Headed out to Austin for the day to see the play Mom was in. Also spent some time with Cate.
She helped me stuff the little teddy I'm hand sewing (from a kit that I got as a gift), defintely grateful for her tiny fingers to help!
Mom in the play (it's too bad it was so hard to take photos...)
Today was a crazy day.
It started with checking in with dispatch to see if they finally had a load for use to go out trucking again, they didn't. So, we got our paint clothes back on and started painting the last section in our main living space. While we painted we talk about the fact that it was date night and what we should do. The Lady Antebellum concert was that evening. We thought it'd be fun to go since I had chosen their latest album as our baby CD. (When we were on our honeymoon we bought a Rascal Flatts CD since we were frustrated with the poor radio reception in our rental car, we played it to death, but I still get all warm and fuzzy everytime I hear songs from that CD).
I went online to see if I could still get tickets, sure enough I could and they weren't even crazy over priced, so I booked them. Proud of myself for how spontaneous I was being and that we were going to have such a great date night.
About two hours later, everything changed. Michael got a call from his cousin's wife. Barry has been sick for a couple of years and when we were there a couple of weeks ago, we realized just how seriously ill he really was. That phone call was to let Michael know that he should come to ON, Barry was asking for him to be there. Barry is close to Michael in a big brother kind of way. So, I went to Westjet's website and found Michael a ticket for 6pm that same day, booked it and then we set about getting ready for Michael to fly to Ontario. We finished the first coat of paint on the section we had been working on, considered who I could invite to the concert in Michael's place, realized that I'd have problems getting into the concert because the tickets were booked on his credit card, call Ticketmaster to find out if there was a way around this, which there was, but they were also gracious enough to let me cancel the tickets, and tried to get laundry done so Michael could pack for the trip.
Looking back I had to have a little laugh at myself for being so proud of the spontaneity of booking concert tickets the day of the show, and then having to be even more flexible to change all those plans and get Michael to ON.
Anyway, Michael was able to be with Barry, and to be a support to Barry's wife and three kids, which was fantastic, and be there when Barry passed away.
Here's a collage of pictures from his (and later my time out there).
After spending a few days in TO, I went to Aylmer to hang out until Michael came to pick me up. He dropped me off on one trip and went all the way back to Winnipeg and picked me up on his next rounder.
Again, I'm lousy with using my camera.
I dragged Grandma to a yarn shop in St Thomas called the Little Red Mitten. It was amazing. I bought some really cool yarn with possum in it. Wonderfully soft green sock yarn!
Aunt Betty and Grandma and I also spent a day hanging out, including a walk in the park.
Grandma & Grandpa.
More family shots.
My friend Colleen told me about this little project, a case for my earbud headphones, so I sat down and made a couple. It's great!
Back when I did that trip to Calgary last year, I purchased this orange yarn. Michael was so hesitant to let me knit him socks, but he finally let me and fell in love with his first pair (made back in 2009 from yarn he picked out while we were in Germany). He fell in love enough to request that his next pair be burnt orange.
Here they are! That little patterning that you see is from the Yarn Harlot. She called them Earl Grey. I had a small design error (the stitch pattern was supposed to run all the way up the leg, but I had prego brain and messed it up), but Michael was fine with them the way they were, so I left them (otherwise I would've had to frog almost an entire sock). He calls them his Barbed Wire socks. I'm sure the Yarn Harlot would get a little chuckle out of that.
One of the perks of trucking is getting to travel for free. I was able to see my cousin Anna who was in Toronto (she lives in Switzerland) while she was there, along with my other cousin and my Aunt & Uncle.
Of course my picture taking was limited, but here's the few that I took. 
Supper at Fresh. Awesome.
Manicures. Fun!
Coldstones for dessert (to undo any good we did our bodies by eating at Fresh).
I've decided to turn my passion for knitting into a tradition and knit a blankie for each of our kids.
Little Schultzie's blanket is being knit while we truck, so in keeping with that, I hunted for a yarn shop somewhere along the way in our travels that we could get there in the truck (so it had to be close to the interstate), and we found one in Janesville, WI, The Dragonfly Yarn Shop.
It took less than two weeks to knit! Amazing what all that driving time and DK yarn held double can do to help a project cruise along. It's Leafy Baby Blanket, which Michael and I picked out. He also helped me pick out the yarn. I wanted to find something gender neutral, it was between this yarn (Madeline Tosh merino DK in 'magnolia leaf') and some other delightful squishy yarn that was aqua, blues and a little bit of purple. I'm glad Michael talked me into this one because I think it's absolutely amazing.
Here's the finished product, all blocked and ready for snuggling!
Michael has a new job. I can't go into huge details about it, but I can tell you that he's driving truck for the first 3-6 months as preparation for a job that I think he was made for and is going to enjoy so much.
It's exciting and strange all at the same time. Neither of us ever thought we would do this again when we sold our equipment back in 2006. Hauling a tanker is a new experience too.
We're making the most of it and getting in some travelling to places that we want to go (either to visit people we know, or places we've never been).
We did a few loads to Regina, where Michael just dropped me off in Austin to visit with his mom and sister. Which was really nice. I got to enjoy some cuddles with my nephew.
I think I could've sat there like this all day.
Here's a pic of me the day before we discovered I was pregnant:
I was so excited to tell my family, but we held onto our news for another 6 & 10 weeks, so we could have some fun making the announcement in our family's Christmas presents.
I made these:
Here's what's on them:
This year each member of our immediate family got a little present from us. Inside was one of these little bibs with the appropriate title for that family member. Michael's Dad got a special one.
It took Michael's family a while to catch on, since my sister in law was due to have her baby the week after we celebrated Christmas with them. But as you can see, when the lights went on they were excited.
In BC, we repeated this same procedure, though I don't have any pictures of it. The great grand parents got little onsies.
So much fun! We're looking forward to meeting 'little Schultzie' this summer!
We rounded up some friends and went cross country skiing for the day. It was tons of fun and hard work.
Did I mention it was also stunningly beautiful?
