Pumpkin Time

We had a great time carving pumpkins this year. This was Nathan's first as he was only a week old last year, however he was a real pro once he got started. The other 2 had already begun and then Richard cut the top off of Nathan's and scraped the inside so it would be a little easier. Then he tipped it towards Nathan so he could put his hand in but all he did was look at the pumkin and then look at Richard as if to say, "what do you want me to do?". It was too funny. So Richard held out the little plastic shovel he had been using to pass it to Nathan and then "accidentally" dropped it into the pumpkin to see if he would go for it. It took a few tries but as soon as he finally did put his hand in he brought out a handful of stuff, passed it to Richard and then went in for another handful and just kept going until it was done. It was great.
This picture was the first handful, still a little unsure of the whole thing. HA!HA!

Here is Alex digging in. This has never been his favorite part but he still does it.

Kristin on the other hand tells us this is her favorite part, getting messy. HA!HA!

The finished products: Kristin drew hers freestyle (far left), Alex really likes Pokemon so I got creative (doesn't happen very often), drew a picture from one of his sticker books and then with Richard's assistance in the creative design managed to carve out something resembling his fav. Pokemon (middle) and then Nathan's was a fun design we printed off the internet.

Nathan's first response to pumpkins was to try to lift one. Never mind the fact it weighs more than he does! HA!HA! He wouldn't give up either until it rolled over.

Nathan's First Birthday

So Nathan celebrated his first birthday on Oct 22nd. Oma and Opa were here from Alberta and we had a lovely Roast dinner with all the trimmings in celebration of our little guy. He is such an amazing addition to our family. He is so happy, pleasant, content and everything we could have asked for. He loves pointing at things, talks up a storm, really belly laughs at his brother and sister when they are being silly and just loves life. As for the sleeping part, hopefully we won't have to wait until b'day #2. HA!HA!


Alex and Kristin were "big helpers" for the unwrapping! HA!HA! Kristin had decided that her gift to Nathan would be a card that she wrote herself and then she wrapped it up in giftwrap and presented it. She then of course had to open it for him and thought it was great fun.

He didn't have any trouble eating his cake. I decided I would buy his cake this year as things were so crazy with the move and it took Ruth and I forever to decide on a cake that would suit everyone's tastes. Finally the bakery girl came over and asked us if we would like to sample a Strawberry cream cake that was new and proceeded to take one from the display. She gave us generous portions and we decided it was the cake for us. Very light and creamy, and Nathan agreed! Also with it being Strawberry it reminded me of the valley so we had a little piece of home with us.

"What am I supposed to do with these things?"

He was absolutely enchanted with the balloons and the banner that we had up. He almost tried to crawl right out of the high chair. It was too cute!

The Kinner Clan reunited

We had the pleasure of Richard's parents coming to visit us for a week and they had a great time with the kids. Opa had never met Nathan so that was wonderful and Oma hadn't seen him since he was born so a lot of changes. Here are a few pictures of our time together.

Kristin and Opa reading a story in German




The kids with Oma and Opa at The Forks downtown







Oma feeding Nathan



Alex and Opa playing an Animal Wildlife game





Our postponed Thanksgiving dinner so we could enjoy it with family.



Nathan enjoying a "walk" with Oma.

STEPS Class

Kristin has had a love of dance from the time she was very small. As she is not starting school until next fall we thought we would try dance classes and see if she likes it. She has a class once a week for an hour and their class learns Jazz/Tap/and Ballet. Her first class was last week and even though she is starting late she kept up quite well with the other girls. The moms are very friendly so it has also been another way to meet some new people which is great. She had a blast and I can't figure out who had more fun....Ruth & me watching her or Kristin actually dancing! HA!HA!

Fort Whyte Alive

We had an opportunity to go to Fort Whyte Alive which is only about 15 mins from where we live in the city. It is a local bird sanctuary of sorts with many different activities going on throughout the year. Richard's parents were visiting from Alberta and so we decided to check it out and were fortunate enough to attend this one:

Be sure to join us for SUNSET GOOSE FLIGHTS:Wednesday - Sunday, September 24 to October 26, we’re open ’til dusk.
As the sun sets thousands of Canada Geese land on FortWhyte’s lakes. It’s a show like no other! Plan to arrive at least a half hour before sunset to witness this natural spectacle! Enjoy an interpretive talk about the migration patterns of Canada Geese, and enjoy food concessions on the South Deck as you relax and enjoy this natural show.

It was AMAZING!!! It was like being in the middle of a National Geographic photo shoot. We were standing outside at dusk with a gorgeous sunset and there were thousands of birds in the air. Then all of a sudden you heard this incredible amount of honking and from out of nowhere thousands of geese were coming from every direction and landing right in front of you on the lake. The pictures don't do it justice but I had to include them. Enjoy.

Finally...an update

Well I really never thought I would be doing this...blogging that is. Kristi is certainly an eager beaver and she inspires me to be better at keeping in touch.

We have made it to Winnipeg.... I digress and should maybe rewind for a moment to give the Coles notes version to catch up. Richard rec'd a posting message to Winnipeg in March of this year and we had a feeling that this was going to happen so we had busily prepared the house and were ready to put it on the market as soon as we received the official notification. We really did not think it was going to be difficult to sell our home and had been actively looking at the MLS system for houses in Winnipeg since February. Houses here typically sell in 7-10 days (NUTS) and so we saw a lot of houses come and go. In the meantime it took us almost 6 months to the day to finally sell our home in Greenwood after many frustrations and price reductions! HA!HA! For anyone that did the math, yes were pushing into September and Richard had to come regardless of whether we had sold the house, and I needed to enroll Alex in school so I was very relieved when we signed the final offer paperwork. After a whirlwind househunting trip and a few days to get packed and loaded we were on our way.

And so here we are. We have a lovely home and are very happy with it.

Totally surrounded by chaos at the moment with boxes everywhere and an 11 month old that thinks he has hit the jackpot of excitement with a new experience just waiting around every corner. I on the other hand am not enjoying that part quite so much. HA!HA!

Alex is in a wonderful school and loves it. He has been adjusting easily and would never know he missed 2 1/2 weeks at the beginning.

Kristin is looking forward to having some new friends and is happily at home with me, helping with Nathan and all kinds of other fun things. She is going to really miss Tucker!

Richard has been very busy with work but I feel blessed to have had him at home on the days when I really needed him like the unload and unpack. I know it is supposed to be easier when a moving company does it for you but let me tell you the unpack is much more fun when you can tackle it one box at a time insteda of having everything out and surrounding you. There was honestly more than 1 moment when I was standing in the kitchen without a clue which direction or pile I should tackle next and wanting to run away. HA!HA!

My intent on blogging is to be able to have all of my friends and loved ones be able to see what is happening here on our adventure in the praries and hopefully help to close the distance. Thanks for tuning in and from now on I will try to not be so wordy. HA!HA!