List 41: 10 Halloween Costumes I've had

To tell the truth I can't even REMEMBER 10. My mom was NOT a fan of halloween. She still isn't (funny I married someone with the same feelings about the holiday!).

Instead I will list things I remember about Halloween as a kid at our house.

1. My mom made donuts and handed them out. Since we lived in a small town (not even big enough to be a town - it's actually a hamlet!) you could hand out things you made. And you ate them.

2. Our costumes were always made from things around the house. A plaid shirt and jeans made a farmer or a Hutterite. A white sheet over you made a ghost. We didn't buy costumes. That went against everything my mother feels about halloween!

3. I think there are two pools of thought about candy and kids at Halloween. The parents that ration out the candy their kids collect and the ones who just let their kids eat it all and then it's gone (usually ending up in stomach aches for the kids.) My parents were the second type. Eat it all at once and get it done. Although me and my brother Justin usually hid pieces around our rooms to save for later.

4. I remember one year when my brother Bryan had an eye patch. (from an icicle falling into his eye. Seriously. And I was standing with him. It was FREAKY) ANYWAYS, he was a cowboy with an eye patch. Makes perfect sense.

5. We ALWAYS used our pillow cases to collect the candy.

6. My mom thought that once you reached 12 going trick or treating was not acceptable.

7. We carved pumpkins but never decorated in any other way.

8. I remember learning that if you went to the "rich" houses you got GOOD candy.

9. I've never liked the yucky part of halloween. Especially as a kid. I don't like being scared. Some people find it funny. I never have. Ask Reg :)

10. I've never seen either one of my parents dress up in a costume.

Family Time

One of the things we like to do is go for walks together. It started way back when we lived in Nova Scotia and we would go for Sunday walks by the beach. And Tuesday walks. And whatever day it was. But most weeks especially Sunday walks. Well, if we need out of the house we still go for a walk. It's free. And you get to enjoy beautiful creations of God. Sounds like a win win to me!
Last week we went on a walk and I had fun taking pictures. And so did Alden.

Alden has decided that he wants to learn to take pictures. I still have my old D80 around. I couldn't sell it since some times it works and some times it doesn't. So Regan and Alden have claimed it to be theirs.
While we were out walking, Alden said to me "mom, how about we have like photography classes were you teach me how to take good pictures....but I might need a new camera since this one doesn't always work."
I told him photo classes with us two would be great, but no new cameras would be coming to him any time soon.

My mom makes all of us a new hat every year for Christmas. This was Eli's this year. I love it and so does he. He calls it his Santa Hat.


They just love love love each other. And I love that they do.

I told him to smile and this is what I get. Totally him right now.
Totally a goof!

Cold winter in Southern Alberta. Love the spots of color!

I love to find plants that survive the winter. It gives hope in a lot of ways.

I love the days when the sun is shining and sparkling the snow. Those are the winter days I enjoy!

In my 365 this upcoming year, I am doing one family shot a month. This one was out on our walk. I propped my camera in the snow and timed it. Lucy was goofing around, Alden was shooting it too, Eli was happy to be here. I love this picture!

Feels like Home

Last Sunday I phoned my parents at 1pm and promptly invited myself and my family out for dinner at their house. I was missing my parents. I wish they lived right next door. So we packed up the kids (including their pjs) and drove the hour out to their house.

We had a lovely time eating and talking. My kids got ridiculously dirty playing in the piles of gravel that are my parents yard and had tons of fun.

I love this picture for a few reasons. My mom isn't really a fan of pictures (she's worried about how she looks and losing weight. But I love her just how she is). And frankly, neither is my dad. But I just happened to ask and they both did it. And it is so them.

Grandma happy with her grandkids close. My dad with his Hill Spring basketball t-shirt under his other shirt. The light my mom pushed over by her to be in the picture. My kids in their pjs before we rushed them home to bed.

All of it, just natural. Just THEM.

Before my sister died, my mom and I didn't have a very good relationship. I just saw our differences as a teenager and not our similarities. After Kelly died we became close. We are best friends now. She is my sounding board. Really we talk about almost everything. And no one gets me like my mom. I am sad that it took losing Kelly to get the relationship that we have. But I am so grateful that we have it.

I have good parents. Good people. Who are completely down to earth and absolutely faithful and loyal. I love that we live close enough that my kids get to see them. (I am very lucky my kids get exposure to both sets of wonderful grandparents.)

Sometimes you just want to be at home. Even if your parents don't live in the same house that you grew up in. To me, home feels like these two.

Steed Family Reunion

In the summer we had a big steed get together. One where all my FIL's sibs and their kids stayed together. We were only missing 3 people. Which was pretty good. I shared some nature shots from that trip, but not a lot of people shots. So here are some of those.
This is everybody who came.

Early morning Sadie and some Sunday afternoon games

The inside of the old schoolhouse great grandpa steed taught in and lovely little Melia

Lucy really wanted to try on Uncle Murray's hat and finally got too.

Classic Uncle Nolan

Grandpa and Eli walking down to the original homestead of Grandpa's dad's growing up home

The walk into the homestead

Gavin and Clare

Lucy just love love loves Melia (look at them holding hands) and the barn

See what I mean?

Thanks to Aunt Deb there was lots of fun stuff for the kids to do

Lovely Gab who needs to move closer to home

Derek helping Alli dunk in Waterton lake

Coooool mountain water

Beach treasures

It was so much fun to spend time with each other!
Something I hope we do more often!

10 Years Together

means we needed a trip together. Sans kids. So we went to Whitefish. It was lots of fun. We saw some great views on the way down.

I had my foot in a cast (chipped my ankle on my left foot after tripping over Lucy when I was holding Eli) and just had it off this day... so I wasn't much fun for hiking or walking anywhere very far.... which we had planned on doing while down there. But we still had lots of fun and saw lots of beautiful things.


Went to the "Bearz" in the middle of nowhere close to Whitefish and saw them up close and personal from inside our car.

We went to the beach at night and I took some pictures and Reg took some.

The two of us



Every day we drove past this and I LOVED this and wanted to take a picture. Finally last day we stopped and I did. Such lush trees!

We rode the chair lift up to the top of the mountain in Whitefish. It was totally fun. And we saw lots of pretty sights up there too.



And while we were down there we noticed the sign for a race... so Reg decided to run it :)


Prairie fields and looming skies. While driving home it was just so stinking pretty.

It was just so fun to get away. I wish I wasn't a gimp, but it was still fun and Reg was very patient walking me around everywhere :) And he let me go shopping for the kids clothes and school supplies which is a huge present from him in itself. (He HATES shopping!!) It was so much fun and I am so glad we went!

Can't believe school is starting today. Two kids in school for me. CRAZY!!!

Early Morning Banff

Eli's been on an early morning stretch lately. As in 530-6 am every day. While on vacation last week..... still in it. So I got up with him and we went out on photo walks. (That photo a couple posts down of the lone dirt road was from an early morning in Mountain View)

While out on our drive on one of the early mornings (yep we are still both in our pjs and jackets), we stopped at the lovely Falls. And I asked Eli if we could do a picture together. I set the camera on some drift wood and pressed the timer and ran back to him at the shore. He was laughing so hard. And kept saying "again, again, again". So I took many many of the two of us.

I've realized that I need to be grateful that I get this time in the morning with him. Getting up at 530 - 630 am is not something I would choose to do. But Eli is happy in the morning. He is delightful and energetic and happy to see the sun come up. I am not. And I need to be. It's all in my head. I can imagine that it is good. I can choose to be happy no matter how early we get up. Then I can see the good part of this. The positive. How lucky am I to get one on one time with the third child?!
So instead of being crabby that he got me up on holidays, we went out and spent time together. And it was magical.

Does that mean I am ACHING to get up at 5:45 am? NO. But it does mean that I am working on enjoying the moments we get together if we do have to get up then and sleeping in more if Reg gets up with him :) (you know, lemons into lemonade kind of deal).

And to see some of the mmmmmmaaaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy pictures I took in banff you can look at some here at rhondasteed.com.

Family Saturday

So this past Saturday we were all home together. No work for Regan (in between rotations) no weddings for me. No soccer or sleep overs or anything. We were just home together. It was marvelous.

We lazed around for a bit in the morning then got our acts together and decided to do some fun family stuff. Went to the farmer's market first. Picked up some fresh veggies, mini donuts (which the kids LOVED) and some of these.

Gooseberries. (it's been one of those recipes from the Martha Stewart Handbook I've been putting off cause seriously where do you FIND gooseberries. Thank goodness for Hutterites and their fresh produce ;) If you want to know, I made them into this. It was pretty good. I'd adjust the recipe a bit in the future. But not bad.

Then we went out to the Bird's of Prey center in Coaldale where we saw lots of neat birds.





And the kids got to hold a couple too....



While we were there Regan told Alden that he could take pictures with his iPhone - which Alden was VERY excited about. He loves taking pictures of things. A collection of some of his shots. Notice all the strangers? He was walking up to people that were there and telling them to say cheese and taking their pictures. hahahaha When I asked him about it he said I took pictures of people all the time. Looks like he is getting the hang of this thing early :) I'd sure love to buy him a real digital camera. Maybe one day!

When we came home we went to the spray park for a little bit too. Eli was too afraid of all the sprinklers to actually go into the spray park. He likes the idea but just can't take the uncertainty of when you are going to get sprayed. So he just watched instead.

Then came home to a late supper and bath and bedtime. It was a good day full of family time.