First Day of Preschool!

Did it really creep up that quickly?  I always thought it was so cute when other moms would post the "back pack" photos of their kids just before they are out the door to go to school.  Did I really take those types of photos this morning?! Yup! I sure did :)

 Brooklynn in my mind is a prime candidate for preschool.  Lately I just don't feel cut out for what her little sponge-brain wants to learn.  I never thought too hard about preschool until some of my friends were enrolling their kids, and after qualifying for a subsidy is was almost a "no-brainer".  As time crept up and we got closer to the school year starting I was more and more exctied for her and grateful we went for it!

 Showing off her new backpack! 

 I kept telling Brooklynn that she didn't need to be shy and that she would have a friend in her class (Charlotte) .  They almost seemed hesitant today when they saw eachtoher and when I picked her up she said, " mom, I met new friends today! I met 5 boys (she was nervous about boys being in her class) and Charlotte and Ashley."  I know it was a big day for both of them so she may have seemed a little confused.  I'm so happy they have another activity to share.  I just hope they don't ever forget the bond they started so early in life  :)

And last but not least, some hugs for her little sister :)

So proud of you Brooklynn!! xox

A Dino Day in Drumheller

Before Jason got his internship with NWC this summer he had been doing some odd jobs; renos, and bounce house deliveries for the most part.  It was a pretty sweet hook-up for a family with kids.  We sure have had our fair share of bounce house fun this summer, however one day of bounce house deliveries brought us out to Drumheller for the day.  We went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum - the girls and I have never been there before!  We also spent the whole day there which gave us the opportunity to check out some cool events that were on, and other exhibits.  I still can't believe how dinosaur-crazy that town is.   There are seriously dino statues everywhere!! Some are little, abstract, big, realistic or even HUMONGOUS!!  Yes. Drumheller lays clain to the largest dinosaur statue in the world- pretty impressive!

 We got a brand new camera for Christmas (which I love) but with my limited experience thus far and a dark museum...well, some of the pictures are a little blury.  My sister/ photographer helped me learn a thing or two since :)

 A makeshift bed for Little Livy to nap in. I wish she fell asleep!

 I love this picture!

 Brooklynn thought she had lost us a minute before this picture was taken (we were only 5 feet behind her)  she got a little emotional.

It's hard for me to think this type of landscap and scenary is in Canada.  It's so beautiful and unique in it's own way.  Makes me feel grateful to live in such a huge diverse country.

World's Largest Dinosaur

  It was challenging at times to keep the girls there all day, especially Alivia- who still needs her nap but we made it work and it was nice to have the whole day with Jason because he is seriously SO busy these days!

true love

  I love catching moments of us being fun, and young together.  We are fun and young but sometimes, or a lot of the time life can make us forget and feel differently...  I love that we have 5+ years of marriage under our belts, and 2 kids - I wouldn't change it for the world, and to know we won't be students any longer when the spring gets here is totally AWESOME!  It's been a fun ride with you so far Jason :)

Summer Fun

These girls have been so much fun for me this summer and being a mother and spending my time with them throughout the day means more then I could possibly have EVER imagined.  I'm so thankful that Jason feels it is so important for me to be at home and by their side's raising them.  I am so thankful that he works hard enough so I can enjoy doing that as my job too.  They really light up my world. They are my life and my everything.  It's not always peachy, or simply fun in the sun (that's for sure) but all the laughs, excitement,  cuteness, the milestones I witness, the love and most of all JOY they bring to me sure make-up for the hard times.  I am SO grateful to be your mommy Brooklynn and Alivia, xox. 

I had to...

Umm, this is just too funny to get lost in the mix of FB.  Liv, I'll make sure to pull this picture out the day we need to have a serious talk about "future girl things" P.s. Stay outta my purse ya' monkey!

The Girls

Brooklynn:
She is more responsible than me lately.  She is ALWAYS reminding me to buckle her in just as I am about to drive off somewhere.  I know it sounds bad but it is true.  Today I explained to her that I am so proud and so impressed with the wonderful example she is to her sister, and the great helper she is to me.  She then replied, "Mom, and I almost a human? When I get to be a human can I stay up all night !" Ha- I know she meant grown-up NOT human.  Cute girl.
She is so adventurous, capable and smart-- it blows my mind.  She quotes Disney movies non-stop. Loves to push herself, has an enormous sense of humor like her daddy and keeps us laughing non-stop.  I can't believe she is starting preschool this Fall.  We have a "meet the teacher" night at the end of August which only only boggles my mind with the question, "where did my BABY go!?!"

Alivia:

Well for starter, I combed Liv's hair for the first time after her bath the other night.  Yup, she is over 19 months old and I am pretty positive it was the very first time I ever bothered running a comb or brush through it.  I didn't even need to but it's finally getting the teeniest bit of length and the hair would at least move with the brush strokes :)  She is cuter, and sassier than I can explain in words.  Her most popular word these days is "sorry".  Her favorite thing to do these days is carry around baby dolls, teddy bears and diapers.  She is always saying, "awww poo poo- yuck!" as she proceeds to rip off a diaper from one of her toys, pretending to change it (wiping and all) and frantically begging the closest adult around (usually me) to put it back on, and then she repeats the same phrase and rips it off again.  It's a very consistent cycle of changing diapers over here!  She is trying so hard to keep up with her sister.  She is loving the summer and her exploring, learning, and playing has been non-stop.  She's a total water-baby just like her sister and now that they play together more things have been a lot of fun.

Birthday Dunks, Cake and a little bit of Wasa :)

I just downloaded a plethora of photos I had requested my sweet sister to send to me.  She sent me a bunch of "goodies".  She ALWAYS has her phone out and  is ready to snap at the right time!  Aren't camera phones so awesome?  Like, seriously?!  It sometimes blows my mind how much of my life and my kid's life gets documented with a photo!
 However,  I'm a little behind with my "documenting" and some of these photos might be mentioned or re-posted when I have some time to better recap our summer.   But before you look any further I have to say how grateful I am for having my sweet sweet sister's around and for my darling husband.  I feel like I have been treated like royalty lately.  My sister's are SO awesome with my girls and I have had so much fun and freedom with them around.  Not just freedom from getting away from my kids but just having more ease to do things that are fun with them and doing the things I need to get done while having them around.  Not that I would EVER want to entertain the idea of polygamy but I definitely see the appealing side to having multiple woman under the same house and managing all that needs to get done together while having the best company, chit chat and fun through it all!  Okay okay, maybe I'll just say I'm grateful for sisterhood and a husband I am to greedy to share- ha ha!  Jason spoiled me with a fun party (like SO FUN) and dinner on my birthday.  He worked his butt off cleaning and planning and my sister's were baking up a storm.  It was a great and definitely eased my hesitation with embracing the BIG 2-8. 
                 

Jason rented a dunk tank for my birthday.  Here I am waiting to get DUNKED. 

 I got heckled for keeping my face and hair above water...but who are we kidding? I still did it and kept my make-up and hair decent for MY party, that's a win-win.  What happened to NOT be a "win" is the magnification of my thighs through the dunk tank window...

 Above: Jason doing his signature "speedo stretches"-- the dunk tank was a huge hit. Neighbors started to flock over and get in on the action (pretty sure we are a lot "cooler" in their eye's now) and a BIG shout out to all those who were "dunked"; Blake, Dallas, Cam, Logan, Rowan (neighbor kid) Jay and last but not least, ME!

 

This was the cake we had the night before on my actual birthday.  When Jason and I returned home from dinner my sister's had balloons, presents and cake waiting for us.

 Jenny made this cake all on her own. It was almost TOO pretty to eat but it tasted delicious :)

Wasa Goodies:

 Cute shot of the girls playing :)

Another "goodie".  We had a ton of rain out at Wasa while we were there so baking became a popular activity for us.  Brooklynn was in heaven while icing the sugar cookies, I think it was almost as good as eating them when they were done!

 I have a lot more Wasa photos to come, but again, I just had to get the ones up from my sister's phone.  Thanks, Amanda!