Calgary Stampede

We went to the Calgary Stampede about a week ago. We had a blast! We rode the C-train (the transit train) in, and December absolutely loved that. The first thing we did when we arrived on the Stampede grounds was go to see the Superdogs -- a show where the dogs run, jump, do tricks, race against each other, etc. Here's December with Daddy, absolutely enthralled.

After that, we went to the Kids' Midway and got some ride tickets. We let December choose which rides she wanted to go on! Her first choice (which she was quite adament about) was this little train ride that just went around in a circle.

She was thrilled about this little train!

December and Brad were at the front of the line, so they got to get into the first car, a pink one, which suited December just fine! Pink is her current favorite color.

Next December chose to go on the swings. She liked this at first, but then started crying as the swing rose higher and higher.

Then she chose to go on the "a-go-ga-ter ride"(alligator ride), which is basically the teacups. Again, she was happy at first, but then I started to hear screams whirl past me from a certain alligator that held Brad and December. But each time she got off a ride, she was excited and chose a different one to try!

The last ride was the carousel. She liked this one so much she went on it twice! First with Brad...

...and then with me.

After the rides tuckered us out, we went and saw a Clydesdale horse show. December LOVED this! They hooked up 8 Clydesdales to a wagon and then made them thunder around the arena.

After that was the magician show -- which was possibly December's favorite event. Brad had really wanted to see a magician, and I was certain December would be bored, but she was COMPLETELY into it!

She sat just like this and stared. She'd get highly concerned when the "mommy" went into the box and disappeared. "Where'd the mommy go?" she'd ask. December was very relieved when the mommy appeared again. She was also concerned when the magician hooked himself into handcuffs and couldn't get out ("He stuck! Oh no! He need help!" she said.)

The last thing we did before we came home was look at some of the farm animals. December liked this, too, but we pushed her stroller right up to a sheep kennel, and the sheep shouted "BAAAA!" right in front of her face and scared the daylights out of her. So then she cried.

The Stampede was great fun, though! We all had a good time, and I was sad to leave. There's so much to do there, and there was something for each one of us!

Ultrasound of the New Baby

If you click on these pictures, they get nice and big -- and clearer!

Today was the ultrasound for the new baby...here are some pictures! It was pretty incredible. This picture doesn't show it, but the baby DOES have legs, too!

The baby had hiccups during the sonogram, which was pretty cute to watch. He/she was moving ALL over the place, the ultrasound tech said. We're having another active baby like December! I had guessed as much, though, because of all of the many squirms and kicks I feel.

Here's the little tiny face. The baby is only about 6 inches long right now. We could have found out the gender today, but we decided not to! I asked the tech if she knew what the gender was, and she said, "Oh, yes. I know exactly what you're having." She's the only privileged one to know -- the rest of us won't find out for four and a half more months!

Here's the baby waving hello.

I love this picture -- you can see the hand SO clearly! And you can see his/her head on the right side of the picture, and the curled-up legs on the left side of the picture.

This ultrasound put the baby at 20 weeks today -- but according to my due date (Dec. 1), the baby would be turning 20 weeks on Monday. So that means the baby measured to be a bit older than what we had thought. The ultrasound guessed his/her due date to be November 27 (which is Thanksgiving Day). But these things aren't always accurate, and for now the due date of December 1 still stands -- but I won't be surprised if the baby tries to come before then!

Yee-Haw!

Vacation Bible School was all of last week at the church. I was the leader for the 1st-2nd grade class, and Brad was in charge of the games station. Here's a picture of the daily opening assembly. All of the kids that you see in the picture were my kids (there were around 20 kids in my class each day).

Here's my class in the music station. We learned lots of fun songs, and December even learned some, too! She was in her own separate class/nursery group. I so enjoyed being the leader for these kids...it was a TON of fun! By the end of the week, my voice was super sore, though!

Here we are again in the story session. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the games station, but Brad did an awesome job at it, and it was by far one of the kids' favorite stations! The whole VBS week was exhausting but super fun!

Every Thursday night, Brad, December, and I go to worship team practice. We led worship for the first time on Sunday, and it went well! December is a trooper at these late practices, and she plays around while we sing. This is a picture of Brad getting the sound system set up for us.



This week is Calgary Stampede (a big, famous rodeo) week, and the church did a Stampede Breakfast on Saturday. Here we are, all dressed up. Brad's job was to hand out pamphlets and get to know the people who came.

December is really getting into this cowgirl thing! She's trying on Grammie's cowboy hat and loving it.

I think she looks pretty cute in a hot pink cowboy hat!

Giggling because Brad is tickling her

For the past months, we've been trying to get December to stay in the church services on Sunday, with varying degrees of successfulness each Sunday. Last Sunday had to be one of her WORST ever, and I was nearly driven to the point of insanity. So right after the service was over, I went right to the church library and took out this book. Hopefully Dr. Dobson can teach me some things!




December seemed interested in this book at first and tried to read it...




But you can see just what she thinks about this book after she looked through it!

Yesterday, Grammie went out and got the two grandkids some Calgary Stampede cowboy boots and hats! They looked adorable in their gear.

Giving each other hugs...I think December may enjoy this activity more than Caden does

Brad arrived home from work, and Caden & December went out to show Brad their new duds

This morning, she wanted her hat and boots put right back on again

Brad is hoping to go into work early tomorrow morning so that we can go to the Stampede in the afternoon. I hope that works out!

I have an ultrasound booked for Thursday afternoon, so I'm pretty excited about that. We could find out at this ultrasound if we're having a boy or a girl, but we're going to keep it a surprise. We think it's more fun that way. They often give you pictures of the ultrasound, so if they give me some, I'll put them up on the blog here so you can see the baby, too!

Busy, Busy!

Brad, December, and I are enjoying being in Calgary. One thing I didn't expect was how busy life would be here. A couple of weekends ago, Brad, December, and I joined Brad's Dad on a trip to Sparwood, British Columbia, where the town was having "Mining Days." There were fun things to do for December, Brad's Dad flipped burgers, and we had a great time. That's the town that Brad lived in when he was little, so he wanted to show me around a bit. That's where these pictures were taken. This is a MASSIVE mining truck that was actually in use at one point. They still use trucks this big, but this one is now considered an old version and is put up for tourists to gawk at. Doesn't December look miniscule beside it?!

Brad has started his second job at a factory. He's making the most of his summer and getting paid quite alot for this second job, but it also means that between his internship work and his job, he has absolutely no days off for the rest of the summer. I feel awful for him, but I am also proud of him because he is such a hard worker and takes care of our growing family very well! We are wanting to go to the famous Calgary Stampede, which starts on Thursday, but with Brad's crazy schedule, I'm not sure if we can fit it in.

All of this week is Vacation Bible School at church. I am the leader for the 1st-2nd grade class, and I'm enjoying it thorougly! I love that age group, and they are the most adorable little kids ever. Brad is the leader for the games, and that keeps him busy, trying to find games that any child from Kindergarten to 6th Grade can do and enjoy! These past couple of days, he has worked at his factory job from 6:00am - 9:00am, rushed over to church to do VBS, then gone back to his job from 12:30pm - 6:30pm. That's quite the crazy day! I'm very impressed with him.

We have also been busy setting up a Young Adults group for the church that December tags along to, setting up a Worship team (which will play for the first time on Sunday), doing preparations for VBS, and now finally putting it on, Brad's been running Sunday evening services and helping out with the morning services, etc. All of this has kept all three of us pretty busy! So I want to apologize for this blog being neglected, but I'm afraid I can only update it when there's time for it -- and energy for it, which is lacking as of late, with pregnancy! :o) This baby seems to be healthy and strong, and recently I started being able to feel him/her kick -- yay! Even while I'm writing, the baby is trying to say hello and is kicking. That's a great feeling and has to be one of the best parts of being pregnant! A couple of nights ago, Brad got to feel this little baby kick, too, for the first time.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to remember to bring the camera to VBS, and then I'll take pictures and show you the fun that we're having!