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Saturday, April 16, 2016

Easter 2016

      Easter 2016 will definitely go down as an Easter to remember!  Schools closed, the ice storm, trees crashing down, no power for 3 and a half days, we pretty much had it all!  But just like the story of the Grinch who stole Christmas, we realized that we don't really need all the fancy parts and somehow it all turned out to be a beautiful holiday. 
     Wednesday night as I sat watching the snow and then later listening to the freezing rain, I knew I would not likely be leaving town tomorrow to get to my school.  Buses would most definitely be cancelled if this kept up.  Sure enough, not only were buses cancelled but schools were closed, a surprise treat for both of us!!!  Grace and I spent the day hanging out, getting a few things ready for Easter.  Thursday night, as the weather worsened, as Grace and I listened to the freezing rain start up again, I knew the power would be going out.  I watched TV, listening to crash after crash, watching transformer after transformer lighting up the sky out my back windows.  What I didn't know was that that power would go out and not return until sometime early Monday morning. 
     Friday was easy enough, a long day when you've already been house bound the day before, but we survived fine.  My dad was kind enough to come over and get the generator going, but it really only helps to keep the sump pump running and eventually keep the food in the freezer and fridge from spoiling.  It did get very cold very quickly in the house however and by Friday afternoon we picked up our elderly neighbours and headed out to see what we could find to warm us up.  We ended up at Wimpy's diner, not my favourite choice of restaurants but anything warm was going to make us happy at this point!  It was busy at Wimpy's but not as busy as everywhere else in town and we settled down to a warm coffee and a bite to eat.  As we were finishing up the hydro at the restaurant went out and we were left paying cash.  A drive through town revealed all the damage from the storm, trees and branches were down everywhere.  I don't ever remember seeing so much damage from one ice storm.  I had several down on my own property.  If one could past the damage and past the cold house and no water, the ice really does make everything beautiful.  In the sunshine of Friday afternoon, everything truly looked beautiful glistening in the sun!



So onto the Easter part.  By Friday night, the house was down to single digits so Grace and I packed it up and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's to spend the night.  Aunt Lynda and her family were expected to be taking the other spare room but their hydro came on long enough for them to stay the night at home.  Over at the grandparents, they still did not have hydro but at least they had warmth with their wood stove and a generator powerful enough to use a hot plate to cook a little.  Grace enjoyed the adventure and kept telling me it was like camping!!!!lol
By Saturday night, it was occurring to Grace that the Easter Bunny was on his way and that we were not going to be home!  This was a major concern and rightfully so.  How would we let the Bunny know where we were?  Grace got out her paper and pencil crayons and began writing a letter to the Easter Bunny, the gist of which was:
We are not at home because we have no power.  We are at Grandma and Grandpa's house in ________.  Please come there. Love Grace
Now, normally this might be enough to appease both the Easter Bunny and a young child, but not my Grace!  It also occurred to her that the Easter Bunny might go to our house first (before coming to Grandma and Grandpa's).  She was quite concerned that he would wander around our house calling her name, and not know where she was.  So..... we had to call our elderly neighbours and ask them to write a short note to the Easter Bunny and post it on the front door!lol  Lovely lady never missed a beat on the phone when Grace called her and she agreed to do us the little favour of posting a note.
 

Writing her note to the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny left some nice treats for Grace, including a lot of eggs all over the house!






Dancing with Aunt Carolyn Sunday morning

Sneaking into Uncle Richie's room to leave some chocolate treats.  She couldn't contain her giggles and he was such a good sport pretending to stay asleep!

Of course, no Easter party would be complete without a few decorations!  No point putting them up at our house, we wouldn't be there to appreciate them, so we packed them up and brought them over



Part two coming soon!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Family Day Fun 2016

Just realized this was still in my drafts, oops!  So, Easter and Ice Storm posts will have to wait.  Let's take a stroll back through memory lane to mid-February 2016!
Grace and I took advantage of the free ski day at a local park.  First time ever on skis for Grace and it's been many many years since I've donned cross country skis too.  We both had a blast, we both fell a lot and we both never even made it onto the trails!  The flat area just past the chalet was more than enough!  Not for lack of wanting to try out the hills though, Grace was all over that idea!  She tried and came down on her butt all the way smiling!



Just jammin' 
She's actually getting really good!