Disneyland!

The sights of Disneyland - I felt bad I started laughing when the castle came into view...I was warned that it was a little smaller than Florida's - didn't expect it to be that much smaller!
We loved seeing the characters but not enough to wait in lines so that they could freak out Nathan! It was enough to just catch a quick snapshot of them.

The kids :) Happy, scared, tired - the emotions were all over the place, kind of like the weather! Joel loved everything and Nathan loved all the train and boat rides but none of the movie theme rides... not even Peter Pan. Small World was a big hit and I'm beginning to understand why Brad's parents love it so much. However, after 13 hours we were all totally wiped out!

California Adventure - FUN! Awesome roller coaster, fun rides for the kids - Nathan laughed and laughed on the Ladybug Boogie - it was so great to see that! Joel started calling the Tower of Terror, the Tower of Goodness...maybe he's trying to replace some memories! This was just a great day.

Our last day we spent mostly in the rain. We had Magic Morning pass, meaning we could go into the park an hour before it actually opened. We got to ride the Nemo Submarine ride...that was it! We used the rest of the morning to do the bigger rides that we skipped on the first day because of the crowds. Joel rode the Matterhorn which he is standing in front ofe - a tribute to our Swiss-ness; he rode Space Mountain twice in a row - once with Brad and once with me and Big Thunder twice as well, which he now states was his favourite ride. We took a little break from walking and rode the old fire truck down main street. Apparently Walt himself used to drive that old truck around DL.
We had lunch in Downtown Disney at the Rainforest Cafe, which I'll just say is slightly overrated and later headed back in to Cali Adventure park to see the Aladdin show. The older kids loved it - Joel just clapped and clapped long after the clapping was over...Micah chose this time to have a major meltdown so we missed most of it. And yes I had to push my way out of a packed auditorium. All in all though I can't complain - the kids did amazing!  

Here are a few pictures from the Lego store and waiting in line for Aladdin. I don't know what the purple trees are but it was amazing seeing them from the plane as we descended over Anaheim.
Just a note more for my memory than anything...swimming lessons have definitely paid off for Joel! He did awesome in the pool the couple of times we made it there. On our last night I took him down and we had so much fun together! Great memory of him telling me how relaxing the hot tub was...
Oh and yeah, there's something wrong with Nate's eyes. Still don't know what. Allergies maybe?
Now that I've written all that down I'm tired all over again. Boy, Disneyland is exhausting.
But so. so, so much fun.

Happy Days

The happy family :)

The happy boy! He was so excited to meet Mickey - he was just a little sad it only lasted 3 seconds. And then he figured out that their houses aren't really their houses.... Oh the disappointment!

On the farm

Elinor, Joel, Rachel and Eric posing on old J.D.

They even got to go for a ride too.
We headed out to the Sumas flats for another fun evening at the farm. The boys LOVE going out there: checking out the new calves in the barn, watching the chickens, riding on tractors and well, just getting muddy! They had lots of fun outside despite the chilly wind and grey skies. We are still waiting for spring.
We had a great evening with everyone together to celebrate Papa's birthday. Even Travis and Kendra were there, all the way from NewBrunswick! It was great to meet Kendra and to see Travis again, all grown up! The family sure is getting big! There were 4 babies under a year there! Brenda and Sam may need a bigger house ;) or maybe just some nice weather!

*I stand corrected - apparently Nathan does NOT like checking out the calves. They terrify him. Oh, he'll be fun in Disneyland :/

Happy Mother's Day

These guys are why this day is special to me. They make me a mom and I love them all for it! They are quite the little monkeys though...

tracks

I'm a mom to boys. It's what I do. It's also a great way to keep them occupied during our sick & rainy days!

The 7 month mark

Micah is 7 months old. The countdown is now on...only a few short summer months and my mat leave is over! It's actually hard to believe that a year is always a year! This one is going so fast. At 7 months Micah has 4 teeth, sits and plays and pushes himself forward like he's trying to crawl but often lands on his face. He loves to stand and will even balance on his own for a few seconds. He's a tall, strong boy and he is a little joy to have in our family.
This past week has not been overly joyful though with 4 out of 5 of us sick - Brad had it 2 weeks ago and now the rest of have been stricken by this awful cold! Fevers, coughing and running (as in noses and eyes) have been the story of our week. Nate even got some puking in there, too bad it had to be at ToysRUs today while we were trying to pick out a new car seat for Micah. Yes. It's been a bad week and it doesn't seem to be ending.
However, I know it will. I have to remind myself of that almost every minute... some people don't have that hope that they will be healed. I was reminded of that this week when I got to hear a woman from our church speak - she has cancer, she is going to die and she is okay with that. And so I know I can make it through another day of this cold...it is after all just a cold.

To top it all off...

Micah and Nadia - the birthday twins (yeah, Micah is huge...)

Jonas, Nathan and Joel - the theme was plaid and we all took part! The boys had a fun time searching around the house for Easter eggs - note we are now inside as it is POURING rain out again.
We celebrated Easter Sunday by going to church - they always do a great event for the kids in the morning and the service was fantastic. It is always great to see people get baptized on Easter (that's when I did it 15 years ago). Our friend Melissa was one of them on Sunday and it made the service that much more special.
In the evening our good friends Keith and Amanda and their kids of course, joined us for dinner. We shared the load of making a traditional turkey meal and I'd like to say it turned out fantastic, well, it was fantastic except that my thermometer stopped working at the 150 degree point and so I had no real way of telling if the turkey was done, so then I dried out the stuffing which tasted great anyway... oh well. I've got to learn somehow. I now need a new meat thermometer though.
I truly love Easter. I love that it is the beginning of warm weather (hopefully!). I love that it represents renewal and new life. I love that we celebrate our Risen Saviour and all that means to us. God doesn't need us for anything, yet He chose to send His son to die a horrible death and be raised again so that we CAN be saved and have eternal life with Him! Amazing love for His broken people who deserve absolutely nothing. Thank you for the cross my Friend.

On Saturday...

We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Karen & Ty, Brent & Sara, Debbie & Scott and of course all the kids. They had a great time with the Easter egg hunt Karen set up for them (no there is no Easter bunny in my world). The kids are: Duncan, Ethan, Emma, Rachel, Jordan, Joel, Nathan and Peter - Micah and Ava chose not to partake in the silliness. Thanks for a fun evening! Note that the kids are all outside in T-shirts! Amazing! This April has been the coldest on record and I think this was one of the first times I felt okay outside without long sleeves.

The start of a busy weekend!

We coloured some eggs - er, I coloured some eggs while being watched by Joel and Nathan. They took control of which colours they wanted and they knew exactly whose eggs were whose! They've actually really enjoyed eating them over the past few days too!

Friday found us out in Chilliwack to visit with Sarah and Luke and their 3 kids - Eva, Katie and Isaac. We took a little hike up to Bridal Falls. The kids loved it and we enjoyed the outing and the company! It was really nice to just be able to have a relaxing afternoon with old friends. In the evening we enjoyed some chili and barbequed bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers while the kids played outside in the yard - yup, outside!! Finally it was nice enough! And yes, those poppers were amazing. Jalapenos, seeded and cleaned out (trick is to wear gloves) stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with maple bacon, cooked to perfection on the BBQ... oh the thought makes me want to make them right now!! Thanks guys for a great day!

F A M I LY

L.O.V.E.

Let the playoffs begin!

And end as soon as possible! Oops, I meant to keep that to myself! I'm sure I'll be on the bandwagon as soon as they can prove they can actually do something...I wasn't a believer in the Canadian Olympic team either, so there is hope! And yes, I'm a bandwagon hopper. At least I don't sit around waiting for them to do something awesome, I just get happy IF they actually do :)

Happiest. Place.

This morning we booked a trip to Disneyland. Yep, we're crazy. We're going for 4 nights with 3 kids on our own. We can't wait!! Westjet has a great deal and we've been dreaming about getting away...dreaming is the key word. So anyway, the most unspontaneous people in the whole world just planned a trip, just like that. We leave in 5 or 6 weeks. Looking forward to that Californian sun.

Micah

He loves to make a mess.

He loves to watch his brothers play.

He also loves to sleep and laugh and be in the van. He loves to go for walks in the stroller or the Bjorn, he loves to be around people and will smile for anyone - unless you have a camera!!

Today he had his 6 month check-up. He weighs 20lbs, 8.5oz and is 72cm tall (around 29 inches). So, I guess it's time to get that new car seat.

Finally!! Here's Ava

So, I had to get a little creative - e-mailed the picture to myself, then saved it to the laptop and am blogging from there... Ava Grace you are loved!! Your cousins love you. Your Auntie and Uncle love you. Welcome to the world sweet girl. March 25, 7lbs 7oz.

Congratulations Brent, Sara and Peter.

Alvina's Cinnamon Twists

Mmmm....made these this afternoon. Yummy! They were pretty easy, the kids love them - just be careful how much milk you add. Mine were a little sticky to deal with. Mennonite Girls Can Cook: Alvina's Cinnamon Twists Oh, I also made their creamy macaroni and cheese for dinner - best mac and cheese yet! However, I did change it up a bit by adding ham and melting in some Gruyere into the white sauce.

Spring

This is the 5th time I have tried to post something on here! For some unknown reason, Picasa and Blogger are not communicating and it's really driving me crazy!

I have lovely photos of Ava I want to post.
I have a photos of a boy who is just past 6 months old I want to post.

Anyway, here are some crocuses, unedited. They have already withered up and disappeared into the grass. The daffy's are blooming though, as well as the magnolia trees, cherry blossoms and camellias. What a great time of year. Just wishing now for some warmer, fully sunny days to get out into the yard with the kids. We've had glimpses of those days, just being selfish in wanting more!

6k run for fun!

I just returned from a 6 km run. It felt great. My legs didn't hurt, it wasn't raining or snowing, the sun was almost shining.... Brad and I have decided to train to run 10 km. While I know this doesn't sound like a challenge to some and there is the possibility that I could do it at this point, the point of training for it is so that 10 k will one day be easy and faster. My goal is to be able to do it in just under an hour. Today I did 6 in 38min 48sec. My goal is going to take some work! I totally meant to write more but lost my train of thought. I have decided to not do a half marathon this spring. I've been not running due to an injured ankle and then a sore knee and then a ski trip added to the time away... not to mention, I just don't want to! The actual race isn't the issue, come race day and I know I'll be sad, it's the training. It's exhausting. It's time consuming. My knee hurts again when I walk up stairs. Jen, I miss you. Another thing I forgot...for Lent I decided to cut back drastically on my Facebook usage. It just seemed to be causing more problems than I'd like to deal with! So, if I start babbling on here it's because I have a million status updates in my head that I haven't been writing down! So sorry :) Micah is 6 months old today. Half a year. Wow.

Oh AND we got a new member of the family on Friday - Ava Grace was born to Brent and Sara and "big" brother Peter. She is a lovely little girl and I'll post some pictures soon!

Big and White!

Once again, we escaped the coming spring and headed up to some big snow! We had a great few days again at the condo. Joel got out for 2 lessons and an afternoon with me and Ethan on the bunny hill. He seemed to enjoy skiing again this year but he may end up a little older before he really learns to ski!! I spent a day out with Brad and another with my sisters. The four of us had a great time together, even through the fog, even through Goat's Kick which was NOT Born to Run!! Seriously I had all my childhood skiing fears going through me, not "She's Like the Wind" ; ) Black diamonds are not my style.... We enjoyed a lovely sleigh ride through the trees, the boys enjoyed an evening of tubing and we all enjoyed many great meals together.
So thanks for another great time in Big White. Love you guys. All 16 of you :)

Birthday boys

February always ends up being a busy month! Brad and Joel always get to celebrate their birthdays together. This year we had my mom & dad here to celebrate with us - lots of fun!! They drove Brad's new truck down - nice birthday present hey?! Joel finally got his green Crocs which he has been wanting now for years! He was so happy (thanks Schatzi & Papa). We also got some snow, a rare thing for the end of February here and it wasn't warmly welcomed by most people, especially not Mom & Dad who were escaping the tonnes of snow in PG!

Space Party

This year Joel had a few friends over for a space themed party. As you can see I got super creative with his cake :/ and a space "fishing" game. 4/5 year olds are so easy to impress! Joel says thanks for all the neat gifts!

5 months - a month late

Yeah, I'm having a hard time keeping up with blogging. Micah is a sweet little guy. We are loving having his smile brighten our days! On Feb 25 he cut his first tooth, bottom left, followed by the bottom right on March 8. He's not an overly happy teether, so we're experiencing something we never did with the others. Joel and Nathan just suddenly had teeth - they never told us about it! Micah likes to be heard, he likes to get some sympathy :) In the past few weeks he has also started sitting which has been great! It's nice to just plop him down on the floor with a few toys. He's also had his first bites of real food but I'll post more about that later. His 6 month check up is soon so I'll fill in all the other stuff then!

Auntie Nikki!!

We love getting visitors! Auntie Nikki decided she needed a break from winter and came down here for a week. Sadly it did snow while she was here but it didn't stick!! We had a fun playdate with Karen. Sara and Edward, we had fun shopping without kids and also fit a trip into Ikea. Thanks for the visit!! Come again soon!

They think they're cool : )

Just say No!

No to Sugus, no to gum, no to anything sticky that could pull Joel's crowns off!! Yesterday we took Joel to Cambie Surgical and he went under general anesthesia to have his teeth fixed. He woke up with a mouth full of stainless steel! He ended up with 5 caps, a few fillings and sealants. All in all, a big job and I'm glad we went the route where it was all done in one shot. Not looking forward to the new bill, seeing as the dentist ended up doing much more than was projected!! Overall it was a good experience and Joel is doing great. He has no pain today and has been back to his usual self! Now to hope and pray we won't have to do this with all the kids....

I run because I can

I don't always enjoy it. I hardly ever WANT to go. I don't like going out when it's cold, raining, hot or dark. I don't like running in the morning. But I run because I can. I am fortunate that nothing is keeping me from getting out and spending an hour alone with my Ipod. Running clears my head, lets me think things through and lets me worship my Creator. With every step I am reminded of how amazingly our bodies are put together. Each step reminds me that I am alive. Each step makes me more grateful for the blessings I have in my life. Each step brings me back closer to home. So I run to get away only so that I can come back again :)

Swim, swim, swim

Last night was Joel's last swimming lesson for Salamander and we are so proud that he passed!! That means he can do a front glide for 3 sec, hold his breath for 5 sec under water, he can roll over and do a back glide - some of the things are still assisted but that will be changed in the next level!
We decided to have some fun since it was Joel's last lesson and we all went in the pool. It was Micah's first time and he loved it! Nathan is crazy in the water and doesn't understand that the pool gets deeper if he keeps walking... he ended up "in over his head" a few times! It was a great evening until it came time to shower and dry off. Never fun...