Dance dance dance

i took this video of Xander dancing last week sometime. he loves to dance. he's got sweet moves too. i've got at least a dozen other videos of him dancing. just thought i'd share this one...

sorry it's so long. the best part is when he spins at the beginning. i think he was dancing to Madagascar 2 (or "Zebra" as he calls it). it's become a favorite movie to watch since cousin Lincy came to stay during the summer.

Black Friday!

yea, so we decided to head down to Kalispell for American thanksgiving. it was great because Rob took off the friday so we could go down on thursday night. then, thursday was a snow-day for Rob which was even a bigger bonus! we could head down before it got too dark, and arrive in time for dinner! well, it was kind of an adventure getting down. i had been checking road reports all day and we decided we would go for it, even though a source told me the boarder was "turning people around" because the roads were "severe driving conditions".

well, to start off we haven't been able to get out of our driveway for days. it snowed a ton, and THEN started to blow. which meant 3 foot drifts. so, to even get going we had to pack all our stuff into our backpacks we took across europe, bundle the kids up and carry them 1/4 mile uphill to the hiway where the van was parked. not to mention it was blowing wind up to 100km/hr, AND the drifts. i had Xander and Rob carried Judy in her carseat. Jude was stellar and had no problems. she was right covered and could've cared less. Xander DID NOT like the wind. i was carrying him and almost died, i'm so out of shape. we must've looked like we were on a major mountain expedition with all the crap we were hauling. but we made it, and were on our way. Xander almost immediately fell asleep in the carseat. i think the wind was too much for him. he never sleeps in the car anymore.

from waterton to carway it was virtually uneventful. the only problem with the roads was that there was a lot of wind blowing snow across them. otherwise they were totally clear. when we got the the boarder, the dude basically told us "i can't tell you to turn around, but it is a really bad idea." we weren't convinced because the roads up till then were fine. and honestly, from carway to babb they were crap with some drifts here and there. but everything else was actually pretty good. until browning. between there and east glacier there was about 2 miles where it was REALLY bad. had it been dark, it would've been very dangerous. it was like a blizzard, but without any actually snowfall. the wind was blowing SO MUCH SNOW, that visibility was zero. i think we could've ran faster out of the car than we were actually going inside the car. then after that the roads were just fine again. thank goodness!!

when we got down there Mandy informed us that her and Larry were going to go shopping at 12:01am to get all the great door-buster deals. i said "YUCK! have fun!" but then we started to look at the flyers and realised what kind of deals there were. so Rob went! hahahaha! i went to bed. i just told him to get whatever he thought was a good deal. and he did! they didn't get back till 2am! they said the car was so full of stuff they almost couldn't get it all back! and seriously, Rob picked up enough stuff to cover ALL our Christmas stuff for the kids, plus Xander's next birthday AND Christmas stuff for kids again next year (Rob is REALLY good at saving stuff). unbelievable the prices! we are all about the black friday now. Rob said it was frenzy at the toy section, but not so much that he didn't get everything he was after. even a bike for $35!!

i saw this on SNL and thought i was funny, so here it is to share... hooray for black friday!

whenever we go to Kalispell we ALWAYS go to 5 guys burger and fries. we love it. and Xanders chows down like crazy. i took this video because we think it's hilarious the way he eats his fries. basically "no-hands" them. i love it!

haha! so we had a great time down there! thanks Mandy, Amy, Larry and Barb for the fun times!

wait, i can explain

i'm sure it doesn't matter but i've been feeling guilty about my blog's name: "annie-soup".

a lot of the other bloggers i know out there have their blog names having something to do with their family or kids. but not me. its all about ME!! but not really. i initially set up the blog so i could document family stuff, and whatever else was on my mind. i was going to do vanorman-soup but i HATE having to spell back stuff. "van-normand? how do you spell that??" "VAN-OR-MAN!" couldn't be simpler, but people don't always get it. so "annie-soup" was just a way to simplify. unless there are idiots who think annie is spelled with a "y"...its happened before.

so "annie-soup" is in fact all about my family. i am not self-centered and would ever imply that i blog only about myself (except for, seemingly, this post).

i feel better. now good day... i said good day, sir!

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas...

...which is TOTALLY not my thing. typically i am a "well, Christmas is in a few days... better get the tree up" kinda girl. but kids change the game... so does all this snow! with things feeling so "White Christmas" up in here, i almost can't help it! 3 feet of snow will do that to you i guess. plus, Xander was being boring on the couch playing with the ipad, so i HAD to get his attention elsewhere. he didn't even notice me setting up the little mini-tree RIGHT BESIDE HIM until i turned off the ipad and plugged in the lights. then i had his full attention. we looked at the tree and talked about Santa Claus, gifts and what color the lights were. i'm hoping this year he'll finally get it. because i can't wait for Christmas morning, and it's all to do with my kids!

Xander has been quite taken with the tree this year. in fact first thing this morning he insisted on plugging in the lights. we've been trying all day to turn the lights off, but he keeps going over and plugging them in himself. there's no fooling him!

also, Larry came to our rescue with the bobcat! so now we will be able to dig ourselves out on those more nasty snowfalls (like the one we just had). we made quick work, and even Xander got to have a ride. there is nothing better for a little boy! best toy ever!

we moved a lot of snow! so fun!

this picture is funny because Judy is a mad woman with her crawling lately. i think she busted her toe through her jammies from all the "bear walking" she's been trying to do. seriously, if she could be swinging from the curtains she would be! i think this one is going to give us all a run for our money!

A preview of things to come????

"by moving to Waterton you hereby relinquish all rights to snow-related complaints including, but not limited to - i hate the winter, i hate the snow, why can't i get out of my driveway, i'm going to bust a cap in mother nature's face, yo. you also accept the fact that you will without a doubt be snowed in by mid-november"

i guess i didn't read the fine print when signing the "lease" to Waterton Springs Campground... BUT I DON'T CARE BECAUSE I LOVE IT!!!

sure, all this snow does come with a fair amount of stress... will robbie make it out of the driveway in the morning? will my power stay on? do i have enough food to last a few days if we can't get out? what happens if robbie misses too much school? are the roads safe to drive on?

the snow drives me crazy in so many ways, but in general i would take a snow day over a heat wave any day. it is the ultimate cozy feeling.

we have AT LEAST 18" right now... and its due to keep snowing till sunday and it's only thursday. so to be honest i am a little worried about being snowed in, but i DID get to the grocery store yesterday in anticipation of some heavy snow this weekend. so there are no worries there. the main worry is that this is NOVEMBER! not even the scary winter months... heaven help us in mid-February...

right now we are at the mercy of mother nature and all this snow, but luckily we will soon have a little skid-steer (bobcat) that will be our primary go-to tool for digging us out on those nasty snow days. i went out this morning with Xander (head to toe in winter gear) to go try and drive the truck up to the road to survey conditions... well i got the truck stuck... who just buys a truck without 4x4?!? totally lame... so i tried to get Xander to walk with me back to the house, but he has a "thing" about walking in snow that is up to his chest. i wanted to get a picture of him but he was crying and boogering all over the place that i just scooped him up and ran back to the house. next time i promise pictures... or video! oh, how i love to terrorize my children.

so this afternoon after Jude went down for her nap i still wanted to get up to the road and see the conditions. so i trekked all the way up to have a look. i snapped some pictures on my phone as i went on my journey. it took me 10 minutes to get to the road... walking in knee deep pow is hard work!

Site #40... this is where i measured... 18"

apparently there is a driveway somewhere under there

yep, definitely closed for the season

more "driveway"

the pond sites... can we say hockey party???

yep, up to the knees alright

the inside of my glove... well i had to keep the camera somewhere didn't i??

i'd like to see you try and eat off that picnic table

i love it!

useless non-4x4 truck

nice and cozy inside

i'm pretty sure that the weather we've had this last few days is actually fairly A-typical for this time of year. i've been talking to a few other people who live out here and they've all been surprised at the amount of snow... we're all just praying it doesn't star blowing and drifting everything. because then we're all royally screwed.

I need practice

okay, so now that i've got my little (and i mean little) "photo studio" put together i need to practice shooting other kids. ultimately i'd love to start doing this sort of thing on a more regular basis, and i don't mean with my kids. xander is already tired of me dragging him around to take pictures of him, i can only imagine it will be a matter of time before judy is running away from my camera too.

so this is the deal, if there is anyone out there who wants to get some free studio photos done of their kids i am offering to do them (gratis) through till the new year. it will give me some much needed, and appreciated, practice. the only downside for you is that you'll have to come to me (in waterton) and you get what you pay for: which is a noobie photographer trying to take pictures of your kids.

you supply the kid(s)/talent, i do the rest. currently i only have one backdrop, no props, and limited space. but it is a start! anyone interested can get in touch!

in the mean time, here are a few snapshots i took earlier today. judy is 7 months and officially sitting on her own. 2 months ahead of her brother....

uh, I guess it's fixed then?

so I love my father in law. but for some reason strange things happen when he comes to the campground. this morning he commented on how one of the guest toilets flushed funny. I told him xander's toilet did the same thing. so he went to take a look. 5 minutes later he comes out with a hose that is " no good". another 5 minutes and he walks out with the tank. the tank is now deemed obsolete and irreparable. 5 minutes later out he comes with the bowl. the bowl is not seated correctly on the flange causing leaking between the Lino and wood floor. flange is cracked and wrecked and the floor is probably rotting beneath the linoleum. hmmmmm..... well I guess that's one way to fix a slow flushing toilet!

oh, and now they are out trying to fix the bar-b-que

Blast from the past

So I came across my most favorite picture ever while I was doing some organizing today. This is of Robbie on his 19th birthday (one month before his mission). I remember when we were dating he showed it to me and I asked if I could keep it. I don't do that kind of stuff, but this picture was exceptional. If ever I lost this picture, that would be a very sad day. I usually keep it in my journal, but since the last journal entry was pre-1998 I will post it here in my new "journal" of sorts.

hmmm... I would like to meet this Robbie again...

So tired

I'm pretty much obsessed with Buck2Bid. I've won a bunch of stuff, which has been great. But tonight was a gong show marathon and all for nothing! All for a $200 Costco Gift card. I knew it was a bad one to bid on, but I did it anyway. Sometimes you just have to know when to walk away. I'm still learning that, apparently.

Look!

I've posted twice in a day! I'm a real pro. Just sayin.

Plus my family is cute... so there.

9th time's a charm?

So, I've tried several times to start "blogging"... I just threw up a bit in my mouth, but I'm okay. Blogging is weird to me. I am not so self-important to think that anyone will be hanging off my every word. I have no clever anecdotes, no words of wisdom... but I have several movie quotes and a keen interest in greeting cards. I have no heroic parenting stories... most of mine end with crying kids and dishonor being brought on the family name.

But I've got some time on my hands. I'm out in the middle of nowhere, well Waterton. Still, far enough away to not be able to pop out anywhere and see people. I've enjoyed reading other people's blogs too. So maybe I can get into the swing of things.

At any rate, if I fail this time around I will swear off blogging forever.