Life with the Saysomsacks

Making Crayon Hearts

2012-02-02T15:53:00.002-08:00

Today the kids and I made crayon hearts in preparation for our Valentines Party. Sarah loved helping peal the paper off the crayons and Calvin was keen to help break them.

Our heart mold was pretty big, so we've got some good size crayon hearts to give out at the party. Want to make your own? We got a bag of crayons from the thrift store for $1.50 (thanks mom), which made 12 large sized heart crayons. I picked up the silicone heart mold from Walmart ($3.50 or you could borrow mine if you're close by). A fun morning!

A Photography Club for Moms

2012-01-30T20:51:00.003-08:00

This is something that I spent a lot of time looking for. Well, I didn't find anything close just the standard photograhy clubs. So, I figured that I would start my own club. My second cousin Sonja and I are thrilled to be starting a photography club just for moms. The whole purpose of the club is to grow in our photography skills in order to take better photos of our own children and family. It's also a night out of the house (twice a month) where we can spend time with other women, investing in our own hobbies.

The photography club will be held in Abbotsford (Sonja lives in Chilliwack and I'm in Surrey) and we both have lots of contacts in Abbotsford. Our first meet up will be Thursday, February 16th. The group is open to all skill levels. Interested in joining us? Send an email to momswithacamera@gmail.com

To learn more about the club visit www.momswithacamera.wordpress.com. We also have a Facebook page (Same name)

Sonja and I are thrilled that we're going forward with this idea and are excited about what's to come!

A Baby Shower for Joshua

2012-01-28T16:25:00.006-08:00

On Friday evening we celebrated the birth of baby Joshua, my cousin's baby, with a baby shower. It was great to see family, play some shower games and see the little man himself.

Proud Oma Erika holding baby Joshua while Melissa opens gifts. She got so many cute things!

Little Lauren loved all the extra attention as well.

Having fun playing the diaper game.

Just Relaxing

2012-01-28T15:53:00.002-08:00

Lauren just relaxing in her swing while I work on card orders. So sweet...

Seriously Cute

2012-01-26T21:57:00.000-08:00

I just can't seem to get enough of her. Loving life with a little one!

Bedtime

2012-01-26T21:50:00.003-08:00

Bed time is chaos at our house, as least it feels like it a lot of the time. I've been trying my best to embrace the chaos in life, so rather than getting frustrated this evening I thought it was a good time to pull out my camera. These two are just too darn cute sometimes, even if they're driving me crazy at the same time.

New Year, New Look

2012-01-26T21:49:00.003-08:00

Yep, it's that time again! I've been meaning to update the look of our blog for about a year now. So now I'm finally getting it done. Just have a few category headings to redo. Almost there. Nice and simple.

Giveaway from Whisker Works

2012-01-24T09:37:00.001-08:00

Head on over to my blog at Dolcetto Designs, http://www.dolcettodesigns.com/blog/ to enter to win a moustache/ lip set from Whisker Works. These have become all the rage in photo booths and funny family pics.

Hey Brown Eyes!

2012-01-23T15:05:00.001-08:00

A little more Calvin love. I think I've now almost got my photos updated on here. Next up, some more of Lauren.

Thumb Sucker

2012-01-22T23:00:00.002-08:00

I love this kid! Yes, he can drive me a bit crazy sometimes, but he has forever stole a piece of my heart. His laugh makes me laugh. His smile makes me smile. I love his cuddles and sensitive nature (most of the time). Calvin, you are such a little man. When he's feeling sleepy or a little sensitive he still goes for his thumb. Yep, gotta love that thumb!

I love the way he strokes the side of his face when he sucks his thumb. I hope I don't forget that.

Or the way he often puts his other hand up to his face as well when he sucks his thumb. Such concentration.

I love how his hair goes down at the back.

It's these little details about our kids that I cherish and hope I don't forget. So I take photos, lots of photos. Because I know that over time I'll forget these little things. But then I'll look back at our photos and rememeber these little things. Yes Calvin, you're loved!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-22T22:40:00.006-08:00

Today was Chinese New Year! Check out our lovely lantern hanging over the table. I feel like our home suddenly became very "Asian" with this lantern up. I wanted to get the kids excited for Chinese New Year and figured we should have some kind of symbol in our home to signify this holiday.

This morning David left on a business trip to Sonomoa, California. He's going to wine convention and then has to do some buying for the winery. So I'm on my own with the kids for the week. Boo.

Today my mom came over and helped play with the kids and even washed our floors (score!!). I was finally able to get totally caught up on the laundry and get the heaps of clothes in our room sorted and put away. The kids and I made cupcakes for dessert (talk about a huge motivator to eat their dinner). Once they were all finally in bed I finished up a couple of card orders, worked on cleaning off files on the computer and did some more cleaning up downstairs. Now to face the night. Calvin's been coming in our room again during the night, which means I'm getting up way more often than I should. In fact, I know that he's sleeping in our bed at this very moment. So that means carting him off to his bed and then hopefully getting a couple hours of sleep before Lauren wakes up. Oh, good times.

Like Grandmas, Like Granddaughters

2012-01-22T22:40:00.004-08:00

David's mom has a HUGE visor. We also found a HUGE visor in my mom's trunk about a year ago. They are both guilty for having and even wearing this terrible device.

At our Peter's family Christmas gathering we did a last minute re gift/ second hand item (not allowed to spend any money) gift exchange. Well, Anna received this oh so lovely GIANT pink visor. As terrible as it is, our kids LOVE it! In fact, it has been worn every day since it came home with us on Boxing Day.

A few days ago the kids accidentally broke the visor part off. It was just too big and therefore was always in the way. So now it as become a belt or strange head piece. So the visor lives on.

Yes, even little Lauren was forced to wear the visor at one point (thanks to Sarah). Poor girl. Both girls have joined the visor wall of shame.

Daddy cuts Calvin's Hair

2012-01-17T22:18:00.002-08:00

Lauren is 2 Months!

2012-01-16T20:13:00.004-08:00

Our little Lauren is 2 months today! My how the time flies. She is such a joy; we truly delight in her each and every day. She is so good natured, sweet and innocent. I catch myself just starring at her in awe many times a day. Having a baby (as in caring and raising) is truly a special gift. Yes, I'm tired, but I am loving this precious time with our little girl.

We're thrilled that she has been going to bed at 7pm (or shortly after) for the past week. Having all three kids on the same bedtime routine is truly wonderful! She wakes up about twice a night but it always easy to get back to bed. Lauren is also napping well in her crib and is truly a content little babe. Yes, we're in love. Lauren is 11 lbs 14 oz, a growing and healthy girl!

Baby Joshua

2012-01-14T22:35:00.004-08:00

Meet Joshua! On Friday I had the pleasure of taking some photos of my cousin Melissa's little babe. It was busy times taking care of our kids (and all that involves) and taking photos inbetween.

She Smiles

2012-01-12T20:53:00.002-08:00

There's not much better than a baby's smile. Lauren now intentionally cracks the most beautiful smiles. I could talk baby talk all day to see them! It's pretty hard to get a great smile photo, but this was pretty close. What a little beauty.

Teaching Lauren to play Games

2012-01-11T13:56:00.003-08:00

Sarah loves being a big sister! The other day she was really intent on teaching Lauren how to play games on her new camera. Sarah would tell her what to do and then take her tiny little fingers and make her press the buttons. All so sweet!

Potty Time

2012-01-07T15:37:00.002-08:00

Sometimes it seems that we spend half our day this way. Today they were all about "reading" books while going to the potty.

Hair Dresser

2012-01-06T21:01:00.002-08:00

The other day Sarah was chasing Calvin around the house with this green sheet yelling hair cut! The funny girl just wanted to brush her brother hair. After he refused, I allowed her the honour of working on my hair. What a fun experience and memory for me. If I moved even slightly, she would tell me to stop moving!!

All Stickered Up

2012-01-06T15:30:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when Sarah doesn't sleep and Mommy has cards to create. Sorry Lauren. You're super cute anyways!

Resolutions

2012-01-05T22:45:00.005-08:00

Happy New Year! Hard to believe it's 2012! Sarah and Calvin went for their first sleep over at Oma's house for New Years! I'm not sure who was more excited. We dropped them off on the morning of New Years eve and picked them up the next day. We had a fairly quiet evening with a few family members, played games, had dinner, etc. It was so good to get a break, just wish I got more sleep since we stayed up too late. Oh well, we had fun.

I hate the word resolution, seems that most people do. Anyways, I have been thinking of things I want to do in 2012 (resolutions if you would like to call them that). So here goes, in no particular order.

-Make some new/ more friends (especially those in a similar place in life)

-Find a church that feels like it could be home (at least for awhile)

-Get more active (oh the baby fat...boo)

-Be challenged, learn, oh how I love learning!

-Continue to actively learn more about photography and editing

-Be more of a witness to non Christians (being a light)

-Spend more time in the Word

-Define my relationship/ status with my dad (either stay the same or move forward, grandchildren, etc)

-Be more intentional about teaching our children (weekly letter, numbers, etc)

-Be more intentional about showing David how much I love him (I don't want the kids to overtake our lives). He comes before the kids, my actions need to remind him of that.

-Focus more on having fun with friends and family. I want to laugh and smile more with the people that I love.

I'm sure I could think of many more, but I think these are the main ones for now. So I've been thinking of ways to move towards these goals. A great goal and the best intentions mean nothing if you don't have a plan to get to them. I don't want to get to 2013, look back and see no change. Nope, here's to moving forward. I'm really excited about how God is and will continue to work in my life. I'm excited to take the risks, be challenged and get out of my comfort zone. I embrace change for change has brought amazing things into our lives. I love that even writing things on this blog helps give me accountability. Here's to another great year (not necessarily easy), but great!

Shortbread Cookies

2011-12-26T13:27:00.003-08:00

I try to bake with the kids once a week. It's amazing how much smoother it is now that they're better at taking turns, etc. Calvin still has a really hard time keeping his hands out of the dough/ batter but we have fun anyways. I've also learned that giving them each some dough to work with makes the whole thing more enjoyable for everyone. Today we were working on shortbread cookies for daddy.

Voth Family Gathering

2011-12-26T13:26:00.013-08:00

Our family (Shari's side) continues to grow. This year Merel joined our family and Lauren was born. Weddings and new life, all so exciting and a testament to God's goodness in our family's life. This year it was fun to see the cousins together.

After a tasty turkey dinner Mom shared the Christmas story from Luke. With short attention spans, we knew that the "talk" had to be short and sweet. I was glad that the kids were able to sit and listen to their Oma/ Grandma share about Christ's birth. These are special times indeed.

As I reflected on the Christmas story and the true meaning of Christmas, I can't help but wonder what Mary was thinking in those quiet moments in the stable. We know that she "gathered up all of these things and pondered them in her heart." With a little one just over a month old, I feel like my heart is also bursting with joy. The wonder, the excitement, and love greater than what's even imaginable. And yet Mary must have had so many questions about how it all came to be and why God chose her. Every time I hear the story, it seems to be more amazing.

Barrie and Merel

Anna

Sarah and Chloe, cousins having fun (thanks uncle Barrie)

Having fun in our family gift exchange.

Ho ho ho uncle Barrie

Mom and her collage frame of our family.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-26T13:26:00.008-08:00

Here we are Christmas morning is all our moring glory. I have to admit that I'm not sure who was more excited, us or the kids. We truly enjoyed picking out gifts for our children this year. I'm not a big present person, but kids really do make things more fun. We feel so blessed with the many gifts that God has given us, Jesus that loves us, faith to have hope in, each other to cherish and three beautiful children to treasure.

Anna stayed over on Christmas eve and then joined in for Christmas day.

Sarah and her doll set, pretty excited about this one.

Calvin playing with his first John Deere and new animals.

David and little Lauren, so precious.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:21:00.010-08:00

This Christmas we were blessed with several family gatherings. On Christmas Eve, David's side of the family came to our house for dinner. His mom brought the Chinese food and we all happily ate. Our kids love their sticky rice!
Gift Time! Our family was truly spoiled, we felt the love!

Oh Calvin, could you be any cuter!?!

Showing off her Tinkerbell from auntie Anna. These kids were seriously spoiled!

Great Grandma and Michael

Grandma and the kids, special times.

The kids were pretty excited to see what they got from uncle Michael and auntie Rebecca

WOW!! A Power Wheels car! What kid doesn't want one of these at some point. Auntie Rebecca found a great deal on Criagslist and made it happen (love great deals). The kids were thrilled! They've since had many drives around the cul de sac. Amazing how good Sarah is behind the wheel!

Morning Calvin

2011-12-21T20:17:00.003-08:00

PJ's, bed head and a sippy cup... Calvin in the morning.

Lauren is One Month

2011-12-16T20:47:00.006-08:00

It's hard to believe that it's been over a month since Lauren was born. I look at her with complete amazement and wonder many times a day. She is such a little miracle. I'm sure that it doesn't matter how many children you have, that feeling of wonder is there each time. I took these pics a couple of weeks ago and just haven't had a chance to post them.

Lauren has been such a content and easy baby so far. I know that this can change, but I'm thankful for what we've had so far regardless. She eats and sleeps well. She often has a sleep stretch for about 4 hours each night (and has slept for up to 5 hours straight). If only the other two kids would sleep past 7am!

She's such a little beauty!

Burnaby Village Christmas Heritage Days

2011-12-16T20:42:00.004-08:00

Decorating our Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T14:49:00.005-08:00

This morning we decorated our tree! The kids were super eager to get those ornaments up, especially the star. Sarah could barely stand it that we made her wait until all the other ornaments were up before she could put the star on.

Little Calvin

Sarah is all about being a princess these days. She always has to wear a dress and most of the time wears Calvin's birthday crown as well. Looks like I'll have to make her a princess crown as well.

At last... the star!

We did it! All ready for Christmas!

Getting our Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T14:32:00.005-08:00

One of my favourite Christmas traditions growing up was getting our Christmas tree and decorating it. It's not really a surprise that I hope my own family takes part in this tradition as well. We haven't had a real tree for the past three years since we were away for Chrismas and/ or didn't have a tree stand. This year David and I were thrilled to get a real tree again!

The kids loved going to the farm and looking for a tree. Sarah kept commenting on how the trees were too tiny or too big. Eventually we found the one.

After we found our tree we went on the little train ride at the Christmas tree farm. It was really a tractor "converted" to a train, but the kids loved it. Choo choo.

I had baby Lauren in the Baby Bjorn the whole time. She was as snug as a bug.

Tree roped onto the van and ready to go! We all had a great time! This is a tradition I hope that our family enjoys for many years to come. Yes, an artificial tree is easier, but we love the whole experience. Memories made.

Making our Gingerbread House

2011-12-10T14:25:00.002-08:00

I love making Gingerbread houses! Actually I love designing and creating large gingerbread houses, castles, streets, etc. Since that isn't really a child friendly activity, this year I decided to go for a kit house and we just baked the gingerbread men from scratch. Sarah was all about decorating the house while Calvin just wanted to eat. In fact, Sarah would put a candy on the house and Calvin would take it off right away to eat it. Eventually we got the house finished. They were so proud!

G Grandma meets Lauren

2011-12-10T14:23:00.002-08:00

This past week we brought the kids to David's family's place so that Grandma could meet baby Lauren. It's so sweet to hear Grandma talking "baby talk" in Chinese to Lauren.

Lauren's Birth Story

2011-12-10T14:22:00.003-08:00

Time seems to be passing so fast these days. I can't believe that Lauren is already over 3 weeks old! So I thought it was time to get her birth story posted here before I forget all the details. The whole thing was pretty quick and smooth, without complications.

At about 2:30 am on November 16th, 2011 I woke up with contractions 10 minutes apart. After about 40 minutes I woke David up, "it's time." He called his brother Michael who came over right away to take care of the kids. By 4am we were on our way to the hospital. I was so glad that we left when we did since things wre moving along but still very bearable.

At 4:30am we arrived at Abbotsford General Hospital and got checked in close to 5. At this time contractions were about 6 minutes apart and I was 8cm. I received some gas for the pain as well as an IV drug called fetenol (sp ?), not surprisingly the pain didn't seem to decrease at all. After about 45 minutes of contractions I finally asked them to just break my water since that's when things always sped up with our other two. So the nurses called the doctor to come in. As soon as he broke my water things started moving along much faster. In fact, within 25 minutes of the doctor breaking my water, our baby girl was born. She came out with only 1.5 pushes. It was the most painful 2 minutes of my life! Thank goodness, it was followed by meeting one of the most amazing miracles I've ever seen.

Little Lauren Helena weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 21.5 inches long. I was irritated that the nurse faced her away from the camera and didn't move her to her other side. Oh well.

Tiny and oh so sweet

2011-12-03T15:43:00.003-08:00

Just a little Lauren love (much more to come). I am so in love with this little girl!

Tiny baby feet. They'll never be this small and wrinkled again.

Playing

2011-12-03T15:38:00.002-08:00

Play Dough

Trains

Sisters

2011-12-02T15:17:00.002-08:00

Sarah adores little Lauren (who couldn't!?!). She asks to hold her several times a day, each time seeming in awe of her. When Calvin was born Sarah was just 18 months old, therefore it was a totally different experience. I've been truly enjoying watching the kids interact and listening to what they have to say to each other. Sarah will kiss Lauren and say "hello pretty girl." Melts my heart every time.
Little does Lauren know what she's in for with a silly sister like Sarah. This is her response to "look at me." Seriously, where do those expressions come from?

Pure sweetness between sisters. I always wished I had a sister growing up, so I'm thrilled that our girls get to experience what it's like to have a sister. I hope they become friends.

Our Little Ones

2011-11-24T13:25:00.002-08:00

Other than adjusting to life with 3 kids and being on my own, my main goal for the week has been getting photos of baby Lauren and our family. With very short attention spans and no "assistant," this has proved to be very tricky. Not to mention that it's been a very dark week with lots of rain and not much natural light in our living room, boo. We have done a little bit each day for the past 3 days. The kids have "picture clothes" that they put on each morning and then change later in the day. Since I want the pics to be a set (for wall enlargements and our Christmas card), I was trying to keep them in a similar look throughout. Anyways, here are a couple shots from day 1.

First Snowfall

2011-11-20T22:16:00.002-08:00

On the morning that Lauren was born we saw the first snowflakes of the season, actually kind of special.

The other evening it was snowing pretty good. As soon as Sarah saw the falling flakes she got her jacket on to go play outside. I explained to her that if the snow was still on the ground in the morning that she could go out and play in it. Thankfully my mom came to help out for the day on Friday so the kids got their snow time after all. They were so excited to build snowmen and play in the snow!

12 Years

2011-11-20T22:14:00.003-08:00

Today David and I celebrated 12 years of marriage! Wow, how fast time goes. Since we have a newborn baby and two toddlers we weren't really able to do much to celebrate. My brother and sister in law were over for a visit and we got take out. Not that exciting. Oh well, this is the season of life that we're in. We're feeling so thankful and blessed with our little family. God is good.

Lauren Helena

2011-11-20T22:09:00.002-08:00

On Wednesday, November 16th at 6:38am little Lauren Helena was born. We are so thrilled to welcome this precious little girl into our family. Such an amazing little miracle each new baby is! We are in love all over again.

Gone Home

2011-11-13T14:52:00.002-08:00

My uncle Dave went home to be with Jesus on Wednesday, November 9th. His life on earth seemed too short. We grieve for him and those that he left behind, specifically my aunt Erika and my cousins. I am still in shock that he is gone, it was just all so fast. I am so glad that I was able to see him days before he passed. He is already missed.

The funeral will be this Monday, November 13th.

This Week, mixed feelings

2011-11-09T14:22:00.002-08:00

It's been a tough few days. My uncle Dave was diagnosed with liver cancer this past Friday and is currently fighting for his life. He seemed totally fine until 2 weeks ago when they admitted him to the hospital because he was feeling sick and not making a lot of sense. It has all come as such a shock to everyone. I can't help but be reminded of how fragile life is. Sadly, my uncle's body is already so weak that he really doesn't have a lot to fight with. It was so good to see him on the weekend, but so heart breaking at the same time. My heart aches for him, my aunt and 4 cousins. The youngest is only in grade 8 and the oldest is due with their first child in January. Each day I pray for a miracle and God's love and peace for the family. The whole thing is just so surreal, I can hardly believe that this is happening. It makes me so sad, there are just no words.

Our due date is just over a week ago. With that comes feelings of excitement, nervousness and some anxiety. There's the labour experience (which I'm less than thrilled about), how life will change with three kids and just the general unknown. At this point I'm so uncomfortable and each day seems more difficult. I've been amazed how much harder I have found this point of pregnancy than the first two times around. Caring for two young toddlers while being pregnant and having little to no help has been very difficult. I'm tired of being climbed on, sat on, poked at, having my shirt lifted up to "see baby." I'm just tired in general. I'm excited to meet our new baby, is it a boy or a girl? What will it's personality be like? How will this little person fit into our family? I can hardly believe that the due date is just around the corner!

I'll be so happy when all the doctor's appointments are done. Going to Abbotsford and setting up childcare every week has not been easy. Everyone said how great it will be to have the baby here (in BC) with lots of support from family and friends. However, everyone works during the day, has their own kids to take care of or their own obligations. In a lot of ways it's been more frustrating to be near a "support network" yet not feel the support. It's no one's fault, I'm not blaming anyone, just frustrated that life has to be like this. I didn't expect to feel like this when we were planning on moving back to BC. A lot of the time I really do feel all alone. The fact that we're in a different city also makes a big difference, even though it's only 25 minutes away people seem to think that it's much farther. So I'm preparing myself for these feelings to continue and life to remain the same once baby is here. There's a good chance that David may get to take a week off of work once the baby arrives (depending on when), so that would be amazing! Especially since I've been preparing to be on my own with the kids once we get home from the hospital.

So there's a lot of mixed emotions these days. A lot of sadness, fear, nervousness and excitement. I look toward the next couple of weeks with the same feelings and uncertainty, so I take each day at a time. I take comfort in God's love and faithfulness. I remember that He is good all the time.

Crush Time at the Winery

2011-11-08T13:41:00.004-08:00

The end of September until mid November will always be a busy time for our family (as long as David is a winemaker). David works at Pacific Breeze Winery, which is an urban winery in New Westminster. Even though they don't have any of their own vineyards, there is just as much happening at the winery since all of the grapes are brought in to be sorted and crushed. Since this is David's first year as the actual winemaker, it's been a big learning curve with lots of responsibility. He's been loving the job and even comes home smiling at the end of a 15 hour day.

On Sunday morning I took the kids into the winery while David was working. I had to take some staff photos and since we didn't have any childcare, the kids came along.

Loving the fork lift as always.

Working with the grapes. The kids found this all very interesting; it was good for them to see what daddy's work is.

We're looking to the end of the 2011 harvest/ crush time at the winery. All of the grapes have arrived, been sorted and processed. Now it's just working with all the juice and getting it going. I must admit that I'm really looking forward to having David around more. Just over a week until our due date. And of course, as David's busy time at work comes to an end mine with Christmas cards is just starting up.

Trick of Treat

2011-11-01T13:51:00.003-07:00

Happy Halloween! Last night David and I took the kids trick or treating. The kids were super excited and looked adorable in their costumes! Sarah the chicken and Calvin the monkey. Last year Sarah was too shy to say trick or treat but was all about holding out her bucket. This year she would yell out trick or treat before the door was even fully open. They were so sweet with their trick or treats and thank you's. I'm really feeling pregnant these days, so David and I took turns walking the kids up to the doors. I even had to ask to use the washroom at a house half way through, I just couldn't make it. It's hard to believe that we'll have three kids in about 2 weeks!

I had a good day with the kids yesterday. We went for a walk in the morning where we stopped at the post office and grocery store. There's a Starbucks in the same plaza, so I thought it was a good day for a treat for myself as well. Surprisingly, it was the first time I've stopped there while out on a walk with the kids. It was one of those days where I truly love being a mom, when all the routine and "not fun" parts of parenthood seem ok because of the good moments. The sweet things the kids say, their loving actions, the joy we experience and the fun we share together. It's all worth it in the end and I'm so thankful that I get to experience motherhood. I am truly blessed with a loving husband and wonderful children.

Is he not the cutest little monkey!?!

The kids loved looking at and eating their treats once we got home. Big smiles!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-01T13:42:00.003-07:00

On Saturday David had to work all day again. By all day I mean 7am-11pm, yep very long days. I realized that if I was going to carve pumpkins with the kids it would have to be today, even with him at work. The kids were super excited and Sarah got right into it. We carved fun (not scary pumpkins) and then roasted the seeds. I couldn't believe how much the kids loved the roasted pumpkin seeds.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Toss clean and patted dry seeds with 1 tsp of melted butter, 1 tsp of sea/ kosher salt, 1/2 tsp garlic salt and 1 tsp Worcestershire sace. Bake at about 300 degrees for just over an hour or until seeds are lightly toasted and crunchy.

Celebrating Calvin's Second Birthday

2011-11-01T13:21:00.005-07:00

On Sunday we had family and some friends over to celebrate Calvin's 2nd birthday. This was the first actual birthday party that we've hosted for our kids since we've been living in Ontario for the past 3 years away from family. Calvin had a great time and it was pretty thrilled with the attention, cake and gifts. As is often the case, Sarah being the sibling, was trying to understand the party and being ok with it being Calvin's special day, not hers.

Calvin was so eager to blow out the candles on his cake. What a cutie! I still can't belive that he's two years old already.

Gift opening time was especially exciting for Calvin. He got lots of cars and trucks types of toys, a car mat to play on, some toy animals, clothes, etc. We're so blessed with wonderful family and friends!

Our immediate families stayed for dinner and part of the evening. The cousins enjoyed some time together.

I love this pic of the four kids eating their rice krispie treats. Anything is better on a stick.

Calvin Turns 2

2011-10-24T23:10:00.002-07:00

On Saturday (the day of my brother's wedding) Calvin turned two! I can hardly believe it; time has gone by so fast in so many ways. This little guy is such a blessing to our family! His big smile, giggle and charming personality are impossible not to love. He talks a lot and does pretty much everything that his big sister does. Calvin has lots of energy and love to play with his trains, cars & trucks and animals. He also loves to be outside whenever possible. We've also been working on potty training, and amazingly he's doing great!

Happy Birthday Calvin; we love you!!

Barrie and Merel Get Married!

2011-10-24T22:35:00.004-07:00

On Friday morning we drove up to Enderby/ Salmon Arm for my brothers wedding. They had a lovely wedding! We are so thrilled to have Merel join our family! We couldn't ask for a better woman for Barrie, they seem so well suited in so many ways. Barrie, we are so... happy and proud of you! It's hard to believe that all my siblings are married now, amazing how our family continues to grow.

FREE Halloween Cards

2011-10-24T22:29:00.002-07:00

For 2 days only (October 24-25 at 11pm Pacific time) I'm giving away customized Halloween cards on my website, http://www.dolcettodesigns.com/category_50/FREE-Halloween-Cards.htm. Who doesn't love free stuff!?! Especially cute little cards like this. I've spent my spare moments today creating lots of Halloween cards for people; kids in costume, kids on pumpkins, fall family pics, etc. Tomorrow is sure to be an even busier day! I love working with so many families through the years as well as meeting new clients. Feeling blessed.

Willowview Farm

2011-10-19T16:20:00.005-07:00

On Monday I took the kids to Willowview Farm in Abbotsford, where I met up with Sharalee and the girls. Calvin and Sarah were thrilled to see their cousin Chloe! They loved the pumpkins, animals and being able to play outside. Normally we always go to the pumpkin patch as a family but since David has been working so much and we have my brother's wedding in Salmon Arm this coming weekend, I didn't know if that would end up happening. So I figured I would take the kids anyways and if we can make it a second time as a family then that would be a bonus too.

Cousin Chloe.

Loving that apple!

Checking out Aldergrove Lake

2011-10-19T16:11:00.002-07:00

Before I meet up with a family at a photo site, I always try to check it out myself first if possible. Since I had a whole lot of mini sessions booked, I had to make sure that I loved the location (hadn't been there in years). It rained so much the 2 weeks before, so I felt like making it to the park was very difficult. Eventually I took the kids out and we checked out the

site, thankfully all was well.

The past two Saturday's I had 13 families meet me for 30-40 minute mini sessions. It was a lot of fun and I was really happy with the experience. Hopefully everyone else was too! If you want to see a few of the photos, feel free to check out my business blog here, http://www.dolcettodesigns.com/blog/

Sarah and Calvin loved this stump. Not surprisingly, so did most of other kids.

A Rainy BC Day

2011-09-27T14:50:00.003-07:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted on here. I feel like I could put up lots of pics, thoughts, etc, but that takes time that I'm not sure I have these days. These "fort" pics were taken a few weeks ago. This fall I've been amazed at how much it's rained. I know that's normal here on the west coast of BC, but I really forgot what normal was. Thankfully this past week has been nice, but I've been missing Niagara fall weather a lot these days.

Fieldstone Vintage and Handmade Market

2011-09-27T14:38:00.002-07:00

On Saturday I had the wonderful experience of showcasing my cards at the Fieldstone market in Abbotsford. As with the other little shows that I've done in the past, I never really know if it was a "success" until months later. It was a great chance to gain exposure in the area, meet new people as well as so many people that I haven't seen in years. Thanks to all of you that came out to say hi, it was much appreciated!

It was also great to experience the show with my lovely sister in laws. Libby spent much of the day hanging out with me and taking over when I had to leave the table or just wanted to look around. Sharalee was helping a friend at her table/ tent but was also super helpful when I was setting up and even arranged some flowers for my table. I am so grateful to both of them for their love and support (not only with my card business but with life in general).

(Top photo in post compliments of Adam Borries)

Better Days

2011-09-23T22:14:00.003-07:00

The funny thing about having kids is that some days can be so... bad and others can be totally wonderful. The reality (for me) is that most days are somewhere in between.

Thankfully, the last few days have been quite good. When the kids have their naps and go to bed easily I find that the whole day is just that much better. They are happier and I am happier. The last couple of weeks I have found it quite difficult to get Calvin to bed. He's tired and wants to sleep but he keeps coming out of his room, wants snuggles, etc. We had a couple really rough days where I fought getting him to bed for nearly two hours. He has always been pretty good at going to bed so this was very out of the ordinary. Anyways, I have been so thankful that he has gone to bed easily for both naps and bedtime the last couple of days (not coming out of his bedroom even once). Yahoo, victory is mine! Sarah has also been very pleasant sine the "incident," praise God for that. So life continues to tick along for us.

David has worked from 9am-10pm the last couple of days, working his regular hours all day and then putting on tasting events in the evening. So the days have been a little long (for all of us).

The kids and I have been getting to know our neighbours these past couple of weeks. I continue to be amazed at how outgoing and fearless both kids are. They will go up to anyone on the cul de sac, go right into peoples garages and houses, hang off the two dogs on our street, jump into people's arms, etc. After meeting someone once, Calvin insists on going back to "say hi" when we go outside. A couple of neighbours have already given the kids their old toys which have made them immediate favourites on our cul de sac. Amazingly, there are 6 girls between the ages of 12-16 all living on our little cul de sac. Even better, they have all shown an eagerness and willingness to baby-sit. Yahoo!! God is good indeed. Now it's time to plan a date night.

The humbling experience of Motherhood

2011-09-21T14:00:00.004-07:00

This morning we went to Abbotsford to do some errands and see a friend. We had a great time, and everyone behaved well. We got back to Surrey at 12:15, just in time to get home and settled in for naps. We had lunch before the drive so everyone was fed and happy.

The last stop before home was the post office (in the local grocery store). What should have been a quick and painless 5 minute at most stop was beyond horrible. The worst tantrum that I have ever experienced with the kids or even witnessed from another child in public (lucky me).

It all started with Sarah wanting her blankie, which I told her we would go home and get in a few minutes. For some odd reason she was soon flailing her body on the ground, crying, screaming, etc. In the meantime the Post office girl had an issue with the visa machine and had to put the transaction through a second time (great!). Calvin see's a little cart of grocery baskets and thinks it would be fun to push the little pile of carts (out of sight) down the grocery aisle. At this point Sarah is beyond out of sorts, screaming and throwing the little back of stuffies that she brought in all around her. Yes, everyone is looking at this point.

We're ready to leave (about 5 minutes but seemed like forever). I'm trying to hold onto Calvin, there are toys all over the ground, and it's impossible for me to pick up Sarah's flailing body off the ground. I put Calvin down to pick up Sarah, but then he runs out of the store (for the second time) through the automatic doors towards the parking lot. I go to get him and Sarah runs the opposite direction through an aisle. All the while toys are continually dropping on the ground, Sarah is screaming and I am feeling very hot in the face. I am also not exactly in running/ chasing children mode. At this point some strangers offer to help by watching Calvin while I get Sarah...what choice do I have but to accept the help.

I finally get both kids into the van. Thankfully Calvin walked and was cooperative at this point... Sarah not so much (to put it lightly). As I attempt to get Sarah to sit in her seat so that I can buckle her in (her screaming, kicking and pushing and me fighting back), I feel her pee herself and consequently all over my hand. She worked herself into such a fit of rage that she peed, yep, feeling pretty angry and exhausted at this point.

We get home (literally a 2 minute drive) where I discipline Sarah and send her straight to bed. Since Calvin fell asleep in the van he's not really sleeping or staying in his room at this point. Great.

Yes, we all have bad days. Sometimes I wonder why I even take the kids out. At these moments I tell myself never again. But I know that time will pass and for some reason I'll try it again. Just not this week. I love being a mom and I love my kids, but sometimes I question if I'm really cut out for the task. It's amazing how kids can just wear a person down. Here's hoping that Sarah wakes up happy from her nap and that we have a fun late afternoon together. It can only get better right?!?

Organizing Life

2011-09-20T15:59:00.003-07:00

My mission last week and for the next couple of weeks coming up is getting life a bit more organized. I know that things are going to be really crazy for our family from about next week all the way until Christmas.

Harvest time is about to start so that means the David will likely be working really long hours until sometime end of November. Middle of November is baby...getting really excited about this! And all of November and the first 2 weeks of December are Christmas card season. I'm thrilled about all this good stuff but it just means that we need a plan of attack in order to make it through.

So I've been making a cleaning schedule, a weekly shopping list template and getting a more organized way of planning the meals in a week. I recognize that in order for him to be able to step in and help out he needs to be able to understand what's going on in the house and exactly where I left off. Now the hard part will just be sticking to the plan.

The Fieldstone Market

2011-09-20T15:57:00.001-07:00

Are you going? I'm looking forward to having a table set up at this open air market in Abbotsford this Saturday (9am -6pm) at the Eco Dairy across from Costco. Hoping for great weather!

Photo Sessions

2011-09-16T15:44:00.006-07:00

Yes, it's true, I've got Christmas on my mind. I like to have new Christmas card designs make their appearance sometime around the end of September/ beginning of October. I'm also going to be at the Fieldstone Market at the Abbotsford Eco Dairy on September 24th, so I thought it would be good to have some new printed cards ready to show there as well. So I've been getting ready for this wonderful time of year already. Seems a little crazy...but it makes sense.

Since we're living back in BC and once again I'm looking for wonderful models for cards, I've decided to have two photo shoot days. I have no idea what the response will be but I'm excited for the opportunity. This past year I've had 15 wonderful photo sessions with families and babies... loved the experiences!

Before I post the dates, info, etc on my page and site I thought I would post it here (friends first).

Details: Fall Photo Session
30 minute session, 8-12 high resolution edited images on a disc, 1 custom digital Christmas card
Cost is $50 for everything (due at the beginning of the session)

If you would like to book a time please email me at dolcettodesigns@gmail.com with your first and second choice date and time. Both locations will be in the Abbotsford/ Langley area. I must have at least 4 sessions booked for each date.

October 2, Sunday (Field Location)
10:30-11 am
11:15-11:45 am

12:30-1 pm
1:15-1:45 pm
2-2:30 pm
2:45-3:15 pm
3:30-4 pm

October 15, Saturday (Park/ Forrest Location)
9-9:30 am
9:45-10:15 am
10:30-11 am
11:15-11:45am The Jenkins Family

12:30-1 pm
1:15-1:45 pm
2-2:30 pm
2:45-3:15 pm
3:30-4 pm

Share this with a friend (who books) and receive a complimentary 5x7 professionally printed image. No limit.

Today

2011-09-11T23:02:00.004-07:00

Early this morning David headed off to California for "business." Checking our wineries, drinking wine, etc, not a bad deal. He'll be gone for most of the week, so I'm at home with the kids doing life as usual (whatever that is). I've actually spent most of my "free" time working on Christmas card designs, kind of strange yet something I need to have mostly done by the end of September. When inspiration hits, you just have to go with it and since I've felt a little empty in this area I was all to keen to get some ideas into reality. Feelings good about it all at the moment. Ho ho ho.

This week will be more settling in, getting things into their places, etc. I've got a doctors appointment this week and need to do a lot of prep for the Fieldstone Vintage Market, www.fieldstonevintagemarket.com, that I'll be attending on Sept 24 in Abbotsford. Somehow the days always just seem to fill up. I've been so thankful for the great weather and all the outdoor play time that we've had since we've moved. We have a great yard and the kids are loving the space (as am I). Anyways, that's life today.

Best Popsicle Treats!

2011-09-09T13:55:00.003-07:00

This past Monday we went to the PNE and saw the coolest little popsicle maker. You put the unit in the freezer for 24hrs and then pull it out, put your juice, yogourt, etc in the spots, wait for just less than 10 minutes (leaving the unit on the counter) and voila, popsicles! You can make a second round 15 minutes later. However, for $100 we weren't going to be making any purchases.

Then, the other day we were at Walmart and saw this popsicle maker marked down to $10 from $30. The concept, unit, etc are all exactly the same as the version we saw at the PNE. So we thought we would give it a try. We're thrilled that it works exactly the same as well. We've been making yogourt pops, juice pops, etc. So much healthier than freezies or store bought popsicles and way better than the homemade kind we ever had growing up.

The kids (and I) think this is all so great!

Unpacking

2011-09-01T17:21:00.002-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, after a weekend at a cabin with my family, we started the "fun" task of unpacking and setting up our new place. Since David has had to work during the day, this has left most of the unpacking, flattening boxes, etc to me and my little helpers. I am so happy to be at this end of the whole moving/ relocating process! The past couple of months have likely been the most stressful and trying for so many reasons. It feels like we've experienced our share of bumps along the way and tricky situations. Yet, here we are, almost on the other side. We're so looking forward to having all the boxes cleared away and being settled in our new house.

I would have never thought we would end up living in Surrey. However, we're in a really nice neighbourhood in a great house. We're excited for all that's in store for us during this chapter of life!

Birch Bay for the Weekend

2011-09-01T17:06:00.003-07:00

Thursday was a very busy day for us! David had his thesis defense at 6am over skype with his profs in Ontario. At 10:30 am the moving truck came to our new home to unload all of our things. At 5ish we headed out to Birch Bay for our annual family "camping" trip. As hard as it was to just leave a huge mess of boxes and go on a little vacation, it was kind of nice to not have to deal with everything right away. We had a great time with our family just relaxing, going to the beach, etc. I took hardly any pictures, so these are a few of what I did get.

We found a House!

2011-08-21T14:51:00.002-07:00

Yesterday David and I viewed a house that I am so happy to say will be our home sometime this week. We'll be living on the North side of Surrey in the Fraser Heights area. Both David and myself are so excited!! He's just 20 minutes from work and we'll be about 35 minutes to Abbotsford (depending on traffic). It's a lovely 4 bedroom + office home in a really nice quiet neighbourhood. There's a fenced in lawn and beautiful deck in the back. Now we just have to wait and see when the moving truck can drop off our furniture.

We also got a mini van!!

Back in BC

2011-08-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

So I thought I should update the blog, since I realized that I didn't even post that we actually did arrive in BC. On Thursday evening, August 4th, we crossed the border and came into Abbotsford. What a strange feeling to know that we just packed up and drove back to BC, for good! Or at least for a long time. Yes, there were some bumps along the way, but all in all it was a pretty good try. I would actually do it again (just somewhere else).

It's been great to see family and friends now that we're back! David is LOVING his new job which is a huge blessing. He's happy with the work and happy with the people. Speaking of David, today is his birthday! I wish I could say that we have big birthday plans. However life has just been so crazy since we got here that we decided to hold off on celebrating until next weekend. Right now we just need to try to get life in order. The thought of planning a party is just too much right now.

Unfortunately, things with the house that we had rented didn't work out (health and safety issues that couldn't be fixed). So we decided not to move in and look for a new place. So we're staying at my mom's house a little longer than we anticipated. The lack of routine and any sense of "normal" has been hard on all of us, especially the kids. We're finding that their behaviour is especially on the "not so good" side these days, making life even more difficult to deal with.

So we're just taking one day at a time right now. We know that God has a great place in store for us, so we're trying our best to be patient and open to wherever that is. If you know of any great homes for rent in the Langley/ Surrey area (about 5 min from the freeway), please let us know. Our stuff is all in storage, so as soon as we find a place we can move in. Not surprisingly, we're all pretty eager for this to happen.

Other than that, we're all doing pretty good. We're ready for this next chapter to start already.

Yellowstone National Park

2011-08-04T06:42:00.005-07:00

Yesterday we decided to really enjoy the journey and spend the day at Yellowstone National park. It was a lovely drive to, through and from the park.

We saw some wildlife.

We watched Old Faithful erupt. Very cool, always wanted to see that.

Our family in front of Old Faithful (too bad we're right in front of the geyser).

Who saw a wild buffalo? WE DID!!!

Driving through Montana in the evening was truly beautiful. Once it was dark there was a lightning storm just beyond the mountains, lighting up the whole range.

After a lot of driving and a difficult time finding a place to sleep, we spent the night in Missoula, Montana. Since all of hotels we stopped at were booked up we found a cheaper motel and all shared a king sized bed for the night. Another one for the memory books. Yet another late night (once we found our place all my card orders were finished up for the night), and another early morning.

And we're off...

Mount Rushmore

2011-08-03T07:05:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we were able to get back on the road at 11:30am after getting the power steering on our car fixed. We were thankful that all ended up going pretty well in the end and not costing us a fortune. No AC, so we're driving with the windows open and the heat.

We spent the afternoon at Mount Rushmore. The kids enjoyed running around the trails and having a break from the car. It was really neat to see such a famous monument/ memorial site.

On our evening drive Sarah was cleaning her "gross" feet with wet wipes which tickled and made her laugh hysterically. Looks like she's crying here, but I assure you that she's not. Calvin found it so funny that he was laughing and cleaning his feet too.

The setting sun looked amazing over the fields and vast rolling hills of Wyoming. Herds of cattle grazed in the open fields, this is indeed cowboy country.

Break Down

2011-08-02T08:12:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we spent the day driving. All was going well until about 7:30pm (a half hour before we were going to stop for the day). Our AC was cutting out and eventually died. Then we smelled a rubber smell and heard some squealing. We pulled over and called CAA (thank goodness), a tow truck arrived in about a half hour which was not that bad. The kids loved the ride in the tow truck! The verdict was that our AC and power steering belt is done. Boo.

We're currently waiting in our hotel room to hear how much it's going to cost to get just the power steering fixed. The shop isn't able to locate any air compressors in the area so that's currently out of the question (and likely our of our budget). You have to know that it's incredibly hot here! We were all dripping sweat after a short time without AC yesterday. It looks like it will likely be a long few days of travel left. Can't say that I'm too excited about what's to come.

In the meantime David's been working on his thesis and had to stay up until 3am working on it. It's due today, so that's been even more pressure the last couple of days. He's got it submitted but understandably isn't happy with the final result.

Please continue to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we make the journey back to BC. We're trying to stay positive and have a good attitude, things really could have been so much worse.

Our hot and sweaty family

Chicago

2011-07-31T19:26:00.006-07:00

At 6:30am we all woke up after a short sleep in the car parked at a rest stop. The kids had a decent amount of sleep but it was us adults who were seriously lacking. I know that I only got 3 hours total. Anyways, we headed inside to grab some food, and use the washrooms. Then we were on our way. The next rest stop we stopped at had a truckers lounge with nice clean free showers, so we were all able to get cleaned up and feel a bit more positive about the day.

We arrived in Chicago just after noon. After driving around the city and checking out some sites, we found an amazing Chicago deep dish pizza place recommended by all 4 of the locals we talked to. It didn't disappoint.

The beautiful skyline of Chicago.

Waiting for our pizza, something our kids aren't very good at.

Oh so good!

Walking around the splash area/ fountain in the park. It was such a hot day!

Playing around with the huge mirror sculpture in the park.

Looking at their reflections, too cute! After spending the afternoon in Chicago, we drove for several more hours and are now spending the night in Wisconsin. We'll see where we end up tomorrow! Good night.

Moving Day

2011-07-31T19:14:00.002-07:00

Saturday, June 30 was our moving day. The day didn't go at all as planned and therefore ending up being a bit frustrating, but in the end everything got done. Our movers were scheduled to arrive between 9am and 1pm. Therefore, we got up on time and took apart beds, packed bedding and curtains and cleaned up as much as possible and then we waited and waited and waited. Well, due to being late in the first place and very bad traffic from Toronto, they didn't end up arriving until 4pm. It wasn't until 9pm that everything was in the truck.

We were all exhausted, hungry and ready for sleep. But with no beds and no where to go we decided to set off on our journey. We had booked a hotel in the morning but knew that we would never make it there in time (and they didn't let us cancel, boo). At about 1 am David stopped the car and we tried to all sleep in the car at a rest stop (hotel budget gone for the night). But the kids woke up and the crying didn't really stop. So at about 2am I decided to let David sleep and get behind the wheel. I drove until about 4:30am until I was feeling fuzzy eyed and then pulled into a service station lot. We all actually slept in the car from that time until 6:30am. Not exactly the day or night anyone of us was hoping for, but what can you do. Sometimes it's just the way it goes.

Our kids having some last cuddles while we were packing up beeding. We'll miss you Ontario!

Four Days Until Moving Day

2011-07-26T05:12:00.003-07:00

We're thrilled to finally have a house to move into soon after we get to BC. It's just off the 232nd exit in Langley, in fact you'll drive right past it when you drive to Fort Langley. It's an older home but it has quite a lot of space inside and out. We decided that space instead of new and pretty was the priority. It's also right off the exit, making it a great location for David's commute to work and driving back to Abby to see family and friends.

As you can see, the inside of the home is very dated. Therefore, once again we'll be painting and making some improvements. The landlord has also graciouslly agreed to pay for new flooring in the home (as long as it's affordable) and we do the work. We're hopeful that we can make the house a home that we'll comfortable living in. Any ideas on how to "work" with orange countertops?

We've been making great progress with packing, thanks to the kids for having long naps the last few days. Our wine was shipped out yesterday as well, what a relief! Today I have to set up the phone, utilities, etc at the new house, make address changes, continue packing, etc.

Day 13: Ottawa

2011-07-23T19:40:00.009-07:00

We spent the last day of our wonderful road trip in Ottawa. We went on a river cruise for part of the afternoon, checked out the Parliment buildings, Byward Market, etc. It was a lovely but VERY hot day in the city.

Our family in front of Parliment. We sure do have a lot of family photos. At this point everyone was very hot and tired, pretty much impossible to get Sarah to sit still, let alone look at the camera.

Playing around.

Day 12: Montreal

2011-07-23T19:14:00.005-07:00

We arrived in Montreal late morning and spent the day walking around the city. There was a huge summer street sale where most of the surrounding stores had things for sale. We then walked around the old city and the port in the evening.

Our happy Calvin!

Took in the end of a concert on the street, prett cool.

Had a little photo shoot with Matt and Libby in front of this awesome grafitti wall we saw.

One of the last things we did in Montreal was check out Notre Dame (every city has one). There just happened to be a whole lot of nuns walking into the church at the same time.

Day 10: Quebec City

2011-07-23T18:42:00.006-07:00

It was wonderful to be able to go back to Quebec City! I love the history here, the quait streets, shops, etc. It was a very hot day, and being at the end of our journey we were all pretty tired. But we pushed through and enjoyed the day.

Our family

Sarah loves to pose with this sort of thing. She'll just stand beside the photo opp and keep saying "cheese."

It was great to spend some quality time with my brother Mathew, wish I had the opportunity to travel with all my siblings. Perhaps one day...

Sisters

The boys

Day 9 II: Quebec City

2011-07-22T11:04:00.003-07:00

This was our longest day of driving (about 9 hrs). Thank goodness the kids slept most of the afternoon so we could all enjoy some peace and quiet. Once we checked into our hotel we set out to get some poutine and hamburgers for dinner. After a drive around the old city we headed back to our hotel where David and Matt took the kids swimming and I got our laundry caught up.

Day 9: Hartland

2011-07-22T10:38:00.003-07:00

We stopped at Hartland briefly on our way to Quebec to go on the longest undercover bridge in the world! We actually ended up going on it three times!

Day 8 II: PEI

2011-07-20T10:48:00.022-07:00

Loving the red sand in PEI. We spent a part of the morning at the beach but the weather wasn't great so we didn't last too long. The kids didn't care at all, they could have played for ages.

Most people in PEI earn a living in the fishing/ sea food market, farming or tourism.

Our windy lighthouse family shot.

We saw this super cute honey stand on the side of the road and had to pick up some local honey.

We took a 15-20 min ride around the downtown of Charlottetown. We had thought about doing this for quite some time, especially since our kids loves the horses. This ride was shorter and very affordably priced, so we made it happen. Fun memories!

Doc the horse.

Day 7 II: PEI

2011-07-20T10:48:00.021-07:00

We arrived in Prince Edward Island in the early afternoon. After a morning of heavy rain we thought our first day in PEI would be a bit of a downer, but the clouds parted and the sun came out! I have always wanted to see PEI and was so glad that we had the opportunity to come here. It really didn't disappoint in any way, the province is quanit and beautiful!

PEI is known as the land of Ann of Green Gables. Therfore, even though none of us are big Ann fans, we headed to Cavandish and Green Gables to see what all the hype was about.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's aunt and uncle's house in Green Gables, that inspired the setting for the books. In Cavendish there is a little "town" created to be Avonlea. We didn't go through the gates but had a look at what little Avonlea was like. Later that day we were driving back to our motel and saw Ann and her best friend Diana waving at the side of the road, photo opp!

The house where Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up.

There really are potato fields everywhere!

Day 7: Halifax

2011-07-20T10:48:00.010-07:00

Day 6 II: Lunenburg

2011-07-20T10:47:00.013-07:00

One of our stops in Nova Scotia was the littel town of Lunenburg, a UNESCO world heritage site and the home of the Bluenose Schooner (the boat on the Canadian dime). Sadly, the bluenoose was being repaired so we couldn't see it. Oh well, the town was super cute!

We had dinner in a great little restaurant in Lunenburg.

David had to try the mussles while we were out East.

At least we saw the street

Day 6: Bay of Fundy

2011-07-20T10:47:00.007-07:00

Day 5: Moncton

2011-07-20T10:46:00.001-07:00

Day 4: Boston

2011-07-20T08:22:00.005-07:00

Day 3: Boston

2011-07-20T07:49:00.004-07:00

Day 2: New York

2011-07-20T07:37:00.002-07:00

Day 1: New York

2011-07-06T19:56:00.006-07:00

We're in New York City!

Central Park

Grand Central Station

The Adventure Begins

2011-07-06T19:55:00.004-07:00

Summer Lovin'

2011-07-03T19:02:00.003-07:00

It's been hot here this past week, so the little pool as been getting lots of use. This time the kids actually kept their clothes on for swim time (wasn't the case later in the afternoon).

Just one more sleep until Matt and Libby arrive and two more sleeps until NYC!

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-02T18:28:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Canada Day by spending the morning at Fort George in Niagara on the Lake, something that we've done that last couple of years. The kids loved running around and exploring all the old buildings. Calvin was a big fan of the cannons, he kept putting his face right up to the end of them. We then headed to NOTL where we went to Simcoe park for the Canada Day celebrations and some playground time. That will probably be our last visit to Niagara on the Lake, kind of sad. We really have loved that little town and it will be one of the places that we miss when we move away from Ontario. I forgot my camera, so no pics today.

We found out today that the house that we were hoping to rent didn't work out. It was a little disappointing but also a reminder that God has everything in control. So we're continuing to look for "the place" the God has in store. We would love to end up in the Walnut Grove area of Langley, everything is just so... expensive.

Matt and Libby arrive on Monday and we leave for New York City on Tuesday morning. Time just seems to be flying by! I feel like there's a lot to get done before Tuesday but in the end I know that it will all work out, always does.

Our Little Baby

2011-07-02T18:21:00.002-07:00

On Thursday I had my 20 week ultrasound. The lab tech asked me if I had been feeling a lot of movement from the baby. I told her that I had felt some but not much. She looked at me with a surprised look and continued to tell me that we had an incredibly active baby. In her words, "each time she would set up to measure something, the baby was off to the races." David and I were hoping for a calmer third child, but it looks like that may not be the case. It was funny how much the lab tech chuckled and smiled as she looked at the screen and talked to me about the baby.

David didn't come to the ultrasound since he had to stay home and watch Sarah and Calvin (no childcare available). The lab tech sounded sympathetic that he couldn't come and wrote a little note on the bottom image. It was strange that the woman was so friendly since I've found that the lab tech's are normally pretty straight faced about everything. Anyways, it was nice. I left feeling happy that our baby was healthy and that all was well. Such a miracle and a blessing!

Don't take my Starbucks!

2011-06-29T16:51:00.002-07:00

Today we stopped at Starbucks for a treat. We always get the Venti split into two talls (1 for the kids and one for David and I). Poor Sarah had a difficult time getting a turn since Calvin was holding that Starbucks cup for dear life.

Today

2011-06-24T09:51:00.003-07:00

I'm looking forward to not having to make any big decisions, for our house rental situation to be finalized, for all the boxes to be packed, for all the details of our trip to be confirmed, etc, etc. I'm ready for things to slow down a bit. However I know that they won't really. In a lot of ways I'll just keep them going, that's just what I do.

Once we move, we will have to paint a few rooms before our stuff arrives, unpack, begin the whirlwind of visiting and catching up with everyone, go on little family vacation, etc. David will start his new job immediatly (meaning I will be doing most of the unpacking, etc alone), since harvest time starts shortly after we get back to BC it will also mean that he will be working longer hours. He also has a business trip to California, etc during this time. I know that people will help when they can, which is awesome. It will be great even to have people help with the kids at times so that I can work on getting things set up and unpacked.

I will also start the hunt for dressers for our kids and all the random pieces of furniture to complete our new place. Sarah will move into her new twin bed and Calvin will move into the toddler bed. I'm looking forward to setting up our place again and making it feel like our own, but also want it just to be finished at the same time. I know that there's no hurry when it comes to this sort of thing but I just like to get on everything asap and make it happen, it's just who I am. I know that it will be a very busy August/ September.

I'm so glad that we're moving at the beginning of August so there's time before baby and Christmas. The timing really does feel ideal in a lot of ways. I've already found a "local" professsional printer as well for my photo cards, so I feel happy about that. I've already registered for a kids swap meet in September and am in the process of registering for a bridal show as well. I am excited about establishing myself within the local baby/ wedding markets.

Yesterday I felt like I just needed to get out and have some me time. After all, I haven't had any since before David went away (besides naps, but you can't exactly go out). So I went to Chapters and Starbucks for a couple of hours in the morning. I just read and enjoyed a frap. It's amazing how a couple of hours of peace and quiet can make me feel like a "normal" person again. I so... needed that time. It made me think about how important it is to have that me time where we have zero responsibilities or things to get done. Once we move I woudl love to "install" a couple of hours into each week where I could do that sort of thing. It makes me a happier person, wide and mother, it's so worth it.

Anyways, that was a little longer than I thought it would be. The kids are both sleeping and the house is nice and quiet for the time being. Thank goodness for naps!

Her Manikin Friends

2011-06-21T07:05:00.003-07:00

I was going through pics on my "purse camera" the other day and came across these taken in Old Navy. Sarah loves the Old Navy dog and the little girl. She often asks me to take a picture of her while we're out, this was one of those funny moments. The pics really aren't great, but they make me laugh. The other customers and staff sure had a good laugh as well. There's something funny about Sarah and Old Navy, since we've had lots of humorous moments in that store with her.

Family Time

2011-06-21T04:36:00.005-07:00

On Fathers Day we did what we do most days, have family time. It was a beautiful day so we walked around the falls and then went to Brontos Play Land to entertain the kids for awhile.

This photo makes me laugh, Sarah's hands are huge.

David's Coming Home

2011-06-17T17:36:00.003-07:00

Tonight is the night that David is coming home, yahoo!!! He's been gone for 13 days and I am so... ready for him to be back. I have missed him so much! He was supposed to arrive at about 10:30pm but there was a mechanical failure so he won't be landing until aprox 2:30 am in Toronto. The ironic thing is that it was actually my cousin Mark's mechanic team that was working on David's plane. Therefore you could say that it's his fault that David's coming home late. No worries, Mark, it happens.

I was going to stay up until he got home, but now that's just not going to happen. Oh well, I'm still super excited that David's coming home and will see him in the morning. I feel pretty bad for our friend that has to pick David up in the wee hours.

I think I managed fairly well while David was away, but I don't think I would be a very good single parent. I tried to take the kids out at least once a day, even if it was just to a park, the store or someone's house. I just can't handle being home all day (especially indoors) with the kids. Our kids also love outings and therefore behave much better if there's something going on and we're out. The day also goes much faster when we're out in the morning and the kids nap in the afternoons. Anyways, I'm so glad to not have to go it all alone anymore. Everything is just easier to handle with two parents rather than one.

The Big Loss and the Aftermath

2011-06-17T12:06:00.005-07:00

Yep, it's a sad thing the Canucks losing the Stanley Cup and the riots that took place afterwards. It's interesting being on the eastern end of Canada and hearing comments made by people out here.

Firstly, according to David (who was there that night with our cousin Rob), a group of individuals acted out in violence, and then there were the idiot followers. The vast majority of people in no way participated, in fact they were trying to leave the area. David said that he saw a group of guys take masks, gas, etc out of their backpacks almost immediatly after the conclusion of the game. They had obviously planned the riot well ahead of time. By the things I've read on facebook and comments I've heard, people seem to make it sound like virtually all of downtown went crazy and started rioting after the game. Just not so. It's too bad that the rest of the country/ NA has been given this impression too.

Yesterday evening I took the kids to McDonalds for an ice-cream/ french fry treat for something to do and overheard the employees talking about the Vancouver riot. Essentially, they spoke of "Vancouver" just going crazy and rioting after the game. They were saying how it was "just hockey" and didn't understand how a city could go so nuts after losing a game. Another friend I talked to yesterday said the same sort of thing.

It's sad that a group of people can cause so much harm to a city physically as well as it's reputation. It's such a shame that people can see what this group of people did and say it was the "city" that rioted and not the group of people. It's been neat to read about all the people who have helped to clean up the city since the riot. I'm sure this number is much more than the number of people that were actually rioting that night.

Anyways, there's my thoughts on the matter. I'm done hearing about it all and reading about it. I haven't even wanted to go on facebook the last couple of days since it seems that every other post is about the riots, clean up, etc. Most of them are good posts, but enough is enough. Also, just too much repetition. Oh well, got to love social media sometimes.

Newborn Photography

2011-06-16T19:35:00.009-07:00

Last week I had my 5th newborn session. With each session I've been amazed with how much I have learned and grown. I've had such a desire to learn how to use my camera better and really get a grasp on newborn photography specifically (I don't want to be a "Jack of all Trades"). I've been reading, practicing, posing and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. After each session, I review my pics at home and make note of one thing I did well and my two major flaws. Then I work on learning how to improve for my next session. Let me tell you, babies are not as easy to photograph as you may think. I'm happy to finally be in full manual mode and only use natural light, what a big learning curve for a non pro like me. I feel like it's all finally "clicked" (no pun intended).

It's kind of funny, since I only started taking newborn pics in order to get photos for my cards. However, I've come to really love it. I've decided that I'll continue with newborn photography as the opportunities allow. I have the baby connections anyways, and it always leads to birth announcement orders (or vice versa). I hate stock photos (and cards that end up looking similar to other sites), so it's really up to me to get the images. I've got an awesome group of wedding photographers that send me photos whenever I like, but the whole baby/ kids/ family is not so easy. There's really nothing worse than a website that has all the same pics in the cards or just really bad photos. Anyways, I thought I would post some pics from the last two sessions I did, just for something different. Hopefully you can see my growth. I have a long way to go, but feel really happy with the progress I've made so far. Celebrating milestones.

I love this little egg basket and so have the "clients." I'm posting this pic for my mom, since she thought I was crazy when I was trying to explain what I was doing with it. Lovin' Kijiji these days!

So there you have it, a couple precious little newborn girls. I still haven't photographed a newborn baby boy, hopefully soon! Spending time with all these babies such gets me excited for our own on the way!

Since we'll be living in the Lower Mainland again (yahoo!!!), I'm also thinking of doing some September mini family photo sessions/ Christmas card packages. Something like 30-40 minutes, aprox 15 high res edited images, and a digital Christmas card for aprox $50. It's a win win for everyone. Ideally, I would love to have three different days, and a different location for each. I'll have to put some feelers out there and see how much interest I would get from the Abby community. It would be fun! I feel like my mind is full of all kinds of ideas right now, watch out.

Intentional Play

2011-06-16T18:37:00.005-07:00

I've always struggled a bit with how to really play with the kids when they're babies. Putting blocks in boxes, peek a boo, etc, it just isn't that exciting for me. I get bored and often wished I was doing something else (kind of sad but true). I feel like it's taken quite a while for Sarah to start playing more intentionally with her toys. She's never been one of those kids that will just play for ages with her little people, dolls or whatever.

I've noticed both of our kids change a lot in this way this the past month. Sarah loves to play shopping, house, dolls, duplo, etc and Calvin can play for good lengths of time building with his blocks. I'm loving this stage in regards to play! We build houses out of blocks and play with the duplo people. We play shopping with our cash register and grocery cart. We wrap the babies up in blankets and put them to bed. It's not that our kids didn't do any of these things before, however, they are now able to play for longer and with more imagination. I love being able to interact and play with them in this way. I loved playing with my siblings as a child, we could play for hours on the living room floor with just our blocks, lego, etc. Therefore it's so encouraging to see our kids starting to play with more purpose and imagination, about a year ago I wondered if this day would ever really come.

Sarah was having fun posing for the camera and eventually Calvin decided to come and join in. Here she's showing him how to smile for "cheese" (how she refers to pictures).

Sarah's Nursery School Graduation

2011-06-14T10:01:00.005-07:00

This morning Sarah had her Nursery School graduation. The kids were so cute! They walked in to Pomp and Circumstance, sang the ABC song and Wheels on the Bus. They were then each introduced with a painting that they did and a little "about me" speech.

Sarah and her teacher Mrs. Reena

Sarah and her little buddies, Michael and Chase.

The New Winemaker!

2011-06-14T04:58:00.004-07:00

We are so... thrilled to share that David is the new winemaker for Pacific Breeze Winery in NEW WESTMINSTER. That's right, we're moving back to the Lower Mainland!!! I am so... proud of David and so excited for our family. Who would have thought that we'd end up moving back to the Lower Mainland, not us, that's for sure. We are so thankful for God's continued goodness in our lives, what a journey we've been on.

Pacific Breeze is a small garage style winery, they are located in the Industrial area of New West (next to the Quay). They get their juice from several vineyards in the Okanagan and California. David will be in charge of all wine making operations at the winery.

It's a good thing we already booked the moving truck for July 30th since David's start date is August 1 or whenever we arrive in BC. We plan to drive, so we'll likely arrive on the 5th or so. Now we have the task of looking for a place to live in BC. We're hoping to rent a home in the Langley/ Surrey area, somewhere near the freeway if possible. We would love to build again, so we plan to just rent in the meantime. We're so excited for this next chapter in our lives!!!

Feel free to check out Pacific Breeze's website, www.pacificbreezewinery.com They were the InterVin Winery of the Year for 2010!

All is well

2011-06-10T19:40:00.002-07:00

Just thought I would post that we're all alive and doing well over here. We actually had a fairly busy week with two dinners at friends homes, trips to the park, nursery school, trips to print cards, mail cards, etc. Everything is more difficult when I have to cart around both kids, thank goodness for the child backpack and stroller. I also had two newborn sessions this week (some pics on my FB page), therefore the kids got to have some special playtime with "grandma" Donna and at the Whyte family's house. So all is well. We're all missing David a ton, one week to go. Next week is pretty wide open, we just have Sarah's graduation. So I'm not sure what we'll be up to, however it seems that something always comes up.

David's been having a great time visiting family and friends. Sadly, games 2 and 3 have been pretty sad experiences for him and the Canucks. Tonight David is in Vancouver for the game, so I'm sure he's having an amazing time celebrating the overdue victory! Go Canucks!