Loop loom.

Jia has been asking me to find Fei's old loop loom, no such luck.  I finally ordered the loops and a loom from Ali Express.  The loops have arrived but not the contraptions.  So she just used her fingers.  Funny kid. 

University

Lili is finishing grade 11.  Time to make decisions.  She is pressuring me.  I keep thinking there is lots of time.  We went to an information night a couple weeks ago.  Guess what...we're behind.  LOTS of talking over a weekend.  On Monday I woke up to her hanging over me, "Mom, I think I want a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Can you take me to the University this morning?".  Ah.  Ok.  What?  How can this be happening.  She was 3 a few months ago nursing me with her little kit daily.  So, we met with 6 different people in a few days.  We learned quickly that none of them are helpful, they were largely clueless and super clueless about what everyone else is doing.  We were attempting to line her courses up, hoping for some dual credit courses.  What we learned was that with her high marks she is good for any course offered except nursing.  Nursing being the most difficult to get into.  She has one A that would be better as a high A so she is redoing that class online.  She also has a class right now that she isn't feeling confident in.  Next year, she has made the request for what she'll need.  I love her choice.  Having a plan and direction is a major gift.  Now we can fuss the details and think about fall back plans.  She will apply to a few programs/schools and we'll cross our fingers for her first choice :)

Teacup tree.

Haha.  Crazy.  We found the tree in James Bay.  I was thrilled.  Littles looked out the window and weren't interested enough to even come out and look. 

Baby goats in the rain.

Two weeks ago the kids had a pro-d day on my flex day.  We went to Victoria (Lili worked).  There was a furniture store I wanted to see.  Forever looking for a living room solution.  Prices were crazy high so we just played in Uptown for a bit.  Fei and Jia took off shopping on their own. We found some boarders shoes for Luk and bought the next two sizes.  Yay.  The only kind of shoe he is supposed to wear but he can't manage a slip on like Vans.  Needs laces.  Hard to find. So that was a score.  We had a picnic lunch.  Then we went to see the goats in Beacon Hill.  It started pouring rain as soon as we got there. We had a fair walk to the bathroom and back. I had an umbrella for Luk and his chair.  I was feeling like we were making a huge mistake in going into the farm during the rain.  However...turns out goats don't like the rain either.  There were only a few other people there and we all gathered in the barn.  At any point you could reach down and have babies right there.  BEST goat visit ever.  We even stayed to watch the stampede.  First time we've seen it with such little ones.  It was so cute I almost cried.

So far behind.

The sadness is overwhelming and yet life carrie's on.  I'm looking for Lacie non-stop, as usual.  I keep hearing her.  There is a big hole in our lives. I'm two weeks behind on blogging.  The house isn't tidy.  Baskets of laundry need sorting. I didn't even keep up with the kitchen today. It's Easter tomorrow and there will be even more cute pictures to deal with.  So I need to catch up on here a bit. Better to stay busy.  My eyes are stinging with all the tears.

Saying Goodbye to Lacie.

Goodbye Miss Lacie of Saltair Senorita Margarita Nelson.  I can't believe our time together has ended.  I love you.  You were my best friend.  For all of your issues I always thought you were the best little dog ever.  I'm totally broken.  It's crazy how much I miss you.

Lacie loved her kittens.

I loved her little tounge hanging out.

Our toothless beauty.

Celebrating the year of the dog.

Our last picture together today at the vets office.

Lacie had a very fast growing, invasive tumor in her groin.  Her size and age (15) meant surgery wasn't an option.  The outcome was bleak.  We chose to let her leave with dignity intact.  Better a day too early than an hour too late.  There was no pain and her end was in my arms and very peaceful.  

Happenings

I'm behind on the blog.  Busy days.

Kai is riding his bike!

Boys both need bigger bikes but they both still fall alot so we're putting that off as long as possible.  Every time they fall Jia helps them up, gets them back on and gives them a push to get going.  

I love having the gate closed, front door open with lots of coming and going.  Kids, dogs and cats all playing together.  Isabel on guard.

Eric is pulling out all the shrubs.  Oliver got all excited and ended up stuck in the tree.

I almost got him and then he took a swipe at me so he was on his own.  It took a while but he eventually came down.

Isabel and Oliver are super close.

She was very interested in Oliver in a tree.

Please come down Oliver.

Mom and I went to visit Dad through a medium.  It was shockingly accurate.

We stopped and looked at some tiny homes on the way home.

Jia and friends.

At Bright Angel.

So...ya...he's forgotten how to make the digger work again.  This will be my mission this summer.  We will master it!

The river is sooo low.  

Seusapaloosa style bedtime snack fun.

This happened!  She's doing great.

Eric is painting the house this year.  I get to pick new colors if I want.  This is super hard for me.  I like the white but think I want a darker trim.  I liked the first green from when we bought it.  But it was too dark and had a blue tone.  I think I like the green on this house and fence.  Thoughts?

The shrubs are all out now.  Lawn seeded.  Zoom in to see Walter in his giant litter box.  I'm still a bit shocked at how much privacy we lost.  Eric is happy with it being clear.  It is easier to see the boys and their falls off their bikes.

Lili has wanted this for years. She finally spent the money and couldn't wait to get to her homework.

Spring Fling school dance.  80's theme.

Miss May is here for a sleepover.  They were up until 2:30!  Still up early.  They're working on May's homework.