Yearbook 2013 | Mr. Muscles

I've been busy! Haven't we all? Well, I've been trying to get my pages done for last year. The flood put everything in our lives back, including my scrapbooking and memory-keeping for my family. It's something I believe is so important, so I've been spending some time this month on it all. It has been really hard getting through any pages related to the flood. Many emotions come up, and I find my mind going in many directions at once. It has been taking longer than usual on those particular pages. But here is a page I just finished with a lighter feel. Still flood-time, but this was something fun for Andy as he was working so hard with flood clean-up and recovery.

At least 30 reasons to be SO VERY grateful!

About a month ago, I did a stupid thing. Very stupid. And I don't use that word very often. But what I did was colossally stupid. To make a long story short, I deleted ALL my pictures. They hadn't been backed up and I thought they were GONE. I cried for days. I cried for weeks.

Thankfully for me, I had a friend I could turn to. The first time he did a recovery, he came up with around 21000 pictures. Unfortunately, they were all crap. Either files which had been deleted previously or files which were way too small to do anything with (we're talking 8KB or smaller). And there was virtually nothing of what I was so sad to have lost - the first 7 months of Atlas's life!! How could I have been so daft?! So, away went my external hard drive to my friend again, who ran another recovery on it. Came up with nothing. I thought that was it, and I was trying to be resolved to this fate. However, to my great surprise and joy, when I went to pick up the drive, my friend handed me another smaller drive and said, "I was able to recover about 9000 files which I copied to this drive. Take a look and see if they are what you lost." He had gone the extra mile and thought he'd run a completely different recover program. He recovered almost EVERYTHING! I say almost because there are some random pictures I know are missing. But I'm definitely NOT complaining! What was recovered is so very precious to me, as you can understand. So... here are at least 30 reasons I am grateful:

1. Otto laughing with Andy at the zoo.
2. Andy, Otto and I outside out house on a Sunday morning.
3. Otto kissing my pregnant belly.
4. Our first looks at Atlas.
5. Holding Atlas in my arms for the first time.
6. Otto meeting Atlas for the first time.
7. A first photo shoot with Atlas.
8. Atlas asleep and bundled up on the quilt I made for him.
9. Otto hiding and surprising us at his grandparents (in the closet).
10. Otto helping take Atlas' temperature at the midwives' office.
11. Atlas lounging.
12. The cutest picture of Otto ever. Happy to stop jumping on the bed for one second to flash a million dollar smile for Mama.
13. Another million dollar smile. This time from Atlas.
14. Otto and Andy pouring water in the bath. This was too cute!
15. My handsome husband.
16. One of the many pictures I've taken of Otto in his bed with random things around him. This one is classic - he's asleep right in the middle of the hula hoop!
17. Otto blowing bubbles at a family reunion last summer.
18. Oh, my Atlas. What a little sweetheart!
19. Otto playing the harmonica for a ready audience of one.
20. Andy and Atlas having a wee nap together, hand-in-hand.
21. Otto's first pony ride.
22. Otto and Atlas laying on the quilt and playing.
23. Otto and Atlas in the stroller together.
24. Otto having fun with his cousins in our jumping tent.
25. The bandaid on Otto's head. He said that Pappy had got it for him. "Pappy, so nice."
26. A happy little Atlas!
27. The boys and Mama having some fun play time. They love all the bouncy songs and want to do them all together.
28. A quick kiss. (Can it get any better than this?!)
29. A bundled up Atlas.
30. A cute Atlas beside his favorite horse.

These are moments in my life and the lives of my family which I never want to forget and which I want to be able to share for years to come. Great memories, every-day memories. These are so precious.

Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Lucky Me

I'm so behind! I've been busy and not busy, sick and not sick. Did everyone catch that awful stomach flu last week? I knew about a dozen people who had it the same time I did. Nasty.

But on to more exciting things! Like, happy one year anniversary to Andy and I! Andy planned the day and all along I assumed we were going to Banff. He first took me out to Black Diamond for breakfast at the Barn (A favorite for us. I wanted to take a picture of the pancakes - they were huge! - but I forgot my camera in the car). Then we followed hwy 22 up to the 22X or Spruce Meadows Trail. I thought we'd head straight for Banff, but instead turned into Calgary. I was confused and Andy would not tell me where we were going. Then when we turned into Deerfoot Meadows or Run or whatever that place is called (with the IKEA) I joked that he was so nice to take me to IKEA even though I know he hates to go there. Well, we didn't go to IKEA. Instead, Andy said to me, "I want you to have your camera today. We don't have to wait until Christmas!" So, we got the Canon Digital Rebel Xsi!!!!! Wooooo! This is the LUCKY ME part!

So, we've both been playing around a bit and figuring things out with this new camera. So fun and exciting! I love my Andy for giving me a surprise like this! Oh yes, and my present to him was a mini album comprised of pictures and text from our dating life - things that we both had written in our dating journals!

Next, was Andy's birthday! Yay! Happy Birthday Andy! It was games at the church with a potluck supper. The highlight of the evening was opening and playing with Paul's present to Andy. Uh... we're not really sure where Paul scored this beauty, but the guys sure had fun rolling around in it! We kept joking that maybe Paul nicked it from the Rotary Club? Anyway, I'm glad you had a good time Andy!

"Docking" a la Franky

Andy and I watch this Japanime cartoon called
One Piece. In one of the last episodes, the character Franky gets all the other characters to "dock" (attach themselves to him) so they can make one big robo-pirate. It was a ridiculous idea, and one of the characters didn't want to. Nico Robin was so annoyed that Franky even asked. She refused, saying, "As a human being it is embarrassing." and told them never to ask her to "dock" again. Andy thought it would be cool to try it with the nieces and nephew. They were game to try it. The girls "docked" on his arms, being the weapons, and I'm not sure what Iarnan was supposed to be. They thought it was grand though.