Why Can't Every Weekend Be A Long Weekend?

For the long weekend we were able to get out on our first camping trip of the season!  The weather was gorgeous (25 and above)!  We snuck out for a 4km hike before heading out for the weekend and got this lovely view!

Saturday morning we picked up our friend Matt and headed to Charleston Provincial Park, one of our favorite campgrounds close to Kingston!  

Matt and Carl roasting marshmellows

Carl making our delicious breakfast of french toast and sausage!

On Sunday, about 6 of our friends and their kids came out for the day!  We spent it soaking up some sun and for those who were brave enough, swimming!

Carl, Matt and I also rented a canoe and went for a few nice paddles around the lake.  We ended our trip with 5km hike!

The weather has been beautiful and according to this weeks forecast, it's supposed to stay that way!  No news on the job front however, our new plan is to stay in Kingston until the end of August unless of course a job opportunity arises at home in the meantime!

Hope you all got to enjoy your long weekend!

Greetings Family, Friends and Fellow Followers

It is with not very much news that I write this blog but I had a few pictures to share so I thought hey, I should write a blog!  So without further ado, here are the pictures I speak of:

 This lovely photo was taken just a few days after Carl sent his final report off for external review!  You'll notice he's sporting a lovely new watch!  A grad gift from yours truly.  The hard part of Carl's report is done, now he awaits approval from external (there will likely be a few corrections to make) and then it's official, there will be an Urban Planner in the family! 

The photo above is ME and as you can see I am sporting a lovely little baby bump!  In this picture I am 16 weeks and 6 days!  I may have been feeling the baby move a little within the last week or so but am still unsure if it's the baby or possibly just flatulence trying to escape.  If it really is the baby, then Carl actually felt it too for the first time last night!

Overall we are both doing well. Carl is adjusting to his life of leisure...Ok maybe between the lists I leave him, him filling out job applications and working on another certification via correspondence it's not that leisurely...We are both anxiously awaiting to hear news about jobs in which we have applied for and appreciate all prayer regarding the big decision we will have to make within the next month or so - to come home or not to come home?  A job would help answer that question!  

NOTE: Please do not post anything on Facebook about Funk Junior as it may have an affect on future jobs!  Thanks!

Kid's Having Kid's

So this past Monday morning we woke up to quite a scare!  There was snow on the ground?!

 This was not a welcome surprise and neither is the cold weather we've experienced this past week!  It's like we skipped summer and are right back in fall!  At this point I feel like summer is never going to come!  Although it's been cold, Carl and I were able to suck it up and get outside to work on our car!  Carl felt like a man getting all greasy under the hood replacing the air intake hose :)

 Besides working on the car, Carl got his final report back this week to make some final changes to it and will be handing it back in again tomorrow hopefully to be handed off for an external review!  Once that's complete, he's officially done!    

So what's this picture above you ask?  Oh that's the hotel lobby at 4am Saturday morning!  Carl and I took off to Toronto on Friday to enjoy a night away (and  to go to a giant baby show :).  At 4am the fire alarm started going off so we quickly got dressed, took the stairs from the 10th floor to the lobby and waited...We finally got the ok to go back to bed once they found out that what set off the alarm was just someone smoking in their room?!!!!  That guy's bill went up $1000 that night!!!

I don't think I've mentioned that a few weeks ago Carl ran into a guy that he worked with during his internship this past summer.  The guy mentioned that they are actually hiring and Carl's name came up.  It was with mixed emotion that Carl applied, and now we are waiting to hear if an interview will be lined up.  If Carl was offered the job, it would be a really great opportunity and a good career move...But I think our hearts are set on coming home.  We are currently just playing the waiting game but eventually we'll have to make a decision, job or not...Even though we have some big decisions to make, sometimes we still feel like we're just kid's!

Carl and I in a giant baby bouncy chair!

1+1=3

Ok so maybe my math is a little off there but who am I kidding, it's always been that way!  I think you get the picture though and if you don't, well here's the real picture:

As most of our family and friends and found out last weekend, baby Funk is on it's way!  This was our first glimpse at our little bean and at this point, it really was about the size of a bean!  This picture was taken at 8 weeks when the baby still had teeny webbed fingers and toes!  Although we couldn't hear the heartbeat, the ultrasound read it to be around 170 beats per minute!  

This picture was taken at 12 weeks when the baby was about the size of a lime.  I've never seen a live ultrasound, just the still pictures so when we saw our little one move during this ultrasound, it was a big surprise!  The baby opened it's mouth and brought it's little hand up to it's face.  We were also able to get a closer look at each little hand and foot! 

 I am now 14 weeks as of tomorrow and just yesterday we were actually able to hear it heart beat!  Overall I've been feeling pretty good!  I was a little sick the first few months and am still more tired than usual but I've heard that during this second trimester that should soon fade too!  I'm just starting to show although after I've eaten and am nice and bloated, I look like I could pass for 5 months pregnant!  We just found out today that on May 24th we'll be able to find out if we should be buying pink or blue!  But just for fun, we've already been thinking about names!  Because are parents are so important to us, we were thinking of combining their names so they had some real significance.  This would mean if it's a girl, she could be Suedori and if it's a boy, it will be Rossken!  And because I'm not a huge fan of surprises, I went on this cool website where we could actually find out what are kids will look like by combing our pictures!  So here they are:

Little Suedori

Little Rossken

Whatever the child looks like, whether it's a boy or a girl, we are looking forward to meeting this little one around October 17th!

Looong Weekend

Well I was right, that beautiful spring/summer weather we were having only lasted for the week!  Although we haven't gotten that freak snow storm I was expecting, we did get flurries and even though it's 12 today, the wind is cold!!!  I still can't complain because it is sunny which apparently is better than what you Vancouver folk are getting!

Although it's been about 2 weeks since I last wrote, there isn't that much exciting stuff to write about!  I passed another exam through the bank which makes me qualified to be a Senior Personal Banking Officer (which is what I'll apply to back home).  Only one more course and 3 more exams and I'll have my Personal Financial Planning Certification.  I'm not sure if I'll take the next course right away or wait a bit...Carl finished classes last Wednesday and just needs to write one more paper and finish his final report.  He is hoping to have both handed in for review within the next week or so!

Today is Good Friday and we decided to have a relaxing day!  We went for brunch this morning and then came back home and while I had a nap, Carl took off to go grocery shopping.  He walked to a grocery store nearby and discovered it was closed?  So he walked home and hopped in the car to drive to another one...And it was closed?  So he came home and looked up every single grocery store in Kingston to find out that they are all closed today...And we have no groceries!  Both of us are slightly baffled by this and the fact that pretty much everything is closed today (we started looking up random places to see what was actually open - nothing!).

Tonight we have the privilege of watching TV and possibly BBQing!!!  My girlfriend from across the street has once again left us her key while she is away so we can sneak over and enjoy some TV and a BBQ - what a luxury!!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

There's a "spring" in my step'

Ahhhhh spring!  It doesn't officially start until Tuesday but with weather in the high teens today and sticking around all week, I think it's safe to say that spring has sprung!  A part of me dreads that a freak snowstorm will hit us in the weeks to come but for now, I'm soaking in the rays!  

Saturday was St. Patrick's Day and either we were oblivious last year or it was just a bigger event this year because the streets were littered with green people all day!  Carl walked to the library on Saturday morning around 9:30am and I got a text from him that read "looks like they are already setting for drinking in the student ghetto"...And a few minutes later another text came in "did I say setting up?  I meant they are already drinking!"  The students were out all day and all night celebrating St. Patrick's Day!  It was chaos!  We spent our evening at a friends having a slightly tamer night then the students outside!  This morning we thought it would be quiet around town but on our walk to church, already people were outside sitting on couches and roofs enjoying the sunny weather!

 After church today we went out for brunch with some friends and then decided to take a longer walk home and go down by the water.

Beautiful!  I am loving this weather!...And all those comments on Facebook about the rain and snow back home are not convincing us that the Vancouver area is where we want to be :)

Computer Time!

I was finally able to steal the computer away from Carl for a significant amount of time so that I can catch up on my emails, Facebook, banking and of course blogging!  Carl has class tonight until 9pm so it's just me and my laptop!  Although I should be studying for an exam that I have coming up at the end of the month, I really just need to take advantage of my computer time!  

Carl has been hogging the computer to of course, work on his final report!  He has been making huge progress and I believe just needs to write a section or two on his findings and write a conclusion!  From there he'll need to send his report in to an outside source to be reviewed, he'll make the necessary changes and then it gets published!  In his spare time, Carl has been applying for jobs!  Over the past several weeks, Carl has applied to numerous jobs (and most of you will be happy to know they've all been back in BC!).  There are about 2 or 3 that Carl is qualified for (meaning they don't require experience) and that he would be excited to get!  So this is where you come - prayer is needed!  I guess you could say its been on our minds lately on what the future will bring.  Carl has been applying for jobs, I've been looking for jobs back at home within the bank and ideally we'd like to head back in July - so how will it all get orchestrated that way so the timing is just right?  For the most part, we know and trust that it's in Gods hands and we have full faith that He will orchestrate it all, but it doesn't always keep us from wondering and maybe slightly worrying.  So like I said, prayer is appreciated!  However it works out, we are looking forward to the next adventure!  

Hard to believe that Carl is done in less than a month and most of our friends from Carl's program are leaving by May!  We'd like to hang around a bit for several reasons 1) our lease goes until August 2) the summers here are beautiful 3) We want to do a trip to the East Coast and want it to be warm!  Speaking of warm, it was 10 degrees today!  Crazy how on Monday it was down to feeling like minus 20 and within 2 days it jumped about 30 degrees!  I just hope it keeps jumping because I am ready for SUMMER!!!