Property Assesments... garbage, I hope!

Columbia Valley Pioneer, a local newspaper, stated in one of its articles last week, that Canal Flats' property assessments declined the most in all of BC! Here's a clip but you can read the whole article HERE if you'd like. "The Columbia Valley’s sawmill towns of Radium and Canal Flats — which are still reeling from the downturn in the forestry sector — saw the largest declines in property assessments this year. The numbers released this week by B.C. Assessment offer the first glimpse of local property values since the global economic downturn took hold and the results show the Columbia Valley suffered more than the rest of the East Kootenay and the rest of B.C. Property assessments were frozen last year at 2008 levels in response to the global recession." Here are the numbers they printed for the Valley's surrounding towns: Canal Flats -20.9% Radiium Hot Springs -14.5% Invermere -11.% Invermere Fort Point -10.5% Columbia Lake -8.1% Timber Ridge -6.9% Panorama -4.5% Windermere -4.% Windermere Lakefront -1.7% Fairmont -1.3% ...to top things off, we won't even benefit from lower property taxes this year b/c our property value declined with the "average" rate for our area... and apparently property taxes are "driven budgetary requirements" (the District of Invermere is even comtemplating a 2.5% increase this year!). Wow. There's a bit of encouragement! I guess we're staying put in our house until we can at least get what we paid for it... hm.

Christmas 09

We were fortunate to have a (somewhat last minute) Christmas get-together at Mom and Dad I's place in Lethbridge! They were there to renovate their house (which a "kind" rentor tore up while living in it) so we took full advantage of their presence and spent some time together during the week previous to Christmas. I misplaced my camera so Mom was kind enough to email these to me:) Here's a few: Papa plays with Tyler and Aiden as they check out the Nativity scene. Kids table at Christmas Dinner!! Present opening 2009 is about to commence...! ...full speed ahead!! ;) Mom and Dad I's house in Lethbridge (above). Then it was back home for Christmas with the Dyck side of family at our house! We felt so fortunate to see both families this year:) Here are some more pics: Atalie opens her pony present. Aiden got everything train-related this year! Grandma D reads one of Alice In Wonderland to Atalie. Grandmpa D translates Ikea into the common tongue in hopes to assemble Atalie's animal barn/tent. Grandpa was kept busy assembling and playing;) Jana and Tyler hangin out with the kiddos, first thing in the morning. Not a great pic, but we had to buy a bigger table to have our family over for Christmas - our Cmas $ was put to practical use this year;) Attempting to build a gingerbread house... didn't want to stick! Aiden sneaks candy for the gingerbread house... ! Kev and I took the kids for a walk while the others took naps and enjoyed the peace. The pics below obviously didn't turn out, but I put them up anyway... bowling for my 29th Birthday at The Valley Alley! It was a lot of fun!! Opening gifts back home with friends, family and icecream cake!!! Mmmmm... We were also very fortunate to have finally SOLD our truck and purchase a van!! We made the exchange inbetween Christmases with both families and extended our drive home to go up through Calgary (to pick up the van). It was a busy two weeks!!! Never thought I'd enjoy having a minivan but there ya have it. Anybody can change;) Haha... anyway, for anybody curious, it's a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SE (I think it's an SE??). The big plus that we were looking for we got - a DVD player for the kids!! Also, the middle seats are buckets, not a bench. Much easier to get to any munchkins in the back! Yay:) Sorry, no pics yet. It's the same colour as our truck was though.

These are the days...

...the days when I pick and choose what I'd like to eat without consulting the gluten-free side of my brain; when I can head out to the movie store (located in a back alley garage - small town remember) to rent a chic flick without having to consider a more masculine opinion on the film; when I can watch my TV program Friday night on the Plasma and not be confined to the old small bedroom TV instead b/c a hockey game is on at the same time and my hockey-craved husband "can't even see the puck" on the small tv (how did he get by for the first 30 years of his life?! haha!). However... these are also the days when I get to clean up the toys/house at the end of the day but without a helping hand; when I have to put on my snow suit and trudge out the door to gather my own firewood once I've burned up my indoor stash; when I don't get a break from the kids during the nightly bedtime routine; when I try to store away all my thoughts during the day, only to try recalling them all in a short phone conversation later that day when my other half calls to say hello and goodnight (not so good at remembering things!). Yup, I'm home alone for six days -- the longest yet actually! Kevin's boss didn't have work for him during the Christmas break so Kevin is in Creston, helping out a friend instead. That means he's also officially done year three of his schooling! This pic below is of the two of them trying to finish up our friends' parents roof the last time we were in Creston visiting. At the end of this week I'll be packing up the kids and picking Kevin up in Cranbrook to head to Alberta for a few days. We have an ultrasound Friday morning, at which we'll find out the gender of our third munchkin!!! We're pretty excited about this weekend - it's the first time we've both been away from the kids overnight (two nights infact - we're leaving them at my parents place)! We're staying with a good friend a visiting a couple others. We'll also attempt to do a bit of shopping, see a movie and hit a gluten free restaurant. Can't wait!! We're then staying a couple days longer in lethbridge to spend Christmas with Kevin's family and help his parents out on their house renovations. We should be back home with a day or two to spare and prepare for Christmas with my family --busy busy! I really look forward to all of it though!!

Princes are hard to come by these days!

Atalie, dressed in her pink princess dress with sparkly purple fairy wings, asked me "Mum, do princesses have princes??? (look of concern) I don't have one!!" I reply (trying to hide a huge melty grin, now welling up): "Some do! Why don't you ask Olen (friend) to be your prince?" Atalie: "He's being a robot" (still concerned) Mum: "Oh. Well how about Aiden?? Oh... he's playing downstairs. Well when Daddy gets home you can ask him!! I bet he'd love to be your prince!!" Atalie: (huge excitement building in her eyes) "Ya!! And he will say YES!" Too sweet. A princess in search of her very first prince... Daddy ;)

Oh Atalie....

This is just way too funny. Atalie comes up the stairs on Thursday, as she does at least a dozen times every day, except this time she's got a little something up her sleeve (sort of). I have my back turned to her and I hear her say, "It's okay, I don't mind. I have the biggest boobs." Now, she's often talking in conversations throughout the day b/c she's so imaginative that she carries around all her stuffed animals as they come to life for her in her sweet little world. This seemed a little different though and I start to think, "whaaat????"... so I turn around and low an' behold, there is my 3 (almost 4) year old daughter with two tiny balls stuffed into her little shirt. I had a pretty good laugh and Atalie had a pretty good time telling everyone else about her new posessions b/c of it! Oh Atalie... =)

Tico Tico Brazilian Music Duo

Check out this guitar duo!