Welcome Baby Max

A friend of mine had a baby boy 6 weeks ago and I asked her if she would mind if I had a baby shower for her.  She already has an almost two year old boy so she wasn't really needing anything but its always fun to shower a new mom and her beautiful bundle with "new" things!!!

This was the first "unfamily" party I had in our house and I had so much fun getting things and making treats and decorating!!

The shower was a success with lots of ladies in attendance! I loved the quick little games we played...one was guessing the number of days a specific animal was pregnant, for example those creepy little furry things (mice) are only pregnant for 21 days....EWWW!!!!  Cats are pregnant for 61 and dogs for 63.  Elephants are pregnant for 624 days, thats almost 2 years...YUCK!!!  The other game we played was guessing what item in the bag matched the letter on the outside!  The letters on the bags spelled out BABY SHOWER and each bag had an item used with babies that started with that letter!  It was fun and once the items were pulled out of the bags a chorus of "oh right" was heard among everyone!!!

I found the cutest old style milk jars and put string around the top with a tag that had Max's name written on it.  I also found blue polka dot and stripped paper straws and used them to slurp up the chocolate milk I served in the milk jars.

I made heart shaped sugar cookies and iced them with blue icing.  I decorated with the blue baby shower bags filled with yellow tissue paper and wooden blocks set up as block towers.  It was so much fun!!!  I just love doing things like this!!

I even spruced up our house to make it feel more springy!!!  I changed the red table cloth for a yellow one and put out yellow and blue pillows on our couches, and I bought a bouquet of yellow and orange gerber daisy's (my absolute favourite flower!!)

Welcome to the world little Max....

Family

I'm so thankful for both my mom and my dad!! They really helped me out this week. 

My dad drove down from Calgary yesterday morning to watch Armin while I worked at the school. They had lots of fun and even met my Uncle Brett for breakfast at McDonald's!!!  Having my dad do this allowed Myrna to go see Lalainia and her little family for a much needed visit!!!

Friday my mom came over for a visit!!! She was looking after Gilbert and Lily and while Gil was at a birthday party Lily and her came to our house to hang out!!! It was nice to have my mom here especially since she helped me clean my house!!! She swept and mopped the floors while I cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed!!!! She then helped me ice my sugar cookies for the baby shower I'm hosting at our place tonight!!! 

I take for granted all my mom and my dad do for me. I truly am thankful for their love, support and example in my life. I'm grateful for my parents and love them very much!!!!

33

Another year has come and gone and I find myself at the odd age of 33!  There was nothing I could have wanted for my birthday that I don't already have!  I have a wonderful husband who really is my best friend...he helps me with everything...from putting the kids to bed to sweeping and mopping the floor!! He really is amazing.  He is also very supportive of my many foolish thoughts and will usually guide me to a more realistic way of doing things!!  Together we have three amazing children who are the world to me.  Yes they are trying at times, but at night time when the day is over and all is quite and I tiptoe into their rooms, I see the most angelic little faces so peaceful and my heart melts, and I remember why they are here and why I have been entrusted to take care of them!!!

I had a wonderful birthday!  I was given a Bosch by Mom Puzey, something I have always wanted and it even helped me make my first really good loaf of bread!!!  I got to spend the day of my birthday with my favourite girl!  We shopped and then met Mom Puzey and Rachel at the theatre to see Cinderella!!! A truly magical movie!!  I loved every minute of it and was happy my girl was sitting beside me!  We then met Rachel's little family at Tony Roma's for dinner!  I was thankful to Jared for letting me have that day, even though there were a million and one things he could have been doing he sacrificed his day to spend inside playing with our boys so I could celebrate!!

In keeping with my tradition of listing the things I am grateful for I am going to revise and add to my list from last year!!

1. The Gospel.  I am so happy I made the decision to be baptized into such a wonderful religion.  I have witnessed many blessings in my life because of my faith!

2. Jared!  He truly is a wonderful man, so caring and compassionate.  He is very supportive of my many crazy ideas and helps bring me back to earth when my ideas really truly will not work!

3. Our three crazy kids!  I love each one of them more than words can express.  They each have a unique personality and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to be their mom!

4. My home.  It truly is a beautiful home, I love the fact that Jared built it and together we have made it a house full of lots of love and laughter!

5. Books!  I LOVE to read!

6. Chocolate!  Milk chocolate...I am addicted to Bubbly Mint Cadbury Bars, I don't understand why they only come in a family size chocolate bar, I can't stop eating it once I start!!

7. Sweaters!  The only good thing about this unbelievably long snowy winter is the fact that I have been able to wear sweaters everyday!

8. The mountains!  I love being able to see them off in the distance, snow covered and majestic!

9. The flat prairies!  I love looking out any one of our windows and being able to see for miles on end.

10.  Durum Wheat!  I think this is my absolute favourite grain crop!  I love the brown hues on the bearded wheat.  I love it when the wind is gently blowing through the crop making it look like waves in the water.

11. My family...my mom, my dad and my sisters!  I am so thankful for them in my life, for all they have taught me and continue to teach me.  I am thankful for their love and support and for words of advice in time of need.

12. My extended family!!!  I am so thankful for the Puzey family and for the way they have accepted me with open arms of love.  They are always there when I am in need, showing support and encouragement.  I am so thankful to have married a man from such a kind, loving, caring and compassionate family!

13. Broccoli!  I am not supposed to eat too much of it because it has so much potassium, which can thin out my blood too much!  But I really do love it...it is so yummy!

14. Walking.  I don't do it nearly enough, but I really do enjoy going outside for a walk.

15. Making cards!

16. Being able to have a calling in such a wonderful Church!! My calling now is in the Nursery and I have the best little guy to teach and to play with!!!

17. Cupcakes.  I really enjoy making new cupcakes.  I haven't made one yet that I don't like!

18. Baking in general!  I love trying new recipes!  I find it absolutely fascinating to mix flavours and seeing the way things come together from a liquid type form into something so moist and fluffy!

19. Cats.  I have liked them better outside in more recent years but I love the way they like to curl up on my lap and purr.  The sound of their purring is so soothing!

20. Dogs!!  I love how loyal dogs are. I feel safe having Gibson keeping watch outside.  When he barks it lets me know that either a strange car has come in the yard or there is a coyote out in the field.  I like how strangers are leery of him even though he really is harmless!  He has a very intimidating bark! And now we have a huge monster of a dog to keep Gibson company!! I absolutely love Fender and how he looks so ferocious but is really a big cuddly fur ball!!

21. Bread!  Especially now with my new Bosch!!!! I hope I never have gluten intolerances because I don't think I could give up bread!

22. Lego!  I love how the kids LOVE to play with it and will play for hours using their imaginations building things for all their mini figures!

23. Trees.  Though we don't have a lot where we live I love how every single tree is different, how they can be planted right beside each other but they grow in such different ways.

24. Autumn.  I love the colours of fall.  How the leaves change colours at different times and create a menagerie of tones and textures!

25. Cookies!  Any cookie really!  I love baking cookies and eating cookies.  My family calls me The Cookie Monster!  They can be homemade or store bought, it really doesn't matter!

26. The idea of gardening!!  I want to love gardening, I love having fresh vegetables but I don't like weeding it and thinning out the rows.

27. Decorating our house to suit the season or holiday!

28. Movies!  There really isn't a movie I haven't liked.  I always seem to find something I like about it.

29.  Cuddling on the couch with Jared.  Though he describes it more as leaning against him!  I love that time in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed when we can just sit together and watch t.v.!!

30. Music!  I particularly love the Disney music from the most recent movies, but I really love all types of music (except rap!!).  I love playing it loud while cleaning the house.  I love how all our kids sing along and dance.

31. Visiting Teaching!  I am not always very diligent about getting it done but I love going and I also love having Visiting Teachers come see me!  I love the common bond we share in the gospel, raising our families and generally trying to do our best!

32. My country!  I am proud to be Canadian and would not want to live anywhere else in the world!

33. For my job at the school!! I love being able to work where my kids go everyday so I can get a hug from them when I see them at recess or in the halls!  I love working with children and seeing how much they grow from September to June!!!

Here's to another year, new experiences and many more memories!!!!

Fairmont 2015

A couple of weeks ago we took a much needed vacation to Fairmont.  We have been going there off and on for years and now that my mom no longer has a timeshare there we asked her if we could use one of her week getaways.  It cost us almost as much as a weekend away would have cost but we had a whole week and a house!!  We packed all of our food, and our swimming suits and we were off!!

It was a great week, so relaxing.  We had no agenda except swimming at least once a day!!  Grandma Puzey also came with us which was so nice...our kids absolutely adore their Grandma Puzey, in fact whenever we go somewhere the first thing they ask is if Grandma is coming too!!

We went to the natural hot springs three times and to our villa pool everyday.  We took the kids bowling, where we were beat by a 4 year old!!  The second round I beat Jared, with the bumpers up, but I still beat him!!  The first round where all of us except Jared were beat by Armin we didn't have the bumpers up!!!!  Maybe a future bowler in our midst!!!!

Grandma, Emry and I got pampered one day and got pedicures!!!  We had them done at the Hot Springs Resort and before our appointments we were able to use the Nordic pools in the hotel.  There were two pools there, one super hot...so relaxing...and the other ice cold!!!!  I put my feet in the ice cold one and that was all I could stand...Emry walked in like it was nothing and submerged her entire body into the freezing cold water.  Then she walked back into the hot pool, where she did admit that her whole body felt like it was burning!!!  A neat experience.

We saw deer right behind out little villa almost everyday.  We barbequed stake and hamburgers.  We made bacon and egg McMuffins!!  As soon as we walked into our villa Calum started to unpack, he and Armin shared the murphy bed in the loft area so Calum hung all their clothes over the railing!!  It was quite cute.  Grandma and Emry shared a room that had two twin beds.  There was more than enough room for all of us!! 

The weather was perfect, we hardly ever had to wear a coat.  We walked around Invermere and looked at all the unique shops.  We had the best pizza ever and yummy ice cream!  We had naps, watched movies and played games.  We had fun just being together and not worrying about where we had to be or what we had to do!  It was a much needed get a way and I am so thankful I was able to spend it with those I love the most!!!

Newest Hockey Fans

Wednesday Grandpa Glen spoiled Calum and Armin!!! He took them to a hurricanes hockey game!!! Their very first hockey game and it was a huge success!!

Grandpa also bought each of them a Flames jersey, an outdoor hockey net, tennis balls and two street hockey sticks!!! When the boys got home Calum was completely exhausted but Armin was still very much wired!! He told me that there was a fight on the ice and one even took off his helmet!!!!  He also saw a hot air balloon?!! And they saw a Zamboni machine!!! They had such a great time, what a special grandpa they have!!! 

Because we seem to live in a mud hole with no gravel or cement, the boys finally got their way, by going through dad, and got him to set up the hockey net!!! There is now a regular game of floor hockey being played on our beautiful hardwood floors!! Thank goodness they are very rustic looking already so any scratches made will just add to the beauty?!! Right?!!!

Thanks Grandpa for such a wonderful experience for our boys!!! I know they will not soon forget it!!!! 

Content

I am sitting in a rather hot and humid building sweating to death but I am happy and content!!! I am watching Jared play in the pool with our three amazing kids!! 

This week has been exactly what we needed to rejuvenate and relax!!! The weather has been amazing, we have gone for walks, swam in the hot springs, gone out for ice cream!  We've watched movies and played games, ate lots of treats and yummy hamburgers!!! We've slept in and stayed up late. The kids have loved having daddy all to themselves with no interruptions from work!!!

I loved having a girls day and getting pampered with Emry and Myrna, our toes look incredible!!!

Being in the mountain air and watching the deer walk past our back door has been a little slice of heaven! A time well spent together with those I love the most!!!!!!!