July 24th in Glenwood

We started the Pioneer day celebrations in Glenwood with the dance, followed by fireworks.And I have to say once again, the Glenwood Fireworks are still the best fireworks I have ever seen!

 Berlyn drinking her bottle at the beginning of the dance. She fell asleep right after this. It was a little late for her. 

Moses and Kael playing with their glow sticks at the dance.  

 

Who wouldn't love eating breakfast in the park? It means you get to go and play as soon as you are done with your pancake!

Moses asked to ride his bike in the parade this year. So we pulled out the same Angry Bird decorations from his preschool graduation and bought him some candy to throw to the kids. I think he did OK with just his cousins to help him. At least I didn't notice any big hold ups in the parade so he couldn't have slowed everyone down too much!

Fun Times with cousins! 

And last but not least are the races after lunch. The kids loved running. Moses even ran two. They called for all males under 30 and Moses lined right up. He got knocked in the head by some 30 year old, but he didn't even complain about it!

Berlyn lined up and showed some promise, but wouldn't actually crawl when they finally said go.

Kael took the race very seriously. That is one determined runner!

Clovers for Sale

Didn't you know they were lucky!

This was all Moses' idea. I just got out the markers, Every morning he puts the sign outside the door (when we are open), and every night or whenever we go somewhere he brings it in (when we are closed).

He hasn't sold any so far. Although his grandma did offer to buy 50, but Moses told her no. Apparently if she bought 50 he wouldn't have any left to sell to the other people that wanted one. So she could only buy 3. And even though they cost 1 cent, if you get three you still only have to pay 1 cent. Moses explained that his was a different kind of store. I haven't yet told him there were some flaws in his business plan...but he is only 5.

Lake Leavitt

We had so much fun at lake Osoyoos with the Leavitts this year. The Leavitt's are going to have to be careful - we might start inviting ourselves to the lake house every year!

 The oldest two preferred playing games on the ipad (Angry Birds of course!) While the younger ones would rather be outside on the beach. Our kids matched up so well!

 One-Eyed-Willie, the pirate left us clues to a buried treasure!

 How many boys can fit in one standard size bath tub - I think we had all 5 in at one point!

 Mmmmm! Milkshakes!

 Happy Canada Day!

 Proof that I was really there - and that Berlyn liked to suck on her life jacket!

The boys could not get enough tube rides! We would take them on a long crazy ride and they would cry for more when it was over!

WEM with Aunt Kate and Bridget

My good friend Kate lives in New Jersery, but in June she came to Edmonton for a visit. When she comes that close I can't help it - I have to go and visit her.

I was only there for one day - a very short trip. But we loaded up the kids and went to West Edmonton Mall to ride some rides. It was so much fun. Moses is tall enough now that he could go on all the rides, as long as there was an adult with him. I am happy to say - he LOVES roller coasters! We had a great time running around and riding as many rides as we could in the the three hours our special discounted rate would allow us.

We all went on the balloon ride together. Berlyn and I are taking the picture.

Berlyn's first time ever on a carousel. In this picture she didn't seem too impressed - but once the ride started going she seemed to really enjoy it.

 Moses and I on his first roller coaster ride. He was really nervous and even cried a little, but then he asked to go on it again. The second time he smiled and had a good time. Then we went on an even bigger one and he really enjoyed it.

After all the excitement we went back to Kate's Mom's house where the boys went outside and swam in the "lake" that had taken over parts of the yard.  What could be better after that than a bubble bath in a HUGE jet tub?! The boys loved it. It was more like a pool than a bath. I need to get one of those...

Soccer

Both boys played soccer this spring. I coached Kael's team. Kael was actually not that into the game, but I think it was an age thing. He probably spent just as much time sitting on the blanket with Berlyn as he did actually playing. Moses got more into it. Because I was coaching I didn't have a chance to watch him that much, but what I did see looked pretty good. Both boys had a lot of fun with it, so I'm sure they won't complain if we do it again next year!

One bad thing about coaching is that I can't get ANY pictures during the practices or games. A BIG thank you to my friend Annie for taking the above shot of Kael. 

Moses has graduated...

...from preschool. It's true. As Moses tells everyone when they ask him about school, "No, I don't have to go to school. I already graduated." They had a bike circus where they could decorate their bikes and ride around the empty ice arena.

Of course Moses wanted to decorate his bike like Angry Birds, the iPhone/iPad app that has become his latest obsession. He likes angry birds so much, that is almost all he would talk about for awhile. (He still only wants to eat PIG). And while one of his preschool teachers was in the states, she bought Moses an Angry Birds t-shirt. It was a little big, but I let him wear it with his angry birds bike.

Kael is now Three

I remember when I went to my 20 week ultrasound while I was pregnant with Kael. They told me I was having another boy. I'm not going to lie, I teared up a little bit. I was a tiny bit disappointed. I wanted a girl so badly. Obviously I was grateful to be told that I was having a healthy baby and I couldn't stay sad for long. A baby is a blessing no matter the gender. But if I had known then the little boy that was waiting to come join our family the way I know him now, my reaction would have been completely different. He is so amazing in so many ways. His sense of humor keeps us laughing almost non stop. He is so easy going and fun to be around. He has so much energy and sometimes it is contagious. He is so sweet and loving and he loves to cuddle. He is always eager to please and willing to help. His personality is so big for such a little person. What a three year old!

 Kael and his Buzz Lightyear Pinata.

All day he got angry when anyone tried to sing him "Happy Birthday". We sang anyway. So here he is with his classic pout face (bottom lip WAY out there) that he has been perfecting since he was just a month or two old. I wonder if he will still do it as an adult....

He got a bike for his birthday. Here is a video of him riding it at Moses' preschool graduation party all by himself. It took him awhile to figure it out, and this was the first time he could really do it by himself. He's getting pretty good at it now.

We now own a barn...

So we have decided to stay in Claresholm for awhile. We bought a lot - a big, 0.7 acre lot - and are going to start building a house. (and as you can tell from this picture we actually bought it awhile ago - in April) The lot also has a barn on it. It was built in 1917 and moved onto its current location in the 70s. We are super excited! Our house plans are done and we are hiring a builder. I can't wait to move in!

You can see 360 degree views by clicking on these links:
Outside Southeast of Barn

Outside Southwest of Barn

Outside North of Barn

Barn Upstairs

Barn Downstairs

Happy Easter!

Our Pre-Easter celebrations started with these really cool Borax crystals. I read about them online and knew I wanted to make them with the kids. We made shapes out of pipe cleaners, tied them to a pencil and soaked them overnight in a mixture of Borax crystals and water. The next morning the pipe cleaners were covered in crystals. We hung them in our window until after Easter. Scott made the coolest shapes (like this amazing frog!). It just made me realize once again that he should definitely be more involved in our craft time - especially if I want the crafts to turn out good!

We had a great time dying eggs! I made my own dye from food coloring this year. I thought it turned out pretty good, and it wasn't much harder than buying the little tablets. I would definitely do it again.

   

The Friday before Easter Scott's assistant, Marlys, dropped of an Easter basket for the kids. It was HUGE and filled with all kinds of neat stuff. She even remembered to put little things in there for Berlyn. (Like these adorable bunny ears!) It was so thoughtful and the kids really enjoyed it. Thank you, Marlys!

 

The Saturday before Easter, we went to Scott's parents house for Easter Dinner and, of course, an egg hunt. 

The festivities began with a lesson on the true meaning of Easter. There were a dozen eggs and each one had a different object inside to remind us of the story of Christ's atonement and resurrection. Here, Moses opened his egg to find a little cross and a nail.  

 The Egg Hunt...

Dividing the Spoils ...

Enjoying the treats...

This picture reminded me of how when Kael was little (before he turned one) he crawled over to a cream egg, unwrapped it and had eaten about half before I found him (he was quick!). 

What a cute, chubby baby he was!

This one's pretty cute too!

And her too...