Armin is 7!!!

Happy, happy Birthday to the sweetest and funniest little boy ever!!  Our baby is 7 years old!!  He came on his own terms and has been ever since!  Armin brings such fun to our lives, he is such a ham, he is always trying to make us laugh.  I am so thankful for him in our lives, I honestly couldn't imagine life without him in it!!  He was a big surprise, a great surprise mind you, and he continues to surprise us everyday!

We were able to take Armin out to celebrate his birthday with just us on Friday.  We ate a simple meal in the mall food court, he had his favorite, a hot dog and a strawberry banana Orange Julius!  Then we took him to see the movie Coco, to which he said was very good!  After the movie the mall was still open for Black Friday shopping so we looked around a bit and he picked out some Pokemon cards!  He fell asleep on the way home, he was so exhausted from all the fun he had celebrating!!

Sunday we had his family birthday dinner, which also always happens to fall on Grey Cup Sunday!  In the background of the festivities we had the game on!!  He couldn't wait to open his presents.  He got a gigantic toy combine from Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Mark, which he claims was the best present ever!!!  He got a rescue helicopter from Grandma Puzey, Lego from us, and the always coveted $100 from Grandpa Glen!!  Lily drew him an awesome picture of a ninja turtle and gave him two of the bad guys from the ninja turtle show!  He was so happy with all his gifts and went around and gave everyone a big hug!!  He has such a sweet heart, so thoughtful!!  I didn't do anything fancy for his cake, third child syndrome, but he didn't seem to mind!  We had ham, his favorite, scalloped potatoes and peas!  It was a very nice party, I was so thankful for everyone who came to help him celebrate!!

Chocolate Making

This year for our annual chocolate making day I was sick!  So sick in fact that I was sent home to go to bed!!  So I was able to help roll the peppermint and then put the candy cane piece on top of the dipped peppermint!  I also had lunch with everyone before finally heading off to bed, where I stayed the rest of the day.  The cold/flu that hit our entire family was a doozy!  We are still feeling the lingering effects of it, coughing mostly!!  I am happy we were able to get it out of our system before Christmas!

Chocolate making is always so much fun, a lot of work but so fun!!  We were each given an assignment to make three batches of fondant.  I really enjoy making fondant, it is so satisfying watching the mixture change from a liquid to a solid after beating it!  It was Emry's job to clean off the marble slab after, she just enjoyed eating the little bits of fondant that were left!!  But she did a good job and the slab was always ready for the next batch!  I tried two new flavors this year, eggnog and malt, they both turned out great, nice and creamy!!

I was sorry I missed the day with my sister in laws, that is always a highlight to my Christmas season. I am thankful for each of them and all they do for me.  They are wonderful examples and I truly look up to them.  Until next year!!!

West Edmonton Mall

For the Remembrance Day long weekend we headed to Edmonton where we splashed around at the Water park!!

We headed up on Friday, took our time getting there, lots of bathroom breaks!!  But we made it and the kids loved the hotel!  We were 6 floors up with a balcony!  Everyone had a bed too...Emry and Grandma shared and Calum and Armin shared the pull out bed!  It was nice not having to put the little's on the floor, we all slept well after playing hard!!

When we got to the city we headed for the mall to have some supper.  The drive from our hotel wasn't too bad, a little far but worth saving a few dollars.  The mall was packed!  We did a little looking around but what the kids really wanted to do was the rope challenge in Galaxy Land.  At first they were all a little timid walking across the beams and ropes, I was especially worried about Calum.  First of all he hates being in Galaxy Land with all the loud sounds and second, he's a little timid when trying something new.  But he was the first one to the top level of the challenge.  He tried all the ropes and beams and had a blast!  Armin was a little more scared than I thought he'd be, but some of the steps were quite far apart and were hard for him!  Despite how timid they were to start, I was proud of them for doing what they could, most importantly, they had so much fun!  They stayed until it was time to close!

The next morning we got up leisurely, had a nice breakfast at Smitty's and then headed back to the hotel where we were meeting Cora to go to the water park!! We got there right when it opened and stayed until 6:30pm!!  The kids loved the waves, especially Armin, as soon as that whistle sounded we knew where to look for him!  Calum tried more slides this time and even went on the sky screamer, the slide where you are shut into a chamber and the timer counts down then the floor falls out from under you!  He loved it!  Cora and Emry hung out lots and Cora even convinced her to go on some slides!  Both boys loved playing in the spray park and climbing thing for kids!  Calum had a game constantly going in his head if he wasn't riding slides he was usually playing his game.  After the water park we headed to dinner!  Cora was able to eat with us and the kids had so much fun with her, she's such a great girl!!

Sunday we again made our way home slowly with lots of pee breaks!!

It was a great trip and the kids were so happy we went!  It was great meeting up with Cora and hanging out with her, it took some pressure off Jared hanging out with Emry!!  I love spending time with my family, I love watching their faces light up with pure enjoyment when they are having fun! 

Remembrance Day

I am always so awestruck by our little school! They always go above and beyond in everything they do! Each year they have a mini Remembrance Day service to honor those who have so bravely fought for our freedom! Each grade participated in some way and the Junior high band played! The service started with the junior high playing O Canada, then the Grade 1/2 class sang a a song about their own two hands! I could hear Armin so good, he loves to sing! The message was great, about using your own two hands for good, to comfort others, to show kindness!

Then the grade 3/4 did a little skit about no bullies on the playground! Calum had his lines memorized and you could just see how proud he was of himself!!! I was proud of him too!!! The Grade 5/6 class sang a song about being thankful for their freedom! Then a man who was a member of the military read a speech going out to all the schools!! It was great seeing this man and being able to clap for all he has done in making our country a better place!! I’m happy the kids got to see nd hear it too!! We listened to the last post and stood for a minute of silence, then the band finished the service by a playing “Stand by Me”! It was a great rememinder of why we are here and all we have to be thankful for!!!

Halloween

I do not particularly like Halloween!  I hate finding costumes and the kids getting so much candy!  I hate the decorations and the spookiness.  But, I do love the time we spend together as a family carving pumpkins and going trick or treating!

This year Calum thought he wanted to be Link from the Legend of Zelda, I even found him a costume early and he loved it!  Then he came across this video on YouTube called Bendy and the Ink Machine.  I've watched some of it with him and I still don't get the point to it, but that is who Calum decided to be for Halloween!  All he needed was a black shirt, black pants, a white bow tie, a cane and a top hat!  I thought I'd just paint his face but my mom, who is so talented, found a black mask and painted it to look like Bendy!  He looked great!  We found all the stuff we needed at Value Village, Emry and Armin's costumes too!  Emry found the cutest, and the only modest pumpkin dress and Armin found a ninja turtle costume!  Perfect!!  Costumes were done!!!

At school the day of Halloween the kids in grades K-6 got to participate in a carnival that the Junior High kids put on!  Emry had fun with her best friend Cale at the snake toss.  The kids came home from the carnival already full of candy!  We had a quick pasta supper while Jared fed cows to prepare them for the upcoming snowstorm.  Then we bundled the kids up and out we went trick or treating!

We stopped at our good friends and neighbor first.  And once back in the car the kids said we weren't allowed to get out and visit anymore!!  On to my mom's and then a few other farms before we headed into Champion to do a few streets there.  In 45 minutes the kids filled two tote size bags full of candy!  We had to make one more stop and it was in Vulcan at the Bishop's house!  Once at home the kids checked their candy and gave mom and dad the things they didn't want, gee thanks!!  It was a little later than usual bedtime and it showed the next morning when everyone woke up tired!!

I am thankful for our three little critters!  Even though they are loud at times and they fight, I still love them and love being around them!

Look Who's 41

Jared recently had a birthday!  He turned 41!!  The day before his birthday we took him out to a Pronghorns Basketball game!  The boys love going because they have a big bouncy house set up!  They came out of there drenched in sweat!!!!  But had so much fun!!  During the last quarter the concession started to give away their left over popcorn.  Both boys came back to us with great big bags of popcorn and even bigger grins on their faces being so pleased with themselves.  The game was exciting and the Pronghorns won!!

The next day was Sunday, Jared's actual birthday!!  It was also the Primary Presentation and the boys did such an excellent job!  Calum and Armin both sang their little hearts out and knew all the words!!  Amazingly, since I'm not a very good mom and don't practice with them!  It was Armin's primary teacher who helped him memorize his part!  And he did too!!

Later that afternoon we had Jared's favorite meal, Chicken Cordon Bleu!!! So yummy and so worth the time it takes to make it!!!  I got him an ice cream cake from The Marble Slab, Raspberry Cheesecake, so creamy and delicious! 

The kids wanted to give him some presents so they got him socks, a huge Toblerone bar, and a Sound Garden record!!  He was very pleased with all his gifts!

I am so thankful for Jared.  I am so thankful he is mine and together we are raising some pretty great kids!!  He truly is my greatest strength and I couldn't imagine my life without him by my side!!!

Happy Birthday to my very best friend!!