Monday August 24, 2009

Today was the day for changing hair. In the afternoon, we went over to Caleb and Megs house for Meg to do our hair. Meg is a hairstylist and she is just starting her own salon in her basement. She just needs to finish having a sink installed for washing the hair in. So exciting! Kaitlyn wanted to have her hair hilighted with a bit more blonde. She is already blonde but it is getting to be more of a dirty blonde as she gets older. So Meg hilighted her hair for her and did a trim and a few long layers. I LOVE it! She did such a good job, and I think it looks great on Kaitlyn. I had my hair blonde for the summer, but wanted to go dark again for the winter. So I got mine dyed black (my hair sucks in colour after it's been blonde, so a really dark colour was necessary so that it fades into the colour I want.) Tyson even got a trim because his hair was starrting to grow over his eyes! Caleb watched the kids and took them to the park and stuff. What a huge help. Sammie (the dog) has gotten bigger, and is still adorable! We had pizza from "Little Caesars" together and then got ready to go. We left Caleb and Meg's house at 7pm (it usually only takes us 20 minutes to get home) and I wanted to avoid the new mall traffic on the deerfoot highway, so I went a new way down country hills...a detour to avoid all of the crazy mall traffic that holds you up for about 30 minutes....well to make a long story short, my little detour ended up being a 1 hour and 20 minute scenic drive. I got lost...again! I don't know how I do it, but I get lost so very easily. I ended up calling my Mom, and Shand and Caleb also helped direct me....good grief! How embarassing! We finally got home at 8:30pm. I didn't mind the drive, but was a little embarassed that I got lost so close to home. Needless to say, as soon as we got home, the kids got ready for bed and that was our day. Grant was working so he wasn't with us (we also would not have gotten lost with Grant around, lol.)

Sunday August 23, 2009

Today was stake conference. We were able to have it in the new Airdrie Chapel which was nice. They broadcast it from the stake centre in Calgary. Not too much to say today. After church Grant made a nice dinner. Caleb came over to eat and hang out with us (Meg was going to come too but had some things to do and her brother was over). We just found out some wonderful news, that Meg is pregnant. How exciting! It will be fun to see her and Caleb as parents. The dinner Grant made was sooo delicious! We had chicken, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes and fruit& yogurt parfaits. Kaitlyn made a dessert for us all by herself (with some guidance). She made a cookie pizza. She was so proud, and it turned out so well. She is really maturing as of late. It's so fun to see them grow and progress. This week's plan is to cram a ton of summer fun into one short week before school starts again.

Saturday August 22, 2009

Well, it's been a busy summer, and I've tried my best as far as blogging goes. We have had a lot of fun this summer, and I am sad to say that our summer is almost over, then back into the routine of school etc. Recent events include a family picnic (with my bro's and sis's and parents etc), going out to the movies and dinner with Sue and Carrie, Lake Sikome with the Sherlocks, Prairie Winds splash park, girls night, date with Grant to Baby Tooth Bambino's for dinner and going to see the new Balzac Mall that just opened, fun in the sprinklers, and the list goes on. Lots of fun, friends, family and memories. I'm too tired to dish out more details, but figured I should post again. A few side notes to post..Kaitlyn has been developing her interest in cooking. I have been letting her help me cook dinners and bake. Who knows, maybe one day I won't have to cook, haha! She's been doing really well and is eager to create her own recipes. Damian's baptism is creeping up on us. His 8th b-day is on Sept. 17th and we will be having his baptism on October 17th (Marcus will be home from his mission and will be able to attend with Grant's parents who will be flying out). McKenna is enjoying the freedom of summer, and has chosen to go into swimming lessons in the fall instead of gymnastics. Kaitlyn will also be taking swimming lessons. Damian is going to continue on in gymnastics though. Catcher is excited for his first day of Kindergarten coming up very soon. He will be in afternoon Kindergarten (his cousin Ethan will be in the afternoon as well at the same school, but a different class). Maiya is very eager to grow up. We've been giving Catcher a little more freedom here and there to grow up and feel like a big boy, and Maiya is insisting she be able to do all of the things the big kids do. Tyson is a bit of a tornado at the moment (his mission is to search and destroy) but he is also such a light in our house. Always smiling and making everyone laugh. He will be 2 years old on September 13th and we will be having a family party for him. Well, I think I will leave my update on this note. I really wish summer wasn't ending just yet, I LOVE it so much!

Sunday August 2, 2009

Today we went to Stirling to pick up Kaitlyn and McKenna from their trip to their cousins house. Garth and Sarah took Kaitlyn and McKenna to their house and let them have a vacation with their cousins for 16 days. They were getting a little homesick at the end, but have many fun stories to tell. They both took swimming lessons while they were there, and had lots of swimming time in the outdoor pool there because Sarah had a family pass. They went on their first camping trip (Sarah's family was having a family reunion), and at the same time had their first time horseback riding. They went to a street dance, saw fireworks, went on bike rides etc. They just love their cousins and had a blast.
We left this morning at 9am to go to Stirling. We borrowed Josh and Alex's DVD player for the way up in the car. It's a 3 hour drive, and it was nice to keep them occupied. We stayed at Garth and Sarah's house for about 4 and a half hours. Had dinner (yummy ribs cooked on the BBQ) and went to the par with the kids and just visited. We got the girls things ready to go and were out of the door by 5pm to head back home. Once again, the DVD player was a lifesaver. It was amazing how many gas stations were out of gas this weekend. Maybe because of the long weekend?? The girls were happy to be back home, and wanted to check out their new school clothes we had gotten while they were away. They had a snack then it was off to bed for all of them.
Yesterday I had another wedding shoot. It was a nice day for an outdoor wedding. It was supposed to rain, but thankfully the rain held off.

Saturday July 25, 2009

Today was a hot one. I really can't complain about it though, because I would rather deal with the summer heat than the dead cold of winter anyday. This morning I got up and went out yard saling. It was very disappointing...nothing great today. I did end up getting Catcher a spiderman backpack for school though. When I came home we decided to take the kids to the splash park to cool off. We called up Josh and Alex to see if they wanted to come and bring their kids. So they came along. The kids had a great time. I love splash parks. They came home cooled, drenched and happy. Grant then took the kids on a walk to Macs while I stayed home to work on editing some wedding photos and Tyson took his nap. Sounds like it was a very hot walk, good thing Grant bought them all Frosters. Afterwards the kids all played outside. Grant got pizza for dinner so we wouldn't have to heat the house up more than it already was. We were going to take the kids to a "movie in the park", but they were getting too tired, so we thought bed was a better choice (especially since we have church tomorrow). They were going to be doing a fun movie in the park on the big screen. They had activities before the film at 7pm. A bouncy castle, playing guitar hero on the big screen etc. The movie was going to be "E.T." at about 10pm which was a bit late for them on a Saturday night. I went over to Carrie's house at about 8 to hang out and watch a movie.

Friday July 24, 2009

Well today was another bit of a catch up day. Grant took our recycling to the recycling depot this morning and ran a few errands of his own. I cleaned out the garage for a good portion of the morning, while the kids played outside in the yard. Damian spent most of the day hanging out with his friend Noah. My friend Carrie came over for a few minutes to see if I wanted to go to the movies with her and her kids, so I took Damian along. We went to go see the movie G- Force. Damian sat with her boys and some friends they brought along a few rows up from us. Grant took the other kids to Mac's to buy Frosters while we were at the theatres, and they also stopped at the park. It's weird getting out of a movie at 5pm. It always feels like it should be later when you come out of a movie. When we got home, Damian went right back outside to play with his friends. I left at 6:30pm to go babysit for Josh and Alex. They were going out on a date to go see Harry Potter. The kids were so easy. Alex had put them to bed just before I came, and they stayed in their rooms and fell asleep pretty much right away. Gabrielle woke up for a bit crying, but not a big deal at all. I got to watch tv for once, yay! We don't have tv at home, just Dvd's. I prefer it that way or else I would get addicted to lots of shows and would just want to sit around watching tv. It was nice as a treat though. I watched "What not to wear" and "Style by Jury". I loved both shows. They are makeover shows, and it is always fun to see the transformation in people. It was fun :)

Thursday July 23 , 2009

Today was a mall day for us. We got up and headed over to "Once Upon A Child" first (my favourite second hand childrens store, they have the greatest stuff). I was like a kid in a candy store in there. We were doing part of our back to school shopping for this year. It seems like everyone hit a growth spurt at the same time, so a lot of clothing was needed. After spending about 1 and 1/2 hours there, we headed over to Market Mall to find all of the things we couldn't find at once upon a child. We stopped in the food court for lunch first. Grant treated us all to those spectacular milkshakes that they sell at the "Marble Slab Creamery". They make the best and creamiest milkshakes ever. (yikes, I'm drooling). Then we went off to my favourite childrens clothing stores (Old Navy, Childrens Place and Below the Belt) to hunt for more clothing for the kids. I also got myself a couple of pairs of jeans and 2 hoodies. (If I am wearing one thing when I am buried, I want it to be a hoodie, lol). We went to Toys R' Us last of all. (It was our meeting place, because we split up when I went to look for jeans for myself). I got the boys each a "popgun". They were these cool looking vintage wooden guns with a cork attached to a string that pops out and makes a popping noise. They were only $2.50 each and the boys LOVED them. We headed home at 5:00pm (7 hours later, WOW....all of the kids were so good) and had dinner. We gave Kaitlyn and McKenna a call to see how they were doing (they are still at Garth and Sarah's house). Poor Kaitlyn said she is suffering from a sunburn (lots of swimming), but said they were having fun. It was a fun and productive day. (Oh, and just so everyone knows, I don't usually take pictures of my kids with the shopping bags, but as we were going inside, I thought I should take a quick one to represent today)

Wednesday July 22, 2009

This morning I woke up and wanted to clean up a bit before my sisters came over....well, it must've got me very motivated. I got a lot done in a short amount of time. I had a ton of energy and motivation for some reason. Charity and her kids came over around 11am, and then Chelsea and her kids and Shawna and Michael (my cousin) came over at about 11:30. We lotioned all of the kids and packed them in the vans. We went to the splash park in Airdrie. It was the perfrect day for it, because at 11:30am it was already 26 degrees. The kids had a blast playing in the water, and I kept surprisingly cool by keeping my feet in the water and chatting with my sisters. It was nice to catch up. After being in the water for quite a while, we went to the park right behind the splash park and got out our picnic. We had muffins, watermelon, cantelope, chips, juice and cookies. We found a shady spot and just chatted while the kids had fun playing in the park. Chelsea and them came over for a little bit longer at my house while Charity went home to do a quick clean before they went over to her house. The kids spent the rest of the day playing outside with neighbourhood kids, while I went back to my cleaning frenzy. I got a lot done, and am just sitting down to catch up on my blog and relaxing with some ice cream. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera, so no pics. Maybe I'll snag one from my sisters at a later time.

Tuesday July 21, 2009

This morning we got up and got ready to go to Calaway Park once again. This time we were going with Alex (Grant's sister) and her kids. The kids were happy to have their cousins come with them. They all did really well, and had a fun time. Tyson wasn't feeling very well. He was fine in the morning, then in the car he was looking sleepy. I thought it was just because it was his naptime, but he was pretty much in and out of sleep the whole time we were at the park. We were going to stop at the mall for a bit after we were done at Calaway Park, but decided not to. Tyson started burning up with a fever, and Catcher was having a minor asthma attack. We needed to get home to give him his puffer for some relief. Tyson went to bed right when we got home. Damian went out to play with his friend Julian. Maiya watched cartoons with Catcher. I cleaned a little and edited a few more wedding pics. Grant had a nap and then went out to get the kids McDonalds for dinner. Poor little Maiya started up with a fever just before dinner. I'm not sure if they are really sick or if it is something just passing through. Catcher spent the afternoon sleeping yesterday and was fine today, so I wonder if this is the same sort of thing?! It was a fun and exhausting day. A short entry because I REALLY need to go to sleep.

Monday July 20, 2009

Today was my errands day. Catching up on laundry, editing pictures from the wedding, printing and delivering photos people have ordered, and hanging out with the kids. In the afternoon I took the kids to a park, just to get them out today for a bit and then came home for ice cream to cool them off. I tell you though...Damian makes a new friend wherever he goes. It seems like wherever we are, he is playing with someone new. Today he met a boy about 10 years old and his older brother about 13 and they hit it off right away and went off to play. Well, not much else happened (unless you want me to begin speaking about Tyson and his crazy toddler antics....for example, pouring a bottle of pop into our sugar can. Yeah, that was messy!!!)

Sunday July 19, 2009

So yesterday I had a wedding shoot. I left at 7am to go to the South of Calgary to meet up with the bride for her "Bride Getting Ready" shots. It's always my favourite part. Watching all of the behind the scenes of the preparation for a wedding. The bride was gorgeous, and I Loved her dress. So beautiful. They were very hospitable offering me breakfast and being accomodating. After, we headed over to a church for the actual wedding. I hate downtown Calgary. I had no idea I would need to pay for parking to go inside a church for a wedding. I didn't bring any money with me. So I didn't buy a parking ticket obviously. It ended up that we were inside the church for 20 minutes in total, and by the time I got out to my van....guess who had a blue ticket waving from her windshield. It was $5.00 for the parking, but since I didn't have the money, I got slapped with a $65 ticket. Sheesh!!! Oh well. The actual wedding ceremonies are always my very least favourite part of a wedding. The churches are always dark, and it is pretty boring (but obviously the whole reason for the day). I made my way over to the reception hall back in the Southwest. We went to a park to take some shots. It just so happens that a golf tournament was happening that day, so it was pretty busy. It was very hot as well. +31. There were beautiful arches though. So nice! Then we made our way to the reception. I was entirely exhausted by this point, but they had a nice reception dinner, speeches, dance etc. It was a nice day, but I was so ready to go home afterwards. I came home and got Grant and I subs. I was hungry. Grant spent the day doing things with the kids. He went to Chuck E Cheese with them, and the mall. They each got a shirt (except Maiya got a bathing suit). It sounds like they had a fun day together as well. It's weird not having Kaitlyn and McKenna around the house. I hope they are having a lot of fun with their cousins.

Today was church. Not a very eventful day. Just went to church, came home and relaxed with the kids. Made tacos and salad for dinner, and had a small family home evening. Not much else to say. I have been so tired lately (must be because I am trying to cram alot of things into our very short Alberta summer).

Friday July 17, 2009

This morning I said Goodbye to my eldest girls. They left at 9am with Sarah and their cousins to go visit in Stirling for 2 weeks. I will miss them, but I hope they have a ton of fun and get to know their cousins a lot better. I watched Alex's kids for a bit while she went to the dentist this morning, and then we left to go meet my Mom, Shawna, my cousin Michael, My cousin Crystal and her kids, and my Aunt Debbie at Calaway Park. It was finally a pretty hot day. This July hasn't really felt like summer, but today did. Of course, along with that came exhaustion. I was tired by the end of it all. The kids had fun though, and that is what summer is for. I was more than ready to go home afterwards though. I've been so tired this week. We came home and I made frzen pizzas for dinner (nice n' easy) and the kids are now in the bath (Tyson decided to play in the charcoal left over in our little charcoal pit, ewww so dirty.) This is a pretty short entry, I think I will be going to bed not long after the kids. I have a wedding photoshoot tomorrow which is all day and will be tiring. Especially since it's supposed to be +30 tomorrow. Hopefully I do a great job. I will try to post a sample in my next posting.

Thursday July 16, 2009

So yesterday was Grants b-day (I didn't get a photo of him on his b-day, so I will just insert a photo of him anyways). He turned 33. I made him some cupcakes (we're not really big cake people). Alex and Josh offered to babysit so that we could go out for Grants b-day. We ended up dropping them off in the morning, and Grant and I went to Calaway Park by ourselves. So for once we were going on the "Big People" rides. It was a different experience going without children. We had fun. I felt a little old though because at the end of it all, I had a headache and felt a little queasy and tired. I got Grant some lunch at the mall before we went to Calaway Park (better than buying amusement park food at amusement park prices). We came back home around 3pm to pick up the kids. Then we came home and the kids played while I was doing laundry and getting things packed for the girls trip to Stirling. Grant and I watched the movie "Push" at night, but we were so exhausted that I ended up only watching about 15 minutes of it and I fell asleep. So I can't really say whether it was a good movie or not. Today I went grocery shopping in the morning before Sarah and the girls came. Sarah (my sister in law) and her 4 girls came up to Airdrie to come pick up Kaitlyn and McKenna. They will be visiting with Sarah's family for 2 weeks. I think it will be fun and a great growing experience for them. We went over to Alex and Josh's house for a BBQ so all of the family could hang out. It was fun, and without fail it rained. It seems everytime Alex and I try to have a picnic or BBQ, it rains or is extremely windy or cold. The cousins had a lot of fun being together though. After the BBQ, we came home to get the kids ready for bed. After they were all settled, Sarah and Alex and I went out to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and to just hang out and chat. It was a great time to hang out. Sarah and I came home and hung out for a little bit before bed as Keira wasn't feeling well. They are sleeping over, and leaving for Stirling in the morning.

Tuesday July 14, 2009

Today we needed to get out of the house. It was another grey, rainy spring day in JULY!!!! These sorts of days make me so tired, and the kids get bored. We lazed around all morning, not doing much of anything exciting. Around noon, we went to Chuck E Cheese. The Sherlock family came with us. The kids had lots of fun. It was pretty crazy!! I guess everyone else had the same idea as us. Rain + bored kids = Chuck E Cheese. I really have no idea why we get almost "0" summer here. It's very sad. It seems like when it is a nice day, you have to squeeze in all of the fun outdoor things so you don't miss a second of it. After Chuck E Cheese, we stopped by the Petland to look at the pets. The kids love doing that. Kaitlyn and McKenna went over to Alex's house to play for a bit after that. They love going over there. Alex is just so nice to my kids. I did a bit of grocery shopping, the kids played outside for a bit (it got nicer around dinnertime), and that was pretty much our day. I was so tired the whole day. I think I need to go to bed early tonight. Grant is going to see the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" with Caleb tonight. I would love to go see it too, but can't tonight. Who would want to babysit at midnight??, lol.

Monday July 13, 2009

Okay, so consistency apparently is not a strong suit of mine. We have been having a blast this summer. Lots going on all of the time it seems. I'm not even going to attempt recalling it all here. I will, however, tell you all about this past weekend. It was very eventful. It all started on Thursday night with a phone call from Grant. He called me using a police officers cell phone. Yah, I know...creepy. Then he tells me I need to come pick him up at the side of the road in Calgary. It turns out that he was pulled over by a cop because his stickers on his plates were old (he thought they were good until October of this year, but it turns out that they expired last October). As he was being pulled over his tire popped and he had a flat tire now at the side of the road. So in a matter of minutes we had a tire to replace, a ticket to pay and some stickers to buy. They always say bad things come in 3's, LOL! So I got the kids out of the bath and drove down to Calgary to give him his spare tire (which happened to be sitting in our garage for some reason). I didn't think we would be able to make it to my Mom's for the weekend..but Grant didn't want us to miss out, so he drove on that little donut tire (the spare) for the weekend.
We went to my parents place on Friday morning. As soon as we got there, my Mom said we should hit the beach before it gets crowded. It was such a gorgeous day. So sunny and warm. We played there for a long time (it was a man made body of water with a nicely combed sandy beach surrounding it). They bought the kids each a beach toy and we brought our lunch there. My cousin Michael is visiting from Ontario, so he came with us as well as Aunt Shawna (my sister) and my Grandma McVeity. I loved being there. I miss the water in Ontario, and this was so nice.
After that we all got packed up and went home. Poor Kaitlyn was SO burnt on her back. I put sunscreen all over all of the kids, but for some reason her back still got really burnt. Michael and Shawna also got burnt pretty good (but they were trying to get a tan). My Dad barbecued us up some dinner (delicious!!) Perfect meal for the type of day we were having. After dinner we decided to take the kids to the splash park near my Mom's house to let them use up a bit more energy. The kids had a blast, and I was having such fun watching them be so happy. After we were all done at the splash park, my Mom took us to a park near her house to play. We were there until 8:30pm. You would think that after such a crazy fun and draining day, they would all come home and be exhausted and want to sleep. Nope! We layed out a bunch of sleeping bags on my parents livingroom floor, and all of the kids layed on those and we put a movie on for them. They were still awake at 11pm, but fell asleep just after that. Such a fun day! In the morning we all got up and got ready to go to a stampede pancake breakfast in Okotoks. We got there early because my cousin Jennie was in a band that would be playing there, so we wanted to get good seats. They had lots to do there. There was a big bouncy castle, mini putt, a fishing game (candy prizes) A clown walking around talking to the kids and making balloon animals, a petting zoo, a horse drawn hayride, face painting, a live band, a magic show, and of course a pancake breakfast. And all of it was free. The band was good and fun to listen to. The magic show (put on by a clown named "Doo Doo") was fun for the kids. Damian got called up to be a helper, he was so happy about that. He got his very own magic wand to keep for helping out. It was a great time. Afterwards, we headed back to my parents house to have some lunch and hang out for a bit. At 2:30pm we decided it was time to leave. We needed to get home and prepare for Sunday. I was so glad we were able to go visit family this weekend, and that they made it such fun for us to be there.
On Sunday, we went to church. It's our second Sunday in our new ward. Oh yeah, I didn't write about that yet. Our ward was split because it was way too huge. So I am still in Airdrie 2nd Ward, but the ward itself has changed dramatically. A lot of the young families that were in our ward are now in the new branch. We also got some of the people from first ward to add to our group. It will be fun getting to know them all. I went from a nursery of 35 kids, to a nursery with about 10. It is so much easier. Grant got called as the Sunday School President. I know he will do well at it. I had a nice time in church and met a few new people. After church we came home and I made some chocolate cheesecake brownies. We went over to the Adams home for a dessert night, and the kids had a lot of fun playing there and especially on their big trampoline in their backyard. Even some of the adults got in on the action. Morgan Kyle was jumping around on it while Grant was sitting down on it holding onto his knees. It was hilarious. Grant looked like a mexican jumping bean being tossed all over the place. Unfortunately this morning, he woke up with a very sore neck from it. It was a fun night with great friends. Today I mainly cleaned house, and the kids helped. It was rainy outside so Damian had a friend over to play. Grant worked at Chilis tonight, and he has the rest of the week off. Hopefully we can do some fun things this week together. Kaitlyn got to go swimming at the rec centre with her friend Alex. Not much happened today. Just a lot of catching up. Hopefully this week is pleasant. So far July has felt more like spring. It's been raining a lot. We didn't get much rain in June, so I guess it is just making up for that. I will try my best to post more :)

Wednesday June 3, 2009

Wow! Life just speeds past for me! Has it already been a week since my last post?? So much going on. It's been just gorgeous outside for the past while, and I am LOVING it so much!!! I have been going to parks, walks and just hanging out in the yard as much as possible with the kids. Well, my mind is failing me as to things that happened in the past week (that's why I should be doing this daily, LOL) This past Friday night, Grant and I went out for a night of bowling and dinner with friends. We were late for the bowling because of Grants work times, and picking up a babysitter etc. but we watched and chatted, which is always fun with these friends :) We went with the Adams, Kyles and Siakaluks. After the bowling we went to a restaurant called "Mr. Mikes" and hung out for a bit. Yummy! We went out for Dairy Queen afterwards and hung out at the Adams house for a whie. Kaitlyn is enjoying the co-babysitting thing. I mean, who wouldn't?? She gets the treats and to stay up later than the rest of the kids. On Saturday morning I dropped off the kids at Alex's house for a bit while I went out for a photoshoot. It was a family with 2 cute twin girls. They were 2 years old, so definitely on the move constantly, but adorable none the less. Yesterday (Tuesday) I took Catcher to the walk in clinic. He has been pretty wheezy lately and was having constant cough attacks for about a day and a half. I was concerned that maybe it was asthma. They checked him up and gave him an xray. They said it's possible that he could have asthma, or it could just be really tight airways at the moment. They gave him some puffers and said just to keep an eye on it. The puffers really helped him out. Today I took the kids to the library to return some books and get some new ones. The little kids love going there. We read a book at dinner every night that we got from the library. I find it keeps them quiet, interested and less fighting, plus some time to read together as a family. We have also begun reading our scriptures as a family every morning before Grant leaves for work. We have not been very good at doing that for a long time, so hopefully this will become a good habit. The kids are outside playing with the hose right now. They are pouring it down our plastic slide to make it like a waterslide. Fun stuff!!! Grant is going to be helping the Siakaluks to move tonight for a bit (they are moving right across the street from their old house for now). After that we will probably enjoy some relaxation time. We like to put our feet up and watch movies together. So relaxing!

Wednesday May 27, 2009

So I guess this has become my weekly journal rather than daily, haha! I guess my ambitions were running faster than reality for me. Life gets busy, but I think it's important for me to keep writing things down. Even the seemingly mundane things, I think I will appreciate them in years to come.
So lots has happened in a week. Maiya turned 4 officially on the 20th, and I turned 31 on the 21st. My friend Carrie took me out for lunch for my birthday and Rose also joined us. We went to Mr. Mikes. The food there was great and I got free dessert because it was my b-day. Grant took me out to dinner at my favourite restaurant in the evening (East Side Marios). I love it there. I never seem to get tired of it, and I usually order the exact same thing every time. Alex babysat for us while we went. On the Friday Grant and I went over to Carrie and Tyler Adams house for a couples games night with friends. It was fun, and the food was yummy as usual (gee, I seem to focus on food a lot). On the Saturday I went yard saling in the morning. There was a big community yard sale. So fun. I bought Damian a great bike (he was growing out of his other bike) and a pair of sandals and a magna doodle (love those). It was fun. Carrie and Sue came by on my b-day to give me a gift basket for my b-day. I got a new watch from them and a bunch of yummy treats. I have the best friends ever. Sunday was a nice day at church. It was also gorgeous outside, so we had a BBQ at Josh and Alex's house afterwards. Such a nice day for it. It was fun. We all sat outside in camp chairs and the kids played in the sandbox and stuff. Monday we had Grant around during the day, so we went for a walk to the park and then I went out for a photoshoot of the Kyle family in the afternoon.
Grant started training for his new job as the Store Manager of Town Shoes. He has 8 weeks of training ahead of him I went to Nose Creek Park and met up with Carrie to let the kids play for a while. When Grant got home at night I left to go grocery shopping. We watched "The Day the Earth Stood still" together. Today I went to the park in the morning with Sue, Carrie, Valene and all of our kids. We had a picnic there and let the kids play while we chatted. So fun, and what a great day for it. Afterwards we went home and my visiting teachers stopped by. It was too nice outside to be indoors, so we sat in the yard in the camp chairs and watched the kids play while we chatted. I always get such great visiting teachers. Well, the kids should be getting home soon, but I thought I should catch up on my blog a bit here.

Monday May 18, 2009

This was a very busy,but fun long weekend. On Saturday morning we got the kids all ready in their matching yellow shirts (this was so it would be easier to keep track of them, and it worked out well. You could see them from a mile away). It was funny how much outside attention the yellow shirts brought though. When we were at the gate showing our passes, the lady said "Aww, look at the adorable family in the yellow shirts. You guys look like sunshine" hahahaha!!! Also while we were walking around the park, people kept stopping me to ask me if "all of those kids in the yellow shirts were mine" lol. It was a gorgeous day outside for the grand opening. Bright, sunny and +26. I guess everyone else thought so too, because it was packed!! Grant played some of the games with the kids (they are only allowed to do this once or twice a season because it gets expensive and I hate having a million stuffies strewn throughout the house). They enjoyed them. It was a fun time, we look forward to going back many times this summer. When we got home Grant got McDonalds for dinner. It was nice to not have to cook. McKenna went to her friend, Isabella's house to play until bedtime. We also witnessed a fire. The kids called me from outside saying they saw a fire. I thought maybe it was a bonfire, but then I went out and the sky was filled with huge black clouds of smoke. Grant, Kaitlyn and Damian went to go check things out. They said that one house completely burned down, they saw the roof cave and the car that had been inside the garage melt, it went on to brn half of another house down as well as touching one house behind it. No one got hurt, but those poor people. What a horrible thing. I heard it started because of a BBQ and a propane tank that got knocked over. How horrible.
Sunday was another nice day. It was beautiful weather, nursery was smaller and therefore much less stressful, and we had Maiya's b-day party. She turns this week. We had a family party on Sunday at Nose Creek Park. It was beautiful out (though windy). We just let the kids play at the park, had some desserts, let her open her presents from everyone and just chatted. Caleb and Meg brought Sammie (their puppy) and the kids had a blast with him (except for Catcher who avoids dogs at all costs). Maiya had a very fun day. Damian ended up sleeping over at Draytons house and we took Reese to sleep over at our house. Caleb came back to play videogames and Meg and I went and attempted doing a quick shoot with Tyson and Sammie, but it turned horrible out. It was extremely strong winds and it dropped dramatically in temperature. I didn't end up getting much of a shot in. Oh well. That brings us to today!! I woke up to SNOW!!!! How dumb is that?? Yesterday like +22 and this morning 0 degrees! Sheesh! It was definitely not a day for playing outside. We had a slow start to our day. I ended up taking Reese home at noon and bringing Damian back home. We had a bit of a catch up day again for cleaning. They all helped out. McKenna went to Isabella's house again to play. We just had an in house day today. Well I am tired and am excited to just sit back and relax (that's what night times are for right?!)

Friday May 15, 2009

Sheesh, I stink at doing this everyday. Oh well, I guess some is better than none. Soon Wednesday I went to the public library with the kids to finally get a library card. I have been living here for 3 years, and just decided to get one. I took Catcher, Maiya and Tyson with me. They enjoyed sitting in the kids section and looking through all sorts of books. I let them pick 2 of their own each to bring home to read. We picked up a bunch of fun books, including "Morris the Moose" books, which totally reminds me of my Dad. He always got a kick out of those books. Later on, Kaitlyn and McKenna went to activity days at the church. They were doing baby blankets as a service project. Charity called me up at the last second and invited me to go to the movies with her. We went to see "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past". So that was fun! I got a call while we were driving, from a guy who wants me to do promotional photos for his band. I still have to work out details. We seem to keep missing eachother. On Thursday Damian got to do In Line Skating at school which he was very excited about. I didn't realize Grant had the day off, and had planned a picnic with some friends. It ended up being a yucky day for it weather-wise. Grant went grocery shopping while I took the kids over to Sue's house. It was cold, and rainy so we just hung out along with Carrie. Carrie and I were so tired, but as usual I love hanging out with Sue and Carrie. They are a ton of fun, and great friends. The kids had a great time playing at Sues. They loved all of their toys. When we left, Catcher said "Can we go back one day?..they have awesome toys". Well, I am tired while I am writing this, so I will move on to today. It was gorgeous outside in the morning. I went outside with Maiya to take a few photos of her (here's one sample):

It was then that I realized how gorgeous it was outside, and decided to take the kids on a walk to Mac's (convenience store). Grant left for work, and we headed over to Alex's house. We picked up Ethan so he could walk with us. We got a bunch of frosters and went back to Alex's house and visited for a bit. They were in the process of getting ready to go down to visit Garth and Sarah. We left when we started feeling tiny raindrops. I really didn't want to get caught in the rain on the way home with the kids. After school, Charity came over. We visited for about an hour. The kids played outside for quite a while. I went out shopping for a few things for tomorrow when we go to Calaway Park. The kids are so excited. Hopefully the weather is nice!

Tuesday May 12, 2009

I was tired ALL day today. Just completely groggy. Kaitlyn got up early to go to floor hockey, which meant I was up earlier than usual as well. McKenna also needed to leave earlier to do some PAT test or something (forget what it's called, but all of the third graders in Alberta do it). McKenna also got to do inline skating at school today. So she was excited for that. Grant and I took the kids to wal mart today, just to get out of the house together. We bought a yellow shirt for each of our kids. We wanted to get them for when we go to Calaway Park this year. I prefer my kids to be easily identified in such a large setting. We are going to go this weekend if the weather is good. It is the Grand opening. The kids are very excited about that. Grant and Tyson napped when we got home. The grey weather totally killed me today. I am a person who does not take naps, but I was needing one today. Finally I decided to just let Catcher and Maiya play video games while I went down for a nap while Tyson was down....alas, the world seems to need me when I actually try to take one. I laid down and was instantly falling asleep when I hear Maiya calling from the livingroom "Mom, MOM...where are you???" then running down the hall saying it loudly. I was like "Sshh...Maiya, I am in here. I'm trying to take a short nap and Tyson is sleeping, so you need to be quiet". She left. I then proceeded to fall asleep...5 minutes later, Catcher comes running in..."Mom ,I need....". I can't even remember what he wanted, but I was like..."Just wait until I get a little nap". Fell asleep again....phone rings. Aaahh!!!! The phone proceeded to ring 2 more times apart from that.. and when that was done, Tyson woke up. Maybe this is why naps leave me more tired than I was before. Sheesh! Grant left for work and the kids came home after that. Kaitlyn came home asking if she was allowed to have a boyfriend. A boy in her class is interested in her, and was hoping to ask her out. Yikes! Am I ready for this? I said no, not until she is older. I did say that she was welcome to hang out with this boy with her friends and things though. She asked about "making out" with boys...Aaaahhhh!!! I said "No. This is not the right time for that. She needs to mature more. When did my baby grow to this point already?? It's like a blink of an eye! Before I know it, she will be off and married. Well, I am just going to put my feet up and relax. I'm going to watch the movie "Taken". Though it looks like an intense movie, so I don't know how relaxing that will be. It looks interesting though.