header done, check, updated pics of the girls, check...

i did it. a new header. yeah!!! i also updated pics of the girls on the side. another yeah!!! while making the header i realized a few things.

1. i am a photographer...but i don't have a lot of pics of my kids this year. note to self, do better, a lot better

2. of the pics i do have...most of them are of becca, maybe that's because it's just her and me so much now. don't know, note to self, take pics of your other children otherwise they are going to wonder if there was a favorite.

3. just take more pics...even if it's with my phone, it's okay

4. get better at this blogging thing...isn't that a constant ha :)

i have missed blogging some pretty awesome things that have been going on in our family. really. the last real post was about tp, before that a run, which is a good thing but there's all our summer fun. the tons of tomatoes we grew this year. all the little and big trips we've been making. some together, some only a few of us, and even some solo. so if i say i'm going to blog more, you know as well as i do, that it's not going to happen. so i'll just say nothing and we'll see how it goes.

at least today, i can do some catching up :)

Housekeeping

so I'm doing some housekeeping on here. it's time to do some updating. i am working on a new header, some recent pics of the darlings and maybe some recent posts of our going ons. this morning i've updated the blogs we follow (really i follow). so this morning as we all try to recover now from these awful colds, i will housekeep the blog. :) for now here is a recent pic of becca and i.

Sneak Peak

Haven't been on here in awhile and there is a lot of updating to be done. But I just wanted to give you all a sneak peak at the chalkboard wall.





And here's our front door.




It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's that time of year again...

and I don't mean back to school. Mom, you'll be so proud. It's Walmart's Anniversary Sale! And toilet paper is on sale again (place big smile). You want to talk about preparedness, last year I bought TP when it was on sale, and we are just getting down to the last of it. I know I haven't blogged for awhile and it's kind of funny to think this is what I'm blogging about. Pretty funny eh. But it's a sweet deal. I'm totally going to my limit ;) (purchasing 6 packages that is). So have a great day. Cause I know I will. And that I'll be sleeping safe and sound at night knowing I have a year supply of TP! (and not just the two ply stuff)

And to boot, just to let you know how good of a day I'm having, I just found a quarter!

(this should have been posted from my phone, but for whatever reason it wasn't posting)

Summer, Your Almost Gone...

I'm up early this morning. Well it's really not that early. It's Saturday, so a run day and I'm sad to see that the sun is not coming up as early. It's only 6:30 and this is what it looks like.




We have been have such a great time this summer. I don't want it to end. The kids and I are not even sick of each other.

Well those of you who start school the end of August, enjoy every last minute of it. I know that we will.

- Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We're Still Alive!

We're just having too much fun!




- Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wii Time

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit the weekend of Emily's B-day party. We were able to fit in some Dance Party Wii. I loved the party, but I think I loved this part of the weekend the most.

I will have to try to upload some video of my parents and the girls. Priceless.

I can't decide which one to load. They are all pretty funny. Some are longer...but so funny. Watch what you want.

Last Day of School

Our tradition carries on. Balloons and all!

Here are the girls jumping for joy that summer is here!

Graduation

Julia Graduated from Kindergarten. I asked her if she wanted to wear a dress. She was pretty clear that she wanted to wear jean shorts and knee highs. The only girl not in a dress. But that's my girl, exerting her own fashionista ways.

The last day of school they had Cowboy days.

We have to say we love Miss Jessica, Miss Pati and Mrs. Jeanne.

We are so grateful for them.

Harry Potter Party

Somebody turned 9 in our house a little ways back. She had to have a Harry Potter Party. So here are a few pics from her party. We had fun. Here are the invites. Delivered by Owl.

Some of the Decorations.

We sorted everyone into Houses with our very own sorting hat.

Made Wands.

Played Quidditch.

Drank Butter Beer.

Had Owl Cake. Emily really wanted this apple cake with cream cheese frosting. I threw skor bites on the icing to make it look feathery. Boy did it taste good.

We had lots of fun planning and partying.

Summer Day 6

Our X-Box Kinect came today. We signed up with Telus TV and stuff and received an Xbox and Kinect. Emily and Daddy are playing it now.

Julia and I worked on some hooked on phonics. No rest for her this summer ;) Everyday we are going to work on her reading, just a little bit. We went to the $ store for some cheap incentives. Love the $ store. It can be quite the motivator.

It's Julia's turn tonight at Grandma's. Miss Becca just crashed. So the three of us are going to have quite the fun tonight with the new toy.

Side note. The garden is doing pretty well so far. I'm hoping the heat is here to stay. I'm already seeing some tiny zucchini and tomatoes.

Summer Day 5

Our new cousin Kelser was blessed today.

So off we went to Forestry Ward. He is a real cutie.

We visited with family and friends that day.

Here is a great pic of Emily. All grown up. New Hair, new dress, pearls and all.

Once again, we feel the pictures don't do her justice. ;)

She enjoyed a sleepover at Grandma's. And Julia and I got some mother daughter time once Becca headed to bed. A great day!

Summer Day 4

Big News!!!

Emily went from this...

To this...

And we LOVE it!

It no longer takes tears and time (lots of time) to do her hair.

The Pictures truly do not do her hair justice.

Her hair is so thick. There was so much of it. In fact so much that she will be donating it to Locks of Love.

We went to the mall and bought some hair accessories for her. We also found a couple of dresses for Miss Em. We can not get over how grown up she looks.

At the mall, we went to Winners. I think Shawn got a taste of what it's going to be like when we have teenagers. We tried on shoes. Then the girls and I grabbed about 15 dresses in total and headed off to the change room. We had a blast in there while Shawn waited for us. Even Miss Becca tried on a few things. She left the store with Shawn screaming, "My dresses, I need my dresses!" Which when she got home, she was disappointed that I did not purchase them for her. We picked up some sweet shoes for Julia. They are totally her. I will have to get a pic of them.

We watched Coraline that night after dinner.

We painted nails and put curlers in hair, for those who still had long hair ;)

Coraline was not that great of an idea to watch. Especially since we had to get up early for church the next day. The girls had a hard time going to sleep. I didn't realize it was going to be "that" scary for them. But it was.

The next morning when I woke Emily up, I said, "Good Morning Dear! It's your Other Mother."

Emily, "Don't ever say that again. I don't want no Other Mother!"

Kind of mean on my part. The good thing from the movie, even though it's animation, the girls have realized how good they have it. I am a pretty awesome Mom.

Summer Day 2 & 3

Day 2

Walk to the Gym, Gym, walk home in the wind, Emily and Julia off to Kaden's Pool Party, they had way too much fun, Dinner, Marble Slab, YUM! and then watching Legends of the Guardian of Gahoole. We had a full day of fun!

Day 3

Happy Canada Day!

We had a blast today. We went for Breakfast at Ricky's.

A very long bike ride. It was great having Emily on her own bike and Julia and Becca in the trailer. We visited friends and met their new puppy. Then headed of to Grandma's and went to Frank's for Popsicles and Snow Bob's.

When we got home, Becca and I had a nap and the Girls and Shawn had some down time. We headed off to Henderson for some of the Canada Day Festivities.

The Girls got a chance to play in some of the bouncy houses.

We had some Old Fashioned Rootbeer and of course picked up some Kettle Corn from our favorite place.

When we got home we BBQ, had some friends over and headed back to Henderson for fireworks with them.

My favorite thing was watching Becca watch the fireworks.

It was the first time we had brought her.

The girls stayed up the whole time and even stayed awake till we got home at 12:30am. And Yes, they did sleep in!

Summer Day 1

Today we had a quiet day. Time spent in the bouncy house, sprinkler, bike riding and hanging on the deck.



(she really did want to stay outside. But she just got sprayed by one of her sisters with the sprinkler)

I'm borrowing Emily's kobo. ;) She has graciously lent it to me. I've started Jane Eyre. And I have also figured out how to borrow e-books from our local library for it. It's becoming my new favorite thing! Totally Loving it! She may have to pry it from my hands.

Some exciting news in our house, Emily found a caterpillar. She has been taking very good care of it. When we woke up this morning we found it like this...



It's metamorphosing! The girls are pretty excited. "It's in it's chrysalis state"- direct quote from Emily. It will be exciting to see how this goes. I think it might survive. Especially since I am having no part in the care of this pet.

- Antonia posted using blogger
from my iPhone

Summer Vacation is FINALLY HERE!!!

We are so excited to finally start summer vacation! Miss Em finished school today at noon and we have been busy since. I have updated our Chalkboard with our Summer Bucket List, we ran in the sprinkler and Miss Em is at the pool.

After having a bit of a crazy year, I am looking forward to a fun, busy and surprisingly relaxing summer. I hope to post more too.

This is what we do on vacation...

Ooh how I love you wifi and apple.



We are away for a bit. I'm missing the Internet oh so bad. So one quick blog post. We are at the Apple Store!!! I can get wifi on my phone. It's a beautiful thing.

- Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spring is Here!

This past December we painted our back wall with chalkboard paint. I had all these great intentions on changing the board each month or season but we've been a little preoccupied. So Merry Christmas finally came down 3 weeks ago. Now we have welcomes spring to our home. And I finally did the chalkboard today. We are huge Charlie and Lola fans. And since it took me awhile to get Christmas down. I went with spring instead of Easter (it can stay up much longer). So here is our board. Happy Spring! It's here at laaaaaaaast. As Lola would say.












- Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Believing that it's Warmer!

Today we embraced the warm weather. When you live in Alberta anything above zero makes you think and feel like it's summer! So we go to the park, eat popsicles, wear sandals, and if your name is Julia you wear a swimsuit outside. Sorry I didn't get a chance to take a pic. So being as ambitious as we are we decided to get some KFC and go out again, just as it's getting cooler. Oh and you wear your sandals. And if your Julia you still wear your swimsuit, just underneath your clothes.










- Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Change

I have three different outlooks on the word "Change"

1st Change can be exciting, something we look forward to, like the seasons, our children's milestones or great trips and vacations. Sometimes we see change as a positive thing.

2nd Like Marvin J. Ashton said, "There is a tendency to think of change as the enemy. Many of us are suspect of change and will often fight and resist it before we have even discovered what the actual effects will be. When change is thought through carefully, it can produce the most rewarding and profound experiences in life." Sometimes we dread change or are scared of it but it can be a good thing.

3rd Sometimes, even with making good choices and being good people, unexpected things can happen. And the "Change" that is happening is not our choice. It Sucks!

But for whatever reason we grow from all three of these types of "Change". Whether the "Change" or the experience is for our own good, loved ones or people we have yet to meet. We go through these changes so we can find compassion and hopefully to become a better person.

Our family has gone through some "Change". I would say it's the 3rd type of "Change". My least favorite. We've had no say in it. But for whatever reason it's happened and we are looking for the positives of this "Change".

I have been avoiding our family blog. Trying to figure out how or if I should say something. Some of you already know, but I know others of you don't. So I just want to share with you simply that our pregnancy has had some complications and we won't be having the privilege of welcoming another little person into our family. We are doing okay and it's bringing us closer together.

So whatever the reason is for going through this "Change"; I know that I'm looking to become a better wife, mother and person because of them.

My Baby to Big Girl

Becca's hair is kind if luck chicken fluff. It was time to cut it.

Here is a before




Here is an after




She looks so grown up!


Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Love Affair

Becca is in Love. With a couple of guys. Of course her Daddy and her buddy Champ. But there are two more. They might even be more important then the previous two mentioned. Woody and Buzz Light Year. This girl is in love with Toy Story. It doesn't help that I'm too exhausted and she watches it a couple times a day right now. But those are her Men. Here's a pic if her playing at Champ's. If there is a Buzz or Woody somewhere she finds it!









Stinkin' Cute Eh!

- Antonia posted using BlogPress from my iPhone