Group Shot!

I promise this is my last post about our weekend away for the wedding. But seriously, there was so much to say and it was such a good trip.  I didn't even get a chance to blog about all the decoration and detail that went into making their wedding venue so elegant and classic.

At each wedding, we've made an effort to get a group sibling shot.  This one was no different.

July 2015:


I'm pretty sure this photo was taken as James, James, and I were leaving at 230am.  For the record, there is a double vodka in my cup by the recommendation of my hubby who has been known to drink tea at weddings. Not at this one.

2012:


James and Chantelle's wedding was a small town Saskatchewan wedding where the booze was flowing and the dance floor was full.  Not to different than Blaire and Joel's now that I think about it.

This photo was also taken near the end of the night.  Does my sweaty face and James' lack of shirt give it away?

2005:

We made a wise decision at my wedding and posed for the photo early.  Too bad we didn't do this for the others, but it is more entertaining to take the photo later.  If I remember right we have a photo from our wedding taken right after kolby caught the garter and my brother caught the bouquet!

I love looking back and seeing how much we have changed over the 10 years.  We all look like babies at my wedding!

Cousins

One of the best parts of the trip was the relationship i see forming between the cousins.  They are all around the same age but gender and location separates them.  Each kid has a unique personality and they all seem to be a touch on the shy side which doesnt' help the situation.

This trip was different.  We spent almost 5 days together and the kids just seemed to click.  The girls warmed up to my boys and the discovered a shared love for hide and go seek.  Cooper was an excellent hider and usually had to be told to 'beep' so we could find him.  The girls on the other hand hid in the same place each and every time.

The beeping started years ago when my mom lost Madi in the house.  She didn't make a peek as she was hidden in the closet behind all the clothes.  My mom panicked when she couldn't find her and ever since then has taught all the grand kids to beep.  It actually is a good idea as the kids get to be better hiders!

Grady was great with the girls to as he let them dump buckets of water on him while they played in the pool.  Grady has a little bit of an aggressive side but I just love seeing the gentle and caring side of him when he is with younger kids.

I continue to see a building relationship with the 2 oldest, Grady and Madi.  They are 3 years apart which up until now has been a huge difference.  This year they even lost teeth on the same day.  Madi first and then Grady wiggled his until it fell out 5 minutes later.  This is the same tooth we thought was going to fall out in February.  Been a long time coming.

Madi loved having a swimming buddy in the water.  For years, Madison has been the only one in the water for hours while everyone else watched. This year Grady was her sidekick and he stayed in just as long as her.  All they needed was a common ground to keep them entertained.

I hope that over the years these friendships continue to grow as I have such great memories of bonding with my cousins in the summers at the cabin.

I just wish they would come and visit this summer.....  James and Chantelle - there is still time to change your mind!  Ha!

Swimming

The kids are pretty lucky to have grandparents with a pool.  It is not so lucky for us as the kids have been known to ask if we can get a pool in our backyard to.  Ummmm, no.

The weather was interesting while we were away.  It would be hot and sunny one minute and raining the next.  We still managed to get at least an hour swim in for the 5 days we were there.  The rain didn't even stop the kids.  The look on Aunty Kolby's face was priceless the one day when it started lightening and we just moved into the hot tub to wait the rain out.... A smaller body of water makes it safer - right?

There was tons of water sliding.

Grady went down the slide by himself this year with no floatation device.  He actually swam the entire time on his own. Grandpa's pool is the perfect place to learn since there is a shallow end where both kids can touch and the deep end is short enough for beginner swimmers to swim across.

There was also lots of jumping.

This one preferred the shallow end and water guns.  Of course, both of them were broken by the end of the weekend.  Cooper wasn't interested in even trying the slide.

The little girls and adults preferred to lounge around the pool.....

.... or use the hot tub.

Grady was a little scared of going down on his belly.  Uncle James said he'd give him $5 if he did it.  So he did.  And he made Uncle James pay up.  He promptly went to walmart to buy Pokemon.

This is how I imagine our Kelowna vacation to look as we are staying in a house with a pool.  Maybe I should vacation at my Dad's next year!

My kids are at a perfect age where I don't have to go in the pool anymore.   Don't get me wrong, I like swimming, but just to cool off.  I was proud of Kolby and I for going down the slide this trip.  It was fun.  But I only did it once.  The rest of my afternoons were spent watching poolside.

Cooper also surprised us with his swimming this year.  He loves being in the water but still won't put his face in willingly.  He started off jumping off the step and staying above water....

By the end he was jumping off the ledge and going right in.   So proud of him.

I think it is safe to say by the look on the kids faces that they love going to Grandpa Lorne and Grandma Sheila's!

And I have to say that we love watching their swimming skills improve so substantially with each visit!

Until next summer.....

Summer Eats and Go-To Treats

This week, the ladies and I are talking about summer eats.  Don't you agree that there are some foods that you just eat more of in the summer?  

My #1 favorite food to eat in the summer is a barbecued burger.  I like it completely plain, no cheese, no lettuce, no pickles, nothing except a sh*t ton of mustard.  Like dripping out of the bun lots.  Funny, I couldn't find a pic of a plain burger so this will have to do.

If I can't have a burger, a very close second is a fire cooked hot dog.  Did I mention I like it burned?  I am not one to cook it on top of the flame, I put it right in the flame, it cooks fast and turns black.  Just the way I like it.

My favorite ice cream treat is, and has always been, a blizzard.  I am a creature of habit and for years and years I only got a blizzard with brownie in it.  Georgia mud fudge and brownie batter were 2 of my go to flavors.  Last time I went I stepped out of the box and ordered the birthday cake blizzard and it did not disappoint.  Whatever the flavor, I love me some blizzards.

Finally my summer beverage of choice... beer and clam.  There is nothing like a beer and clam on a hot day I tell you, nothing.

Cheladas are the closest thing to beer and clam you can buy at the liquor store.  Although they've had Cheladas in the US for years, they have finally brought them to Canada, which duh, they were invented here.  I think.    If you haven't tried one yet,  you should.

So now you know my perfect summer meal.  I have a birthday coming up {ahem}, James, are you reading this?

Shoes to Shiraz | Two Teens and their Mama | Nick and Nik 

R Squared  | Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy 

The Mishaps and Mayhem of Solitary Life |  Quilty Joy Joy

 Daily Style Finds |  Foxy's Domestic Side | Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After 

Blaire and Joel Tie the Knot!

Since everyone wants to see pictures of the wedding and of course the beautiful bride, let's get right to it!

I took this picture as I waiting for the wedding to begin.  

The setting was beautiful and you would never know that it rained on and off for the hour leading up to the wedding.  I swear the chairs were wiped off 3 times before it finally stopped raining for good.  The ceremony was scheduled for 2 and ran only a few minutes late.  The grey clouds floated away and we were left with sun and blue skies.

Joel and the groomsmen entered the ceremony via boat.  You couldn't even tell they had been caught in the rain storms leading up to the ceremony with only a few towels and a very small canopy.

Notice the grey clouds looming

Here is Joel waiting for his bride.

Now notice that minutes later it is all blue skies!

I love watching the groom as he sees his bride for the first time.  Joel had the perfect amount of emotions.  I find it so touching when the groom sheds a tear.

Here comes the maid on honor!

Aren't my nieces the cutest??  Blaire and her MIL handmade the dresses.  The little girls refused to wear them and were bribed with VERY big stuffed animals.

You wouldn't know it but the girls had the flu all weekend.  Like the barfing kind of flu.  They seemed to be OK during the day but then vomit in the night.  So far, fingers crossed, it has not been passed to our family.  Surprisingly since we spent 4 entire days with them.

Next up was our handsome little ring bearer.  Grady had the job of holding the 'Here comes your girl' sign and Mister Cooper was in charge of the rings.  Aren't they the cutest?

Finally it was the grand entrance of Blaire with Dad and Shelia.  She looked stunning.

I wish I had a better photo.

Here are all 6 of her bridesmaids, a junior bridesmaid, and 2 precious flower girls.

This may be my favorite photo of my little men.

Its probably a good thing I didn't know until the rehearsal that she wanted them to stand there the whole time.  I would have been panicking for months thinking there was no way they would do it.  They did it perfectly rehearsal night.  Then I was worried they used up all the good energy then.  But they again proved me wrong.  They were rock stars.

Don't get me wrong there was some yawning.

And also some shuffling and sand kicking.  But, there were no tears, no pushing, no screaming, no bad behavior what so ever.  High fives all around.

Here is Joel putting on his own ring because Blaire just couldn't get it on herself.

They also wrote their own vows.  I love when couples right their own vows.  They just have that little bit of uniqueness to the couple and told straight from the heart.

Here they are making it official.

Finally they were husband and wife!  If you ask Grady, they did not kiss, but trust me they did!

Grady led the way out holding his sign telling the guests to blow their bubbles!

I can not express how happy I am for the two of them and how thrilled we are to make Joel an official part of the family.  I know there will be many mini stick games in our future.

Photo booth fun!

I'm typing this from the airport on my way home from Blaire and Joel's wedding weekend.   While I ease back into reality, here is a teaser post with a few of the photos taken in the photobooth.  What a great idea!

Cooper was too busy deciding in his outfit for this one he missed the picture.  

Here are the grand kids (minus one). There are so many of them they barely made it in the frame.  Stop having babies James! Lol. 

 

Leave it to my brother to hold the i'm single sign wearing the biggest smile on his face.  Poor Chantelle...

The photobooth was a blast and I have about 30 pictures on my phone courtesy of Kolby to prove it.  

I wish we would made it back again later in the night but sadly we did not.  

I expect to have to break my trip in to a few posts as I have a lot of material to cover!!

Congrats Blaire and Joel and thank you for having such a fun wedding!

Five on {my} Friday

1.  Today is my last day of work this week as the wedding weekend starts tomorrow!  Blaire's wedding day has finally arrived and I can't wait to get there and celebrate her and Joel all weekend.  It is going to be busy, but busy and fun.  Maybe it will even involve wine in solo cups like at James' wedding, right Kolbs? Fingers crossed the kids cooperate and do their part at the wedding.  We all know how well it went at my brothers wedding 3 years ago....

2.  When I joined my new gym in June, my coworker and I also signed up for a personal trainer.  He is kicking my butt!  In a good way of course.  Some days, like today, It hurts to pick something up off the floor, not to mention it feels like I have bruised ribs.  I noticed yesterday that I have one spot in my upper core that still hurts from over a week ago. I mentioned it to him yesterday and he told me it is likely just a muscle that I didn't used to used feeling overworked.  That's a good thing, right?  I am really enjoying it and he is pushing me in ways that it is impossible to push yourself.  I am happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new.  This coming from the gal that only used the treadmill until 18 months ago.

3.  The kids are in full blown summer mode.  We have a great set up on our street with 2 other nannies on our street including one right next store.  The kids have play dates every day all day.  There are 6 kids that range from 5-9 and one includes Grady's best friend from school.  Some days when I come home they ask why I am home so early because they think it is only lunch time.  It make me so happy for them to be forming these neighborhood friendships and that they have lots to do during the long summer days with no school.

4.  Grady is starting summer soccer tonight.  It is a free program for any kid that played in the spring league.  It will be nice to get out on the field again and socialize with the parents as a few of Grady's friends from school are playing.  In the last year, I've really started to appreciate the sense of community we've gained through the school and sports.

5.  After about 6 weeks of having so many things to blog about, I feel myself entering a slump.  Our evenings are lazy, we haven't had much going on on the weekends and I just find myself with a lack of words.  Very unusual for me.  And hopefully short lived.

Enjoy the rest of you week.  I know I will. 

Summer of the Selfie Stick

Since I got my selfie stick about six weeks ago, We've had a lot of fun playing with it.  See for yourself!

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I've just decided that this is the summer of the selfie stick.  Yay to being in the group photos instead of hiding behind the camera!

Happy Monday!