Brooks

Well, as some of you may know we have been hanging out in a little town called Brooks for the past 8 weeks. Scott had to work in a rural site for a couple months and they had Brooks lined up for us since last July. It was actually an OK trip. The Condo they provided for us was a little small, and by the end both Scott and I were feeling the need for space. The ward there was very nice and welcoming. Even though we were only there for a few weeks we were invited over for supper, included in all kinds of activities, and even invited on a boat ride! The people we met made our time there so much more enjoyable than it would have otherwise been.

To give us something to do, I put Moses in a 6 week gymnastics course. Moses isn't the most coordinated child, so some things were obviously harder for him. But he improved so quickly! He went from crying on the trampoline the first day, to doing tricks on the last. And at first he wouldn't even touch the rings or the bars, even with teacher help. It gave him a lot more confidence at the park as well. He'll climb all kinds of ladders now (well, most kinds). BTW - I bet you are totally laughing at my son right now, Emily L. Don't pee your pants!!!!!

We spent a lot of time at parks, with or without other children. The condo didn't include a yard, or anywhere the kids could play. So we went out a lot.

Brooks had the best swimming pool. With a water slide, and wading pool, lazy river and lots of fun floating things. We went there a couple times and the boys both loved it. Scott would get some mornings off if he was working late in the walk in clinic, and we would go then. There weren't a lot of people around in the mornings. We really enjoyed ourselves there.

There was a lake just outside of Brooks with a nice sandy beach. When it was nice we would go there and play in the sand and wade in the water. At first the boys didn't seem as excited about it as I thought they would be. But they got into it after awhile. I still wouldn't say they loved it, but they will get lots of beach practice this summer!

While we were there we were lucky enough to meet up with some friends from Edmonton. The Hatch's were in our ward in Edmonton when Moses was born. Their daughter Addison is only a couple months younger than Moses. And now they have a son that is only a month older than Kael. Anyway, Roxanne grew up in Brooks and came down to be with family while we were there. So of course we got together and hung out a couple times. Moses and Addi were inseperable as little babies and 1 year olds. Now they barely know eachother. In fact, Moses was feeling very nervous when we first arrived. We were just serving lunch when I had the following converstaion with Moses:

Moses: Mom, I'm feeling kinda nervous.
Me: Really?! (somewhat surprised at his
vocabulary choice) Why are you nervous?
Moses: Well, I don't like these people. I don't
know them. And they make me feel shy.
I don't like to feel shy.

Keep in mind that the entire time he is talking all "these people" are sitting right there around the table, ready for lunch.

It didn't take to long for him to warm up to Addison and when it was time to go he was crying because he wanted to stay and play longer. It was really good to catch up and I am glad we were able to get together.

Moses and Addi hiding under the slide.

All in all, Brooks was a good experience. I'm really happy to be home and unpacked. And to have a backyard again.