Hudkins Family Happenings

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Jacey at Camp Week 2 Finito!!!

Well another week has passed at good ol' ability camp. Not a crazy week but a busy week none the less. Leslie headed home on Saturday night and enjoyed a night in Toronto all by herself to veg out after hanging with us two crazy girls for a week. Jacey and I were all by ourselves. Poor kid, me being sick has made for not the most patient. And adding in her CARAZY 5:30 wake ups has made me contemplate some serious eye poking...alas I haven't and won't but I have put serious thought into it.

Jacey is doing really well in class. Working hard, and really having fun with her little friends. She is especially close to another girl, Kaley, who was with us in our very first session in April. Kaley adores Jacey and is constantly trying to "baby" her. I am unsure if it is because Jacey crawls lots, or her bibs or what but she is often trying to have her back up onto her lap or petting her hair and back. She also is an adamant remover of objects from Jacey's mouth. She is from a french family and is often telling Jacey, " Non Bouche!", which means, not in your mouth. hehe It is hilarious and I am hoping maybe another language will help Jacey understand that it is not ok. They do EVERYTHING together, eat, play, watch shows together and Kaley's mom is helping by doing our dives with Jacey for me. So she rocks and Kaley even in there is trying to adjust Jacey's hood and things to make sure she is comfortable hehe. So fun for Jacey to have a friend, it gives me hope that school will not be so hard and that she will attract some little friends.

There are three moms who are rotating cooking so that we can have a break every couple days and it is working out lovely. I love that the smells in the kitchen aren't a constant iffy matter for me. Also the fun, different meals are great! Jacey has never been so adventurous with her meals, so proud! I have also been able to make sure I get some sleep in`s going on. Once Jacey is in class and I don`t need to be in for the day I head back to bed for another couple hours and it helps to calm my tummy. I am really enjoying these little times which allow me to "pamper" myself at ability camp. (For those who know what ability camp looks like, you would not believe the pamper comment) hehe For the love, this place is a beaut!

This weekend the mommies decided that no one wanted to cook and we needed to get outta here before we all went stir crazy in the second week. Sooo there was a tiny little fair in town. When I mean tiny, I mean tiny. There are probably like 100 people in Milford and so the fair had a little petting zoo of 5-6 animals, a farmers market-esque table set up where people sold goods, some live music and a couple snack trucks. Another awesome feature was a fake cow complete with an udder and bucket. You could milk a holstein cow and it shot out into the bucket and you got a sticker that read "I milked a cow". Yup, country or what?!? So funny. It was a fun 40 minutes of time killing and then we headed into town and got some food at a diner and it was a nice day. The kids enjoyed getting out and the mom's enjoyed being away from camp. The next day a few of us moms ventured out to a place called Little Bluff, a cute little rocky shore near the water. We packed a picnic and headed out at the insistance of one mom. She had been there before and was telling us how great it was. We got there and she had neglected to tell us that there was a hike of death! No joke, a steep, rocky, no stroller, Alyson wearing terrible flip flop death trap. The other mom is shorter and tinier than I am and has a little man who outweighs Jacey by 2. Soooo we both hummed and hawed about going down this trail to the water. The other mom was like "no worries I can carry them all, no problem." It was a problem. Anyways so we both took a deep breath and headed down, and no one died. It was really pretty and the kids loved throwing rocks in the water. The hike back up was deadly and I had to warn everyone that although I was not a smoker, I would develop a smoker's breathing for like 5 minutes and to not be alarmed!! hehe Anyways, we all lived and the kids had fun.

That wraps up our lovely second week. We are flying through it, I think the fact that it is not a ten weeker has really made it speed by. We love you all and appreciate all the thoughts and prayers for us. Take care and know that we miss you. - Alyson and Jacey

Friday, September 14, 2012

Lost Jacket

I have lost a white velour jacket - I believe at Kouper and Jacey's swim party. If any of you found such a jacket in your vehicle and are wondering where in the world it belongs, it's probably mine. It is white velour with a front zipper and has some white on white design on each side of the front. We left the room so quickly that I missed picking it up.

I guess you don't have to be a little kid to lose a piece of clothing.

Thanks for checking.
Love,
Gramma

Monday, September 10, 2012

Ability Camp - Round 3 for Jacey

Well for those of you who know, we headed back to Jacey's Ability Camp this past week. We saw such improvement from the 10 week stint we did in April - June that we knew we were going to head back. We just didn't think it would be this soon! The camp was offering free hyperbaric sessions with September camp (we found out about 2.5 weeks before it was to start). Soooo Jon and I hummed and hawed and thought about it. Could we be prepared in less than 3 weeks? What about her GRIT and preschool and Edmonton Conductive Education? What about Jon in school and unable to come? Is there any other family who would come so soon to help me? All of these crazy questions....but here we are and things have worked out great.

Although in true Bird organizational fashion we found out that I could not participate myself in the hyperbaric sessions, as WE ARE EXPECTING ANOTHER TINY BIRD!!!! This is super exciting, terrifying and nausea inducing. Jon and I had decided after the last camp that perhaps adding another littler person to our brood would be a good thing. I felt like with Jacey progressing so much and starting school and things that I would not lose my mind completely. Aaaand BOOM another baby in the making! However, that meant I could not do hyperbarics, so with the sweetness of the family who are visiting and some great friends who are at camp with thier kids, Jacey will hopefully get all of her dives!

As for Miss Bird's week. My little sister Leslie came with me and helped get organized. Jacey thought is was great having Auntie Leslie around to play with and help her. I have been quite sick (super fun) and so Leslie did an awful lot for me while she was here. The flight and drive were long as usual but there were smiles when we got in the door and worked on organizing our room and seeing our old friends. I was worried that the next morning Jacey would freak out at seeing Kriztina but she pushed poor Leslie out of the way to get to her. There were happy shreiks, many blown kisses and reaching for her instructor. (Whewph for the no tears!!) So she has been a rock star walking in to class and working hard with her equipment and things. I am so proud of her and how well she has adjusted. She is eating like a champ and sleeping through the hyperbarics with her friend. However, I would love it if she would be less punk-ish and sleep in a bit more. 6 am comes stinking early, and class doesn't begin until 8:30. Ugh!!!

I am feeling ok. Sick off and on throughout the day. Some are better than others, but being so communal is tricky. Many smells, the bathrooms are not your own to be sick in (THE WORST PART) and of course working with Jacey is hard work anyways when you feel good never mind all yucky! So it is a fun thing for sure. Makes me grateful for all the help coming. Leslie was here the first week and then my dad and Gramma Hinko are coming for about 5 days in a week and a half and then Jon's mom will come for a week at the end. So I am only alone for a bout 2.5 weeks which is do-able. We are then heading to Newfoundland for a week to visit family. Excited to see them but hard to be away from Jon for another week. We'll see how things all go!

Anyways Bird girl will be done a dive in a few minutes so I should go and check on supper and her. Sweet Thai Chili Chicken in the slow cooker....mmmmm..or ugh....I guess we will see! Love you all and miss you! Love- Jacey and Alyson

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Fishing trip Fort McMurray

Emma and I recently took a trip up to Fort McMurray to visit with Uncle Brent and Auntie Rocky. What great hosts they were, Emma and I had a great time! Emma was able to catch her first fish ever with Uncle Brent showing her the ropes. Uncle Brent has become very good at teaching first time fisherman how and where to find the BIG ONES!!

This is Brent with his big catch of the day a big beautiful walleye!

Love his Air Boat! It's sure fun to drive!

This was Emma's big catch of the day, an 11pound Northern Pike!

This is what the Pike looked like when it was hungry

There is a story behind this lure. This is my favourite hook for catching Walleye. I used to use it all the time when I was growing up. I introduced this lure to Brent last year and since then he uses it to catch his large Walleye.

I was fishing with this lure for about an hour with absolutely no luck and decided to change it out for another hook. At the same time Brent decided to use it, funny thing was that on his second cast (same place I was casting for the past hour), he brought in the largest walleye of the season.