Asher Turns 11!

Asher' birthday this year was also the last day of school, so his whole class celebrated with pizza, donuts, & going bowling!  You might think that was enough, but Asher was not satisfied that that was enough of a celebration!

After school we let Asher open his presents!

 A card from Grandma & Grandpa!

A new video game (which we have all been enjoying!)

A new book by David Walliams!  The kids love these books, & Asher actually is happy about the gift, he just insisted on not smiling...

Then we headed to Montana's for dinner since Asher wanted to go somewhere that would make a big deal out of his birthday.  Seeing as they put a giant hat with moose antlers on your head while they sing to you, Montana's fit the bill!

Looking forward to a year of 11!

A few days later we had a birthday party at the splash park with some friends from church & school, but we had such a good time we didn't take any photos.  We'll just have to remember the good times instead!

Beach Day!

One of the things we do as often as we can is go to the beach!  When we have company we take them to the beach with us!  Normally it's just the kids & I, & while the kids play in the water & build things in the sand I read a book.  Troy & Tara's family is not used to being so sedentary, so they did a bit of  beach exploring as well.

They found big & small starfish...

Asher became a merman...

 And the kids built a few sandcastles!

After our fun day at the beach we went to dinner at one of our local pubs.  The kids like it because they have etch-a-sketches to play with, & we like it because it has good food & a fun atmosphere.

When we got the bill we saw that we hadn't been charged for the kids' meals, so we brought it to the waitress' attention.  "Kids meals are free this month!" we were told!  If only we had known earlier, we would have come more often!

Chancery Turns 8!

Our family's birthday tradition is that the person whose birthday it is gets to pick a restaurant for dinner.  Chancery chose to eat at Boston  Pizza, & it was a nice warm day, so we sat outside.  Boston Pizza is at the corner of 2 fairly busy roads, & once when we were leaving we witnessed an accident in the intersection.  I think the kids pick this restaurant in hopes that it will happen again.  Well, Chancery got her wish.  While we were eating, 2 cars collided trying to beat a light.  Now, Asher & Chancery joked that we should call it the "Car Crash Restaurant"!

 Since the weather was so warm, the kids' ice cream was quite melted, & there is always more ice cream than the kids should have an hour before bedtime, so Chad usually takes one for the team & eats a few bites.  Asher was trying to drink as much of the ice cream as he could before Chad could eat it!

 Chancery was very excited to open her presents, despite the fact that she knew what a few of them were since she had gotten into my present stash a few months before!

She received a few lego sets...

A fairy costume for her stuffies...

 And a David Walliams book which stated that it came with a "Free Owl"!

(she found the owl)!

Fair Days & Pizza Ranch!

 We decided it was time to head to the fair on the last day of it.  We should have gone sooner, but we were busy with other things.  The bouncy castle & other kids stuff was closed, but the kids all had fun seeing & petting the animals.

Apple is first prize!

Asher is not crying.  He is baaing like sheep!

Antie Brenda became really popular once she asked to hold a bunny!

We saw a girl milking a goat, & it wasn't long before all the kids tried their hand at it!

Noodle & Asher are discussing whether or not this pig is Wilbur.

It's hard to tell since there was no spiderweb nearby. 

Chancery was showing Jelly & Aardvark that petting horses is nothing be afraid of.

Uncle Kurt doesn't look so sure. 

We headed to Pizza Ranch for dinner for pizza buffet.  It was the first time Noodle & Jelly had been to an all you can eat buffet, & they really enjoyed it!

 "You mean I can go back & get more pizza all by myself?"

"I can get my own ice cream?"

It might be enough of a pull to get them to go to Dordt College!

We finished up by walking through the mall, & the kids were given pennies for the charity funnel.

On our way back to the cars Noodle said, "I thought we were going to a mall!"

Auntie Brenda said, "That was the mall, honey!"

Noodle: "Really? but it was so small!"

Breakfast in Lynden

After the Mariners game, my parents drove back to Canada with us.  We visited Fort Langley for Canada Day celebrations, then the kids & I left with my parents the next day to have breakfast in Lynden with my Dad's family.  My Aunt & Uncle from Idaho had come for the weekend, so we had a chance to see them as well.

I made it down for these weekly breakfasts a few times during the school year, but this was only the second time that Asher & Chancery got to come.  My cousins, Kelsey & Breton also joined us & the kids we delighted to  hang out with them!

After breakfast we stopped to visit my Grandma with my Aunt & Uncle.  Grandma was being quite cheeky, which we all got a kick out of!

We made one more quick stop to visit my cousin Michael who was working on his new house.

Then we were off to my parents' house for a few more days!

Double Digits!

Chad's parents came to watch the kids while we were in Paris, & they left on Father's Day, which was a few days before Asher's birthday.  Since we were planning on having a small celebration with them, we got an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen & had been eating it for the past few days.  So, by the time Asher's birthday rolled around, there wasn't much left of the cake which is why there is no cake in the photos!

It's tradition in our family that the person having a birthday gets to pick which restaurant they want to go to for dinner,  Asher got to double up on this since we had the early celebration with Grandpa & Grandma.  He picked the Dublin Crossing Pub since he knows he can walk right up to the bar to ask for refills of his lemonade, to eat with Grandpa & Grandma.  Then on his birthday we let him pick again, & he chose East Side Marios.  I checked to see where the nearest one was, & it's in Cranbrook (800 kms away), so we opted not to go there.  His next choice was Boston Pizza.  Before we left for dinner, he opened his gifts!

Let the games begin!

Every piece of tissue paper must be checked to see if there's something hiding amongst the folds!

"You have combined 3 things I love!  Harry Potter, Lego, & Nintendo!"

I was glad to see that he was so excited about this book.  It's the 4th in the series, & I ordered it before Christmas.  It finally came about 3 weeks before his birthday!

  

Book 4 "Tales of a Sixth Grade Muppet"

Another book by David Walliams.  The kids love these books!

You really can't go wrong with Lego can you?

Happy Birthday to my 10 year old!

What's For Dinner?

I'm having a conversation I don't understand. We are having pulled pork buns for dinner.  Asher keeps asking if we can make sloppy joes out of them...

Me: "How would we do that?"


A:  "Put it on a bun."

Me:  "We are having pulled pork buns... On buns."


A:  "I KNOW that! I'm asking if we can make sloppy joes out of them!"


Me: "well sloppy joes are different meat in a different sauce."


A: "Can we MAKE sloppy joes with them?"

Me: "If you mean put them on buns, then yes, we can do that."

A:  "No, I want to make them into sloppy joes!"

Me: "Pulled pork is pork, in BBQ sauce, on a bun.  Sloppy Joes are ground beef, in tomato sauce, on a bun.  So, no, you can't make pork into ground beef."

A: "That's not what I'm asking!"

Me:  "I don't understand what you are asking."

A:  (Speaking slowly & loudly) "I. want. to. make. them. into. sloppy joes!"

Me: "Ok, I will give you a bun with pulled pork on it, & you can do whatever you want with it.  Is that what you want me to say?"

A: "Yes!"


I am very curious to see what he does with it to make pulled pork into sloppy joes.  It was clearly beyond my comprehension!

Hard Choices

My parents are up visiting for a few days, & today while we were out & about we stopped to have lunch at Tim Hortons.  Just after we had gotten our food as we were bowing our heads to pray, a man came up to us & said, "Please could you buy me some food? I have not eaten in 2 days."

At first we said no.  We didn't have any cash or change with us, then I thought about how we were bowing our heads to pray, thanking God for the food we have while this man is asking for a meal.  I got out my credit card & went after the man to tell him I'd buy him some lunch.  At that point he was at another table asking another woman for some food.  She was reaching into her purse as I came up to him & said, "I'll buy you something."

The man replied, "She's going to give me some money."

The lady said, "I only have about a dollar."

"That's ok," he said to both of us, "she's giving me some money, you don't need to buy me anything."

Funny how if he hadn't eaten in 2 days he was happy only getting $1 rather than having a meal bought for him!

Crossing the Border

There is a long-standing breakfast meeting which is held in the tiny town that my Dad is from.  Every Wednesday my Aunts & Uncles, & occasionally some Great Aunts & Uncles get together for breakfast in a private room which the restaurant keeps ready for them.  My parents often come up to join them, then visit my Grandma afterwards.  Since we now live within an hour, I figured it was time to join them (& get a free breakfast!).

I dropped the kids off at school, then headed towards the border.  Despite the rain & a bit of road construction, I arrived right on time, & even beat my parents to the restaurant!  It was great to get to see some of my extended family, & I look forward to being able to make it for family get-togethers & holiday celebrations.

After breakfast my parents & I headed to Grandma's to visit for a little bit.  Grandma doesn't always remember who you are, but I love that she still has her sense of humour.  She was sitting in the chair & her feet were peeking out of the blanket.  "They are worn out," she said.

"What are, your socks, your feet, or your shoes?" my mom asked.

"All of them," Grandma replied with a little smile.

"You have been dancing too much!" I said.

Grandma turned to me quickly, & shushed me.  I guess that's her little secret that no one's supposed to know about!

After visiting Grandma, the tree of us made a quick stop at Starbucks, then I headed back home.  It was nice to take a little break from house-hunting, but I had a few appointments to see some more that I had to get back for.

Yellowstone has Mud & Geysers!

We started our day with a hearty breakfast to ward off the cold.  We had stayed in the KOA at West Yellowstone in a cabin, which was really nice becuase it had space heaters!  The KOA had a outdoor breakfast we could have gone to, but it was only 7°C, so we opted to go to a restaurant instead.  

 Unfortunately, the coffee was pretty bad, but the pancakes were yummy!

 And I carried on the tradition from my childhood of getting a cinnamon bun!

After breakfast, we were off to Yellowstone for more adventures!

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 We saw boiling mud called 'paint pots', & learned that the minerals in the mud kill the plants which grow around them, but in the winter the bison hang around in the warm mud & provide enough fertilizer for a few hardy plants to grow.

The kids were quite impressed by all the boardwalks which crossed the fragile terrain, but wanted to know what kept the boardwalks from falling through the thin ground into the water below.

 Seeing all the different colours that the minerals turned the water & ground was really neat.  It's crazy how many different geological wonders are here in Yellowstone!

 Then we waited for about an hour for Old Faithful to blow!

Just after Old Faithful, a ranger announced that the Beehive was going to erupt within the next 15 minutes, so we took the short walk to see it too since it is a bigger geyser than Old Faithful.

We didn't think we'd have enough time to go across to the backside, so we stayed across the river from it, but when we saw how the wind was blowing the water, we were glad we stayed where we were!  The people on the other side were not expecting to get so wet!

Good-Bye, Good Friends!

Last Saturday a few of my girl friends took me to lunch at the Dunes.  We had planned to go to the beach afterwards, but the weather didn't really cooperate, so we just enjoyed a leisurely lunch, some shopping, & lots & lots of talking & laughs.

The food was excellent, & I can't complain about the company either!

We sat in some unique garden chairs & talked about the last 7 years knowing eachother

I will definitely miss these lovely ladies!