Valentines Review

Here are some of the craft projects and decorations we had around the house for Valentines Day.

Owen made these valentines for school.  I got the idea from Becky Higgins site and had him draw a valentine on a piece of paper, then I scanned it, shrunk it down to size and printed many copies.  This way, each person in his class got a Valentine with his writing and we did not have the typical battles around writing 25+ Valentines by hand...it was the perfect solution. 

 I took the kids to the Bulk Barn and let them choose which candies they wanted to include in their friend's Valentines.  I filled candy bags (you could also use ziplock) with the candy - folded the scanned images over the top and stapled...voila!  Here is Bella's.  She is really into printing right now and loves to  follow the dots - so I did "dots" here for Happy Valentines Day...she did her name all on her own.

I found a craft on Martha Stewart's site where you take crayon shavings and melt them between 2 pieces of wax paper and then cut them into heart shapes.  Why is it that everything on Martha's site looks so easy and perfect?  This craft was NOT FUN to do!  Shaving the crayons took a few hours, they do not do well in a pencil sharpener, they do not do well in a crayon sharpener, I eventually used my Pampered Chef cheese grater.  Then the cutting - not really great for the kids because the melted crayon made it hard to cut through.  Anyway, we made a ton of hearts, some hung above the kitchen sink, most were on our seasonal tree.  Despite the difficulties with the craft, I loved the results:

Owen made this beautiful card at school for his sister.  Love the bond between those two!

This is a card Owen made for Nora one day at home.  He made the part where her name was into a bit of a puzzle where she had to unscramble the letters...he loves word puzzles like that...I love that he is making his own...so creative!

This is a card that Isabelle made for Daddy.  She started drawing hearts right after we did our crayon craft and I love them so much.  She did all the printing herself, including spelling daddy backwards!

Owen had a Valentine's day party at school and we all pitched in and made cupcakes.  The kids each had their own pan to decorate however they wanted.  Those 2 love helping out in the kitchen...especially when there is icing, sprinkles and candy involved.

Happy Valentines Day

Thanksgiving at the Cottage

Again, seriously behind on blog posts...trying to get caught up.

Here are some of my favourite shots from our Thanksgiving weekend at the cottage.

After demanding to be allowed to jump in the lake for several hours, Daddy suggested that Owen just test the water first...that was all it took..."too cold for me dad, but you can go in if you want to."

After a very busy day, Bella chills on the couch with doggie, wolfie, blanket (on her head) and NUKie. :)
We too long treks in the woods:
Tended to the fire:
With Papa:
Wearing the ultra-latest in smoke protection gear:

Oliver had fun:

We saw some cool wildlife:

And played a great game of "Hello Harry" and we all ended up with spots on our faces.
Kaitlin and I were the most "decorated". She ended up as a 5 spot:

And somehow I ended up as a 6 spot...and everyone decided it was more fun to call me clown...which I really did not understand until I saw these pics (thank you Justin for the rather large spots :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Canada Day

On Canada Day we had a wonderful street party hosted by our friends The Taylors...thanks so much Leslie & Todd!!! Here are some photos from the day.

Could these two girls be having any more fun???
All snuggled up with blankets to watch the festivities:
Sparklers
"I be berry fareful mama" Good Bella - you be careful :)
Owen
Ruby
William
Jackson
Sydney
Isabelle

Lots of fun was had by all!

Fireworks

Monday, May 18, 2009 - Victoria Day. The first day of the year we do fireworks. It was pretty chilly outside and we typically save the big fireworks for Canada Day in July. We got together with our friends on the street and set the kids up with some sparklers.

Isabelle:
Sydney:
Owen:
Jackson:
The girls were so cute standing across from one another, twirling and waving their sparklers around.

And at the end of the day, there were two angels fast asleep in our house.  One in her crib:

The other in a makeshift bed on the floor so he could fall asleep watching the fireworks out his bedroom window:

The last of the flashbacks...onwards to 2009

There are so many great things happening around here right now and I have not blogged them because in my mind, I had to complete my December flashback posts before moving on. I really wanted to do a comprehensive review of December...it was fantastic...but I am letting that go. Here is the last 'flashback' post I am going to do - December 21,24-25 and that will be it. After this we are moving forward...to 2009.

Christmas Day
Adrian and I both said that Christmas Day this year was exactly what we wanted it to be. Full of fun for the kids, very low key, minimal time spent cooking the big dinner, more time playing with the kids, time for quiet reflection...really just a perfect day. Here are some of my favourite shots:Owen reading the letter Santa left. I love this shot because he is really reading, I am amazed at how advanced his reading has become over the past few months - he is now reading at a Grade 2 level!
Isabelle eating her Chocolate "B"...Owen figured that Santa couldn't find an "I" for Isabelle, so he got a "B" for Bella. She ate that chocolate B all day on and off...dropping it on the floor when she had enough and picking it up a little later.
These are presents that Owen picked out for me - a purple flashlight because it would match my shirt and a fire starter so I would not burn myself anymore. Side Story: a few weeks prior to this I was lighting a fire and when striking the match, the flame-lit end fell off the match and landed on my pj's burning a hole in them and burning my leg a little. Adrian took Owen shopping and he picked these out himself...my sweet thoughtful boys...thank you!
Adrian and Owen putting a new toy together. We made a point of putting things together right away rather than just moving from one gift to the next. It was nice to take breaks to play.
Isabelle wanted to have a "fleep" in her new doll house.

Santa got tricky with a few gifts, Owen had to follow the arrows to see who this gift was for.
Owen is wearing his Superhero cape from Grandma and holding up a new I SPY book.

This is a new game Owen got for Christmas (wonder pets Trouble) and I do not think a day has gone by where it has not been played at least once. Here he is taking a quick break from the game to wish Nana a Merry Christmas.
Breakfast happened around 10am...chocolate chip pankakes...yummy! (notice the game is being played)

Adrian putting together King Arthur's Castle - this was a tricky one...28 pages of directions...he spent hours and hours putting it together...what a great dad!
Isabelle playing Polly Pockets which she lovingly calls "Lolly Pocklets"
The kids got some new bath stuff from Santa - bath tints and foam soap...so of course we had to have bathtime mid-way through the day.


Mom came over mid-day and was the only one dressed - we all stayed in Jammies all day. Here she is holding up a present from Nora. And helping Isabelle feed her new baby. And opening up a button Christmas Tree that Owen had made for her.



Owen in Isabelle's new fairy wings...I am not sure they are supposed to give the wearer super lightning-fast speed...but that is what they did for this Spider Man.Here is Bella in the same fairy wings...looking like such a little fairy of the forsest flitting around the room in her wings and diaper.
Grandma always gets the coolest books...here are some shots of us reading the new 3D books.
Arian reading Jungle Animals
Grandma reading Dinosaurs
Owen and I reading Ocean Animals

A really great Christmas was had by all!