A Big Week

 This week was the never ending week, it was jammed packed full of good stuff.  If you remember last weekend Jeff and his band played down at Black Rapids lodge, while I was down there the owner mentioned that she had a last minute reservation and no one available to be at the lodge.  So she must have really been in a pinch because she asked me if I would be willing to stay at the lodge and cook for the 2 guests that would be staying there.  Now keep in mind that this was only the second time I had met the owners, so like I said they were really in a bind or they are very trusting people- probably a little of both.  I told her if I could find a babysitter for the boys and someone to help me I would do it.  I couldn't believe it worked out! The neighbor girl watched the boys and my friend Gwen who is retired said she would go with me. Monday afternoon we headed down and came back Thursday morning. The lodge is about an hour south of Delta, nothing else really there except of course the mountains, Delta river, and Black Rapids Glacier.

The lodge is beautiful!!  Amazing timber frame construction and very nice detail work, such as these railings and stained glass windows, most of which was done by Alaskan artists.

The work load was pretty light because the owners had quite a bit of the food prep done. They had a menu lined out and some stuff made ahead and frozen but it was still stressful just trying to figure out this huge kitchen, finding the things we needed and getting the food on the table in a timely fashion.  Luckily the two guys that were staying there had pretty low expectations- they were laying some cable and thought they were staying in a military bunkhouse and didn't know if meals would be provided. So needless to say they were pleased when they saw the lodge.

I was really glad Gwen was there to keep me company, help me get everything put together and clean up the mess.  We even had some free time to get out and explore the trails on snowshoes.

Everything went well and they guys seemed pleased with our cooking but I thought it wouldn't hurt to offer a side of Pepto with each meal. The best part was just the peace and quiet. Gwen hardly ever whined or cried and I only had to tell her once not to hang on my leg while I was trying to cook.

Back home Wyatt had his first hockey practice!  I was sorry to miss his very first but I made it to his second on Friday.  Wyatt was a little nervous at first, just waiting and watching. The coach (trying to be helpful) skated over, grabbed Wyatt and carried him away. Wyatt kicked and yelled until he stopped and then just sat on the side for a bit until he got over that shock.  Once he recovered  (the coach came over and apologized to us) he was up and moving. He still holds on to his bucket for balance but he can get up some speed.  I don't think it will be long before he is going on his own.

The other exciting news this week is that Santa's elves showed up!!! The look on Wyatt's face when he first saw the elf was priceless. Big giant eyes filled with wonder "Mama!!!  LOOK!! the elves are back!!!"

I got these elves from my Grandma.  Last year after hearing my friend talk about her "Elf on the shelf" and what a good job of parenting they did, we decided to try it.  We told the boys that these elves send daily behavior reports back to Santa. It fascinates me how they don't doubt any of this information for even a second, I love it.  And I love the endless questions that are asked of me about the elves and Santa, although it is challenging to come up with the answers.  So the Elves are back and watching. Yesterday Wyatt starting talking mean to Sam then stopped and said "Oh I am sorry Sam, I should not have talked to you like that, the Elves are looking at me." So it works as a parenting tool (sometimes) but the boys also love them and play games with them all day. The best part is that the elves hide in a different spot every night while we are sleeping so the first thing the boys do in the morning is try to find them.

This weekend was also busy. On Saturday many of the local business had their annual Holiday open houses. Its fun- lots of people out and about, tons of yummy snacks, sales, door prizes and just good holiday cheer. So we spent most of the afternoon running around town chatting and snacking, then I spent a couple hours at a friends baby shower for a few hours then met Jeff and the boys back in town for the local performance of the Nutcracker.  Okay, so maybe it doesn't sound so busy to you but for a day in Delta it is!!

We ended the week with some crazy weather. The famous Delta wind starting blowing and the temps climbed up to 47 (above zero), all the snow melted and we had big puddles in the yard. Yuck! The boys enjoyed it but thankfully that evening the temps dropped back down and it started snowing.  I think we got 4 inches overnight so we are back to where we started except the roads are nasty.

Oh and we bought a new (used) car.

Anybody want to buy an 1998 Subaru? We will make you a good deal!