a post with no photos :(

I have having some trouble with my camera, so this will be a post with no photos.

Matthew started back at preschool yesterday. It is amazing what a difference a year makes. He is just so much more confident and excited than he was last year.

I also whipped up a few sewing projects. I made a home for my cell phone (thanks susanna). I also tried a reversible journal cover, which turned out kind of neat. (this is where some photos would be nice...)

I got my haircut on Monday. You'll just have to imagine what it looks like. :)

Faye and Maya fly in tonight for a nice little visit. We can't wait to see them again!

And that's the latest around here.

to infinity and beyond!

We are in the middle of a Toy Story craze around here. It's a pleasant break from the Thomas craze that went on for 2 years :)




It all started when the boys went to visit my friend's kids in Calgary. Caleb became quite attached to their Buzz and Woody toys and had trouble dealing with the fact that they could not come home with him. I'll let you imagine the rest of that story...


When we got back from our trip, we borrowed Toy Story and Toy Story 2 from the library. We have coloured pictures of all the characters, we have bought some of the figurines, we have dressed in cowboy hats and pretended to be Woody. We find ourselves quoting them at strange times "Not today, sir" and of course, "To infinity and beyond!"

Or as Caleb says "A beauty and ye-yond!"

Buzz Lightyear drawing (Matthew-August 2007-age 4)

more sewing projects

The simple tote from Bend the Rules Sewing:
Here's the striped side

Here's the polka dot side

And here's the tea towel apron

Special thanks to my assistant photographer, Matthew :)

learned

These are the things I've learned in the last little bit:

- I learned how to wind a bobbin.

- I learned how to thread my sewing machine.

- I learned how to make this cute drawstring bag.

- I learned not to take two boys to the fabric store right before suppertime.

- I learned how to make this headband!

for Susie :)

You just have to jump on your birthday!

And Faye got in on it too!

Thirty Three on Thursday

Thirty three "make me happy" things :)

1. a clean scrapbooking table


2. emails to read


3. a new simple scrapbooks magazine to read


4. out of town friends popping in


5. kids giggling while mommies visit


6. fussy boys eating well at others peoples' houses


7. chicken caesar pizza


8. crystal lite


9. flavoured water


10. watching Matthew catch butterflies


11. pretending to be pirates/shrek/buzz lightyear


12. baby cousins


13. a new haircut


14. praying with kids


15. being on summer holidays


16. a big fat zucchini from my mom's garden


17. a new bottle of cherry sauce (because I ate my last bottle in a week)


18. a bouquet of fresh flowers on my kitchen table


19. new clothes


20. a new nightgown


21. hugs


22. kisses


23. i love yous


24. being served eggs for breakfast


25. some new scrapbooking supplies


26. a new sewing machine

27. a new book to read


28. a four year old's great idea to have a picnic lunch in the backyard


29. having a picnic lunch with butterflies


30. water balloons


31. chicken salad sandwiches


32. naptime


33. birthdays

(and all this before noon)

buffalo days

Our fair is called Buffalo Days. Really. It is. What's your fair called?

So here are a few more details and photos from our trip to the fair.

We hadn't been to fair for at least 6 years, so we parked at the wrong end and had to walk all the way to the other side of the fairgrounds to get to the kiddie rides. We bought 22 tickets for the rides and each ride took four tickets so we (they) had to choose wisely.

The first ride they chose was the cars. We weren't sure if Caleb would be brave enough to go on a ride without his mom, but he was. And he had a great time. They both did. :)

Next ride, the helicopters. They were the first ones on so they got to sit in it for quite awhile while they were waiting for the other kids to get buckled in. They enjoyed the pre-ride almost as much as the actual ride! Hee hee. But of course, it is pretty cool to actually fly up, up, up in a helicopter.Then, with only 6 tickets left, we decided to take a little break from the rides and go see a show. We went to the Little Ray's Reptile Zoo show. The boys got a bit tired of the show (although it was very educational, just not suited to a two year old's attention span) so we went and looked at the alligators and snakes in the cages.

Afterwards, we walked over to the petting farm and saw a calf, some sheep, a goat that was trying to eat a girl's mini-donuts and some llamas. We then sanitized our hands (hee hee) and went back to the rides.

We bought two more tickets and told each boy that they could chose one more ride. Caleb chose the horsey merry-go-round (I was hoping he would). And I got to go with him (I was hoping I would). Up and down he went. Each time we went around we would smile and wave at Matthew and Daddy watching us.

My adventurous (yet cautious) Matthew chose this "ride". Or as he calls it, an obstacle course. Rick could have gone with him, but he said he wanted to go by himself. There were some tense moments when he didn't know which way to go and we had to coach him from the ground. And also when he got nervous on the swaying bridge. But he made it through it on his own. And he was so proud of himself!

We started walking back to our car, stopping of course for the cotton candy. And there you have it. A wonderful first experience of Buffalo Days :)

fun stuff

Maybe it's because I realized that summer is half over... but we've been doing a ton of fun stuff this week. Maybe it's just because it's summer :)

Sunday night we went out for ice cream. You should see the boys polish of a strawberry sundae. Especially Caleb. He sits right up on his knees and just digs right in!

On Tuesday, we went to the Art Gallery. There was an exhibit about architecture and it was fun to teach Matthew a bit about that (not that I know very much about architecture, but I guess enough to give a beginner's course to a 4 year old).

On Tuesday afternoon, we decided to bake a cake. For no reason (and from a mix, of course).

Wednesday morning, the boys and I went out to the Farmer's Market downtown. We bought some cherry sauce (that is so yummy on waffles, pancakes or ice cream), some rhubarb (I'm going to attempt a rhubarb crisp), some cookies and a banana bread. We also played at the playground.

And Wednesday, Rick came home from work early and we spent a few hours at the fair. This was the first time we had ever taken either of the boys to the fair. They had lots of fun.

great grandpa

We're back from a visit to small town Saskatchewan. And we had a great time.

The boys had fun visiting great Auntie's farm. They laughed hysterically when my cousin's daughter chased the chickens around the chicken coop. They loved to pet the little baby pups. They were amazed that they were allowed to "drive" the tractor.

It was so nice for them to visit with their great grandpa and extended family.

we love you

(if you click on it, it should get bigger)

we're back!

We're back from a fun holiday to visit our Auntie Faye, Uncle Andrew and cousin Maya. We had a great time.

Here are some highlights:

Playing with sweet Maya and seeing how much she's grown. She can sit up now and thinks her cousins are just hilarious when they juggle for her and entertain her.

Playgrounds:

We played at the playground at Burger King, the playground in Medicine Hat, the playground close to Auntie's house in Calgary and also the playground at the zoo.

Swimming:

Swimming and watersliding at the hotel on the way (and on the way back), swimming at the Hot Springs in Radium and even swimming in the backyard with Maya. It was very hot while we were there so it was great to be able to cool off.

The cabin:

They have the most amazing cabin and we had such a great time. The boys saw the mountains for the first time.

The zoo:

Gorillas, zebras, giraffes, lions, kangaroos, hippos, turtles, ostriches...

And now we're back, but we look forward to seeing them again next week when they come to visit us!

family time

It's sooooo nice to be on summer holidays, to feel more relaxed at the end of the day, to have time for some fun family times in the evening.

Like last evening....

happy belated Canada Day!

Rick and Matthew both have colds, so we didn't celebrate too much.

But, we were invited over to Grandma and Grandpa's for the annual Canada Day Cake!

Mmmm. And don't forget the Maple Leaf cookies too!

And by the way, yipppeee! I'm on summer holidays!

funny things

Mommy: You're funny. You should be a comedian.

Matthew: Ummm, yes.

Mommy: Do you know what a comedian is?

Matthew: Tell me.

Mommy: A comedian is a person who tells jokes.

Matthew: I think I'll be a cameleon... Do you know what a cameleon is?

Mommy: Tell me.

Matthew: It's an animal who tells jokes! (silly grin)


* * * * * * *

Caleb (at toys r us): Mommy, sprinkler. Buy it. Caleb's house. Pleeeeeeeeease!

Mommy: We're not buying anything today, we're just looking.

Caleb: Okay.

(2 seconds later)
Caleb: Mommy, pirate ship. Buy it. Caleb's house. Pleeeeese, mommy, pleeeeeease!

Mommy: No, sweetie. We're not going to buy anything today.

Caleb: Okay.

(2 seconds later)
Caleb: Mommy spiderman. Buy it. Caleb's house. Buy it. Pleeeeeeeeese....
(I think you get the picture)

second annual

This weekend was the second annual suziebeezieland Saskatchewan convention. Nadine and I met up again and I had a great time.

Here's what we did:

The boys and I picked her up at her aunt's house (which is exactly a two minute drive from our house. Really. It is. I timed it on our way home)

We took her to a scrapbooking store that is closing down next week so everything was 50% off!

We let her shop. (well, kinda. Matthew kept recommending interesting products to her and Caleb had a two year old tantrum because we left his soother in the car)

We went out for lunch and kept her entertained by telling silly stories and throwing toys on the floor so that mommy would have to stick her head under the table to get them. Oh and of course we looked at all the scrapbooking supplies that she bought!

We drove her back to her aunt's house and sang "If I had a Million Dollars" to her and pretended to see various animals in the back of the truck ahead of us.

Just your typical suziebeezieland convention :)

Thanks Nadine! You were such a great sport and so kind to the boys! We had so much fun!

turning four

Just some photos from the big four year old's busy weekend. The cake stayed together and the party was loads of fun :)

He started the big day with a banana muffin with a candle in it for breakfast.

A cool new bike from Mommy and Daddy!
Opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa's house (he got a cool scooter and some outdoor toys)
Playing outside that afternoon with the sprinkler and new outdoor toys.

Ice cream cake with the Grandmas and Grandpas (and uncle Mark)Then the next day was his pirate party. Everybody at the party was given a pirate name. Here's Captain Matthew Firebeard! Captain Matthew's brother, "Parrot-Got-Me-Eye" Caleb:Here's the amazing lego pirate ship that Uncle Mark built for the pirate party. I couldn't get Matthew to look at the camera for this. Can you blame him? Before the big treasure hunt, the boys had to decorate their pirate treasure bags with foamie pirate stickers. On the way to the treasure, they were instructed to decorate our driveway with some pirate-y chalk pictures.
X marks the spot (quit looking at my derrière!)
Finally... the treasure!And another shot of the cake! How old are you buddy?
Building with his logs (a gift from Grandma and Grandpa D.)Caleb is learning not to break every log cabin that Matthew makes :)Mommy needs a little snuggle with her big birthday boy.

Phew! And then we celebrated Father's Day on Sunday too! What a busy weekend. But so much fun!