We are back South!

Happy THANKSGIVING TO ALL...

If you are new to our story WELCOME. I type alot... lol....(my sister says to much) it is because the words I type are also my journal in a way for my kids, to share what we do.... and so I don't have to talk on the phone for hours telling the same story... haha... love technology.

Who can believe it is the middle of October already. It has been nearly six months since I last sat down to write about the crazy life of our family... lol ... I wonder sometimes if we are normal... Who are we kidding of course we are not BUT WHO IS?

I trust your summer was wonderful and that as we enter Halloween and of course the wonderful Christmas season you are in great health and great spirits. Now the question remains....

Where have we been?

June 18th we left Panama for back home to Calgary for two weeks. We rented a house in Bonavista to be nice and close to my sister and adorable niece (Harlow) and nephew (Keidis). The two weeks in Calgary flew by seeing so many people and eating at all the restaurants I desperately missed being away, not to mention almost making myself sick from wine gums & nibs... (we don't have those treats here in Panama so I craved them alot!)

(Everett. Easton. Braydon. Keidis, Harlow & Emma)

When we arrived back in Calgary we had to pick up our truck which is in storage along with the rest of our life... in boxes. It was so over whelming seeing all our belongings in storage that we just closed the door and walked away. Trent and I looked at eachother and said "we will deal with this another time" who knows when that will be. It is strange because we can live without most of everything but I really do miss some comforting possessions in some of those boxes. One day I will see them again... just who knows when, maybe you can ask my husband and he will give you an answer, I have been trying for months now :-)

After a whirlwind two weeks in Calgary.. eating, seeing wonderful friends, great family and of course shopping we were almost broke from the expense of Calgary. Oh my did we notice the pinch on the bank account. Money was jumping out of our hands practically. We spent on food for a week what we would spend in a month here in Panama. Filling up my truck was a shock to the system and of course wine... Wine here is excellent at $3.00/bottle. Thanks to Jodie this summer we exercised our pallets alot :- )

On the road again.... I just can't wait to get back on the road again... July long weekend we departed the city for a night in Banff. Met up with friends who are on the same crazy travel schedule, they live over seas and come back in the summers to enjoy Canada when it is not -30 degrees.

A night in Banff and after hiking a mountain with six kids (yes we did) we headed to the great Okanogan to our paradise for the summer at Kalamalka Lake. When we pulled up to our site I was dreading all the work involved in setting up camp.. cleaning, organizing, unpacking... we drove up and I was in shock...IT WAS ALL DONE. A very wonderful family spoiled us and did all the dirty work and was wonderful enough to set up for us. We love you Hiscocks.... That wonderful act of kindness set the tone for a wonderful summer.

At the lake the kids run free laughing and playing. Our wonderful friends the Drews are right beside us so I am never lonely and there is never a shortage of commotion. All the kids are skiing mostly, Easton will be up next year and Everett wanted to go but maybe next year Buddy.

(The Drew family)

Trent & were able to sneak off to Vancouver for a wedding (thank you Mom for babysitting) We had the best weekend away... Congratulations Bruce & Tracy. Bruce Reid a long time friend who was in Germany the same time as us got married to Tracy and they have a beautiful little girl. The wedding was a blast, we saw people from Germany we have not seen in 8yrs. since we left Hamburg, it was just to much fun.

(congratulations Reid Family... So happy for you)

(me. Angela (from Germany). Mirco (from Germany). Bruce. & Trent) we had alot of laughs about our time in Germany together.

(the boys who played or coached in Germany)
boys will be boys!

The weekend following Bruce's wedding I flew back to Calgary for my cousin Alicia's wedding. My sister picked me up at the airport and she was my date for the night :- ) Alicia looked gorgeous and the setting at my Aunt & Uncles could not have been more perfect out in Bears Paw. It was a reunion of basically of my Galbraith cousins (my dad's family) we had a great time. I do have to say I do not think I have ever heard someone speak so fast as Alicia's new husband, also we experienced the VIRTUAL BESTMAN and that was hilarious.

(Alicia you looked beautiful and it was great being together, it was alot of fun)

(Trent & I on our 10th wedding anniversary this summer... 10yrs. and three kids... not bad for some young pups... well at least I am young honey... just kidding., not anymore.. love you.)

There are just to many memories to recount from the lake but the smore night was a great time for us adults and kids...haha.. it was a fun night.


It was so great that my sister and family came out to the lake for almost a week. It was nice after all these years that she came to relax, enjoying the boat being on the water. After a day of crying Harlow finally got used to the boat and adjusted perfectly to cruising around. Now Harlow is one of the kids... a boat rat!

(me and my baby sister... thanks for coming to the out)

We spent about 8 weeks out in BC and it was hard to leave but the weather turned and it was time for us to start heading back to Panama. We made a pit stop in Calgary for almost two weeks again, originally it was only suppose to be less than a week, but to leave for a year there was alot to take care of and people to see.

Once we made it into Alberta we made a very quick trip up to Edmonton to take our beloved family dog Monty (yes he is still around) up to my Uncle Ian's to live. Poor Monty has moved homes as much as we have and we are so grateful and happy he is settling in at Uncle Ian's and Tammy's (I hope so anyways :- ))) It has been sad to leave Monty but he is now 11yrs. old and we feel the trip down would be to hard on him and the heat here would be to much. Mont is missed very much, the kids want another dog down here ... NO WAY I say. Daddy on the other hand is puddy in the kids hands.

(Monty and Easton enjoying a movie on the way to Edmonton)

While in Edmonton we were able to see my Grandparents Ken and my Gramma & Grampa Galbraith. We had great time visiting and catching up. I know Ken thinks we are crazy but and that is ok, it is because you love us so much however I know my Gramma would be all for us checking out the sights around the world. My Galbraith Grandparents are very supportive and we thank you very much for that. My love goes to you all.

(the kids spending time with their great grampa Ken)

Sept 9th we boarded a plane with a surprise for the kids... we were heading down to Disneyland... we never told them so it was a complete surprise. When we got on the plane I had a surprise for Trent... we all flew first class. It was nice to see Trent actually fit in the seat and not complain but we do have a problem ... he wants to fly now first class now! It was Trent's birthday on the following day, Sept 10th what else do you get a guy who has everything (except his big Marlin fish)

We landed in LA and waited for the shuttle to take us to Anaheim. Emma asked me " have we been here before?" I said "yes we have" and I could see she was trying to put things together in her mind. As we drove the 45min or so drive Emma was looking out the window trying to figure out where we were and then all of a sudden she looked, looked again and said to Easton while hitting him ... THIS IS DISNEYLAND! then she looked us straight faced and asked "do we get to go there?" It was pretty cute. Of course we had a wonderful time at Disney, what made it great was that Everett was big enough to go on most rides with a few exceptions. The first time we took him on Space Mountain it was pretty funny. We finished the ride and he was not quite sure what was up.... he said he did not want to go again ... that lasted a day and then he was wanting to go again and again with Emma & I. He loved Soar'n over California (a favorite for all of us) But Splash Mountain was the winner for riding the most times... the kids could not get enough of that crazy ride.
Everett still sings .... zippity-do-da-zippity-a-my-o-my-what a wonderful day! over and over.... and over..

(my cute Minnie)

(Easton, my Easton... not sure what this thing on his head is or where he got it but he liked it and he wore it around Disney all day long. He loved when people asked him about his special hat... I think everyone was looking at him like he was special--- Oh East I love how you love to be you and how you don't care what others say, even your dad... you are the best)

(my cuties... Only Emma can carry Everett on this day.
Soon though Ev is going to out weight Emma)

It was a great 5 days at Disney. Our kids also took in their first Major League Baseball game. Trent found out the Anaheim Angels were playing the Cleveland Indians and off to the game we went. The kids were amazed with the huge stadium and got into the cheering and snacks. It was fun but after the 5th inning we were out of there, we needed to rest up for days of riding rides...

(My boys all match in Angel t-shirts and Emma & I have matching ball hats... Go Angels Go... the boys liked eating peanuts and throwing them on the ground)

On Sept 14th we departed LAX at 2:00am for Panama.. The kids were troupers that whole process... they are very used to the airport routine and do fabulous. The flight time was not so great but we put the kids to bed at 7:00pm and woke them up at 11:30pm to head to the airport so they got a bit of sleep before hand. The flight was peaceful since everyone slept, expect Mom (I like movies)

Arrived in Panama at 10:30am local time to warmth and of course Panamanian craziness. We sailed through immigration, all of our bags arrived (thank goodness) and in a taxi to the apartment. When we arrived at our apartment we had no electricity so that was interesting, it was very hot in the apartment. Anyone who knows my husband... he does not do well with no air conditioning. My truck fired right up after 3 months but Trent's battery was dead in his as he searched for a truck to speed down to the electrical company. Long story short, our electrical bill was not payed, they cut off our electricity and we are still sorting that all out... but we have electricity now.

It took us a few weeks to settle back into the Latin life... slower, crazy driving, kids in school, having our helper (maid) in the house all the time again - I am the only one who has to adjust, Trent loves having Elia (our helper) around picking up after him.

(good thing Elia likes to wash the floor... with Everett around you never know what you are going to walk into. His feet were red for many days after he spilt this juice all over. He was trying to be big like his brother)

(everyday kind of thing, a convoy of cars with people sitting on the roofs... not sure what this is all about but worth a picture)

The kids settled right back into school. Alot has been happening since we got back. Easton went back in to Karate class and was choosen to compete in the International Competition that is being held here in Panama in November. This is a pretty big competition over 40 countries will be participating in this tournament. I laughed when the translator told me that Easton's coach wanted him to compete, but they were very serious. I will keep you updated.

Emma is also practicing for an International festival. Each class in her school represents a different country and Emma's is Taiwan. She practices every Saturday morning for a special dance they will preform at this festival. Easton's class is representing Jamaca (they are so cute.. all colorful)

(speaking of colorful... this is what happens when I let the kids FINGER paint. I left the room to check something and I came back to this... body painting. I wish I could show you Emma but she asked me not to and Everett was painted from head to toe)

(bike riding on the Causeway... the kids love going bike riding before supper, these bikes are awesome)

I could not take the white walls in our apartment anymore so we have started on the kids rooms... making them fun kids rooms. We found bunk beds that were $125.00 and picked some paint that Trent said was very inexpensive as well as I found bedding at SACKS (a new store here) it was a steal. The kids love their rooms and they are enjoying some normalicy again (well at least I am) It was fun putting them together but shopping here is so hard. You have to go to about 5 stores before you will find what you are looking for, there is no Ikea (which I miss very much) The Bay, Sears, or Walmart just a bit here and a bit there.

Well I could type on and on. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada. We got together with some Canadian friends tonight not for turkey but Italian food. I talked to the kids about Thanksgiving and I asked them what they were thankful for;

- Emma said " I am thankful for my WHOLE family, my life" I asked her what she ment by life, she said "I get to travel, see the world and meet new people, and I am thankful for our apartment, that we have a place to live."

- Easton said "I am thankful for many things Mom... my family, my school, our apartment, my clothes and many many things"

- Everett says whatever his brother says...lol...

- Jody said " When we go away and we are away from what we know as normal in our comfort zone I am thankful for so much more. I know what I miss and I know what don't have here but on the flip side I have so much. I am EXTREMLY thankful for what we do have... my family is together all the time, we are healthy, I am thankful for the country we were born in and the opportunities we have been given. I am so very greatful that we are able to give the gift of another language to our kids and that they are able to see the world raw not just on TV or in books, that I can answer the hard questions about life.. that I am present for them. Thankful for family... my sister & fam & my Mom & fam and who can forget my husband of 10yrs ( I could never live without him) My dad passed away very young and that is in my mind each and everyday, life is short and very fragile.. respect it and cherish it... live it and in my case push the envelope as far as you can. (I warned you I can talk alot...haha) I am thankful I am here to yell at my kids, (what mom does not) and that I can give them a hug & kiss everynight with an I LOVE YOU!

- Trent says "I am thankful for my family and that we are all together, healthy, happy and laughing"

(my precious stinkers)

Christmas is around the corner and is very present everywhere in the stores here. The decorations you can buy are beautiful and very inexpensive.. Emma and I were out the other night and she can not wait to get this place all decorated wall to wall.

So you have it, a quick update of the last six month. Paul & Linda Day along with their kids Sydney and Josh will be here on Wednesday for 4-5 days. It should be great fun and I look forward to the funny stories I will have to tell next week. They are coming to Panama for a min of 6 months to relax and get in the Latin grove... :- )

Until next time... Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you are stuffed full of turkey and ate lots of pumpkin pie... my mouth is watering right now.

p.s. I never touched base on our plan for the year. After much debate and aganizing hours of talking we have decided to stay in Panama for the next year or so. (one year at a time) We origianly intended to leave Panama after Christmas and head south to Aregentina. That move is not in the cards for January. There is to much traveling that has to be done around here and we want to take advantage of that first before we move on. I have a few trips I am planning that I will be able to report on soon. So the invitation is extended to anyone who wants to check out one of the amazing wonders of the world (the Panama Canal) or the Schmuland family.. haha... your pick :- )

Good night and like I have always said... we love to hear from you!!! You can post a comment on the comments page below or email me at schmulandj@gmail.com with any questions or comments you might have.

All our love
Jody. Trent & munchkins xoxxo