Outside!

Off we went outside last weekend on a cold day... but we loved it!  I love fresh, cold air!  I mean, I love summer too... but I certainly love the change of seasons, and love that these seasons are quite thoroughly different from each other!  So, that being said, even though summer is my magical fun time, I love what winter offers!  This was a beautiful day to see winter's offerings!

We went to Fort Whyte for a special day to try different outdoor activities!  Our kids don't have X-Country skis so we thought it would be great for them to try them at this event to see what they think first!  They loved it!

Before we skied, we actually went tobogganing!  I went with the big boy... but was really (secretly) terrified!  I kept it to myself until after!  Yeesh that looked steep!  Fun though!

Then... after skiing we decided to go snowshoeing... but the little one didn't want to (and his Bop had already gone) so the two of them had a special time looking around the centre, at fish and different displays!  He's still talking about it!  They had a little hot chocolate treat by the fire first!  Cute!

So off we went snowshoeing!  The guide took us off the trail a bit so we could try running in an open area!  It was fun!

Relaxing with daddy after!  These boys slept well that night!

What a busy holiday!

I'm just going to write down what we were up to during the whole season of holidays and leading up to it... we were so busy, and I don't want to forget it!

Back on the 7th we bought the xmas tree
8th the boys went to MTYP with Daddy...

9th we decorated the tree, after having a special brunch with friends... then we went to the new IKEA for the first time and picked out some things... Kurt picked things up later in the month (a couple of times... changed our minds one one thing at one point)
13th was the little one's Xmas concert at school!  So great and I'm so proud of him!
The following weekend (during the week it was busy busy with school and extra curricular stuff)
on the 15th we had a practice for a special Xmas play the boys were in.  In the afternoon, we went to pick an ornament at 10,000 Villages.  Then went to see Christmas lights around Winnipeg... think we had a family movie night as well watching Arthur's Christmas... that might have been the day before
16th we went to see the boys in their Xmas play at a church in the morning.  Oh my word, they had lines and it was sooo cute!  Well done, little guys!  In the afternoon we went to a special birthday party of a little family friend!  Great celebration and visiting!

I need to explain that every day starting on the 1st we had a special activity that was part of our Advent calendar.  Every day they would rush down to the Advent calendar to discover what the activity would be that day... some of the activities are mentioned above, such as decorating the tree, and looking at Christmas lights, getting an ornament at 10,000 Villages... other activities each day included making Xmas cards, making a treat, craft making, family game night by the tree, sing Xmas carols to grandparents... they loved it!

17th and 18th were my winter concerts where I work.
19th was the big boy's choir concert... wow... so many songs and soooo well done!
20th the little one had a party at school AND a party after school!  The big one had a last xtra curricular class after an after school program that he likes
21st... last day of school... then the boys ran around making stuff for their daddy's 40th birthday... creating games, and a scavenger hunt!  We ordered sushi and I made chocolate molten lava cakes (requested by daddy)... yum!

22nd... I know I went to get some books at Chapters for presents... whoa!  Busy!  Family movie night? I know we watched Elf...  I think this is when Kurt got our new couch and we put it together?

23rd... Special day with our special beach friends!  So nice to see everyone!!!  I made cookies in here somewhere for Santa!  Kurt went to The Hobbit with our super duper hobbit fan!
24th... boys sang at a different church than we usually go to on Xmas eve at 5pm... lovely!  Then we had special xmas eve presents of pjs as we always do, and played a game I think... then I had to go sing at St. M's at the 11pm service... so pretty... but so late!  Didn't get home until just before 1am!
25th!  XMAS!  special morning together where boys open presents and we have a big crepe breakfast with fruit and ice cream!  Yum!  Then hanging out playing with gifts until my family comes over for the afternoon and supper!
26th off to see Kurt's family!  Snowshoeing...
27th family gathering Kurt's family
28th family gathering Kurt's family on his mom's side on the way home
29th... we are back at home having arrived the night before!  Went to Chapters and McNally with the boys and their gift cards!
30th... pancake day for sure!  And boys spoke to special little friends on Skype!  Went skating with the boys at the skating pond!  Beautiful day!  They stayed out really long!  So nice to see they like doing outdoor winter things!
31st... Kurt made pizza.. excellent!  I set up some chocolate for chocolate fondue (boys and I bought the fruit and cake for dipping during the day)... Party at next door neighbour's... kids running around having fun... dancing... some music jamming in the basement!  Nice!
1st... a bit more skating before going to my parents' for New Years Day dinner!  Yum!  I made a chocolate cream pie!
2nd... Went to The Hobbit in the morning with the big boy... 2nd time for him!  We went in the morning because otherwise we'd be there til his bedtime!  Went for pizza dinner with friends to see their little baby!  What a cutie!
3rd... Kurt started school... boys and I hung out, and at one point went outside to make outdoor xmas ornaments... before that boys were cleaning upstairs :-)  while I cleaned downstairs and put away ornaments :-(
4th... boys had playdates all afternoon that they were THRILLED about!
5th... went for lunch at a new restaurant with kurt and boys during his lunch break for school... so tasty!
6th... boys and I went to our church today... they really wanted to go!  Then in the afternoon we created a hunt for Kurt to do... to find big foot!  That was a fun way to go outside!  Other than that, boys watched Veggie Tales Lord of the Bean

7th... school starts again tomorrow!




That's a lot of stuff!  Had to write it down because I was having trouble remembering... it was all so special and already fading away.. every day is like that... we are so blessed... I am thankful every day...

Big Foot!

The Big Boy decided we should go outside... wasn't sure what to do, so I looked it up... and thought of looking it up on Pinterest... found this:

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/08/neighborhood-photo-safari-photo-book-for-kids.html

... and then morphed it into something that WE would want to do with the boy over an afternoon snack!  It quickly became THEIRS:

A search for Big Foot!  We would take pictures and write notes as clues in our neighbourhood, ending at a favourite playground!  It was fun, and sometimes challenging to come up with ideas to add to our narrative!

Then they played in the park for a bit...

 The idea is to wait until a warm day, then take Daddy on the hunt, where it becomes kind of like a treasure hunt where he needs to find the places in the pictures... then we all end up at the playground after which we will have hot chocolate.  The funny part is that when we do this with him, it will be very much like what we just did, except he has to discover what we already created... but that is the fun of it!  He's at school today so this is why we came up with an idea to do together.

Just came home and made the hot chocolate for them.  They prefer me making it to buying it somewhere HANDS DOWN... hmmm... maybe it's because instead of some sort of powder, I actually melt chocolate together with milk... you know... chocolate that is hot??

Anyway, nice way to have the last day of holidays!

Little one...

After church today, my little one looked at me and said "Mom, with the drums, do you just find your own beat and go for it?"

Yes... pretty much!  Love it!

(tobogganing after Christmas)

K gifts... encore

I am posting this again (and only because sometimes people ask what they can get him).  I will be removing the gifts he received at Christmas... I'm also removing a couple that are really expensive and adding one Lord of the Rings set that is quite expensive but he would love people to put money toward it:

K:  If something has been purchased already, it will say PURCHASED ALREADY next to it or above it.

1.  Lord of the Rings Lego #9474, Battle of Helm's Deep http://www.toysrus.ca/product/index.jsp?productId=12833061  $179.99... this is the set that he really wants and is saving money for (from his allowance).  If someone were to want to put money towards this for him instead of purchasing a gift, he would like that.

2. Hobbit Lego (except Attack of the Wargs)  PURCHASED ALREADY BY KURT: so if you want, you can just give him one of these sets and pay us back...

3.  "Creativity for Kids" colour changing light 21.95 at Toys R Us

4. Lego Sponge Bob Flying Dutchman - $29.99

... Plus check picture items below in this blog entry...

If you buy anything, please email right away so I can remove purchased items from the list each evening.  Also, before you buy anything, perhaps check this list again to make sure it hasn't changed.

Lego Creationary game:  44.95

This is a Schleich dragon about $20 at Kite and Kaboodle:

Playmobil dragon at Kite and Kaboodle (or maybe Toys R Us) $35.99:

More Schleich toys (Kite and Kaboodle):

The "Pigeon" from Mo Willems books (at Chapters):

Tolkien's World, at Chapters:

Some goat horse thing (Schleich) at Chapters:

Close up of goat/horse thing:

A cuddly little Gandalf doll at McNally:

A toy bow and arrow set at Chapters:

Go outside...

So... today I was doing the unpleasant job of putting all the decorations away... from the tree and from around the house... It's unpleasant because it not only involved putting them away, but involved sorting them a different way so things are easier to find next year, and getting rid of things I never take out... as well as realizing constantly that there was yet another something way up on the third floor that I'd forgotten about and I'd have to reorganize a bit...

It's also unpleasant because it means yet another Christmas is over... the magical feeling has faded away and all that is left is a dying tree that no longer has a special evergreen smell... that's okay... but it is wistful and bittersweet.

This took much longer than I thought, but it was okay because the boys were running around playing and having fun together... singing... making crafts... playing games.  However eventually I thought that there wasn't much daylight left and we hadn't gone outside yet... so I quickly went onto Pinterest and found outdoor activities we could do at home and out we went!

We tried this:

http://www.ivillage.com/winter-activities-kids/6-b-317446#317462

but our bubbles weren't working... weird!  I'll have to try to find more bubble stuff in our house!

So then we moved on to this:

http://simple-whimsy.blogspot.ca/2011/12/preparing-for-solstice.html

and made some outdoor decorations that will freeze.

Here is the little guy's:

and the big boy's:

and one that will become an outdoor tea light holder:

then we went to play in the back yard for a bit.. ahhh!  Some fresh air!

Would like to try to do this as well... but I don't think I have any balloons here right now!

http://queenvanna.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/ice-ballons/

Literally...

I have a pet peeve that many people in my family are well aware of. I dislike when people use "literally" wrong. It is supposed to be used with common phrases such as if one were to see a robin at 5am pulling a worm out of the ground then one could say "Look at that! An early bird is literally 'catching the worm.'" Although at 5am, it's really best to say nothing... Or if one MUST speak then certainly voicing witticisms of the English language are not the way to go. Best to stick with "I made you coffee." And stop talking :-)

How one DOESN'T use "literally" would be a sentence such as "I literally died laughing." No, you did not literally die. You are here, living, and telling me this story. So it is an unfortunate phrase to say someone died laughing at all...



But unless they actually perished, like the guy above (Princess Bride), it did not happen LITERALLY. I hate that phrase anyway... died laughing.  Just stop saying it, literally or not.  It's dark.

Another way it is bothersome is when someone uses "literally" in a sentence when there is no common phrase at all... Such as "I literally got up and left." Nope. That is not a common phrase. You know "get out of town" "give me a break".... Something like that.

So imagine my delight this past summer when my little five year old is working really hard to get his bike up a hill at the beach and he says "Oh! My legs are killing me!" And then he says "Well.... Not literally!!" Love him!

Then just this morning my now 6 year old has been asked to turn off his video game to see a special New Years show. He says "Can we just watch it for a second?" To which I replied "yes". He said "I mean literally... 1 second!!" Way to go little dude!