Here's what we've been doing lately...

Sarah turned 5 on May 21 and celebrated with a pool party and cake at home with a house full.

Josh rode a mini-bike at the moto-cross clinic here a few weeks ago, loved it and won a prize!!
" Caley"

Hello, sorry to be so neglectful. I do wish to blog more, but alas, the family, house, and yard take priority over my writings and musing here in blog land. Today, however, it is raining and the kids are napping so here I am, blogging, when really I could and should be doing laundry or dishes or painting or some other task. Funny how that stuff always waits for you.


We have just had another weekend filled with visiting and company; friends from Red Deer we truly missed. Always good to catch up. Excitement just prior to that however, was our newest addition to our family...our dog. "Caley" we call her. She is a Malamute Husky crossed Golden retriever dog who has easily won our hearts already...we've not had her even one week. I am a little tentative about the fact she may be a digger, as her genetics may lend her to be. But she's a very sweet puppy and seems to have learned her name, to come and to fetch in the short time she's been here. I'm excited by the fact I'll have a running partner by September! And by the fact our kids will grow up with a loyal and true companion...who just happens to chew on their toys if left strewn about. (Teachable moments, right?!) Our cat on the other hand is less than thrilled and I'm certain would love to scratch out Caley's eyes at any given moment. He spends most of his time up on Sarah's bunk or hiding in the basement. Thought the dog doesn't chase him. I guess I'd get a little crusty too if some slobbering, always happy, jumpy white ball of cuteness honned in on my territory. Entertaining none the less! Glad tidings to all of you reading but now I must go sprout some grains, tidy up a wee bit, and wake my sleepers!
Drop me a line if you've any dog keeping advice!

Eat your lawn, I say!

Today, for the first time ever, we, my family and I, tried something new to tantalize our taste buds and expand our culinary eating experiences. A dish with a very different flavor yet strangely satisfying but leaving you wanting to have some more. "Did I actually eat that and did it actually taste that good?" I know the suspense is killing you, so I'll tell you what we consumed...dandelions. Right off of our own front (and back, and side, there's a lot of green out there you know) lawn. I picked and washed them, fried them in a bit of butter and fresh crushed garlic and sprinkled with sea salt. They were amazing! Very buttery and not at all like that bitter taste the plant milk leaves in your mouth. The kids even tried them, their friends actually did too and thought they were quite tasty and little Becca wouldn't leave me alone until I'd given her a few more. Now, if you're going to try this, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you don't pick dandelions that may have been sprayed.
2. What you pick and think is lots actually cooks down to be about 1/4 of it fresh volume, so pick a few extra so you've enough for everyone.
3. These are meant to be a side dish or garnish, not a whole meal in itself. Though not proven, they may act as a diuretic. Not so good.
4. Know that while consuming these vitamin packed little blossoms, you are also controlling the "weed problem" in your yard. Though after trying this little recipe, you may want to encourage those little yellow treats to grow. Besides, the leaves can be used in salads...fresh greens bought at the store can cost an arm and a leg, and many high end restaurants actually serve them in their fancy dishes!

Anywho, that's all for tonight! Happy picking, don't eat too many and if you don't like them, well, that's just too bad for you!

P.S. I'm up to 20-25 minutes running now. I clock it with our van odometer and I'm travelling about 4.5 km in that amount of time. Yes, I am excited...Boston Marathon here I come. Well, not right away, silly. Ok,... good night!

Project "What to do with Guteks Extra Yard"

This wetland water fowl bird sanctuary actually belongs to us as part of our yard. Up and to the left, toward the house is our overgrown raspberry patch and just lefter than that (ha ha...lefter?) is our garden, which you can not see, but is a fairly large patch of dirt. To the far right of the "stream" used to be mowed and had garden many moons ago, but is as you can tell, very overgrown. We actually have a pair of nesting ducks taking up residence there. We could work it up, plant strawberries and open a U-pick, or throw a bunch of old tractor tires and junk down there and open up a paint ball thing or mow it, plant more garden and work like crazy at keeping the muskrats from devouring our produce or we could just leave it for the birds. What would YOU do?