rememberance day 2012

Thursday we spent the day in Canada celebrating Rememberance Day. The past few years that has meant spending the day with my Grandpa. We watch him in the parade and listen to the ceremony. Afterwards, we have lunch at my grandparents and visit. This year was really nice as we were able to spend time with family we never seem to see and watch the cutest lil baby melt every one's heart.

gratitude tree

I wanted to do this project in November to display our family's gratitude. The kids and I made the leaves out of coffee filters and watercolors and have about fifty premade (I'm hoping I run out and have to make more!) Right now we are getting the basic gratitudes out of the way but I'm looking forward to the more creative ones as the month progresses! Another requirement is the project didn't cost anything so we gathered the branches from outside, reused an old ribbon, painted rocks with chalkboard paint and pillaged the Costco stack of coffee filters.

ninja barkmulch

This is a story from first grade that I was reminded of while doing laundry today. I need to record this story so Aiden can one day realize how ridiculous his story was. Last year at the beginning of first grade when they are allowed to use real scissors unsupervised Aiden came home with a cut in his brand new jeans close to the zipper. It was so obvious that he had cut them with scissors but he was insistent it happened another way. Here's his version of the story...
Aiden: Mom, I was just standing at the playground and this piece of barkmulch jumped up and sliced my jeans.
Me: Really? A piece of 'ninja barkmulch' jumped 2 feet and sliced your jeans.
Aiden: Yes, that's what really happened
And I just left it at that because it was such a ridiculous story. Every once a while I warn Aiden to watch out for the ninja barkmulch and he replies "I will Mom"

career day

Aiden had to dress up for career day at school on Monday. So.. he chose a SWAT team member.

quick and easy/down and dirty...

memory keeping. That's what I'm into these days. I had made these mini books up years ago and now my Halloween scrapbooking is done in less than 90 seconds. A picture in costume each year - so fun to look through already...How can Aiden already have had EIGHT costumes! This childhood thing is going way too fast. Sigh.

Hallow's Eve

Once again we lucked out with good trick or treating weather. The kids could only hold out to 5:30pm and then we let them loose in the neighborhood. It was definitely a race through the subdivision and everyone was back home by 7pm. I like that. We had a lil pre funk before heading out and all the families dressed up. Dale was a nerd and I was a librarian but the pictures are a little fuzzy.

ninja man

Aiden was ninja this year for Halloween. Looking back at his pictures he's definitely got the angry terrorist eye thing going on...