"Surfin' with the Spirit today!"

It's 7:46am here and I'm about to wake up Buck (unheard of!) to leave for Vacation Bible School. I'm helping out a friend who has just taken on the role of organizing the VBS for her church. My job is to lead the "junior leaders" who are grades 5 - 8. The "camp" is for 3 to 8 year olds. There are about 35 3 and 4 year olds. It is INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE (I should have used that song). A fun, semi-controlled kind of chaos (I know, oxymoron there). The VBS goes on until Thursday, which is the day my parents and Sami Davis Junior (my neice- SDJ) arrive in my parent's (the Joad's) RV.

The camp/VBS runs from 8:30 - 12:00 everyday but I have to pick up a friend of Buck's and get to the church a bit early in order to organize. We'll see how it turns out. I forgot my camera yesterday, but will definitely take it today.

More later (if I'm not run ragged)!

"Turn around - bright eyes!"

A few more camping pics. My parents bought us a grill/cooler and we are first using it on this trip. We love it!!


We had a wonderful anniversary - RKZ took me to see Shakespeare in the Park - The Merry Wives of Windsor. It came complete with a stadium grass seat and a basket of yummy food. I ate most of the cookies and we had a great night. The play was even pretty good. RKZ actually laughed and didn't hate it - that is a ROUSINGLY good compliment for the show.

We took a nice long walk after the show and went for a beer. Unfortunately, at that moment, it felt like my throat was closing in and my head was about to explode. I've had about 100 Grasshoppers (the beer) before, so I wasn't too worried about it being an allergic reaction. Still, I knew something was wrong.

Well, 2 days and a doctor's visit later, turns out I had STREP THROAT! What a pain. RKZ was so great to stay home and take care of Buck and me. The boys actually had a nice few days while I popped Penicillan (spelling?) and my throat allowed me to swallow. It was quite boring to lay there and watch HGTV on the second day, so I was glad to be better by Friday. Hence, no posting.

Last night, I was able to go to see "Mamma Mia!" with some girlfriends (RkZ was happy that I went with them). I really liked it and enjoyed seeing a movie where I could just sing and laugh along. Not going to win any Oscars, but cute enough for a girl's night out.

The one thing I DID see that I HIGHLY recommend (if you read this today) is the CNN Documentary/commentary "Black in America." I started watching it because there is a good chance we'll have at least one Black child after all of the adoption business, so I wanted to be a bit more informed. Wow! Agree or disagree, they raise a lot of interesting statistics and questions in the piece. I really liked watching it. It made strep throat a lot easier and made me wonder if I should be doing more for the people of color/colour in my world. I'm sure that there could be similar pieces on "Hispanic in America" or "Asian in America." I'd love to see "white in America" but that's never going to happen. For all of that teasing, I did really like "Black in America." Particularly the part about the spread of AIDS in the black community. Something needs to be done. If you have a chance, DVR it and watch it when you have time. It's on tonight on CNN.

"Wanna wake up each mornin' with you for the rest of my life"

These are some family pictures from Lake Forget-Me-Not in Kananaskis, Alberta during last weekend's camping trip.



Today is RKZ & my 8th anniversary. RKZ is the love of my life. He is such a strong, safe place for my heart & I can't believe that I have been so blessed to have him as my husband and best friend. It doesn't seem AT ALL like 8 years have gone by. I can remember so many stupid fights (many of you have witnessed them) and misunderstandings, but every time we come back together and grow in our understanding and commitment to one another. It's really great to be married. It's wonderful.

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short. ~Andre Maurois

"trying stop you leaving"

I'm a little obsessed with the World Youth Day events going on in Australia. 500,000 young people (or just people) at last count - media count anyway. Watched a bit of the seminarian & novice Mass last night. I just cried as I listened to a young novice (studying to be a nun/sister) as she addressed the Pope. She was so calm and peaceful and eloquent about her vocation "to love the world." It was really beautiful.

Ironicallly, I was also flipping back and forth to the scary movie, "The Skeleton Key," which is a "Hoo doo" (cousin of voodoo) movie staring Kate Hudson. It was a pretty ok movie, I thought. Basic premise? souls switching bodies. Favorite line in the movie? When the main character says, "I told you I wanted a black [soul] this time." Other character responds: "You know the black ones never stay." Basically saying that black people are too smart to stick around exploring a creepy old house long enough to get caught. I just laughed and laughed because it's probably totally true. (Not that I believe that skin colour has ANY effect on thought processes biologically speaking. I take the tack that the culture of southern black people -setting of the movie- tends to have a "respectful fear" of spiritual realities and so avoids any negatively charged spiritual situations in general). The movie was, in general, an exerisize in the main character making stupid choices over and over but at least that gave her some motivation in her caring for an older man & his plight.

Just for the record, I wouldn't recommend this movie unless it's on TBS or TNT or some late night channel & you're relatively interested. Get some sleep instead. Or read a book. For me, it was a "flipper" while I watched the Pope.

We're getting ready to go camping for one night. Buck is SO EXCITED. We're also taking Max, so I am a bit nervous. After packing 5 pairs of Buck's underware, four pairs of pants and a giant potty, some of the romance of camping is lost for me. Please email RKZ that we need a trailer.

"...renew the face of the earth"

“Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit!”B16

I'm just celebrating World Youth Day today.

"There are things that make me sad - you're not one of them"

Enjoying one of the 4 warm days we've had this summer.

I love these "let's play dinner" pictures.

And I love having a backyard.

Cirque de soleil (sp?) is coming to Calgary and there is a contest where I had to cut out a mask from the newspaper and take pictures with anyone wearing the mask in strange situations in order to win free tickets. I am under no delusion that I'll win - but masks are funny (unless they are clown masks - scary)

The days are just speeding by (again). I know that I am constantly commenting on the weather - I never knew that I was going to turn into "that" person - the one who always comments on the weather. Guilty. Anyway, it's been relatively cold and rainy for weeks again. The weather in Calgary leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, it could be in the 100's with clouds of smoke from fires wafting over our heads. I should be thankful.

I still have to blog on the new Indiana Jones movie...but let's almost suffice it to say that I can't even BRING myself to use valuable blogging moments to talk about it...I LOVE movies...I did not love this particular movie for so many reasons.

The Stampede is totally over and we've moved on to Buck's "summer camp" at the rec center. Clemmie is in the class & we've decided that they might as well be twins. Clemmie painted Buck green two days ago - totally painted the entire left side of his head and body GREEN. They have painting shirts and his shorts were still covered in green paint. When I asked him why Buck didn't tell her to stop, he just gave me a blank look and said, "Why didn't I?" Such an existentialist already.

Side bar definition: Existentialism: A philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.
Generally taken to have originated with Kierkegaard and Nietzche, existentialism tends to be atheistic, (although there is a strand of Christian existentialism deriving from the work of Kierkegaard), to disparage scientific knowledge, and to deny the existence of objective values, stressing instead the reality and significance of human freedom and experience. The approach was developed chiefly in 20th century Europe, notably by Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir.

Yeah, so my 3 year old was painted green through his and Clemmie's free will and it was my experience that I had to change his clothes about 5 times in one day. I wonder if Kierkegaard ever potty trained anyone? (please, feel free to look that up).

"I 'aint settling for just getting by"

Firetruck ride - Yeehaa! Buck loved that he could ride so many things alone.

Tulowtzki (sp?) watching Barney woop it up for the crowd. Can never miss BARNEY! We're in a bar off to the side & Dad has a beer and I have a margarita (yee - haa for sure)

I mostly love the lady standing near Buck. He's quite the fake rider, eh?

RKZ milking a fake cow because Buck waited in a 15 min line and then refused to milk. Crazy.

Buck waiting with Daddy in said line.

"Baby we were born to run!"

Buck LOVED his motorcycle ride. A little too much - it made us afraid for our future.

Dad & Buck rode this one.

Once the ride was nearly done. Buck hated this one. He's not a 'thrill ride' kind of guy, it seems.

2nd favorite ride at Stampede? Helicopters.

Last week was an interesting week. The It was once again STAMPEDE WEEK here in Calgary. I will describe it a bit for you all & then you'll understand the pictures (in case you don't remember last year's 900 posts about the Stampede). Well, the parade (as I posted) was on the 4th of July. It is always a good parade - made better in that we have a friend whose company sponsors a pancake breakfast and grandstands every year - some of the best seats available just because we're buddies (Jackson's dad is the friend). We had a good time but the parade is nominal in my opinion. RKZ really enjoys this Stampede week as it changes the entire feel of the business community downtown. There are still those Stampede breakfasts everywhere, but aside from that, not too much changes for Buck and I during that week - so my feelings are not as celebratory about it all.

The parade is always (I think) on a Friday and downtown (all of downtown) seems to take the afternoon off to party. We had a 4th of July party so missed all of the drunken fun. We still had a great time, though. Also the parade marks the beginning of the "fair/carnival" portion of the Stampede down on the Stampede grounds. The Saturday night, RKZ and I had a date to the grounds. It was really fun as we never had the chance to hang out alone down there last year. Only negative? That everyone wears boots, so I wore my boots and ended up struggling to walk around 11:30pm. What a dork I am. Slave to fashion, I guess :)

The Sunday after the parade (in this case, the 6th) was "Family Day" and families are free until 9am (as is the pancake breakfast). We had aspirations of making it before 9, but not so much. We had $11 tickets already purchased, so we decided to sleep in instead. The pictures above are all from our family day trip to the Stampede.

Now, this list will mainly be for my own remembering and less because I think you're interested:
Monday: watched Clemmie in the morning as the had just returned from GTO (Toronto)
Tues: RKZ golfed with Conoco. Buck had his eyes re-checked (his weak eye is getting much better) and RKZ was out that night.
Wed: Richelle's for a playdate. Buck had his first poop accident (at someone else's house, of course) and we immediately left. Good times.
Thur: 7am dentist appointment; Heritage park where it rained on us like crazy and 7:30pm superdog training class with Max (chuckles here). Saw Indiana Jones: blah blah skull (will post about this later)
Fri: RKZ @ plains pancaked bfast; SAW SUGARLAND (will also post about this later).
Sat: Adam's birthday at Superstore (yes - interesting and very fun). Went to Chuck wagon races at Stampede
Sun: VBS (vacation bible school) training as I'm helping a friend run a summer camp for one week.

Like I said, this list of what we did is for me. I didn't include the summer camp at WSRC that Buck is in from 9:15 - 11:15 everyday because that's on going this month.

This is a catch up post. Sorry it's dull. Life happens, I guess. More later!

"Love Bites - love bleeds"

I honestly do have a lot of photos to upload & Buck and I are running off to a summer camp for him, but I HAD to post about the last night's finale of the "Bachelorette." Now, for the record (and you can check with RKZ on this), I DO NOT and HAVE NOT watched this season of this show. I think I watched one season about 10 years ago, but it hasn't held much for me since. The one thing I knew about this season is that there was a professional snowboarder and professional basketball player in the mix. I think that these 2 personalities are so different that I was intrigued for the finale.

Turns out that she had gotten rid of the basketball player a few shows ago (her loss but probably the best idea) but the snowboarder was still in it at the finale. There is a point, I promise.

Well, with a dirge of anything to watch last night and RKZ falling asleep next to me on the couch, I decided to tune into the show. WHAT A HEARTBREAKING MISTAKE. How does anyone watch this show? It's like a mix of masochism and voyuerism at it's WORST. This ridiculous girl is crying because "I'm going to break someone's heart." Uhh, hello? Haven't you ever watched this show? Weren't you a previous contestant? Didn't you read the fine print that SOMEONE IS GOING TO FALL FOR YOU AND YOU ARE GOING TO REJECT HIM ON NATIONAL TV? What a jerk. Seriously. I kept telling RKZ that this was like watching a train wreck. A really well edited train wreck, but still a wreck. Not only did I not care about this woman, I just thought she was either an idiot or a great actress. At least say, "I knew it was going to hurt about 24 people" and admit that it really is just all about you or DON'T GO ON THE SHOW.

I've decided (after wasting 2 hours of my life I'll never get back like a complete dork) that this is the most heartless show on TV. Anyone who goes on this show is mean and selfish. I feel like a lesser person for even watching the finale. Yuck.

She chose the snowboarder, though. Which is cool :)

"It's Independence Day"

the initial crowd of teens and kids in our back yard.

Can you see the crowd of tots around the sandbox? We love our back yard!!

Buck & Max pre-party

The bouncy house was a big hit, even in the rain.

A rare sighting of the Dads - Charlie's dad (with little brother, Ben) & RKZ at the grill.

D Max. He is nearly Buck's age & a great kid (little brother of the girls with the USA nails:)

Buck & Charlie take a milk break during the action.

another shot of the bouncy house.

Em's patriotic hands - I love Canadian teenagers!!

"Up with Hope - down with Dope" - Hope also showing her red white and blue

The sisters show off their support for US (get it - us and the U.S.? I'm so clever)

My "o-so-Martha" flag cake.
A few days (ok, 3) late - but I wanted to post the pictures of our 4th of July blow out (ha!ha!). There were (in my dismal count) 33 people at the party and 10 of these were adults. There was a bit of rain & a good amount of food. RKZ & I only had minimal fights where each of our priorities took the upper hand. I wanted unlimited play time fun for the kids and he wanted to get the drinks together. Hmmm - interesting observation of us, I think.
It was so fun to have a party again. We've had a few people over for dinner, but to have an actual party was such a new thing in Canada for us. I have to admit that I was a bit more stressed than I would have liked to be. The rain made me kinda' crazy as we had to figure out how to accommodate everyone.
Our friends themselves are all amazing. We invited families who hadn't really met before, but all have kids of similar ages. It was a good mix, I think (they might all say different things). One friend did say, "I just love not having to cook!" which could be positive, but could be just a nice thing to say...(insert smile here). I do think that the best way to ward off homesickness of the 4th is to throw a big party. I barely missed the fireworks and craziness of California. Our one sadness was not ordering fireworks for the party (semi-legal, of course). It would have been fun to pass out sparklers.
This morning Clemmie is home from Toronto and now over at our house and fighting with Buck in the backyard swimming pool.

It's a good thing Buck will be at school 2 days a week in the winter. I don't know how we'll do with a return to being constantly inside!

Hi to the Maxwells!! I love you!!!

"Gonna Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight"

It's the Fourth of July. We're having a party with Canadians and Brits. Seriously. Not one other family of Americans in the bunch. Such a sad state. Here is what we did this morning, though:

STAMPEDE PARADE

I am not a fan of long parades. It's a fun week of rodeo and big pancake breakfasts, though, which is fun. Like a week of Knights of Columbus events one after the other :)

Because I miss living in the USA almost every day, I wanted to also post the long version of the Star Spangled Banner. Such a meaningful song, really.

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814



Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Let's just try to make sure "our cause" is always "just", eh? (little psuedo-Canadian there for ya. WE LOVE THE USA AND WILL MISS YOU ALL TODAY!

"You know I'm here for the party!"

More email madness. HAPPY WEDNESDAY! Have you seen this forward? Here's the story - although i should have said that it's our new play area (2 lies right there).

Anyway, it's pictures a mom took of the new playyard they set up for her boys in their backyard. Anchorage, Alaska. We had a bear in our neighborhood last year but they weren't here for the party like these guys.

"Everything's fine in America"

I received this NY Times article from my cousin, The Queen (one of the family immigration attorneys), and as I am playing "catch up" in my emails, I read this and knew instantly that I could not let it go. It is posted here for posterity (mine). Someday, I will print out these blogs as a baby book for Buck :)

Although I don't consider myself political (not hard working, studious or smart enough to figure it all out) I will stand firm in the fact that I am fundamentally pro-life and pro-immigrant. See? How does a girl like me vote for anyone?

The Great Immigration Panic
Published: June 3, 2008


Someday, the country will recognize the true cost of its war on illegal immigration. We don’t mean dollars, though those are being squandered by the billions. The true cost is to the national identity: the sense of who we are and what we value. It will hit us once the enforcement fever breaks, when we look at what has been done and no longer recognize the country that did it.

A nation of immigrants is holding another nation of immigrants in bondage, exploiting its labor while ignoring its suffering, condemning its lawlessness while sealing off a path to living lawfully. The evidence is all around that something pragmatic and welcoming at the American core has been eclipsed, or is slipping away.

An escalating campaign of raids in homes and workplaces has spread indiscriminate terror among millions of people who pose no threat. After the largest raid ever last month — at a meatpacking plant in Iowa — hundreds were swiftly force-fed through the legal system and sent to prison. Civil-rights lawyers complained, futilely, that workers had been steamrolled into giving up their rights, treated more as a presumptive criminal gang than as potentially exploited workers who deserved a fair hearing. The company that harnessed their desperation, like so many others, has faced no charges.

Immigrants in detention languish without lawyers and decent medical care even when they are mortally ill. Lawmakers are struggling to impose standards and oversight on a system deficient in both. Counties and towns with spare jail cells are lining up for federal contracts as prosecutions fill the system to bursting. Unbothered by the sight of blameless children in prison scrubs, the government plans to build up to three new family detention centers. Police all over are checking papers, empowered by politicians itching to enlist in the federal crusade.

This is not about forcing people to go home and come back the right way. Ellis Island is closed. Legal paths are clogged or do not exist. Some backlogs are so long that they are measured in decades or generations. A bill to fix the system died a year ago this month.

There are few national figures standing firm against restrictionism. Senator Edward Kennedy has bravely done so for four decades, but his Senate colleagues who are running for president seem by comparison to be in hiding. John McCain supported sensible reform, but whenever he mentions it, his party starts braying and he leaves the room...Barack Obama, gliding above the ugliness, might someday test his vision of a new politics against restrictionist hatred, but he has not yet done so. The American public’s moderation on immigration reform, confirmed in poll after poll, begs the candidates to confront the issue with courage and a plan. But they have been vague and discreet when they should be forceful and unflinching.

The restrictionist message is brutally simple — that illegal immigrants deserve no rights, mercy or hope. It refuses to recognize that illegality is not an identity; it is a status that can be mended by making reparations and resuming a lawful life. Unless the nation contains its enforcement compulsion, illegal immigrants will remain forever Them and never Us, subject to whatever abusive regimes the powers of the moment may devise.

Every time this country has singled out a group of newly arrived immigrants for unjust punishment, the shame has echoed through history. Think of the Chinese and Irish, Catholics and Americans of Japanese ancestry. Children someday will study the Great Immigration Panic of the early 2000s, which harmed countless lives, wasted billions of dollars and mocked the nation’s most deeply held values.


PS by me - I never thought I'd print an article where Ted Kennedy is given a positive shout out, but there you are.

"Give us clean hands - give us pure hearts"

Buck is now obsessed with washing his hands. It seems that he can't finish going to the bathroom fast enough. He'll pull up his pants and flush the toilet with lightning speed so that he can climb the stool and turn on the water. I tell him to remember this as he gets older. :)

He just looks at me.

I'll be sure to remind him of this enthusiasm when he's 10.

It's an overcast day here in Calgary - a little cold. We're off to the library and grocery store. Summer....

"O Canada we stand on guard for thee"

Canada's official birthday is today. It's a day off here in Canada (just like the 4th of July). Many of people, but not RKZ, took yesterday off as well, making it a four-day weekend. Canada is 141 years old.

I have attached a photograph of Canada's Fathers of Confederation (there were no mothers) at the Quebec Conference in 1864. I stole this from another blog where the author stated that the average Canadian could not name even one of these men. He challenges his readers to "Try naming them without peeking at the website. Did you get more than five?" I won't point out the blog because it's one of those "I'm so much smarter than everyone else" blogs - totally annoying, really.

RKZ is a bit sick today but I still pulled him around shopping for about an hour. Buck is still 100% with using the potty. My personal theory is that he was/is just ready to be out of diapers. Honestly, he barely makes a distinction between his annoyance at my changing his diaper and his annoyance at my making him get on the potty. He's just 3 and continuously annoyed when his fun is interrupted.

Official lyrics of Canadian national anthem:

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Tomorrow, I have to comment on the French version of the Canadian Nat'l anthem. There are some interesting bits, for sure.

Happy Canada Day (no eh? after)