Giant windstorms!!!

First set of trees on the road to our house (there were two sets of trees down)... A crushed car and truck a couple of blocks away...Snapped!!!
The road behind our place...
This is the house that was crushed...

We have been without phone, cable and internet for five days. We finally got it back this morning so here I am catching up.
Last Thursday night, there was an amazing wind storm here. Trees fell down right, left and centre, the power was out for days, and everyone was pretty freaked out. At two AM, while looking out the window, I noticed about ten flashlight beams lighting up the street outside. I threw on my coat and ran outside. Most of the neighbours were out running in the street watching the trees sway and fall. I have never heard that snapping noise before and it was LOUD!! The wind was AMAZING!! Things were flying everywhere! The attic cover in the ceiling upstairs was even sucked up into the attic and spun around! Our neighbour's house backing to the houses up the street was crushed by a tree. There are cars flattened everywhere. We only lost a eucalyptus tree in the backyard. The double swing was tossed upside-down and through the garden. Anyhow, here are some pictures of the devastation...

Poor, sick Briar...

Well, now that I have pretty much caught up with the most recent photos, I can write a few words about what is now going on.
Poor, little Briar's cold has turned into pneumonia. He is on antibiotics and is feeling much better at the time of this update, so I am feeling a little less tense. It just goes to show that as a mommy, you have to trust your gut. I have taken him to the doctor about 5 times in the last month just feeling that something wasn't right and he wasn't doing as well as he should be for a cold. Poor little Rabbit....
Olivia was in the Sooke Santa Claus Parade yesterday. She was a 'snowflake' (costumes were very subject to interpretation-she was dressed in white, essentially). I ended up walking with her in it, so I guess I was in the parade as well. Briar slept through his parade debut in the baby bjorn. We were supposed to hand out candy canes to kids along the parade route...Olivia didn't really want to do it. She was pretty shy about walking up to these other kids. I didn't want to just 'chuck' them as they kept landing in puddles of slush and I was feeling a bit shy about it myself, I must admit...We have ended up with a bag of mini candy canes. All the other mommies had handed theirs out so I had to smuggle ours into our car afterward so as not to be found out ;)
Jeff went up to Port Hardy on Friday to pick up some gear from the boat and to put some antifreeze in some part (Is my lack of boat knowledge showing?). On his way up there, he was witness to a head on collision on the highway North of Sayward. Other car witnessed it as well , but kept on driving!! I can't imagine... Anyhow, Jeff was able to put his recent First Aid upgrade to good use. I am so proud of him. He pulled a 'McGyver' and stopped one man's bleeding by using black electrical tape to apply pressure since he didn't have enough hands!! He used his sweatshirts as neck braces and a wood pallet as a stretcher to get a man out of his car when it looked like the car was going to catch on fire. Another man in a semi stopped and helped as well, eventually. There was no cellphone reception so the man with the semi used a satellite radio to call the police. It took an HOUR for them to get there and an HOUR and a HALF for the ambulance to get there. Anyhow, Jeff says he kept having to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't a dream... I think it was pretty surreal. Anyhow, YAY Jeff!!!
For any of you who are interested here is link to my sister's blog: http://hannamredding.blogspot.com/ There are some pictures on there from our trip to Kelowna as well as some wonderful pictures of my sweet, little nephews.

Recent pictures from the last few days

Some recent pictures for you. For some reason, they didn't go in the order that I tried to put them, however. There is a sequence to Briar's first haircut, but you'll figure it out, I'm sure. Briar's first ponytail. This is what I cut off and kept in his baby book.
Post-haircut...
Briar and Daddy, again post-haircut.
Pre-haircut!!!
The boys. Did you know that border collies come in the 'red' colour that is Freckles? I saw one on the internet yesterday and it looked exactly like our hairy, sheddy guy.
Jeff has a cold and flopped out on the couch for the day.
Olivia decided she wanted purple hair. I figured "Why not?" Anyhow, it is washable....
Mommy's little punk girl.

A couple more Kelowna pictures....

Some more pictures from our visit to Kelowna... A sick, pooped Olivia before our plane trip home...
I can't remember if I put this in the last group of pictures, but here are Olivia and Uncle Todd playing in the leaves...
Matty in his bumbo. He is very bend-y...
Oma's acorns...some happier than others....
Pat, the duck. He/she seems to be half male-half female... Quite a curiosity...
Yes, I am a paranoid mother. Jeff always says that I should just keep my children in a bubble...
Kirsten, Briar and Matty hanging in the kitchen...
I love Matty's expression here. It looks like he's saying, "Now listen here..."
Does anyone remember Bowser from Sha-Na-Na? How about Eddie Munster?

Okay, here are some more...I am having trouble getting more than this. I'll try to add again later. Gabe, the little ham, and Briar...
How many babies can you fit in a playpen?
Olivia feeds the ducks dehydrated apple slices...I hope that's okay for ducks to eat...
Big cousin, Olivia, feeds little Matty his dinner. She was pretty stoked.
Uncle Todd's eye-view of the scene in the hallway...
Todd and Gaby Baby chillin' out...
Gabe in THE stroller (Kirsten and Todd have the most amazing stroller ever - I am having serious stroller envy).
Briar in our stroller...

I am having a hard time getting more pictures on. I will try again in the morning... Sweet little Matty...Such blue,blue eyes!!
View out the window (if you couldn't guess)...
Olivia on our flight to Kelowna...
This is what happens when you don't put away the face paints where the kids can't get them. Just in case you can't tell, she is a puppy. Ha! Ha!
Such a sweet face...
Olivia and her new fuzzy vest and one of the 'acorn hats' that my mom made the kids.

Briar had his first bite of rice cereal...actually, his first bite of solids on November 11th. He really was into it the first time but has since not been very interested. We'll try again soon. Olivia was very stoked to help feed him.

I can't seem to keep up!!!

Okay. So lots has happened in the 20 or so days I haven't written.
My mom bought me a plane ticket to Kelowna for an early Christmas present; so Olivia, Briar and I all flew to visit my sister. We had a fabulous time!!! We didn't get much sleep due to being in a house with 3 babies that are all around 6 months and a sick four year old. We went on lots of walks and hung out. It was so great to talk to my sister without having to pick up the phone. Some days we end up talking three or four times on the phone, so it was great to talk about whatever popped into our heads. Her boys are so amazingly sweet. It's funny how you'd jump in front of a oncoming train only to save your own kids and then when you become an aunt, that list of kids you save suddenly grows. I love them to bits!!!!!!
Jeff is home and was treated to 5 days of rest and relaxation while we were gone. He had planned to sprawl out on the couch, eat pizza and be as loud as he wanted after 7 pm... He ended up finding the house too quiet and lonely without me and the little ones. Ha!! He stayed out in the garage and tinkered with his various projects because the house felt to 'weird'.
Olivia has come down with Briar's awful cold. You know she is feeling badly when she ASKS for a nap. She has laid on the couch almost all day today reading books and resting.
Briar slept on the plane both ways. The flight attendants held him while I got into our seats and thought he was pretty great. One said, " I can feel my biological clock ticking suddenly!!"
Olivia must have asked me 20 times if we were 'flying yet' while the plane sat idle at the terminal on our way to Kelowna. When we were finally in the air, she must have asked me 50 times "Is THAT Kelowna?!" On the way home, Olivia yelled repeatedly as we took off, "Bye, Tante Kirsten!! I'll miss you!!!"
To Be Continued....

Long time no blog...

I have been meaning to write this thing for a bit. Oh how time flies...We've had Halloween, Jeff has gone fishing and returned and I've developed an affinity to shopping on the 'net for used kids stuff (argh!).
We had a fabulous Halloween. It was a cold, clear night and we had a ball. Olivia was a cow and Briar was a pumpkin.
There was a little party at Olivia's preschool earlier in the day. Later, we went Trick-or-treating with Olivia's buddy, Angus, his mom, Sheila and his sister, Grace. Briar was all snuggled in his stroller. In fact, I had him dressed in so many layers that he couldn't actually bend!
Olivia LOVED the walking around in the dark and kept exclaiming that she saw a ghost! It was actually the poor, terrorized deer that were trying to hide from the teenagers blowing off their firecrackers, but she was convinced it was some phantom. Ha!
Olivia had quite a small bag for her goodies. Quite early on it was full and she resorted to saying, "No, thank you. I have one of those already," when being offered anything from a sucker to a chocolate bar. I think she just enjoyed ringing all those doorbells. Eventually, I emptied her little bag into the stroller basket so that she could get a bigger stash (for Mommy and Daddy to eat). It was actually hard to convince her to do that because she 'didn't want to be greedy'. Such a funny kid...
Briar has developed a love of maracas! Olivia handed him a pair one afternoon while he was in his jolly jumper. We haven't been able to separate them since. He jump and shakes, jumps and shakes. Quite hilarious!
Jeff and Olivia went down to my grandpa's boat the other day to give a hand 'winterizing' it. Jeff told Olivia that they had to get the boat ready to hibernate. She had a blast and told me all sorts of wonderful stories when they arrived home in the evening. When asked what her favourite part of the day was, she responded that 'loved looking at the engine'. I guess Jeff had her climbing into the tiny engine room to retrieve something and she thought this was the most interesting and awe-inspiring place. She told me that it was very hot in there and she put up her hood to keep her cheeks cool. I love her stories.
Anyhow, here are the pictures of our last couple of weeks.

Aren't I corny? Oh, dude! There is my dad's sense of humour!!
Olivia's new eyes. Who needs coloured contacts?! Get some wooden veggies.
Briar with his toupee-like hair. Isn't he cute?!
Olivia and Angus writing in the gravel at the 'spit'...
The buddies on the giant roots...
Climbing to the roots...
Sheila, the witch, Angus, the snake, Grace, the witch, Olivia, the cow, Briar, the pumpkin...(I was a viking).
Which one isn't like the others?
Olivia refused to wear her coat under her costume because it would 'feel funny'. I love it! Comfort over aesthetics! That a girl!
Colouring a face on a pumpkin...
Our behemoth pumpkin, Ned, on a sled...
Mommy's little cow...
It's hard to tell, but she is asleep holding a book in this picture.
I love that smile...
She is the best big sister, isn't she?
Briar and his maracas. He's going to join a salsa band as soon as he can...