I've finally gotten around to updating my picture section... a lot of stuff has been happening but I had to get Matt to set up the account and teach me how to use the ftp client he put on my computer so I could put photos on the server we're using now (hopefully it's a little faster for people to load). This ftp client is called Cyberduck, and let me tell you: it bites the big one in some ways. I'm used to ssh'ing into our server, editing my html files in emacs, saving and being done with it. Now I have to download whatever file I want to work on, edit it on my computer, and then upload it. Sounds simple, right? Nope. Cyberduck has this thing about not overwriting files or only uploading ones that match or something. So I can't just go into the "Upload" dialog box and select the file I want, or it will find the backup version emacs creates and upload that instead (ie. index.html~ instead of index.html). Once that happens, all hope is lost. It will find that backup file no matter where it goes on my computer (it will even pull it out of the trash!) and stubbornly upload it over and over despite my insistence that really, I want the new version of the file I was working on. Argh!

Anyways. On to pictures!

We got our new car (as Matt announced last week). I do have to agree that while test drives, looking at brochures, etc. etc. is a lot of fun, the actual haggling part is teh suck. In a big way. We had pretty much decided by mid-June what car we were going to get, but then the salesguy we had been dealing with got in a smash-em-up on a test drive with another client and hadn't returned to work. We actually got a letter in the mail from the owner or manager noting that we had had a test drive but hadn't bought a car there, and to let them know if there was anything they could do to help us. Matt phoned and asked what was up with our salesguy and if they could connect us with someone else to help us with the few questions we had, but we got passed around and calls didn't really get returned and it was just frustrating. We tried going to another dealership but got one of those stereotypical car salesman, and I didn't really feel comfortable dealing with him. If we're being taken for a ride, at least don't make us feel like we're being taken for a ride unless there isn't anywhere else in decent range which can sell us the same thing, or we're going there.

Eventually I found out that one of my Grandma's friends had just bought a brand new Mazda 3, so I asked her who she had been dealing with and then we met the lady who finally sold us our car. (If you ever are considering a Mazda, we dealt with Donna Ritter at North Hill Mazda and she was great.)

We've already put about 600 km on it (in a week!) but that's mostly due to the fact we've been taking pointless-but-fun roadtrips (like going to Cochrane for ice cream or driving to Black Diamond via Kananaskis). Everything has been beautiful so far... we're learning all the neat little things about the car, like how there is a light on the door that shows you what you're about to step out into at night. That will be handy during the mid-winter thaws that leave giant puddles everywhere.

The next big thing that happened is that we got the kittens! Two little orange brothers, one of which has been napping in my lap as I'm writing this. Except now he woke up and is trying to eat my computer.

Our niece, who had been told that we were taking two of the kittens ahead of time, is mad at us. When we came to pick them up, she brought one out of her room. The sacrificial kitten... hoping that if she gave us one, we wouldn't try to take anymore. There was an awesome conversation between my niece and my mother-in-law:

Muriel: Where is the other kitten?
Katalin: He just wants to stay there! He won't come out!
Muriel: Is that because you have the door to your room closed?

Of course it was. :D

She very reluctantly gave us the other kitten (we're not totally heartless, she is keeping two herself so it's not like we're stealing all of her kittens), and I'm so glad we're got a pair. They play with each other all day long... relieving me of the neccessity of playing with them all day long. That is some crazy energy they've got, and I'm either fighting off a cold or in the middle of a baby-growth-spurt, so I've been napping like crazy.

We were originally going to name them Mal and Jayne (from Firefly), but the one I had thought was a Mal just wasn't. He is a bit shy to begin with, but once he's used to you, he's the biggest cuddlebug of a cat I think I've ever seen (he's the one curled up with me as I'm writing). So we tried out some different pairs... Strange and Charm, Oiseaux and Grenouille, Alex and George (from Grey's Anatomy)... but no pair we came up with suited the both of them. We finally decided to just mix pairs as the bigger one was really a Jayne, and the smaller one was really a George.

Apparently though, we've named our cats after the Jetsons. D'oh! I didn't even notice until the vet remarked on it.

We got them a cat tree/condo thing, which they seem to love. They can climb up the inside or the outside, and chase each other up and down it all day. Now, if only I could teach them to scratch on it in addition to climbing...

The other thing that happened was a glut of birthday parties. My immediate family (nine people), now nicely fit into three birthday parties... February for my mom, brother-in-law, and I, late April/early May for my brother, sister, and stepbrother, and July for my stepdad, Matt, and my brother's girlfriend. Too bad I'm about to screw that up with the October baby. Anyways, we went out to Black Diamond for a barbeque (mmm... bbq elk roast) and some birthday cake (and specially for Matt, birthday Saskatoon pie).

Matt got some gift certificates, a new flask and a Tilley hat for hiking. He's already bought some books with his gift certificate and is going to get some DVDs as well. Good times had by all (except maybe my sister who had to hide inside from the wasps... she doesn't want to have to use that brand-new Epipen just yet).

Of course, the one thing I've been promising photos of (baby ultrasound), I still don't have ready. D'oh!