the toothbrush bandit strikes again!

bye bye baba's

I took this picture on Monday when we were starting our road trip home. The plan was to get rid of her bottles after this week end trip. We did and she doesn't seem to mind a bit.

Reusable Sandwich Wrap

This looks easy enough to make and would save the earth from the numerous sandwich bags my family uses each year! Click on the title for instructions!

week end at the cabin

We spent a great long week end at my parent's cabin. We headed up after Aiden's preschool graduation. Amelia doesn't travel as well as Aiden and the five hour drive was real test. Both kids stayed awake the whole time (with the exception of Amelia's 45 minute snooze on the final leg) The rest of the drive Amelia sounded like a caged howler monkey. It was a relief to finally arrive! Highlights of the trip:

-fishing with Aiden and Dale (we started a new tradition of naming the fish we catch) snickersnocker, moby dick, sir beefs alot and his brother but he jumped out of Dale's hands back into the water! I like to reel the fish in but as it gets closer I can't stop screaming and not wanting the slippery wiggly thing near me (this makes it a little harder for Dale)
- eating delicious meals prepared by somebody other than myself, including a full on turkey dinner!
- going out on a 'date' to a local pub for dinner just Dale and I
- watching my kids enjoy time with their grandparents and great grandparents
- having satellite tv and not missing "Grey's" season finale
- learning to ride a quad and going for a ride with my Mom
- enjoying a delicious cup of coffee and cinnamon bun on the cabin deck with my family enjoying the beautiful view
- visiting my parents friend's and watching Aiden lead and ride a horse
- finishing all the craft projects I brought!
- Aiden loving playing outside 8 hours a day

preschool graduation

Thursday was Aiden's last day of preschool. The year went so quickly but it only seems to be me that's sad about it. Dale took the day of work and dropped him off at school for the first time ever. We went back at 11:00 for his ceremony. Very sweet. I will miss his familiar school routine but Aiden is only looking forward and can't wait to start kindergarten in the fall!

tin can cover

This looks like an adorable project. I'm thinking fun Amy Butler fabric and my craft room but I'm sure it would be equally cute for the kids. Ohh the possibilities! Instead of embroidery I'm thinking fabric applique's (my new favorite and way easier!) I'll share some of my applique projects next week. We are headed out of town after Aiden's preschool graduation tomorrow! Click on the title for instructions.(found via kirtsy)

school box

Aiden is finished with preschool this week! I can't believe how fast it has passed. I started to think about how I would store all his school papers year to year and came up with this... I bought a plastic file box from Target, personalized it with some letter stickers and the 'school' sticker, labelled each file with the school year and voila - in under 10 minutes and for under 10 dollars I have a school memory box. I think I might have Aiden place a handprint and write his name each year on the front of the corresponding year file. I think I'll make one up for Amelia just because it's so easy (it will just collect dust for the next few years).

pancakes on the patio

Most week ends we have pancakes. It's a fun way to signify it's the week end for Aiden. In the summer we try to eat as many meals outside including breakfast. I hope this is a fond memory for our kids when they get older. What's your fun family tradition?

backyard living

With the fabulous weather this week end we were able to break out the pool and swimsuits! Aiden loves his new "fire hose" and how adorable is Amelia's new swimsuit!! The water was freezing and both kids couldn't have cared less.

good thing...

I'm not paying her. My Mom came down last night to go to Children's in Seattle with us this morning. Aiden had a follow up app't in the ortho clinic and everything is unchanged (which is good). That drive in the rain today really made me tired. When we got home my Mom sent me upstairs for a nap (wish that happened every afternoon). When I woke up and came downstairs I found this (she's sleeping)! Quality child care. The best thing about this she didn't realize I took these pictures and posted them on the blog.

Happy Mom's Day

What a wonderful day! I was awoken to happy smiling kids trying to climb all over me and kiss me this morning. Dale does such a good job at making Mother's Day "an event" at our house. All week end he was been on his best behaviour helping out and even washing the kitchen floor last night!!! We had a yummy brunch at Semiahmoo this morning but unfortunately the rain prevented us from exploring the beach afterwards. Instead, Aiden and I had a quick snuggle in front of the fire in the lobby. I was a little saddened to think these public displays of affection would stop as he gets older. For now I am enjoying every minute of it!
We stopped at Hovander on the way home and were able to check out the new baby animals. I'm pretty sure it's peacock mating season and Aiden saw something he wasn't supposed to.
My family came down this afternoon and we enjoyed our annual "croquet on Mother's Day" and I played my usual horrible but it's always a good time. I am so blessed to have my family. Thank you for such a wonderful Mother's Day.

amelia + tutu + fairy wings= adorable

Last week Rebecca came over to take some pictures. Here are a few of my favorites!

mother's day tea

I shaved my legs, put on a skirt, got a babysitter and headed out to meet my adorable date this morning. Aiden's preschool class had their Mother's Day tea. A beautiful hat was waiting at my table, along with a sweetly decorated flower pot and card. The card had me giggling..."My Mom"
1) What does your Mom look like?
She kind of looks like me. She has black hair, green eyes and is tall. (he got the green eyes right and after checking out this morning's pictures my roots are pretty dark)note to self: make long overdue hair app't.
2) What does your Mom like to eat?
She likes to eat whatever she makes. She loves pickles with a sandwich. Her pickles are the size of hot dogs.
3) What does she like to do with you?
She likes to play with me in the basement.
4) What does she like to do with your daddy?
They like to go special places.
5) What doesn't she like?
She does not like peanut butter and jelly.
6) What does she like to do by herself?
She goes different places like IHOP (this had me laughing out loud)
7) How old is she?
She isn't that old.

spider{boy}

The other day Dale was working out in the yard overturning some big rocks. All of a sudden Aiden pushed Dale to the side to investigate a large spider. Aiden picked up the spider and was talking to it " Hi spider, oh, I see you have an egg sack...oops your egg sack fell off.. here's your egg sack back, spider" Aiden was trying to place the egg sack on the spider's back. Dale's a little queasy when it comes to spiders but Aiden is fascinated. It started with Charlotte's Web and now the Spiderman business has him enthralled with the arachnids ( Dale and I think he secretly wants to get bitten by a spider so he too could become 'Spiderman')

Camping Orange Muffins

Click on the title above for a super fun camp fire cooking idea to do this summer with the kiddos! (found via skirt)

Amelia at 15 months

Amelia turned 15 months last week and I feel I need to write everything down because it changes so quickly!
-food continues to be a challenge, she will eat most fruits and dairy ( except for cheese)
- her approved fruit eating list is: one bite of banana every 2-3 weeks, mandarin oranges, apples, strawberries, watermelon
- pumpkin in yogurt is the only consistent vegetable
- raisins, goldfish, graham crackers, fruit leathers, cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, pizza crust are acceptable
- definitely a vegetarian: she used to shriek and lean to one side if you placed the tiniest piece of chicken in front of her now she picks up the offending piece of meat says "no" in her slow deliberate way and drops it on the floor
- loves her bottles!

she still loves to dance to any music ( she was bopping to the washing machine's spin cycle the other day)
she loves to play outside and walk on her own ( as long as she is headed in the direction away from the house as soon as you turn her towards the house she tries to lay down on the ground {charming})
she likes to play in dirt and sand or splash in water
she likes to play with Aiden's cars, walk around with books but will try to close it while you're reading to her, snuggles her stuffed animals

she has become aware of babies and will point them out ( sometimes they're older the her but she will still say "baby")
her words include: hi, up, mama, dada, no, happy, baby, apple, baba, thank you (dank do) night-night, yeah (yes), Ameia (Amelia), Aida (Aiden), ball, bear and bird
she points to birds in the sky and will follow with her finger as they fly across the sky
she says animal sounds for a cat, dog, and cow
she loves to carry Aiden's lunch kit to and from school and run into his classroom and sit at the table

she still has 2 naps a day and she goes to bed with Aiden's white bear
she can rough house a bit with Aiden
she is absolutely wonderful and we love her so much!
*** I don't think a shred of paper has passed her lips in the last month! Amelia the paper hunter no more!

summer to do list

Inspired by someone else's list I thought I would share our family's list

1) Lummi Island Lavendar Festival
2) Horse camp for Aiden
3) Woodland Park Zoo
4) overnight camping trip (yikes)
5) library paper bag concert series Fridays at noon
6) outdoor swimming lessons
7) blueberry picking at Boxx Berry Farm
8) July 4th children's bike parade and picnic at the park
9) white water rafting trip with Tracy and Martin
10) Thursday night potlucks with the babygroup and outdoor concerts at Elizabeth park
11) the Farmer's Market
12) a trip to my parent's cabin
13) the Wickersham train
14)ice cream at Mallard's
15)family photo shoot at the beach with Miss Rebecca
16) vacation bible school
17) the waterslides
18) a week in Shushwap with the Loffler's
19) boating on Lake Whatcom with our friends
20)smores made with peanut butter cups in the backyard
21) the Lynden fair ( Aiden can't wait for a ride on the Ferris Wheel)
22) afternoons of running through the sprinkler and splashing in the kiddie pool in the backyard
23) possibly a soccer or t-ball session for Aiden if "he's bored"
If you have any fabulous summer activities planned I would love to hear them!

Larrabee

Dale was supposed to go fishing today but the bait didn't come in so the trip was cancelled. It was a nice day and after a morning spent doing yard work ( I filled a 30 gallon trash can with weeds!) We headed to Larrabee to explore the tide pools. Luckily everyone donned their rubber boots before we left because we cannot keep Amelia out of the water! It's going to be an interesting summer. Amelia loves to be outside and can bop around checking out this and that for quite a long time. And yes I did take a picture of Amelia wiping out on the seaweed before I helped her back up!