tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-213615612011-12-03T17:52:34.509-05:00Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.comBlogger1861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-36475941704470270642011-03-15T20:31:00.000-05:002011-03-15T20:31:17.090-05:00

I saved $26 on items I normally buy using coupons last week.  Even though it's a little time-consuming, I'm finding it's worth it. The next best plan in saving money is to go through the flyers, although I have limited my grocery shopping to three stores maximum, otherwise it's just too much running around.  Also, two of the three stores will price match competitor's prices, so if needed I can

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-67392226798573237242011-03-08T11:20:00.000-05:002011-03-08T11:20:31.855-05:00

Scott was in Seattle last week and I kinda bailed on meal planning AND grocery shopping! We only ate one fast food meal though. :) The rest was a random throw-together of what was in the fridge and freezer including leftovers from last week and stuff that had to be used up anyway, so (pretty much) no waste of food or cash, just no planning went into it. All I bought for groceries was milk,

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-24469714847604459452011-02-28T00:05:00.001-05:002011-02-28T00:08:24.355-05:00

Well, I tried the coupon thing last week.  I must say it is extremely time-consuming!  I think I will get the hang of it, but I literally spent hours going through sites such as www.couponmom.com (thanks Shelley!), www.southernsavers.com (thanks Elizabeth F!), www.afullcup.com (thanks Kris!) as well as www.coupons.com and www.smartsource.com (the latter two were often used in links from the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-2899243207223570712011-02-19T22:32:00.000-05:002011-02-19T22:32:45.124-05:00

I guess I should just consider it a "setback" as opposed to a fail.  We had a great weekend away and returned home Monday night.  I had enough groceries in the house to last until Thursday (having been away Sat-Mon).  I had good intentions of going through the flyers and printing some coupons from several websites I had been given, but I didn't have time and by Thursday we *really* needed

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-79000229889587407792011-02-07T16:27:00.000-05:002011-02-07T16:27:11.191-05:00

Two words about shopping at several different grocery stores: GONG.SHOW.  It took me three hours (3x my usual)! Initially I thought it might be worth it if I saved at least $10 per week.  I've upped the ante.  I will try this for one month (to give the average a fair shot) but will only continue if I save an average of at LEAST $20 per week. Next week I'll try coupons and hopefully that will be

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-29131555662642029342011-02-07T00:36:00.000-05:002011-02-07T00:36:05.372-05:00

Okay, tomorrow's the big day: my first venture to a few different grocery stores with a few different lists in my desire to save a few extra dollars.  I've copied down what's on sale (what I could find from the local flyers and online ads).  I haven't had time to go through all the coupon sites I have received links for, so I will have to venture into that territory next week. For now I'm

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-41269340594304894132011-02-05T00:30:00.000-05:002011-02-05T00:30:47.650-05:00

I've decided to blog about a little journey I'm about to embark on, in hopes that it will motivate me.  If you read my post on Facebook today, you've already got a head-start.  I'm trying to be more frugal with grocery shopping.  Yep, that's the journey. I have this sometimes-annoying habit of doing things all-the-way or not-at-all.  I have been saying for a while now that I should set a budget

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-87510614062098996302010-05-27T21:14:00.002-05:002010-05-27T21:17:18.212-05:00

If you haven't already noticed from my 6 month hiatus, I have taken a break from posting on this blog in lieu of Facebook. If you are interested in family pictures and updates, send me a friend request and keep up-to-date there. I am keeping my blog open in case I decide to use it again sometime in the future! :)

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-86538068019798575692009-11-24T11:27:00.002-05:002009-11-24T11:41:09.092-05:00

I've been busy with The Friendly Frog and it's going great! I just finished a fundraiser for Alisha's school whereby students submitted their original artwork and I put it on the product of their choice. Favorites included mouse pads, mugs, ceramic tiles and aprons but I also did items such as clocks, hand towels and check book covers. It was a lot of fun and everyone loved their finished

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-37880123398924300162009-09-22T10:17:00.005-05:002009-09-22T10:38:33.532-05:00

www.thefriendlyfrog.comCustomized Gifts & ApparelI know I've been slacking on the updates here, Facebook and The Friendly Frog are taking over! But I will try to keep you up to date for those who read this and aren't on Facebook (are there any of you out there?). If you haven't already heard, I started my own business! I am customizing gifts with personalizations, baby names, initials &

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-57612209506679877172009-08-05T08:27:00.002-05:002009-08-05T08:48:01.304-05:00

We've had a lot going on here in the past month and I've been slacking on blog posts! For now just a quick update. Joel and Alisha went to Scott's parent's place for a whole month! It's a long time to be gone from home but they are having a blast. Jim & Jerri started a summer camp on their property, complete with a dining hall, cabins, and sports fields. Kids from all around the area came to

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-40377225402857590522009-06-22T01:08:00.003-05:002009-06-22T01:58:17.618-05:00

The kids got out of school on June 10th. I am proud to say they both had grades in the high 90's and both of their end-of-grade testing was also in the 90's percentiles (compared to other students in the state they did as good or better than 93% and higher for all subjects tested).My Mom and Trent arrived June 13th. On the 14th we left bright and early for a 7 hour drive to the Outer Banks, which

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-50968509891716467072009-05-31T23:31:00.002-05:002009-05-31T23:50:10.805-05:00

I can't believe how fast May went by and suddenly it's June tomorrow! Well, I will have to post photos later but thought I better take a minute or two to put an update since I said I would attempt to post at least once a month! Unfortunately our poor baby robins did not survive, we're not sure exactly what happened but we think the rotten squirrels got to them. We didn't know squirrels were

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-89600147607200163452009-04-20T21:37:00.005-05:002009-04-20T21:49:54.026-05:00

Click here for photos of Alisha's "Teeny Tiny 10th" Birthday Party. We had teeny tiny hamburgers & teeny tiny corn on the cob, and a teeny tiny cake with teeny tiny cup cakes. There were teeny tiny relay races and a teeny tiny scavanger hunt where all the girls found teeny tiny items such as tiny nail polish, tiny umbrella's, tiny pony's...you get the picture. They ate cake and Alisha opened

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-87120360664900526302009-04-19T11:54:00.003-05:002009-04-19T12:36:54.819-05:00

Sorry folks, I have been neglecting my blog due to Facebook! I have been doing quick updates and photo posts on Facebook and just realized I haven't posted here since February. I think a lot of you keep up with both applications but for those that aren't on Facebook, I'll try to make sure I keep up here at least once a month.Lately we have been keeping busy with sports, school, birthdays and

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-7635604637711584082009-02-11T21:20:00.002-05:002009-02-11T21:27:02.125-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Shari and I and our girls decided to take a day trip to the mountains in search of snow (the guys chose to stay home). We went to Blowing Rock and it didn't disappoint. We were a little worried as there was no snow at all until *just* as we turned the bend into Blowing Rock, then it was a winter wonderland! It was almost surreal. It snowed the entire time we were there

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-66936059386133880162009-02-11T20:29:00.000-05:002009-02-11T20:30:15.053-05:00

This is a rainbow (and faint double rainbow, top left) that was outside of our house the other day. I took these Alisha's bedroom window.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-49925530425708386872009-02-11T20:02:00.000-05:002009-02-11T20:03:07.554-05:00

Here's what Joel and Alisha have been up to lately! Joel started playing trumpet in Middle School band and is enjoying it. He had his first concert before Christmas and did a great job! Alisha started basketball for the first time this year and she has loved it and is really good at it! She is getting to be known as the "stealer" - no one suspects her innocent little face and she constantly

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-12833416960927985782009-01-25T22:22:00.003-05:002009-01-25T22:26:38.276-05:00

Spring hasn't sprung yet but I think it's trying! I just wanted to write a quick note to go with my new "look", I thought I better get rid of the Merry Christmas background seeing as it IS almost February!!! I debated a Valentine's themed background but was worried I wouldn't get that changed until April or May, so I went with a Springy-look.We are keeping busy with all sorts of things, from both

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-43374955557716907962009-01-01T16:57:00.004-05:002009-01-01T17:19:18.848-05:00

Happy New Year! I finally went through the tree house photos and put them in order, and I also made a short stop-motion time-lapse video of the process (thanks for the tips on that Karl!). Click here for photos, click here for the video! Grandpa Forsyth wanted to do it as a family project when they were here over Christmas and we got the majority of it done in 10 days! We had a great time

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-26809330003608576602008-12-20T23:42:00.002-05:002008-12-20T23:44:59.166-05:00

My favorite quote so far from my 3 year old neice, Gracie: "Auntie Melissa, you are a vewy good cook!"Videos/photos coming...sometime!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-54144974726539244412008-12-19T07:21:00.008-05:002008-12-19T08:04:06.015-05:00

Gracie is my 3-year-old neice (Scott's sister's daughter) and she's here for Christmas (along with Scott's sister & brother-in-law and Scott's parents). The last time I saw Gracie, she was 1.5 years old and fairly shy. Wow has she changed! She marched into the house while Brent & Jill were still in the driveway saying hi to everyone, she scoped the place out and promptly went upstairs and started

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-90448422530143510482008-12-10T13:09:00.004-05:002008-12-10T13:14:30.998-05:00

~~~ A new baby on the way...due date July 26th~~~ Dayna created this as an announcement, is it cute or what?

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-28356133170802038372008-11-25T22:11:00.003-05:002008-11-25T22:13:07.241-05:00

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-31038719837431486112008-11-25T07:18:00.005-05:002008-11-25T07:25:41.636-05:00

This is my nephew Caleb for those that don't know. My sister said sometimes he loses his soother (pacifier) in the night so they put two in his crib to make it easier for him to find. As it turns out, he doesn't usually lose one! They have found him like this in the morning on more than one occasion! Is he CUTE or what?

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-10147539596971713032008-11-18T23:57:00.000-05:002008-11-18T23:57:44.583-05:00

Scott was scheduled to go to Microsoft PDC (Professional Developers Conference) in L.A. at the end of October. Since we have good friends that live just outside of L.A. whom we hadn't seen in over 5 years, and their first baby was born about 3 weeks prior, I made the last-minute decision to join Scott out there (oh, and I got a great seat sale - $200 return, taxes in! Couldn't turn that down!)

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-45959534579855265242008-11-18T18:18:00.002-05:002008-11-18T18:20:49.558-05:00

Click here and scroll down to rate our youth group's Operation Christmas Child video on Shoe Tube (Samaritan's Purse website)! Our youth may get special prizes or recognition if enough people view and vote.Thanks!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-60568545376643768662008-11-18T14:06:00.001-05:002008-11-18T14:06:24.436-05:00

This is the Middle School (6th-8th grade) youth group Scott and I lead at our church. They did a great job with this Operation Christmas Child event last Saturday and I put together this video clip of them.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-41334489204570638562008-11-18T13:50:00.001-05:002008-11-18T13:57:42.253-05:00

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-81298897397829637712008-11-17T11:44:00.003-05:002008-11-17T11:57:16.958-05:00

We had a great visit last week with my mom & Amma. Amma is Icelandic for Grandma, and while she is actually Irish, my Afi (Grandpa) was Icelandic and we have always called them Amma & Afi (pronouned Avi with a soft A). Long-Amma is Icelandic for Great-Grandma and is actually spelled Lange-Amma, but to make it easier I just spelled it as it's pronounced. All this to say, it did get a little

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-68274606084841889632008-11-16T20:45:00.000-05:002008-11-16T20:45:39.900-05:00

Here are the photos we had taken while my mom and grandma (Amma) were in town:

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-75358214557593236782008-11-14T08:21:00.002-05:002008-11-14T08:28:16.411-05:00

Oct. 23rd-25th: Annual Fall Women's Retreat in the mountains (with church)Oct. 26th-Nov 1st: Trip to Los Angeles, California (with Scott)Nov. 8th-15th: My mom and grandma (Amma) visit from Calgary, AB and Brandon, MB respectively. This has included a day trip to South Carolina (outlet malls, yaaaay!) and an overnight trip to Asheville (Biltmore Estate, etc) as well as outings with the kids.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-55468562840070692512008-10-14T11:36:00.002-05:002008-10-14T11:37:27.826-05:00

I got inspired to change up my blog after Dayna did "virtual reno's" on hers! I still have to make an image for my title but this is a neat change for now. :)

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-77281456621283120592008-10-10T14:24:00.003-05:002008-10-10T14:38:07.724-05:00

Picasa 3 (beta) is available for download, I'm not sure when this released but I think it's been fairly recent. Anyway, I've just been playing with the new Collage features and I love them, I could play for hours! Different style photos, choice of your size & color of borders and backgrounds... the fun never ends! I haven't looked at the new video features but they look fun too! More

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-43444431455768191982008-10-05T20:02:00.006-05:002008-10-05T20:14:00.543-05:00

Joel turned 11 years old today! He had a party at FunStation2000, a place with Laser Tag and a bunch of other things to do, they all had fun. Also, as promised, I finished his room in time for his birthday (I just finished everything yesterday!) He loves it. He chose the colors and the design of the stripes, the design was inspired by the shirt he's wearing. I was a little worried about green

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-7606233080230085952008-09-25T16:05:00.003-05:002008-09-25T16:15:33.524-05:00

Monday was the first day of Fall and we're finally getting some sweet relief from the heat! It's so nice to have a bit of cool air blowing and less humidity. Today Joel wore pants to school for the first time this year (they've been in school a month now). The temperatures were "way down" to 65*F (18*C) when he got on the bus. But the funniest thing was Alisha, who just walked home from a

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-55552289570575853812008-09-23T05:55:00.003-05:002008-09-23T11:25:52.933-05:00

I know it's been ages since I've done a post, we have been soooo busy getting back into everything (soccer 3x a week, piano, two different schools this year, PTO, church groups, etc,) and to top it off I got a big work project, which I haven't had in a while.Last weekend Scott took Joel on a camping trip, sort of a father-son-bonding thing, sort of a "you're in middle school so you're getting the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-85800891084120150102008-08-31T23:20:00.007-05:002008-08-31T23:42:11.935-05:00

Here are some of our summer happenings that I haven't had time to blog yet!Family game night, swimming with friends, Alisha after getting stung for the first time ever, which unfortunately turned into SIX stings at once! She accidentally uncovered a hornets (yellow jacket's) nest...now we know she's not allergic! And the bottom right is a somewhat-blurry image of Joel, burried under blankets,

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-23661120990118950122008-08-25T13:18:00.012-05:002008-08-25T14:20:09.254-05:00

Joel is excited about middle school (6th grade), albeit a little nervous. He did meet his teachers at open house last Wednesday and got his locker assignment (and lock with combo to practice!) He was glad to find two of his closest friends are in a couple of his classes, and happy he gets math first block. I think that relieved a lot of his nerves just finding out some of the "unknowns". He's

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-23272345273339802862008-08-22T20:25:00.007-05:002008-08-22T20:38:43.961-05:00

Each August before the new school year begins, I go through each of the kids' closets & dressers to figure out what doesn't fit anymore and what new items are needed. We also go through their toys and "junk" they have accumulated over the past year and do a big purge so we can start the new school year off nice and fresh. Today we finally finished both their rooms (school starts Monday!) and it's

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-65832977238668004802008-08-21T22:35:00.004-05:002008-08-21T22:47:59.588-05:00

With a LOT of help from Rachel, a friend that is getting her degree in Interior Design, and Shari, who isn't getting a degree but might as well be - I am almost completely finished redecorating! The key changes include: paint (we've been living with "builder's beige" for over 4 years) curtains, and shuffled/added/changed some wall hangings. The only furniture I bought is a table for our entryway,

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-70878160790425000012008-07-30T14:29:00.003-05:002008-07-30T14:46:45.011-05:00

I've been dying to post these pics we had taken when Dayna and Caleb were here in June! Why haven't I, you ask? Well we compiled the photos into a book (using Shutterfly, which I highly recommend!) for my mom for her 50th birthday, which was July 25th. Now that the book has been presented we don't have to keep the photos a secret any longer! Click here to see more.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-66356839890599310942008-07-20T09:54:00.001-05:002008-07-20T09:55:14.334-05:00

We are right in the middle of the kids summer vacation, 5 weeks down, 5 weeks to go!Above is a photo of the dessert Alisha and I made for the July 4th party our family went to. I blended fresh blueberries with vanilla ice cream to make Blueberry Ice Cream...mmm, it was yummy if I do say so myself! Then we put a layer of whip cream and topped it with fresh berries and umbrellas to complete the "

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-62569153431853653132008-07-12T07:17:00.003-05:002008-07-12T10:40:20.954-05:00

vs. A few days ago Scott and the kids and I went to Asheville (pictures coming soon) and we were eating lunch at Bistro 1896 - a funky downtown restaurant. As we were enjoying breaded calamari I was telling the kids that when *I* was a kid on Vancouver Island we used to go down to the ocean front and catch fresh squid right from the docks. Alisha's question (ready for it?)... "Was it breaded?"

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-89825968438001521002008-07-05T22:56:00.001-05:002008-07-05T22:57:33.543-05:00

I just saw this online and thought it was cute, love how Charlie laughs at the end!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-36976868800490764892008-07-04T12:33:00.001-05:002008-07-04T12:35:48.588-05:00

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-13636853502648844722008-07-01T13:16:00.002-05:002008-07-01T13:27:42.522-05:00

Happy Canada Day! For my American friends, this is our version of July 4th/Independence Day. Click here for more info!And an interesting blurb I found while searching for how old Canada is:The age of Canada depends on the starting point. The Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867 (so, officially she is 141 years old this year). The Colony of New France was established by Samuel de Champlain in

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-82214716636916753252008-06-29T22:59:00.003-05:002008-06-29T23:06:39.491-05:00

Just a couple things that have been bothering me lately that I have to get off my chest:1) Doctors who want to treat symptoms but don't seem to care about getting to the root of the issue. Please don't offer me another perscription, I want *answers* for the problem not something to cover it up.2) The fact that I can't find kids multi-vitamins that aren't loaded with sugar or some sort of sugar

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-57971318829167792242008-06-26T08:32:00.002-05:002008-06-26T09:14:37.505-05:00

The kids have been off school almost 3 weeks now. They both got great report cards and were in the 99th percentile in the State on their End of Grade Exams. We left for Florida the day school got out, and lately we have been mostly around town - library, friends houses, swimming...they are doing pretty good at keeping themselves occupied. They will both go to summer camp this year for the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-27444350256160876222008-06-18T07:51:00.000-05:002008-06-18T07:52:02.530-05:00

This makes me very glad we drive a hybrid which gets an average of 45mpg (5.2L/100km). I feel like pointing and laughing when I drive by Hummers and other large SUV's. Actually sometimes I do. Okay, I don't actually point, but I do laugh. ;) I felt a bit better when I realized it's actually hovering around $5.30/gallon ($1.30/L) in Calgary and getting close to $6/gallon in Vancouver!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-49187732520065704582008-06-16T21:44:00.006-05:002008-06-18T06:54:09.394-05:00

The kids and I tagged along with Scott to Florida as he was a speaker at TechEd (a Microsoft Conference with thousands of attendees). We enjoyed two days at Sea World while he was working away! He did get some time with us by the pool at the resort, and joined us for Kung Fu Panda (very cute) and joined us for the 10 hour drive home (I'm so glad the kids travel well!) We also went to the Florida

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-40391862477116751172008-06-09T15:27:00.005-05:002008-06-09T15:58:20.278-05:00

Dayna and Caleb were here for 12 days, they just left today :( But we had a great visit! The pictures speak louder than words (and I added comments just in case! LOL!) Click here to check out our adventures.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-63329915577131416242008-05-19T13:54:00.003-05:002008-05-19T15:53:11.924-05:00

Last week we had a great visit with Mom & Trent (aka Amma & Grandpa or, as Joel is starting to say with a bit of a southern accent: "Grampaw")Our adventures included everything from "rip-sticking" to white water rafting, collecting frogs and snakes, getting stuck in a freak hail storm, falling down at "mystery hill", getting trapped inside of a giant bubble, eating deep fried macaroni...and even

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-83573772606195586442008-04-06T20:06:00.000-05:002008-04-06T20:06:55.598-05:00

Our "baby" is 9! She had a birthday party actually on her birthday this year (yesterday, April 5th) and had a fun time stamping crafts with friends. Her favorite dessert is pumpkin pie so we did a very easy variation of it by adding ice cream and making Pumpkin Ice Cream Cake with graham cracker crust. I was a little worried but everyone loved it.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-55840357622188081152008-03-31T09:10:00.004-05:002008-03-31T09:33:12.092-05:00

Joel and Alisha just headed back to school today after a week off for Spring break. We didn't stray too far from home this year, but we did take the opportunity to go to Discovery Place (thanks to Mom & Trent for season's passes) and Old Salem. I loved the Normal Rockwell Exhibit they have at Discovery Place right now (shown in photos above). Old Salem is about an hour from here in "Forsyth

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-66583101562069211472008-03-28T08:26:00.000-05:002008-03-28T08:26:38.293-05:00

While Alisha has fairly straight hair naturally, we have recently discovered that we can actually work up quite a bit of curl (with enough product!) I don't know if it's slowly getting more of a curl to it as she gets older, or just that I've never tried putting "curl scrunch spray" in her hair while it's wet and not blowing it dry. In the pics above that's all we did and it stayed this curly

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-6691292130089044812008-03-17T20:35:00.003-05:002008-03-17T20:44:14.877-05:00

Before:After:Alisha has been wanting her room painted turquoise/blue for a long time so I told her we would do it for her birthday. What she didn't know is that Amma and Grandpa bought her a loft bed! And we got some new bedding and other room decor to go with it. So we closed up her room and the garage for the last few days as I painted (and painted and painted - brilliant idea to do three

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-68284257806810406112008-03-06T19:38:00.003-05:002008-03-06T20:16:39.965-05:00

I just made this for supper and mmmmm - it was so yummy! Had to post, unfortunately the flash is broken on my camera (drat!) so no photo...Layer plates to taste with any or all of the following:-Chopped Romaine lettuce or mixed greens-Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (halved)-Black Beans (drained and rinsed thoroughly)-Corn (cold)-Avocado-Grilled or fried strips of steak and red & green peppers (season

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-5416175880973037612008-03-05T16:48:00.003-05:002008-03-05T17:10:03.685-05:00

The book Scott collaborated on with 5 other authors has arrived on our doorstep!Professional IIS 7 is not your easy-read novel by any stretch! IIS stands for Internet Information Services and is a set of Internet-based services for servers using Microsoft Windows. The book is geared for developers and IIS administrators. Scott wrote 5 of the 20 chapters (about 220 of 749 pages). In case anyone

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-91512107589025705252008-03-05T15:42:00.004-05:002008-03-05T16:08:51.177-05:00

Alisha has been taking Piano lessons once a week since last May with about 6 weeks off over the summer. We are very impressed with how good she's doing and her dedication in practicing. She really enjoys it. She has a recital on Saturday which she will play the two songs shown on this video clip (you may have to crank up your volume, she didn't have her keyboard very loud when we recorded):

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-45369808849107745612008-03-03T06:39:00.006-05:002008-03-03T06:55:22.025-05:00

Alisha: "Dad, did you watch the movie "Over the Hedge" when you were a kid?"Joel: "Of course not Alisha, "Over the Hedge" is in color."

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-65237192014654330532008-02-25T14:10:00.005-05:002008-02-25T14:49:58.289-05:00

Since Spring is in the air I have been slowly working toward Spring cleaning. Nothing major yet, but little things each day like organizing the junk drawer. This book caught my eye at the library so I checked it out and have been skimming it: It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff". I'll be sure to post any further revolutionary ideas as I read it more in depth,

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-37287115859472223832008-02-19T11:12:00.000-05:002008-02-19T11:13:12.246-05:00

Here are some crocus' poking up their brave little heads in my back yard! It's almost Spring!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-21494396539897592112008-02-15T07:44:00.003-05:002008-02-15T08:01:39.773-05:00

Alisha was selected as the "MVP of the Week" in her class. Throughout the week she has special times to share her favorite things such as a recipe (she brought in some oatmeal raisin cookies), her favorite book (The Horse and His Boy - Narnia Series), and some of her favorite toys or special items (webkinz, Chinese signature stamp, doll from Hungary). We were also asked to write a story or poem

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-32875401846176782822008-01-31T06:27:00.000-05:002008-01-31T06:54:29.383-05:00

The other day I heard that the kids' school does not do outdoor recess or PE if the temps are lower than 45*F (7*C) or higher than 95*F (35*C). I found this amusing seeing as, when Scott was living in the Northwest Territories they wouldn't cancel school unless it was colder than MINUS 40*C! My uncle Mark is a teacher in Manitoba so I emailed him this tidbit, knowing he would get a chuckle out of

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-19987738957923243312008-01-30T13:27:00.000-05:002008-01-30T13:30:49.308-05:00

This is awesome. It was written by Nicole Johnson, who used to do this in the Women of Faith conferences. Enjoy.I'm Invisible...It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-31397934584613255182008-01-28T11:42:00.000-05:002008-01-28T12:01:20.531-05:00

Alisha's having a sleepover with her girl's club at the church. The leaders asked parents to bring snacks such as "chips, veggies, fruit, chocolate, or anything else you want to bring" so I offered to bring fruit. The email response I received back from the girls club leader totally cracked me up so I had to post it:Fruit would be great. I'm trying to make sure that we have good food and junk

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-17998244909282163512008-01-25T16:17:00.000-05:002008-01-25T16:33:47.992-05:00

We brought a batch of these muffins up the cabin with us (Joel made them actually!) If you like the main ingredients, you will love these muffins. Best of all they are very healthy. The recipe is from the Planet Organic Market Cookbook I got for Christmas (thanks mom!)Blueberry Pineapple Bran Muffins1/2 C Canola Oil1/3 C Blackstrap Molasses1/3 C Pure Honey1 Egg1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract2 C Bran

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-53520599253449201702008-01-24T15:56:00.000-05:002008-01-24T15:56:11.103-05:00

This past Saturday through Tuesday we rented a cabin in the mountains with our good friends Eric & Shari (they're the one's we cruised with last year). We had an excellent trip and there was lots of SNOW, which is exactly what we were hoping for! The last time we took our kids sledding was in the Northwest Territories when they were 2 & 4, which neither of them remembered. Eric & Shari's girls

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-58691065795158471962008-01-17T11:07:00.001-05:002008-01-17T11:13:31.188-05:00

We finally got some snow, our first snow of the winter. The kids are outside playing in it now (even though it's raining!) because school got cancelled - the downside is the school always has a "make-up" day, which takes away from a day they were previously scheduled to have off. For now they are enjoying it while it lasts!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-216991118608266952008-01-15T15:54:00.000-05:002008-01-15T15:54:35.872-05:00

On Friday I got "the dreaded phone call" from the kids' school saying Alisha was hurt. It was her gym teacher saying her mouth hit another girl's head. He said she seemed okay and didn't want me to pick her up from school, and her tooth didn't seem loose. So I was relieved until about 1/2 hour later when the school nurse called back and said it was a bit worse than they originally thought,

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-33792070524473312512008-01-10T23:39:00.000-05:002008-01-11T00:26:51.443-05:00

I adapted this recipe from one I found online and it was a hit with the fam so I thought I would post it. It's nothing too unique and far from gourmet, but it's quick and easy (and a good way to get the kids to eat broccoli!)Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Pasta1 (12 ounce) package rotini2 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil2 cups broccoli florets, finely chopped2 tablespoons

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-52695564904850077082008-01-09T00:05:00.000-05:002008-01-09T21:22:42.652-05:00

We had fun Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations at friends houses - Settler's and Dutch Blitz, among other games, always makes a fun time with friends! Bottom left is Alisha and Scott dancin' it up with our new "Dance-Dance-Praise", like DDR (PS2) but with Christian dance/alternative and upbeat praise music and it's for the PC. Scott and I bought it as a "family gift" for Christmas and it's

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-3701049988808475292008-01-07T11:24:00.000-05:002008-01-07T11:46:36.182-05:00

I have not been very good at keeping up with my blog lately, I was amazed when I noticed it has been almost a month since my last post! Well, stay tuned for a month's worth of catch up. In the great debate as to whether I should start now and post events back-dated or start a month ago and post chronologically, the former won out. Only because I just got 13" of hair cut off on Saturday and

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-4009648049349086122007-12-17T12:09:00.000-05:002007-12-17T12:09:50.711-05:00

Mom & I got this snowman outfit/bunting bag for Caleb, doesn't he look adorable? I love the top hat. Top left is his "formal" Christmas outfit and bottom right is a cute outfit mom bought him and he's just got the cutest smile, I had to post it. Gotta love him!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-28353280023692272342007-12-17T11:26:00.000-05:002007-12-17T11:27:01.662-05:00

Mom & Trent came for a pre-Christmas visit for a week. We headed to Charleston for a couple days, went to the light show at Tanglewood and had a great pre-Christmas turkey dinner and exchanged gifts from each other. The weather was fantastic, into the 80's (high 20's *C) which is unseasonably warm, even for here. Now we're back to "normal" if there is such a thing, the weather changes so much

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-27786846725427721672007-11-25T21:04:00.000-05:002007-11-25T21:09:18.067-05:00

This is good for a few laughs (thanks Kori)! Click here to see the whole song & dance: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9603494056(and here's my sister's fam: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9598993997)

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-76369679142030403312007-11-24T23:06:00.000-05:002007-11-24T23:15:50.504-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving with friends from church who also don't have family in town. Buz & Anne did the Turkey & delicious sweet potatoes and the rest of us brought the fixin's. The kids helped me make Pumpkin Pie & Cranberry Apple Pear Crumble (or Crisp as I realized no one knew what Crumble is). Today we worked on a masterpiece: A Gingerbread Train! I'm on the PTO at the kids school and

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-83625710866455821252007-11-17T18:44:00.000-05:002007-11-17T18:47:58.263-05:00

I love the South in the Fall! This is our backyard. One day soon I plan to drive around the area and take a bunch of pictures because the Fall colors are so pretty but for now, this is just out my office/bonus room window yesterday morning when the sun was shining right on the trees.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-85633479976305616002007-11-06T11:16:00.000-05:002007-11-06T11:31:29.035-05:00

November 6th: Enjoying the Fall!Here's my cutest of cute nephew, Caleb, getting so big! He's already over 3 months old and doing great (click here for more pics). Next is a view of some of the Fall color in our backyard. Finally Alisha and Joel's school photos. Alisha is 4' 3" and Joel is 4' 7" - they're catching up to me fast! They also got their report cards yesterday and both made the "

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-84351231058236362032007-11-06T10:58:00.000-05:002007-11-06T11:12:45.068-05:00

October 29th-30th: Trip to Beaufort, South CarolinaWe had a quick trip to Beaufort last week as Scott had to go there on business. It was a beautiful little town on the water. The kids and I went on a horse-drawn-carriage tour of the city and heard some neat stories of the history of the old southern houses and churches in the area. We also walked through the little shops in town and had frozen

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-45281315577029452402007-11-06T09:11:00.000-05:002007-11-06T11:14:18.387-05:00

Oct 18th-20th: Women's Retreat in the MountainsShari & I by the creek outside of one of the lodges.A pretty bridge over the creek.The weather has been so warm this Fall that the colors of the trees were just starting to change. We didn't get quite as good of a "leaf show" as last year. We had a great time though! As usual, we (Shari and I and Shari's sister Beth) did play a couple of pranks. My

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-43250518849835298602007-10-14T21:35:00.000-05:002007-10-14T21:35:12.218-05:00

Click here for Joel's Birthday Party Pictures!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-61637147570333316142007-10-08T23:03:00.000-05:002007-10-08T23:31:19.092-05:00

Here's your Two Tips for Tuesday:1) Backup your hard drive.2) Watch your step on carpeted stairs.Now to elaborate...my computer crashed yesterday just as I was blogging about Joel's birthday, right after I downloaded all his birthday photos and promptly deleted them from my camera. I spent all day running around for a new hard drive, new cables etc., (fortunately I have an expert "in-house") and

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-16678128892219852282007-10-08T10:00:00.001-05:002007-10-08T10:00:45.600-05:00

We had a great 10th Birthday Party for Joel over the weekend, please stand by for photos! For now I just had to post this hilarious video, thanks for sending it to me Anne, this is classic!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-5847391431352294962007-10-01T23:24:00.001-05:002007-10-01T23:41:25.699-05:00

There was a bit of drama in town today, the kids school was "locked down" most of the day. They had practiced this in short drills due to school shootings (in the country, none in our area), it was a required procedure for the last 2 or 3 years to have lock down drills as well as hurricane & fire drills. Today was not a drill so it did shake everyone up a little. In the end it was found that

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-6203925010871860852007-09-29T15:44:00.000-05:002007-09-29T15:44:50.085-05:00

Click Here for More PicturesI had an awesome visit to Calgary last week, it was SO great to meet Caleb, kiss his chubby little cheeks and cuddle him as much as absolutely possible! I also had a great visit with Dayna & Karl, Mom & Trent, extended family at the baby dedication, and some old friends I haven't seen in close to 15 years (we had re-connected over Facebook).The day I left, Alisha had a

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-80178233070143209952007-08-30T20:03:00.000-05:002007-08-30T20:17:28.445-05:00

I finally got a chance to organize and upload our beach pictures! After we got home life quickly went from having no obligations to being VERY busy! I didn't make comments on them, I think you'll figure it out for the most part. Except maybe the banana picture...just boil that down to "craziness"! All in all we had a great week at the beach. It only rained once and that was after we had

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-75747149754535816532007-08-27T22:27:00.000-05:002007-08-28T05:00:01.493-05:00

P.S. This isn't anyone I know, I just saw it and wanted to post it!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-56664577235277404152007-08-27T06:29:00.000-05:002007-08-27T06:50:13.670-05:00

Today is the first day of school. Joel's starting 5th Grade and Alisha's starting 3rd. I can hardly believe it! This got me thinking of this song I heard when I was at the hairdresser the other day, seems fitting for today:We were born to mothers who smoked and drankOur cribs were covered in lead-based paintNo childproof lids, no seatbelts in carsRode bikes with no helmetsand still here we

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-36750024355426967372007-08-15T19:02:00.000-05:002007-08-15T19:02:38.221-05:00

Click here and here for more gorgeous photos of my new nephew Caleb!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-50277428962633224862007-08-04T23:15:00.001-05:002007-08-04T23:35:49.115-05:00

It's been a while since I've blogged about what's going on around here, mostly because there's not a lot to tell (besides, of course, Caleb's arrival, below)! But that's a good thing! Since arriving home from our Canada trip (which was on the heels of our Disney trip!) we have been sticking close to home and relaxing. Here are a few photos:1) A friend of mine gave me some tomatoes, cucumbers

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-3837133644697715232007-07-27T19:54:00.001-05:002007-07-27T20:01:26.398-05:00

Here he is! Caleb Sing-Kwong Chu:In case you missed my "P.S." below, Sing-Kwong is Cantonese for "Bearer of Light".I'm SO GLAD I have a media-savvy family! My mom went to visit Dayna and Karl and Caleb this afternoon and promptly emailed pictures and a video clip! I still wish I were there but it helps me feel more connected to "see" Caleb before he's even 24 hours old!Click here to see more

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-82516006342785518392007-07-26T23:17:00.000-05:002007-07-27T14:00:21.754-05:00

Congratulations to my twin sister & her husband on the birth of their first baby! Dayna and Karl welcomed their son, Caleb into the world tonight, 5 weeks earlier than expected. He arrived weighing 5lbs, 6oz, breathing on his own and healthy. He is expected to have to stay in the Neonatal Care Unit for a while, they're not sure how long, at least a couple of weeks. Please pray with me for his

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-39451301250191853372007-07-19T21:05:00.000-05:002007-07-19T21:10:20.161-05:00

This is our friend Jeremy doing a perfect "Shrek the Third" Pinocchio impression. We were playing Settlers the other night and whenever anyone would ask him if he had a specific commodity to trade, he would launch into the monologue, finally I just had to get a video clip of it...enjoy...

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-66440848048422616632007-07-14T14:47:00.000-05:002007-07-14T14:54:37.533-05:00

Here's a clip of Scott and Karl "performing" on the PS2: Dance, Dance Revolution game. For those that aren't familiar with it, there's a touch-sensitive mat (or two for two players as shown here) that plugs into the PS2, and the screen flashes arrows to indicate where you're supposed to put your feet! It sounds easier than it is and for that reason, I won't post the video of ME trying it! I

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-37554716898414485432007-07-13T23:37:00.000-05:002007-07-13T23:38:03.525-05:00

We had a great trip to Canada! We flew to Calgary (actually we flew to Edmonton due to flight delays in Chicago, and Dayna and Karl picked us up there, we arrived in Calgary at 5am!!!) and stayed for a couple of days, then rented a car and drove 16 hours to Hay River. We were in Hay River for 9 days, drove back to Calgary and left early the next day to fly home. More flight delays in Chicago

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-51465114376779032662007-06-25T00:01:00.000-05:002007-06-25T00:03:52.305-05:00

Shari, Asia and I had a Birthday Celebration, we've had this day booked for about 6 weeks and we were all looking forward to it! Shari's birthday was in May, Asia's at the beginning of June and mine is coming up at the beginning of July so we decided to go out for lunch and go for a shopping "spree"! Too bad we missed getting a photo of us in Asia's convertible, but she was our "chauffer" for

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-56635901753255317532007-06-21T17:46:00.000-05:002007-06-21T17:55:02.571-05:00

I just find this hilarious...don't ask why... P.S. Some of the other clips in the "Barats and Bereta" series are less appropriate than others. Not all of the material shown or opionions stated are supported by this blog. :)P.S.#2 Thanks for the link Lana!

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21361561.post-36823329443070866522007-06-15T22:15:00.000-05:002007-06-15T22:29:25.570-05:00

The other day Scott said to Alisha, "How did I get such smart kids?" and Alisha replied, "Because we have such a smart mom!" (Ha! It gets better...) Then he said, "Don't I get any credit here?" And she said, "Yes, you made a smart decision when you married her!" LOL! I love it! Anyway, on that note, check out Scott's soon-to-be-released first book: (Click here for details on Amazon.com)This, my

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00162556566326470771noreply@blogger.com4