start of a new year

The girls started Grade 3 (Abigail) and Grade 5 (Emma) today. The start of a new school year is always exciting around here. (this is the first year that I haven't been teary dropping the girls off in the morning!) When I told them it was time for their pictures, they groaned and rolled their eyes at me. (mostly Emma)
Emma- "Do we have to do this EVERY year?!?"
Me- "Yup! Every year until you go off to University!"
Emma- "Did YOUR mother make you do this every year?'
Me- "Every year! You will appreciate it when you are older!"





I am just so proud of who they are growing into! I hope they have the BEST day!!

new room

Emma used to love whales. I mean, she was obsessed with them! So when she was about 5, we did her room to look like it was underwater and gave her a whale theme.



Now that she is 10, she wanted something a little bit more....grown up. Emma picked a comforter at Christmas time, and we finally chose the paint colours that will take her through the next few years. This is the "almost after" picture. We still need to decorate the walls, and put all the pictures/posters back up. But, so far, it's looking good!

summer lovin' girls

finally, more communion

I have kind of taken a break from everything this summer. I finally sat down to edit a couple more of my favourites from Abby's 1st Communion so I could post them.








My baby girl looks all grown up. :)

a loser like me

What I decided I wanted most for my birthday this year was to go to the GLEE Live concert with my girls. It was the BEST afternoon!!!!!We had so much fun singing along with all our favourite songs!

my baby girl's 1st communion

On Mother's Day weekend, Abigail had her First Communion. She was an angel! Here are a couple of the pictures I took of her that afternoon. I will have more very soon.

a little mickey

I wanted to share the cupcakes I made for the girls for their birthdays' back in April. Since the trip to Disney was a surprise, I couldn't just decorate a cake, they would have seen it. So I had to do something different. I ended up making cake pops in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head and putting them on the cupcakes, after they opened their big surprise! They were a pain to make, but they were delicious!

SURPRISE!!!!

Just watch.......the girls smiles are AMAZING!!!!



Happy Birthday Girls!

how do you get emma to eat sushi?

Abigail likes sushi.....Emma does not like to try anything new. For April Fool's Day, they were told they each needed to try the sushi in order to have dessert. Abigail was all for it...Emma wanted nothing to do with it....until she looked a little closer.......





They were made from cake and candy! The inside is pound cake wrapped in a fruit by the foot, and topped with icing, coconut and a slice of a gummie bear!
Here's to trying new things!!!



(I got the idea from Disney's FamilyFun website)

maple syrup festival

During the March Break, we went out to the Maple Syrup Festival at Bronte Creek. Who can resist pancakes and REAL maple syrup!?




Can't let any of that maple syrup go to waste!



I think the girls checked every bucket on the property!



It was a great day!

supermoon

The moon was supposed to be HUGE last night....unfortunately, the we had cloud cover until 9:30, and then it was too late.



The moon we did see was beautiful though.

last snow?

Have we finally had our last snow? After a few weeks of back and forth between rain and snow, warmer, almost spring like temperatures and freezing, we had a morning of beautiful thick fluffy snowflakes....possibly (and hopefully) the last snow of this winter. Once the ground was slightly covered, I talked my girls into going down by the river so we could take some pictures with those beautiful fat flakes (I haven't had my camera out very much this winter)....of course, by the time we got out the door, the snow stopped.

But the scenery at the Grand River is beautiful...and the girls LOVE 'exploring' down there and watching the geese and ducks.



Each Spring, as we get more rain, all the ice on the river melts and the water swells over the banks, it always amazes me. This year, the huge chunks of ice were left up on the shores all over the walkways. They were quite impressive!



Part of the pathway was still flooded and we couldn't go any further.


But I did manage to get a good one of my baby girl.

birthday beer

What do you get for the most impossible guy to buy for? Well, you can't go wrong with beer, but we figured we'd make him work for it! So for Pierre's birthday this year, we got him a whole bunch of beer making stuff! We got the mixes (grains, hops and yeast) from an online Canadian company, The Brewer's Market . (great company!)

Anyways....here is Pierre bottling his beer. In 2 weeks, we get to crack them open and have a taste!


He'll have some regular bottles and some BIG bottles! Mmmmmm


That's a lot of beer!

winter fun

It finally snowed....and snowed....and snowed....and snowed! We all went into the backyard and shovelled and HUGE pile of snow, and then dug it out to make a fort for the girls. They love it! So much fun!



Abby has this obsession lately....she does cartwheels ALL OVER THE PLACE and ALL THE TIME!!! I have no idea where this came from, but she does them all over the house. (She is actually quite good!) Apparently, a snow suit is no obstacle either, and she took her obsession outside with her.


She's my crazy girl!

a date with daddy!

Pierre took Emma to a Bulldogs game the other night....She got her LOVE of hockey from her dad and I think this was one of Emma's favourite nights all year! They went with Pierre's buddy and his daughter who happens to be Emma's best friend and loves hockey just as much as Emma....perfect combination for an awesome night!!!!

the anticipation....and sister love

Christmas morning, we make the girls wait on the stairs so I can go down first to get the running into the room picture. Here they are waiting so patiently. They were SO excited!!! (it's always fun to make them wait a little bit longer than necessary...build up the anticipation a little!)



When did they grow up so much?

look what i made!!!

Ain't he cute?! All done by hand....he took quite a while to do, and the girls both want one now. :) I'd better get busy!

a new hobbie

Memere has come to visit us, and she has introduced the girls to her love of knitting! They are using the loom, and they have been inspired to make hats for almost everyone they know!!! I LOVE watching them create and I LOVE how proud they are of themselves! (and they should be!)




Emma's first finished hat!

gingerbread house creation

November was a boring month, and December has been super busy.....we started the 24 Days of Christmas again this year, and we have been enjoying some great family time together. This year, I thought I would do something radical and actually put the camera down for most of our activities and just enjoy the time with the kids! It's been a really nice present to myself. But I couldn't resist taking pics of the creation of the gingerbread house. They did such a great job!

Look at the concentration! (I love the tongue sticking out!)









They are so proud of it! I can't wait to smash it and eat it after Christmas...I mean, the girls can't wait to smash it and eat it after Christmas!