I think this was the first time we had really stayed in a hotel with them), played in thei waterpark and then the next morning we went to the zoo.  I think that's the last time we've been to the zoo.  Evy and Micah were just asking me yesterday if we could go to the zoo this year.  I guess we have an activity planned for the spring/summer!

Evy as the shepherd in the Nativity.  She was sooo darling...I am glad we got video of this too.  Oh, and you can see my huge pregnant Micah tummy in the background - nice!

And here is Micah, finally!  2 Brothers meeting each other for the first time!  I love it!

What a chubba wubba face!  I still squish it and kiss it EVERY DAY.  He hates it when I call him my baby boy...but my baby he will always be!  That's the breaks when you're last!

What's more fun in the summer than the Sprinkler under the trampoline?  This is back when the pad for our trampoline still looked good and was usable...it's long gone now!

This is one of my All-time Favorite pictures of Micah.  He is all dressed up for Maren's Baptism.  Thanks Steve W - I LOVE your photos!

The Steed cabin in Waterton.  This is another one of our favorite places.  HUGE thanks to Brett's parents for letting us use it so often.  We have sooo much fun there!  Look how they're all growing so fast!  agh!

We like to train our kids young!  Here is Micah getting a lesson from daddy on reverence during the prayer.  We are still working on it too!  I can't stop giggling looking at this on....time to move on!

This looks a little more like everyday life around here.  These kids are always up to something.  When they get their imaginations revved up, it's fun to see the games they come up with.  I do not know whose idea this was, or how it cam about....but I couldn't NOT take a picture.  What a bunch of Monkeys!

I think we have an addiction to goggles.  We have MULTIPLE pictures of the kids in goggles.  We have MULTIPLE pairs of goggles.  They want to wear them all the time...even to run through the sprinkler.  hmmmmm......it makes for cute pictures though! 

The above picture and the one below were both taken at the next Webster Reunion in 2006.  This time we went to Bear Lake in Utah so that Mom and Dad would be able to come.  They were serving their mission in Salt Lake at that time and the got permission to come up to the lake for a few days to party with us!  It was a great time.  I love our Family reunions.

I don't think we took an individual family picture at this reunion, but here's one of all the grandkids with Gramma and Grampa.  What a good lookin bunch.  We really missed the Senior Steeds and the Edmonton Websters at this one...it's terrible when life gets in the way of having fun!!

Look at this face!!!  And those eyes!!!  They are not blue anymore, they have changed to a kind of hazely, greeny, grayish sort of color.  They kind of change depending on what he wears.  I think Micah is about 6 months old in this picture.  It was taken at Evy and Eden's birthday party.

7 months old here....and what's that he's eating?  A tomato!  He loved them!  We peeled a fresh tomato from the garden and gave it to him.  He devoured the WHOLE thing!  We didn't dare give him another one - I was afraid of what I'd find in his next diaper if I did.

And this is where I'll stop for now.  For some reason we skip from Micah being 7 months old to him being 2 or 3 years old.  I need to round up some more pictures of him.  

I am putting a call out to all of you family members.  If you have any pictures of my kids could you email them to me.  I am missing a lot of important events since Micah was born.  I think we kind of forgot about our camera for a while. 

Actually I am remembering now that our camera got crushed and it was a while before we could afford a new one.  Send me whatever you've got...thanks everyone!

A lack of pictures

I am realizing, while I am furiously blogging, that I have been shirking my picture taking duties.  Some of the steps were missed.  My reaction to that is....oh well!  So what!  Let's move on with life.    I have to admit that living amongst the renovation mess and clutter has had it's challenges.  Everything is dirty, drafty at times, and really wears on everyone - especially the kids.  This renovation has really put a wrench into the way our home operates.  All attempts at scheduling seem futile, bedtime is a fight every night, and we can't seem to keep track of anything or keep on top of all the DUST!

All right, all right, are you tired of hearing me rant?  I am finished now.  I will count my blessings and just be happy that we are able to even undertake such an awesome renovation.  I won't even recognize this house when we're finished and I've lived here for most of my life!

So, because of the lack of pictures this should be the last post needed to get back up to speed and on track with where things are now.  I hope....

Everthing upstairs got taped and mudded.  Is that the proper way to say that....seems weird.  Anyway, our friend Lamar is awesome, fast, and does a fantastic job!

The ceilings after their beautiful coat of knockdown.

Our attempt to take a picture of the walls after they were primed.  Still too much dust and paint in the air I guess.  In my defense, I am pretty sure Steve took this picture!  Love you Honey!!

It's hard to tell from this picture but we put the drywall up around all the plumbing and heating that goes to the addition(see last post for the before)

All the bathrooms got all their drywall up - and yes I know that the grey stuff on the bottom is not even - it will be fixed.  The blue stuff on the top is the mold resistant drywall that will be painted eventually.  the grey stuff is the cement board that will be tiled over.  I think they'll turn out really pretty.

The upstairs got painted in 1 weekend.  Steve's other brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Vivi, came to stay for a weekend and Drew and Jon painted the whole upstair(minus the bathroom) - 2 coats everywhere.  Thanks guys!

Each of our kids gets to choose 1 accent color for their room and this is the awesome green that Maren chose.  It's one of the colors from her bedspread.

Here is the purple that Evy chose - what other color would it be??

These are the light fixtures in the family room....the ones in the bedrooms are slightly different...but of course I don't have any pictures of those.

Now we are finally back to the present - this next picture is of work that was done THIS WEEK!!!  Can you believe it?  Drew and Steve went to Kalispell to pick up a HUGE load of stuff for the house.  We bought all our carpet down there, our interior doors, and another big load of drywall.  EVERYTHING  is so much cheaper down there - it amazes me!  We have saved thousands by shopping across the border.  Anyway, they brought home enough carpet to do the new bedrooms upstairs, and enough underlay to do the whole upstairs.  Here is the tack strip that Drew laid on Monday.

Next he did the underlay and taped all the seams.

And HOORAY!  Carpet in Maren's room!!  I am soooo excited!

So is Micah - here he is - the first one to do a somersault on the new carpet!

I am attempting to try and post a video again...here is Micah doing snow angels in the new carpet.  Why are we so weird?  Who get's this excited about carpet?

Well, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but videos just DON'T work for me.  But trust me, it was cute!

Well, here is the state of our house right now.  This is looking down the stairs from the front entrance.  The wall at the bottom is widening to accommodate the wider stairs.  We just need to put in a new header across the top to bear the weight of the floor.

I went outside and took a picture of the garage doors.  Sorry if it is a bad picture...it was cold.

This is what the front of the garage looks like now.  It will get all finished in the spring

Here is more drywall to finish a few projects in the house and also to drywall the garage.

And here are all our doors piled up waiting to be installed.  I can't believe I didn't think to buy all the handles while I was there....duh!  Oh well, we'll be going again.  We are buying our carpet in stages and we'll be going down to get another load, hopefully, this weekend.

We also have a bunch more windows waiting for warm weather.  We are replacing all the windows in the house so be more energy efficient.

The new, bigger, water heater was installed the other day - we should NEVER run out of hot water now.  The furnace will be replaced with a new energy efficient one just as soon as we finish up all our drywalling projects.

Well, that's it.  That's where we are at.  Tonight we'll be moving all the stuff for bedrooms upstairs so we can continue working on the main floor.  All the old bedroom carpet will come out, the ceilings scraped and knockdown put up and all the 'valance' thingy's above all the windows ripped out....I'm excited for that project.  Then fix it all up, mud and tape, paint and lay the carpet.  Then we'll move everything upstairs from the basement and do the same thing down there.  Maybe by spring we might actually be finished!  

I don't know if I dare hope for that yet! ;)