Yates-Laberge Family Site

Please watch this video. PLEASE! It is the short version of a longer video. If you look at the top of my site, you will see a link to the longer videos by Randy Pausch. This man, his words, his beliefs, are life changing. I do not send forwards…I do not send chain letters…so, please take me seriously….watch this and then send it out to everyone you know.

Randy Pausch died last Friday, July 25th. What an amazing person and gift to us all.

We are still at home.

Claire’s deadline for US corporate tax returns in September 15th and she was too busy to take the day off. Bummed? Um….YES! But, I understand. It is sort of like hocky/football/baseball season in other people’s lives…the abandoned spouse. But, I get it, and it is ok. Things are better overall so somehow, understanding things gets easier.

We got a new piano. Not new, it is an antique, but, new to us. It is really beautiful. A person had it listed on the local college’s website to give away. I had to pay for movers to move it….but, that is a WHOLE lot less than paying for the piano. Andrew and Adam have been “playing” it since it got here…..oh my! Adam will start piano again in the fall and he will move up a level. HE LOVES PIANO!! oh my HE LOVES IT!

My cousin Phillip, the one who was a ski instructor in the children’s program in Vail, Colorado this winter was hired by expedia.com to  promote this summer. He is DRIVING a huge movie-like set all over the USA! New York, San Francisco, Miami…..all over! Well, I a bit worried about him…he is a free spirit and I love him like a brother.  Please keep him in your prayers. He is one of the good ones in the word. Sweet, funny, and so loving. I wish one of his places to go was CALGARY!

Karen came over last night to cut Claire’s hair. She brought beer with her. I had ONE beer! ONE!! and I was almost asleep! MY GOODNESS!! I am getting O-L-D!

I am off to buy outside trash cans and batteries! (on sale! )

I will post some videos this weekend. The boys are in swim camp ALL next week from 9-4!  I don’t know what I am going to do with myself!
Anne

my boys use “Rock, Paper, Scissors” to solve ANY little disagreement they are having. It is ADORABLE!

Ok, I went to the mall for the first time here! HOLY COW! HUGE HUGE HUGE and I did not got to the “big” one. It is SO odd to see so many stores that I do not recognize! The prices here are simply INSANE! Generally speaking, they are 20% more. The prices are one thing, but the lack of sales is another. Things just are NOT on sale here like they are in the US. There are 1 million people in Calgary and not many store. Therefore, demand is higher and there is no NEED for things to be on sale!

I went to the Gap to try and find jeans for Andrew for school. The salesperson SWEARS that the sizing is the SAME as the US, but I just can NOT believe it! The regular price for Original Dark Jeans at Baby Gap are $29.50, they are $24.50 in the us and even online. I can HONESTLY say that I have NEVER bought gap jeans at full price…NEVER. So, I asked if they were going to go on sale soon. The lady LAUGHED at me! She said that they can barely keep them in stock and that I should buy them now if they had his size. There were only 3 pairs of size 5, so I got them. ….She said that those came in on Tuesday! This is NUTS! I am trying to deal with it, but a lack of sales is sort of nutty. I never ever buy things at FULL PRICE! I am not upset, just trying to figure this ALL OUT!

We are figuring out somewhere to go this weekend. We are either going to Banff or Drumheller. Drumheller has a dinosaur excavating site. Banff has pretty mountains and Lake Louise. It will depend on the hotel I can get today. But, either way, we are out of Calgary for the first time this weekend. I am a bit excited about it. I have to get my camera all charged up and clothes figured out for everyone. Surprisingly, there are a bunch of hotels with massive water parks/water slides attached to them. So, I want to try to get into one of those…but, there are so MANY people here…..I assume most of them try to leave on the weekends.

The boys are loving their little knights that I got on craigslist. They LOVE castles and knights and swords….oh my…..

I am off to do my stuff.

Anne

Andrew and Adam were being really rough with their light sabre’s (no idea how to spell that). I said….”BOYS, those things are really expensive, please play with them with a little more care.”. Adam WHIPS his head around…gives me a puzzling look ….and says “but, Santa gave them to us, they don’t cost anything!” …..ok…now…..hmmmmm…..hmmmmmm…..I say after a LONG pause……..”Well, Santa’s overstock inventory is sold at Radio Shack….and they are expensive!”…..Andrew chimes in……..”There are no radio shacks in Canada, so where will Santa put his leftovers!! “………….at that point………. I just stopped……………I can’t win this one!

I love that my little ones are still “little”………..the magic as teeth are loose and anticipation of the unknown lie around each corner.

Anne

Today’s did NOT begin as I would have liked……we woke up at 7:15am and the boys were supposed t be at thier dentist appointment at 8:15am…..way WAY  across town! I wanted to just cancel, but, Claire said she would take the day off and go with me. She has 4 weeks of vacation here, so she is taking one day a week during the summer to use up one of the weeks. It REALLY breaks up the week for me and the boys just LOVE IT! I have a feeling that Claire may also like it SOOOOO…we rushed and rushed and got to the VACINITY of the dentist office….only to find that there were BUILDINGS AND BUILDINGS of dentists in this area….like “dentistville”!! So….of COURSE I did not remember the name of the dentist, only what showed up on my caller ID (an Anne moment!) sooo…after roaming one WRONG building, we found the CORRECT pediatric dentist!!!! The  appointment was smooth, and the kids were perfect. Andrew has a cavity, but, he agreed to put in a white filling…so I am happy about that.

We left there and had some breakfast…..(parent of the year). Then headed over to Toys R US that was right across from the dentist’s office. I wanted some sidewalk chalk for the kids. I found a TON of stuff …TON!! on sale….but, refrained….we got a few things….but, my GOODNESS…..my spending habits have really changed! I really was proud of myself for just getting things that I knew the boys would play with and that were ON SALE! Prices here are NUTS…so, sale items are VERY important!

The next exciting venture of the day was a stop at the Men’s big and tall store. My shorts are pretty much FALLING off of me and I can’t even wear my jeans without holding the waist. SOOO..I left the boys in the car with Claire watching a movie and I went in to try on pants. I was SOOOOOO excited to find that I have moved down to a 52 (I was a 58/60)!!!!! It is done in inches. I got two pairs of shorts and two pairs of JEANS! My legs are dwarf-like (28 inches)!! …so, I am having them hem the jeans for me! I am so excited I can’t even STAND IT! I was really discouraged by my weight lately because I have sort of plateaued…but, my God…if I think about it…..I have never even KNOWN what I have weighed….and the fact that I fit into smaller clothes is SUCH a motivation for me!! I did fit into clothes at a women’s store a few weeks ago, but I did not know what size they were compared to what size I was in before….(does that make sense)?

After leaving my MEN’s (gag) store….we came home and had a little lunch, worked on the swingset with Karen’s husband Grant, and Graham came over to play with the boys. He has been sick and in swimming lessons for the last few weeks. The boys were missing him TERRIBLY. They played and played. Andrew said at dinner….so grown up…..”I am so thankful that Graham is healthy again, I missed him”….I love when he reflects on his day!

I made dinner and it tasted GOOD! Karen showed me how to make my own sauce and I AM IN LOVE with it! So, lasagna, salad, and cookies…..made for a happy family and a really nice way to end a great day. Nothing but good stuff today…..I love those days….

Anne

Well, it is official…we have health insurance. We have actually had it since we stepped foot into Canada….but, now….I am going to “get to” use it. I have had an active hernia for almost 2 years and could not have surgery because it would be thousands of dollars for something  that was not life threating……So, I went to the Dr. last week (can you believe it?? A real live check up!!) And I was told that I would be having hernia surgery. The Dr. says…”I will contact the surgeon and he will be in contact with you”!! I have to go get a HUGE HUGE amount of tests done before then.

Seriously, universal health insurance is REALLY what is needed in the US. Yes, you wait a bit longer for routine things…but, they are routine…so there is really not a hurry tp begin with. The fact that we are not paying $1,500 a month for prescription drugs is amazing. NOW…the reality is…Claire’s net pay is signifantly lower than it used to be….but, we get health insurance….and a child fitness credit…..and the people that live here have REALLY low taxes. I don’t think EVERYTHING about Canada is wonderful………but, health insurance is something that is really really much better for our entire family! Keep on clicking…I see the scripts starting to work!! Tell your friends to come and read too!

Love,
Anne