More Cute...

The kids discovered the ashtray in the back of car yesterday which launched us into a whole conversation about smoking and addiction.  When we were done Maarti pipes up "It's just like me... I want to stop eating watermelon, but I just can't!"

Cute

Earlier today we went to pick up our car from the mechanic.  As we drove to the shop Maarti was debriefing about today's ballet class.

Maarti:  Mom, did you know that Miss Jen prayed at ballet today.

Me:  That's so cool.  What did she pray about?

Maarti:  Well, she said if there was something we wanted to pray about we could put up our hands and she would pray for it and I put up my hand.

Me:  What did you ask her to pray for?

Maarti:  That our car would have a good time at the chiropractor.

Another Birthday

I can hardly believe our boy is 7! 

Where has the time gone and is there a way to slow it way, way down?!!

 Sam wanted a Home Hardware themed party for the longest time

and then once summer hit he decided that a boating party was the way to go. 

So... off to the lake we went for an afternoon of tubing!

 

 We had a great time with our friends and family!

 

During Sam's birthday week he was off to soccer camp which is always a highlight of his summer.

 The day before Sam's actual birthday we celebrated at home with some of our Irish family.

 Sam's actual birthday turned out to be a very busy day, but we were able to sneak in a bit of time at a nearby playground.

And there you have it... the week long celebration of Sam!!  He is certainly worth all that celebrating and more!  Sam is caring, thoughtful, helpful, sensitive, friendly and just a lot of fun.

We are so crazy about you Sam!  Thank you for blessing us and making us smile every single day!  We love you so much!!

 

 

Birthday Interview:

 

Favourite Movie - Wreck It Ralph

 

Favourite color - blue

 

Favourite game - monopoly and DS games

 

Favourite story - Up, Up, Down

 

Favourite Bible story - Daniel and the Lion's Den

 

Favourite verse - Hab. 3:19

 

Favourite food - popcorn

 

Favourite animal - leopard

 

Favourite thing about school - recess and lunch

 

Something you are saving up for - a car

 

When I grow up I want to be  - a car wrecker or work with Daddy

 

Something I liked about being 6 - going to the Vancouver Aquarium with my school

 

Something I am looking forward to  - Thanksgiving holidays at the hotel

 

If I had a million dollars - I would buy an entire city!

 

Something I really like - Snap Circuits

 

Something I really don't like - girlie things

 

Someone I really admire - Wayne Gretzky

 

Something I wonder about - how people make cartoons

 

If I could say something to the entire world I would say - "Jesus loves us!"

 

Canada Day 2013

It's becoming a bit of a tradition... Canada Day in Enderby!

The day starts with a parade.  This year Papa had five of his tractors in the parade.  Jeremy and Sam the extroverts of the family LOVE this!! 

After the parade all of the members of the Shuswap Pioneer Collectors Club were invited to the farm for a BBQ, tractor pulls and lawn mower races.  Not everyone in the club collects tractors and a few nice vehicles showed up at the farm too.

Canada Day turned out to be blistering hot... so hot that not very many people wanted to be in the heat and enjoy the tractor pulls.  There were a few die hards though!

And one more special treat of the day... some of our Irish cousins were there!  These two are only 12 days apart and play so nicely you would never guess they only see each other once every two years.  It is so fun to have cousins that are counted as besties!

 

Spring Catch Up

Phew... We made it through one Very.  Busy.  Spring!!! 

Our Spring has included:

 

A Superhero Dance Recital. 

(Of course our favorite dancer was Maarti!)

Sports Day.  Maarti's Preschool was invited to join Sam's school for the day.  All the preschoolers were assigned a "Big Buddy" and Sam took his roll of looking after Maarti very seriously.  Good job Sam... you made us proud! 

Luke's favorite event at sports day was buckling up all the straps on the stroller.

Our spring also included two unexpected trips to Enderby.  Sadly, they were to celebrate the lives of two very dear people to us.  Granny and Uncle Harold passed away within 5 weeks of each other and though we miss them we are happy that they are with their Saviour who they both loved so much.  I think my brother said it best:  " 'We do not grieve as those who have no hope!' but we do cry a little".

 

Despite the circumstances of our trips, we did enjoy our time with family... it is always so rich to be together.

Papa's tractors are always a hit!

Sam is growing up and, as promised, Papa taught him how to drive the lawn tractor.

Luke also had a lesson...

In how to ride a Buckin' Bronco!!!

He's well on his way to 8 seconds!

Thankfully... it hasn't gone to his head yet and he still knows he needs his Daddy.

On father's day we had a picnic,

Flew a kite (Made especially for Jeremy by Sam),

and went to a car show.  (Jeremy will be disgusted that I'm not posting any pics of the cars, but it's my blog, so tough bean-er-inos!!)

Maarti graduated from preschool.  She had a great year and can hardly wait for kindergarten.  She has certainly blossomed this last year... it's hard to believe that this same girl spent much of last summer crying about not wanting to go to preschool at all!!



We have had a super wet couple of weeks, but that's okay... nothing popcorn and a movie can't fix. 

Love these three in their jammies!!

And now it's summer... I think!!... come on Mr. Sun... we're waiting for you!

Wacky Hair Day... x2

 

Happy to be Five!

I'm pretty sure this picture was only taken just yesterday...

 And now all of a sudden she has gone and had her fifth birthday!!!

This birthday has actually been celebrated for a pretty long time....

First an early celebration with our little family.

Then a Pizza Party on her actual birthday with our extended family:

And then... a couple of weeks later we hung up a bunch of decorations and

welcomed 7 little girls to a zebra party! 

There was food...

 and presents...

 and games and crafts!!!

 

( There was also some jumping on beds, but we won't talk about that!!)

 

We Love you so much Maarti!! 

We love your soft heart,

we love your joyful presence,

we love all the ballerina shows you give us,

we love how you are becoming so brave and independent,

we love that you are so girlie,

We love that God gave us you... the best little girl we know!

 

Birthday Interview:

 

First the favourites:

Food ..... Fries

Colour ..... blue

Story ..... Strawberry Shortcake

Song ..... Twinkle, Twinkle

Show ..... Cowgirls and Angels

Game ..... Checkers

Activity ..... Swinging

Place ..... Papa and Grandma's farm

animal ..... elephant

Flower ..... rose

Verse ..... "When God so loved the world"

 

What is your best memory from being 4?

Sharing a room with Luke.

 

When you grow up what do you want to be?

A mommy.

 

What is something you would like to do when you are 5?

Go to Alaska!!

 

If you could say one thing to the whole world what would you say?

"The verse we are learning.  The one Granny likes."

("With God all things are possible"  Matt. 19:26)

 



It's Good to be Different

Most kids are emotionally attached to normal, boring things like stuffies or blankets.  Not Luke... he couldn't care less about soft things, but woe to the fool who tries to mess with his boots... WOE INDEED!! 

And tonight... well, tonight we were tired and just not up for that kind of a battle so we decided to just roll with it.  It's good when kids go to bed happy, right?

Good night Luke.  Sleep tight.

For the Love of Pancakes

In the evenings we enjoy "talking time" with our kids before we tuck them in.  Sam always asks for stories from when we were young.  The other night I was telling him about summer camp and what a typical day was like.  We talked about the games and the campfires, about going to bed late and waking up early and eating breakfast...

Sam:  Do you get to have pancakes for breakfast?

Me:  Of course you do!

Sam:  Oh!  I TOTALLY want to go!!

Just Like Price is Right

We were recently given a very thoughtful gift, and I was touched, and I shed a few tears. 

Of course the kids wanted to know "Why are you crying, Mom?". 

Grandma was there, and seeing that I was too choked up to talk, told the kids they were happy tears.

This made perfect sense to Sam.  He said "Oh yeah, it's just like on The Price is Right when someone wins a car."

Easily Impressed

Tonight at bedtime I was explaining to Sam who Stompin' Tom was (I may have also sung a couple lines of "The Hockey Song").  I then told him that one time Stompin' Tom stayed at the motel I worked at and I cleaned his room for him.  Sam's eyes got big and he said "What?!!  You could be on TV for that!!". 
Kids sure have a way of making a person feel good... for the very first time I think I'm actually feeling pretty happy that I had the opportunity to clean out a famous person's ashtray!

Compliment Fail

One of the best gifts a Mom has is the ability to hear the sincerity of a young child's heart despite whatever happens to come out of their precious mouths.  Like at supper tonight, when Sam so sweetly said "Mom, if God didn't make me to have taste buds then I would like everything you make!".

Tact... we're gonna work on that... soon.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Great Grandma Carlaw's Stay Up Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c. pecans
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar well then add egg and vanilla.  Blend flour, baking soda, salt and cornstarch and add to creamed mixture.  Add pecans and chips.  Drop by teaspoon full onto baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes.

*You should probably double the recipe since 3 out of 3 kids give them two big thumbs up!!