Hey All

Just wanted to let you know that Mom landed safely this evening- she and Garry are spending the day in Toronto tomorrow then she'll be home!

Anyone doing anything cool for Halloween? Jason and I are going to a Stag and Doe. I am dressing up as either a paper bag princess (if I can create a paper bag dress that doesn't chafe lol) or a bar maid, or maybe dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Jason is thinking he might be Ernie or Bert, but I think we should duct tape the hell outta him, put a funnel on his head and call him the tin man! We'll see!

Love yas lots,
xoxo
Sarah

ps: check out my video on my facebook page :)

Hello from Australia and Bali
First of all I would like someone to tell me how to post a blog without going to the sign in again..it gets to be a long process when you have 25 different languages here..lol]
All is well in the land downunder..my dream vacation is coming to an end quicker then I want to think about..but it is all good..Jackie and Sierrah seem to be adjusting very well in their new surroundings..It did take us a bit to get over the jet lag and a sickness on Jackie's part but we all managed..Sebi seems to be doing well with his new family also..I think it is one happy household..Jackie is wanting to change schools to a closer one..since the traffic from where they are living is bruttle to get to school..I got to see Sierrah's school too..it looks awesome..very clean and seems to be well organized..I just hope they are ready for her..lol..she is so friggin cute i tell ya..she looks more like Sarah everytime I look at her. I am so glad that I came here to see and know what life is going to be like for them..Sebi has a heart of gold..I can see he adores Jackie and Sierrah, so hopefully that will make it easier to say good bye to them on sunday..NOT!! I am so happy for Jackie and am so proud of her...she is doing excellent..
Now a bit about this journey..well my goodness I never thought it would be like it is..I have spent some wonderful time with Viv. She just had her teeth out just before I got here so she is not working...it worked out perfect..her place is very cute..hidden from the road and in the middle of a winery with about 25 race horses around always. amazing..I haven't had the chance to see Nathan yet? Not too sure why but I hope to see him before i leave on sunday. Viv called up Pat and Ron to get together for a coffee and they were going on vacation so we couldn't but they were going to Bali..perfect so are we..lol..they came to our villa and we went out for dinner on the beach..it was greatq..had a blast and they are doing wonderful..alot of travelling and hoping to come to Canada next year. We are going to their place saturday for dinner..they ssend their love to everyone!
I had the choice to hang out with the locals lol or to go to Bali...well you all know I am in Bali. What a great choice I made..lol..for once! lol This place is where we should do a girls vacation...It is incredible.everyone would love it..and I have lots of pictures to show..did I say lots I mean tons..lol
Well it is 2:30 in the morning and i better get some sleep..baby gets up early and wants to swim..she is swimming with her lifejacket and not holding on to the edge..nana is so proud of her..i have video of that...lol..and tons of pictures..lol..
Ok my love to you all..
Xmas Angela and Wade sounds wonderful and thanks for thinking of Sarah and I..I will have to let you know when I get back to reality..work...yuk...did anyone win millions yet??
Talk to you all soon
Love ya's
Donna
xo

Winter is well on it's way

i am sitting at my kitchen table doing some work and staring out the window and watching all the leaves fall off the trees (into my gutters and onto my roof...more work for me) and thinking that pretty soon it will all be covered with snow and my propane bill will soon be arriving again lol.
Our little family is doing well...i can not believe that stacey only has 12 weeks left to go where did that time go?? Alister is getting to be a little man now, he is on the move. He has not gotten up on his knees yet but that has not stopped him from figuring out how to do the wounded soldier drag. At least i can still catch him right now.
We did wood the weekend that just passed and wade and i sat back looking at all our hard work and we are very proud of ourselves this year i thinkthat we may just be warm for the winter.
Declan went to school today and got to be the Special Person!! He gets to help the teacher with a bunch of stuff and gets to bring something for show and tell, so last night we picked out 2 tractors to take and i went to put them in a little baggie and he started to cry (cought me completely off guard) saying that is was not a good bag they will guess too quickly??? it took me a few sobs to get him to calm down and get out of him that the show and tell is a secret and people have to guess. LOL. well we got him a non-see thru bag and all was good again. When we got to school today he was so excited it was very cute. He is enjoying school very much i am happy to report.
well i guess i should get back to work now that Alilster is sleeping.
I hope that everyone has a great weekend.
Love Angela

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN!

Wishing Steven a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY with love,
Jim & Lorraine
xo
I couldn't find a picture of him :(

12 weeks to go!

It is 6:18AM & I have been up since 3:30AM. I started this new thing . . . if I lay in bed awake for an hour & can't fall back asleep it is time to get up. Middle of the night pee breaks are no fun (and either is putting on nylons when you are 28lbs heavier than normal!). Tim will be happy when he finally gets up because I actually put some wood in the fire . . . something I don't seem to take my turn @. I am 28 weeks along today. I have started feeling big & awkward this week. Baby has been pretty active for the past 2 weeks. The weekend of the Survivor Party Tim felt him move & said to me "no wonder you can't sleep!" - it was pretty funny! We have no name yet. I did find bedding this week. It is Baby Gund Woodles & very cute. Thanks Mom for buying it & Sarah for picking it up! Tim is working away on the drywall in the baby's room. Hopefully it is done soon because Aunt Tina is spoiling Baby Boy Dustin already (brought a truckload home again last night) & I am going to need some place to put all this stuff! Mom & I went into Fabricland yesterday . . . she is sewing me a bassinet set . . . it is very cute & she is off to a great start. I am sure I will get a call today to come & check out her progress. It is great living so close to them, we see a lot more of each other than we did in the past. The game plan right now is that my last day of work will be Xmas Eve. Can't wait! I am glad Wade has decided to do a Xmas get together. I agree that it does not matter if we were all just together we are family & it is Xmas. So let us know what date & time you decide & what we can bring. I talked to Aunt Donna this morning. They are off to Bali for a week. She has some really great photos posted on Facebook if you have not already looked @ them. Think I am going to make another tea (decaf of course) & pay some bills. Enjoy what is left of the weekend. xoxoxo

Thank you!

Hey Everyone,

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to thank you all for being such a wonderful family. It's so nice to know that there is always an ear to listen, a bed to crash in, or someone to get wasted with (usually Tim)!

We've all had struggles in the past little while and it's important to have people around you to help you get through them. Even though we're physically far apart, I'm thankful to know that no one is ever too far away.

Love you all lots and I hope your day, however you spend it, is awesome. Don't forget to leave time for a nap ;)

xoxo
Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone, just wanted to take a minute to wish all a happy Thanksgiving, where ever it may find us. Also we wanted to start making preparations for Christmas plans. Just to put it out there, we are more than happy to have everyone for Christmas this year, just need to find a date that works for everyone, and since Donna and Sarah have the furthest to come, let us know what works for you guys, and we can work around it. It was mentioned that since we just had a family get together, that we may not need to have one at Christmas and I think that is a horrible idea! So we will offer up our place, and we can go from there.
Love you all, have a great Thanksgiving day!

Team Cheers

Missing Idol!

Aunt Norma is trying to track down the Immunity Idol she created for our Survivor Day.
If anyone knows the whereabouts, please let us know.
I'm thinking Donna might have worn it for her date with the Australian aboriginals?
Would it need its own passport?
xo

the eagles have landed!

Hey all,

Just an FYI that everyone landed safely - Mom messaged me this morning and might be online tonight if you're looking for her!

Love ya
Sarah

up, up and away!

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that Mom, Jackie and Sierrah got off just fine this morning - a little late and rushed, but we all know that the two of them wouldn't have it any other way! LOL...it feels much different this time because I think it's actually for real now, but my mind is more at ease since Jackie is going with a clearer head and Mom is there to help out if she's needed. It's going to be a big adjustment!

Anyways I hope you are all well and I will let you know when they have landed safely. Love you all lots!

xoxo
Sarah

He aint heavy He's my brother

Survivor was a riot. Thanks to all who pitched in on planning, decorating and most of all cleaning up. We'll definitely have to do it again. Although the outcome had been planned since about 1:30 that afternoon. Let me explain . . . The teams were set and I was eyeing up my team, the Plainfield Eleven, thinking of who would have to go and who was capable of sticking with me when out of nowhere Wade calls Jason and I to the side. We got this you guys he says. He then empties his pockets and shows us his survival kit which includes: dental floss, chalk, band aids, paperclips, a multi tool and elecrtrical tape . . . there was more I just can't remember. I looked at Jason and he was definitely as impressed as I was. In the next few minutes the alliance was set with just one thing in common, not one ounce of McKown blood ran through any of us, we aligned to take this family down! We enlisted Lorraine and Angela and gained majority vote so even before we lost the next competition we would know who would be going home. It was a slick operation we took apart our team one member at a time and always seemed to be on the same page working together to have a true survivor (one that could claim the victory not only for himself but his outsider brothers as well) Things went great until somehow we lost Jason to the other team and got a drunken Donna in return who we quickly disposed of. Wade and I kept planning for the merger knowing all the while that our brother was waiting for us on the other team but the plan backfired. There was no merger and we were forced to compete against each other, taking Wade out was like eating the last chocolate in the pot of gold box. It was so good up to there then he was gone. My life partner for the day, my brother and I had left him sitting cross legged on the lawn wondering what happened. But my other brother Jason was there with open arms and Angela and another old pal Steven as well. We quickly rid the team of Jimmy and Sarah and set our sights for Carla. Then disaster happened . . . right after the banana hop Steven had fallen to a mysterious illness that took him not only out of the game but right into the passengers seat of Barbs car for a nap. In the meantime the numbers had changed because Angela and Carla had noticed that Jason and I were determined to win so they secretly chatted and plotted against us. Carla won Immunity and it was clear Ang had to go. I got cocky and told her to pack her bags before the vote even happened. She asked who shall I vote for and without even thinking I volunteered my name . At the vote we tied at two votes apiece then someone tied a pair of nylons around my waist and then she kicked my ass in the orange golf. In the end I was thankful not to have to dance in front of everyone and my brother Jason took it home. As he said his acceptance speech I looked across the fire and I thought I saw a tear in Wade's eye and it was clear we were both thinking the same thing . . . That's our boy we're so proud. Then I got Donna super drunk and it was awesome (sorry Garry its tradition).