Day 238 ~ Tuesday, September 8

Our days normally start out in the computer room - checking our mail and the news. Andrew came by for a few minutes on a break from work (he's working nearby) while we were still at our desks. I will miss him when he begins working somewhere else - his last two jobs have been near enough that he can come over for lunch or whatever

Melanie and Ken came over at supper time (well, our supper time). They brought with them the doors Ken had bought and painted for us - quite some time ago, actually. LOL.

I had made a deal with him - the doors for the nice bedding I bought for the spare room but then didn't like in there. The bedding was a surprise for Melanie because she loved it. We had a good visit with them - something we should really do more often - and when they left, we had a housefull of doors

Daniel had been to Camrose to inquire about a GED preparation class. He came to the conclusion that he could just get the book and study on his own.

He ended his day at 'his' computer where he was either talking to people on the other side of the world, facebooking, playing a game, learning French, or playing his guitar. This photo has him looking at iTunes, I think.

One of our other activities of the day was to update Jim's resume` - including a new photo showing his 'new' look. This is a photo I took specifically for the resume` - but it turned out rather grainy so we just went with a photo from the first day we saw him sans mustache

This is the one he used.....

Day 237....Monday, Sept 7 (Labor Day)

We spent the morning working on clearing the laundry room so Jim could mop the floor several times (because the backup of the sewer is concentrated in that room). Actually, Jim and Daniel did the majority of the work - with Dan taking things outside to sit on the deck until the floor was clean enough to put it back. We filled the gabage bin while we were at it - by 'purging' somewhat. I was too busy working to take photos, unfortunately. (Yes, it is true....I do not ALWAYS think of taking a picture)

The afternoon had already been booked as a BBQ with Vinj and Kath, SheriLyn, and Barry and Judy (from church). In spite of a rather cool wind (which I did not appreciate), we had a good time - and good food. It was nice to share our home and visit with 'new' people.

Barry and Judy brought along their own 2 boys as well as the Anderson boys, so the girls had a blast! They played so hard they barely stopped for supper....in fact, I don't think they did stop, at all - I know Liz and Soph ate hot dogs on the run and Emma never did come get her hamburger.

Some photos from the afternoon.....

Day 236 - Sunday, Sept 6

When you've been without a drain for 24 hours, you get a pile of dirty dishes......






By noon, the 'roto rooter' guy arrived to find where the blockage was in our sewer system.

Jim helped with the not so nice job.......the look on his face says 'something' is rather distasteful, to say the least.

Once the drain was clear (about 3 hours later), we went to watch the Roughriders beat the BlueBombers at Rob and Lana's. Their TV is now set up downstairs so it is not a distraction to the girls during school hours.

I took several photos of Titus - who always obliges with a different expression each time I point the camera at him....

After the football game, Jim was treated to the NASCAR race.......

During breaks in the action, Robert worked on organizing the basement. (They had just moved bedrooms/playrooms around)

A couple more Ty faces......

Mike and Victoria came over in time to 'watch' the race with us. Really, though, since Jim mutes the TV and listens to his computer, we just visit around the race - paying closer attention when there is a crash or Jim points something out. The kids also perk up if they see 'Kurt Busch' on the screen......they're a little behind the times though - Kurt is now Jim's 'second favorite'....Kurt's little brother Kyle has taken first spot. :D

Upstairs, the girls patiently waited for the race to be over so they could come home again with Gramma and Grampa.

It was pretty late when we got home and they crawled into bed.

Day 235 - Saturday, September 5

Today, Daniel took the doors off the 'china cupboard' in the kitchen for me. I've been contemplating doing this for some time.....My hope was that it would open up the kitchen a bit, making it seem a little larger and brighter.

Except that the crystal seems a little 'exposed' to accident, I like the new look.







I wonder what deep thoughts are going through Daniel's head?









The girls and Seth played hard outside all morning.....leaping from trailer to trailer (well, the girls did, not Seth).....

And playing on the trampoline......

Seth was a little stressed at the 'dogpile'....I think he was worried about Sophia.....

Elizabeth was in top form, gymnastically......

The girls have begun to 'dive' onto the trampoline.......

Here is Emma doing a flip.....

Lunch time.....Kraft Dinner and Hot Dogs......

Time for Seth to have a nap - he slept for several hours on the bed beside Uncle Dan at the computer.....

The afternoon was filled with sounds of harvest - and the air was filled with grain dust as the Hutterites combined the fields around us - running 4 combines at once.......

Our sewer backed up, unfortunately, so the afternoon was also spent waiting on a Vac Truck to suck out the septic tank in hopes that an empty tank would take care of the problem. The Vac Truck did not get here before it was time to leave for church so Jim stayed back to work with 'Winston' (think Red Green). Since we still had no functioning toilets, the girls went home after church with their mom.

Day 234 - Friday, Sept 4

Kathryn and Vinjelu asked us to come for a visit today......they wanted to be sure to have some time with Dad before he gets called to work and they 'don't see him again for months'. (we can only hope he gets called and there is that much work)

Of course, Jim spent some time walking Taliah, using his 'Grandpa hold'......

Our hosts:

Seth loves to hold Taliah.....

Jim and Seth had fun racing through the small house, Jim pushing Seth in his 'car', Seth giggling hysterically......

Seth and Papa 'read' some stories (about Seth and Taliah) out of these books, which Papa taught Seth had to be treated gently 'like a baby'.....

Now, they found a story book where there were pictures to go with the story.....(in other words, a children's book)......

No visit to the Muyaba's is complete without a photo of Taliah......

When we got home, Robert had brought the girls out for a few days at the farm. We had also brought Seth home with us so Kathryn could work on cleaning her house and catching up on laundry while Vinj was at work tonight.

There was a beautiful painting on the clouds after supper.....

Everyone came outside to enjoy the pretty sky - and play on the trampoline.....

A 'zoomed' photo of the sunset.....I liked the silouette of our neighbor's barn against the orange sky....

While the kids played on the tramp, Jim and I explored the garden and found this gigantic turnip.......

It is so big, it probably will not taste very good.



After the garden excursion, Grampa played a favorite game with the girls........(If I take my computer to Rob's this afternoon, I'll download a video of this game). Riotous laughter always ensues when Grampa is the 'monster'.

Finally, it is bedtime......but Seth's bag was without a sleeper. That would not have been a problem but he had to sleep on the floor of our room (rather cold) because the playpen was at the church after being at Vinj and Kath's for TK. Vinj and Kath took it to the church the other day when they were working there so that Seth could nap. When we left their house, Vinj had already gone to work and he had the key for the church. SO......I dug out a sleeper that belonged to Uncle Michael for Seth. Great Gramma Hutch had had it for at least 20 years (LOL) after she had fixed the zipper. She returned it to me a week or so ago. Lucky for Seth.

A full day.

SIDENOTE: While we were at Vinj and Kath's, Andrew was in our basement looking for a tent to take on a camping/quadding trip this weekend. He informed us that there was water on our floor. Daniel made sure the pump was running and by the time we got home, the water had been sucked off the floor. Problem solved (we thought)