The Dick Family

Family Pictures

2012-01-05T19:18:00.004-07:00

Back in October Melissa did our Family Pictures! I am SO happy with them...the kids were SO good and they smiled and looked at the camera and we just enjoyed a moment together, rather than Daniel and I yelling at the kids and them complaining the whole time...it was a huge welcome...my kids must be growing up!

This first image is now a HUGE 24x36 canvas hanging in my living room that

I look at each day and LOVE!

(ps - blogger must hate photographers because the quality of these uploads are BRUTAL)!

Ring in the New

2012-01-05T18:58:00.002-07:00

The last day of 2011 was spent celebrating with friends and family, playing games and visiting!

The kids wanted to stay up to witness the changing of the year, so we watched a countdown on the TV in our room in our PJ's. The clock turned to 12:00, we kissed, celebrated and as the clock changed to 12:01 I do believe we were all tucked into bed ;)

Christmas

2012-01-05T17:38:00.001-07:00

Where to begin...

Christmas really did start off during the last week of school before break.

Daniel and I realized that Keira had never went to visit Santa...so at the age of 4 we took her for her first visit. Unfortunately for Jason he had to get in on the action too (he was so embarrassed).

I can't believe that we never took her before and actually felt a little bad about that. She didn't seem to mind though and actually could have cared less, so I guess that was my own guilt that needed to be fed rather than her deep desire to visit the man in red.

Jason had written to the big man (Santa that is) at school and was surprised to get a reply in the mail a few days later. He was assured that Rudolph was doing well.

Jeremy and Becca were heading to Mexico for Christmas so they had a Christmas Party before they headed. It was a ton of fun with games and great food. Jason learned a new game (Stratego) and loved it so much that Dan and I decided it needed to be an addition on Christmas.

We made some new recipes and did some Christmas baking. This picture is of the Cinnamon Bun Popcorn that we made and let me tell you - YUMMY TO THE TUMMY! It is so good!

We attended our Ward Christmas Breakfast this year, which was a hoot! They had pancakes for all and some fun songs and games. The kids with the best Christmas socks won prizes. We definitely are fans of Christmas Ward Breakfasts and will advocate for another for next year!

Granny Jo celebrated a birthday prior to Christmas and we all headed out to join in the festivities.

Santa Claus wrote to Jason & Keira and bestowed a magical key to them to hang on the door each Christmas Eve for only Santa to gain access into our home...because we don't have a chimney Santa was really thinking this year ;)

Jason's school Christmas Concert was a success this year...no fat Santa songs like last year!

Jason was pretty proud of himself because he was also in choir this year, so he had 4 different songs to participate in and he had done well memorizing all the words and performed well.

Granny Jo, Nana, Pa, Great Grandma Elgert and Auntie Bobean all were in

attendance and Jason loved that!

We went caroling with some people from our church. We went to a few different senior homes and sang our hearts out.

Then finally the long awaited holiday came!!! We all headed out to Nana & Pa's house on Christmas Eve. We celebrated with our traditional Italian Feast of 12 dishes...er ummm, maybe like 25 this year, no one counted and the dishes just kept coming! The food was FABULOUS.

We have started no doing gifts (probably the last 3-4 years) and the adults participate in a Chinese Gift Exchange, which is always a hoot. Daniel and I scored some high quality merchandize!

We also played some fun games and the kids acted out the Nativity. This year it was a lot better than last because the kids are getting old enough to remember the story and remember what each character in the story is supposed to do. Somehow I ended up in the wise man costume (again) and Melissa played in integral part in the play (the sheep and camel).

The kids opened a Christmas Eve gift of games and then the Sandman came with their PJ's. Jason and Keira got robes as well this year and Jason and Keira were THRILLED beyond words with them...they had wanted robes for years, but they are hard to find...but I happened upon them in Costco one day back in October and snatched them up. All through Christmas Jason kept his on and made many comments about how much he loved his. He even made a few comments about how he was really going to enjoy his robe in the mornings when he was eating breakfast and reading the newspaper...haha...I think my kids watch too much TV!

We made it home JUST in the nick of time (thanks to the iphone tracker) to get some Santa snacks out and hang the key on the doorknob...

The kids climbed into bed and were sleeping in seconds!

The next morning the kids awoke to their Santa Gifts and stockings!

After the kids went through their stockings and gifts we got all dolled up for Church and headed over for the sacrament meeting Christmas presentation.

It was a really nice way to celebrate the birth of the Savior. The music was beautiful and the messages simple and reverent.

We came home, put our PJ's BACK ON and stayed that way for the day! We enjoyed gift opening, breakfast pizza (YUM), and a nap (OH YEAH)!

We played some new Wii games, watched some movies and ate a roast beef dinner. It was an AWESOME way to celebrate the day...quite, just our family and enjoying some things that we don't normally get to enjoy when running from family to family.

Boxing Day started off with crepes made by my super hot hubby and we invited the Caputo Family over to partake. Normally crepes are a Christmas Day tradition, but this year with Church in the morning we decided to move it over to Boxing Day.

We played games and had a nice visit with everyone. After everyone left to their various festivities we headed out to the Dick Family to see everyone and visit.

Uncle Travis took the kids on a "sleigh" ride, which lasted hours and the kids had a blast. We enjoyed MUCH good food and visiting. Most of the cousins were there (minus the E gang who are in Halifax this year) and everyone was getting along and having a blast.

That about sums up the actual "Christmas" part of our break...the rest of the break was spent watching movies, bowling, tobogganing, swimming, playing Wii, and visiting family.

Below is our Christmas Letter that I sent out...I wanted to include it since it is a family update.

2011 On The Fly

Keira

Ms. Sassy Pants Princess turned 4 years old in January. She pretty much runs the place, I mean doesn’t the saying go “those who scream the loudest win?!”

Keira loves animals and until August (when we moved) her daily routine was to help Pa with the chores and torment...I mean love all the animals. She is a wild child but so very sweet and loving too.

She is a real princess, her days consist of wearing copious amounts of pink, playing with her stuffed puppies, having tea parties, attending Ballet class, and all with a plastic crown on her head.

She should have went to Kindergarten in September, despite the fact she would have been the youngest in the class because she is “bored, bored, bored” in her words and I try very hard to occupy her time with fun learning things, but it doesn’t seem to work!

She loves to make special notes for all the family with glitter glue and stickers and hand deliver them with hugs and kisses. She also just recently started scrap booking and “crafts up a storm” in her words...or mine, I can’t remember who said it first!

Jason

Our second grader keeps us on our toes! His favorite thing is making maps of either real locations or making up his own worlds. He also loves looking at his Atlas he got for his birthday, charting his large wall map and playing the “Guess what continent I’m thinking about” game with his globe...

He also recently (on his birthday) discovered his LOVE for lego!!! He and Dan (because some times it’s a bit tricky) spent countless hours building the perfect fighter jet, tank and army compound (thank goodness for step by step instructions)!

Jason had a very successful first year at Baseball. He started out very much a Rookie and by the end was hitting the ball and catching. By next year I’m sure he’ll have improved that much more! He also tried his hand at Basketball on the Community League. Though he didn’t have much face time with the ball he put his heart and soul into it!

Jason does exceptionally well at so many things, he makes us smile with his witty humour and keeps us shaking our heads...or running for google with his questions and comments.

Daniel & Amanda

Let’s just say busy is an understatement! Daniel was called into the Bishopric at church, which means lots of time away from the family. He is still teaching math at WCHS. He continues to coach Track and Field, Tennis & Volleyball. During the summer he worked like a mad man trying to finish up the many contracting jobs that he was offered. He worked every single day he could and it still wasn’t enough. He ended up having to finish up some jobs during the school year in September and October during the weekends and holidays.

Daniel also has been working for the last year on the process to change careers. He was accepted to do his Air Traffic Control and school will start in May!

Pretty much we embrace ALL the time we get with him and think he’s pretty awesome!

We moved away from Nana & Pa in August, a whole 15 minutes away. We decided we needed to grow up and move away from home! The kids had a hard time because what kid doesn’t want to live with Nana & Pa?!

We finished up Mom & Dad’s home just in time to renovate our own place! Dan & I bought a house in Wetaskiwin in August. It has so much potential, but it needs much in the way of renovations. We are slowly doing projects, not as insane as when we renovated Mom and Dad’s, but renos none the less. It’s fun to do, and somehow after two entire years of renovations we both seem to really enjoy these projects together... and shockingly enough still really enjoy each other!

When I’m not painting, renovating, sewing, cleaning, cooking, teaching Keira pre-school, doing my calling at church, running kids to and from school, yard work, babysitting my nephews, doing my more full-time than part-time job at Chicks That Click, and running the kids to their lessons and “extras”, I really enjoy...sleeping...yes, sleeping is my new “spare time”.

With Daniel & I so busy in the summer we made a list of day trips to do in the summer with the kids and whenever we could we took the day and enjoyed some much needed family time. We went to the beach, walked through Jurassic Forest, learned new things at the Museum, went fishing with Pa the rest of the crew and (always the kids favorite) had a few staycations and went swimming!

We’re looking forward to 2012! We wish you all a Wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Favorites

2011-12-27T23:38:00.002-07:00

Gingerbread House Sleepover

2011-12-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Nana & Pa host a Gingerbread house making day each year and they finish with a sleepover for the grand kids, sleeping around the Christmas tree!

We had a lot of fun creating houses and making bigger and better designs!

Nana and Pa are so awesome to do this, Jason & Keira LOVE it and all the rest of the grand kids think it's pretty great too!

The kids all slept around the tree upstairs in their new PJ's (from Nana & Pa) and enjoyed Christmas movies and animal shaped pancakes in the morning compliments of Pa!

Daniel and I enjoyed an evening out on a date and went for our favorite sushi and our (it seems that it's ours) sushi spot!

Setting up the tree

2011-12-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

On December 1 we set up the tree.

Most years we spend the evening telling the kids to stop touching things and getting into stuff while we do all the setting up and getting ready...we are often grumpy before we even get the decorations started...This year, to avoid the impatience and grumpiness I set up the tree and put the lights on it the day before...

I LOVED this new arrangement. The kids came in, decorated up a storm with smiles and Dan and I were able to just watch and enjoy!

We also read a great Christmas Story called "Teach the Children" a must read!

crafting...

2011-11-20T21:59:00.001-07:00

I think that these posts are always hilarious...I laugh my butt off with each one I see...

I wanted to add one of my very own crafts to the "club"

Halloween Overload

2011-11-03T17:06:00.001-06:00

Our Halloween Decor - compliments of Jason & Keira!

Pumpkin Carving!

I made our costumes (minus Keira's which we got off Ebay for $20.00) this year! It was so fun to dress up together! Jason LOVED that he and Daniel were Mario & Luigi!!

Nana & Pa came trick or treating to our house (which was fun for the kids) and the kids LOVED that they got dressed up! Then they stayed and handed out candy at our house (which was nice for me a real treat) and I was able to go out with the rest of the Mario Party!

Lincoln, Dorian and Connor came and trick or treated from our house up the street too!

Nana, Pa & all the kids after trick or treating!

For lunch & supper we ate Halloween themed meals (in our pathetic attempt). We had mummy dogs for supper, caramel apples & ghost pizzas

Melissa also came out and brought a bag full of Halloween crafts for the kids to do! They had a great time creating all afternoon!

gotta love pinterest

2011-11-03T16:34:00.001-06:00

I decided that if I was going to spend hours on pinterest I had to actually MAKE/DO the things that I "pin".

So far I've spent a great deal of time pinning...

I had a bit of time to create last week so I decided to put that pinning to good use and I did a project!

In my kitchen there is a wall to wall, floor to ceiling open shelf/ wall unit.

BEFORE

MID-WAY

ALMOST

DONE - we finished it a couple weeks ago by putting the doors on, new hardware and some more shelves.

But I just wanted it to have a little more going on than just dishes!! So I made this shelf display the other day! I got the quote off pinterest (which I thought was perfect for my kitchen). I used some left over wood from that crate I made for my front step and made the wooden "thing"...then I sewed up a little banner and in less than an hour it was done! I love it!

today...

2011-10-29T22:50:00.000-06:00

FINALLY! We've had a plaid fitted sheet hanging across our window since we moved in on August 19...it's about time!

I made some ruffle curtains for our bedroom, which I'm loving! I should have taken a picture with them open too...they are so cute!

There was a LOT of serging that went into making these bad boys I tell you...HOURS!

PS - I had to fold about 4 baskets of laundry and put them away, make my bed, find my throw pillows, clean up about half of the kids toys that get drug into our room, and install a curtain rod and hang curtains all to take this picture...it was worth it!

Toronto

2011-10-21T19:07:00.001-06:00

While thrift store shopping last week Jason found a Canadian Encyclopaedia from the 90's. He spent HOURS in his room reading and then telling us the facts he had learnt.

On Saturday he was busily gathering up all the recycling materials he could get his hands on and before too long he called me down stairs for an oral presentation on the City of Toronto! haha!

I wish I would have had my video camera of the actual "presentation" because it was priceless!!!

Here's my little video showing his work.

This girl...

2011-10-21T18:49:00.002-06:00

I tell you, the things that this girl says make me either laugh my butt off or shrug my shoulder!

One of her favorite activities is to tote around the old day timer (that I gave her from 2009) and do her "work".

The other day she had set up a little office in her room and as I was walking down the hall I could hear her saying over and over "I'm trying to get my priorities".

Silly Girl!

2011-10-21T18:44:00.000-06:00

I took a break last week from my renos and Melissa and I had a little fun at her house.

We went to Goodwill and bought the white bench/table for $9.00 and spray painted it white...added some super cute throw pillows from Walmart and wa-la (is that a word) made a super cute

bench for her front step.

She created her wreath from inspiration and it all tied together so nicely!

The wreath is scrap booking paper, buttons and chipboard. Her front step is covered so there wasn't a concern of weather elements.

Then inside the house she has these ledges everywhere. They were partially decorated and she really liked pieces from the existing decor, so we used those plus added some more thrift store finds and we love the SHABBY CHIC look that was created!

Here is the breakdown! Man we are loving the Goodwill store these days!

The LOVE wooden blocks are MDF board painted, scrapbook paper glued on and then vinyl letters cut using the cricut to the size we wanted. We also spray painted most of the frames (from Dollarama) and added some vintage type scrapbook paper to complete the look.

Minute to Win it - Caputo Style

2011-10-21T18:33:00.002-06:00

Posting all these videos was VERY time consuming! HOLA!

This post is mostly for family (so they can watch the videos)...but feel free to laugh along with us.

For the September birthdays on the Caputo side we decided to combine all the dates into 1 killer party. We planned a Minute to Win It game night (games provided by Keith & Melissa) and we had yummy appetizer style food to go with.

It was a super fun night, and pretty easy to organize because Minute to Win it games are done using common household products.

Jason did the "decorating"

Videos below are from most of the games - enjoy!

PS - The theme for myself this night seemed to be cookies...hmmm

fall banner

2011-10-07T14:24:00.003-06:00

I made a fall banner and thought it "made" my little area!

crafting

2011-10-06T13:54:00.003-06:00

I took a break from home reno's and made a few things this week. I made curtains for the kids rooms. I LOVE how Keira's turned out, I used this tutorial to make them. SO CUTE!

I needed SOMETHING to put my fall decor on my front step, so I made a crate out of some left over barn wood I had kicking. It was the first time I had actually used power tools by myself (without Daniel doing while I "helped") I measured, cut, air nailed, etc. I was pretty proud of myself.

YES, it is a box...but I'd never made one before! haha!

It needs a little more something, something on my front step, so I think a trip to Walmart tonight may fix that problem!

Family Town = Family Fun Night?!

2011-09-27T20:45:00.001-06:00

Jason is ...special...unique...gifted...OCD...I love the kid I do, but sometimes he's quite...well, Jason!

He got this idea to make a game. He worked on it all day. In the evening he presented the game to us and invited us all to play. It had many, many rules that for some reason kept changing to suit his needs. Maybe it was because we were all still barely over the flu at this point, or maybe it was the calibre of the game, but regardless of our emotional/physical well being it was LONG and involved.

Again, I repeat, I love this kid!

No other game do you get to "steel an IPOD" and visit the Queen all in one sitting!

Livingroom - After

2011-09-24T15:15:00.002-06:00

My new favorite room in the house!

2 days of jam

2011-09-20T21:11:00.002-06:00

I bought 2 - 18lb boxes of Peaches - great deal!

I thought I'd make up some jam and spread the love by giving jars away to family members.

Mom bought 2 - 18lb boxes of Peaches - same great deal!

Dad thought I should help Mom out during her insanely busy week by

making jam - I was more than happy to say yes!

Moral of the story...Mom, don't buy your own peaches next time, I was going to give you jam!

I'm 100% certain that 72 jars of peach jam will be enough for both of us ;)

more house - stuff I forgot

2011-09-20T21:04:00.001-06:00

I do believe I forgot to post before pictures of the kids rooms...there wasn't anything special or ubber ugly about them, but we painted them the kids preferred colors (keira pink and purple and Jason blue) and then we put closet organizers in and organized all their things. Jason's room needed a lot more shelves and things because he's got so much he always wants to put on display ;)

Last week I got the kitchen cabinet doors installed (after painting them) and Daniel put the new hardware on...it looks awesome!

I organized the back entry way (a basket for each of us). All the baskets/hanging thing were free with my PC points. Note that I haven't painted or taken off the wall paper here...BOO!

Back to School

2011-09-06T11:05:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day of Grade 2! Jason was pretty excited and nervous all at the same time. Last night he said "Mom, if the first day of school doesn't go very good, don't worry, there's always the second day of school!"

He didn't know who his teacher was or who was in his class, but he did know that his best friend wasn't in his class, which was pretty heart breaking for a 7 year old!

He did awesome though when we got to the class room, he found his desk and locker, met his teacher and put on a brave face! Man I love this kid!

I always do a little note in his lunch kit, I thought I'd do a little something more for the first day. If your kids are "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" fans you'll understand...Jason thinks that this is HILARIOUS are writes out this comic strip all the time!

Updated

2011-09-05T21:49:00.004-06:00

BLOGGIN' UP A STORM:

Every day life - click HERE
Home Before Pictures - click HERE
Home Reno Pictures - click HERE
Jason's 7th Birthday - click HERE
Some times we have fun - click HERE and HERE

more fun had

2011-09-05T21:45:00.004-06:00

More fun with the kids...more crappy pictures from a camera phone!

On the list the kids made (at the beginning of the summer we asked the kids what they wanted to do this summer and we made a list and have been slowly working on those items) they said they wanted to go to Lets Play...so we did! We took Dorian and Lincoln with us. We picked the loudest, busiest day EVER because there was a daycare there, but the kids still had a fun time!

Sometimes we do fun stuff...

2011-09-05T21:39:00.001-06:00

So I don't always work...we do fun stuff occasionally...

I have a 7 year old

2011-09-05T14:12:00.002-06:00

DISCLAIMER: You will note that in order to blog and keep up with life I am no longer taking good pictures...haha. I have resorted to a point and shoot camera, without editing and/or my BrUTAL camera phone. One day when life slows down I will take pictures for fun again.

So Jason turned 7 in August! He wanted a spy themed birthday. So the day after moving in I whipped together a "spy themed" birthday (for the family because I didn't quite get it that together to invite guests).

He started out the day be receiving an envelope which he had to de-code to find out our first mission (or activity).

He packed some "spy gadgets"

Here he is decoding on our way up to Edmonton.

He decoded that we were going to the Telus World of Science - SO FUN! He loved the Science Experiments and the movie about the solar system.

Dorian, Lincoln, Nana and Grandpa came too.

We headed around the City doing different activities (that Jason had to decode) and finally ended up at Nana & Pa's house. We had supper, which Jason picked...perogies and rice...

I made spy packs for the kids and they played with them for a bit:

Then we had cake and presents - disappointed there wasn't a spy cake, but he loved the Pokeman cake anyway!

Highlight of the day had to be getting the globe and Atlas!

My 7 year old! I LOVE YOU!

House "part-way there" pictures the never ending story

2011-09-05T13:57:00.000-06:00

No more 70's shelf by the door (I think I pulled it out 20 minutes after the realtor left).

No more BRUTAL wall paper and mirror wall - Jason and I took wall paper all day!

No more yellow floral tiles painted over with white paint...

No more glued on tile onto the cabinets.

No more mirror wall.

We ended up having to scrap off all the stipple on all the ceilings and then paint the ceilings and re-stipple...so fun, so dirty...my arm still hurts!

Daniel's family came the Monday after we got the house and helped clean up the yard! No more straw, old buildings, sticks, etc. LOVE IT!

Painting commences...Keith & Melissa came to help one day (THANK YOU).

My new favorite color - GREY!

The kids wanted to paint their names on the walls before I started painting!

On my birthday Mom and Melissa took pity on me and came and painted the first coat on the cabinet bases (shelves) - THANK YOU!!!

2 coats later!

Doors drying in the garage...they looks so much better. I'm letting them cure for 3 days before I put hardware on and put them up.

Still needed for the kitchen:

BACKSPLASH
COUNTERTOP
APPLIANCES

House BEFORE pictures

2011-09-05T13:16:00.001-06:00

This is minutes after getting the keys...nothing changed, nothing painted. Daniel and I wanted to document the official BEFORE pictures, because on our last project we forgot the befores and only did "part-way theres".

This is street view.

If you take a very close look you will note the vegetation growing in the eaves...next year I might try lettuce ;)

Back yard...patchy grass, straw everywhere, sticks, etc. Lovely...blaaa!

Standing in the livingroom looking at the kitchen...green everywhere

Dining room "area"

Closer look at the green cabinets with tile glued onto them...seriously...tile glued onto the tile as well.

Kitchen window coverings...if you can even call them that!

Livingroom view (from the kitchen)...more green and can't really see in this pic, but one of those lovely by the door 70's shelf thingys...

Main bath...more green (toilet, sink, tub, walls)...note the theme of glued tiles onto the cabinets here too.

Masterbedroom (with sage green walls) - door with mirror is the ensuite.

Hallway mirror tiles...yuck!

DOWNSTAIRS:

More green...we're pretty sure they got it bulk.

And naturally I would put ROSE with green....yum!

Ceilings...

Lighting...

Decor...

Not sure how they even call this a bathroom...because it's in the laundry room and there isn't a door on the laundry room...

Kitchen - I always dreamt of having a harvest gold fridge!

Keep Updated

2011-08-05T11:19:00.001-06:00

I've been very diligent and have kept the 365 Day Blog current. So while this blog is suffering...head on over and check out our day-to-day activities.

Click Here or head over to the right side bar and click picture

One for the Journal...

2011-08-03T13:01:00.002-06:00

The other day we were leaving the house and Keira says to my Dad:

"Pa, I'm heading out, if you want to play with Barkers (her stuffed dog) upstairs you can...but don't play with my makeup"

LG 50" Tru Slim Frame LCD TV

2011-07-30T22:27:00.002-06:00

Dear Abby, Susan, Larry or any other self help therapist that wants to comment,

So I get home late last night from working away for a bit and Amanda starts telling me how we have a little extra money for the move. So I am thinking what extra work does she have planned for me? Then she knocks me off my feet when she tells me that she wants me to go and purchase the above mentioned tv at Costco which I do say was a very good price. Isn't she the best?

Guess what my answer was? Guess how big the grin on my face was when I bought it?

Here's the curve ball. Then she tells me that since we will be moving in 3 weeks, we should leave the tv in our room in the box. In the box????? Seriously?!

Please weigh in.

Sincerely,

Dan with a new tv in a box in his room

Beach Day

2011-07-27T19:55:00.001-06:00

We went to the beach on Tuesday, totally last minute, totally just texted the family and got in the vehicle and headed out. With all this crazy rain we haven't done anything summer yet. It was so nice to just soak up a bit of sun! The water was perfect and the kids played the afternoon away!

Another list item done - check!

(we may have to add it back on the list a few more times)

The kids need to learn a little beach etiquette...they walked over Auntie Wizzy's blanket and then over mine and pretty soon everything was a huge mess!

Jason took hold of the camera at one point and came up with a few good images...I must point out that the camera is always set on Manual, so I was shocked when these were the outcome.

OCD

2011-07-20T13:29:00.002-06:00

At almost 7 he still lines up his cars...is this a BOY thing or an OCD thing ;)

I love this kid!

Buffalo Girl

2011-07-20T13:16:00.002-06:00

Here's another for the family journal:

Keira: "Mom, are some buffalo's girls?"

Mom: '"Yes"

Keira: "Only if some are named Bessie or Rainbow, right?"

Baseball

2011-07-20T13:08:00.001-06:00

We went to a few Capitals games compliments of Ted & Melissa - THANK YOU, it was a TON of fun!!!

Here's the down-low:

My children only go for the food

Baseball is WAY better LIVE than on TV

Outdoor Stadiums are wet when it rains

and HOT when the sun is right overhead (thank you Captin Obvious)

The large pretzels disappointed me...

the kids also like to run bases after the game is over and last time was the highlight because the kids got to meet all the players and get autographs...Jason had his flag there and the team signed the flag. In order to sign the flag they had Jason turn around and use his back as the table, one of the players signed Jason's neck instead of the flag - it was too funny. Jason said he was never going to have a bath again to save the writing...that didn't last long!

The list

2011-07-20T13:00:00.000-06:00

Summer is always super crazy busy around here.

Daniel starts up his contracting business in full swing and works from dawn until dusk each day.

Each Saturday I have weddings for Chicks That Click and editing time in between.

Basically summer is a write-off in the FUN and TOGETHER departments.

Not our ideal if I do say so.

So last week we sat down and picked some random days on the calendar to STOP what we do and START doing some family things.

The kids made a list of things they wanted to do this summer.

Last week we went to RAM (Reynolds Alberta Museum). A location Jason had added to the list.

It was neat to walk through and see the history.

Daniel's observation..."remember when a trunk was ACTUALLY a trunk"

Then we headed to a Keira item on the list, which was to go to a local greenhouse.

Then we did a little of my list, which was to go to some garage sales and get Chinese Food for supper.

It was a whatever kind of day, but it was fun to be together, as a family and have a little down time!

More LIST items to come!

Canada Day

2011-07-20T12:49:00.001-06:00

Canada Day we packed up and headed out to a beautiful lake with the Caputo Family. The men had all taken 3-4 hours to complete their boating licence course and were anxious to get out there and boat/fish.

It was a beautiful day, to be truthful, I think it was the first nice day of summer.

The kids were geared up in their Canadian Pride outfits.

We had a yummy lunch with potato salad, hot dogs and tons of snacks.

No one caught any fish!

Then we packed up and headed home, we stopped by the Dick Family and then headed from there to see the fireworks in town. We had on our PJ's and wrapped up in a blanket and enjoyed the show, it was really good this year.

All in All - good day!

I love our Country! It's a beautiful place to live, the people are so friendly and nice and I'm proud to live here!

The kids played a game of hide-and-go-seek!

Snippet

2011-07-07T22:02:00.001-06:00

I have got to get on here and do a little bloggin' but for now, here are 2 pictures from our Canada Day!

I also wanted to add a few Keira-ism's to our family journal:

---

Mom: "Keira, why didn't you finish up your cereal?"

Keira: "The sugar rattled my teeth"

---

Jason: "I get to pick the movie, Mom said!"

Keira: "JASON!!!! you are a mean nasty little guy!"

---

Jason: "I'm going with Pa to fill the water truck for the pool. I'm going to sit and watch the tank fill and tell Pa when it's full"

Keira: "Jason, I'll tell you one thing, you are going to have to sit the whole time and watch"

Lens for Sale

2011-06-27T08:52:00.000-06:00

ATTENTION CANON OWNERS:

I have a 17-55 2.8 USM Canon Lens for sale

I paid $1300.00 for it and am now selling it for $1000.00

It's in EXCELLENT condition.

It is an awesome lens, my favorite actually, but since upgrading to my bigger camera ït isn't compatible. So if you have something smaller than a 5D you'll want this lens!!!

Here is a review to check out if you're interested

Picture Perfect

2011-06-26T19:14:00.000-06:00

WORST FAMILY PICTURE EVER! haha!

Projects

2011-06-26T17:42:00.001-06:00

Now that the house is done inside we've moved on to the outside.

Last week we planted over 100 trees, we also did this sidewalk from the house to the parking lot.

It's over 50ft long! Mom, Dad, Brandon, the kids and I all worked LONG hours to get this done. It was quite the effort!

We used the bricks from the old chimney from the house (over 100 years old) to build this! We had to chip off the mortar from each brick (that took the most time) and then position them in such a way because the bricks were all different sizes.

As I type this these pictures have to be updated because yesterday we plated a rose garden on the right side of the sidewalk, it turned out awesome! We put up a trellis and added some stepping stones. Once the rain quits (if ever) we can get some grass planted!

UPDATE - Here are some pictures of the project that needs some "touch ups"and a little "love" once it's not a massive MUG hole thanks to the rain! Also note the amount of tree fuzz!!!

What Makes Him Tick?

2011-06-20T12:45:00.001-06:00

As this is our family journal I have made it a goal to attempt to document some day-to-day's with the kids.

Jason is my little intellectual and is constantly working hard at the desk in his room the second he gets home from school. I'm not sure if I mentioned in a previous post, but for Christmas my Mom got Jason a briefcase full of office supplies. Jason is constantly writing, stapling, documenting.

Right now he is obsessed with maps and geography! I got him an interactive map from a garage sale for $1.00 last month and it's been the best thing ever. You can push different parts of the world, and the maps around the sides and it talks to you about what you pushed.

He also makes his own maps...which aren't geographically correct, meaning Alberta and New York are often touching! haha!

He also LOVES Diary of a Wimpy Kid and reads them whenever he has a free minute. He also loves to create his own wimpy kid books using his own life and friends and experiences...these often resemble the actual books, but he thinks he's being "original"! haha!

Another thing that he does is scavenge for cardboard, boxes, paper, toilet paper rolls, paper, newspaper, maps, plastic, tape, etc. If anything has come in the mail, via courier, or from a store Jason is on that box like yesterday and has created it into something before the next day!

These pictures are an attempt to try and capture him in his little world!

You'll often see him thumbing through atlas' or encyclopedias or science books...

He is OBSESSED with all things USA...and I thought this was pretty hilarious!

This is his STATION...but more often can be found invading my office!

What you may ask can be made from a piece of cardboard from a flat of Corn Niblets from Costco...a cardboard computer of course!

Dad was cleaning out his truck the other day and found an outdated map...he recycled it via Jason and now Jason has RE-ZONED all of Canada...

For Christmas I got my 6 year old a globe...

His most beloved project however is the map of his own creation...it has "lands" and "countries" and "towns" that are entirely made up of people he knows. IE: Keithville, Jasonland, Nana Territory, etc.

It's important to note that you could take a short drive from Nana's, head on over to Granny Jo's and have a stop over at either Leduc OR Auntie Bobeans in England...your choice!

Daniel was very concerned about this "television" that Jason has constructed out of cardboard the other day...the top News is a plane crash...when I asked why Jason did that he said "well it was 6:00 when I made the TV and it's always the news on at that time...and when you watch the news it's only bad stuff"

Just in case anyone were to forget who this journal belongs to they would be advised instantly that it is a Jason is NORTH AMERICA...not south...

Pretty much this kid keeps us on our toes all day, every day! We love him and look forward to the things that come out of his mouth...though we are slightly concerned as we've had a number of people suggest the personality resemblance between Jason and a certain fictional genius...

Father's Day

2011-06-19T22:16:00.000-06:00

Today in the midst of early morning meetings (Daniel), church (ALL), Jared's homecoming talk and dinner (ALL) we managed to SQUEEZE 2 minutes of quality time in together as a family to tell Daniel just how much we love him!

Daniel you are an AWESOME Dad! You are great with our children, they love you, adore you! You are their hero, best friend and wrestling opponent! They can't wait to see you at the end of the day and don't want to see you leave for work at the beginning of the day!

We love you so much!

I made this card with a little help from the kids ;)

I made a binder for Daniel from inspiration from our last Ward Conference Talk from the Stake President as well as an idea from a friend.
It's a Personal Priesthood Interview Binder (PPI), which has sections for both the kids, including "ordinances", "goals", "interviews" etc.
It's a place where Daniel can keep track of the kids spiritual progress as well as chart their growth and record their experiences.
In our church we're encourage to have regular meetings and teaching moments with our children as well as set goals and go on special outings with each of our children individually.

Jason reciting a poem for Daniel!
I think it's so funny, each month or so the kids (in his class at school) memorize a new poem (so he's got 12+ poems committed to memory), which they ALL comit to memory, but Jason has to HOLD the paper, and clear is throat and act all "official" when he tells the poem to us! haha!
"Daddy Forgets My Name"By Bruce Lansky
My daddy calls me sweetie pie,
He calls me honey bunny.
He also calls me poopsie,
which I think is kind of funny.
My daddy calls me sugarplum,
and also sleepyhead.
My silly dad forgets my name
when he tucks me into bed.
Happy Father's Day!

Every Girl Can Be A Princess

2011-06-19T21:56:00.000-06:00

So Keira finished up her year of Ballet last weekend. It was pretty intense for a 4 year old, but the dance studio that she is with is amazing! It wins award after award at competition and produces amazingly talented dancers year after year!

They are very strict on make-up, hair, punctuality throughout the year, and participation.

I think it made a huge difference in Keira, she started the year hiding behind me every time someone would talk to her...and finished the year dancing in front of 400 people!!!

They did a dress rehearsal on Friday and a show on Saturday and Sunday. We watched the show on Saturday and then I was a room mom on the Sunday, it was fun to see both from the audience and behind the scenes of the entire show!

I'm so proud of my little dancer!

PS - she danced to the disney song "Every girl can be a Princess" it was too cute!

These following images are from the dress rehearsal that I was able to attend.

The above picture is my favorite from the day...it was SUCH a long day and Keira was SUPER tired and I happened to catch this yawn while she was up on stage!

Rainy Day = Craft Day

2011-06-19T21:11:00.000-06:00

So it was a rainy day last week and we didn't have much on the go except to get through the day in one piece...so we decided a craft day was in order!

I had seen on an awesome site a tutorial on how to make SUPER BALLS so we thought we'd give it a go!

If you are in the search for a rainy day activity, check out this AMAZING tutorial on super balls and other awesome stuff by this blogger Mom!!!

Next we did a fun thing, called "magic rainbows".

All you need is a 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl

then add 4 drops of food coloring in a triangle shape...

then add 1 drop of dish soap into the center of the triangle shape...

then watch the magic happen! SOOOO COOL!

These pictures don't do anything to describe has cool this craft is...the colors were constantly swirling around the bowls and blending. Each bowl lasted 10-15 minutes...pretty cool, give it a try!

Great Job

2011-06-08T14:42:00.007-06:00

Jason finally had a hit at Monday night's Baseball game!!! He was SO excited and ran like the wind to first base! He hit in his very first game and then has had about 4 games of nothing.

His team is really good, lots of little super all stars.

I was quite worried, because he wanted to play so bad, but hadn't before... we wanted to put him on a learn to play team and they were both full, so they suggested putting him on the Rookie team.

He's had quite a few games where he's swung out and not caught any balls, etc. But then last nights hit and he was on fire!

As a mother I want my children to succeed in their activities and I want them to be excited about it...but I also really want them to feel good about themselves and achieve personal goals.

It's really hard to watch your kid try and fail.

I was reading this talk (one of my favorites from the last conference) and he was talking about how we have to positively talk to our children and positively build up with the "right" kind of words.

This concept is slightly harder when your child is not succeeding, but it's so much more important.

The amazing thing about Jason...and all kids for that matter, is that they are so resilient and their determination is amazing!

I'm so proud of my little man and all that he works so hard to achieve. He loves baseball and now that he's had this one positive he'll work so much harder to get their again!

shenanigans

2011-06-05T15:23:00.002-06:00

Trip to Walmart to buy Styrofoam Beans - $80.00

Sew Fabric Cover for Bean Bag Chair - $20.00

Ask Hubby to help "fill"the Bean Bag Chair - PRICELESS

Spring

2011-05-22T19:48:00.005-06:00

Spring started off so innocent...beautiful green everywhere...trees budding, warm weather slowly making an appearance each day...the hope of good sunny days to come...

and then WHAM! You are blasted with these STINKIN' BLOOD SUCKING VULTURES!!!

The above picture is the grill of my vehicle...after 1 trip to town)! SERIOUSLY!!!!

It has been so unbelieveably unpleasant outside this week that it makes you mad...really mad. You are almost running to get away from the bugs. You have to be fully clothed so they don't eat all your skin/blood, then you get hot because you're wearing too much clothing and then they fly right into your mouth and right at your eyes.

To top it off Jason started Baseball last week...baseball involves cheering from the sidelines...OUTSIDE! What we won't do for our children!

On a side note...we've been super busy this month...SUPER, SUPER busy! Here is just a smidgen of goings on...

Jason's first hit and run (bad, bad picture...man I suck at both blogging and taking pictures for my family this month).

MUCH landscaping and yard projects.

Sprinkled with some playing and giggling...

But mostly Daniel is crazy busy with work, track, coaching, and new endevours (information to come in the near future).

I have had lots of photography sessions this month (awesome), lots of running hear and there, dealing with kids, work, field trips, LIFE.

Jason finished basketball only to start baseball the next day and has baseball 2 nights a week

Keira has Ballet winding up which involves pictures, rehearsals, recitals.

Anyway, short update...we are still alive. I finally updated the 365 Day Blog (just now) so there's a bit more of the day-to-day in there if you want to catch up that way too!

Skeet Shootin'

2011-05-11T16:07:00.000-06:00

I do not admit to being red neck...but when an opportunity to pull out a gun and shoot something presents itself...well...I just gotta!

On one of our family dinner get-togethers the men pulled out the guns and we had a little fun!

This is my...ummmm...sexy gun look...YIKES!

Shoot skeets is very hard to do and takes a lot of practice...I can't say I have even hit one...ever...I just like to randomly blast the shotgun...at nothing.

Easter

2011-05-11T15:26:00.000-06:00

Alright, way over due!

We kept Easter Sunday open to teach the kids about Easter and the Savior. We had a great Sharing Time lesson at church as well as a few moments at home where we discussed some of the importance of the day. We also enjoyed a fabulous turkey dinner at the Dick's home!

On Easter Monday we had a visit from the Easter Bunny...

The kids found carrots chewed up all over the place and thought it was GREAT! Grandpa had a little fun before the kids woke up and surprised even Daniel and I!

Later that day Keira went to town with Nana to grab a few last minute things for our dinner and she took her shopping list with her. Mom (Nana) said she was too cute, she was on a mission. She picked all the things on her list to make her "platter" at home and added them to the cart with determination...Nana said she couldn't say no!

This is Keira's "platter" and contribution to our Easter dinner!

Pa (Dad) spent the day in preparation and cooking up a storm! He loves to cook and is always trying new recipes. He also LOVES to BBQ on the BBQ that he built!

We decorated eggs...and the kids ate them faster than they were decorated!

I was super impressed with Jason's "egg skills"...his favorite thing these days is his little stuffy "Peekachu" and he decorated the egg pretty awesome!

Nana does an egg hunt for the grandkids each Easter, they had a fun time finding all their loot. Nana does it color coded so that there is no mistaking which stuff is which.

May

2011-05-05T10:14:00.002-06:00

Does anyone know where April went??? If you find it let me know...because last time I checked it was April 16...Daniel's birthday and then WHAM! It's May! WOW!

I'm not excited about May...

I do believe that considering the fact that I don't even have everything on this calendar yet it's going to FLY BY just like April did!

I can't seem to manage to update this thing on a regular basis! However I have been keeping our 365 Project going, so head on over there and check it out if you want to see our day-to-day life!

Wish us luck!

Boats

2011-04-28T19:44:00.004-06:00

There is quite the run-off that happens on our acreage. All the surrounding fields seem to run right through our place in a low spot. This is the best time of year for the kids! They make boats (I think when Jason was 2 yrs old when this tradition started) and the kids sail them for hours.

When it gets REALLY high (which it does for a few days) we drag out the canoe and take the kids for a ride around the yard....yeah, we're redneck like that ;)

A Break from the Every day!

2011-04-26T21:24:00.008-06:00

We had to have a time-out over Easter break/spring break and because Daniel gets the same time off as Jason (thanks to the "perks" of being a teacher) we were able to go away.

We have a condo in Fairmont that is a time-share and we were so lucky to get in last minute.

We packed our bags and were off, it was really short notice and very spontaneous...but we like that some times!

We went to the Fairmont Branch for church on Sunday, it was really nice to have a break from the norm!

After a couple days our kids eased into a routine of sleeping in...and when I say sleeping in, I mean it! I was sooo shocked! The kids are usually up at 7:00 or earlier at home and we we shocked when it was 9:30 and the kids were still asleep! What a holiday!!!

Click on the pictures to enlarge

We always look forward to getting fudge from the fudge shop, but it was closed done, which was a huge disappointment. We happened upon another gift shop that carried some fudge and life was complete!

We were so excited because Ted, Melissa and the kids were able to come and join us for most of the week! The condo has 2 sides (like a duplex) so it was perfect to have another family come!

We had a lot of fun playing, we VEGGED a lot, played tennis, hiked, went bowling, went swimming A LOT, ATE, SNACKED, played Wii, Watched movies and just generally took it easy and had fun visiting and being together!

Here are some randoms from the week!

Keira and Lauryn were inseparable for the week! Keira had a blast with another girl to play with!!!

These next 2 pics were taken through the window, but I had to post them because I thought they were too cute! Lauryn was doing Keira's make-up and they were just chatting away about "girly" stuff!

Jason pretty much NEVER PUT DOWN A MARKER the entire trip...he used every single notebook, piece of paper, cardboard and napkin that we had brought with us! He made a Travel Journal of the entire trip complete with pictures!

I was really glad for all the swimming because he hands were pretty much black each day from constant marker use!

The only picture of me compliments of Keira - turned out pretty good!

I found this for Jason in a gift shop and he was SO excited for it, he still has an obsession with these things!

These are the sad faces. We really didn't want to leave and wished we could have stayed FOREVER!!!

Don't worry kids - we'll go again next year!

Last Birthday...

2011-04-26T21:15:00.003-06:00

This is Daniel's last birthday...unfortunately for him, but in the long run he's "winning" from this deal we've made...you see he'll stay 31 forever...so I can stay 29...see...I told you it was a sweet deal ;)

We had a little birthday dinner and cake the night before Daniel's birthday because we were going to be traveling on his Birthday and we figured that we should probably celebrate in some way ;)

Never too old to get toys ;)

He requested a white cake with strawberries and whip cream - easy and tasty!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T08:59:00.002-06:00

This is a post for my Dad.

He wanted to show his Easter Bread, or "Cuzzupe" di Pasqva to his family.

I think it turned out awesome! I can't wait to dig into it this afternoon!

In Italian this bread would be called "Treccia dipane d'liovo di Pasqua" but my Grandpa would call it "cuzzupe".

It's a braided Easter Egg Bread. I actually remember when I was quite little my Grandpa making this bread.

Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday

2011-04-16T07:44:00.003-06:00

Dear Daniel,

The blessings of having you in my life have been far too many to count. It's really true what we say to each other all the time, "life with you gets better and better every day/week/month/year".

It's your birthday today and you're officially the oldest man I've ever dated ;) That being said you're also the hottest guy I've ever dated!

I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you, but it never really can be expressed in one little note.

First, you are an amazing Dad...by far the best Dad ever actually! Our kids LOVE YOU!!! Our kids ADORE you! They can hardly wait for you to walk in the door after work!

They are SO very excited for "family fun friday's" and when you are home on a Saturday, they are up at the CRACK of dawn to spend as much time with you as they possibly can!

Thank you for being an amazing father to our children and for loving them and accepting them for who they are!

Lastly (because this is a NOTE not a novel), I wanted to thank you for being the husband of my dreams!

You make me laugh, smile, feel loved, feel beautiful, have a greater purpose and make me feel like a better person.

You are determined, protective, providing, comforting.

I LOVE YOU!

PS: I love your hugs and kisses too ;)

Happy Birthday Babe!

Home Reveal

2011-04-14T12:17:00.007-06:00

I can't believe I haven't done this sooner! Here is the OUTSIDE of the house we've been renovating for the last 2 year...I repeat 2 years! I will show you a complete inside look in another post!

To be truthful I couldn't even find BEFORE - BEFORE pictures. It used to have a 2-story deck on the front (falling apart)...but you'll get the picture!

Are you digging the tinfoil in the windows and plastic covered doors???

We still have to do the parging on the bottom of the house...and landscape a walkway area.

Front

Also you will note in the above picture that there are 2 garden doors...one onto the deck and the other onto NOTHING...that door will open onto a ground level patio and arber...stay tuned for that project ;)

Mom and I picked out the cutest patio furniture for all the decks last year...they are still in the garage due to crappy weather, but these decks are SERIOUS deck sitting/tanning decks!

Side of the house...

Back of the house (main door that we use). It's hard to get a good shot because there is shrubs around the entire "yard" wich block the house from view.

Today

2011-04-08T10:45:00.003-06:00

It is sunny and warm and beautiful outside!

I feel blessed! I know that the Lord will bless those that put their faith and trust in Him!

I am happy!

I have an amazing husband!

I feel excited!

I have fantastic kids that I adore!

One Horse Town

2011-04-02T22:11:00.006-06:00

Western Day was a much anticipated day...by all first graders! Ditch those polo's, cargo's and running shoes for some buttons, jeans and cowboy hats! A Rootin' Tootin' time was had by all, especially this cowboy! PS -This cowboy hat is my brother Brandon's. When he was probably 8 or 9...he was attempting the "western" look and my brothers (yes, both of them) just had to have hats...Mom and Dad took them to a western wear store and Brandon picked his hat and got it shaped like "garth brooks" (because when you buy a hat you actually get it shaped to your liking in the store...bet you didn't know that). I do believe Jeremy's hat was a "George Straight"...haha! Jason borrowed the hat on Friday and hasn't taken it off since!

Leprechaun Traps...

2011-03-28T10:14:00.004-06:00

My kids were unbelievably excited for St. Patrick's Day to come...the reason...they were going to make Leprechaun Traps! They were intent on catching a little green man! I had gone to Dollarama probably a month prior to the "day" and stocked up on all things GREEN. We had googled "leprechaun trap ideas"...they took the best of the best and were going to incorporate them into their own traps. The morning came, we had some green juice and green pancakes to get the energy going, then they were off!

They each made their own and worked for the entire day on them...I was impressed with their use of time (especially considering I was doing renovations upstairs)!

That night they "set" the traps and went to bed...in the morning all they found was "fools gold" (chocolate loonies) all over the place and the traps had been un-set...they were pretty disappointed, but decided that next year they would work harder to capture the little guys!

Just Since Last Monday...

2011-03-22T09:36:00.004-06:00

4/5 Kids every day to entertain/feed/clean and sleep
Every room is the upstairs "packed up"
Ceilings coming down
Ceilings going up
Drywall dust everywhere
"california knock down" replaces the "whip cream" ceilings
Beds in the livingroom
Beds in Nana & Pa's room
Beds in the drywall dust
2 days to paint 1200 sq feet of house before the carpet is installed
2 amazing visitors armed with rollers and paint brushes
SNOW beyond what can even be expected this time of year
sick, SICK kids...fevers and chills
Coughing kids
Sick Nana's
laundry
Dr. Visits
snowed in
photoshoots in unbelieveable weather
dishes
birthday dinner celebrations with amazing food with visitors
ballet
library
meals
basketball
church
clean out every closet/room for carpet installation
story time
cuddle time

Happy St. Patty's Day

2011-03-17T09:50:00.002-06:00

St. Patrick's Day celebrations are under way here at our home!

We started the day (very early) with green pancakes and green juice.

The kids then moved onto make leprechaun traps (something they have been looking forward to for MONTHS)! While they were working on the traps Jason said to me:

I really hope I catch a leprechaun named SHAMUS....oh, or Larry...Larry or Shamus, yeah, that would be awesome

haha...seriously!!!

My Little Ballerina

2011-03-13T17:56:00.005-06:00

Keira's Ballet class is a recreation class (obviously since she was 3 when she started). They allow the parents to watch 2 times before the actual Ballet Recital.

Keira has improved SO much since the first time and I was so proud to see her dance around! She followed the directions and did the correct moves, where last time she could barely sit "like a ballerina" correctly!

Keira's dance teacher is a young, talented dancer that Keira just adores. They also have 2 other girls that are Jr. Teachers, the girls are all so good with the little ones!

Keira is the 3 one in...we couldn't get up and run all over the place taking pictures, so some of them are not very good!

Keira is the 2nd one in (above pictures)

Today

2011-03-12T09:27:00.005-07:00

One of the quotes I have in my bedroom that I read every day is:

"Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?”

Pres. Henry B. Erying

This is a constant reminder to me to look deeper than the spilt milk, running all over the place doing errands and getting supper on the table.

Some days it takes me a while to find something to add to the list and other days it comes instantly.

Just a thought.

Just for fun

2011-03-10T20:20:00.001-07:00

Fabric Bead Necklace Tutorial

2011-03-07T11:42:00.007-07:00

I have no idea what these necklaces are called, but I'm going to call them "Fabric Bead Necklaces"!

NOTE: I made mine with a cotton, but I think next time I make them (for myself) I'm going to use a stretchy or nylon-ish type fabric so that the knots are smaller. ALSO, I'm going to purchase some larger wooden beads (Dollarama most likely) so that the beads are larger.

Start by ripping a strip of fabric, this necklace was approx. 2 1/2" x 45"

Then fold the fabric in half and sew along the edge (creating a "tube")

Then use a safety pin and turn the tube rightside out and then sew closed one end

Then I measured 7" from the closed end and tied a know (tight not loose)

Then you will need some beads...I used fairly small beads because I wanted a dainty look to these necklaces, but the bigger the better ;)

On the OPEN end of your fabric tube start putting in 1 bead at a time and then once in and snugged up to the knot tie another knot...so your pattern is knot, bead, knot, bead, etc.

Continue until you have 7" remaining, tie a knot and then stitch closed the tube at the other end.

The finished necklace will be 26" long...so 48" of fabric sewn into a tube gives you a 26" necklace. For adults you will want to double this amount of fabric to get a longer necklace!!

I finished the necklace off with a fabric rosette (on a clip so that I can also use it on an outfit or hair-do)

Here is my little model! She loves them and is sporting the pink one today!

No Cause for Alarm

2011-03-01T13:55:00.002-07:00

Do your kids ever obsess about a topic?

Keira, my little tender heart, watched "Where the Red Fern Grows" with her Pa. If you haven't seem the movie I do believe there is a Disney version that is WAY better...but regardless, this is the movie they watched.

In the movie this boy has 2 hound dogs (a brother and a sister dog) for coon hunting and the long and the short of it, is that the 1 brother dog dies from saving the owner from a cougar and the other sister dog died from a broken heart because it's brother died.

Keira LOVES dogs...really a lot she does...more the idea of dogs and her stuffed dog Judy, than actual real live dogs, but she does love them to pieces.

This movie (though NOT GRAPHIC IN ANY WAY) shows 2 dogs that end up dead. This was VERY troubling for Keira. I honestly should not have allowed her to watch this movie because of her reaction, but I really didn't think it would be that bad.

She is obsessed with cougars now and with dogs. The conversations throughout the ENTIRE DAY (and flowing over into today until right now are as follows):

Keira: Mom, did Uncle Jeremy take his cougar mountain lion hunting dog Dixie cougar mountain lion hunting?

Me: Yes Keira.

Keira: I need to tell Uncle Jeremy to never ever again to take his cougar mountain lion hunting dog Dixie, cougar mountain lion hunting

Me: I'm pretty sure he won't do it again because he didn't enjoy it the first time. He said it was pretty scary actually.

Keira: Oh, but I should tell him.

This conversation lasted over half an hour until Keira made me call Jeremy on the phone at which time she YELLED at him and told him it was NOT safe and that Dixie (his cougar mountain lion hunting dog) could DIE! haha

Another half an hour long conversation was this:

Keira: Mom, memember (remember) you said that at Rockwell's house there were cougar mountain lions?

Me: yes Keira I did say there were some cougars in the area where he lives

Keira: But does Rockwell's Dad have a shotgun?

Me: yes Keira, he does and they are very safe

Keira: But does Rockwell stay safe by his Mom and Dad and can the cougar mountain lions get his dogs?

Me: I'm very sure that Rockwell is safe and that their dogs are safe too

In between these conversations there are large spaces of silence where she is thinking about what else she can ask about cougar mountain lions.

She has inquired about all of our loved ones (who have dogs) and asked where they live and if "cougar mountain lions" live in their "neighborhoods".

I eventually sat down with her and explained the movie again, explained that the dogs were saving the boys life and explained that cougar are dangerous, but if you don't go wondering about in the forest that you'll be safe, and that ALL of her friends/family/dogs will be safe if they obey the rules too.

That seems to satisfy her for ummmm like 2 seconds and now she's back to talking about it and holding her stuffed dog "Judy" OH SO TIGHT!

survival of the coldest

2011-02-27T15:08:00.010-07:00

As we are experiencing yet another blizzard and plummeting temperatures this weekend I couldn't help but think about the questions I ask myself (almost daily) throughout the 7 months of winter here in the snowy north:

WHY DO I LIVE HERE?

It can't possibly get any colder...can it?
When will it stop snowing?
WHY DO I LIVE HERE?

Would I not enjoy white sand beaches instead of white outs?

Do we have enough milk in the fridge, because what if the roads are worse tomorrow?

WHY DO I LIVE HERE?

With those questions still fresh in your mind I thought I'd share with you my survival tips!

1. It is IMPERATIVE that you find yourself a great moisturizer...I cannot say this enough...moisturize ladies...it's a must!

2. Second to moisturizer is EXFOLIATION...I'll repeat this ladies...EXFOLIATE your skin...I'm not sure if you've had as dry and completely unpleasant winter as I have, but I invested (from Dollarama) in a lovely exfoliation mitt and now I have achieved what I can only describe as bliss...exfoliate and follow with moisturizer.

3. Those of you who live in a City or Town may not fully agree with me, but I live just outside our City. I also do a lot of highway driving for work and I don't think I could survive without ALL WHEEL DRIVE...it's a must...4WD or AWD...MUST! I love my Escape, and my late Escape (may she rest her soul), I NEVER really worry about bad roads, except for the idiots in their bald tire vehicles or maniacs that are driving too fast for the road conditions.

PS - heated seats and command start also add to ones sanity ;)

4. This may seem vain...but it is NOT I tell you...You must keep your feet warm when you are an Alberta Woman...for YEARS and YEARS I refused to wear anything but stylish and cute (FREEZING COLD) footwear and basically was miserable every time I had to go out in the snow...for the last 3 years I have had Uggs (or the cheaper equivalent) and let me say...winter is SOOOO much more pleasant!!!

5. HOBBIES!!! I'm pretty sure I would go insane without my hobbies...because ladies, let's face it...despite the fact that you spend more time shovelling snow, than actually doing your hobby...it is not a hobby!

6. Family and Friends is crucial to any Alberta girls survival...lots of visiting, game nights and together time.

7. Finally, if all else fails, stay in bed, turn on a good movie and eat chocolate...though 7 months of this may result in some very NASTY beach bodies. Although, for what, the 2 weeks we MAY possibly get to put on a bathing suit...it might just be worth it ;)

Tooth Fairy Pillow

2011-02-24T14:41:00.006-07:00

Jason is 6 and hasn't lost a tooth yet. I'm guessing that he's late in the dental department when it comes to loosing teeth. In kindergarten last year lots of his classmates were loosing their teeth. So I've been keeping a watchful eye and thinking that perhaps it will start any day. I hear that the later kids loose their baby teeth the healthier their adult teeth are...is there truth to that??

That being said I saw a super cute monster tooth fairy pillow on a sewing blog the other day and thought that I'd make one for my man for the BIG DAY...whenever that is!

I started out doing this as a tutorial (taking step by step pictures) and then I forgot to take pictures half way through...so I'll show you the finished pictures and then tell you how I made it!

Alright so I used stuff that I had from my fabric supply, no need to go out and buy anything too fancy.

You need the following:

2 pieces of fabric 6" x 6" squares (I used a flannelet - green)

1 piece of same color fabric 6" x 5"

2 pieces of yellow felt cut into circles (approx. 2"x 2")

1 piece of white felt (6" x 2") and cut into teeth *see picture below

2 buttons

stuffing

Cut your fabric.
Sew the yellow felt circles onto one of the pieces of 6"x6" fabric.
Sew the buttons onto the centers of the yellow circles.
Take the 6"x 5" piece of fabric, fold it in half. Then take the teeth and place it along the fold (so only the teeth are showing and the bottom edge is covered by the green material).
Sew along the edge of the fold (green material) to attach the material and the teeth.
Then stack your fabric like so:

face square - right side up
teeth pocket - right side up
back square - right side down

7. Sew around the entire square (1/2" seam allowance) leaving a 3" opening at the side

8. Then turn right sides out through the opening and make sure you poke out the corners.

9. Fill with stuffing.

10. Hand stitch the opening closed using a ladder stitch from this

AMAZING YouTube tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO1IgYLDy0o

I so didn't know how to do this before watching this video!!

If you want hair (like I did) cut 3 - 3"x3" squares of blue felt and then before you sew around the entire top place them centered (the long part of the hair pointed down towards the mouth, so that only a 1/2 seam allowance is facing up) and include them into the seam allowence, then once you've flipped your monster right side out clip the hair to the way you'd like it.

Sunday Morning Paper

2011-02-22T20:01:00.003-07:00

Jason did up a comic book last weekend and I thought it was pretty funny. I had to add it to our family journal! I'm not sure if he'll continue on with this "gift" of writing and illustrating or if I'll ever see his comics in the Sunday Paper, but for now I'll laugh at his 6 year old humor!

Letter N

2011-02-22T10:41:00.007-07:00

Keira and I are continuing on through the alphabet on Tuesdays/Thursdays. Some days, when it's busy, we don't do very much more than just reading some stories or playing in some activity boxes that Nana and I have come up with.

On a letter day (usually Tuesdays) we learn the letter while doing these type of activities:

Most of my ideas come from here:

http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/

Here is what the morning will bring:

Spiritual Thought associated with the letter of the day

Letter Tracing and object association

Writing the Letter

Games with that letter and object

Cutting practice

Craft

Story with the letter of the day

Here we are learning about "N"oah

Reading "N"o Clean Clothes

First I have her trace (with her finger) the letter (upper and lower case) and then she either places or glues the object that goes with each letter...today it's "n"oodles!

Then she gets her first attempt at writing the letter

Then we always play some fun games (found on that site above)

Cutting practice!

Letter Searches (her favorite)

http://www.beginningreading.com/Alphabet%20Set%202.htm

A counting game from the site listed at the top:

Making the craft

It's a NEST (in case you couldn't tell ;)

Then we always put our letter associated craft or object on the learning tree (idea came from Confessions of a Homeschooler site as well).

Here is what it looked like in the beginning...I don't know if you remember it, so I thought I'd post it again.

First Day:

And now it's gotten out of control... haha!

You can barely see the tree on the left, which is covered with the stuff we've been doing in school. On the right we put up some of our scripture story pictures to remember the story. Keira will stand and look at it almost every day and tell me the stories and point out her favorite one. I really like this idea, though I'd like to make a smaller version of this on a magnet board or something, so it doesn't take up quite so much space...oh well!

Skating

2011-02-21T20:59:00.005-07:00

No words, just pictures (crappy, noisy, from my old camera pictures that is) ...starting now...Go!

I take too many pictures!

2011-02-17T16:50:00.006-07:00

Valentines Day was a HUGE deal in our home...it became an actual HOLIDAY! ;)

I think that ever since Jason has been in school, holidays (even little ones like Valentines Day, Groundhogs Day and St. Patrick's Day) have come to mean something. Jason gets so excited about each one of them and in turn that makes Keira excited.

That being said, I took lots of pictures of the goings on around here and needed to stick them up on the blog.

As a side note...I do believe that Daniel should take over on the blog as he was far more funny/creative than I have been in quite some time...plus he got more comments than I have gotten in forever ;)

On to the main event!

We made these lovely Sun Catchers found on this site: http://imamomnotaprofessional.blogspot.com/2011/01/valentine-sun-catchers.html

I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product and when I finally remembered to take a picture it had been so warm outside that they melted!

Keira and I made cookies and delivered them to some special people with the valentines the kids had made.

I made this crossword for Daniel (all the questions were from the last 9 years of marriage). He did it today and actually had a hard time getting all the answers! I gave him a copy to do and then framed this blank one for our bedroom.

Keira and I made these Valentines for her friends and cousins, they turned out cute, I think that Jason might have to do them for his school friends next year!

For dinner I made heart shaped pizzas (which raised more than usual and lost the true heart shape), we made a fancy punch and drank it in wine glasses and ate off of our fancy dishes. We also had heart shaped cookies for dessert.

Like all of our special ocassions Jason has made a point of "toasting" to various things throughout the meal, we said a lot of "to chocolate" type toasts ;)