A Sad Day

Our first family pet died today. If it was our dog I'm sure there would be much more fanfare but since it's our betta fish we're coping quite well. I think 'Stripey' was about a year old and lived a lot longer then we had expected. After being knocked out of her/his bowl twice in the first few months, we're suprised she/he lasted so long! I guess it's down the toilet bowl for Stripey. Bethany had the best reaction to Stripey's death, when she said, "Go to heaven?" What am I supposed to say to that? Anyway, it's good for the kids to realize that all life has an end and that it's a natural process. We'll probably get another 'Stripey' soon as we liked having a living thing on our fireplace mantel.
As for everyday life, things have returned to a routine. This week I have to be on the ball as it's our turn to drive the kids to Alma. Everybody has to be up by 6:30 am and out the door by 7:30 am; then in the afternoon we have to leave at 3:30 to pick the kids up and are home at 4:00 pm. I definitely get a lot accomplished in the mornings with such an early start. Anna seems to be enjoying school as we've heard no complaints and she comes home happy everyday.
Yesterday, I finished making curtains for our room, so slowly but surely it's getting transformed just like the kids' rooms. I bought a new duvet cover, decorative pillows and lamp shades at IKEA a while back and that has really changed the whole room's look. Now with curtains on the window we might be able to sleep in a little later on Saturday mornings.
Last week the John Deere dealership around the corner from us had an open house that the general public was invited to. Naomi, Bethany and I decided to check it out. The girls had a lot of fun sitting on tractors and even going in a combine. Since I have farming roots it's always neat to feel a part of the farming crowd from time to time. Here's some pictures of our farmers to be:





The combine was so huge I couldn't fit the whole machine on my camera screen without backing into another tractor. They're sure a lot bigger looking when you're standing right next to one than when you see one in the field!


An update on the potty training : Bethany has been doing fantastic and is even staying dry most nights. It's even happened that she wakes up in the night and calls for Daddy that she has to go potty. She sleeps in her big girl underwear for naps and is telling me when she has to go. I'm so excited that it went so smoothly. Now let's hope that she doesn't regress when the baby gets here.