The Party

You only turn 10 once in your lifetime, so you may as well make the most of it. We continued Nolan's birthday celebration today by inviting a few friends and taking them all for some kart racing. It was a first for all, they did great and loved it.

What's not to love when you are 10, and you are racing around with friends, eating pizza and cupcakes.

And for the icing on cake, look what Nolan and I found for a party favor. Score! How perfect is that for a kart racing theme party!!

A Birthday Wish . . .

. . . that became true a year later. Nolan wished and wished last year that he could go skiing on his birthday. It didn't happen then, but it was just as special a year later.

Specially since he got crisp blue skies for his special day

The day began with a gift waiting , and as you can tell, it was very much appreciated. Now Nolan only has to figure out how to set his watch and he will always be on time.

After a nice dinner of "Tinas' green enchiladas", as requested by the birthday boy, we had a fun session of home videos, Nolan's birth and his first months. It's amazing to see how the time has passed by. How blessed are we for having Nolan in our family.

Happy 10th Birthday my son!

The Puzzle Challenge

December tends to be a busy month for most of us, but it's also what I try hard to avoid; getting to busy and overlooking what really matters. The boys look forward to this time of the year and their favorite memories, (yes, they are are young but already have memories), are gathering around the fireplace to read, play games, set up Legos and so on. This year we added another activity that will help us slow down and spend time around the table (close enough to the fireplace). We are putting together a 1000 piece puzzle. We spend most of Sunday afternoon working on it and got the whole frame and a few other parts put together.It will take us a while, but that's exactly the point.

To break away from the puzzle, (after a while the pieces all blend together), we had some Mechano to work on.

Or we could just sit and dream and wish!!

Caught up in the Hype

As I was shopping at Costco a few days before Thanksgiving, I saw all the commotion around the case filled with fresh turkeys. I thought to myself that this year I would get a fresh turkey and avoid the week long, cold bath turkey thawing saga. So I picked out the smallest one, a mere 23#! Once I got home it it hit me. This is going to be a lot of turkey for the five of us, and since Shawn had to work all day long, I had to take it on by myself. Christian and I did mange to get it out of the roaster and in to the serving platter in one piece, that's always a tricky one. The aroma filled the house and the turkey turned out delicious, not only on Thursday, but also on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. . . Just kidding, we do have a lot of leftovers, but they are now in frozen in containers and ready for many great dishes to come.

Welcome to the Club

It took quite a few candlesIt took a few hands to light up all those candles It took quite a few "huff & puffs", but all the candles were blown out Shawn is now part of the "Elite 40 Year Old Club" . We couldn't have a nicer, stronger, smarter & better looking new member. Happy Birthday my dear husband.

Is There Even Any Snow?

The morning started out as any other day. It was a little more special since it was Friday, which usually means that Shawn is home from work. It's a day where we wrap up our school work for the week with some quizzes, spell tests , projects and papers that need to be finished. It's also the day where we all do the house cleaning. After all that, we can relax and enjoy the weekend. Not today! The boys did not suspect anything different. Even when Shawn walked into the kitchen with his skiing helmet and goggles, they still did not clue in. It took a few seconds after we announced that they were going to the mountain, and then they became ecstatic. They wondered if there was enough snow out there. Well, take a look!

There was plenty!

We love visiting grandparents, this time was no exception. We packed lighter then usual, not willingly, but as we were getting off the ferry we realized I left my suitacase sitting in our bedroom. Good thing Walmart had a few extra toothbrushes for sale.

The mood (and the weather) was perfect for playing cards and board games. Phase 10 was not a big hit with the boys, but mom and I were determined to finish, which we did after some good laughs.

A walk around Englishman Falls was a nice way to get some fresh air, enjoy the beauty and test our strength when the tree came falling down!!

And we could not leave before celebrating Shawn big birthday that is coming up.