Bergs, Ducks and a Beautiful Swan

It was an absolutely GORGEOUS weekend here in Newfoundland. The Montgomery family took full advantage of all the weather had to offer and got out and on the go the whole weekend. Saturday morning we got up and did a few things around the house and outside the house. It's still not quite time for flowers (slow down there Staci), but the hanging baskets are out and ready to go! At noon on Saturday I headed over to a friends house for my first hiking experience in many, many years. It was AWESOME! We hiked a part of the East Coast Trail....actually it was this part of the trail. The views were just spectacular and there were THREE icebergs along our way that were really close to the coast. Sooo much fun. I can't wait to do some more during the months ahead!


While I was getting my hike on, Jeramy took the girls over to a friend's house for a cook out. He said that they had a blast and came home and just crashed that night. I didn't know because I got to go out with the girls on Saturday! Sunday was my morning to sleep in and I thought I would need it after going out, but I woke up at 7am so full of energy! We all four got dressed and were downtown for breakfast by 8:30. A fritatta later we were on our way to see the three icebergs I saw the day before. After taking lots of pictures and sneaking onto private property for the money shot of the biggest berg we came back into town and let the girls feed the ducks at Bowring (pronounced more like boring) Park. I got to see my first live swan and man, are those suckers big! We grabbed lunch at Rustlers and I got to have Jigg's Dinner for the first time. Kind of like Thanksgiving dinner, but with less sweet stuff. Sunday evening we had our lovely neighbours over for hamburgers. The kids got to run around and it was just the perfect way to wind down a wonderful weekend. We even got the horseshoes out for a little game.


Here's to great weather ahead and great friends to share it with!

One Big Fat Thing I Don't Miss About Texas

You're not funny Joe...and you're an idiot.

Tales from Family Movie Night

Last night was our weekly family movie night. And the movie of the week was......High School Musical 2! Nothing like watching a 25 year old looking Zack Efron portraying a 17 year old getting ready for his senior year...that is until next week when we get to watch a 27 year old looking Zack Efron portray an 18 year old living out his senior year in High School Musical 3!

In the movie Zack Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' romance from last year fizzles out over the summer, then at the end (spoiler alert!) they get back together. As they realize how much they're in love and move in for the hug I hear....*sniff-sniff*...M:Ryleigh? Are you crying??? R:Yeah. M:Why are you crying?? R:I wanted them to get back together. J: And you're just so happy? R: Yeah. They're just like me and Kyle!

Attention Internet.... I'm not sure who this kid belongs to.

A Very Brave Family

Yesterday my dear friends in Sugar Land, Michelle and Dave, found out that their precious little 20 week old unborn baby has a 99% chance of having trisomy 18. You can read more here on this condition. Several of the developmental issues associated with trisomy 18 have already been identified via ultrasound in baby Rhyder.

My heart is so heavy with love and concern for this family. Michelle and Dave have two gorgeous little boys that Ryleigh and Avery played with many times the last year we lived in Sugar Land. Those of you at Ryleigh's birthday party last summer probably remember the family with the boys that had blonde hair and big blue eyes. Michelle was a member of my neighborhood mommy coffee group and she defines the term "loving and devoted mother".

Dave and Michelle have an unwavering faith in God and his miracles... and they're praying for a big one right now. By trade, they are life coaches and so they spend so much of their life and energy loving and caring for other people, helping those that need it the most through the tougher times of life. The connections they have made through their profession have never been so evident as in the past few days as this news has spread. All of the loving and kind words that have been posted on their Facebook pages would make anyone yearn for such a close and loving group of friends.

I wish that I could say something other than I'm sorry. It's just such an unfathomable thing to consider dealing with. My little analytical brain is not very good at dealing with the emotions that come with this sort of news. You know it happens, everyone takes a big risk when they chose to bring a baby into this world. The love you have for your child, even from the moment you decide to "start trying", it's just incredible.

Babies are such gifts, God's perfect little gift to us so that we know what it is to truly love and be loved. Regardless of the path that God has chosen for little Rhyder's life, one thing that can not be doubted for a moment is that he is really, truly, deeply loved. Michelle and Dave, I'm sorry. And I am thinking and praying for you guys. I wish I was there to give you both hugs and to cry with you and to scream with you how much this sucks. I miss your whole family and hope to see you soon.

I'm Goin' to Texas...I said What?

Just a little FYI to all you Montgomery family fans out there, we'll be in Texas in June and we'll be making a grand tour, so you're bound to catch us in whatever city you are in. Our schedule is as follows:

June 13th: Jenn and girls arrive in Ft. Worth where we will stay with Jenn's sister in Arlington while spenidng a few days visiting various friends and relatives

June 16th: Jenn and girls will drive to Monahans and stay with Jenn's parents

June 18th or 19th: Jenn and girls will drive to Amarillo where they will meet up with Jeramy (flying in from St. John's) to attend the Wood/Newman family reunion on June 20th.

June 21st: The Montgomery family will drive back to Monahans

June 27th: Jenn, Becca and Curtis will be hosting a 25th wedding anniversary party for Steve and Terri Steen in Monahans...Save the Date Y'all!

June 28th: The Montgomery family will fly to Houston where Jeramy will attend a class on the 29th-July 1st while Jenn gets the girls to take care of various doctor appoints, shopping, etc.

July 2nd: The Montgomery family will fly back home to St. John's.

Hope to see you soon!

What A Gift

I just added a link over to the right under my list of favorite websites. It's a link to a blog started by someone that I am related to, though have yet to meet. It's an amazing website filled with pieces of information about my heritage. My mother's maiden name is Wood and the website details the lineage of the Wood and Newman family back to where they join together. The Newman part of my family can be traced to the original 300 settlers of Texas and for that reason, I am eligible to join the Daughters of the Republic of Texas organization. I'll learn more about all of this when I attend the Wood/Newman family reunion this June in Amarillo, Texas, something I am really excited about.

Here is the link to the blog. It really is very cool that I have this wonderful gift. It got me to thining about the fate of my own blog someday and how it is possible that this blog could become something that I can pass down to my children as a record or my existence, of our existence. Perhaps someday it will be the record of several generations of this family's existence. How very cool.

Pics from the Wedding

I finally got all the pictures from our week in Puerto Vallarta up on a Shutterfly. The link is over to the right in my family pictures section...there are A LOT...enjoy!

All Sorts of Canadian Things

My mom and little brother got here late Wednesday night, or I guess I should say the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. Screw a bunch of Continental in Newark. Once we all rested up we began having a really great visit. Thursday I took Curtis up to Signal Hill and out to Cape Spear for some spectacular views which included an iceberg or two. So much fun to watch my little brother from West Texas explore Newfoundland.


Friday night Jeramy and I took Curtis out to downtown St. John's. Of course we hit George Street for a few drinks at a cool little dive that always has live music. When the time came, we crossed the street over to Christians to get Curtis officially Screeched In. Getting Screeched in is a cute little ceremony that a few of the bars do where you basically get christined an honorary Newfoundlander. It involves some chanting, some shot taking and the kissing a frozen fish. Curtis did it all and had an absolute blast.


We took a taxi home, not drinky drivey here, and what to our wondering eyes should appear but A MOOSE! That's right people, I saw A MOOSE...in the wild! Well, sort of. We've dubbed him the city moose. He was walking across a strip mall parking lot at 1:30am and I saw him. My moose............MY moose. I pointed him out to Jeramy and Curtis and oh man, what a perfect way to end a great evening for Curtis in Canada...seeing a moose.


Yesterday we had some Newfoundland friends over for dinner and an egg hunt for their daughter and Ryleigh. So much fun to watch the girls go crazy over a bunch of hidden eggs. And, we even got to do it outside because for a few hours it was about 50 degrees Farenheit with minimum wind and clear skies. A fabulous April day! Then the parents got to escape for a little fun...Canada style!


Jeramy and I got invited to go curling. Soooo much fun. And let me tell you, it's so much harder than it looks. I honestly used to wonder how the hell it was an olympic sport..not anymore. It really takes some strength in your legs for the balance required to slide properly. Adding to the fun was the mix of people that we got to hang out with. There were Newfoundlanders, Labradorians, Britains and then of course the Texans. We all just had a blast coming together in the name of curling and drinking beer. To top it all off, we were getting taught how to play by a 2006 olympic curling gold medalist. Between my moose and my new found sport...I'm feeling more and more Canadian.

I'm in the middle of making Easter dinner and some other expat friends of ours will be coming over soon to partake in the eating. Happy Easter to All!

What I'm Reading These Days

I thought I would comment on a few things I've read this year. It is so nice to have reading back in my life. Small children make it so difficult to read anything but now that they can play together relatively unsupervised it's a lot easier to find time to lock myself in my bedroom and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist. Yeah, I'm just begging for CPS to make a visit.

My family will recall my obsession with Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett over the Christmas holiday. An excellent book for anyone who loves historical fiction type books, specifically those set in medieval England. This one has it all, kings, queens, knights, noblemen, serfs, monks bishops and even a cameo by Thomas Beckett. Thank you very much to Karen for turning me on to Kingsbridge Priory. The sequel, of sorts, World Without End is almost equally as good and is certainly equally as long. However, it is basically the same story just retold 200 years later with a few alterations.

Around the beginning of the year my friend Betsy loaned me all four books to the Twilight series. I let them set around my bedroom for a while and then one night in a moment of weakness I picked up the first one to accompany me in the bath. Now I must say...I heart Edward Cullen. I blew through all four of them and was left thirsty for more. For those who live under a rock on the moon and don't know about Twilight it's basically a love story between a human girl and a vampire that doesn't drink human blood. I have now watched the movie approximately 2,479 times, and it just came out on DVD two weeks ago. I encourage everyone to read these books, but only because I don't like the feeling of belonging to a crazy cult on my own. I'm really too old for this crap. Thank you also to Kerry Beth for encouraging me to read these books. I blame you for my addiction as well.

I recently started the book Boom! by Tom Brokaw, a book about the 1960s, a decade that I so totally wish I could have been a part of. Totally. I'll let you know how it ends.

I Came Into This Monday With Such High Hopes

*take sip of coffee*

I woke up this morning at about 6:30 to a baby still asleep in her crib, a four year old asleep in my bed and a husband walking out the door to work. Hello Mommy time. I got up and started to get myself dressed and when I heard Avery stirring in her room I was able to walk in with a smile on my face and sweep her out of bed and into my snuggling arms. We had some good snuggle time on the couch while our oatmeal cooked and then made it through breakfast with my good mood in tact. Then it was time to wake up the beast.

*take sip of coffee*

Ryleigh was not into our good moodiness and went through several outfits before she could put something on and not "cry for a hundred years!". She made it through breakfast and allowed me to do her hair if I wouldn't use water because if I did she would "cry for a hundred years!". After kicking her out of the car....I mean dropping her off at school I decided to skip my workout today and instead clean up the house.

This proved quite difficult because Avery did indeed attempt to cry for a hundred years once we got home. The mistake was letting her run around outside for a bit so she could enjoy some of the warmness (and this is a very relative term, you people in Texas with your organic herb gardens and blooming things) that has entered our world the past few days. She did NOT want to go inside and once inside, she did NOT want to do ANYTHING but whine. I was quite thrilled when it was time to go get Ryleigh and even left early so that Avery could goof around outside the school and take her time climbing the stairs to get her sister.

*gulp down rest of coffee cup*

Now it's only 1:45pm and I'm already worn out for the day. Avery is sleeping, but I know she will be up soon and I'm hoping to take a walk if the girls will have it. It's just one of those days that I feel the outnumberedness and I am scared.

My intention when getting on the internet was to blog about our outing yesterday to go see Max and Ruby. Of course Betsy already beat me to it so you can go here and read all about how we got ripped off. If it weren't for the fact that we were all in it together, it would have been a total bust. However, when you get so many little people all in one car, you really can't help but be amused. I know the kids had fun, and that's all that matters, but for what we paid for the tickets we could have had a private clown at our house entertain them for hours with money left over for margaritas for the grown-ups. Hell, enough margaritas and I'll get in a Ruby suit and entertain everyone. And my show shall be called "Ruby Gets Tired of all of Max's BS and Puts the Smack Down on Him Big Sister Style" because seriously, this is what I root for every time I am forced to watch that show.

*head to the coffee pot for refill*

Mexico!

Here are my last two Mexico videos. Photos will be posted soon, almost done uploading and sorting.