Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week and remember our blessings.  It is so good to see all that has happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for...

1 .Fun Mail

I got such a wonderful surprise in the mail this week from a friend in Scotland. She had posted on FB that there was a Doric version of the book Gruffalo, which is a dialect where she lives. I thought that was pretty cool and asked her to record herself reading it. She offered to send me a copy instead. And she did! I wasn't really expecting her to. I was so happy!

 I could read the book in my head, but reading it out loud was a bit more difficult! The kids listened, but they got confused. (not surprising)

("a mouse took a walk in the wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.")

  Abi and I had fun reading it, although she sounded more like a pirate to me! HAHA

2. rebate cheques

I got a letter from ICBC this week (the Insurance Corporation of BC, the company that you have to insure your vehicle with to be able to drive it legally here.) that they had been overcharging me (oops. dang corporation) I am thankful for the cheque they sent though. It is enough for us to be able to rent the uniform Abi needs for her choir performances.

3.International Festival

The grade ones have been studying different countries this unit and have come together to do a few fun events. They had a few soccer matches (or, rather, Football in most of these countries) and ended with an International Feast, where each class hosted foods from their country. Rhys' class studied France, so some parents brought in crepes, croissants and quiche---which was impressive because my mind went blank and all I could think of was French Fries, haha!  The other countries represented were Netherlands, Guatemala, and Italy. 

It was a fun afternoon!

4. acceptance
  
I think just about everyone knows by now that Rhys is a huggy boy. He loves to give random hugs to people and he will love and hang on you if he knows you. I think it's great about him as it shows his genuine love for others. But I know that people we don't know may not enjoy it as much. Such as classmates of Abi's. But Rhys still runs up to them and hugs them and wants to hang around them!  

I am so thankful that Abi's classmates are okay with that. They not only endure his clinging, but they are so kind that they even encourage him. It warms my heart to see that they don't look down on him, but accept him. I had to pull him off one girl as we were leaving school the other day because he kept hugging her leg! She laughed it off thankfully.

5. balloons!

We got confirmation this week that my niece is now allowed to have latex without having an anaphalactic episode!  Woohoo!! After 8 years, she can now play with balloons!!!  This is such an amazing gift! We all kind of take it for granted that we can play with balloons at parties or not have to worry about what the rubber balls in school are made out of or avoid certain foods that cross relate.  I can't wait to be able to give her a balloon!

6.  visits with old friends

And when I say "old", I mean Dear...not OLD! haha.

Shannon and I have been friends ever since we worked together 14 years ago. (gosh, now I feel old!) For a while there we would get together monthly, but she started to full-time work as a nurse and life got busy for me and we weren't able to anymore. After a few cancellations, we finally met this week for tea and a visit. My heart is happy again. (having hugs from her daughters, saying they missed me, helped too!)

 7.  friends 

If you were to ask Eden who her best friend is, she'd probably say Joey, our next door neighbour. We are so blessed to have this family beside us. But with night coming earlier now and so many after school events, they haven't been able to play as much; they look forward to the weekend!

8. gaming night

For Kai's birthday party, he invited his friends over for a gaming night. We got him a PS3, and we borrowed an old-school Nintendo and an extra tv, and a friend brought over his Ninetendo 360, so they had plenty to do! We fed them and they played games and had a lot of fun. I had to laugh though that by the end of the night, they were all on the couch with their own devices playing Minecraft together!  It was a fun evening! (and cheap!)

(this is the picture we used for his invitations!)

9. extra long weekends

My kids are out of school for two days this week, giving them an extra-long weekend! I love that! As much as I love their school and I love that they can go, I also love those special days where we can relax and sleep in and stay in our pjs!

10. Colourful Garden Carrots

I am so thankful that we had a bit of a garden this summer that yeilded a lot more beets than expected, as well as beans and these carrots. I love all the fun colours! (I think they were called Rainbow variety, but I could really be totally wrong. I don't pay good attention to these sorts of things)

 So that's my week in a nutshell. How about you? What are you thankful for? 

nine

Somehow this boy turned nine over the weekend. How did that happen?  He was just a wee babe, in the NICU, learning to swallow and grow not so long ago! Time has marched on.

Since Bryn and his best friend, Forrest, both have a birthday in August, just a week apart, we thought it would be fun for them to have a joint pool birthday party! Thankfully, his family hosted it since their pool is nicer (and actually is filled up and non-stretched, haha) and they have a bigger yard with a trampoline. I thought it worked out great! I sent out the invitations and took care of the food.

We really didn't feel the need to do any major decorating, even though there are so many amazing and beautiful parties out on Pinterest-land. (and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I dream of hosting a magnificent party like those. Sadly, our budget doesn't provide for me the ability yet. Either that or I'm not that creative with my resources. ...It could be a mix of both!)  We did start up our own Pin board though, for ideas! And we did decide to go with a Shark Theme. But other than the shark decor on the table and the cupcakes, that was about it! Oh, and I make candy skewers with fish and worm gummies!

 

 The party was a lot of fun! It was a small group. (the boys only had a few they invited, and not many can come during the summer.) so the numbers were perfect!

The weather held out too. It was a bit cloudy and not very hot, but no major rains, so the boys could go into the pool for a bit. (two friends spent most of the party there actually. Everyone else thought it was too cold!)

Then there was trampoline jumping and wrestling. (I'm learning to turn my eyes from that and just let boys do what they do. And boys like to wrestle!)
 

I am so pleased with how the day turned out!

 I love these goofy boys!

cookie decorating 101

My sister is friends with a woman who decorates cookies for a business, and man, they are so beautiful!  I am often drooling over the pictures she posts on FB. (check out FROST) So imagine my excitement when Andrea (the owner/operator of Frost) posted that she was starting up home classes! For $30, you would learn some techniques and decorate cookies with royal frosting in one sitting! I was all for it!

My sister scheduled her class this past Sunday, where 6 of us gathered together for some fun.

I admit to feeling totally unsure of my abilities! I'm sure most of us did, but I was convinced that I would really stink at this! After all, everyone else seemed to have some sort of knowledge of icing and decorating and such. My extent of knowledge comes from buying a can of the Betty Crocker icing and spreading it with a butter knife over my crappy attempts at cupcakes! I don't even bother making cakes; if I need one for a birthday party, I beg my mother-in-law to make something for me!  Put icing into a bag? Different types and sizes of tips? Are you kidding me?  

Despite that, I did manage to fill up my practice sheet just fine. The more I practiced, the more confident I felt! Andrea was really good at encouraging you and offering advice. She was patient and really did think we could all accomplish what she was going to teach!

The class was a lot of fun! We learned how to fill and do wet-on-wet (seen below) and most importantly, fix mistakes!

The one cookie she was having us decorate was the cat, and I thought it looked like the easiest one to make out of all of them, but in the end I think it was the trickiest. Mostly because as we were outlining our poor kitty, most of us forgot to add the arch in the back (which Andrea tried to convince us that we didn't need to do, but who was she kidding? Of course we all wanted our cookies to look just like hers!) and then there was the neck and ears...that's the part I messed up. Dang!

If you looked at my poor kitty from the wrong angle, you wouldn't know what it was!  I had to add eyes and whiskers to make it look more 'cat-like', and even that made it look demented! Haha. Still cute enough, though!  (until I smudged the leg as it was drying, oops!)

Heather's cat was the cutest! In the end, I wished I had copied hers (since it was too late to follow Andrea's cat!) She named him Garfield. (she did awesome on her others too, as seen in the picture below)

The funnest one to make was the skull. Andrea made it look so easy, but man, those eyes!!! The wet-on-wet (I think that's what she called the technique) seemed easy, but hard to predict the icing spreading and growing into the eye ball and the pupils being off and such, and black icing isn't very forgiving if you make a mistake! But it was the one that made us all laugh the most at our attempts!

We made 6 cookies but decided that it was a long class to make that many. We were running out of time and most of us had to rush home to kids and dinner. An evening class may be better. Or we suggested having less cookies to learn.

I wished I had taken a picture of Andrea's sample cookies, but maybe comparing mine to hers aren't the best idea! I thought mine turned out just great for a newbie! As they sat and dried, they actually began to look better too. (my bat was done last, and was more rushed, since I had to leave)  I think I liked my spiderweb and skull the most.

If you are in the area, definitely consider hosting Andrea in your home for a cookie class! It was a lot of fun, and she really is interested in teaching you so that you can take these techniques home for your own cookies and cakes (or whatever else people decorate). She gave us a technique sheet as well, but I forgot mine. Oops. Check out her website Frost Me Beautiful for her gallery (the ones that say Elijah on them were done for a friend's baby shower in the Spring!) and her pricing. 

I wanted to keep these cookies forever because they really were too cute to eat, but even after my own kids oohed and ahhed over them, they immediately wanted one! I made them wait over a day before giving in!  

We all declared them to look good and taste good too!

Pumpkin Patch Birthday

My niece turned seven this week. (she and Rhys are the same age for four months. I have a picture of them beside eachother when R turned six, and it's funny. She is so much taller than he is! She is going to be tall since her parents are, and well, I am not even though my Hunny is, but I needed to remind myself that she is at the tail-end of being six and he's just beginning! When he's with the kids in his class, he looks tall enough! haha) So that meant a birthday party this past weekend!

For her party this year, we all tromped around the pumpkin patch! It was such a fun idea!  We went to Port Kells Nursery, where we went as a family last year to pick pumpkins (and saw a birthday party starting up), which is nearby. It's a great small nursery with a ton of flowers and plants (it's where we picked up the navy jack to do some backyard patio wall building, an on-going project, this summer), and chickens to feed, and goats, and a small play area. During October, they have a pumpkin patch and a spooky house to wander through and a hay maze for the kids.  So there is a lot to do. And it's all for free! (If you want to have a party there, they only charge you $8 per kid, which is a great deal. That includes a hay ride, a medium-sized pumpkin, a hot dog and a drink.)

The day started out just pouring!!! We were worried about having to do this in the rain, but then it cleared up! We gathered up boots and jackets and umbrellas just in case, though, but by the time the party started the sun was out and shining! In fact, we ended up going around in sweaters; it was perfect! The kids had a lot of fun! 

Who doesn't like mazes to run around in?
 ...All of the kids spent most of their time running around in it! Eden got a bit nervous at first because at the end section, they have covered it so it is mostly dark. I walked through it with her though and pointed out the parts where light shone through, and let her know that there wasn't anything to be afraid of. She was fine after that. I don't think she went through it again on her own though, but instead went through the short cut, but at least I got to prove to her that it was safe!


Or cars to climb onto?
...They added this beauty into the hay maze, so the kids could climb through it, or go through a tunnel, to get to the next section. Very creative!

Or chickens to feed?

Or hayrides and pumpkins to pick?

  (it's an UFO pumpkin!)

Or tractors to climb?

 It turned out to be a great birthday party!

 

 The pumpkins are sitting on my "ornamental dresser" (not to be confused with a mantle.) until we can carve them! I love Rhys' "ghost" white pumpkin! (and Eden's painted one from last week!)

Thankful Thusday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Lousie at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week to remember our blessings.  It is so good to see the good things that have happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for..


1. B-day Parties

We put off celebrating Bryn's 8th birthday until this month since having a party in summer is hard to have friends come to. We hosted it at the pool and it was perfect! Although maybe the Most Boring party for us parents (we sat there and watched them swim; we didn't have to entertain any kids this time!), the boys loved it!

2. Youth Group Start Up

Fusion started up again for Abi and the youth of Jericho Ridge this week! Their kick-off event was supposed to be a scavenger hunt, but with the pouring rain they had all day and evening, it was cancelled and they extended the glow bowling party at the Clover Lanes, which is near us. I love that Abi has her group of friends and enjoys youth group! (they go on their annual youth retreat this weekend!)

3. Babysitters for E and R

With B's party at the pool this week, we had to find something to do with Rhys and Eden. They would love to be in the pool, but they wouldn't be able to keep up with the bigger kids' games, and we wouldn't be able to keep them safe in the pool while also hosting a party (even if we didn't have to do much in the end for the party). I am so thankful my mother in law was able to come and stay with them. 

I am also very thankful for my parents for coming and keeping Eden company so that I could go on Rhys' class trip to the Applebarn this week! This is my first field trip without preschoolers, and I was so excited to go! Which brings me to my next thankful listing:

4. Apple Barn Trip

All of the kindergarten classes went to Taves Family Farm (AKA the Apple Barn) for their first field trip and it was so much fun!  It was so wonderful to be able to go as well, even if we had a lot of rain for the trip.

I loved that I was able to go on this trip too. I think I was just as excited as Rhys was! My parents told me to let them know when the next field trip was...I think they are okay with watching Eden again!


5. Card Making Class

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I love to make cards. *snicker* okay, so I may have mentioned it once or twice!  I have a friend who teaches cardmaking with Stampin' Up!, and she was hosting a few stamp-a-stacks this week. (That's where you make a stack of cards in one evening. We made 9 in total)  I love Amanda's creativity in making these and designing and setting up this class! She has a few more classes coming up, if you are in the Langley area. Look up Amanda-Independant Stampin' Up! Demonstrator on FB!

6. Free Stuff!

I found this nice piece of furniture outside of a house down our street with a "free" sign on it! I was so excited! I was able to convince my Hunny to take a look at it with me and to haul it up the street to our house. (it was heavy too, ugh! and we had to carry it up the stairs too!) We have been keeping an eye out for a new dresser for Rhys and Eden, and this is perfect!  I love it's size; it's low enough for the kids, and long and deep for clothes. It will go into the boys' room for R and B to use, and E will get B's old white dresser! Hooray!

It has a few scratches, and you can see some of the wood is chipped in the middle at the front, and the top is covered with a laminate, but it really isn't in too bad of a shape. I am hoping I can just sand it down and do a bit of repair work, slap some more paint on it and call it a day.  We shall see.

Hooray for free answers to furniture needs! I never find free stuff on the side of the road that I need! (or if it is something that I could use, I go back to pick it up and it's gone. Dang!)

7. Timmys

I had a funny moment this week at Timmys...their debit machine wasn't working very well and it wasn't accepting my card to pay at the drive thru, so the guy says to me, "It's ok, you can come back and pay later. You come here often enough!" I thought that was sweet, yet also embarrassing! I apparently come often enough that the guy recognizes me! (I did find the correct change in my purse in the end though, so didn't need to return later!) haha. It was a nice start to my day!

I am thankful for the chance to be honest and for the fact that someone I don't know personally considers me trustworthy enough to leave without paying. He's right: I would've returned! I would have felt guilty if I didn't and would end up having to get my Timmys pumpkin spice muffin at a different location!

8. cheap costumes

My Hunny and I took a quick coffee date this past weekend and found some great costumes at a thrift store for the Youngers to use at Halloween! They were perfect and not too bad for prices. ($25 for two)  Eden loves her Pegasus costume and Rhys is happy with his dragon/alligator/crocodile costume, even though we will still need to add pieces to his.

9. Clean Teeth

It was Kai's turn at the dentist this week, and since it had been a while since he had been (*blush* you really don't notice how much time has gone by until you look back at records. Oops!) we were a bit worried about the results. After his x-rays and cleaning, I was so pleased to hear that all was well! No cavities! The dentist is happy. I was happy. It was a relief! We could see on the xray that he has two teeth that will be falling out soon too! 

10. Kleenex

I am thankful for kleenex as it is softer than paper towels, which is what I was using first to blow my nose! I caught a cold this week (I blame Abi, who started it!) and feel stuffed up and sneezy and achey. ugh! 



It has been a good week and I have a lot to be thankful for. How about you? Take a look back and start your own list.

The Most Boring Birthday Ever

With Bryn's birthday at the beginning of August, we have tried to find the best time to host a party for him and his friends. We usually have it with family on (or close to) his actual day, and when he was little, we would have a small party with preschool friends and such. But as he entered school, we found that date didn't work for many of his friends. Sure, we'd have about four kids from his class come, and that was great, but it never seemed to work with the ones he wanted to come the most. So we tried hosting at the end of the month, but still not too many were able to make it as families were putting in their end-of-summer trips.

This year we decided to just do his party in September!

We put it off until mid-to end, just so families could settle into the back-to-school routine, and to get to know the classmates, but then as time was going by I realized that I had almost forgot to plan it!  Bryn wanted to have a pool party, and Hunny was all over that idea! I tried suggesting a few ideas for a party (spy training, or even a geo cache party sounded like fun) but the pool won out! So much easier to plan, and doing an at-home party wasn't necessarily going to be any cheaper than to pay a company to host. I could see the point, but I was convinced I could do a cheap Geo Cache one! Maybe next year!

Bryn wasn't able to keep his "friends" list small, so we paid to have 20 children at W.C. Blair Rec Centre, which gives you one hour in the pool with an Instructor and one hour at a table where you can bring your own cake in and food, and snacks. But in the end, there was just 8 friends who came. (some couldn't come, and some didn't even bother responding. So I don't know if they lost the invitations and the parents didn't even see them, or they couldn't go to the party anyways and so didn't think to tell me. Oh well. It always seems bizarre to me to not let a host know...but it makes me wonder if I have ever done that. Not giving a response usually means a "no", right?)  I have decided that is the perfect number of kids to come to a party! Plus, since we had less than 12 children, the pool gave us a refund of $49. That was nice!

 
The boys were eager to be in the pool, and so we sat at the table, just chatting and waiting. Hunny said it was the "most boring birthday party ever!" We didn't have anything to do! We just sat. It felt strange to not have to entertain kids or plan anything! We enjoyed this! It was by far the easiest party we've done as well!

(they filled balloons in the hot tub, then went and played toss with them! That was a favourite part of the party!)

 

And all of the boys loved it!  They played some games with Samantha, and as soon as they arrived back at our table, they wanted to know if they could go back into the pool! We made them eat something first, and have cake and let Bryn open gifts. That took all of ten minutes! These boys were serious about swimming!  

 (Abi decorated the cake for me. She had fun! She says that she made the face to look like Bryn...we laughed that she should start her own business decorating cakes!)

The parents were to come by 8:30pm, but all of the boys were still in the pool, so we sat together and visited for a while. In fact, we weren't even done and in our truck until 9:15!  I think it is so great that the pool lets the kids go back into the water even after your scheduled party. (I do think they like you to have the area cleaned up in time though, just in case there is another party, or to give others room to sit.) It's sometimes frustrating to have to get your kid out of a pool, but it is nice to know that they aren't going to kick you out! Some places that offer birthday parties want you to leave (or sit waiting) as soon as your time is up.

This turned out to be the easiest party and we would definitely do it again! I'm so glad that we got to celebrate Bryn's eighth birthday with a party finally, and that the friends he was hoping for got to come this time! (well, most of them!)