Day 297 - Laundry & Shauna

This morning, after a night of tossing & turning, I woke up to a rather thunderous stomping happening in the kitchen, along with the infectious giggles of a small child. Yup, Rayna was up. Her & Valentina were having the times of their lives. Rayna had donned our T-Rex head & Valentina decided it was a game. Rayna chased & chased & chased Valentina around the living room & kitchen until they were both out of breath! It was quite the sight to see! Valentina absolutely loves children & I think the feeling is mutual, especially in this case!


They were off to Calaway Park for the day. Mom decided to 'go along for the ride'(s). :oP I don't think I've been to Calaway Park since I was about 8 years old when I went with Jamee & her sister, Joleen! Yes, it's been a long time! Mom told me Rayna wasn't too happy when they got there, so Jamee knelt down & looked Rayna in the eye & said, 'Do you remember your choices? You can be miserable or you can be...' Rayna replied enthusiastically, 'HAPPY!' Jamee said, 'That's right. So what will you choose?' Rayna replied even more enthusiastically, 'HAPPY!!!' And away they went...


Jaco & I had a 'happy' day of laundry. I cleaned the kitchen, he vacuumed the floors & then we shaved each other's heads. What? Isn't that part of the domestic duties? :oP  So now we look like twins. I'm just waiting for the next 'Sir' comment! Although Jaco is a bit sad, as I have more hair than he does & mine is falling out! I keep assuring him that soon enough he'll have more than I do! Much more! 


It was a stunner of a day! Thank the Good Lord for sunshine & a little heat! I'll take every summer day I can get! We walked down to EVIC to visit Shauna & see how her course went. She was pretty excited about the entire weekend! Hopefully we can get together once we get settled & have a nice dinner. Today was her 7 year wedding anniversary, although her hubby was away on work. Jaco & I have a lot of years to go to catch up! I will volunteer with Shauna on the 6th of September, so I'm looking forward to working a day with her.


I spoke to Granny today & she seems to be doing well. If all goes well, we'll make a trip to see her in the next few weeks. She's only met Jaco once & we were only there for 1/2 a day, as I had to drive back for work last time. Hopefully this time we can stay a little longer & she can believe that I've made a good choice! She's already told me he better treat me well or he'll have to deal with her! And believe me, you don't want to mess with this 95 year old Granny! She's tough! 


She told me awhile ago about a situation in the Senior's Home where she stays. There was an old man who kept making passes at her. He grabbed her arm one day as they were wheeling past each other & told her he'd like to get to know her better. The next night she woke up & he was sitting on the end of her bed in her room! He said he missed the gentle touch of a woman. (!) She called the Nurse & they took him away. This happened a few more times. Finally, after the 3rd or 4th night, Granny told him he'd better get out & never come back. When he didn't respond, she took her cane & whacked him between the legs & told him 'There's more where that came from!' Even at 95 she's still got it! What a gal! 


Mom made us a stir fry tonight & Jaco had his first taste of Quinoa (keen-wah) tonight. He quite liked it, until he found out it was more carb than protein. It will be the challenge of my life to get that man to eat a healthy, well-rounded, BALANCED diet. In any case, he enjoyed it until he knew otherwise. ;o)


Tomorrow was supposed to be Body Worlds, but I think that we'll hold off another day. My energy is not quite there...yet! Have a great night & see you tomorrow!


xxxxxx
Maria, Jaco & Valentina

Headless T-Rex (Rayna) chases Valentina

Rayna helps Mom make fresh juice

The happy matching couple!

Valentina digs for the ball in Papa's shorts! 

Puddle or no puddle, she'll get the ball!

Day 295 - Soccer on the C-Train & Walking With The Dinosaurs

Wow. What a great day! We were up early (for me) & off to town by 0900. We met Sylvia & Drayton at the south end of the city & took the C-Train to the Saddledome. 


Sylvia is a long time friend from my Wrangler days at Three Bars Ranch in Cranbrook, BC. Her little guy, Drayton, is 4 1/2 & shares his birthday with my brother. Drayton is all boy, but has a heart of gold. He's got a very special place in my heart! I mean, how could he not with those blue eyes & gorgeous blond curls, but in any case, he's got the manners & personality to make anyone's heart melt! 


Last summer when Sylvia & Drayton visited, we went to the Calgary Zoo. It was a fun trip. I was still juicing then & Drayton helped Aunty Jill make her juice for the day. We also did a photo shoot on the old truck in the yard. When I visited the family in February, Drayton didn't remember going to the zoo with Aunty Jill. I was devastated! He didn't remember the fun times we had at the zoo??? That's it. We've got to do something AWESOME this time, so he'll surely remember! :o)


Mom2 suggested the Dinosaurs show that was playing at the Saddledome. Perfect! What little guy doesn't think dinosaurs are cool!? So I phoned Mom (Sylvia, not mine) & asked permission to go. Mom said she'd check it out & let me know. The next day she called back & said Drayton was already excited. Perfect! I thought we could take the C-Train from Shawnessy, as Drayton has never been on the train before. 


We pull into the parking lot & I can see Drayton & Sylvia sitting on a bench waiting patiently for us. I wave at Drayton & he recognized me right away! We bought our tickets & hopped on the C-Train that was waiting for us. We found a row of benches facing each other. I gave Drayton the soccer ball I'd picked up for him & the 'Thank You' card for the lovely care package he & Mom had so thoughtfully sent to me awhile back. Drayton was tickled pink (that's for you Gary!) with the ball. Him & Jaco tossed the ball back & forth for the entire train ride. It went off without a hitch until 2 old biddies sat down beside us - one on either bench. At one point the ball rolled towards the one biddy's foot. Drayton grabbed the ball & I apologized. The biddy quipped, 'Really, soccer on the train? It's a bit ridiculous.' I quipped, 'Well, we only see them once a year & it was my gift to him.' She quipped back. I quipped back & played the Cancer Card. That was the end of the quipping. Thankfully our ride too! 


Whoops! We got off one stop too soon & poor Drayton had to trot the entire way to keep up with the adults. We made it to the show just in the nick of time! He LOVED it. He was enthralled the entire time! Of course, T-Rex was last & that was the best part! 


It was actually a very interesting show. Amazing creatures, those dinosaurs! The dinosaurs looked very 'real' & the effects were quite good! It was a nice trip down memory lane, as I haven't studied much about the dinosaurs since I was in elementary school! We only bought the cheap seats, so we couldn't see everything on the screens, but I don't think the luxury seats would have been worth the extra $20-50. 


We played soccer on the way back in the C-Train again, without any biddy mishaps, and then it was time to say goodbye... I sure wish they lived closer! **Sniff, sniff** They were off to a birthday party & we had to stop a few places too. 


Our first stop was Community Natural Foods. And apparently our last stop too. I don't know what happened, but as soon as we arrived, my energy went right out the door. It was all I could do to pick up what I needed, leave the baby gift for Zoe, wait for Jaco & drive home. I went straight to bed & slept for 2 hours. I didn't feel much better by the time I woke up & I'm happy to say I'm finally off to sleep now. Mom bbq'd some portobello mushrooms for dinner & that's it... I'm done... 


Jaco is sleeping peacefully beside me - no snoring yet. Although he did just kick Adios off the bed, even if he was asleep, but I've never heard my cat 'thud' quite like that before. It must not have hurt that bad, as Adios is already back on the bed. Poor Valentina. Her nose is still out of joint that she can't sleep in the bed anymore.


Anyhow... Lekker slaap...
xxxxxxx
Maria, Jaco, & Valentina

Drayton enjoys his new soccer ball on the C-Train

It's a nail biting, straight ahead staring, hot dog eating kind of event! 

Don't ask me anything about the dinosaurs. It was cool.

Enjoying the show. Full stop. 

Drayton gives me a T-Rex RRRRRAWR!!! 

Some flying bird with fur.

Fast moving carnivores 

Is it Taurosaurus? The ripped off Triceratops? 

Taurosaurus. Was he born in May?

I forget this one's name, but he was pretty cool. Small brained, but cool.

Couple o' dinos. 

Digging in steaming poo for dung beetles. 

RRRRAWR! It's T-Rex!!!

Drayton is pretty pumped about T-Rex! 

Mama T-Rex chases off the other 2 dinos to save her baby. Reminds me of the 'Dingo Ate My Baby' story... 

A little T-Rex affection. 

All smiles! 

Cool teeth!

This sign was made for Jaco! 

Some kids new favourite outfit. I liked the tail. 

Drayton & Uncle Jaco try on the T-Rex heads. 

Jaco, Yahoo, & Drayton 

We sport the T-Rex heads... 

Drayton & Mom try on the heads... 

Playing soccer on the C-train (without the biddies!)

Ready!

Got it!

Smiles! 

Silly faces! 

More silliness! 

So happy to see you!!!