6 Years Old

Today is Armin's 6th Birthday!  WOW!!! Where has the time gone?  He is our spunky one, so full of life and energy!  My dad has nick named him Knucklehead, to which he really is one!  Whenever Grandpa Glen calls him one Armin always replies with "No, you're the knucklehead!"  I love this boy to pieces, he is always so charming, a real ladies man!  Jared asked me the other day how I stay standing without a backbone, especially when it comes to my boys.  I don't know how or why but I am wrapped around this little guys littlest finger, he knows just how to get a yes out of me!

Poor guy is definitely suffering from third child syndrome, we barely celebrated his birthday!  We are doing nothing today, except running Emry around to basketball and Young Women's.  We did have a mini family birthday celebration for him on Sunday.  Grandma Puzey, Grandpa Glen, Auntie Arren and Uncle Buck and Lily were all able to come and help him celebrate!  We had his favourite, ham and cooked carrots, and Myrna brought whipping cream scalloped potatoes and buns! A super yummy meal.  We had a very plainly decorated cake and ice cream for dessert!  His poor cake was nothing like I usually do but he didn't seem too bothered.  He was spoiled rotten with Lego, his absolute favourite! 

Like I already said, I love this boy to pieces!  He is our last, our baby and boy would I like him to stay little forever.  But at the rate he's growing I don't see that happening :( He is adventurous, kind and sassy all at the same time!  He knows just what to say to have his mommy lay with him at night or get him chocolate milk.  He has a temper like the Hulk but can instantly calm down too!  He gives the best hugs because he can wrap his scrawny monkey legs right around you!  He is our sweet little Armin and I wouldn't trade him for anything!!!

Chocolate Making and Valdy

This past weekend was another busy one!!  It started Friday morning with me taking some of the Grade 5/6's to a volleyball tournament in Vulcan!  I was so happy Kym, who I have been coaching with, was also able to come!  The kids had lots of fun and did really well.  All our practices paid off!

Friday afternoon Myrna and I got a good start on the chocolate making before Char and Lalainia came.  We got all the caramel's cut and dipped, some of the cherry rolled and dipped, and the Olympia crème rolled and dipped! We stopped for supper and then continued on until 9:00pm!! The next morning we were up and at it by 8:30am and with the help of Rachel now too, we were able to finish rolling and dipping by 1:00pm even with stopping for lunch!  It went so smoothly and we got so many yummy chocolates made for Christmas!  I love this weekend, the older kids always put in a little bit of time helping out while the younger ones play!  Armin and Cadence had loads of fun chasing each other, usually around the kitchen but the sounds of their laughter was worth having them under our feet from time to time!  Calum had so much fun with Bowen, Emry, Blake and sometimes Armin playing Minecraft!  We had enough handheld devices for them all to log on and play together!  And if Emry wasn't helping us or playing Minecraft she was outside with Ashton doing some exploring!  A great weekend spent with family is always good for the soul!!!

That afternoon, after Jared dug up our carrots and potatoes from the garden, I helped him, or watched him rather, put Christmas lights up!  We still have a few more to put up but it looks so nice!

After all this we still had a Valdy concert to take in!!!  Lalainia, Jason, Dave, Char, Leah, Blake, Myrna, Emry, Jared and I all went into Lethbridge to see Valdy perform at the Folk Club!  He was amazing as usual!  He is such an entertainer and can really captivate the crowd!  He had us singing along to his familiar tunes while he played his 1951 Martin Acoustic!  It was a late night home, especially after taking the babysitter we got for the boys home, but a great night!!

Sunday, I had the worst headache, even worse than I had had most of the weekend.  So the kids and I didn't make it to church that day, oops!!! Calum actually had to wake me up and tell me it was after 10 and wondered if we were going to church!!  It was a good day to catch up on some much needed rest after our packed weekend!

Monday I took Armin to the city so he could pick out a present with the money Grandpa Glen mailed him for his birthday!  As soon as Armin opened his card and I read it to him he said, "Thanks for the one hundred bucks Grandpa Glen!"  He picked out the Lego Firehouse, a set he's been eyeing for quite some time!!  We have gotten a good start on it, he has all the vehicles built!  We will work away at it between going here and there for Emry's basketball practices and Calum's Activity Days and Karate!! 

I can't ask if it will ever end because we have only just begun!!!!!!!!

A Few Things

We have had a busy November so far!! It started the last weekend of October when I took Jared on a little getaway for his 40th Birthday!  We went back to some little cabins near Canmore, we had stayed there for our Anniversary a few years back.  They are so quaint and cozy!  We did a little looking around,  had a wonderful afternoon nap (not something we can do on a regular basis with kids around wanting our attention!!), went to a movie (the new Jack Reacher) and went out for dinner!  It was just what we needed to rejuvenate!!

The next weekend we decided to take a spur of the moment road trip to go and pick up some cattle feeders from a man in Alderflats (straight west of Red Deer). We decided to find a hotel with a water slide and took the kids!  Jared carried onto Alderflats while I stayed at the hotel with the kids so they could swim some more without being confined to a squishy truck!  Buck let us borrow his truck if we brought home some feeders for him too!!

 

 

Remembrance Day was quickly upon us, the kids have a ceremony at school which is always so touching!  Emry plays the trumpet in the band, and loves it!!!  This was to be her first performance.  The band started with O Canada and later played You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban.  They did a great job!  A few students read poems they had written specifically for Remembrance Day, they all did fabulous.  We stood for 2 minutes of silence to honor those who have fought for our freedom.  Overall, a great service dedicated to those men and women who so bravely fight to keep us free and safe.

 

The next weekend we decided to take the kids to a University Basketball game.  Emry sat and watched the entire game and really got into it!  The boys played non stop in a bouncy house that was set up for kids, and they had a blast!  It was a good game, the Pronghorns won too which made it even better!!

Emry has started basketball, she has to go to Vulcan to play, but that's okay because she is loving it!  We are a little more busy than we were last month, but again its a good busy!  The kids are happy so that makes me happy!  I love my little family and all they do to brighten my day!



Halloween 2016

I HATE Halloween, I have never been a big fan of dressing up and trying to find costumes for the kids is always such a chore.  This year their costumes were much easier!  Armin wanted to be Captain America, easily found at Walmart!! Emry didn't know exactly what she wanted to be but she found something at the Spirit Halloween store, she chose to be Robin Hood.  And Calum wanted to be Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls!  I was able to find exactly what he needed at the thrift store!

Calum's Grade 3/4 class

Emry and her friend Hayley the Hotdog

Lily the Cat and Dipper Pines

To start the festivities we carved our pumpkins.  Calum never disappoints in this department.  He hates the gunk inside the pumpkin so much so that he almost always throws up!  Armin and Emry got right in and dug the guts out of their pumpkins!  Jared helped them carve their designs, and the ending results were cute!

 

Halloween night the kids were so hyped up!  6:00pm couldn't come fast enough!  Finally out the door and into town we went!  Some streets in Champion had houses with lights on for almost the entire street so we let the kids go for it!  After a few houses they met up with Gil and Lily and did a few streets with them too!  Its always so fun to go with a big group!  Jared and I followed close behind in the van!  We were even able to watch a bit of a video!!  My kinda way to go trick or treating!!!  We only let the kids go around town for an hour then we went and did a few farms!  I could not believe how much candy they got for only a couple hours of trick or treating!

When we got home the kids dumped their bags out and went through all their candy.  Emry sorted hers by chocolate bar or hard candy!! Armin put his in neat piles according to kind of chocolate bar and Calum, well his was just one big mess!!!

So it was another successful Halloween!! The kids had a blast and if I am being truly honest I enjoyed it too!  I love seeing my kids have fun!!!