Mya Turns 2!

Last Sunday we celebrated Mya's 2nd Birthday (which is actually tomorrow) and also dedicated her to the Lord.
Here's some pics!

Thanks to Shanna for lending me this cute cupcake holder. It worked great.

Mya loved all the attention on Sunday. This was taken when only a few people had arrived and she still felt comfortable to dance around and smile lots. When the house filled up she was a little more reserved.

Sharing babies with Ella.

She was delighted as we all sang to her and even blew out the candle right on cue.

I had to take a picture of Joel and Darren entertaining all the kids. I can't remember what they were playing with but they were all right into it for quite a while.

Last Weekend at Race City

I should clarify, this is not from last weekend but was actually the last weekend Race City was open. One thing Matt often takes the boys to do is watch the cars at Race City. If I'm working on the weekend, he'll pick up lunch at Tim Horton's and take them for a picnic at the track. The boys love it! They always pick their favourite car/bike and see whose wins.
The city of Calgary has decided not to renew the track's lease after this year so it will close down. The boys (including Matt) and quite sad. This was a great bonding time for them and with it about 5 minutes from our house a great outing.
A couple weeks ago a friend of Matt's had invited him to join his club (not sure that's what you call it) and come to the track for a day. He was going to be racing his Porsche. I clearly instructed Matt that watching was great but our kids were not going to be doing any racing. As you can see below, that's not exactly what happened. I totally trust Matt with our kids, and when Dave offered to take Ben for a slow ride, on the last day of Race City ever, Matt thought Ben should take the chance. Ben was a bit reluctant, but Dave promised to go slow and by the end of the ride Ben was telling Dave to hurry and win the race. Matt and his Dad also got a ride :) Ben was so excited to have pictures of him in the Porsche and especialy to tell his Bubba that he'd ridden in a Porsche GT3 (his Bubba has a GT2).

Back to Sewing

I love sewing wait, make that quilting. I used to do a lot of it but with 3 kids at home there wasn't much time. With Ben at school full-time now, I am making time to quilt, wait make that sew. I have completed a few simple projects so far, including these aprons for the boys. I love them and so do they. I have ordered a few more patterns to try and have even made a top for Mya (haven't taken a pic yet). I am hoping to get a permanent space set up in my basement soon so that I don't have to drag everything upstairs every time I want to sew. But for now, that will not be an excuse, and I am going to continue to make time to sew.

Only Jonny,
Or So I Thought...

We often bring the kids upstairs to play in the bonus room when we have things to get done up there. Yesterday, Matt discovered the hard way that maybe that is too much freedom for Jonny. Especially when, unknown to Matt, he has the scissors from craft time in his pocket. As Matt moved around upstairs and started discovering hair on the floor, he knew it couldn't be good. It is unbelievable how short Jonny cut his own hair, a shave was the only option.
I guess cutting his own hair wasn't enough, he also gave Mya's ponytail a few good chomps. Hers is not as noticeable as his as there are various, smaller short patches. We aren't sure what to do with hers at this point, let it grow or cut it short.
The cutest part of this story, for me, was Ben, who told me that "Daddy was too hard on Jonny, he just wants to be a hairdresser".
I thought this was the craziest thing a kid has ever done, but after sharing my story with co-workers, friends and family, I was amazed at home many similar stories I heard.

Beach, Beach and More Beach

It was awesome to have the beach/ocean right behind us. The kids had so much digging, searching for treasure and even swimming a bit.
I have so many pictures from the beach but these are some ofmy favourites.

This picture is taken from the backyard of the house, you can see how close the beach is.

More of PEI!

We had 2 weeks in PEI which was great as it allowed for lots of days to relax and also lots of day to go do some touristy things!
Here are some of the places we visited.

I had to start with the COWS Factory as it was the place we went the most. The first time we took the tour and after that just came back for the ice cream. To go on the tour you have to wear the hat. Besides ice cream, they also make t-shirts. When Ben saw the guys making them he exclaime, "I've changed my mind, I want to work here!".

One of the most amazing things about PEI is the Confederation Trail which goes all over the island. The cottage we stayed at had 2 bikes, which Matt and I used on the trail together (I spent most of the time laughing as both the bikes were meant for someone 5'3 - 5'6, Matt looked hilarious). Matt and the boys rented bikes one day and had a great time pedaling along the ocean, they went over 10km! Jonny had the most fun, you can see why.

Lots of afternoons while Mya napped, Matt would take off with the boys and do some exploring. Their favourite thing to find were lighthouses and there are lots. The yucky weather didn't deter their fun at all.

On our last day in PEI we saw an open fire house. Jonny loves firemen, fire engines and anything to do with it. The fire chief was so nice, he took Jonny all through the fire house and even gave him this hat. He let Jonny pick any fire truck and sit in it. This is the first thing Jonny will tell you about our trip to PEI.

Its been so long since I've posted on our blog, I almost thought I never would again! But, I am recommitted to doing it more often and excited to share the pics from our summer. After this much time I have a lot so I am going to start with some from our trip to PEI and we'll see where it goes from there!

Spending Time With Family

One of the best things about PEI was getting to spend time with family that we don't see that often. It was so amazing how quickly our kids warmed up to relatives they rarely see and some they'd never met.
The last time we saw my Aunt Kathe I was expecting Jonny!

Great Aunt (Kathe)Mother and Daughter (Nanna and Grandma Sheila)

Great Aunt (Kathe and our Kiddos)

Jonny, Auntie Kathe, Ben and Nanna. (Matt in the background).

Grandma Sheila and her daughters (Auntie Kathe and Nanna)

Sisters and Granddaughter/Great Neice (Nanna, Kathe and Mya)