Weekend of Fun!!

A very EGG-citing weekend!

Kailyn's masterpiece--she loved trying new colors and experimenting with designs.

Lukas painting an egg--he was very creative and his favorite color to do was BLUE.

Our friends, Matt & Holly (mostly Holly, I suspect) brought over some egg decorating kits for the kids. We had so much fun decorating all the eggs.

I have had a absolutely wonderful weekend. While Bob has been sightseeing and having fun with his long-time friend, Colin; I was able to spend the weekend with my "old" friend, Jen. We've been friends for 17 years--back to the elementary days--and it was wonderful to spend some time with her.

Safe and Sound

Bob and Colin made it in to Zurich very very early this morning. They've been sight seeing and touring through the States. They stopped to see the Mall of America and spent some time exploring Chicago. I imagine they will rest a little today and hang out before Colin's flight home. Hopefully they'll send some pictures for the blog soon.

Big thanks and hugs go out to Aunt Ann and Uncle Bob for taking my Sweetie in for...a while...a long while. We really appreciate all your help.

Takin' A Friend Along for the Ride!

Bob has successfully recruited a friend to make the rest of the trip out to London. Colin and Bob have been friends for a long time and they are just as crazy now as they were when this photo was snapped 13 years ago. I just glad that Bob will have someone with him when he gets lost or misses a exit. I'm ecstatic that Bob and Colin have fun re-living the old "glory days" and hopefully creating new "glory days". Thanks for roadtrippin' with Bob, Colin and enduring the flight back home. It means the world to me!!

Blue Prints Take Form

Here is the castle Kailyn made for school. I am proud to say she did this all on her own. I asked her what the black and red pieces were and she said that they were old stones and that, "In reality, the stones weren't perfect squares".

Check back to the blue prints--she did a really good job!

Winnipeg in One Piece

Bob has successfully navigated his way to Winnipeg--which, honestly, shouldn't be too hard. Bob spent his high school years there and still has many close friends there. It's nice that Highway 1 runs right into it and there are few opportunities for missing turns...

Right now, he's probably tracking down his friends and taking advantage of this road trip to say hi as he passes through. Thanks to Colin for taking care of him.

More details to follow as they become available...

And He's Off...

Today has been a hard day. Bob packed his things and loaded the car and left for Zurich (Ontario). I made sure he had snacks and books on tape and directions and everything else I could think of that he could possibly need. It's going to be a very challenging experience for our family. Lukas insisted that Bob couldn't go because there are two girls and there has to be two boys. Kailyn is sad to be temporarily losing a playmate and storyteller. Me? Bob is what holds me together. I am a better person because of him. The difficult thing about this is that we know this is the right decision but right decisions are rarely ever easy decisions. We feel that this is the best thing for our family even though it's going to be hard for a while.

Thank you to all our family and friends who have been unconditionally supportive...it's been wonderful to have family here to send us off and family in Ontario welcoming us with open arms.

Keep posted for Bob's travel log...

Lukas gets a Haircut...

Lukas finally got a haircut. He's been known as "Fro-boy" and "Fuzz-head" for the last few weeks. He's had this bedhead look for a little too long and today Christa finally came and cut it! Thanks Buddy!!

A Future Architect?

Kailyn's class is working on a project this week--they have to design and build a fairytale dwelling. Kailyn has chosen to built a castle and this is her one of a kind design. Maybe we'll have an architect in the family...

Year of Color -- Orange

This week's Year of Color Challenge is Orange and this was one of the things I thought of. Lukas LOVES "Cars" the Disney Pixar movie (he even has a Cars pillow). This last Christmas he got Cars jammies. When I think of orange I think of Lukas...usually I have to fight to get him dressed in the morning because he loves them so much. I like this picture because this is when he holds still the longest.

Blades of Glory!

Bob and I went to see Blades of Glory tonight and it was awesome! It was so funny. I really love Jon Heder and Will Farrell and this was fantastic to see them together...even with the uni-tard and the glitter...I also love the cameos by other fabulous actors and Olympic Athletes. Scott Hamilton was one of the announcers. If you get the chance, go see it!

Count Down to Departure

We are preparing to send Bob off next week--Tuesday, actually. He'll be staying in Zurich, ON with his aunt and uncle while he settles into work and finds us a place to live. I have to admit that I am a little nervous. Bob is a wonderful husband and a VERY devoted dad. He is, by far, my better half. He is the one who does bedtime with the kids--even though it takes him and hour to read stories--the kids love it and I love the break. Right now, we're not sure when the rest of us will be moving out there. It could be August. We've never been apart longer than 2 weeks so I imagine the phone conversations will be long. He has always been my best friend and it will be hard to have him so far for so long...

Keep Posted

This is an experiment--if you subscribe to our blog, you can be notified when I update it with new posts. I think, if it works, this should be an awesome way to know when my blog is updated!

Week Two - Indigo

This is my photo for the year of color. I actually had a picture for last week's "Yellow" too but it was too awful to publish...This one is a little better. This week's color is "Indigo" and for my picture I chose a Oriental Tea Set I have. I love this tea set--I think it's beautiful with it's striking color and design.

If you'd like to see some fantastic photos, go to Dee-Ann's site. She's my inspiration for this project. You can also participate in this "Year of Color" through her site.

Elizabeth's Birthday

Here is the next installment of the, "I am so Loved" collection. This one is for Elizabeth, a cherished daughter, sister and friend. The big contributer for this edition is, Kati. Thank you so much for your time and talents to make this book possible.

Heather's Birthday

Heather--the beautiful baby of the Condron family. This is the second book in the "I am so Loved" collection. This is a result of fantastic coordination and dedication with Kati.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

So, I guess once something is published on the blog, it is definitely true. Over the past few weeks, I've had the intuition that something big was coming. I know there are those out there who would like to hear that we are having more children--WE ARE NOT!

Bob graduated last summer and has been looking for a job in the "environmental/geographical" fields and hasn't been able to find one. We are taking our family and moving east to the London, Ontario area. This comes as a huge shock to everyone, including me. I never thought I would be leaving Calgary and more importantly, my family and friends. This is going to be a wonderful thing for our family and for Bob...but so hard to leave all those we have grown to love.

Bob will be leaving in a few weeks to secure employment and a home and the kids and I will be following during the summer. I want to emphasize that while we will be far from here (and coming back to visit often) we will be very close to the Great Lakes and only a day trip from New York City and Washington DC. When planning your vacations--please consider coming to see us.

This is going to be very difficult for me to leave my Mom and my sisters (in-laws included). I have been very close to them and rely on them so much. They are my very best friends and it breaks my heart to leave them. The greatest,most wonderful, fantastic consolation? We have family on Bob's side that will be moving out to the London area about the same time. (I'm not telling who it is but you can call 403-912-2333 for more clues...) It does bring me peace to know that we will still be close to them. Bob also has many aunts, uncles and cousins all around that area that we look forward to seeing.

Stay tuned to more updates...

Kailyn's Valentine's

Here's a peek at the Valentine's we made for Kailyn's class--they say, "Here's a couple of hugs for my friends!!" then we put two Hershey's Hugs in them. I thought they looked really cute.

We Go Together...

Zoe and the cat squish in for a cuddle.

Uncle James and Zoe spend some quality time together catching some "zzz's"--I can definitely see some family resemblance in this picture. (he he)

Play Date

We had a wonderful opportunity to have Kailyn & Lukas' cousin, Tia, come over for the weekend. Kailyn is only four months older than Tia. When I was pregnant with Kailyn and then Bob's sister, Kelly got pregnant--we were so excited that we would have kids the same age. At the time we were positive that Kelly was going to have another BOY (she already had 3 boys) but, we were delighted when the ultrasound tech said GIRL!! We've been really lucky because we have always lived close to Kelly, her hubby, Richard and their kids. The icing on this cake is that 5 months after Kelly had her last baby--a little boy named Reece--Lukas was born. I am so happy that both my children have family playmates the same age and that they close enough that we can see each other often.

Having Tia here and watching her with Kailyn made me reflect on how blessed we've been. It's funny how these little miracles make such an impact on everything.