Things you should know about your mom

I love you all to pieces!!!! 

Your dad is my best friend! I fell in love with him the 3rd day I knew him (just took my head longer than my heart😊)

I fall in love deeper every day💗

I always knew family was super important, thanks to my parents I thought family's were FUN I loved growing up with my sisters and brothers and pray you have the same relationship with each other as I have with my siblings and parents.  We have so much fun together and I've always been family, family, family.

Now all the mushy stuff is out if the way here's some silly things

•I read magazines from back to front

•I used to be so uncomfortable with hugs  and affection, so much that I was called "porcupine" but now I crave hugs

•I have a cow lick that I've always hated right in the front right corner, that every hair dresser says I should work with it... I still despise it

•my favorite location is Waterton Alberta. I love the smell as soon as you open the windows in the car, the scenery is fantastic, the hiking trails phenomenal.  It's my own little slice of heaven🗻.  My favorite hikes are Crypt, Alderson-Carthrew, and Cameron Lake to townsite  just for future refrence because I day I will take you on them

•I've ridden an elephant 

•I love playing board games, so when your older it will seem archaic but I'm excited to play them with you

•I hate using a bath towel more than once

•I love camping, being outdoors, going on adventures and start to feel as if I'm in jail if I've been inside all day... Your dad teases me that he can count on one hand how many times I've stayed home

•I keep my passport up to date always... Because you never know when an opportunity arises

•I love grapefruit

•I don't like baths, but can stay in the shower forever

•I prefer manual toothbrushes over electric

•I dislike immensely ironing and would rather do anything else but that

•I like plain white socks

Things about being a mom

I am not a perfect mom (I know that's such a surprise for you all😉) but these are the things I'm great at... I'm not going to list the things I fall short at because there still works in process. 

•I love you all

• I'm big on holidays, I like to decorate for everything and anything.  I love to have pink valentine pancakes for Valentines Day, green ones for St. Patrick's Day and you get the idea. (Your Grama Waldie always did that for us when i was little) Birthdays are a huge deal...I like to make the cake and have a theme, decorate and just try and make you all feel so special for your birthdays ( I also remember your births and replay the last year, your milestones, and what I love about you, and how glad I am that you came to our family)

•I love to be busy and outside with you, to take you on all sorts of adventures, sometimes your dad teases me that I never stay home.  I want you to have so many different little experiences and be exposed to lots of interesting things. So we get to do lots of adventures

• I love to read to you all, and sing songs 

• I know the importance of healthy foods for your little bodies and really try and have healthy meals and snacks for you(don't worry you have a sugar daddy)

•I love to take lots of pictures so you'll have lots to look at and see your adorable squishy beautiful bodies one day:) 

•I love being outside, I love the mountains, I love the sun on my face, I love the smell of fresh air and the beauty of everything around us.  I want to instill in each of you what an amazing and beautiful world we live in. ( must be working a bit because when the leaves were turning colors I turned to you all and said "wow it's so... And you jumped in and said beautiful"

•

Fun Saturday

Alins still gone to Toronto till tomorrow night but we keep our days plenty busy.  Our ward picnic is today at the church and it was so much fun!!!! It started at 10 so we went and ruled the place taking over the little pool and having a grand time, the had a long slip and slide and after the kids watched other kids for a while Mason decided he wanted to do it. He LOVED it, then Dani tried.  They are now official slip and sliders:) then they had a barbecue lunch and we played for a bit more and then I bought them home to nap as we have Evie's birthday party later on.  Came home utter chaos (which it always is at nap/bed time) and now all 3 are snoozing! 

Just had to add...this morning before all our activities, Abbie found a playmate:)

Then we were off to buy Evie's birthday present and off to her party.  They had a bouncy castle and it was so fun to hang out with the McAteers again, there such a fun family.  We even got to try her delicious vegan chocolate cupcakes:) Mason and Daniela were so excited to give her the present and sing Happy Birthday to her.  On a side note Alin comes home tomorrow.  Yahhhhhh

Parc Omega, Mt Tremblant weekend with the Azzi's JUNE 29 & 30

We went on another road trip with the Azzi's.  There super easy to travel with and our kids get along great.  Our first stop for the weekend was Parc Omega, I had just finished bragging our kids up about how they weren't scared last time and we headed off with our bags of carrots.  Not 2 seconds later Daniela is surprised by 2 deer putting their heads right up close and personal thru her window. The sound that escaped her tiny little body was earth shattering...of course later we had to laugh about it as the Azzi's could hear her from their car.  We unbuckled the kids and Daniela sat in the middle console where she was a lot braver.  Loving the pigs, ducks, bears and all the other creatures.  As we were in the trail driving up to the petting zoo and picnic area the Azzi's vehicle shut off(overheated) so we made our way up and then Amanda and I took the kids up to the barns on the tractor ride while we let the car cool done and the menfolk fix it and probably cool down as well:)

  

 Amanda Azzi and Tristan, Ella

Me and Mason, Daniela and Abbie

We finished our day at the park with a picnic and seeing the rest of the animals, and Azzi's decided they should head back to Ottawa, we were a little bummed that we wouldn't be spending more time together and then we headed off to Tremblant.  When we were almost there they gave us a call and had decided that they would try and make it... They did and their car held up and the rest of the weekend was awesome!!! The kids played in the park, we got to go done the luge while they watched Abbie and dinner is always fun.  Tristan and Mason were giggling and laughing so hard at one of our meals and it was so fun to watch them.  The weather was great and another successful family outing:)

                                                               The Azzi's

 

On the tractor ride at parc omega

Pre Canada shindig

I decided it would be fun to have a few kiddos over for Canada Day (pre-Thursday) so we decorated a bit, made the cutest shirts for the kiddos with their hands and made stain glass maple leafs for window(wax paper and crayons) a Canadian day bunting for the divider.  Got some balloons and a couple of flags and got ready to party!!! Anderson's, Azzi's, Ghamian and mcAteer showed up and we ate good snacks with a Canadian maple leaf cake (raspberries and strawberries on whip cream shaped into the flag) then headed down to the gym which was super fun, busy and noisy, just the way I like things.  Then up for more treats and then outside to play in water table for a few minutes.  The kids all played great together and was nice to visit with the moms.  At this precise moment ALL three have fallen asleep which begs the question, should I clean up or rest:)

When Alin got home from work we had a porch date with the kids (mason loves watching the trucks go by) then supper (mushroom pizza) then down to the gym to play with the kids...enjoyable night. Showered kids, ready for bed and movie date with my hubby the old super mans after our chores were done:)

Discovery

Tonight Abbie discovered her hands as she was laying on the floor while I tried to get the other yahoos to sleep I looked at her and here she is with the cutest chubbiest hands in the air in front of her moving her fingers, closing and opening her fist all the while with a look of awe and wonder which then sparked a smile of pure joy. I'm sure she's thinking wow there attached to me and I can kinda control them... Isn't this nifty. Here's to capturing little moments like these.

A taste, a smell... Takes me back

Summer of days gone by...yesterday was so hot here in the nations capital, 37 degrees and with the humidity 40+ I snuck out to get diapers and some things for our mini road trip tomorrow.  Bought the things I needed and added a Fresca to the pile. As I hoped in the truck and started driving home, with the window rolled down and the sun beating on my arm I take a sip... Instantly I'm taken back to the summers gone by when I used to lifeguard, the smell of the pool in the morning when we took the pool cover off, the sun kissed skin that by the end of the summer had me fighting Indian status.  The days and nights spent in Waterton, hiking the trails, breathing in the mountain air,  days spent at the lake till the sun disappeared in the horizon and the Mosquitos started enjoying you as their lunch.  Having no cares in the world, where bonfires and bike rides were a weekly occurrence.  It was awesome, I loved everything about it and all these memories came flooding over me from just one sip

Mini holiday

June2,2013

The kids were great as we travelled to Toronto, we stopped at The big apple and they got out walked around and then we bought 2 pies, it has been an overcast day with moments of torrential downpour.  Hoping today yields better as we want to go with the kids to the zoo.  This morning when I was giving them a bath the bathtub had non-slip grips on the bottom in lines. Mason could hardly believe his eyes that this tub had "tracks for his McQueen" that boy of ours lives, eats, dreams cars.

We went to the Toronto zoo and it turned out to be a super hot day, with a huge downpour in the middle of.  We got to see some Pandas that were on loan from China and since we got there early we beat the crowds.  The kids were whiped out and slept almost the whole way to Niagra, except Miss Abbie who hates her carseat in the first place and just needed to escape for a few minutes.  We got to Great Wolf Lodge at about 3:45 and checked into our room(beautiful) this is our 3rd time her Alin just loves it!!!! Changed into our swimsuits, then went to the water park.  The kids LOVE it and Mason is getting braver and braver every time we come, Daniela is the splash queen and was giggling like crazy and Abbie loves to jump around when your holding her and splash too.  Swam till about 6:30 came back to room,rinsed off put on their pajamas and headed down to dinner (which is always an adventure, within a minute of each other Daniela sent her water and ice crashing to the floor and Mason got his finger stuck in the lid of his water, which induced a yelp and "Momma" while swinging the cup around with his finger in it) sometimes the sheer irony, exhaustion and work you just have to laugh:) back to the room for bed and the kiddos fell asleep quick:)

The fun part of this mini getaway is that the McAteers came too, we sure love their little family and the kids get along so well.  Kate and I even got to have our hair done while the menfolk watched the kids.  After we went back to their hotel room sat on the grass and had a pizza party.  It was also nice, that while we were swimming we watched their kids while they went down the slide and they watched ours.  They are super easy to holiday with and such good friends.