Summer Vacation

Before I get going on the Summer Vacation photos,

I thought I should post this one first.

Dann bought this ride-a-long bike for Emma and they love going out biking together.

Dann loves it because he can take Emma anywhere at his speed and if she gets a bit tired, he can do all the work.

Dann's niece Krista was getting married in Kelowna this summer, thus it was our first stop on vacation.  

We stayed 5 nights and took in some sights.

We always enjoy a day at City Park.

Here we are at the Sails.

My dear friend Cheryl came from North Vancouver for the day to visit us.  She brought her new baby "Sophia" to meet us.  Sophia is a sweet natured little girl and we hardly heard a peep out of her, other than a few "goo's" here and there.

Unfortunately Cheryl's hubby Steve could not make the journey due to work commitments.

Ethan & Emma ate baby Sophia up!  

Emma was like a Mommy, catering to Sophia's every need and Ethan just wanted to squeeze the heck out of his new girlfriend.

We had to visit the water park on our adventure.  

It is always a favorite with the kids.

I love Emma's face in this photo!

Krista asked Emma to be the Flower Girl for her wedding and Emma was up for the task.

The day of the wedding started early, with an 8:30 a.m. hair appointment for all the bridal party.

Emma felt pretty special getting her hair done with all her "older" cousins.

Emma did very well, as she had rollers in first and then the stylist re-curled every curled piece before putting it all up in clips.

The end result was gorgeous 

I will post a wedding album, but here are a few shots of the wedding.  Keep in mind, the photographer had every one's attention, so our photos are very candid.

As you can see, being a Flower Girl is very hard work!!

Emma had a little rest beside cousin Kim's feet during the ceremony. 

"The Happy Couple"

Krista and Goose had grins from ear-to-ear on all day.

Krista's dress was stunning!

The photo below was taken in between shots with the photographer.

It was screaming hot out that day, so everyone was feeling the heat in their fancy dresses etc.  

Emma still managed to put on her best smile when she was asked to by the photographer.

Mom & Elson with their Granddaughter.

Emma melts my heart in these photos... 

It makes me forget how naughty she's been lately.

(she is so ready for school to start)

The reception was on the hotel's roof top.  It was beautiful up there, over looking Kelowna, but is was some hot.

Emma lost her formal dress for something a bit cooler.

Ethan was on day 3 without any afternoon naps (he usually sleeps 3 hours each day), so by 9:00 p.m. he was a bit grumpy.

I went back to the room with Ethan and Dann stayed with Emma at the dance.

(life with kids).

Emma posing with her three cousins.

She danced up a storm until midnight!

Here's a photo of Auntie Phyllis getting her "little boy" fill with Ethan.

Ethan was giggling so loud... he loved the alone time without Emma competing for Philly's attention

(Emma was at a sleep over with her old friend Sarina... Hazel & Willa too).

After Kelowna we headed towards the mountains.

We stopped at Mara Lake Provincial Park for a picnic.

I loved this lake growing up and the kids had fun exploring & playing.

The water was so warm.

I love Ethan's expression in the photo below.

Emma digging in the sand.

Dann made a pit stop for Ice Cream at 

"D Dutchman Dairy"

We went through the barns to see all the farm animals.

Next little stop on our adventure was the Enchanted Forrest.

I remember it being one of my favorite places to visit, but I could not tell Dann what exactly was inside the gates.

We had fun exploring and would recommend anyone with kids between 2-8 to stop.

We overnighted at Three Valley Gap.

We enjoyed our stay, it was really beautiful.

The kids were a bit of a handful and we ended up not touring the Ghost Town... 

traveling with youngsters can be exhausting.

The Hotel

We headed out the next morning.

We saw these big dudes outside of Golden.

We stayed with our good friends, Jennilyn & Adam.  

We met them in PR years ago.  

Just like us, they seem to transfer around a lot, and they recently settled in Southern Alberta

Little Marin is not so little anymore and is darn cute!

It was like time has stood still for Emma & Calli.

The two picked up right where they left off 4 years ago.

The girls decided to stay up until midnight talking in Calli's room and then got up at 6:00 a.m. to prepare breakfast in bed for all of us.

It was very sweet but they were a tad grumpy for the zoo trip...

not that these photos show how tired they were.

We also spent some time with Jamie & Brock.

Emma & Ethan loved seeing Reese & Taryn again.  

The weather was great, so Brock pulled out this little number for the kids to play with.

The two photos below crack me up.

Reese & Emma

Ethan

I think everyone should have a pair of these glasses kicking around for laughs & entertainment.

We always have the potty in the back of the van for emergencies.

I guess Ethan felt it was an emergency!

I loved this house so I took a picture of it.

Once we got to Grandma & Grandpa's, the kids were a lot more settled.

Ethan was enjoying his new Monster Trucks

(Dann was too).

We decided to come home a few days early from vacation.. just to relax etc.

Emma was happy because she got one more - all day - play in with Darby before she moved away.

(this might have something to do with Emma's poor behaviour).

That's all for now.

School's Out For... SUMMER!!

School wrapped up for Emma this morning.  Her class had a little song & poem presentation for the parents and then her teacher presented them with a Graduation Certificate.  

After the presentation, all the sugar treats came out!  

The kids were running wild within minutes.  

I am not sure what we will do all summer (Emma may drive me to drink), but I am looking forward to not rushing around in the morning 

(getting my Princess to school).

May & June

My mom came up to help us out between nanny's and the kids had a blast with her.

Two Pretty Butterflies...

Emma & Darby are still best buds after almost four years.  Despite the 2 year age difference, they seem to get a long quite well.

The sad thing is... Darby will be moving away at the end of June.

Emma is going to be lost without her next-door-neighbour shadow.

Now that the nice weather finally arrived, everyone is busy getting their landscaping done.  

A few neighbours brought in top soil with a "Bobcat".

Ethan stood on the deck, with his hands in his pockets, watching the Bobcat work for hours...

We have a "Pet" swallow nesting in our bird house.  

We are excited to see the babies soon!

Yet another photo of the bouncer...

the kids love it... 

(parents do too)!

Redneck Country

In true Northern Albertan Style, 

we lived like "Rednecks" and took in a Monster Truck Show at a local business.

 

Ethan loved it and Emma covered her ears as it was very loud.

I took a video of the craziness.

I have never been to a Monster Truck Show, 

thus I did not know exactly how loud it was.

In the video I jumped from the noise when Big Foot accelerated!

On a different note, 

here are a few pics of some other things that we have been doing...

Ethan loves to pull out his tool box & hard hat when his daddy is fixing things around the house.

Nothing like a late May snow storm... 

I swore I would not pull out the winter coat & snow pants again... but guess what...

I DID!

Auntie Phyllis sent the kids little "I love You" notes and they were thrilled.  Ethan carried his green "post it" around all day long.

We finally decided to get rid of our "lino" and replace it with beautiful tile.

Dann did all the prep work (ripped up the lino & crap) and put down a new sub floor.

Dann worked very hard 

(days off & late nights)

We hired a friend who owns his own tile company to do the tile work...

It turned out gorgeous!

Dann still has the base boards to put on & paint etc.

Not sure why we waited so darn long to do this??

My Little Man

It was time to give Ethan, yet another, haircut.  Dann suggested bringing the cut up above his ears.  I love Ethan's crazy curly locks, but it was time for his "Rock Star" hair to be cut.  

The stylist must have taken 2 1/2 inches off.

He still looks cute, but in a little boy way now.

One never knows... the Rock Star/Surfer Boy may be back this summer! 

I have to share a few stories for everyone to laugh about.

Ethan makes me laugh daily, but some days, what he has to say makes me bust a gut.

FIRST:

A few days ago I was getting dressed and I was putting my bra on.  Ethan looked at me, pointed at the bra and said, "Mamma, putting your big mitts on?"

He figures my bra is like a pair of mittens and my breast are hands or something... it was too funny.

SECOND:

Ethan is in the tub last night, and he still has a huge LOVE for his penis.  He decides to turn onto his stomach so he can play with his little pecker, figuring I would not know what he was doing.

I saw what was up and told him to leave his penis alone and play with his toys. 

Ethan's response was, "I can't Mamma, I can't".

THIRD:

Ethan's newest thing to say, especially when things do not go his way...

"No Fair Momma, No Fair!"

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday brought us many chocolate treats and two very excited kids.

We hoped the Easter Bunny would have been able to do the egg hunt outside, but it rained the night before, thus he must have thought an indoor hunt was better (after all, who wants soggy chocolate eggs!).

Emma & Ethan had a hoot looking for eggs around the house and Ethan picked it up pretty good.  He was better at eating the "Eggies" than finding them, but whatever.

Needless to say I had two "crazy" kids while Dann slept (he was on nights).

Dann got up after a few hours of sleep, packed up the truck and he & Emma left for Grandma's house.  

Dann wanted to finish painting his mom's condo (the two bedrooms and the feature wall in the living room).

Emma was excited to hang out with Grandma, Auntie Jeannette and all her cousins.

Since I had no one to cook for this Easter, Ethan & I had Easter Dinner at McDonald's... a close second to ham & scallop potatoes.  

Another bonus to only having one child around, is all the things you can get done.  I even had an afternoon nap one day... that has been a long time coming.

On a different note: 

1) I broke my little toe on Saturday (rammed my foot into the closet door jam in the hallway).  That hurt like hell and it is still black & blue.

2) I went to bed Monday with a toothache and after two days of pain I thought I better go to the dentist.  I have an abscess tooth and need a root canal & crown.

So that's all I have to say for today.

 

Easter Etc.

We coloured eggs last weekend and although we lost 3 (they cracked) the kiddies had fun!

The final product...

A boy after his Dad's heart.

Ethan loves to where all the necessary safety equipment before playing with his tools.

A few weeks ago we met Brock, Jamie & the girls (friends of ours) in Edmonton for a weekend.

Edmonton would not be the same without a trip to West Ed & Galaxy Land.

Emma was so excited to see her friend Reese

(Taryn too).

And they loved posing for the camera.

Jamie & I left the kids with the boys and we went shopping.

The trade off was the boys went to the pub in the evening while we sat with the kids in the hotel.

Taryn has grown so fast... she is Ethan's first girlfriend.

During our visit, we also met up with Dann's buddy Jim & his daughter, Abbey.

We went to "Chucke Cheese" and the kids had a blast.

The food was crappy, but the games etc were a hoot.

Chucke had a little play area for toddlers too.

Ethan loved the slide and Clifford.

This photo was taken before all the snow melted.

Emma looks so grown up... crazy how fast it happens.

High School Musical On Ice

Emma received a ticket to the "High School Musical On Ice" for her Birthday from her friend Kaley 

(Kaley's mom Anita really). 

I thought we should make a girl's afternoon out of it, so I got a ticket too.

Everything was WAY over priced at the show, but I found these High School Musical Cheerleading outfits at Walmart weeks before at a much more reasonable price.

The girls had a blast... singing and watching the skaters.

I am sure Emma will remember it for a long time 

(similar to the Doodlebops)!

Ethan enjoys his books and reading time.

Here we are reading Emma's new 

Madagascar book from school.  

I think Ethan likes it more!