Christmas Warm-ups

It's officially time for stretchy pants, and we're still a week and a half away from Christmas!
Last Friday Travis and I attended our church's annual Christmas banquet, where for the price of $3/person and 2L of pickles, we were able to eat ham & turkey till our hearts were content and our pants pulled at their seams. It was wonderfully laid back. No fancy programs or games this year. Just a chance to eat good food with some really good friends.

Fast forward to Saturday, our apartment building had a Christmas supper. So once again, we bellied up to the table and stuffed ourselves with more turkey.

Sunday we took the day nice and slow and met up with a group of friends at the Stoker's new place in Round Hill. And of course, ate more food. Travis and I are the only couple out of the 10 of us without kids, and so naturally, they fascinate me. And surprisingly, I don't terrify them!

This is Saraphina. Her dad, Adam, was baptized the same day Travis was. Saraphina is nothing but sunshine and giggles. At one point she was topless and sitting in a box she had just emptied.

This is Avery, you've seen pictures of his older brother Darien in a previous post. Avery decided he wanted to wear Travis's sweater. And how can you refuse that face? And yes, you're seeing things correctly. The pastor's son is sucking on a cross.

This is Serri. We play volleyball with Matt and Alissa on Monday's, and after a year of living in the same town we finally got together!

So now we're spending the week digesting, going for long walks and getting ready for yet another weekend full of Christmas warm-ups. We're doing our part to get ready for Christmas, what are you doing?

November - A Long Overdue Update

Where did November go? I try to remember what we've done and where we've been, but it's all a blur of school, work, essay proofing, trying to decide what to make for supper, forgetting to make supper.... I realize it's been a long time since we last updated this page, but in all honesty, other than a few special days, not a whole lot has happened. Well, nothing anyone really wants to read about. That being said, here's what happened to us last month.....

That same weekend Cindy and Larald came out for a visit. It was great to see them again, it's been a long time. And Larald gave us the honor of taking him on his first trip to the West Edmonton Mall. And boy did we choose a terrible day to go! Wall-to-wall people, and it wasn't even December yet! Unfortunately, I forgot the camera and we have no pictures for Larald to remember his big day by. Sorry Larald. But we'll think of you every time Travis puts on his flashy new shoes.

We said goodbye early Monday morning. I went to work, Travis to school, and Cindy & Larald back to Swift. Not even an hour after we had said goodbye, a friendly Sherwood park Nissan kissed our bumper. A perfect start to a freezing cold day. And no, it's still not fixed.

Fast forward to the weekend. I had big plans that included Christmas decorations and cookies. Well, I fought the tree up just in time to shower and race off to the Ulrich Cattle Liner Christmas party. It looks kind of funny. The tree that is. All the lights are on the inside. And sadly, there are still no Christmas cookies.

That Sunday Travis and I were accepted as members at the church we've been attending for the last year. A big step, but we're glad we finally made it.

After the service we went to Sherwood park with Murray & Sharron for dinner and I was finally able to see the Petro plant that Travis worked at all summer. The very tall tower in the center is what he was painting all those months. Pretty impressive.

And that was November. Thrilling I know. We like to live life on the edge when we can.

We hope your month was a little more interesting than ours was and we can't wait to hear about it when we see you in a couple of weeks.

And finally, Cindy, I thought I'd add this just for you.....

Thanksgiving Long Weekend

Thanksgiving, the perfect holiday set right in the middle of the busy season. The break given right when I usually need it most. We'd planned to stay home for the weekend and save our gas money for Christmas time, but a wonderful couple had pity on us and sponsored our trip back to SK (thanks mom & dad).

Unfortunately Travis's professors saw fit to load him up with a whole lot of extra work. He opted to stay home and try to get a handle on things instead of putting them off and spending the next week playing catch-up. What a mature, smart man I married.

Benjamin and Timothy couldn't make it out, and with Travis back it Tofield it was just the three of us (mom, dad, and myself) for the weekend. So the weekend was nice and relaxing. Nothing fussy. Just a lot of peace, quiet, and time spent enjoying each other's company.Except for the part where Grandpa came over and we ripped up the deck.

Well, they ripped up the deck and I took the dog for a nice long walk down old country roads.

And of course, I had to be officially introduced to dad's latest 'pets'. Yes, they all have names though the only two I can remember at the moment are Grunt and Lard. Surprisingly they don't stink nearly as bad as I thought they would. Dad would tell you it's because they're free range, healthy pigs. And they're sure going to be a nice addition to the freezer come winter! Poor Grunt...

And what's a trip home without a trip to the new yard, or the 'farm' as we like to call it. Mom and Dad have a beautiful quarter of land just North West of Laird. Though I didn't make it home in time to see the leaves still on the trees which makes things looks a little bare, the area is perfect. From the top of the ravine we were able to watch a doe head for cover. And the beavers have made themselves a nice little lake out of the natural spring that runs through the bottom of the ravine. Nice and wild.

And what could make a great weekend even better? Well, after a safe trip back of course. How about news of a future wedding? That's right, sometime around 5pm that same evening while I was dodging potholes, Larald was proposing to Cindy (my very happy mother-in-law). So congratulations! By the way, that means she said yes. Now there's something to be thankful for, right Larald?

Friday vs. Monday

Good thing there is no work to go to on Monday, right?
Hope everyone has a great long weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Night Lights

A night out on the town.... definately a nice break after playing scrooge with the $$ for the last couple of weeks. Murray & Sharron (our neighbours) had a couple extra tickets to Friday night's game and took us out for the evening.

I have to admit, I've never paid attention to football and I know next to nothing about the game except for what I learned during intermurals in elementary school (any Waldheimers out there remember that? Jaguars, Lynx etc...).

But regardless, I enjoyed myself. And it was a perfect night, not too chilly, no snow, no rain, a couple noisy drunks back and to the left.... Heck, what's a night out at a game, any game, without a couple of noisy drunks. Actually, with the help of their play-by-play commentary I was able to keep up with most of the game.


Either way, going to football games officially makes it fall in my mind. They're the ones that toughen you up by making you sit outside, so come hockey season, the rink feels like a sauna. But, I'm getting ahead of myself here. We'll take it one season at a time.

Back to School.......Again.

It's hard to believe fall is already here. I know the calendar doesn't say it's fall just yet, but the trees and the weather out here are telling a different story. I think we've enjoyed an afternoon at the lake for the last time this year.


A couple of weeks ago Travis headed back to school. The beginning of a 4 year (3 1/2 if we're lucky) haul. I think I speak for both of us when I say I'm glad we're moving forward again. He's attending King's College University in Edmonton, and so far, has no complaints. I'm sure he'd let me know if he did.

And I'm back at it in the office. Things have picked up again after the summer lull. Every farmer and all of his relatives in BC and AB has 100 head they need to get to the sale/plant yesterday. So needles to say the Ulrich trucks are already racing around the country and it will only get crazier in the coming weeks.

So, life is busy. But that's okay, that's the way we like it. Give us a call, we're currently living on scraps from the government and probably won't make it out to visit anyone anytime soon and we miss you.

A Weekend With the Harts

August 17, we drove down to Red Deer to spend the weekend with Trevor, Kelly, and Dad (who drove all the way from Riverhurst).

The boys were up before the sun, and spent all morning golfing at a local club. Meanwhile, Kelly and I took care of business, a 7km run, a trip to the farmer's market, and supper. I grew up without sisters, so to be able to have one now has been awesome.

The boys came home all golfed-out and famished and we sat down to an awesome roast that Kelly had made for supper. It was so good that the boys offered to do dishes!

We had planned to spend the night watching the Riders vs. Eskimos game, but due to a storm/power outage we ended up visiting, which was just fine. There's a lot of things to cover when you only get to see each other a couple of times a year. And apparently the Riders are good enough that they didn't need us cheering them on to beat the Eskies.

We headed out late Sunday afternoon, sorry to leave, but as always, glad we had the chance to catch up. Things are never dull when the Hart boys are together.