Our Life

A little knitting for a good cause

2012-01-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I could knit a couple things for an art/craft auction that she was helping to organize. The proceeds go towards a mission trip her husband and son are going on in a couple weeks. Being the nice person that I am I pulled out the needles and knit a couple things to donate to the auction. Here are the finished products, which my lovely babysitter is modelling for me. Have I ever mentioned that my kids LOVE their babysitter? And I'm not just saying that because I know her and her Mom will be reading this!

An ear warmer with a large flower...

A cowl... This was my first time knitting a cable. I'm not sure why I've never knitted cables before because this one was pretty easy

Snack time

2012-01-25T12:13:00.000-05:00

The other day Cara, Teagan and I were out grocery shopping when Cara spotted this:

a honey pomelo

Having never eaten one before I had no idea what to do with it. So I googled "how to eat a honey pomelo" and was given plenty of advice.

Apparently the pomelo is native to South East Asia.
It is also the largest citrus fruit.

The information I read was all very interesting

BUT

we just wanted to eat it!

I thought I would show you how it compares in size to a small clementine:

It tasted like a mild, sweet grapefruit!

I will definitely be adding "pomelo" to my grocery list next time!

Week 3

2012-01-22T23:05:00.001-05:00

This week wasn't too exciting in our household.

We finally got some snow...

and now a few days later it's almost all melted

and whatever isn't melted will probably melt tomorrow

when it is supposed to be 9 degrees and rainy.

Cara had lemons for a snack one day.

We got some groceries.

We tried on sunglasses, hoping for some sun.

Cara decided to grow a mustache.

What you don't like it on her?

I warned you it wasn't a very exciting week!

Week 2

2012-01-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

Chelsea and one of her best cousin-friends.

(I hope neither of them was sick when they shared this can of coke!)

Week 1

2012-01-09T21:56:00.000-05:00

Week 1

2012-01-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

The first week of January 2012 has already come and gone. It's crazy how fast the Christmas holidays went. We didn't do too much this week...it being the first week of the month and all. We slept in a lot, went to bed too late, watched too many movies, read a bit. On the Monday I went to Milestone's with a few people. On the Wednesday (my birthday!) I had a bunch of girls over to watch The Help. Overall, very relaxing! The kids also had a sleepover with their cousins. They don't see these cousins too often so they were all very excited to see eachother. The two girls came to our house and Daniel went to Reuben's house.

On Sunday we went for a quick walk after church to Kerncliffe park.

Teagan was very mad at Martin for taking off on her and she tried to follow him up the cliff. She didn't get very far!

The end of the first week of the year...

A Summary of our lives in 2011 as we move into 2012

2012-01-01T23:57:00.001-05:00

Another year has come and gone. I think with every year that passes I get more sentimental. Although I want to move on I still want to remember the years that have past - the things we have done, the people we did those things with... As I'm sure you all know, I love taking pictures. I don't often take pictures of others besides my kids since I feel like I am intruding. Not everyone likes having their picture taken, even if I think the shot of them will make a nice artistic shot. That being said, if I take your photo this year, I probably won't post it on this blog unless you don't care. I just want to get photos of the people in our lives. Looking back I wish I had more photos of those who have passed away. I don't have any really nice pictures of Alison or my Oma H. and I regret that. So with a new year here I also had to decide whether I would try taking a photo a day again. I'm not sure I will. I think this year I am going to try something a little different. If I have a camera stuck to my face everytime you see me, don't be surprised though! I also think I will try to take a photo a week of each of the kids...either together or separate. So onward we move, into 2012. But first a ~~little~~ long video to summarize my kids lives in 2011. Teagan went from being a baby to being a true toddler. Daniel went from having no front teeth to having his front teeth but none on either side of them. Chelsea also lost a bunch of teeth and her front teeth are growing in. Cara started school for the first time. In the grand scheme of things these little things don't matter but I sure found it interesting to watch how they have all grown. You are welcome to watch this video but it is quite long and there is no music (if someone can help me figure out how to add music that would be great!) and most of these pictures have already been posted here throughout the year.

December

2011-12-27T22:55:00.000-05:00

Here we are in December already. Since I already admitted a couple posts ago that I fell off the 365 band wagon I will also admit that I have taken very few pictures this month. Strange. I will also admit that although December is a really busy month for a lot of people...it isn't for us. Mmmm, what does that say about us?

One Saturday we went to Martin's work Kids Christmas party. It was held at an arena again this year. We could skate for the first hour and a bit and then go upstairs where there was crafts, face painting, a clown, lunch and most exciting for the kids - presents. Or in our case this year, gift cards. Every child 12 and under can pick if they want a gift or a gift card. I didn't even bring my camera so this picture was taken when we got home.

Cara's class had a little Christmas Concert and Craft morning at her school too. She was very excited to see me in the audience during the concert. It was kind of funny because at the beginning Cara was all into the actions and singing but about 1/2 way through she looked at her best little school friend, Sara, and noticed she wasn't doing any of the actions...so Cara stopped too. It was very hard for Cara not to do the actions and sing so after a bit of "trying" hard not to participate she continued again singing and doing the actions. Peer pressure already in JK!

Then we went back to her classroom and we got to decorate a gingerbread house together. Neither of us had ever decorated one, so it was fun.

Cara took the decorating VERY seriously.

The final product.

Cara is really loving JK and would go everyday if she was allowed. She likes the songs, her friends, recess, her teacher, the big gym, the library, her bus buddy...

On Christmas eve day, first thing in the morning, we exchanged presents at home with the kids. This year we picked names with the kids so that they would see the excitement in buying presents for others. This caused a bit of a problem and I wasn't quite sure how to respond when Cara asked the next day when Santa was going to bring her presents. I didn't realize she believed in Santa! I kind of ignored her question and she didn't ask it again.

Christmas Eve we also went to Martin's parents house. The kids always like seeing their cousins. These two spent so much time doing crafts!

7 going on 13...

Seriously, Cara and Kaia did crafts almost the whole time. I brought a bag full of "stuff" for them to work on and that kept them pretty busy.

Christmas Day was actually a relaxing day. After going to church we came home and relaxed for a few hours before I went back to church (and Martin stayed home to watch Teagan). I forgot my camera again when we went to my sisters house with my whole family. One sister and her DH and kids couldn't come but the rest of us were there. It's always nice just hanging out with family...even if it makes your pee curdle and a waterfall look like a farmers wife. (Thanks Danielle for teaching us that writing/drawing game!)

Martin then had the first 2 days of this week off but he is heading back to work for the rest of the holidays. Yesterday he took Daniel to see TinTin and today I took Chelsea to see it. All of us really enjoyed it and hope that more TinTin books are made into movies! Now the kids and I must find things to keep us busy for the next 1 1/2 weeks! If you are bored, and in the area, give us a shout, we are probably here.

New nephew

2011-12-26T23:23:00.004-05:00

This fall I was also privileged to take maternity shots of my SIL and witness the birth of this little baby. We didn't spend a lot of time taking pictures since it was kind of a last minute thing and neither of us had much time but we got a few good shots. I'll just show a few belly shots since I don't know if my SIL would appreciate having her face all over my blog! (And SIL, if you don't even like having these pictures on here let me know and I can remove them!) I'm not sure why all of these are taken from the same side... :) She lives in the country on a beautiful property ( I think it is 3 acres but I could be waaaaaaay off). The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day, and I like taking maternity shots. (If you or anyone you know wants maternity shots done let me know!)

Then a week or so after the shots I got to witness the birth of my newest little nephew. After a crazy day it was a wonderful experience to see him come into this world, healthy. Nothing can describe the feeling that came over me when he was born. After listening to his heartbeat on the monitor for hours...most of the time very normal but sometimes quite low, it was a relief when he was born! I think I was the only one in the room that had tears in my eyes though! Much to my amazement my SIL was calm throughout the whole thing! I don't have any blog-worthy photos of him since I left the hospital before he was nicely washed up and sadly I haven't taken any more photos of him since he was born!

November

2011-12-26T22:56:00.000-05:00

It appears that I have completely fallen off the 365 band wagon. Do I try it again next year or do I try something less intense? I have a few days to decide!

We had a beautiful autumn this year. We spent plenty of time outside enjoying the sunshine and "not to cold" temperatures. Teagan likes being outside but still won't really walk on the grass. She is quite funny about the grass. Every time I take her out of the van I stand her up on the driveway. She right away goes down on her tummy and goes backwards "down" onto the grass. I think there might be a height difference of an inch between the driveway and the grass but to her it must seem much bigger!

Teagan is a lot of fun now that she is walking...and can get into everything. And get into everything she most definitely does! She also has a little temper that we every once in a while see when she can't get something or can't get into the cupboards that we childproofed.

At the end of November I took the kids to the local Santa Claus parade. We had to wait a long time before it started but it did not disappoint. Next year these two crazy kids want to be in the parade too!

Chelsea thought it would be easier for Teagan to get her cheerios if she could hang her cup thingy around her neck. How inventive! Teagan was quite happy with her new necklace.

On the last day of November I had a craft night with some friends. I thought it was a lot of fun and I will post of picture of what I made after I take one. Here are a few pictures of what some my guests made.

Here is Danielle's lovely Christmas card that she made for her family and friends this year. She is very creative and always comes up with unique ideas for her Christmas cards every year.

Hannah made a dress-up princess skirt for Annika for Christmas. For someone who always says she can't sew, I think she did a GREAT job on this skirt. I LOVE the fabric (maybe she will make me a princess skirt out of what fabric she has left!)

Sue made this canvas of her cute little girl. I like how "real" it turned out and I hope to steal her idea and make some of these for myself some day soon.

I've also been doing a bit of knitting lately. Pictured here is a little shrug that I made as a gift for my friends newborn daughter Lauren. I also made one of these for Teagan...which she wears quite often since I am so proud of my handiwork!

Lauren also got this little bib, which if I am allowed to say, I think is kind of cute.

A few more pictures of the kids enjoying the beautiful weather outside:

It is impossible to get a nice picture of these 4 kids!

Oh, here Teagan is actually walking on the grass!

Chelsea lost another tooth this fall (and since this picture was taken she also lost the other front tooth and both are already growing in). Chelsea isn't sure if there is a toothfairy. She wants to believe it isn't real but I won't tell her whether or not she is real or not. Either way she was happy with the money she got under her pillow.

A few more pic's from the end of October

2011-11-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

I finally took the girls for their peanut/tree nut skin test to see if they are allergic to anything. We have kind of kept them away from nuts (although we know that Chelsea has been exposed to peanuts one time for sure). I am happy to report that their skin tests came back clear! Since then we have been feeding the kids tree nuts of all sorts. They have also had peanut butter but that is a little more challenging since we don't really like to have it in the house. It is kind of exciting!

This little rascal has learned to go up the stairs...but at the time of the picture she couldn't go back down.

At the beginning of hockey season Daniel was trying on all his equipment to see what he needed. Cara tried on the stuff that was too small. Maybe she will be a hockey star some day like her big cousin Katie!

In October my oldest nephew got married. I can now officially welcome Janelle to the family! Welcome! I am thankful that B met such a wonderful girl. The wedding was beautiful, although a little sad since we were definitely missing Alison on that day. I don't have any pictures of the bride and groom that are acceptable to put on here so I will post one of the next best thing. Derek had the best speech of the evening, followed closely by a wonderful speech by my BIL. Derek had the whole room laughing and J had the whole room crying...at least it looked like it to me through my tears.

Halloween: I like helping my kids find a costume for Halloween and going out trick-or-treating for a bit. It is nice meeting our neighbours on a night like this.

I thought Daniel made a pretty good wizard!

The Cottage

2011-11-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

In the middle of October I went to the cottage with my book club people.

It was a wonderful two days of relaxation. I think it is good to get away from everyday life for a bit to do...nothing.

We didn't spend too much time outside because it rained quite a bit...but that didn't matter.

Good food...

Good friends...

It doesn't get much better than that! Thanks D for letting us come up to your cottage again this year and sharing your little bit of nature with us.

The Jack Pine

2011-11-18T19:18:00.001-05:00

We didn't see the Jack Pine that Tom Thompson painted but we stood in the same spot where he painted the Jack Pine. The tree itself is no longer there but the scenery is still the same. It was such a beautiful area.

We strolled around taking in the breathtaking scenery. I took advantage of the beauty and took a whole bunch of pictures of Teagan - her 11 month photoshoot. She is such a happy little thing.

Then we walked down to the beach and hung out there for a bit. It was so nice to just sit and relax while the kids played in the sand.

Teagan, who wasn't walking yet at the time, just crawled around, eating whatever she found that looked yummy to her.

I am richly blessed:

A couple more from near the canyon

2011-11-08T23:49:00.000-05:00

For some reason these two pictures wouldn't upload into my last post. The signs were very honest: if you fell over the edge of the cliff...you would die. Yes, I found that a little scary. But as mentioned in the previous post, I would not let the kids (or Martin for that matter) NEAR the edge!

Algonquin continued

2011-11-08T23:41:00.001-05:00

We started driving west on hwy 60 toward home. Suddenly I got the crazy idea that we should turn around and drive to the Barron Canyon. M went to the Barron Canyon years ago with his siblings and a cousin and has talked about it many times. So we turned around and drove the few hours up to the Achray Campground area of the park. Crazy? Yes!

The view at the top of the canyon was spectacular and I just could not capture the beauty on camera - one reason why is because I didn't dare get too close to the edge and another was because I was paranoid one of the kids would fall over the edge.

At each lookout area I told the kids how close (far!) from the edge they could go.

The Canyon is twice as high as Niagara Falls!

Martin lying down to get a better view.

Can you see M and the kids?

From here we drove on...

Algonquin!

2011-10-25T21:49:00.000-04:00

I'm a month behind in posting! It's not like it was a really busy month but for some reason I just never posted. I don't think I will post all the photos I took during the last month so a few pic's from a few of the ~~more exciting~~ things we have done will have to suffice.

The first very exciting thing we did was go camping in Algonquin Park for a few nights at the end of September. We've been looking forward to this vacation for 5 months! Normally we go camping with DH's family in the summer and then in the fall DH goes with Daniel and his brother and sometimes a few others for a couple nights. This year we didn't go in the summer but instead we went with M's whole family in the fall. Even his aunt and uncle from Holland and his parents came along. Despite the cold temperatures, the rain and the snow we had a great time and even got a couple hikes in!

Cara, Chelsea, Malia and Kaia at the lookout on our first hike.

On the Thursday we all went for a 7.7 km hike. It was just the right amount of difficulty and the right length for us. All the kids did a great job (most of them are better hikers than me I am afraid!) even 2 1/2 year old Tamsyn hiked (and talked) most of the way. With Teagan and Adam in back carriers the hike was do-able. Next year will probably be a different story when they are 2 and almost 2!

Chelsea and Malia at the top of the hill!

I've done this hike before with my sister and her sister-in-law and remembered the beautiful view at the top...it's worth the hike!

Back at the site: Adam, Teagan and Tamsyn in the pack 'n play. The 2 little ones definitely have to learn how to stand up for themselves when Tamsyn in around! Being over a year older than both of them she definitely was in control in this tiny little space.

This camping trip we splurged and rented a yurt! I was NOT going to go camping in the fall with a baby in a tent. Now I don't think I will ever be able to go back to sleeping in a tent...at least if we ever do fall camping again. A yurt it will be. It was definitely wonderful to have a dry place with heat and lights to go to when it started raining at 8pm on the first night we were there. Let me tell you the heat was wonderful!

The inside: 2 bunkbeds each with a double on the bottom and a twin on top. A little table with 6 chairs. A little bit of extra space between the beds. Hooks to hang coats on. It was perfect for our little family.

The outside: Our site was HUGE. If you have every been camping with us you probably know how little we bring camping. We are definitely minimalists when we camp. Probably more because we really can't take a lot in our van...but I'm not sure. Either way our site looked rather ridiculous with nothing really on it except the yurt, the cooking shelter (the best thing ever!) and the crooked picnic table. Seriously though, I think ever site should have a cooking shelter. From April until the Thanksgiving weekend the shelter has a BBQ and apparently also all utensils and pots/pans that you need. We had brought our own since we didn't know these came with it. But the BBQ - as minimalists we have never had a BBQ at camping. It was nice....

The colours were perfect!

Niagara Falls

2011-09-26T23:12:00.000-04:00

September 24th: Today we went to Niagara Falls! DH's aunt and uncle are visiting so we went to the Falls with some of the family. It was a beautiful day. We started off with a picnic lunch, then walked along the falls to the Maid of the Mist, which we then went on. The kids, Martin's uncle and I had never been on it before. I quite enjoyed it! After walking back to our vehicles we drove away from the falls and stopped at a little park where some people walked down to the river. We all had a great day!

Everyday things

2011-09-26T22:47:00.000-04:00

September 15th: Cara's first full day of school with 6 of her classmates. I'm not sure what is a normal JK class size in the public system but her class has 14 kids altogether. I don't know what parents mean when they say their child is ready for school but I do know that Cara is very excited to go to school. Such a big girl!

September 19th: We took our pool down this weekend. It was definitely a sad moment knowing that taking the pool down meant that summer was really over. We really enjoyed the pool this summer! This is what was left of the grass under the pool:

September 20th: Teagan also likes to practice playing the piano.

September 21st: Teagan also likes to help empty the dishwasher. This lovely little girl gets into EVERYTHING when we let her loose!

September 22nd: I did some baking today for lunches.

September 23rd: I knitted a couple Rugby hats in the last couple of days.

Time to catch up...again!

2011-09-26T21:59:00.000-04:00

September 10th: Chelsea likes listening to stories on playaways. Just ignore her goofy grin.

September 12th: I took the kids out of swimming lessons for the summer because it just wasn't working out. Neither of them tried very hard so I was getting tired of pushing them to go week after week. Having a pool in the back yard changed everything though...at least for Daniel. He now loves swimming, diving... So I signed them up again and today is the first day.

September 13th: Cara needs to bring 4 photos of herself to school on her first full day this week. So we headed outside to get a recent picture of her.

September 14th: Cara's bag, ready by the front door.

Sigh

2011-09-15T07:32:00.000-04:00

September 8th: This dear little girl of mine ~~likes~~ LOVES her bottle now! Before a couple of weeks ago she wouldn't touch a bottle...now...she freaks out with excitement when I mention bottle or if she sees me making it. She prefers to drink it laying in her pack n play then having me hold her. Sigh. It does make things easier I will admit but it is still kind of sad. It's another stage that she is moving out of. And check out all of her hair!

The Birthday Girl!

2011-09-08T23:28:00.001-04:00

September 7th: Finally the day of Cara's birthday. She was smiling and giddy all day. We had a little party with just a few little 4 year old friends (oh and one 5 year old cousin). I think Cara had a good day...

I made her a very colourful birthday cake!

School!

2011-09-08T00:21:00.000-04:00

September 6th: Another summer holidays has come and gone. I was very sad to see the holidays come to an end. Despite DH's crazy work schedule the kids and I definitely made the most of the holidays. We were busy and had fun. That being said, Chelsea was very excited when this morning rolled around. She got up and couldn't stop talking. We even had time for a little photo shoot...at 6:50 in the morning! My kids get on the bus EARLY!

One hyper little girl ready to start Grade 2!

Daniel, on the other hand, said he did not want to go back to school today.

One boy who isn't really sure he wants to go to Grade 4.

Cara wanted to join in on the fun too and is excited about going to school later this week.

Front door

2011-09-08T00:02:00.000-04:00

September 5th: I've been doing a bit of painting around here! I can't believe it because I don't really like painting. Last week my niece Tamsin (the 18? year old one not the 2 year old one) came for a few hours one afternoon and helped me get the first coat on the front hall and front room. I also wanted to paint the inside of the front door black. I went to a store nearby and told them what I needed paint for...and they gave me a can of black paint. I painted one coat and part of a second coat and then took a break for a couple days. Seeing a bit of paint that had dripped and dried I thought I better sand the drip and repaint it. Much to my dismay the paint started peeling right off...a little too easily for my liking. What do I do now?

September

2011-09-07T23:46:00.000-04:00

September 1st: This summer was hard because DH worked way too much (who does their budgets in the summer anyways?). Things still haven't settled down at his work since last year, October 26th, when things began to change at his work. To help out, I hired a girl from our church, who lives in our neighbourhood to come one day a week. It was wonderful. I could go grocery shopping without 4 (okay I guess only 3 can talk) kids asking me to buy things. I could get ready for camping trips without 6 extra little hands wanting to help pack. I could go sit in Indigo and sip a chai latte and flip through a book without 3 little ones asking me to read it to them Yes, having Alexa come once a week was really nice. Teagan loved her, which meant I could leave her behind. She found something in common that she would do with each of the kids over the summer. Today was her last day though since next week school starts. She spoiled the kids by making them each a little card and getting them each a little gift.

September 3rd: This summer the kids did the Summer Reading Club at our library again. Every summer if they read/have read to them (depending on their age) 12 books they get a free book. This year was extra special though and if they finished the program they each got a free pass to the African Lion's Safari! I hadn't been there since I was little and DH had never been before. Getting the passes (and saving ourselves $75) was a great reason to go this season. Only DH and I had to pay to get in. We drove our van through the Game Reserves which was a neat experience. It is amazing how close the animals get to the van! The monkeys even climbed on some vehicles and the emus would tap on the windows.

My favourite animals were the zebras and the giraffes (which I didn't get a good picture of because they weren't close enough and I don't have a great zoom on my camera) although the kids still think my favourite was the rhinoceros because I commented on how LARGE his poo was! The kids liked the monkeys best!

It is amazing how fast these animals move considering just how large they are!

I like the ways these 5 stuck together.

Awww, so cute!

Apparently I didn't take many pictures of the kids or anything else we did there. It was a really hot and muggy day! We did go on a train ride, a boat ride, played in the splash pad, played in the playground area and saw a parrot show.

Teagan took a nap in the carrier.

Just a whole bunch of pictures to end off August

2011-09-07T22:45:00.001-04:00

These pictures are not in order...oh well...

This is what I made with half of the bushel of tomatoes and the other half got blanched and put in Ziploc freezer bags to throw in a pot of soup this fall/winter. Yum.

The 27th was my parents 45th wedding anniversary. We met at my sister Hannah's new house and had a really nice BBQ with the family. It is always a bit bittersweet when we have get togethers with my family. It is nice to be able to get together and celebrate a milestone like this but knowing that there are some who are not with us is always sad. The backyard at Hannah's house is huge (compared to the rest of our backyards). The weather was perfect. I didn't take too many pictures (since I was too busy tripping on the deck - okay that only happened once...but who has a multi-leveled deck anyway?). Here is one of all of the grandchildren ages 2 to 9. How many kids can you fit on a trampoline?

We all love fish in this house. This time I sprinkled some pepper and lemon juice on it, threw a whole bunch of coloured peppers on it, wrapped it all in foil and barbequed it. When I was growing up we ate a lot of fish, in many different ways. Alison, Susan and I all worked at a Fish and Chip store over a long period of time and our family benefitted from this! We often came home with raw fish for my Mom to make for dinner. I am thankful that my kids also love fish!

Cara is turning 4 soon so I decided to do a quick, little photoshoot with her. Where have the last 4 years gone? Our good (after the first few months) little baby, who started walking only days after turning 10 months old is now a crazy, cuddly little girl. Cara is often happy but when she isn't...beware! She still has temper tantrums but we are learning how to handle them...and move on without focussing on it too much. Cara just knows what she wants and when she wants it! Although she isn't that great at playing on her own, and will often ask to watch TV if there are no other kids around, she is very good at playing with others...when she is in the mood. When she plays she lets her imagination run wild. She especially likes playing with her cousin Trevor who, dare I say it, has an even crazier imagination than Cara! The two of them come up with some pretty wild stories. This year Cara will go to JK at the local public school. She is beyond excited...for now. I still have to see what she will be like the first day I have to drop her off! Cara, I thank the Lord for you daily and I hope you have a great year being FOUR!

On the 25th of August our baby turned 10 months old! Teagan is a joy to have around. She smiles easily and is easy to please. She crawls all over the place quickly and pulls herself up on the furniture...and grabs at whatever is in her reach. Yes, I have had to actually keep my house kind of clean because otherwise Teagan would taste test everything! That being said, she is great at eating and will eat pretty much anything that I try to feed her. She is also a big eater...but still a little girl. Daily someone in the house is telling her how cute and beautiful she is. The other kids, but especially Chelsea, like to play with her and help take care of her.

This is the summer of sleepovers

2011-08-23T14:01:00.001-04:00

229/365: I am waiting on a picture that was taken on Sue or Hannah's camera.

230/365: Laundry line. I am trying to teach the kids to hang their towels on the line when they are finished in the pool. I'm not doing so well...

232/365: Emma slept over last night (while Chelsea and Cara went to my dear sister Sue's house. Yes, I call you a dear when you take on the challenge of having those two for a sleep over! Apparently they were good (despite C and K staying up REALLY late!) and Cara didn't have a tantrum (until I picked her up) unlike when she went to my parents last week for a night. Emma and Daniel still seem to get along really well...and they even fit in a chair together still.

233/365: Mmmm, tomato season.

Photo puzzles

2011-08-22T00:49:00.000-04:00

228/365: Is it weird to make/give someone a gift which is exactly like what they made/gave to you? Remember this gift that Hannah gave me? Well, I loved the idea and wanted to make it for someone. I decided it was a compliment if I copied her craft and made it for her family since our family likes it so much. So in May (I think it was May...it was such a long time ago that I can't seem to remember exactly!) I got together with a couple Laura's (if YOUR name is Laura maybe you should have come too!) to make these. One Laura's DH cut and quickly sanded all the blocks and I got all the pictures printed off. We didn't get too far that evening because there is a bit of waiting for glue to dry time needed. I got all my pictures on quite quickly and then the blocks sat there...and sat there...and got dusty... I had planned to have it finished before Hannah's baby was born (he is now almost 3 months old). I didn't get it finished in time for that. Then I thought it would be nice to have it done when school was out in the end of June. The blocks still sat there getting more dusty. I was kind of frustrated and not too excited to finish it because the blocks were kind of sticky. Why weren't the ones Hannah gave me sticky? Finally a few weeks ago I told Hannah that I made them for her and asked her why mine would be sticky and hers weren't. We came up with the answer...and with in a couple weeks I was finished the project! I thought I better take a picture before I give it to her tomorrow. I hope her family likes them as much as we do...despite the dust on some of their faces still...under a layer or two of glue!

More summer fun!

2011-08-22T00:17:00.000-04:00

219/365: Roasted garlic. Mmmm, yum.

223/365: Yesterday we headed to Pinery to meet up with some friends who were camping there. The plan was to stay for 2 nights (which we had booked) but possibly add a day on the end if the weather was beautiful. Today we helped our friend Alice/AKA as Mrs. S. celebrate her 35th birthday! Stu cutting up some brownies ~~with many unpatient little kids watching~~ under many watchful eyes.

We went to the beach for a couple hours in the afternoon despite the overcast sky.

This little butterfly landed on Cara's finger so anytime after that that we saw a little butterfly Cara immediately felt it was hers and didn't want it to fly to anyone else.

Teagan also liked the water!

She liked the sand too!

224/365: This morning we woke up and the sky looked very dreary so we decided not to try and book the site for an extra night. Instead we slowly packed everything up. We did still go for a little hike today though. Soon after we got back it started to pour so we went to say goodbye to A & S and their kids and left for home.

227/365: Today we went to a Butterfly Conservatory with Martin's whole family (minus Martin and Graig who were working!) My kids are very fortunate to have so many cousins their age on BOTH sides of the family.

Cara (3) and Kaia (5) - these girls are 15 months apart and have been getting along really well this summer!

Chelsea and Malia (both 7) - these 2 are 5 months apart and VERY similar.

Daniel (8), Reuben (9) and Tamsyn (2 1/2) - R and D are a year apart and although quite different in some ways they are also alike in many. They don't seem to have a problem keeping busy when they are together and both like ~~bragging~~ talking about sports...actually pretty much anything! Tamsyn is just plain cute and VERY independent.

Apparently I don't have any pictures of the youngest 2 cousins, Adam and Teagan. They are exactly 4 months apart and I hope that when they grow up they get along as well as the other cousins!

Malia came home with us after the Butterfly Conservatory and Cara and Daniel went to Kaia and Reuben's house. She licked her plate clean at dinner time! Before dinner I did a hair wrap in each of their hair...because I thought that would be a fun thing to do with the girls.

After this post I am only 4 days behind in posting...

2011-08-12T00:08:00.001-04:00

213/365: Some garden goodness. I popped by Hannah's on my way to the beach this morning and left with a little bag full of endive, beans and beets. I bet Hannah still thinks that only reason I came by was so I could get something from her garden since I knew her gardener would be working that morning. When will your gardener be coming again did you say?

214/365: We are going through a lot of freezies and popsicles this summer...oh, and long skinny ice cubes from our Ikea ice cube trays!

215/365: Finally here is a picture of the kite wall-hanging that I made for Chelsea's birthday (I don't think I have taken a picture of it yet and if I have then just don't look at this picture). I guess I must be really lazy because it is still hanging in the dining room window.

216/365: Another thing that I thought I had better take a picture of in case I haven't yet. Seriously my memory is failing me. We were VERY excited to get a gate put in the fence between our backyard and the park behind us this past spring. Daniel has been making some serious use of the soccer field behind the house and the girls like to run around and dance in the field. It is wonderful!

217/365: A fun game to play: ladder ball

218/365: Chelsea and Daniel spend some time almost every evening in the pool. It really has been great!

Summer is 1/2 way finished! :(

2011-08-08T16:09:00.000-04:00

210/365: Beach bag. Since it was the Saturday of the long weekend and Martin was working and Graig had training all day, Teresa and I took the kids for a quick visit to Christie Conservation Area.

211/365: A few pictures of Cara:

And she's done...

212/365: My Dad came over today and built my new sewing desk...or maybe I should call it my craft desk! It made me happy and I can't wait to start crafting on it!

A few days of camping

2011-08-06T01:07:00.000-04:00

Days 201 to 204 of 365. I am just going to add a whole bunch of pictures from when we went to Port Burwell. Really we did the same thing every day anyway - got up, ate breakfast, went to the beach at some point, hung around, had dinner...a whole lot of ~~nothing~~ relaxing.
Teagan slept pretty much every afternoon when we were at the beach which definitely made relaxing at the beach and jumping in the waves more enjoyable.

Cara didn't actually go in the water a whole lot but she did enjoy playing in the sand.

The whole group (minus the ones in the water):

Playing in the waves:

Bath time

Teagan liked the company!

Trevor, Gideon and Cara spent a lot of time together playing in the little sand pit at the edge of our site

Hannah and Sue:

On the Friday Teresa came to visit with her kids. Tamsin is oh so cute all the time!

Normally we don't go out for icecream when we are camping because of Daniel's peanut allergy but this year we made an exception. There was a store nearby that had Chapman's icecream sandwiches so Daniel got that and the rest of us got icecream from the local icecream shop. Martin has been looking forward to this for years...and I don't think it lived up to his expectations! Poor Martin! By the way, my icecream cone was delicious!

Derek and Daniel could keep themselves busy in many ways...one of them was stealing someone's puzzle book! They are still little when they can fit in one chair together.

Cara learned to ride her bike with training wheels as we were packing the van to go camping so we decided to take it along. Good thing we did because someone had to be that annoying child on the bike with training wheels that bikes back and forth while everyone is sleeping.

A nice little lake on our site after the big rainstorm the night before. The tornado threat from the night before did freak some of us out (me and the kids!) but I was thankful that DH was very calm about the whole thing so I could go to sleep.

Derek came by regularly to take Teagan for a walk.

Drying things over the fire:

We even got candies at church at the Jagt's site.

Mira wanted to make sure she got her share!

My beautiful (and talented) niece:

K & J (yes, they are beautiful too):

The crazy bunch from 2002 (Daniel, Derek, Emma, Anna):

205/365: We got home around 10ish on the Sunday evening but didn't unpack anything. On the Monday Daniel had to make sure nothing blew away as it dried on the front lawn. I think he is a little preoccupied though!

206/365: Teagan can stand up!

209/365: Chelsea had her two cousins, Kyla and Naomi sleep over on the Thursday. They wanted their breakfast in bed the next morning...while watching movies on the tiny DVD player.

A few more pictures from camping that I can't seem to move up...

The 2004 kids (Chelsea, Kyla, Naomi)

Check out these beautiful beach babes!

The whole group (minus Hannah and Mark and kids who left the day before) at church at the Jagt's site:

Camping with the family!

2011-07-27T22:45:00.000-04:00

200/365: Today we left for camping at Port Burwell with my family! I don't actually think that I took these pictures on this day but my camera and computer are telling me that I did. I think the date and time on my camera must be off. Oh well, since I obviously didn't have time to take pictures since I was so busy packing at home and unpacking at camping these pictures from the next day will have to do...

Teagan loves her big cousin Derek! He was a big help too.

Quiddler = a great game to take camping. Since I think we might have been the only family NOT to bring it along the kids played on our site.

Annika came to visit Teagan many times throughout the day. She also was a big help in keeping Teagan entertained! It's so cute when a 2 year old "reads" to a 9 month old.

More pictures to come...

Mmm

2011-07-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

197/365: Martin's parents have many wild fruit trees near their house. They also know how much all of us like the different kinds of fruit. Today they came over with some red currants, black currants, raspberries and blackberries. We definitely enjoyed them!

198/365: Dinner...for a friend.

199/365: Since we have a few little camping trips planned for this summer I decided to sew this little camping shower bag the other night. I made it to hold my shampoo/conditioner bottles, soap, etc...basically all the things you need in the shower. The inside is made with waterproof fabric.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-07-15T16:57:00.000-04:00

195/365: This little girl has been having a fabulous summer so far. She likes having Daniel and Chelsea home from school and she likes having friends over to play with!

Yesterday Chelsea went to her cousin Naomi's for the day with her cousin Kyla. Then from there they all went to Kyla's for a sleepover. From the sounds of it the three of them got along wonderfully. BCF is what they are. She was one tired little girl though! Hopefully this little nap will help!

Some cute little rascals

2011-07-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

191/365: I think I must try to NOT take pictures of the kids in the pool because honestly, they don't spend their whole day in it! Daniel and his friend found this lego boat in the basement which has a motor. How fun is that...swimming AND playing with Lego at the same time!? Chelsea and Cara thought it was pretty neat.

193/365: Annika looking rather ducky in her cute ducky towel. This little duck really likes having her picture taken!

She is VERY good at blowing bubbles...considering she is only 2 years old!

Just one more picture for today... Daniel is finally getting comfortable holding Teagan, probably because she isn't fragile anymore. So I had to take a picture. Teagan, the little rascal, is crawling all over the place now. She isn't quick yet but I'm sure that won't be long. It did take me a bit by surprise when she came crawling into the kitchen this evening though!

Stuff

2011-07-11T15:24:00.000-04:00

183/365: Cara likes swimming in the pool and doing bobs...over and over and over again!

184/365: Cara again.

185/365: Chelsea and Cara think their cousin Emma is soooooooo nice. She just celebrated her 9th birthday.

186/365: A few weeks ago Daniel and Chelsea started piano lessons. A really nice girl from our church comes to our house to teach them.

187/365: Chelsea wanted a kite for her birthday this year. I didn't get her a real kite but I did make her a quilted kite for her to hang in her room (which hopefully I remember to take a picture of one of these days.). I started it today, which was a little late, but I did get it finished on time to give to her on her birthday.

188/365: Chelsea's 7th birthday! Finally! Chelsea has been counting down for a while now. Four little girls came over to help her celebrate...and what fun they had. It was a challenge getting them out of here!

Chelsea has really grown up in the last year. Maybe she is realizing that she is the oldest girl and has to help out more around the house. She is a 2nd Mom to Teagan...which is a HUGE help to me. Whenever she would come home from school she right away took Teagan and played with her so I could start making dinner. She also is very patient with Cara...most of the time. Chelsea is very social and loves having friends over or going to friends houses...especially for sleepovers! She is also our water rat. I think she likes the pool most of all the kids.

189/365: Gourmetten + too much good food + friends = a GREAT evening

Everyone gets their own little frying pan and makes their own food. Mmmm, yummy!

Thanks to Laura for organizing it.

190/365: Teagan: just because she is so cute!

A couple weeks ago I made this little headband for the girls:

1/2 way

2011-07-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

I have been taking pictures (almost) daily for 1/2 a year now. Sure I've missed more days than I would like to admit but that is okay...at least I am trying to tell myself that that is okay. It's crazy that we are already 1/2 way finished 2011. We are finished the first week of summer holidays and I am already feeling like we have too much to do and they will be over before we know it. That makes me sad. It's not even like we have much planned for the holidays. In fact I think we have the least summer plans in years! I do find it busy with all 4 kids home all day everyday...but I don't mind it either. I can't believe Daniel is going to grade 4 in September. Chelsea is going to grade 2 already. Cara is starting school. Teagan is 8 months old already. I tried so hard to enjoy and remember her as a baby and she is already almost more toddler than baby - although she isn't toddling yet. I hope she puts that off for a while! Anyway, enough sappy stuff and on to some pictures:

182/365: Canada Day. It was a very low key day since Martin had to work. The kids and I slept in, played in the pool, read some books... Then when Martin came home we went to see fireworks in Burlington by the lake. They were better than I remember them being before (it's been a few years at least since I have been to see fireworks. Cara was scared but the other 3 seemed to like them.

There were some neat circular ones:

183/365: Finally I got a picture of Teagan up on her knees. I really don't want her to start standing near furniture yet...but I am afraid we aren't far from it!

Summer!

2011-06-29T21:51:00.000-04:00

171/365: Poor Martin. He doesn't eat dinner with us so I always make a plate ready for him to re-heat when he gets home from work. The poor guy often gets his meat cut up!

173/365: Ontario Place! Martin took the day off work and we chaperoned 6 little grade one girls. Although the day started off a bit wet and cold it warmed up in the afternoon.

176/365: Today we went to Kitchener to help celebrate our nephews 1st birthday. We don't see him often so he cried a bit when he saw us but did warm up to us after a bit. C and M showed us a nice little trail that they like to walk on. Here are their two little dogs:

177/365: Yesterday Teagan turned 8 months! She is a good little kid...but then again, Cara was at that age too! Ha ha! Mmmm, what has she been doing this last month? She now sits very well and can get from laying down to sitting on her own. She isn't crawling yet either, which is new for me. All the other three were crawling at this age. Here are some pictures of Cara around 7 1/2 months. Today though I put her on the ground in front of the couch and within a few minutes she was beside the couch. She rolls, she turns, she squirms and kind of gets around that way. We also just lowered her crib because she has started to grab onto things and gets on her knees. She also LOVES to eat solids. I do give her baby oatmeal every morning but after that I kind of just feed her what I eat. She seems to like most of it so far! She also had cheerios for the first time a couple days ago. Introducing foods to the other kids wasn't usually a problem but I also don't remember it being so easy. Let's hope she doesn't need me to feed her at 3 or at 6... Teagan has also started saying DaDaDa and BaBaBa all the time. I'm coaching her to say MaMa but it hasn't happened yet. She also repeats Uh Oh after I say it. It's quite cute! Anyway, that is enough about Teagan!

178/365: First day of summer holidays! Daniel NEVER liked eggs. They made him gag. I never made him eat eggs if the rest of us were because I can kind of understand why someone wouldn't like eggs. Well, he suddenly decided he liked them...

179/365: We splurged on a really large inflatable pool. It takes up 1/2 the backyard! But this beautiful little girl (in a bathing suit that is a little too big) loves it! Can't wait until this weekend when the weather is supposed to be HOT! I think we are the only people I know who aren't going camping this weekend...but if you aren't either, you know where to find us! Come on over with your bathing suit and towel!

Spelunking

2011-06-29T20:28:00.000-04:00

170/365: If you know us at all you probably know that we like hiking as a family. We also start our kids young! Cara started hiking on her own at just before 2. She used to slow our pace down a bit...but now I slow the pace down a bit! Now with Teagan we have been using the back carrier quite a bit...she loves it and we can take her pretty much anywhere in it. She is a happy little hiker in the carrier! Hey Sue, do you want it back? Also if you know Martin you know he doesn't really like hiking on the paths that are designated for hiking and I don't really like hiking on anything but the designated trails. This makes Mt. Nemo perfect for us. There is some nice hiking, some caves to walk through, some cliffs to climb...we are all happy! Some pictures of course:

Chelsea isn't as daring as Daniel and Cara but when she sees Cara doing things she will follow and actually enjoys it!

Our lovely Cara. Our wild child. Our moody child. We do love her!

Mommy, help me! Where is Daddy taking me? Sorry Tea, when you are on Daddy's back you go everywhere he wants to go...including into a cave!

Daniel is just like Martin

After going through the cave we had to climb this cliff to get back to the trail. Seriously, this is where Martin led us. Daniel just goes up on his own. Chelsea and Cara need a little guidance. They are pretty good at climbing cliffs though. Teagan has no clue where Martin is bringing her. I, on the other hand, need a lot of guidance...and am usually paranoid that I'm going to fall backwards down the cliff.

Too funny!

2011-06-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Emma looked like a natural up on that really TALL horse!

I just have to post this picture because it makes me laugh every time I see it!

Horseback riding

2011-06-23T21:54:00.000-04:00

169/365: Horseback riding! A few years ago when Martin started taking Daniel "boys camping" in the fall I thought of taking Chelsea horseback riding...it just never happened...until today. About a month ago there was a dealfind deal for horseback riding at a farm in Binbrook. So I bought it for Chelsea. She was very hesitant at first and did not want to get near the horses. After a bit of persuading she warmed up to her horse Kit and even brushed her. Maybe this would be okay afterall...

Once she was up on the horse she was fine. After the lesson I asked her if she was scared when she was on the horse. Her response, "No, because then it couldn't bite me." So she was afraid the horse would bite her! She is quite excited to go back for the next two lessons.

Check out her smile:

A few of Chelsea's cousins also came along. Here is Naomi making her horse go around the barrel:

Naomi's horse Poppy trotting. I think she liked it too...if that big smile means anything!

Kyla got the smallest horse. Trinity kept falling asleep when she was waiting!

Woops, I forgot to upload a picture of Emma...check the next post.

Picnic lunch

2011-06-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

166/365: Picnic Lunch.

Cara's favourite lunch is chocolate spread on bread. Have I ever told you about the great dark chocolate spread that PC sells? Well...it is great!

Mira + Big Pink Glasses = CUTE

2011-06-21T15:46:00.001-04:00

165/365: This cute little girl came over today...check out her glasses! When I was a teenager I had big green glasses. It looks like they are coming back in style! Ha ha!

The final product

2011-06-21T15:37:00.000-04:00

162/365: I don't think Martin was too impressed with where I put my art work - right near the front door! He doesn't want it in the garden in the back either though so I'm not quite sure where else to put it!

You are making WHAT?

2011-06-20T20:40:00.000-04:00

161/365: The title to this post was Martin's reaction to my latest project.

Danielle, Laura and I decsended upon Danielle's parents house to do some crafting. I didn't take too many pictures but hopefully you get an idea of the fun we had. Cara and Anna bugged Danielle's Dad for food (when we weren't bugging him to help us drill our curly willows together) while her Mom helped make the projects.

Learning to use a saw

Danielle putting chicken wire over her picture:

Laura's picture:

What did we make?

Apparently I forgot to take a picture of my own picture that day so you will have to wait until my next post to see my final product.

Fun on the Patio

2011-06-09T14:24:00.000-04:00

159/365: What's better than sitting outside on the patio, sipping a fizzy drink with friends? I don't know either so come on down!

160/365: Poor little Teagan. This morning she went in the kiddie pool for the first time...and I think it was a little too cold for her!

Please take me out Mommy!

Bad habit?

2011-06-09T14:02:00.001-04:00

158/365: This beautiful little girl of mine has a bad habit. She tries so hard to quit sucking those fingers but it is so hard!

Outdoors!

2011-06-06T22:50:00.000-04:00

153/365: Our grass finally looks like grass and not only weeds! We had a blanket weed treatment done and we've fertilized it and what a difference that made! There are still some weeds but looking out the front window at the grass makes me happy.

154/365: Today we had someone come and fix a couple problems with our sprinkler system. In our old house we didn't have a sprinkler system so I feel completely spoiled having one in this house. It is even set up to water my hanging baskets in the backyard and my two pots in the front. Seriously...it is wonderful! My flowers don't die the way they used to!

155/365: A year ago we had a huge tree removed from our front lawn but we never had the stump removed. A few weeks ago my neighbour gave me the business card of someone who grinds tree stumps. Do you think that was a hint that it was time that we dealt with the stump on our front lawn? Well, it definitely gave me the push I needed to get the job done. A couple weeks ago the guy came but he didn't get the whole stump so today he came back and finished the job. Now I just have to shovel up all the wood, get some soil and seeds and hopefully soon we will have grass growing there.

156/365: After church this afternoon we went for a little hike to Sherman Falls and Canterbury Falls. Daniel's friend came along too. It was interesting going hiking with him. When we go,Martin and the kids always have to off-trail it and find the steepest hills to climb. Daniel's friend though, had to turn over EVERY SINGLE rock he saw to find salamanders.

Just a couple pictures of Teagan:

157/365: This morning a couple friends came over after going to the garden center around the corner from my house. Right after they left I decided I should get some flowers for my garden too.

Mmm, yum!

2011-06-02T22:11:00.002-04:00

152/365: Stuffed Peppers. Daniel, Chelsea and Cara all complained when they saw what we were having for dinner but all three devoured their dinner without any complaining. Strange children!

I am sick of being sick with the flu!

2011-06-02T21:26:00.002-04:00

143/365: So Martin, Daniel and Cara went camping for a couple of nights with Martin's brother and his family. Apparently it is acceptable to walk in the front door and throw all your stuff on the floor...and expect me to clean it up I suppose. Daniel learned quickly that his mess won't get cleaned up by itself (or me)!

144/365: I got a call from Chelsea's teacher at 8 this morning telling me Chelsea threw up on the bus. A couple minutes later her teacher called back saying that as she came back from calling me Chelsea was throwing up in the garbage can...could I please come get her quickly! A couple hours after picking her up from school I suddenly got sick. Thankfully Martin picked some gingerale up for us on his way home from work that day. This is my 6th or 7th or 8th time being sick with the flu this past winter/spring. I am sick of being sick!

145/365: Teagan turns 7 months old! I was sick in bed most of the day so we didn't celebrate the occasion. Teagan is a really good kid. She is generally happy. She likes her bed and will normally sleep for about 10 to 12 hours a night, with one feeding in there around 5 in the morning. She just learned to sit and although she still falls sometimes she is pretty sturdy. I have never had a kid who could sit before they could move so this is exciting for me! I leave her with some toys and she is happy to just play! A couple weeks ago I brought her to the doctor for her 6 month visit. She is still a little thing at 14 lbs 11 oz. I had to remind the doctor that all my babies are small so she didn't need to worry that she has only gained about 5 lbs since she was born.

146/365: Rice Krispies. The first thing I have eaten since Tuesday morning...and I only ate about 5 bites.

147/365: The kids started playing Monza again....since I have been ignoring them! :) One of the kids got this game as a birthday gift a while ago. It is a great game!

148/365: Teagan loves playing with her toys in the pack n play!

149/365: Today I took some engagement shots for my nephew and his fiancee. I can't believe my oldest nephew is getting married this year. I remember when he was born!

150/365: Quinoa. Feta Cheese. Red Peppers. Pears. Mmmm, a bowl full of yumminess!

151/365: Teagan was complaining when I was making dinner tonight so I decided to try her with some bread. I'm not sure how much she actually got but it kept her occupied for a while.

Crafting

2011-05-23T01:14:00.000-04:00

135/365: Homemade bread

136/365: I thought I would be nice and bake a cake for the kids for their lunches. After taking it out of the oven I was putting it on a tray to cool when half the cake completely flopped. It still tasted good though!

137/365: I've been doing a bit of sewing lately.

138/365: On Sunday Chelsea went to visit a little girl in our church. She came home all excited about the strawberry banana smoothie that she got there. So me, being the nice Mom that I am, made the kids one too. The girls loved it but Daniel said he prefers my green smoothies instead.

139/365: The field at school is very wet and muddy!

140/365: I am not exactly sure when Cara developped a love for worms. She isn't afraid of picking up the ugliest, juiciest worms. She names them and says bye to them when she goes in. I am VERY grossed out by worms...but Cara doesn't need to know that. This morning she went out at 8:30, in her pajamas, to dig for worms.

141/365: Daniel, Cara, Teagan and I went frisbee golfing with some friends today. The weather was perfect for it and we had a great time!

Cara gets the frisbee in the basket!

142/365: A headband to go along with the skirt I made earlier in the week.

A few days of Spring-Like weather

2011-05-15T23:54:00.000-04:00

125/365: Teagan's 6 month photo shoot

126/365: The kindergarten at our school ran a Kernels Popcorn fundraiser again this year. Check out the huge bag of popcorn we ordered!

127/365: We thought it would be fun to go on a family hike. We could all go since I ~~stole~~ borrowed Sue's baby backpack the day before. Thanks! Teagan loved the ride and even fell asleep in the carrier. The hike wasn't one of my best since M decided where we were going and ~~conveniently~~ forgot what the hike was like. I'm still not sure how he could forget that there wasn't really any trail at all and that we would have to scale across hills without anywhere to really grip! Half way in we turned around...and it was agreed that next time we go somewhere I'd pick where we go!

128/365: Daniel's Mother's Day gift for me that he made at school.

129/365: Have you ever tried a Green Smoothie? Basically it is any combination of fruits, yogurt and greens like spinach or kale. Oh and I always add some ground flax too. This one has frozen strawberries, a whole lot of spinach, yogurt and flax.

I'm still waiting for Spring...and getting kind of grumpy!

2011-05-05T14:31:00.000-04:00

114/365: My parents came over and we played Ticket to Ride. Daniel has been asking me to play a game with him for...ever. He was happy.

115/365: Teagan turned 6 months old! This ~~poor~~ lucky little girl having three older siblings. She puts up with a lot! She is a good kid. Her big milestone this past month - she started sleeping in her own room in her crib! She also likes to play on the floor with toys and gets around by moving in circles. She's pretty easy going and doesn't cry too often - but she is also spoiled and is held quite a bit! It is very hard not to spoil such a cute little baby! (Just ignore her dirty nose. I was going to take some 6-month shots today but didn't because of that nose.)

116/365: Chelsea loves reading all of a sudden. It makes me all soft and fuzzy inside when I see and hear her reading to her little sisters.

117/365: Cara had a little friend over this afternoon. Her friend came with a whole bunch of little lip gloss containers...and went home with only a little bit left in each. The girls were playing very quietly upstairs. When they did come down they had lip gloss ALL OVER their faces and even in their hair and ears. Yuck. Needless to say Cara got a bath that afternoon...and I'm sure her friend did too.

119/365: The Royal Wedding. In honour of William and Kate I served my visitors that morning scones with jam and tea. I didn't get up at 5 to watch the wedding but did watch a re-run of it at 9. Does that make me 1/2 a junky?

121/365: Fruit Bismarck: This was our dinner on Sunday evening. It is a baked pancake, and although not very "dinner-like" it was definitely very yummy.

124/365: Magnolia. Finally...the sun came out. It's crazy how late the Magnolia is flowering this year. Three years ago at the end of April it looked like this.

Is it almost Spring?

2011-04-26T16:45:00.001-04:00

111/365: The weather is getting a bit better...for outdoor activities.

112/365: This evening we had a reunion with 11 girls from the class of '94. In highschool we only had 17 girls in our class and around 50 guys. The turnout was pretty good considering 3 of the people not there don't live in this province anymore. It was nice to see everyone again and catch up.

113/365: This is another picture that Martin took. He went for a hike with Daniel, his Dad and his brother (and nephew and SIL for 1/2 of it) from our house to his parents house. He figures it was just over 16 km altogether.

Borer's Falls

Colouring!

2011-04-20T21:45:00.000-04:00

110/365: More work being done for Fine Arts.

Wreath

2011-04-20T21:26:00.001-04:00

109/365: What do you think this is a picture of?

Flower...too bad it isn't real and growing in my garden!

2011-04-18T21:06:00.001-04:00

108/365: I whipped up this flower for a little girl for her 5th birthday! I added a clip on the back so she can wear it in her hair or clip it on to something as a decoration. I'll definitely be making more of these! Thanks for inviting us to your party Anna! I hope it was all you imagined it would be.

Messes

2011-04-17T13:54:00.001-04:00

106/365: The school Daniel and Chelsea go to is having a Fine Arts program in a couple of weeks. Chelsea signed up for 6 or 7 things! It was time we got started on them. Here is her painted picture that she is handing in. It is a bit hard because I have no idea what is expected for Fine Arts, never having done it before at CCS.

107/365: Train. Cara has her little cousin over between church. I think they have every little toy possible in this train. I know what I am doing this week!

Another great gadget

2011-04-15T16:15:00.002-04:00

103/365: Garlic peeler and slicer. Order one of these. Seriously. You will not be disappointed. Let me know if you want one and maybe I will plan a party.

104/365: Thanks to my wonderful hairdresser and friend for lending me this jolly jumper! Teagan played in it for over an hour the first time I put her in. For those that don't know, we bought our house from my hairdresser and her husband. They lived here for over 10 years and did all kinds of nice renovations, that we are now benefitting from.

Arrghh, I keep falling behind

2011-04-13T22:06:00.001-04:00

98/365: When the movie Tangled was in the theatre at the end of last year I had planned to take Chelsea. Between having a baby and Martin's work schedule it just never happened. When I saw it in stores I decided to get it and surprise Chelsea with a movie night at home. We all enjoyed it (and the homemade pizza I made for dinner that night)!

99/365: Saturday. The sun was shining. Martin was home. We pulled the kids bikes out. It was a good day.

100/365: Teagan and her cousin Adam. These two are exactly 4 months apart...and very cute together.

101/365: Since I started all my kids on cereal around 5 1/2 months I decided to try Teagan with solids today. To say she loved it is an understatement. She devoured the whole little bowl I made her!

Another picture, just because she is so cute!

102/365: We have another boy in the house for a few days this week...and I don't think Daniel will let him go home on Friday. They are having a great time playing road hockey, basketball, soccer, mini-sticks, Wii, biking, trading hockey cards and more things that little 7/8 year old boys find fun.

Curtains

2011-04-06T00:13:00.000-04:00

95/365: After much humming and hawing I decided on curtains. Originally I wanted green curtains, like on the little sliver of pillow that you can see on the right. They were fun and kind of light and feathery. They were also too short and I'm not really in the mood to search for fabric and sew an extra piece on the bottom. These were my second choice (and M liked them). They do need to be shortened but that can easily be done. These curtains make me feel grown up but I guess at my age it is about time.

Twenty dollars!

2011-04-05T00:22:00.000-04:00

94/365: A winner! Last Rememberance Day Daniel entered a coloured picture into a contest at our local Legion. A couple weeks ago we found out that he got third place in his age group for his poster in our Legion's division. There were about 10 kids from his school that won. One girl got four medals because she won at four different levels all the way up to provincial. This evening we got to go to a little celebration where the kids were presented with their prize.

Caught up...almost

2011-04-05T00:10:00.000-04:00

83/365: New Glasses. It's hard picking out glasses at 5 pm with 4 hungry little kids.

84/365: Teagan is 5 months old! Over the last couple of weeks Teagan has really started to roll (from her back to her tummy). Soon after this picture was taken she was able to get that right arm out from under her.

86/365: Chelsea had 3 little friends over between church.

87/365: Our first watermelon of the year.

90/365: Teagan's first ride in the swing.

92/365: Daniel and his cousin had a hockey tournament on Saturday. After losing their game at 6 am, they won their 10 o'clock game which sent them to the finals at noon. They didn't win that game but we were proud of how far they have come! No more Saturday morning hockey until the fall!

93/365: Snow? In April?

I'm almost caught up! I realize I've missed a few days...

SNOW!

2011-04-04T22:43:00.000-04:00

82/365: We spent the night in Erie, PA since it was starting to snow. Heading out in the morning the roads weren't too bad...until we got over the border. Then getting off the highway in Burlington it was even worse. As we drove up the hill on highway 5 I was convinced we'd end up in the ditch 3 minutes from home. Thankfully we didn't!

A whole lot of pictures!

2011-04-04T22:40:00.004-04:00

81/365: The kids did NOT want to go home!

Instead of driving home through Washington like we did on the way down, we drove through Virginia. Martin decided it would be nice to get out and take a little walk at the New River Gorge. (Remember last time we went here?) This time at least there wasn't snow there so we could take a little stroll down a whole lot of stairs. I will admit it is nice there. Now we want to go there in the fall sometime. Hey you who introduced us to the New River Gorge, do you want to come with us sometime?

It was still nice and warm here!

We drove down to the bottom on a really skinny, bumpy little road. I was very thankful there was no snow!

Just a cute picture of Cara. For her many things in life are very exciting...things we wouldn't find exciting at all...

Cara and Chelsea's latest poses:

Check out the attitude:

Muscles!

Martin and Daniel never take the easy way:

Cara learning from the pros:

People's Choice Photography Challenge: March

2011-04-04T01:11:00.005-04:00

NOTE: My photo is # 279. I don't know if that changes as it gets votes.

I've never entered a contest before but since the site said it was for photographers of all skill levels I thought I would give it a try. So here is my favourite picture that I took in March 2011.

If you like it go on over to I Heart Faces and VOTE (for my picture of course)! I think you can vote once a day...but I'm not sure. Read the site!

To get to their site click here:

Baby Lincoln.

I love his squinty little face.

Our last full day

2011-04-04T00:33:00.000-04:00

80/365: Our last full day in Myrtle Beach we spent at the waterpark and the beach. After dinner we went for a walk along the beach. It was a really windy evening!
View of the beach from our room:

View of the front entrance of the resort from the 10th floor near our room:

Our resort. We were on the 10th floor on the beach side of the tall building on the left.

These 2 really do love eachother!

It is very challenging to get a picture of all 4 kids...looking at the camera.

There were lots of birds on the beach!

Fun chasing the birds...

Cara just ran up and down the beach chasing the birds! Can you see her in this picture? She is way up ahead!

None of us wanted to go inside since that meant...PACKING. We had to be ready to leave bright and early the next morning. :(

Fun!

2011-04-03T23:09:00.000-04:00

79/365: Today we went mini-golfing and out for dinner to Drunken Jacks. If you are ever in Myrtle Beach you should check out this restaurant.
Cara had a great time mini-golfing.

It isn't often that we can go out for ice cream because of Daniel's peanut allergy. At this place though we could get these Jolly Rancher things...that lasted forever... The kids seemed to enjoy them!

Martin and I shared a seafood platter while the kids had chicken fingers and fries. Mmm, it was sooooo good!

Hanging on to Captain Hook's hook:

Posing with Drunken Jack himself:

Before going in to the restaurant the kids saw a little girl with a pirate hat on. Our kids really wanted one too but Daniel and Chelsea didn't dare ask our waitress. Cara boldly went right up to the waitress and politely asked for a pirate hat. Since then I've noticed that the kids get Cara to do things for them more often. It reminds me of when I was little and my sister and I wanted to play with the neighbour kids. We had a deal that if I knocked she would talk (or was it the opposite way H?).

Cara was very proud of that hat!

Acting all ~~goofy~~ piratey:

More beach

2011-04-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

78/365:

Give Cara a pail, shovel and some plastic animals and she can play for hours in the sand.

Gold fish crackers

2011-04-01T12:14:00.001-04:00

77/365: More beach pictures... It really was beautiful weather!

My "official" photo of the day:

We went out for dinner and one of the items on the menu was:

Goldfish Crackers!

Cara was quite excited when she got her own bowl full.

Which other restaurant do you know that serves these?

Did you know that:

In the US they sell all different kinds of Goldfish crackers including:

baby, pretzel, cinnamon, s'mores, chocolate and coloured?

The s'mores were the favourite, I think!

So if you ever go to the US don't forget to pick some up for us.

Big decisions!

2011-03-31T17:38:00.001-04:00

76/365: Most days of our vacation our biggest decision was where we should go first: the indoor water park, the outdoor pool and lazy river or the beach. We did a bit of each every day! It was a rough life we had!

One of the two smaller water slides. Cara loved the water slides and just couldn't seem to get enough of them. There were 2 bigger ones in another building (the water park was split over two buildings) that Cara also went down (and Chelsea too when she saw Cara go down!) but after a few times down we thought they were too rough for the girls (Chelsea bonked her head at the bottom of one). So the girls had to stick with these slides.

Even Martin had fun going down the water slides!

Daniel would have gone down the bigger slides over and over if we let him.

We also spent some time in the hot tub. There were a couple hot tubs in each building.

The indoor lazy river.

By the outdoor lazy river. We had GREAT weather!

Tooth fairy

2011-03-30T11:15:00.001-04:00

75/365: After much wiggling, Chelsea's tooth decided to fall out! She was totally excited and right away ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook and wrote a letter to the tooth fairy. That night she put the note and the tooth under her pillow...not sure if the tooth fairy knew she was in Myrtle Beach...but also pretty sure that I was the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy knew Chelsea was in Myrtle Beach!

The Drive

2011-03-30T11:02:00.005-04:00

I'm going to skip ahead to day 73, just because I am allowed to do whatever I want to do.

73/365: We left for Myrtle Beach around noon on Monday the 14th. We weren't sure what Teagan would be like but she basically just slept and ate every 3 or 4 hours when we stopped. The kids stayed busy watching DVD's, playing games on the ipod, reading and working in colouring books/activity books.

74/365: The route we took brought us near Washington. After searching for a hotel and being unsuccessful, we decided to do some sightseeing...at one o'clock in the morning. We were a bit surprised to see that we weren't the only ones snapping pictures of the White House and the monuments at that crazy hour. We really want to go back to Washington now...during the day.

Trying to catch up....

2011-03-30T10:50:00.001-04:00

69/365: As I'm sure you know I ~~like~~ Love to take pictures. The last little while I've done a few photo shoots - just for fun.

Baby feet.

I'm still here...

2011-03-28T13:04:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile! I do plan on catching up with Project 365. As most of you know, we went to Myrtle Beach for a week! This one picture captures our trip (well maybe not totally since a waterslide picture would also be suitable). Beach. Sun. Family Time. (They didn't always get along this well either I guess!)

Do you remember last time we went somewhere warm? Or somewhere that was supposed to be warm?

Here is a link: Florida 2010

The coldest day in Myrtle Beach was about 18 degrees.

The warmest day in Florida was 18 degrees.

(Dis)organization

2011-03-09T16:05:00.003-05:00

67/365: Today is my Mom's birthday. I went to visit her and took a pic of her, Tea and Cara, that was supposed to be cute but Teagan was crying, my Mom was talking and Cara was looking away. I also promised my Mom I wouldn't put her picture on my blog. So I won't.

So on to my photo for today:

If you have ever been to my house and seen my computer desk you will know I'm not the most organized person. It isn't because I don't want to be organized. I just find it very challenging.

Every Monday evening while the kids are at swimming lessons I sit and talk to a girl from my church. She is a very calm, collected...and (apparently) organized person. She was telling me this week about a file folder that she ~~finally~~ bought for all her 2011 bills, etc. Wow! I was impressed...and went the next afternoon to buy one. After cleaning my computer desk on Saturday and now having this file folder, my computer desk has no excuse to get messy!

68/365: As part of my organizing frenzy that I am on I have been backing up all my pictures. Teagan doesn't like to be left out and wanted to help me. Here she is looking like such a big girl sitting in a Bumbo chair on the computer desk.

She loves her giraffey.

She loves holding her soother.

She loves sucking on her hand.

Silly girl.

So cute...if I may say so myself!

2011-03-09T14:47:00.000-05:00

66/365: Modelling the hat I knit her before she was born. Expecting her to have a large head, like two of her siblings, I knit it a little larger than the pattern called for. Tea was born with a cute, petite head (or probably a very normal size head!)...and the hat was too big! When I pulled it out a few weeks ago it fit perfectly. I think she looks pretty cute in it!

Falling behind on posting...

2011-03-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

62/365: My niece, Tee Tee's, 2nd birthday! My SIL is in luck because apparently she likes having a 2 year old in the house. Enjoy the year T! Tee Tee is a funny little girl! She loves food and will come running the minute any food comes out. She is the youngest in a family of 4 kids, one boy and three girls. It is neat to see how different all 3 girls are in her family. They each have their own unique personalities. I hope you have a fun year being 2 Tee Tee!

63/365: Haven't you always wanted to see my downstairs shower?

64/365: Today I had my nieces (yes, J I just called you my niece!) over to babysit so I could do some organizing around here...and grocery shopping without any kids. It was wonderful. S brought her little sister, who is the same age as Chelsea, and Daniel went to hang out with his cousin at his house (and got spoiled by being taken to a Bulldogs game).

Snuggles.

65:365: Soupfest. For the 3rd (?) year in a row we have had soupfest to celebrate my Mom's birthday. Have I ever said that I LOVE soup? I enjoyed all the soups...even the Most Manly Soup! I think it would be good if everyone sent me their recipes! Yes?!

Photo(s) of the Day!

2011-03-02T21:36:00.000-05:00

61/365: Haircuts! Chelsea has been asking for a few weeks now if I could bring her to see Mrs. J to get her haircut SHORT. I waited...kind of hoping she would change her mind because I was starting to actually like her hair long. It was even getting a bit thicker. But no...she kept insisting. I am really happy with the result though and so is she. Daniel has needed a haircut for...oh...a couple months! He did NOT want his haircut at all! I thought I convinced him but just after she started cutting he said he still wanted it long. Oh well, too late! I like his hair either way but it was definitely time for a cut!

Fun at the eye doctor

2011-03-01T22:10:00.000-05:00

60/365: Today the kids and I went to the eye doctor! Chelsea doesn't need glasses. The eye doctor thinks, however, that Daniel will need glasses at some point. His eyes aren't quite perfect, but not bad enough to need glasses at this point. I also got new contacts and it is great to be able to see again. Then I got to look at ALL the frames and tried to pick out a pair. That is easier said than done but I did manage to pick some...and hope I like them when they come in!

Extraordinary

2011-02-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

59/365: Sometimes we just need to make the ordinary extraordinary. Especially when dinner is sloppy joes and cucumber slices.

Woops!

2011-02-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

When you are invited to someones house do you ever question whether you have the right time or even the right date before you knock on the door? If you got a printed invitation or an e-mail do you check it before you go? From now on I will be that paranoid person who will check numerous times to make sure I have the right DATE and time! Last Saturday we rushed around to get Chelsea ready to go to a party...only to get to the party and find out there was no party. We were a week early! Thankfully the mother, who looked like she was in the middle of some kind of house repair, had a baby only 10 days after Teagan was born and completely understood what it is like to have a mushy, baby-brain...at least she said she understood to make me feel better, I think. So this Saturday we rushed around, again, to get Chelsea ready. I checked the e-mail a few times to make sure I had the right date and time. I even went so far as to call and offer to pick up another little girl on the way to make sure Chelsea would actually be going to a party. Well, Chelsea went to the party, and after a week of girly-drama amongst the grade one girls, it sounds like they had a great time...and all got along...for one day anyways...

Maybe that was the kick in the butt that I needed to get me to write things/appointments down in my daytimer instead of relying on my not-so-reliable memory.

And here are some more pictures:

57/365: Artwork in the Stairwell

(This picture has been up for a while now and occasionally the kids add something to it. Do you think they would notice if I took it down?)

58/365: Artwork on the Floor

56

2011-02-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

56/365: She is cute even when she is crying!

Teagan: 4 months old!

2011-02-25T20:47:00.004-05:00

Teagan is four months old today! She is usually a happy baby...which makes me happy!
She is spoiled and prefers to be held more than anything else.

Tea has now rolled over from her back to her front about 5 or 6 times. She also like to move around a lot so I can't let her nap on my bed anymore because one of these days she will wiggle right off it!

She also likes to stand on our legs...all the time, because it is easier to see things that way. She isn't as cuddly anymore either.

She is a bright-eyed little thing and likes to look around at her surroundings...especially if one of her siblings is close by to watch. I hope she isn't learning their bad behaviours! She likes smiling at them though and yesterday she even giggled with Chelsea. So cute! She was quite a serious little girl for the first few months of her life so we are all enjoying her smiles.

She is still very tall and even though she hasn't been weighed yet this month I don't think she has gained a lot of weight. She seems to be following the same path as Daniel and Cara by starting off heavy and not gaining quickly. Chelsea was like that too but she started off small (for my kids anyways)!

I didn't want another thumb or finger sucker so I tried Tea with a soother and she took to it pretty easily (unlike the other kids when I tried). Now I hope I haven't made her addicted to it! It does make it easier for me to go out and leave her at home because she loves that soother.

She likes sleeping on her side with a soft blanket near her cheek.

Even though she loves her soother she also likes having her hands (or mine) in her mouth.

Teagan has a ~~bad~~ habit of staying up late in the evening, around midnight, and then gets up once or twice between then and 9 in the morning. It's not bad...but I do look forward to having my evenings back. That being said, I'm not sure I will have them to myself because Daniel is getting older and doesn't like going to bed too early anymore.

Teagan I can't wait to see what next month will bring -- Maybe you will start a regular napping schedule? Maybe you will start sleeping in your crib?

Catch Up!

2011-02-24T21:17:00.001-05:00

49/365: Sushi. Mmm. I'd never had sushi before and wonder why I waited so long to try it. Sue served this at her book club meeting where we discussed The Housekeeper and The Professor.

50/365: Daniel had hockey at noon so we could all go and watch. Too bad it was just a practice but it is fun to watch him play now and see how far he has come since last season!

51/365: Check out the shampoo we are using right now. Does anything about it seem odd to you?

(Hint: Shampoo for CURLS. Martin and the kids all have pretty straight hair. I have curly hair but I usually straighten it.)

52/365: Martin's Birthday! Irene wins the prize: his present was...a backpack! I decided he needed something to bring his lunch too and from work every day, something nicer than a plastic No Frills bag. He also needed a new backpack to bring along when he goes hiking to carry all the sandwiches, snacks and water bottles that he brings along. There was one little orange (his fav colour) backpack left at the store!

53/365: Leftover birthday cake!

54/365: Have I said before that I LOVE soup? This week I tried a new recipe: Dill Beet Soup. FYI, I will be making it again! Doesn't it look pretty?

55/365: A cold and tired little girl. Cara likes snuggling under the blanket that I knit last summer. She fits perfectly under it (so she better not get any bigger!). I am amazed how big Cara is getting. She writes her name by herself, she memorizes books and "reads" them back to us, today she said the "B" sound and then told me what letter it was and a couple words that start with "B". Stop growing up so fast Cara! I haven't signed her up for JK yet for September but I think I will. She is very excited to go to the same school our neighbour twins go to...but she also lets me know how much I will miss her (and how much she will miss me and Tea)!

Day 48

2011-02-17T19:18:00.000-05:00

48/365: I can't say what this is because it is M's birthday present and I KNOW he reads this blog sometime! What do you think he is getting?