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...

4 month check up

Micah had his 4 month check today! My biggest newborn is still my smallest.... he weighs 17lbs, 15.5oz. Can you believe that both Joel and Nathan each weighed almost a pound more?? Micah has about half an inch on them in length - Joel and Nathan were both 27 inches and Micah is 27.5 to be almost exact :) He is doing all the things he should, grabbing, rolling, following objects with his eyes... he loves to smile and laugh and play. He is just a joy to have in our home. He has developed his own schedule which works out great for us...a couple of short naps in the morning, a long afternoon nap and bedtime between 7 and 7:30. He still wakes up once or twice at night but goes back to sleep easily after a quick feed. He's started to enjoy the exersaucer - can't even count how many kids have played in this one and will soon be bouncing around in the jolly jumper. It's still hard to believe it's already been 4 months since we brought him home. After seeing our friend's new baby, it's amazing to see how much things change in just 4 months....
Oh and happy birthday to me. Bet my mom can't believe how fast 33 years can go!!

Happy 4 months Baby!!

Boy, time flies.

Winter Days in the GVRD

A few weekends ago we took advantage of some sunshine and our zoo passes and headed out to see the animals. It started off as a lovely day and we were so happy to finally see the arctic wolves and foxes - in 3 previous visits I have never seen them! The wolf was really something to watch. He came right below us and I just wanted to rub his belly!! He is a beautiful creature! There are no pictures of Nathan I noticed...he didn't like to get close to the animals and well let's just say the nice weather didn't last long... soon it started raining, the rain turned to slush and before we knew it HUGE fluffy snowflakes were falling all around us. Brad took the boys on the train ride and I took Micah inside to warm up.

Moving into 2011...

Some random pics from PG and here at home. Finally got downstairs on the computer :)

I feel like I need to add more to this post. We spent almost a week in PG again - although we weren't there for Christmas, the family puts on a pretty good "faux" Christmas for us. We again enjoyed bringing in the New Year with a fine Raclette at Frances & Chris' house. We enjoyed playing some games, even though Brad came out in true form and won, over and over... so annoying!! Well, the smirk is annoying, not the winning... you all know!! It seems Joel has inherited that smirk as well!
There wasn't as much snow up there as we had hoped but we made some use of what there was! The boys got out sledding a few times. The ironic thing is, the day after we got up there, it snowed at home and the day we left there, it snowed like crazy. So we missed it on both ends. Here are a couple more pictures and then I am leaving 2010 behind!

I need to blog!!

It's past the middle of January! Already! Life is back to 'normal' if that's what you call this. For Christmas I received this laptop so I am rarely found in front of the computer downstairs and that is where all our pictures are!! That explains my lack of pictures lately. Otherwise, we are just back.
Joel is back to enjoying preschool. They went skating yesterday and he did so well for his first time! Of course I forgot my camera.... :( He also started the next level of swimming and is doing so well! Oh to be a kid and learn so easily....
Nathan seems to be learning a new word every day and enjoys his days spent with his little friends Jonas and Lukas. I love watching 2 year olds play - they hardly fight!! It is so refreshing.
Micah is growing every day!! He changes so much, so fast. Today he rolled from his back to his front - Amanda as my witness - he did it!!! Why do they have to grow so fast??
Brad and I are just busy again. Different than through the Christmas season. Now it's meetings and obligations and getting together with friends and family. I've started running again, training for the 1/2 marathon at the BMO Vancouver marathon on May 1. That's my goal anyway. There are many halfs out there....
I like being back to normal.