My last post was December 18...2015!!!!! I assure you that I had no intention of skipping an ENTIRE YEAR of blog posts...but...I did. So if you were wondering what happened....I'm still kicking (and randomly ruminating on my next post) and am hoping to get back into the groove of entertaining my thoughts to paper. Or inter-web, however you prefer to call it.
2016 What. A. Year.
We started out our year intent on spending more time as a family. Life (and especially farm life) tends to creep up and crowd out the important and fun moments that our kids deserve from us as parents. So, we took a little weekend-jaunt down to the provincial capital~ Regina. We hit up the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and the kids got to run amongst the dinosaurs and the buffalo bones. It was fun trying to decide whether or not we should leave them there in the teepee rooms, or pretend that we didn't know them and give dirty looks at their rambunctious antics every time a stranger walked by. Just kidding; they had fun and so did we! Next stop was the Science Centre. It was pretty neat, but by mid-afternoon both kids were cranky, hot, and tired. So was I. I actually don't recommend taking kids under 5 to the Science Centre for an afternoon, as most of the activities are geared for an older age group. (8-10 yrs old) And if you don't want to spend your day running after dirty over-tired kids, lugging jackets and bags and bottles of water up and down millions of stairs...don't do it. The best part of our whole weekend was the hotel pool & water slide, and the free full breakfast that I didn't have to lift one finger to make. We also fit in a visit with my youngest brother and his girlfriend. We don't seem to see them often enough, so it was nice to see them and their beautiful place.
Shortly after our trip to Regina, we were off again! This time, the opposite direction ~ Elk Ridge Resort near Prince Albert National Park. Elk Ridge Resort is something that we've been doing with my farmer's immediate family members for the past 3 years. We book cottages (which are nicer than my house) and partake in the many winter activities the resort has to offer. 2016 was the best year yet. The weather was perfect so we were able to skate on their huge frozen pond, and take the kids tubing down the hill. We were also able to cross-country ski and snowshoe, as well as use the pool and waterslide facilities located in the main building. It was beautiful and time well-spent with those we love most. I strongly suggest hitting up Elk Ridge Resort if you plan to visit Saskatchewan in the winter months (soooo....75% of the year...hahahaha!) Here's the resort's website link : www.elkridgeresort.com
After Elk Ridge, it was time to stay home for a bit. We got a puppy to fill the void in our broken hearts from the loss of our Wyser (see last post). He was the cutest little fluff-ball of fur, and to an animal lover like me, I couldn't resist his sweet brown eyes. His name is Farley and he's everything to us, just as Wyser was. But.....he's a pup, so he has many naughty tendencies and he's a lot of work, but he brings me a lot of the joy that I was missing after the loss of my best fur-friend.
Much of our spring was spent hoping for the floodwaters in our yard to stay away from our house. We actually had a fairly dry spring so I guess someone heard our prayers. ( or perhaps my swears?) The crops were put in, the garden came up (except my cucumbers didn't make it), and the kids were back to playing outdoors daily. Bonus?! Potty-trained my littlest farmer....but still have to remind him while in the city limits, we must not pee on the nearest tree.
Summer was an absolute delight!
My farmer and I went to one (out of the six!!!) of Garth Brooks' concerts in Saskatoon. He is an amazing performer and brings an incredibly energetic show with him.
My sister and I took some time for ourselves and jetted off to Scotland and Ireland. We were away 2 weeks, so my farmer had to make sure our children stayed alive while I was travelling. (Thank goodness for Mom's and Mom-in-laws, that's all I have to say!)
It was an amazing trip, albeit too short to see everything we wanted to see. We spent hours wandering museums, riding sight-seeing buses around the cities, and taking tours to the coastlines and the Scottish Highlands. Truly a fantastic and surprisingly enlightening trip to take with one of my most favourite people in the world. I couldn't have gone on that trip with anyone else and I'm so thankful for the time we got to share; not as moms or colleagues, but as sisters. Just like the good old days where we could spend hours just giggling about inside jokes. Obviously it wasn't all roses and unicorns prancing, but we know each other well and forgiveness comes easily when someone stinks out an entire floor of the B&B with their rotten shoes, or gets completely lost in the streets of Dublin. I will have to write another time of all of our adventures.
Once home from my adventures overseas, there was the garden & yard to tend to. We spent some time at my parents' farm and hit up the beach to play in the sand a few times as well. Also attended a family reunion back home, so was able to see many of the cousins that I hadn't seen in years.
Fall arrived, and with it, SCHOOL. We enrolled our little dancing queen in the local French School and then she turned 5 a month later. I'm not sure where the time went, but it's gone and I don't have a little girl anymore and it's sort of a sad period of transition for me. I kept busy during harvest and most of the fall with my photography, so that was helpful in dealing with the loneliness I was feeling acutely without my right-hand gal.
Winter came early. We received a large dump of snow Thanksgiving weekend (October 8,9) and it eventually disappeared enough to finish up harvesting the wheat that was still out in the fields in early November.
Then it was time for the annual pig-butchering weekend at the Matzner farm. Probably one of my favourite times to go home. As busy as it is, we all get to see each other and make memories together. I can't even begin to share the memories that I have of this tradition that my family began decades ago.
Then it was baby Jesus' birthday and there was another year gone (along with the ten pounds I managed to lose during my summer adventures).
I didn't wish to mention all the sad times we had during 2016, but don't think for one second that there wasn't any. There were far TOO MANY, in fact. Everyone will probably think I'm talking about the many celebrities dying, and the Trump presidency of America. The Trudeau-ism of Canada. I am. But I'm also talking about the family members who we have lost in the past year. They were important to us. To my farmer. To my kids. To me. And their souls will forever be etched upon our lives, upon our hearts. We miss and love them all and we will cherish the memories they gave us.
On that note, 2016 was a year of memories made and shared.
I'm so thankful for the opportunities that came my way, and for the lessons learned along the way.
2017 will be year full of changes and opportunities. I will try my best to grasp onto them as they come my way, with an open mind and open heart. And I promise not to miss an entire year of giving my opinion to the masses for free.
C
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