All the reasons May was awesome.

The cranes flew over.

Cavan is learning to be a gentleman.

Card games in the camper.

Sister wives out camping.

Kids canoeing.

Kayaking in the ice.

Learning how to use my kayak!

Learning how to jump a bike.

Fearlessness.

Shed building.

So much sun.

Seed planting.

Hiking with friends.

Greenhouse love.

Field trips.

Yard Projects

My fantastic husband has been busy during May!  I always joke that he is an excellent nurse, but don't let him build anything since it will be mighty fugly in the end.  He has proven me wrong!

Matt built a greenhouse and a woodshed!  Both were made of a combination of purchased materials and scavenged ones.  I think my greenhouse is perfect and I have been happily playing in there every day.  The woodshed will hold about 4.5 cords of wood and is a million times better than have the wood covered in a noisy, flapping tarp.  We will still have to stack some wood outside of the shed, but most of what we need for the winter will be in there.

Thank you, Matthew!

My precious.

Filling the woodshed was not nearly as fun as watching Matt build it.

Successful Hobos!

The little hobos were successful in their first bottle return to start off the summer season!  They are saving up for our trip to San Diego next February.  I booked the tickets on aeroplan, but I told the boys they were responsible for coming up with the money to go to Lego Land.  They have been collecting cans/bottles like mad!

Their first return today netted them $109.50.  Pretty impressive haul!  Into the peanut butter collection container it went.

It is going to be a busy summer of can collecting!

Very proud of their money!

Into the can!

Lego Land or bust!

This was their load!

Bum Watch: 6 MONTHS!

Today I have to give an email update to my surgeon, so I figured the blog could use one too!

I am now six months post reconstructive skin surgery and two years and six months post weight loss surgery.

How am I doing?

Great in almost all areas!

My incisions are all fully healed- just scars.  Some of the scars are still quite hard, but they are definitely softening up as time passes.  The feeling is coming back along the incision lines, but that part isn't overly pleasant.  When I run on the treadmill, the scars down my legs feel like they are on fire.  The scar across the top of my butt is uncomfortable, especially if tight clothing presses on it.

I am back to exercising full steam.  I am running on the treadmill, playing squash, doing weights, and a lot of walking around town.  I need to ask my surgeon today when I can get back to do ab workouts.

My eating has been really good during the week, but every single weekend I am eating too many carbs and salty items and then I am bloated and miserable for a couple of days.  My weight has been sitting around 178lbs and I am not happy with that.  This morning (pretty sure I am ovulating) my scale read 183.  I always go up 4-6lbs overnight during that part of my cycle and then drop it again a couple of days later.

My weight goal is still to be 160lbs.  I signed up for a 12 week accountability plan that an online friend of mine runs it as part of her business.  This will help me keep on track and re-focus my eating.  I need to focus on healthy eating right through the weekends and watch out for evening snacking.

I am going to just keep on doing what I am doing at the gym.  I am going to keep up with the running for a while longer.  It definitely isn't my favorite thing to do, but I am going to the do the 5k walk/run in Mayo next month so I want to be ready for that.  I would like to do squash at least twice a week and spend more time strength training my upper body.

Here are some photos to show my progress.  I really love the ones that show me before my weight loss surgery as compared to now.  They really put a smile on my face!  My hard work has really taken me far.

CAUTION!  NEARLY NAKED.  

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Core is still looking good!

320lbs before my weight loss surgery, 190lbs before my reconstructive skin surgery, and now at 178lbs.

320lbs before my weight loss surgery, 190lbs before my reconstructive skin surgery, and now at 178lbs.

My lower half is solid like a tree trunk.  I wish at times I was built differently, but this is me.

Hotspring Happiness!

We spent five days away for Easter at Laird Hotsprings and it was bliss!  We camped with my parents, my grandfather who flew up from Vancouver Island, my brother with his wife and three sons, and my sister-in-law's parents, her brother, and also for a the day her sister with her husband and three kids.  Whew!  That was a few people!

The four little boys spent the weekend building fires, using hatches and machetes, biking, swimming, trying to trap squirrels, and just the general mischief that boys playing outside get up to.

I spent the weekend cuddling my newest nephew.  I was perfectly content!

It was a long drive to get there.  We took the Robert Campbell highway south to Watson Lake and then the Alaska Highway to the hotsprings; that is about 700km.  On the way home, we stayed on the Alaska Highway since we needed to do some shopping in Whitehorse and that trip is 1000km.  The boys traveled well and they didn't puke once thanks to gravol!

Lots of great photos from the weekend to share.

The four boys unleashing on the snow with hatches and machetes.

Heading to the hotsprings.

Each boy insisted on building his own fire.

My nephew and the stack of wood he cut himself.  He is 5.

And my little man turned five! 

Four Generations!

All the menfolk!

My 86 year old grandfather and my six week old nephew.

Life is rough camping with my brother!  He cooked up this huge prime rib roast!

Very tired boys each night!

Lots of bison to see on the highway.

Little log leapers!

So happy to be playing in the water!

Liard Hotsprings.

Checking out the waterfall.

We are cute!

This was what I did almost the entire weekend.

Trying To Capture The Easter Bunny

This year we spent Easter camping with my family down at Liard Hotsprings in Northern BC.  A highlight of the weekend for me was the boys' attempt to trap the Easter Bunny.

They took the trap they had set up all weekend that was supposed to catch squirrels.  Then they put carrots in it instead of the cheezies/chips/peanuts combo that had been in there most of the weekend.  They went to sleep dreaming of catching the Easter Bunny!

The carrots were taken and replaced with a large stuffed bunny and a note that told them to try harder next year!  Watching the boys sneak up to the rubbermaid (they had a plan- Hunter would lift it up and Cavan would nab the Bunny in his squirrel catching net if it tried to run away) was priceless.  

The trap has been set!

The Easter Bunny loves carrots!

All ready to catch the Bunny!

What the??

Hunter reading us the note.

Hunter's face says it all!

Crafty and Busy!

Spring is here and we are enjoying it immensely! 

The kids play outside every day with a large group of their friends.  Sleds are flying down the icy hills and all are enjoying the giant snow hill for a while longer.  I have been lounging in the sun on the back deck with friends- the freckles are coming out in full force now!

And I have been back at the crafting!  I didn't do much with my hobby since last summer.  All of my spare time was spent getting ready for my surgery (exercising and prepping meals to make my life easier upon my return), then there was my surgery and recovery.  Finally I am feel nearly back to my crafty self and I am loving it!

In the last week I made six pairs of baby booties, two pairs of baby mittens, three pairs of earmuffs, and am working on a pair of ladies mittens right now.  It feels so great to be back at it!  Plus, tourist season is right around the corner!  My crafts sell really well here in town, both to locals and tourists.  My goal this summer is to save enough from crafting to do the usual of replace my supplies (and buy a few more), but also to put away money to go towards the supplies I need to build a greenhouse for next summer!

A few of the afternoon crew!

A bunch of booties!

 

Earmuffs!  Lynx, Arctic Fox, Fox

Baby mittens!  These were a custom order this week.