| RULES!! |
| COLLECTIVE SOUL RULES!! June 11, 2003 In May, a group of us got to get away to Saskatoon, for a much-anticipated road trip during May-long weekend. Back in March, Kyle learned that Collective Soul (my favorite band before and now FAVORITE-EST band ever) was touring in Canada and playing in Saskatoon on May 25 this year, so we purchased ticketaway (as opposed to the 8 it takes to get to Winnipeg, where they were also playing) in order but Kyle kept me sane, reassuring me of good things to come and the need to show my girls how to take care of themselves now and when they are mommies, too. The band played for over two hou It was a GOOD time, very well spent. |
| COLLECTIVE SOUL RULES!! June 11, 2003 In May, a group of us got to get away to Saskatoon, for a much-anticipated road trip during May-long weekend. Back in March, Kyle learned that Collective Soul (my favorite band before and now FAVORITE-EST band ever) was touring in Canada and playing in Saskatoon on May 25 this year, so we purchased ticketaway (as opposed to the 8 it takes to get to Winnipeg, where they were also playing) in order but Kyle kept me sane, reassuring me of good things to come and the need to show my girls how to take care of themselves now and when they are mommies, too. The band played for over two hou It was a GOOD time, very well spent. |
| COLLECTIVE SOUL RULES!! June 11, 2003 In May, a group of us got to get away to Saskatoon, for a much-anticipated road trip during May-long weekend. Back in March, Kyle learned that Collective Soul (my favorite band before and now FAVORITE-EST band ever) was touring in Canada and playing in Saskatoon on May 25 this year, so we purchased ticketaway (as opposed to the 8 it takes to get to Winnipeg, where they were also playing) in order but Kyle kept me sane, reassuring me of good things to come and the need to show my girls how to take care of themselves now and when they are mommies, too. The band played for over two hou It was a GOOD time, very well spent. |
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| 2003: (not in order) Christmas Pre-Christmas Celia's Baptism Concerts -Kyle's spring concert -Aurora's kindergarten concert -Spring cabaret -other sporadic pics Our new house Miscellaneous pictures (some repeat) with Moulin Rouge-style format Painting the spare room pink for Aurora's own room |
| 2004: Aurora's 6th birthday Celia's 4th birthday Summer* Back to school Halloween Christmas Concerts (coming soon) -Kyle's band concert -Aurora's grade 1 concert A ballerina and a baker Aurora in the mud room ... ...(February and miscellanous pictures through April) Bathroom renovations |
| March 7, 2005 Pretty uneventful Monday as far as the new pace of things, but Kyle is doing and feeling better all the time. He got his staples taken out today. There were 32 of them. Their removal has made for even more comfort in moving around and all around general motorization. Aurora's dance recital is next Sunday and then the jazz band trip is the following Friday (as in one week from this Friday) and I will go as the teacher and Kyle will go as a glorified chaperone. We will bring the girls with us when we go down as the festival is in Brandon. And soccer registration is looming tomorrow, for which we are signing up both Aurora and Celia. Celia has been asking me about playing soccer since Aurora played last year and really lights up when she watches "Bend It Like Beckham"--a soccer movie she loves. I think it will be a good ice-breaker/introduction into the kind of situation she will have in school. These last two years of playgroup have helped, but I've been there as the other teacher, so there's never really been the sense of self without Mommy. It will be just the thing to boost her out of her shell. And I am just enjoying the heck out of teaching. I am surprised at finding HOW much I like it. And not just the teaching, but the age. I remember thinking to myself in grade 7 social studies class I would never, EVER want to be a junior high teacher. EVER! So I've always had it in my head that I couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't do it and here I am.... just LOVING it. It's just too bad they don't start the band program in most of Canada until grade 7, but Kyle had the grade sixes started hands on with a lot of the percussion instruments, of which I have continued and expanded on. And in the meantime I am having the learning experience of a lifetime! This has definitely been the spark under my bum to get going back to school and finish my degree. Wow. |
| March 21, 2005 Is today technically the first day of spring? If it was, it sure showed in the melting snow and the warm sun. Thank GOD. Due to last summer's crummy uncharacteristically cold weather, this winter has felt like it has lasted an eon and it's soooooooo sweet to finally see hope of true seasonal change. The Jazz Fest band trip this last weekend went off without a hitch and the kids played well. The night we arrived in Brandon, there was a Matt Wilson Quartet concert and MAN! what a fabulous show. INCREDIBLE musicians but great showmen to boot. They were rip-roaring the stage with killer improv, amazing energy (the one alto sax was crouching and squatting and jumping and running around), and even a GINORMOUSLY entertaining tribute to heavy metal. A metal stand was getting busted up, the alto sax player was on the floor squirming like a rocker, and the percussionist was wearing a long and black-haired wig, hamming up the rock band drummer facade with twirly stick movements and gargantuan-ish drum solos. Then on Saturday, Kyle's grade 8 jazz band played for adjudicators and followed up by receiving a half hour clinic from one of the adjudicators. He really manipulated their sound but they easily understood to where to go with the music and where he was leading them, so a lot of progress was made. Even though I've only been their teacher for a little over a month now, I was so very proud of them and I know Mr. Whitehead was just as proud, if not more. They had fun in the hotel, too, as there was a waterslide and hot tub right inside. Our girls rode down on the bus with us, too, and enjoyed the ride as well as the waterslide, even though I had to coax Aurora to go down the first few times. This great weekend came after the WONDERFUL taking back of our basement. We finally were able to get (i.e. afford) to have the carpet guy come in and put the carpet down that we've had sitting in our basement since October. This after a much-ambitious declaration of wanting to get the basement done in the two weeks before St. Patrick's Day so that we could celebrate in our pub. Scheduling the carpet guy kicked the job into high gear and in the one weekend before he came, we had the hole in the floor leveled and fixed, pine paneling bought and installed (it looks SWEEEET), and the tool mess cleared up for carpet installation. THANK YOU, SHANE!! So now, with the new bathroom and improved basement, it LOOKS like a place you want to sit down and relax. And man oh MAN what a relief! It's been so long since we've since anything but an ugly eye-sore every time we go down there and now there is a new bathroom and new carpet. I can hardly believe it's our basement, it's looked crappy for so long, but now we are moving back in a bit at a time and regaining space upstairs. And it looks sooooooooo nice with the ivy green on the walls. Now the only thing I have to ask myself is do I really think I want to have a pub downstairs where the new carpet is? Hee hee. Sweet joy to have this conundrum. |
| April 7, 2005 So much to do this month with Music Month in Manitoba. Ordinarily (or more typically), I wouldn't haven't taken on such a feat, but I'm really excited about this and working on more public/curriculum awareness and participation. I dunno. I think I'm crazy. Other than the two other music/band teachers, I don't really think we're appealing to anyone. But... there are the students who will be doing extra curricular performances to consider---they will enjoy it. We'll see. I'm optimistic. Soccer, kindergarten registration, ensembles, no free prep time during the days looming. Celia got her pre-k needles today, poor thing; and then as she's getting into bed tonight, I bumped her sore arm. =( She's SUCH a trooper, though, making up silly knock-knock jokes and making her sister laugh with her goofy behavior. Meanwhile Aurora's returning the favor by being a cheeky little one, even venturing to get a bit of an attitude and mouth with her mom and dad. But we're calling her on it. And she's looking forward to her birthday this month, for which we'll do something low key like inviting some family friends over, some of her friends, some of Celia's friends and doing a sleepover. (As opposed to the insanely done class-invite last year.) There's much to tell, but so little time and it's late now. Super sleepy here. Check back again soon!! |
| COLLECTIVE SOUL RULES!! June 11, 2003 In May, a group of us got to get away to Saskatoon, for a much-anticipated road trip during May-long weekend. Back in March, Kyle learned that Collective Soul (my favorite band before and now FAVORITE-EST band ever) was touring in Canada and playing in Saskatoon on May 25 this year, so we purchased tickets and we planned to have friends keep the girls. Soon after that, four other friends decided they would like to go, too, so we invited them on a road trip with us in our van. And what a blast it was!! Not only did we get to keep the girls with the VERY sweet parents of a good friend and have time to ourselves AND with friends on an awesome road trip, but we got to see and take part of an AWESOME Collective Soul concert. Which was, BY FAR, the highlight of the trip. I have been a fan of them since their first CD, "Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid", trying to keep up on all their new albums, but never thinking I'ver ever get to see them in concert. I wasn't even sure if they toured or not and had resigned from early on to most likely never getting that privilege. Well. Imagine my excitement when I learned we'd "only" have to drive 6 hours away (as opposed to the 8 it takes to get to Winnipeg, where they were also playing) in order to get to a Collective Soul concert. As glitches in our plans and worries about the girls began to crop up, I was discouraged about leaving, but Kyle kept me sane, reassuring me of good things to come and the need to show my girls how to take care of themselves now and when they are mommies, too. The band played for over two hours straight and performed several encores AS WELL AS coming back out AFTER the lights had gone up and the house music started playing. After the lights and music had come up, lead singer, Ed Roland, brought the band back out on stage, charismatically demanded they "shut that f***ing music off" because they were going to play some more and then responded to the lights going back down by saying, "No, keep those lights on. We want to see our fans." It was amazing. And the energy they put off was echoed by the crowd and subsequently vollied back and forth between band and crowd all night. In a thread on the official site posted by the lead guitarist, Joel Kosche, he thanked Canada for their warm welcome and wrote that Canada had "some of the best audiences ever" after having returned to the limelight after a four-year hiatus. He also posted that Saskatoon was probably the largest turnout AND had the craziest people--which absolutely cracked me up. Was that because I was the girl in the front row jumping up and down, waving peace and love signals to the lead singer and lead guitarists??? I'll never know, but man, I was riding the high ALLLL weekend from when Ed and Joel looked right down at me a few times and when Ed returned a few of my air kisses. It didn't really even matter that I rolled my ankle about 3/4 of the way through the concert because just seeing the appreciation they have for their fans and the magnetic energy tossed around the place was worth it. And don't get your 'pannies in a bunch' about the air kisses thing--- Kyle was right there with me the whole time, enjoying seeing a side of his wife he only rarely sees, and Ed is just recently engaged to be remarried! It was a GOOD time, very well spent. |
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| COLLECTIVE SOUL RULES!! June 11, 2005 In May, a group of us got to get away to Saskatoon, for a much-anticipated road trip during May-long weekend. Back in March, Kyle learned that Collective Soul (my favorite band before and now FAVORITE-EST band ever) was touring in Canada and playing in Saskatoon on May 25 this year, so we purchased tickets and we planned to have friends keep the girls. Soon after that, four other friends decided they would like to go, too, so we invited them on a road trip with us in our van. And what a blast it was!! Not only did we get to keep the girls with the VERY sweet parents of a good friend and have time to ourselves AND with friends on an awesome road trip, but we got to see and take part of an AWESOME Collective Soul concert. Which was, BY FAR, the highlight of the trip. I have been a fan of them since their first CD, "Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid", trying to keep up on all their new albums, but never thinking I'ver ever get to see them in concert. I wasn't even sure if they toured or not and had resigned from early on to most likely never getting that privilege. Well. Imagine my excitement when I learned we'd "only" have to drive 6 hours away (as opposed to the 8 it takes to get to Winnipeg, where they were also playing) in order to get to a Collective Soul concert. As glitches in our plans and worries about the girls began to crop up, I was discouraged about leaving, but Kyle kept me sane, reassuring me of good things to come and the need to show my girls how to take care of themselves now and when they are mommies, too. The band played for over two hours straight and performed several encores AS WELL AS coming back out AFTER the lights had gone up and the house music started playing. After the lights and music had come up, lead singer, Ed Roland, brought the band back out on stage, charismatically demanded they "shut that f***ing music off" because they were going to play some more and then responded to the lights going back down by saying, "No, keep those lights on. We want to see our fans." It was amazing. And the energy they put off was echoed by the crowd and subsequently vollied back and forth between band and crowd all night. In a thread on the official site posted by the lead guitarist, Joel Kosche, he thanked Canada for their warm welcome and wrote that Canada had "some of the best audiences ever" after having returned to the limelight after a four-year hiatus. He also posted that Saskatoon was probably the largest turnout AND had the craziest people--which absolutely cracked me up. Was that because I was the girl in the front row jumping up and down, waving peace and love signals to the lead singer and lead guitarists??? I'll never know, but man, I was riding the high ALLLL weekend from when Ed and Joel looked right down at me a few times and when Ed returned a few of my air kisses. It didn't really even matter that I rolled my ankle about 3/4 of the way through the concert because just seeing the appreciation they have for their fans and the magnetic energy tossed around the place was worth it. And don't get your 'pannies in a bunch' about the air kisses thing--- Kyle was right there with me the whole time, enjoying seeing a side of his wife he only rarely sees, and Ed is just recently engaged to be remarried! It was a GOOD time, very well spent. |
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| RULES!! |
| COLLECTIVE SOUL STILL RULES!! August 31, 2005 Lots has happened since the concert in May, but I'll get to the best part of that in a minute. With the May concert still fresh in my mind, I finished out the school year teaching for Kyle, conducting the Spring concert (which went PHENOMENALLY well), submitting student grades, cleaning up the bandrooms, and gearing into summer, finishing up the year at June's end. I learned I was four hours short--FOUR hours--of getting unemployment insurance (which ironically came from taking the ONE day off of school to drive to the concert) and so I applied for the bakery in one of the grocery stores as I had worked in that department in high school. Before I could put in applications elsewhere, they were calling to hire me and I was going in for a shift at 3 a.m., followed by four more of those shifts. After being thrown into a different shift my fifth day in and standing in a pile of muddy, rain-soaked garbage trying to clean the rank, rotten mess of the produce, deli, and bakery departments, I decided in that moment I would quit. Normally, I wouldn't have given up on a job because I was always taught that I was never above a job, but I also realized there were limits to that, especially on the ground that I had gone from the euphoria of teaching to this grunting, thankless job. Fast foward to the current--I am now working half-time at a fabric and clothing store, which is more relaxed and far more rewarding. I really like it. I will also be learning to sew as time permits and I have a great time socializing with customers and learning the retail business. We had planned on using the summer to do house repairs, but being that it has been an unusually rainy summer and being that funds are tight with my half-time and job and the dwindling disability Kyle was receiving for his hip, we haven't had the time or the opportunity. There's siding (either repaint the current cedar or get vinyl), roof, and the deck. All need some major TLC, but we will have to wait until next summer. July was very nice and hot and the girls spent a lot of time outside and/or in the water. Celia's birthday was one of the last really nice days we had and with the gigantic pool she got for her birthday from Grandpa Murray, we all stayed cool. August, however, was not so warm and has been very rainy. To boot, our van got hit by the first of two hail storms this summer and caused damage that insurance THANKFULLY covered. Kyle is also down in the cities for teacher association training and seminars and his mom and dad have taken turns keeping the girls as he had to take the van down and I would have had a difficult time trying to get around with the girls and finding people to watch them. I've been riding the city bus and it's actually quite convenient as the stop is just down the street less than a block. The girls are coming home tomorrow and I can't WAIT. They've been gone a week and it's been terribly quiet around here. I've talked to them over the days and love to hear their sweet little voices on the other end. Celia and Aurora are full of stories when I talk to them and it's so amazing to hear the vibrancy of their voices in the words they choose--I don't normally get to hear them from that end. Both girls are now starting school in a week and there are mixed emotions on that one because I've enjoyed being with them when they weren't in school, but now the lingering days of stay-at-home mommy-ness will soon be days of yore. Yet, I can't sit here and mourn selfishly because I'm happy they are getting older and making new experiences! Playing second to the girls' and Kyle's return home, more exciting news is that Collective Soul is coming back to Saskatoon next month and not only are they playing a bigger venue this time, but Kyle scored VIP tickets. This means we have front stage, floor seats AND a meet-and-greet with the band after the concert!!! I am so excited, I can barely stand it. I can't, can't, can't BUH-LIEVE I'm going to meet Ed Roland and the other guys!! And I can't believe I get to go to TWO CS concerts in the same year!! This comes after getting tickets to see Robert Plant in Winnipeg, for which we will stay in the city three days (two nights) in the Fort Garry and spend some time together. It's going to be really exciting to see the ex-lead singer of Led Zeppelin!!! But Kyle was the Led Head more than I was, so it will be awesome to see him enjoy the concert AND awesome to go to a concert together that he will fully enjoy. It's going to be a crammed month, but it's going to be fun!!! |
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| *Credit for this graphic goes to perfect2stay on the fan site forum. |
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| Photobucket photos of the May Saskatoon concert |