Gingerbread House

Our local hospital had a silent auction to raise money for it's foundation. They had numerous different gingerbread houses and Christmas trees to bid on.

We bid on this house and got it.

The detail is amazing!

The roof is layered with chocolate thin crackers and peanut crackers.

The trees are ice cream cones with icing.

I love the little poinsettia plants around the house.

The chimney is made of cubed caramels which are stacked on each other.

TOO COOL!

I CANNOT WAIT TO TASTE IT!

On a side note...

Should I be concerned that my boy lines everything up in a row (cars/trucks/animals)

including his Christmas oranges??

Halloween 2009

It would not feel like Halloween up north if there was not any snow.

Mother Nature obliged and dumped 1/2 foot of the white fluffy stuff the day before the little goblins came out to play.

oh well...

Emma's Halloween dance at school got cancelled due the the mass out break of H1N1 et/al (flu, cold etc).

Instead of dancing in drag all night long... we carved pumpkins at home.

Dann got creative with a skull and Emma loved her "funny" face.

Ethan and I dug out the slop and then called it a night

(that's really the only fun part isn't it?!).

Here's my charming little boy practicing for the big night.

He had "Trick or Treat" down pat!

Along with snow comes dressing warm. This year was no different. We had to plan our costumes so they were big enough to wear outdoor gear under neath.

Emma decided to go simple but very cute with the traditional

"Black Cat"

Ethan could really care less what he wore, just as long he was going out to get candy.

We chose one of the many dress up animal costumes in the tickle trunk!

(Mr. Dress-Up for those of you old enough to recall).

He was an adorable!

Although there was a shortage of kids out trick or treating, there certainly was not a shortage of treats.

The kids wasted no time digging in once we sorted it at home (Mom & Dad too).

I hope everyone had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Family Outing

Our family outing began with a petting zoo, cotton candy, popcorn and face painting at a local business. The clown had her pig with her too... the kids loved it!

Emma decided she would like to have a mouse face...

which turned out fabulous!!

After all the treats & festivities, we went to the park for some fun.

We took a couple family pictures while we were there.

Ethan looked away at the last minute...

but it is still a good pic of all four of us!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan

Ethan celebrated his 3rd Birthday on Friday.

We do not know many kids his age (everyone has moved away), but we managed to have a little "dinner" party for our young man.

Why do kids hate hearing "Happy Birthday" sang to them?? Here's Ethan showing us how happy he was about the song.

Maybe our singing was bad?

Notice his middle finger...

I know we weren't that bad!!

We all had fun, but the camera's batteries went dead, so no photos of the gift opening...

SORRY.

First Tooth

After much waiting & anticipation, Emma finally lost her first tooth. Emma was so excited, she called me at work and asked me to come home to see it...

(so I did)

It loosened enough while she was brushing her teeth and Dann was able to gently pull it out.

Emma had to show Jonah right away, so she went down to Jonah's room and came back with $5.00!!

Emma decided she wanted to leave a note for the tooth ferry, asking the tooth ferry to leave her tooth behind as she has decided to collect them.

Yes, a bit morbid & gross, but both Dann & I did the same!!

Clearly the apple does not fall far from the tree!!

Still cute as ever...

Michael Jackson

I am sure most of you have seen the "Larry King" video showing the ghost sightings at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

We let Emma take a peak at the video and asked her if she can see any ghosts.

Of course it's always fun to capture someone's expressions when they are not expecting something to pop out at them... just as it is in this case with Emma.

LOL!!

Goodnight Moon

Ethan enjoys listening to the classic bedtime story...

"Goodnight Moon"

Soccer & more

Ethan started soccer today and he had a blast.

The class is 30 minutes long but 20 minutes in, the kids were losing their steam.

They started with a warm-up, including stretching, balancing and crawling through tunnels.

Ethan was so proud of himself and cannot wait for Wednesday.

(the next class)

Dann's mom collected many (over 100) salt & pepper shakers over the years and now Dann has them.  

He wants to sell them on e-bay, so he took photos of them all.

I picked out a few of my favorites...

"Old drunk hobo by his bottle of moonshine"

While my mom was visiting this past weekend we took the kids to the movie...

"Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs"

It was in 3-D and a great family show.

The kids loved their 3-D glasses!!

Anyone who knows me knows I am fairly organized. 

This past weekend I went into Emma's room to do a little PURGING!!

She is a huge "Pack-Rat" and every 4-6 months I have to go in and clean out the junk.  Everything is labelled but somehow never seems to end up back in it's place.

Needless to say I was sorting & purging for 5 hours

(notice the labeling machine in the centre of the mess)!

Emma always has a melt down when I start but is so happy when I am finished.  

She loves organization as much as I do.

Every bin & container is labelled...

I possibly need meds... lol!

Maybe I should quit my day /night job and become a professional organizer!

Emma started her music class this past week.

The class is based on keyboard, voice, theory & songs.

I hope she enjoys it!

school starts

Emma started grade "1" with flying colours.

Emma was very excited about her first day of school and no tears were shed by Emma or Mom.

I guess we were all ready for her to take the next step.

She is getting so tall... 

Of course, Ethan had to get in the photo shoot too.

I think Ethan thought he was starting school and he was so excited to walk with Emma to her classroom.  

Unfortunately, Ethan may have shed a few tears when we walked home alone. 

Dann was getting creative with the camera.  

Ethan likes the sound of his voice when his ears are under water in the tub.

There is a new park in town and the kids love going to play there.

Emma loves her new hat that Jenny made for her.

I think she looks fabulous in it!

I love this photo...

my baby looks so grown-up!!

Girl's Trip

Emma and I headed to my parents for a week to take in a family wedding.  

Dann could not get the time off, so Ethan stayed home with Daddy and Emma & I had a Mommy/Daughter vacation.

My brother Dean made the trip home, but was flying solo as well, thus we hung out together like old times.

Grandma B, Uncle Dean, Emma & I took in the fair while we were home.  It was 30' C that afternoon and I was loving life!

Uncle Dean rode most of the rides with Emma because child birth did a number on my equilibrium.  Needless to say, I can not spin around in circles anymore :(

The bumper cars are always a good place to start.  Dean thought his car was really slow, but said it may have been made for someone a bit smaller than him??

Either way, Emma was loving the "one on one" time with her Uncle Dean!

Emma has always loved swings and the size of this bad boy did not stop her.  

Emma stepped up like an old pro! 

This ride was like a swing, but lying down... right up Emma's alley!

Roller Coasters and Slides do not bother my tummy, so Emma & I had a race down a large slide.  

She won hands down.  

Dean caught the moment on film, but cut my head off.

Emma was excited & nervous to get on the ferris wheel.  Uncle Dean assured her there was nothing to worry about.

This ship went side to side and twirled round in circles all at the same time.  

Emma loved it! 

I felt sick watching it.

Like I said, roller coasters and me MIX... 

even the kiddie size!

Our main purpose of the trip was attending my cousin Jenna's wedding. 

Here are a few pics from her special day.

All of these adorable beings are little cousins of mine.

The two Princesses in the back are Georgia & Faith.

The handsome Prince in the front is Bennett and the third Princess in the front is Charlie.

I LOVED the Flower Girl Dresses!

Alan (daddy), Jenna (bride) and Debbie (mommy).

Jenna's dress was fabulous and she looked beautiful!!

The bride & groom had a candy table with little boxes to fill up for all the guests.

Everyone got to pick what they wanted and how much!

I thought this was a brilliant idea and everyone of all ages enjoyed filling up their memory box.

The room was decorated lovely!

Emma wanted to make a grand entrance!

Since it does not happen every often these days, my brother and I together, we took a few photos to remember the occasion.

My Little Princess!

Brendon & Jenna cutting the cake.

Debbie & Alan

(who looked amazing as well).

My cousin Julie with her latest addition...

Hudson

(SOOOO CUTE)!

And finally...

my gorgeous kiddies!