Happy Birthday Baby!

Well my youngest monkey (to date) is two today! He's a fun little guy, full of life, still not talking yet, but always on the go with a mischievious twinkle in his eyes! Here's a few "memory lane" pictures of my not-so-wee babe and also some with his ice cream cake, which was Ethan's request!

Missing letters....

Hmmm.... a children's festival and a missing letter on the hotel sign... inviting or what!!!??? Apparently my aunt and cousin enjoy crazy signs as much as I do! (I stole this from their photo gallery on facebook - it was taken on their trip to Victoria!)

Dear Mr. Premier

Dear Mr. Premier... we think you need to take a drive on this highway (between Sceptre and Cabri)... it's pretty bad! Being from BC, I'm actually in awe that this is called a HIGHWAY!

Our poor truck heading to the shower, after a long journey...

Success!!!

If you want to find "success"... go one more kilometre!!! This is the name of a town we passed on our travels! Couldn't resist taking a picture!

A weekend away...

This past May long weekend, we loaded up and headed to Calgary and area... we didn't leave home until shortly after 5pm on Thursday eve and got to Calgary around 1 am. We had booked a hotel and had specifically requested that the crib be set up BEFORE we got there, due to the late arrival, but of course it wasn't! Liam took this time to tuck himself into our bed and pulled out all of his "clown" tricks! He was quite the little ham while travelling too and loved to torment Jackson every time he fell asleep (he would pull his hair or hold his hand etc and of course thought he was hilarious)! On Friday we did a 45 minute run through the Chinook Centre and then had lunch with friends, Scott & Katie at Earl's. It was good to see them & was our first time meeting Katie in person. From here, we headed to the Calgary Zoo and met up with our friend Rania, who spoiled the boys with JellyBellies, monkeys and clothes!!! And to show what a small world it is, her landlords in Calgary are people that Miles knows from his hometown!!! We had supper together at Boston Pizza (Olive Garden had over an hour wait - boohoo!) and then headed to Cochrane for the rest of the weekend...

We had a great visit in Cochrane with friends, Jason & Maria (a high school friend of mine) and went to a Children's Festival, Calaway Park and the guys also had a round of golf! The weather was a little on the chilly side and rained off & on but we managed to have fun regardless! On Sunday morning, we went to church with them since their daughter's class was singing and once again, Miles had graduated from high school with one of the pastors!

We left Cochrane on Monday am with snow coming down!!! Very crazy for May 21st but I do remember having snow on May 22, 2002 - my first spring on the prairies! The crummy weather has now reached us today and we too have had some wet snow mixed in the downpour! Anyways, we headed to see Miles' grandma in her nursing home on our way home (and helped her with supper) and then spent the night with his aunt and uncle who are always fun to visit.

On the drive between the nursing home and the farm, the roads were insanely muddy from all the rain and the drive that should have taken us 15-20 mins took about 40 mins. Also we have a recall on the traction control in our vehicle, so that was REALLY messing things up because the engine kept cutting out! Miles put it into 4 wheel drive but we still slipped & slided like we were on sheer ice... apparently traction control doesn't work in mud anyways & dear hubby didn't realize that he could have turned it off (which would have only kept the engine from cutting out)... needless to say I was relieved to get to our destination!!! What a mess of mud!

To see more pictures from our journey, check out my travel blog: From the Prairies and Beyond and for those on facebook, I've added an "album" there too!

Visiting with Miles' Grandma

My view from the truck window!!!! Mud, mud and more mud!

Liam pulling Jackson's hair, while he sleeps!

Ethan & Jackson on the ride home....

At Boston Pizza, there was a balloon man who made this amazing ELMO!!!

My First Picture!!!

Yesterday was our ultrasound and we got to see our newest little munchkin! From measurements etc, it looks like my due-date might be a week sooner... but then again it could also mean that the babe is not-so-small! What else is new!!?? These are 3-D pictures by the way!

Arm across face and ear

Legs crossed

Ethan thinks these little legs look like a bird & Miles thinks they look like the "Robax" man (for back pain)

Happy Mother's Day!

Well I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! I was spoiled ALL weekend long, so that was a treat! On Friday night I went to a city-wide ladies banquet for an annual convention called "Shine" (but didn't go to the Saturday sessions); on Saturday morning, we went to a Mother's Day breakfast at church (the guys cooked, served, set up & cleaned up!) and then we went to Home Depot and picked out some beautiful planters and plants to fill them with! On Sunday, we went to church (all the moms got a pink carnation) and then to Earl's for lunch, followed by Starbuck's! The remainder of the day was fairly uneventful until the evening... the skies opened and our beautiful sunshine turned to rain.... and Liam's mouth opened and we "wore" everything he had eaten that day! He was really cranky ever since getting up from his nap and obviously felt miserable, so at about 8pm, I took him to a walk-in clinic and got prescriptions for his chest & ears! He's a little more "normal" this morning!

One of the mom's from Ethan's class, works at Home Depot and brought the "Kids Workshop" to class! I got this beautiful birdhouse planter and great card... the inside reads (in his writing): MOM I love you because you play with me! love, EtHAN

A hanging basket and card from my secret sister... "Good Moms let their kids lick the beaters. Great Moms turn the mixer off first." (glad to know I qualify in the good and great category!!!)

My planters & plants from my hubby and boys... and I got the fun of assembling them myself!

Exploring!!!

On Saturday (before lunch and before going home) Jannelle and I took the boys on a hike by the creek. It involved climbing fences, dodging rocks and climbing a hill... this is all fine but A: I didn't check my footware before I left & thought I was wearing something else and B: I had no intention of carrying Liam on my shoulders for 2/3 of the trek!!! It was a beautiful day though and little boys love to explore... definitely more exciting than city sidewalks!

Looking at the skull... is it a cow or a deer or a dinosaur....???

"What could this hole be from?"

Walk the Line...

Liam exploring rocks and other little things

Liam and a lone dog

On the farm....

Last Sunday night, Miles (and Jackson) left for the farm and helped with seeding for most of the week. We allowed Ethan to miss school on Friday and the rest of us headed out on Thursday afternoon for two nights. It ended up raining on Thursday night, so we were able to partake in "Midnight Madness" on Friday - an entire day of sales on Main Street... kinda fun! They were back on the tractor by Saturday though!

Liam tormenting the kitty... he was determined to get the cat in the pantry and shut the door but that never happened and at one point, he had the poor cat by the tail and was dragging him across the kitchen floor!

Liam and Koy playing school (or so it appears anyways - I think it was more like, "how much stuff can we get into!?")

Miles seeding....

Ethan joins Miles on the tractor for a bit

Jackson pushed Liam all around the yard.... isn't that what big brothers are for?!

Happy Birthday Little Sister

Happy Birthday Sarah - hope you have a great day!