Tuesday March 23, 2010

Lots going on, so I will just do a quick recap in photos.
Last week Catcher officially turned 6 years old. The day before his b-day Damian surprised Catcher by  inviting him to go to gymnastics with him (it was bring a friend week). Catcher had fun and really liked the sponges that they get to jump into. He doesn't want us to sign him up for gymnastics however, but enjoyed playing.

Friday I took Tyson, Maiya and Presley out to lunch with my friend Carla and I. We decided to go to McDonalds because of the kids. It was nice to sit and chat with eachother. After I got home, I got the kids things together and we left as soon as they got home. I was taking them all to my Mom and Dads house for a sleepover. They were all very excited. I visited for a bit, then headed home. I had an amazing surprise awaiting me on the table when I got home. Grant had bought me the camera I have been dying to have for a while now as well as a brand new laptop. Way better than flowers I'd say. I am so excited to give it a try but haven't had a chance yet. What a great husband I have.  (photo of the kids sleeping over courtesy of Grandma obviously since I was not there....I took this off her facebook)

Grant and I then headed over to the Sherlock home to babysit. We played Clue together, hahahaha!!! Until we realized that you just can't play clue with 2 people. So then we watched a show together. At 10, I headed back home to get things ready for the next day. We woke up at 6am to get ready to go to Edmonton. We all met at the Siakaluks house (Adams, Kyles, Siakaluks and us) to head out.

We first went to the Edmonton temple. I've never been to that one before. It was a wonderful experience. Afterwards we headed off to the West Edmonton Mall to look around. Grant, Derek and Morgan went on the Drop zone??? (can't remember what it's called ) in the indoor amusement park. It was a fun mall, but would definitely require a lot more time to be adventurous. We went to the spaghetti house for dinner. (Carrie`s sister in law Kelly and her husband Jason came for the mall trip) Kelly, Carrie and I ended up ordering the same thing from the menu. It was terrible but the conversation was a ton of fun. Oh, and Valene had packed us some yummy treat bags for the car. So sweet. I labeled her Mom of the trip for that :) Grant picked up the kids from my Moms house at 9:30pm and when they came through the door, they flopped right into bed exhausted.

Sunday, Presley was excited to come to primary with Maiya. They have been inseperable since she`s been here. They have had a few instances where they need space, but for the most part, I am impressed with how much they are constantly at eachothers side, and loving it.

Monday the kids had a PA Day and so there was no school. We woke up and everyone got ready and we left right away for Chuck E Cheese. We wanted to beat the rush, and we sure did. We were the only ones there for most of the time, and as we were getting ready to leave, people started piling in.

McKenna won a huge amount of tickets on this one Simpsons game she was playing. I went over to her and she had over 400 tickets piled on the floor. I was like "HOLY!!" and then looked to see what she was doing to get so many. It turns out the machine was being wonky, so everytime she was hitting the one button it would just spu out tickets. She thought she was just really good at the game. That was all on one token too, haha! One of the workers noticed and shut the machine down for maintenance. McKenna got to use the tickets though. It wasn't her fault the machine was broken.

We ate pizza at Chuck E Cheese (such good pizza surprisingly) and then headed off to Toys R Us. Grant said each kid could pick a toy that was a reasonable price. Presley and Maiya automatically went to the Barbie section and chose a Barbie. Tyson got cars. Catcher picked Kinex and the other kids all wanted WebKinz. They all went home and played. The we had a movie night with popcorn. We watched "The Sandlot". They have never seen it, but I knew they would love it. I love that movie.

That leads us to today. Today was an organizational day. I was going through my fridge and freezers and cupboards cleaning them out and rotating food. I also had tons of housework to catch up on. The kids played outside, painted, had a picnic (it was beautiful out) and wanted to watch the Sandlot again. Whew!!! What a fun and exhausting week :)

Tuesday March 16, 2010

Today was supposed to hit +19 for the temperatures, but it was overcast and a bit windy so it didn't feel that warm. It was warm enough, but I was thinking closer to summer temps. Oh well, we made the most of our day anyways. Yesterday was fabulous, and I got tons done in the yard and cleaning out a bit of the garage. I love the mood spring puts me in. I have motivation to clean, organize and refresh everything. Today we played outside a lot. I took Maiya and Tyson to the park in the afternoon. They had a lot of fun, and even cleaned up some litter. To make our walk around the park more fun, I told them to go on a treasure hunt. Maiya kept picking up these orange wrappings from construction that had blown all over the park. So it ended up that they just kept finding more and putting them in the garbage there. A nice way to occupy them as well as clean up the park a bit. Afterwards the kids came home from school and played outside with friends and rode their bikes. I love that they are doing this again. What a great feeling! Damian had cubs tonight, so I dropped him off at Draytons house and picked up Presley.

She is staying with us for 7 days while her parents are in Mexico. Maiya is so excited and has already got her head full of all of the wonderful adventures they will have and all of the great plans she is devising. We'll see if those dreams come to fruition. Well, off I go to watch "Chuck" with Grant. A very fun show! Oh, and Catcher lost his very first tooth today, and is looking forward to compensation, hahaha!

Sunday March 14, 2010

Another day at church today. I really do love going. Getting all of the kids ready?? not so much. Today we also lost an hour of sleep due to the time change. I tried to take a picture of my boys this week since I didn't get a decent one the other week. I mostly got all laughing or silly pictures (which are actually pretty funny) but I managed to get one of them all semi normal. Oh well, it was a very pleasant day to wake up to. Gorgeous weather. Is it too early to hope that spring is here to stay? Tyson didn't want to stay for nursery as usual, but ended up letting me sneak out eventually. YAY! After church we had a "Linger Longer" (where everyone brings a dish of something to share and we all stay after to eat together). Yay once again for only having to bring one thing and be supplied with a variety of choices. I brought a pasta salad this time.
We got home and Damian started to clean his hamster cage and Grant was working on cleaning my leather couches. They were looking so bad that I was considering refurnishing them, but boy did he ever do a good job. We will have to get more leather cleaner tomorrow to work on the rest, but I was so happy to see the progress so far. I LOVE my couches and would be so sad to see them ruined forever. Anyways, amidst this mess, our hometeachers came over. Grant forgot to tell me that they were coming. So weird that I didn't clue in, considering we were sitting with our hometeacher and he was talking about visiting a family today. Didn't think about the fact that he was probably coming to our house too, haha! So needless to say the house was a mess. It was a nice visit though. Caleb and Meg came over later to hang out. We haven't seen them in a bit due to busy lives. They brought Sammie (their dog) with them.

Saturday March 13, 2010

Yesterday Kaitlyn went with her choir group to the Kiwanis Festival. They won 2nd place. Yay!! It was such a gorgeous day, so everyone played outside when they got home from school and had friends over to play. Kaitlyn and McKenna invited their friends Isabella and Natasha over for a sleepover as well. I went out to dinner with some friends (Sue, Valene and Carrie). We went to Boston Pizza. It's always nice to get out with friends and catch up on our busy lives. When I got home, I had to go get Kaitlyn's friend a gift for her 13th b-day party. So the girls all came with me to pick one out and just to get out of the house. They were so loud and excited (reminds me of the days when I was so hyper when I would get together with friends). Grant made cupcakes for Catchers party while we were out. I didn't end up getting to bed until 1:30am because I was trying to make sure the house was clean for the party since I wouldn't have time to do anything in the morning. I woke up this morning and drove Kaitlyn to swimming lessons.
 I came back for Catcher's b-day party. He turns 6 next week, but this was the best time for the party since we will be busy next weekend. 6 boys came to the party. Grant took care of pretty much the entire party for me. He bought all of the favors, decided on some activities to do with the kids, made the cupcakes, and hosted the party. It was the easiest party (for me) ever !  The kids all had a lot of fun. Grant had them doing sword fights and sparring matches in the basement for points.

Catcher's friend Lucas (who was probably the least aggressive kid at the party) won all of the rounds. He was pretty happy about that. Catcher got spoiled with wonderful and thoughtful gifts which he is really enjoying playing with. Every gift was perfect for Catcher. After the parents came to pick up their kids, I drove Kaitlyn over to her friends party and drove her other friend Natasha, home.  Grant got ready for work and that leaves me where I am now. Trying to catch some peace after a very busy day.  Happy Party day Catcher! I Love You!

Thursday March 10, 2010

Yesterday we went downtown to get our passports. We were told the wait could be about 2 hours, so I was prepared with snacks and a few toys for the kids (we had the 3 youngest with us). It turns out we were in and out of there in 15 minutes or less...AWESOME!! Now all of the big things are done for going out to the wedding, now to focus on the smaller details. I finished my taxes the other night as well. What a relief it is to get those types of things out of the way. PHEW!

Not a ton to say today. We had Catcher's friend Angelo over to play in the morning. After we dropped them off to school, Maiya, Tyson and I headed over to Charity's house to hang out for the afternoon. Maiya and Presley obviously had a blast together as usual, but the surprising ones were Tyson and Elle. They played together the whole time. I really didn't think Tyson would be very interested in playing with Elle because she's still so little, but it looks like she is growing up a little and they had a blast playing and getting into mishief together (eg. emptying the dirt out of Charity's plant....oh dear!) It was a gorgeous day outside, so we also played outside on the bikes and in Charity's playhouse. I took Reese and Presley home with me to play for a little bit while Drayton was at his guitar lessons. Oh....and Tyson let "Fluffy" out of his cage again (the hamster). Catcher yelled upstairs from the basement that Fluffy was hiding behind the couch....then he ran out and Tyson covered him with a blanket. Kaitlyn came to my rescue and grabbed him and put him back into his cage. It's so sad that I can't handle picking up a small rodent.

Today was pet cage cleaning day. So Kaitlyn cleaned out the gerbils cage. We almost had some escapees once again. I don't know how I will ever survive, considering I am freaked out when it comes to small rodents....or even large ones for that matter. Grant went on a much needed grocery trip. My poor children were starting to get really creative with their school lunches, haha!

Tuesday March 9, 2010

Today was a pretty eventful day. Kaitlyn got to go on a trip to the spaceport today. Grant had the day off, so we planned on getting a few things done. I took Tyson to the hairdressers, usually I get his Aunt Meg to give him a trim because she is a hairstylist, but I'm not sure when I will see her next, and his hair was driving me crazy. It was getting too shaggy. The first place I went to (yes, I said first) was a bad experience. He's never had a problem with haircuts and he usually isn't on for huge tantrums, so I was surprised to see him start crying...which then turned into flailing on the floor having a fit. He did not want his hair cut, and nothing I did seemed to calm him down, so I chose to leave before it got even more embarassing. I then drove over to my friend, Valenes, house to drop off an invitation for her son to Catcher's b-day party (we are having it this Saturday). Afterwards, Tyson seemed to have calmed down. So we had a little pep talk about trying to get his haircut again. He seemed to be more co operative at that point, so I decided to take him again. (Not to the same place though, I was way too embarrassed). So I went to a different place, and he was completely opposite. He was an angel, and listened to every direction given. The lady commented on how well behaved he was for a 2year old, hahaha!!! 2 completely opposite experiences in less than an hour.
Grant went out to get passport applications so that we can get those done for our trip to Ontario (we will be going into Palmyra for Marcus' wedding). Grant took Maiya and picked up the girls from school to go see "Alice In Wonderland" at the theatres. Maiya LOVES the theatre experience. Grant is very pleased with this. It's actually funny because the 3 girls love going to the theatres to watch movies, and Damian and Catcher never want to go. Who knows about Tyson, we haven't ever tried bringing him yet, since he's still so young. They have some toonie matinees coming up on the spring break, so maybe we will try out his first theatre experience then. Damian went to his cub car rally tonight. Unfortunately he could not find his car, but one of the cub leaders found one in the cupboard that someone used a few years ago, so he used that one just so he could participate. So that was nice. He is still there at the moment, so I wonder how it went. I am just finishing up doing my taxes and filling out the passport application....fun stuff :)

Sunday March 7, 2010

What a gorgeous weekend! I can't say enough how much I appreciate beautiful weather. It feels so good hearing all of those spring sounds that I love so much. Yesterday we enjoyed some time going out for a walk together as a family (and Damian's friend) and played at the park. I brought my camera along on the journey. The kids had a blast playing with Grant. He brought along his nerf sword, and pretended to be the king of the playground. He would try to catch all of the "traitors" to the kingdom and put them in jail (underneath the playground equipment). They had so much fun with that, and then tried to teach Grant how to play 4 corners. My kids were dressed in various ways. Catcher wanted his winter coat on and boots, McKenna a sweater, Kaitlyn just a t-shirt, and Damian shorts, hahaha!!  Later in the afternoon I was talking to my Mom on the phone, when I squealed and stood up on the bed. Damian had been playing with one of the gerbils and it got free, and was so fast that he couldn't catch up to it. It ran into Maiya's room, so I told them to shut the door and grab a bowl to capture him. That was a little freaky, but at least he was caught.

Today I had everyone ready for church, including myself in a great amount of time. Usually I feel like we are always running late. I even had time to curl all 3 girls hair. Then of course it's time to go and a ton of things happen to prevent me from getting there on time, sheesh! haha! The girls looked fabulous, so I had to take a picture. I tried taking a picture of the boys, but that just wasn't happening. Goofy faces, and Tyson running away. It was a good day at church, but a crazy one. I was 1/2 hour late for sacrament. When it was time to take Tyson to nursery, he bawled....even with me in there. Grant and I switched halfway because I had to go teach Relief Society. I was a little stressed about that one, as I didn't feel prepared. We were invited over to the Siakaluks house for dinner tonight. I am always excited for a no cooking opportunity, but even more importantly..a chance to get together with friends to enjoy their company. It was a very yummy roast beef dinner with some super yummy yorkshire pudding. The kids had a lot of fun playing and it's always a blast to sit and chat with the Siakaluks. (Their baby girl pictured)

Thursday March 4, 2010

Today was soooo beautiful outside!! What a tease this weather is. I know winter is not over just yet, but I will enjoy any and all breaks it gives us. The past few days, the weather was much warmer, but alas the sun was not shining. I feel so drained without my sunshine. It makes a huge difference in the way I function. Today, I saw that sun come out and felt the energy just bursting from me. I must have solar panels or something, hahaha!! I immediately knew exactly what needed to be done. I needed to spend my morning getting kids off to school, getting myself and the younger kids ready for the day, clean and do some laundry....and then head out for the afternoon for a nice outing with Tyson and Maiya on a photographic journey. My camera and I have a very close relationship, and  she was beginning to feel neglected. We went out, and it was so perfect. It was warm enough for the kids not to have to be bundled up, I had just given them a bath this morning so they were nice and clean, they were wearing the clothing I wanted them to wear, they were cheerful and excited to go on this adventure with me, and I had a few props and a perfect location! Sounds perfect right???......wellllll, while I was at the very beginning of this wonderful photographic journey....my camera gave out! I was NOT happy. I was snapping some pics of Tyson, and then all of the sudden got en error message on my camera...and then NOTHING!!! It would not let me do anything. I was very sad about this. I had only taken one picture of Maiya too, and her eyes were closed. I was so frustrated. So many things have been breaking down recently including computers, vaccum, mop....lots of unexpected expenses as well as saving up for a trip to Ontario, and passports. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to go out to Ontario (for my brother in law, Marcus', wedding)...just lots of things happening at once. I came home with a bit of a heavy heart, as the camera was just that final piece to top it all off. Tyson knew how I was feeling. He cocked his head to one side and in his cute little voice said "Mommy's mad??" and I said "Yes Tyson, but not at you". He is such a little angel and I just love him so much. I googled about this "error 99" message that was on my camera hoping to find a solution...and I did (hopefully it stays working). I LOVE google. I swear it can help you with anything! I guess Tyson and Maiya decided that this was worth dancing for because they turned on my radio and got me to dance around my room with them. Boy do they ever have moves, hahaha!! The kids got home from school and played outside. They were excited to pull out their bikes and ride them. It felt a little like summer with all of the friends coming around to play in the yard, and it was light out longer.
Oh, and to jog back a bit in my post here...I have to say that passport photos are TERRIBLE!!!! I went in and they sent me home telling me my shirt wasn't acceptable for the photo (It had to be dark and plain, no white) then I came back and was told to put my hair behind my ears, and to basically have no expression. Of course when somebody tells you not to smile it seems to be the hardest thing ever to stop smiling. I eventually tried to get rid of all expression on my face, and the end result is a very disturbing sight. I look like I am a person who would hijack a plane.

Monday March 1, 2010

Life has been busy as usual, and I have neglected my blog a touch. I'm back though. Lots going on in life. My daughter McKenna recently turned 10 years old. We threw her a party with a few friends on Friday after school. The girls all walked home from school with McKenna. You could hear them all coming from the end of the street. Such a loud and fun bunch of girls. They hung out in McKenna's room for a bit, then I took them all outside for a mini photoshoot. The weather was pretty decent for it, and they had a lot of fun just being together and using a few of the props I had. They had hula hoop contests while they were waiting their turns and we also had some bubble gum chewing contests to see who could blow the first bubble. Afterwards we went back to the house and they all ran off downstairs. They had fun spinning eachother in our hanging chair, and dancing around to music, and basically just being giggly silly girls. I really didn't have to do much for this party. They were having way too much fun on their own. I had planned on making beaded friendship bracelets with the girls, and even had some back up games but I didn't need to do any of it. She got some nice gifts from her friends including $40 worth of gift cards, a webkinz caterpillar, archie comics, hair things, decorative things for her room, pokemon cards, jewellery etc. It was a fun party.

My friend Carla Gonzalez made the b-day cake for McKenna. I didn't even ask her to do it, she just said that she wanted to. It was very yummy, and matched the decor without even planning it that way. It was so nice of her to offer to do that for me. I have been blessed with an abundance of amazing people in my life. I appreciate every single one of them. Always so willing to help out and brighten my day with their surprises. My friend Diane Miller has been sharing her talents with me. She has been teaching me how to knit. I go to her house, and she even encourages me to bring Maiya and Tyson. She enjoys having children around, and is very understanding and accomodating, which makes it  a really nice visit. My friend Carla offered to come over and share a recipe with me one day and helped me cook it for dinner (anyone who knows me well, knows my dislike for cooking, and how much I would appreciate this sort of thing). It was a delicious dish. My kids liked it too. She then proceeded to offer to bake McKenna's b-day cake, because she just loves McKenna. McKenna and her daughter, Isabella, are best friends. My friend Sue Kyle heard that I had a bit of a wicked cough going on, and decided to stop by with a yummy oreo froster!!!! (or is it called a frostee???) Can't remember the name, but I was SOOO happy.  My daughter, Kaitlyn, just got a gerbil with her own money as a pet, and we didn't realize they can't live in hamster cages because they chew through plastic, and need more space. We also found out that they do much better overall if they have a companion. So we had to get another gerbil (this one is Maiya's since McKenna and Catcher are nervous of animals). My friend Megan Pierson was kind enough to give us a 10 gallon fish aquarium for free so we could make a home for the gerbils. I was SOOO grateful for that. (This does not conclude  my list of awesome friends who go out of their way for me, just a few examples of some awesomeness for now...)  Kaitlyn named her gerbil  "Scratches" and Maiya named hers "Reindeer". They love them...and while I am NOT much of a fan of rodents, I am warming up to them. This does not, however, mean that I will pick them up or play with them....but I am not freaked out every time I look at them now and I actually enjoy watching them. The 2 gerbils are actually brothers from the same litter and they are very close. They always sleep curled up beside each other at night, and play together in the day. No fights so far. I don't know how a "Zero Pet" house became a 4 pet house. We now have a beta fish named "Jingle Bells" (Catcher named him), A Hamster named Fluffy (Damian's) and 2 Gerbils named Scratches and Reindeer. It has been really good for them though.

Today the kids had the day off of school, so it was a friend day. Catcher went over to his cousin Ethans house to play. Maiya went over to her cousin Presley's house to play. Damian went over to his friend Noahs house, and then had his friend Julian over in the afternoon to play, and Kaitlyn had her friend Telesha over to hang out. I took McKenna out to let her use some of her gift card money today. She was so excited at the prospect of getting whatever she wanted with her own money....
Here are a few of my favourite photos from McKenna's party!