Ashley and Micah English
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What's new (2013)

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December 30 2013
Today was Elder Hirschi's birthday! Elder Ruth helped Micah make "Paul's Pie" for a birthday dessert.
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December 25 2013
Merry Christmas! Today we had the elders over and made homemade candy cane ice cream.
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December 24 2013
The Christmas presents for the elders: bottle of sparkling cider, a white board to help them teach and a tie picked out especially for them :)
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December 22 2013
Our annual gingerbread house!
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December 16 2013
Today we had a fun day in Winnipeg! We had an appointment with our fertility doctor, click here for the update on that. We also went tie shopping while we were there! Here is a portion of the ties we got- Micah wanted to fill out his collection but also to have some to trade/sell to the elders. While we were in Winnipeg we went to go see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
 
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December 15 2013
We try to make cheese steaks for every elder that comes through Kenora. Elder Warren and Kendall hadn't had them yet so we made them today. Yummy!
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December 14 2013
Tonight was our church Christmas party! We drove Jackie and some of her family to the party where we sat with the elders. Here they are excited to sing somes holiday songs :)
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December 7 2013
Today we finished putting up the Christmas tree and had game night at our house with the missionaries. I even made a batch of shortbread cookies to start off the Christmas baking!
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December 5 2013
It is super cold outside and the cats are feeling it! This week it's not supposed to get above -20 C...
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November 30 2013
We have started up the Game Night at the church again with the missionaries. Tonight we had Katie come along with us and we played Apples to Apples. Elder Ruth and Ashley tied for first place with 14 cards each! Fun Fun Fun!

We finally got pictures of the new elders- click here to check them out
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November 27 2013
I made a cheesecake today! I usually make it with a graham cracker crust but Micah made the brilliant suggestion to try a shortbread crust (the same one I use for the lemon bars I make). It tastes so much better!
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November 25 2013
It is now hot chocolate season in Kenora!
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November 20 2013
The cats are now permanently stationed in front of the fireplace for warmth!
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November 17 2013
Walking in a winter wonderland... Welcome snow! So you say you're staying awhile? Possibly 5-6 months? Let's hope your stay is cut short :)
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November 14 2013
Just finished watching the final season of our favourite TV show, Dexter. Very, very disappointing it ended so badly.
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November 11 2013
Today I started to crochet my granny squares together to make a blanket!
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November 9 2013
Last night we had our first snowfall that hasn't melted away by the afternoon. Winter has come a little later than normal this year- usually there is a good blanket of snow by Halloween!
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October 31 2013
Two new elders came to Kenora today to replace Elders Romanovitch and Gardner. We now have Elder Warren with Elder Hirschi and Elder Kendall with Elder Ruth. They wouldn't let me take a picture this week so check back soon for pictures in Current Missionary Work.
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October 25 2013
I have been working on crocheting granny squares- I have now finished 16 squares and am ready to start making them into a blanket!
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October 20 2013
Philly Cheese Steaks with the missionaries tonight!
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October 19 2013
Today I ran a flu clinic at Shoppers Drug Mart and gave flu shots! It was a little scary at first but when a lady told me she didn't even feel it, I felt a lot less nervous!
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October 16 2013
Happy Birthday to my wonderful Micah! A fantastic movie (Captain Phillips) and Raspberry Cream Pie made it a great day for us both :)
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October 13 2013
Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with the missionaries- since we are not huge fans of turkey instead we had homemade (four cheese) lasagna and then apple pie for dessert!
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October 9 2013
The missionaries have been over to our house several times this week doing service- painting our house! Can't wait to get the green metal roof :)
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October 7 2013
Since switching to a new internet provider our internet has been SO much better! Micah is now able to play his favourite online computer game again, League of Legends.
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October 6 2013
This weekend is General Conference- some of our favourite talks were on Sunday by Elder Oaks and Elder Cook. Click
here to access all of the talks given throughout the weekend.
We also had a baptism today! Click
here to see the current missionary work happening in Kenora.
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September 28 2013
Fall has started to come here slowly; the leaves are changing colour and it has been really rainy but not too cold. The rain has prevented us from doing more work to the house, so hopefully it will clear up soon. I am sick (again), this time with a cold. But luckily I haven't passed it on to Micah yet!
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September 21 2013
Today we had our new garage door installed! It is now automatic and looks so pretty :) Click here to see the before and after.
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September 20 2013
It was really slow at the pharmacy tonight so Tracey, one of the pharmacy assistants, taught me how to crochet! Here is my first granny square. My homework is to try it again from the beginning...hope I remember how!
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September 19 2013
Goodbye Elder McLaws and Elder Camarena! We got two new missionaries today fresh out of the MTC; Elder Gardner and Elder Ruth. Click
here to see pictures and find out where they are from!
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September 18 2013
Today I found out that the property on Fox Lake that we liked is set to be sold in October... I knew that we weren't ready to buy anything, but it was still fun to dream about it. We loved hiking up to the top and feel like we were on top of the world!
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September 17 2013
We finished putting on the siding of the upstairs front of the house today. We still need to finish the downstairs and then paint it! That will be the project for this Saturday unless it rains.
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September 11 2013
A chipmunk got into our house today... You would think with 3 cats the situation would have resolved itself quite quickly, however the cats just wanted to stare at it! In the end (after chasing it around the house for an hour and me screaming every time it came at me) Micah was able to pick it up and let it back outside. My hero... :)
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September 7 2013
Game Night at the church tonight! We played Cranium with Elder Hirschi, Camarena, McLaws and Romanovitch, Katie and Mary Ann. Fun times... our team won! :)
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September 2 2013
Today I actually started to feel better! We finished the deck, but now we have to screw in the middle rows...Wish we had two drills :)
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September 1 2013
We have been promising the missionaries Micah's cheesesteaks so tonight that is what we made for them. They are Micah's authentic versions of Philadelphia Cheesesteaks (he learned what really makes up a cheesesteak when he served his mission in Philadelphia!)
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August 31 2013
Love it...
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August 29 2013
I got sick this week and passed it on to Micah :( We've been just sticking around the house trying to get some rest. Micah has been playing a computer game Civilization and he built the best palace possible. Click here to read Micah's review about this game.
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August 27 2013
Today we started building a deck on the side of our house.
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August 25 2013
This weekend was "sheet rock" weekend at our house. We insulated the walls where we took out the windows and then put sheet rock up. A very very messy project- didn't help that it was 36 degrees after humidity! Now we just need to do the finishing touches to the sheet rock, wood wrap the windows, put trim up... is it ever going to end? :)
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August 24 2013
Today we went to Art and Shirley's 65th and 60th birthday party!
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August 23 2013
Tom and Judi are trying to put in a road to their cottage. They sent in an application to Ontario MNR and was sent a letter back saying they needed comments from two people about the impact of the proposed road- Minaki Yurt Adventures and a cabin (in orange on map). Micah and I went to Minaki today to talk to these people- the cabin looked a little abandoned so we don't know what to do about that!
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August 18 2013
Next Sunday, August 25, is bring your friend to church day in Kenora! The meeting will be from 10-11:30 then there will be a lunch afterwards. Hope to see lots of people there :)
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August 9 2013
Today we had a baptism at the church for Sean Myran! I made cupcakes... Fun day :) Will post some pictures in the Current Missionary Work section once we get the pictures from the elders.
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August 1 2013
My 17 year old cat is missing... We last saw her enjoying the outdoors a couple of days ago and now she has disappeared. My fear is that she is no longer with us. Just wish I knew where she was, I can't even call her because she is deaf. Love you Tessie...
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July 28 2013
Today Micah got a new church calling- he was asked to be the Branch Mission Leader! He will be working with the four missionaries here in Kenora- helping them with their teaching efforts and making sure they get the help they need from the branch. Micah loves missionary work so this is perfect for him!
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July 24 2013
Matt and Tom came over to help us install the front 4 windows. I think it looks so much better than it did before, even though we took out windows...
  And these ones can actually open!
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July 23 2013
Another trip into Winnipeg for us today! Katie and Sophie came with us again and this time we went to see The Conjuring at the movie theatre.
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July 20 2013
Today we drove down to International Falls with Tom and Judi to pick up the windows, sliding glass door, garage door and chandeliers from Menards. Here is our kitchen/dining room with the new chandelier installed (a week ago we installed the two ceiling fans with Matt's help). Now the project for this week is to take out all of those windows in the picture, and replace them with the 4 new windows. We just need to find time to get rid of that ugly purple color and paint the ceiling white!
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July 19 2013
In preparation of driving down to Menards, Tom and Micah built up our trailer so we can bring our doors and windows home.
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July 6 2013
More driving for Micah today... We made our first trip to International Falls (3 hour drive one way) to pick up a couple of windows and felt from Menard's. We stopped for food and found Mello Yello, which Micah says is very rare :)
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July 5 2013
Today we bought a trailer off of a guy on kijiji in Winnipeg. We bought windows, door and a garage door from Menard's in International Falls, so we needed to get something for when we go pick everything up. Katie and Sophie came with us to Winnipeg where we saw The Heat and Micah's cousin Joey introduced us to a new poutine place- so good!
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July 4 2013
A few weeks ago Micah made this box to put our garbage in at the top of the street (the neighbour's dog kept getting into our garbage). We painted it green and white to match our barn (and someday the house) and added our address to it. On the right side of the box we are going to add what we decided to name our property "English Acres" :)
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July 3 2013
Today Micah painted our new wood stove black. It was a dull brown colour before, but now it looks like new!
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July 2 2013
After a big hassel at the border trying to get it across, we finally have Micah's jeep! It will be fun fixing it up and going for a ride.
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July 1 2013
Our 5 year anniversary! Time flies by when you are married to your best friend :) Micah cut his hair today, cut it all off! We are going to send it to Locks of Love, the whole reason why Micah started growing his hair out in the first place. Click here to see Micah without hair :)
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June 30 2013
I am working on a project to frame Micah's mission ties. When Micah served his mission, he retired a tie for each companion he had. On the back he wrote who his companion was, where they served, and how many people they baptized. Click here to find out more about each tie.
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June 28 2013
Right now we heat our house with 2 propane stoves and some electric heat- which made last winter very expensive! So this year we decided we would get rid of the small propane stove, move the big one upstairs and put in a wood burning stove downstairs. We found this stove on kijiji for $50, the perfect thing to try out this winter and see how it goes! We brought Elder Erickson and Elder McLaws with us to help move it. Little did we know, this place was a cottage that had 50 stairs going down!
Glad Micah is strong :)
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June 22 2013
We had our DR Field and Brush mower delivered today and spent 5 hours outside mowing through grass, bushes and trees. Starting to look good but still needs a lot more work! While we were outside we saw 3 snakes, 2 mice, 2 deer (a mom and a newborn fawn), 2 toads and a rabbit. Funny how many animals are on your property that you don't even know about! Later we had a bonfire with the Elders where we had a Dutch Oven dinner and s'mores, then Micah and I pitched our new tent and slept outside! Love living out in the country...
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June 21 2013
Today we finished the third and final day of the gun courses we were taking. We got our PAL and RPAL (possession and acquisition license), meaning we can now purchase or acquire non-restricted (shotguns and rifles) and restricted (handguns, semi-automatic) guns. We also bought a DR Field and Brush mower! We can now reclaim our land!
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June 15 2013
Today was another trip into Winnipeg. Here is a picture of our pantry with the jars we picked up from Ikea. While we were in Winnipeg we also went to see Man of Steel.  Fantastic movie!
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June 13 2013
Here is our finished farmhouse table that Micah made. We didn't like the brown stain so we decided to paint it black. I think it has a nice mix of modern/country!
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June 12 2013
Today I came home to a sweet surprise from Micah- he had bought me a s'more kit and set up a bonfire! I had been wanting to do this since we moved here so it was tons of fun.
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June 5 2013
Judi asked Micah to make her a table for the cabin and today we went out to the lake to deliver it. I hope she paints it white! :)
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June 3 2013
Today we bought an air rifle! We went over to Art Ladd's house where we shot his targets for a bit then we came home and made our own little shooting range. Pretty fun! Here are some more pictures. 
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May 31 2013
Today we made another trip into Winnipeg. We really needed some organization in our kitchen and found these jars at Ikea the last time we went there so we made a special trip in to get them. While we were there we had dinner at Paradise (again, lol) and saw After Earth. Will never go to a movie in Winnipeg on a Friday night again, forgot how crowded and busy it is!
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May 25 2013
Today we made dinner for Elder Barfuss, Elder Ericksen, Kevin, Jackie and three of her kids! We made homemade pizza and garlic bread. Here is Lucy helping me roll out the dough! Afterwards the Elders gave a great lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we had Toffee Squares for dessert!
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May 24 2013
Today we "opened" the cabin: we hooked up the docks and put in the diving board and ladder on the dock. We did some measurements in the kitchen for Tom and Judi because they are going to be installing a kitchen counter this year! After we left the cabin we decided to stop and look for this property on Fox Lake. We parked our car where the arrow is and hiked following the yellow line. We came back down part way then hiked up towards the lake/property (black box drawn in). The view from the property is fantastic! Here are some pictures. We hiked back down and ended up near the middle of the green line and followed the road back to the car. Fun time!
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May 18 2013
While driving home from Winnipeg we saw a Timberwolf (that looked exactly like this picture) on the side of the highway near Minaki!
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May 17 2013
Today we made another trip into Winnipeg. We went to Ikea and had an amazing time going through the store getting tons of ideas for things to do to the inside of our house! Later on we went to see
Star Trek: Into Darkness, hence Micah's geeky photo ;)
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May 11 2013
We finished the chest today! We decided to paint it black and have copper accents (trim, rope for handles, metal handles on sides and corner brackets). We're both very pleased with the results.
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May 7 2013
Today we started to stain the furniture! It was really nice to be out in the sun doing some fun work. We'll post more pictures when we are finished.
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May 6 2013
We have decided that there are only two things we miss about Thunder Bay: the movie theatre and wing night at Montana's with Peter. We went to Casey's tonight trying to see if their wings measure up, but they definitely don't... The poutine was good though!
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May 5 2013
Yesterday we went to the Annual Pig Roast fundraiser for the Kenora Gun Club. They had door prizes and a raffle and I was so excited because I won a door prize! (I never win anything) So now we have a $50 gift card to Good Things, a specialty meat store in Kenora.

This weekend Micah made four
stools for our island to match the Farmhouse table.
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April 30 2013
Micah decided to make me a blanket chest because I have always wanted one. We found an old door out in the barn so we used that for the lid. Still some finishing touches to add (handles for side, rope handle for lid, safety rope for lid, metal brackets, stain outside and paint inside) but now I have a spot for all of our blankets!

Here are some more
pictures
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April 29 2013
Met the neighbours today, they keep mostly to themselves... ;)

Micah finished the two benches for our
Farmhouse table! Now we just need to sand and stain- funny how much you can do over a weekend, and we had no plans to do any of this! 
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April 27 2013
Here is the table put together! Now we just need to do the finishing touches and then stain it. I think it looks fantastic! Micah also has plans to build two benches for the sides... Check back later to see how they turn out.

Click
here to see photos of the different building phases :)
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April 26 2013
Today Micah decided to build us a dining room table! We were looking online and the sets we like are at least $2000. But then he came up with these plans to build our own- and now we are off to the store to buy the wood!
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April 22 2013
Micah has finished his children's book series and we have sent it off to a publishing company. I love the work he has done and I hope they like it too! We should hear back in a couple of months, keep your fingers crossed!
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April 19-20 2013
Drove out to Thunder Bay for a Pharmacist Injection Training Conference (I can now give flu shots!) Micah came with me and we thought that we would have a fun couple of days there together going out to eat, to movies, etc. However our plans were crushed when a snow storm closed down the theatre and we couldn't even get cable reception in our hotel room! So Friday night was really boring...The next day we were able to go see
Oblivion and we splurged at the theatre getting popcorn and drinks (came free with the tickets), poutine AND TCBY!
(We thought it was funny that a snow storm closes down the city but they put out the spring toys at Walmart? haha)
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April 15 2013
Results from MRI came back today. Click
here to find out what it said.
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April 10 2013
Impromtu Date Night in Winnipeg! We decided to drive into Winnipeg tonight for dinner and a movie. We went to Paradise Restuarant on Portage Ave (yummy homemade pasta!) and then went to see The Host. We like being so close to Winnipeg that driving in for a night is not really that big of a deal.
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April 6 2013
Here is the finished Optimus Prime 18 wheeler!
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April 4 2013
Had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed today... Was able to do it with just local anesthetic- he came in and popped them out in less than 10 minutes! So it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I'm still glad it's over.

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April 3 2013
Goodbye Elder Lyons! He was with us in Kenora for around 6 months and was starting to feel like part of the family :) Good luck in Saskatoon.
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April 2 2013
Optimus is coming along! Here he is halfway finished his paint job.
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March 30 2013
Micah is turning his 18 wheeler for the boy scouts car race into Optimus Prime from Transformers! Looking good!
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March 23 2013
Went to Winnipeg this weekend for my MRI. We also celebrated my birthday while we were there; went to
Olympus Has Fallen, went shopping and went out to eat. Fun day! Now to wait for the results...
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March 20 2013
Made and tried Deviled Eggs for the first time with Micah's help! Easy recipe for filling (using 12 eggs): 3 Tbsp Miracle Whip, 1 Tbsp mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, sprinkle with paprika!
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March 18 2013
Sadly, it is not the middle of winter in this picture but almost spring! When will the snow melt?
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January 2013
Micah is growing out his hair! He would like to donate it to a charity like Locks of Love which means he needs to grow it at least 8-10 inches!
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September 2012
We now have two TV's with a network so we can play games together!
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September 2012
New bedroom setup with a hanging bed for the cats!
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