ahh, warmer days...

Taken near Drumheller (Horse Shoe Canyon?) in July 2006. I think I'm around 12 weeks pregnant here, maybe a bit more (sorry, don't feel like doing the math tonight) - I just know that I had to wear draw string pants/shorts by this point...
We went to the Royal Tyrell Museum with Uncle Bruce, Treena, and Rogue. It was so hot that day, we stopped for ice cream afterwards. Uncle Bruce bought me onion rings - one of my first real cravings. They were SO good.

33 weeks = 8 months ...but who's counting??

The Brown Dress makes another appearance and now finally I look bigger than I feel. Mostly I feel really great...except when I have to:
- tie my shoes
- pick something up off the floor

- sit at my desk too long (and I can feel my feet swell)
- attempt to zip up my coat (started wearing an old winter coat of Ken's last week when it was 30 below!)
- climb more than 5 stairs in a row

Otherwise I truly love being pregnant and most of the time I feel just like myself (only there seems to be quite a bit more of me now)

And now for some Christmas Cheer...

Yes, it's an elf hat for a dog.
Yes, we have two of them.
No, I did NOT buy them.
They were a gift from Sarah.
Thank you, Sarah. They make us laugh hysterically every year.

Can we come in...PUHLEEEEZZZ???

(Bosco and Sammy outside Jason's office door)

When good string happens to bad beagles...
This summer we apparently left a ball of string within beagle reach.
In less than 5 minutes there was string over the entire backyard.

Wild Rice: The Untold Story

For anyone who's ever wondered where or how we get our wild rice...

Jason has provided a few pictures.

This first shot is of rice (which actually isn't even rice, it's a grain I just learned)
before it is harvested.


This is a rice boat that Ken made.
You can see the rice growing in the lake in the background.

This is a picture of one of the camps (I'm not sure what this one is called). There seems to be a pretty "rustic" theme with these camps. Ken pointed out that our new shed is only about a foot smaller than one of the camps (maybe this one), so I've started referring to the shed as our Summer Home. Our little place to Get Away From It All.

Sammy hiding under my desk. Why is a chinook wind SO much scarier than a thunderstorm? I'm not sure but to be honest, I get the willies more in a wind storm than a thunderstorm. Kelly - if you're reading this you should be proud of my foot support in this picture (a phone book) to give me an optimal seating position
...ahh the things I've learned from sharing an office with an OT!

Why am I blogging so much tonight? Well, the answer is simple:
I have some reports that I brought home to work on.

Hives aren't just for bees...

Bosco was covered in hives this a.m. He was scratching a lot in the night and I was worried that he had fleas (yuck) but then he went back to sleep. This morning, just as I was about to leave for work I noticed that in the span of 5 minutes he suddenly had an outbreak of bumps (about the size of your thumb print) all over his little body. Poor little guy - he was SO itchy. But he didn't complain once. In fact, it hasn't seemed to stop him from getting into everything in sight. I took him to the vet (what else is new) and she gave him some anti histamines that she said might make him sleepy. So far only Sammy and I are sleepy...

Maggie (Ken and Marion's dog) has what every Beagle needs:
~A Bed ~ A Bowl ~ A Bone ~

I love this picture. They're like a matched set (maybe an inspiration for a set of Beagle Salt and Pepper shakers?) I like to look at pictures of the two of them curled all in a ball to remind me how sweet and good (and quiet) they can be... I let them in my office tonight while I'm working and so far Sammy has been sleeping and Bosco has trotted off with one item or another. There is a Chinook wind tonight so that means that Sammy will likely spend the night awake worrying about the wind. She just sits up and stares out the window. Trust me, it's far more irritating at 3 a.m. than it sounds...

Jason is in MB this week hunting with his dad and Uncle Garnet. He got a deer already and has offered to send me a picture. I hate these pictures b/c Jason usually has the biggest grin plastered on his face, however, you will notice from previous postings that is NOT the case when he is posing for a picture with me. Sigh.

How come all the "men" in my life look so grim?
This picture looks a lot like the one of Jason and me...(scroll down to see what I mean).

 

A little reminder of the cast of Three's Company...ahh the memories!
Richelle (my office mate at work) and I dressed up as The Ropers today, as promised.

I don't know why this is so teeny tiny - but here is our inspiration!

Because I'm such a techno wizard, I'm going to have to put the photo of
Richelle and me on a separate post...

October 27, 2006 - 27 weeks.

This was taken just before the STA wine tasting fundraiser. That night Lucky learned how to jump on my bladder. Now I have a new hobby. So far things continue to go well and I'm enjoying being pregnant. I get leg cramps at night, which I'm not a big fan of, but otherwise it's all great. Tomorrow is Hallowe'en - my office mate and I are dressing up as Mr. and Mrs. Roper from Three's Company. If I get a good picture of the two of us, I'll post it. Really, who doesn't love a good muu muu!

 

Marion sent me this picture with a caption that says "What sorry looks like". Maybe this is what Bosco looked like as a puppy, although he usually says sorry by kissing like a maniac.

This is a rare shot of The Beags. Sammy is usually the one who finds the fluffiest place to sleep, but Bosco muset have beat her there. I had attempted to make the bed, but between The Beags and Jason, there's really not much point.

In case you needed MORE proof of beagles in bed... They get me up between 6:30 and 7:30 for breakfast and a quick run in the backyard, then it's back to bed with Jason!

Here's Sammy giving "High Fives" (although I guess it's technically "ten"). Jason must be holding something really good b/c she usually saves these for favorite treats. Speaking of treats...so far this weekend Bosco (aka Garbage Guts) has eaten (half?) a bag of dried apricots and a small cloth bag of jelly beans (a wedding favour). Whenever Bosco is quiet, it's never a good sign. The other morning he ate my entire breakfast (toasted english muffin with peanut butter) INCLUDING the paper towel. I wish I was kidding.

Here is proof for everyone who doesn't believe that The Beags sleep under the covers!

 

Here's a picture of The Bump, taken at the end of September. Lucky's in there somewhere, and starting to move and kick more and more.
I swear it looks (and feels) much bigger from the ariel view.

The Markosky Amazing Race: We decided to take a detour rather than driving straight back from Seattle to Vancouver. This shot was taken on the ferry ride from somewhere in WA to Sydney BC. We ended up taking two ferries which was pretty cool. The first one felt like a floating Greyhound and the second was more like being on the Love Boat (we didn't spot Captain Stubing)
This is lunch on day one of The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. We were tired but had no idea how much more tired we woul become. I found it a lot more difficult this year. I'd like to blame it on being 15 weeks pregnant but actually I think I just didn't train hard enough. But in the end we finished and we had the blisters to prove it! Jason gave me three pink daisies and took me to Peter's Drive In for onion rings! That made it all worth while.
Ahhh, a classic shot of the Markoskys. Jenn's smiling at the camera and Jason - well he's looking like he rather be doing ANYTHING else... Why is it all fuzzy? I tried to get a little fancy with the 'special effects' program. oops.

 

Here's Bosco with his Monkey. It makes the most awful noise when he squeezes it and of course he LOVES it the most.  

This is one of our favorite shots of The Beags. We took it during a long truck ride back to Calgary. They look so innocent when they're sleeping...