Catch Up

Time flies when your having fun!  Where did March go!?? Well in February, Parks finished up both his playgroup classes that he was taking here in Okotoks...His one class was mostly about making crafts and he had his favorite little buddy Nash Byam with him and than his other class involved crafts as well and ended with swimming which he absolutely LOVED...he got to go to that group with his little sweetheart Kyla Allred:)  It was SO nice having him gone for 2 hours twice a week:) It didn't bother him at all when I'd leave, it brought out such a different side to him...Mr. Independent (My boy is growing up!)  Grace was a little lost without him at home, but it was great practice for when he starts preschool this September!!! AH!

Doing a little abc practicing with a fun 'pinterest' idea

Matt worked a ton with his brother Mark at the end of February...so I was going a little crazy with no husband at home, but than he was on holidays for 2 weeks and we went to UTAH! 

These 4 got along so great!

Kristi and I...miss you a ton, you are like a sister to me and I love the time we spent:)

Paul and his crew came for dinner one night...the kids loved seeing the fire truck and we even got to go for a ride, so fun!

Matt, the kids and I went to this cool aquarium place...we even got to pet sting rays!

We stayed with his brother Paul and our 5 nieces/nephews.  We enjoyed spending time with them,  going to the park/playing tennis, hot tubbing, doing indoor surfing, adults getting to go out for a movie night...boys going skiing and coyote hunting.  It was a good time.  Our main reason tho to go out there was for me to do eyelash extension training, I was so nervous, but it went really well and my teacher said I looked like a natural...that doesn't make it any easier, but it definitely motivated me not to give up!  I hung out with my wonderful sister in law Kristi quite a bit and we had some fun times:)
I need to get the before eye shot of my lovely 'model' Kristi...she was brave to let me get trained on her lashes... here is the after..

 Matt and Paul bought a boat that is back here with us...its pretty sweet and should be sold once the ice melts and this guy can take it for a test drive:)

Sadly Parks was sick with a horrible cough and fever the first week we were there and woke up every night hurtin for certain.  Than Grace (not sick) just would NOT sleep through the nights at all!

You just cant get mad at her cute little face...she brings our family so much joy and sleepiness;)

By the last 2-3 days of our 2 weeks I started getting a sore throat and really bad fever/chills...the day we got the boat (finally) and were able to start our long drive home I was hurtin for certain!  I could hardly swallow at that point...we stopped and slept at a hotel to break up the 14 hour drive...Matt couldn't sleep because something was wrong with our truck that he had been trying to fix pretty much the whole 2 weeks...so he wanted to leave at like 5:30 in the morning...lovely.  My throat was so bad that it was affecting my ears...and that's when the real fun started.  Driving through the mountains was torture...my ears were so blocked that I couldn't pop them even if I tried so the pain was excruciating.  I cried more than the kids did that trip:( THANKFULLY we asked Matt's Dad to meet us at our house when we arrived so he could check me out asap.  He knew it was strep throat right away and my ear drums were flipped upside down or something...so on to antibiotics I went!  Than Grace started...to make a long sad story short...a few days later of Mommy being incapacitated while Daddy was at work...we found out Grace had strep throat too:(  When it rains it pours for our family!

General Conference weekend was the first weekend in March (that's when we hear talks from our Prophet and Apostles of the Church) Rob and Tammy drove down from Raymond to spend the weekend with us, it was nice getting to spend time with them and listen to conference together and eat a ton of junk:)

Happy to be home and healthy!!!

Ever since I've been busy with lashes!  My goal was to practice on 10 people for $30 than see where I'm at with prices...it is going so well.  I like the break from the kids:) I love how Matt is so supportive and happy to take care of the kids when I have a client...he really is the best.  Getting to talk and meet some wonderful women is so refreshing!  I especially love how happy they are with their new lashes when they leave:)

Valentine's Day!

The day before Vday, my friend Julie and I put together a cute little Valentine's Party for Parks and a few of his friends.  I wish we could have invited a few more but my house just isn't big enough!  We had all the kids bring Valentine cards for eachother (I use to love handing out and getting vday cards).  Julie made these cute little pocket folders that the kids decorated than put their vday cards in.  They decorated cupcakes and ate a lot of sugar!!!  The rest of the time was them running around my house playing together, while the Mommies chatted.  It was great! We had 12 kids in total...everyone has a younger sibling so the numbers get big fast with our group of friends:)

Here are the 6 older kids decorating their cupcakes...and sadly this is the only picture I got around to taking!

On Vday Matt had to work at the Fire Hall so I made him and the fire boys one of his favorite treats that he hasn't had in a very long time. Homemade Oreo Cookies. I made the icing pink for the occasion:) But usually its white...Matt's Mum made these alot when Matt was a bit younger and let me tell you, they are so delicious!! Sooo moist and sooooo yummy:)  When he got home...I had juicy steaks ready to eat with fried potatoes..the best part was that the kids had already eaten so they were off playing while we had our 'romantic' dinner all by ourselves.  That's our kind of Valentine's Day...simple.  Did I mention Matt wrote me a love letter:) hehe He's the best!!

Oreo Cookies...mmmm

Christmas Decorating!

So back when my Mom and Dad flew out for a week at Christmas time...we did some serious decorating in our house.  My Mom LOVES doing this kind of stuff and my Dad LOVES being helpful:) so it was so much fun!  I wish I had before and after pics:( just the after will have to do...our bathroom we never painted when we moved in so it was just beige and NO matching going on.  Our bedroom we painted that blue colour when we moved in and did nothing else...nothing was on the walls except one picture...I especially love my curtains in my room (Thanks Mom! )That's why we brought purple into the room and it feels so warm and peaceful in there now. 

The shelf and organizer over the toilet are new...and let me tell you it is the BEST, my bathroom stays clean and organized now!

so this is the other side. Matt made me the earring/necklas frame for xmas...he got the idea from our sister-in-law, you just pic a frame than staple screen to the back! Now my stuff is all organized! Also my sweet friend Lauren made me that cute Decal that is perfect for the bathroom! Thanks again:)

Our bedroom:) Love it!

and on the other wall we have our 2 double mirror closets so that Grace can still sleep in our walk in closet "her nursery" lol.

Is this really winter???

Living in Alberta isn't so bad...weather wise:) It is very bearable. We've been having a lot of fun in the fresh air the past few weekends and I cant help but ask is this really winter???

At the dog park ready to walk walk walk...

Parks insisted on walking Ammo to the dog park, but it was more like the other way around:)

Grace didn't last long...she passed out in her stroller after the first 5 minutes!

Than we visited the Okotoks Big Rock...on the most beautiful day

Petting these friendly horses was fun too:)

Than Matt insisted on taking both kids to the top of the Big Rock...

They made it to the top without a scratch:)

Just chilling in the cave

Two little cutie pies!

To finish off our +10 weather we drove out to Matt's parents place while they weren't home...brought our recliner chairs and enjoyed the peace and quiet sunny day for 2 hours while the kids slept in the truck:) It was heaven. When Grandad got home he biked with Parks and brought the kids for a good ol wheel barrel ride!

Grace is 20 months old

What a mix up! Just recently Grace had her 18 month check up (I was 2 months behind) and she weighed in at only 22lbs....this weight dropped her from 75% to 25%! A Big drop in just 6 months when she's suppose to be growing. The Dr knows that she was recently really sick for about 4 months starting out with that horrible Beaver Fever!! Anyways I went and got her blood work done right after her Dr apppointment just incase something more serious is wrong...I weighed her at 18 months old and she was 24lbs. so she is losing weight....OR SO WE THOUGHT!! Yesterday I wanted to weigh her at the Health and Wellness Center to get the exact weight in kg (because at my Dr.s office they just got her to stand on a normal crappy scale that the Dr. said 'is sometimes a little off'.  Boy was it EVER! Grace weighed in at 27lb 4oz...ALOT better than 22lbs.  You can bet I'm calling my Dr today and telling her to give me a new percentile with the correct weight AND tell her to GET A NEW SCALE!  I was seriously bothered thinking that my sweet little girl wasn't thriving! and to put her through getting bloodwork...oh man.  We are just soooo grateful she weighes more and that there is nothing to worry about!

Family Time

Rob and Tammy came for a visit with their 5 kids two weekends ago for a day. Parks and Grace absolutely love them! They have so much fun together. We hung out at Gran and Grandad's house playing outside in the 'pit'. Snowmobiling, sledding and playing on a patch of ice (which Grace thought was the most fun) than Matt and Rob pulled the boys on skis with a rope getting them ready for the real deal soon:)

The 3 1/2 Musketeers;)

Rob and Max getting ready to slide down into the pit!

Grace and Daddy coming back up...Grace loves sledding and all this outdoor stuff, she seriously has no fear!

Parks has become such a brave little guy. He loves going sledding and rarely wants to go with Mom and Dad:(

Winter and Keeping Busy

So right during that real cold snap that we had of -30 weather...we planned to go and see Grizzly's (Matt's parents black lab, who they bread...) puppies! The Mother ended up having like 9 puppies...all black even though she was yellow. We've been trying to go visit these little guys with Matt's parents before they get too big and sold! So we ventured out in the freezing cold and met these puppies in this freezing cold barn...it was worth it to see how happy they made Parks and Grace! sooo here is Parks holding one that looks just like Griz...well they all looked like Griz actually:)

The Best Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins...mostly posted this for my Mom to see that I really do use the cute little cupcake cups that she buys for me every few months:) The recipe is on my friends new blog...her and her sister post a new recipe everyday! Its worth checking out:) Here's the link http://bonappetisters.blogspot.com/

Our kids play hide-and-go-seek alot! Mostly with their Dad cuz he's way more fun than Mom, but this was a clever spot in the kitchen cupboard...and ofcorse he brought his pillow to make it that much more comfy!

Now that Grace is a bit older she and Parks are starting to really bond and play together instead of constantly fighting...its very refreshing!

Enjoying their icecream sundays with treats on top...I usually do something like this when Matt working his night shifts...to remind the kids that Mommy is the best! haha