Was 4, now 5

If you ask Grady how old he is, he is more than happy to report, "I was 4, but now I'm 5"!  Although he doesn't enjoy the term "baby of the family", that is what he is and we LOVE him to bits.  He is a wordy little guy and often makes us laugh.  He also starts more than his fair share of fights too ... so I guess that makes him a well rounded character!!  Grady is a big fan of telling jokes.  He learned one in the first week of preschool that he has been sharing and sharing and sharing and sharing.  

In case you haven't heard, it goes like this:  What do you do if a car runs over your toe? 
                                                                                Call a TOE truck.

Insert * laugh* 

Then, it goes again to the next person who was sitting right beside the first person he asked .... What would you do if a car runs over your toe?!!!   Amazingly, it is still funny. 

Here are a few pictures of the funny guy's party:

The edible craft didn't turn out exactly as planned!

gave up on decorating and just started eating!

You would think that after all the party pins I've posted on Pinterest that I would have a FABULOUS party plan.  Nope. 

Remembering India

This week I volunteered to go to Keithan's class and share something about India since they are studying about it.  A lot has happened in the last 12 plus years so I had to sweep a few cobwebs from my brain to revive some India memories.  It is amazing what you can remember when you try ... and when you ask your husband who forgets little :)  For those who don't know, this trip was part of our honeymoon.  It is amazing I remember anything - it was rather overwhelming! Another part of the story is that my friend Angie met up with us in India ... it was a unique honeymoon!

Of course the pictures were pre-digital era so I chose a few from the album to scan and share with the class.  Since they are now on the computer I thought why not keep on sharing them with you. 

You should note the pictures are not professionally scanned ... in fact it was done moments before the presentation so if you wondering if your eyes are working properly you can rest assured that your eyes are fine and it is the pictures that are askew!  I had LOTS and LOTS of pictures of forts but I had very few details and facts to share about them so I didn't scan many.  I might have to borrow Angie's guidebook when I get around to scrapbooking this trip in another 12 years.

The memories of India that stick out in my mind: 

smog, Delhi belly (have never been so sick in my life and hope never will be again), dirty hotel rooms with cockroaches, Angie always referring to her guidebook (the forts were her idea, ha!),  paying to use the public washrooms, and wondering why people would eat with their hands when there were knives and forks available!   One other thing I remember was that I didn't have to pay to get into the Taj Mahal because kids 15 and under were free.  Our tour guide was sure I looked 15 and then of course he wanted a BIG tip!   

In case you are wondering:  Yes, I enjoyed my trip but I don't have a burning desire to go back to northern India.  The south however was greener and not so smoggy ... and we went to an English church convention there so I would do that again.  BUT, next time I'd take a little extra money so we wouldn't have to live like backpackers and maybe find nicer accommodations! 

Agra Fort (I think)

Taj Mahal

Royal Highness addressing the commoners

Time for a bath

Modes of transportation

Elephant ride to the fort

Red Fort

Jaipur ... "Pink City"

A Sari that I didn't buy

laundry drying

There were no A&W restaurants there!!  And, of course no beef!

 So .... other than a few photos of monkeys, camels and an upside down brightly painted truck in the ditch ... this is the gist of what I shared with the kids.  I have a Sari but I didn't even want to pretend that I knew how to put it on!  I just wore my slightly tighter than it used to be Shalwar Kameez, but I think it did the trick to make it an authentic presentation (even though that is the traditional Pakistani attire)!  The whole thing was kind of fun!!

Now I want to scan ALL my pictures.  Wonder how long that would take?! 
 

second cousins

We recently enjoyed an impromptu visit from some second cousins.  It was a little short but very sweet!  We found some time to skate and some ventured out to the toboggan hill and Michelle and I almost finished a game of Scrabble.   On Saturday night we had a birthday party to celebrate everyone's birthday at once at the start of the year.  The idea of cake was appealing to all, but the kids weren't sold on the idea of this one time party.  

p.s. Thanks for the DQ cake Michelle :)

THE party of the year

The best picture of 6 attempts; Can you believe it?!  Me too.

AND ... some fun with an air pump and a Tyvek suit

NOTE:  We hope that the road trip was worth it .... and that you'll come again!

Home for the Holidays

The original plan for Christmas 2012 was to all meet at the new ski cottage.  That's ALL as in dad, mom, my family, Jarv's family and Carla's family.  However, it was nowhere near ready for inhabitants ... so now we will wait patiently for next year!  

It will be worth the wait I know.  I took the kids skiing here last week. Wish I could have taken pictures and videos, but my hands were full trying to keep a hold on Grady and my ski poles (which I wish I didn't have but I didn't want to set them down in case someone else took them and I had to pay for them, although I was tempted to try)!  Get the picture?!  My dad made it look so easy when he helped all 3 older kids ski for the first time a couple years ago.  Eventually I let him go down independently for the last half of the bunny hill where it wasn't so steep.  He did well for a bit and then just wiped out big time.  When I got to him as he was struggling to get up, the first thing he says, with wonder in his voice, was "THAT WAS AWESOME"!  We are going to enjoy that ski cabin for sure :)

Getting back to holiday news ... 

Mom and dad and Grandma came up here to spend a few days with us.  In fact, I think it was the longest they ever stayed.  It was GREAT.  The kids were so happy:  Grandpa took them skating and swimming, Grandma was always ready to play Rummikub with them and Great Grandma made them fresh buns and cinnamon buns.  

We had more friends over for Christmas eve and played a few games and of course ate some sugary food. Then on Christmas day we had turkey for supper so that we didn't have to get up early to put the turkey in the oven!  My kind of relaxing holiday =)  

Oh, and did I mention I gained 10 pounds and 5 inches?  Well, I actually didn't weigh myself or measure, because I didn't want to confirm it.  SHUDDER!  It is a new year and I have already exercised 3 times.  4 times, if you count tomorrow!  Anyway, here are a few photos: 

That's all!  No collages this time :)

Birthday Bash

It was the perfect year for a toboggan birthday party to celebrate being 7.  

December is kind of a difficult month to have a birthday party!  It is nice when you get close to 40 though, because you hope people are too busy to remember your age.  That's how I feel anyway!!  I'm 31 by the way ... for any who lost track. Ha ha!

 But, when you are SEVEN you want to have a party even though everyone else is in Christmas mode, and you want to have it on your birthday month ... not November and not January!  So, as it turned out I phoned his friends on a Thursday night and on the Saturday we had a party ... and ALL his friends came.  It just proves to me again that procrastination isn't all bad and it mostly works for me :) 

I am sorry I am having so much fun with these collages!!!  I know it is not cool to mix effects and such so I will try and refrain in future posts.  For now you just have to grin and bear it :)

 

Okay, I'm done for now with all the clashing styles!  It was fun while it lasted and I learned that I like the first one the best.  Outside pictures always turn out better for me.  

Happy birthday (belated now) to my boy who doesn't like to smile but loves to wear a dress shirt and tie!!  I am just noticing now that he changed shirts at some point ... not sure what happened there.  No wonder I have never ending laundry.