Ignorance is Bliss

A little glimpse back to the land of the long white cloud (apparently I'm having a hard time letting go)...

When Lowell and I lived in NZ, we lived in a cutesie cozy little homey cottage.

It was located in a vineyard/horse/strawberry field/produce stand area.

We basically lived in the country with every convenience the city has to offer about 6 minutes away.

(our Hollywood-esque driveway)

(Part of our extremely expansive yard)

The cottage was a little rustic and definitely had character. Birds lived in the chimney of the pot belly stove, and random cats came for regular visits.

Yes. Quiet, peaceful, beautiful and very "Alice in Wonderland"...

Welllll, one of our friendly little "neighbours" spent it's time trotting along the ceiling above our bedroom. Lowell suggested that perhaps it was a rat, but given the history of birds in the chimney, I gently told him he was being stupid, and we decided that it was a sweet, innocent, non-disgusting bird.

Now fast forward. After we moved out of the cottage and traveled around the country for two months, we returned to the homestead to bid our final farewell to the family next door. At this time, they gave us a 'cottage update'. Apparently the new tenants could not sleep at night due to the noise in the ceiling. They decided to investigate. They climbed up to the roof and looked inside where the entire floor of the ceiling moved with tiny RATS. GROSS. The false ceiling was muffling most of the noise, but the rats freely transported themselves in and out via the overhanging tree. GROSS GROSS GROSS. I'm soooo glad I didn't know that. I think I would have become all sorts of mentally INSANE with the knowledge that HUNDREDS of baby rats were sharing my bedroom with me.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why ignorance truly is bliss.

Reality Strikes

"Hey. Real life...weeeeeeee're BAAAAAAAACK!"

Yeah yeah I know... I'm a bit behind in the blogging game. Apparently real life isn't quite as exciting as traveling on the other side of the world!

So here's where it's at. We finally moved into our house (that we've owned for 2 years but have never lived in). We're living in the basement, but we have nothing to complain about- it's bright, it's spacious, and most importantly... it's OURS. Plus the renters upstairs are awesome.

Oh, and we're a block and a half away from my parents which has been a delightful bonding experience! (PS- I think we're a little more attached to my parents than your average almost-27-year-old-married-to-an-almost-28-year-old).

Anyhoo, here's a glimpse of our humble abode...
Kitchen:

The counter space is a DREAM!

Dining area/living room with pieces of New Zealand, Thailand, and of course Canada scattered about:

There's also a bathroom (which I don't think you need to see) and a rather spacious bedroom that doubles as an office, but it's not yet public-ready. Soon. Very soon.

One of the BEST parts of our house is the apple tree in the backyard. Two years ago, Lowell's sister, Lori, pruned it to perfection, and we've been reaping the benefits like CRAZY!

We've made apple pies...

Dried apples...

and apple sauce/fruit leather...

Such delicious little treats.

YUM.MEE.

As for WORK (work? What's THAT?!), Lowell and I are both keeping busy. Lowell just began his 8 month practicum for counseling psychology (to complete his masters program) and I'm back as a speech pathologist with preschool and kindergarten kids. There are still a lot of cobwebs to shake off, but I'm loving the heck out of the kiddies!

And that is us. In a teeny tiny nutshell.

Taking Things for Granted

Before our Kiwi adventures, I took for granted that crossing the street came naturally to me. When in NZ, I almost got hit by a car about 19 times a day because I DIDN’T KNOW WHICH WAY TO LOOK! I thought that by returning to Canada, I would become a confident pedestrian once again… but NOPE. I’m more confused than ever. While in NZ, not only did I promptly adjust to driving on the left side of the road, but I survived death defying activities such as river surfing, jet boating, white water rafting and bungy jumping. Upon our return to Canada, I quickly re-adjusted to driving on the right side of the road (for the most part) just fine… but crossing the street? Forget it. If I die before I’m 30, it’ll DEFINITELY be a car that takes me down.

I think I'm MUCH safer skipping through the vast expanse of a farmer's field with nary a road to be seen...

Our Days are Numbered...

At the farm, at least...

It's hard to believe that our summer at the farm has come to an end. It has been a lot of work, but also a lot a LOT of fun and it has FLOWN by. Over the past six weeks, we have enjoyed sooooo many things- SOME of which include...

1. Spending time with friends, family and our four favourite (and only) NIECES...

(It LOOKS like I'm breast-feeding my niece...but I'm not. That would be inappropriate).

(the nieces with their Grandma & Grandpa!)

(Grandpa and Beau)

Lowell and I got the nieces these cutesie little outfits from Thailand...

I was more than thrilled to discover that the pants intended for the eldest niece fit ME. It makes one feel good about oneself when pants meant for a FOUR YEAR OLD fit (granted, not exactly in the same way)... especially since acquiring the "Australian 15" (and no, that is not so much a cool surfing term as it is a grotesque weight-gain term).

The girls REALLY love their uncle Lowell...

Wow, apparently 'number 1' could've been a blog post by itself. Ah well, on to 'number 2' (tee hee, I said number 2)...
2. Having sleepovers at the farm.

In my opinion, one is never too old for sleepovers. Especially with super cool friends named Jenna...

3. Bringing dinner to the field in my super fancy delivery car...

4. Having a sleepover AND bringing din din to the field...

5. Welcoming brand-new-kitties-born-under-old-sleds into the world...

6. Spending time with the baby kitties...

7. Shooting badgers with the bachelors (Lance & Trav)...

8. Spending some quality time as 'Julie squared'. Julie Anne and I enjoyed various activities together including QUILTING WITH GRANDMA T!

(My little wintery creation is the top one, and the lovely springy one belongs to JAJ).

9. Farming (well, taking pictures of Lowell and his parents farming)...

10. Babysitting the local nieces....

( Sometimes I fall asleep at night dreaming about running my hair through little girls' hair (in a non-creepy way). I LOVE LITTLE GIRLS' HAIR. I braided Carmen's hair while she watched Dora. Side note here. If you are going to show a child a You Tube version of a kid show, CHECK IT FIRST. The first one we played for Carmen had the f- word dubbed in every few words. Example: Dora (the Explorer) eagerly said "I LOVE playing "f*** the puppy! Do YOU want to play f*** the puppy?")

(Trust me you, as much as Lowell loves his nieces... it was a fight to get the beaters out of Lowell's hand and into the girls').

11. Sisters and Mom T night! Pedicures, chocolate fondue, and a movie starring Zac Efron. Can you get any more girly than that?!

As of tomorrow, my farm wife days will be over! *sigh*... I'm really gonna miss it!