our bags are packed and we're ready to go

Me and my children are heading to Calgary this evening to visit family. We're super pumped to see them! We'll be gone for a week, then we'll be home for 2 days before we take Olivia off to kids camp for another week(almost). Busy, busy. Keep visiting here though, I have a few posts scheduled to appear while we're away. Keep me in your prayers too; the trip there takes 12-13 hours and I am driving it solo-eek!

toddler beds

This is the coolest toddler bed I have ever seen! We have never used a toddler bed for our children, they have just been old enough to transition from a crib into a twin sized bed, but maybe Sadie will be a lucky girl and get to rest in a sweet bed like this diy one. Here are the instructions to make your own.

face plant

Today at the park, Olivia was hanging upside-down on the monkey bars. She slipped. This is how she looks now. Poor girl. At least nothing is broken or in need of stitches.

graham's work

Go here and check out what my talented hubby has been up to, I believe he is being referred to as 'the young carpenter'. The homeowners brother said the other day, "Graham, your framing is like finishing". I bet Graham got all giddy(only on the inside of course) when he heard that. I know I did.

ballet in the park

Last night Olivia, my sister and I went to ballet in the park. It was free and lot's of fun. Our favorite was the last, I am not a dancer, but I would have called it a cross between ballet and highland dancing. Very cool.

a new bag

When Olivia finished grade 1, I was trying to think of a cool way to reward her for working hard and finishing well. Someone suggested a purse or a cool bag, so I came up with this. I allowed her to choose 2 prints for the project (she didn't know what I was making) and used these instructions. Both she and I were quite pleased with the way it turned out.

**stay tuned in the next few days, I am nearing my 100th post and there may be something pretty up for grabs to celebrate!**

olivia's exciting news

She has finally lost her first tooth! It has been hanging there for awhile now, almost ready to come out, so she asked grandma to do the dirty deed a few days ago after berry picking. Grandma says it actually took quite a tug(after the first tug didn't do it, she admitted to being a bit worried!), but Olivia didn't shed a tear! She couldn't be happier that the tooth fairy finally paid her a visit!

strawberry season

Once summer arrives in these parts, I live in anticipation of berry picking season. Today was the first day we could pick strawberries, so we packed up early, picked up grandma and headed out.

Proper supplies-a old-blanket-lined trunk so you don't get squished strawberry stains all over your car. Plus lots of water to drink and a bucket of warm soapy water to wash really dirty children (and mommy) afterwards.

On the way to the fields.



I am bloated from eating so many berries, really hot and it is past my naptime. Please take me home.

Hard work.

The reward. Yum.

win a quilt kit

Head over to Kati Cupcake to win this quilt kit called 'Porch Pots' by Quilt Soup. I think I am a little bit obsessed with Amy Butler prints right now, I can't get enough!

another anniversary milestone

Happy 10th anniversary to Mark and Tressa, Graham's sister and her hubby. Pretty sure they have some fun plans today, but earlier in the week they sent these out to celebrate with friends and family. Thanks guys!

spray pad fun

Do you have these in your city? They are fun. We met a bunch of friends/cousins today and splashed around for awhile.

My sister in law, Tressa, sitting pretty in her cute outfit, on her cute handmade picnic blanket.

Cute pregnant woman (who probably thought I was snapping a photo of the kids and not of her belly-I couldn't resist!)

Cute kids lounging in the sunshine. Living the life.

it's worth the trip

Yesterday I pack up the children (and a big container of homemade pizza pretzels), picked up my mom and we headed to Steinbach for a bit of shopping. It was fun. I chose some fabric for a quilt for our bed and picked up some fun things from The Scrapbook Cottage (the best little scrapbook store around) The best deal? They were clearing out all of their Heather Bailey paper! 3/$1! We bought all 30-some sheets, of course.

You can check out her stuff here and here.

Also, today my parents celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary! They have made it through 30 years of marriage, raising 5 children (I am the oldest) and running their own business the whole time. That's worth celebrating, don't you think? Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!

pizza pretzels

Last night I was thinking about what I would have in the house for Graham to take for lunch tomorrow and had the thought to make pizza pretzels. I wanted the recipe my mom uses, but she wasn't at home. (I attempted to have my youngest brother look for the recipe, you can guess how that went. Smile.) So I scrambled around to find another recipe, also without luck. The ones I found just didn't look the same. I think my mom ended up calling me back with the recipe around 8 or so. Then I started! Around 8? I was up until midnight getting them done, cooled and packed up.

oh good gracious

This is my kind of shop! Layer Cake Shop has everything I you need to make all your baking dreams come true!

all done now

we have been anticipating Levis surgery day for so long and we're all done now. {sigh of relief} Here is a small re-cap of our day at the hospital.

Changing into cute jammies. This photo is deceiving. He didn't want the pj's and he definitely did not want the bracelet.

We were supposed to go in at 11:45 and didn't end up being called in until almost 2:00. Lot's of television that day. Lot's and lot's.

"Mom, are you seriously taking another picture? I am in the middle of a race." That's the look on his face, right? In every waiting room there was another video game to play.

This was in recovery. Television and popsicles.

Ow. Everything went very well. Now we keep the area dry for a week and wait for the stitches to disolve.