Family Pictures

We found this really great family photographer.  Her fee is so reasonable, the absolute lowest I have ever seen!  I found her on our community website page.  She gave us over 200 photos and all of them are really great quality.  She is really good with the kids too.  I hope she is still around when we get more done in the future!  These were some of my favorites:

 

 

ok.  So these were taken about one week after Ben got his appendix out.  He was a trooper to do these photos at all!  He said in this particular pose he was in so much pain... and it really shows!  Too bad because it would have been a really good picture otherwise.  We are glad he is all healed now though.  haha poor Ben!

My number one fave of our family

poor guy...taking a break to rest his sore tummy

a very typical sight of Lily haha

Halloween 2013

 

This year the Hergets came to our place to go Trick or Treating.  We had dinner first, so the kids wouldn't just fill up on candy.  I don't know if it really helped any, haha. 

 

 

The kids had a lot of fun going around our loop.  The weather was great!  Really quite warm, just a little windy. The picture really doesn't show it, but at times there were A LOT of kids!  It was great to see all the costumes.

Too windy for our blow up cat to stay standing

Happy Meila lovin the candy!

Here is Beckam the Cow!  I can't turn this picture for some reason, but you get the idea!

Braxton the Fireman and Lily, eating their candy after....

Jodi got in on the fun and put in one of the kids candy teeth!

All the kids' hauls looked more or less like this:

 

Our house all decorated.  We carved pumpkins too and put them out.  All kids who came to our door loved the big spider on the door window!

 

 

 

 

Here are all of our kids costumes they wore to school that day:



Chloe the bunny



Wiggle that cotton tail



Izzy the Biker Chick



In character, with her new "sleeve" of tattoos.



Lily the Ghost



"OOOOOOOOOOOH!"

 

Close up of her spooky face on the hat



Olivia the witch.  The "good witch" as she liked to say



Twirls!

 

Olivia made some treats to share at her preschool.  They were sugar free lollipop ghosts haha.

Izzy's Musical Theater Performance

Izzy had been wanting to join a Musical Theater class for so long.  All last year we kept missing out on joining in ones for various reasons including that we were moving, and couldn't find a place that was at a good time.  Finally we found one out in Sherwood Park, on Tuesdays at a time that worked, just right after piano lessons.  It was a short introductory class, about 3 months long.  But boy, has she ever LOVED it.  She really enjoys going and being part of that sort of thing.  We found one a lot closer to home that runs all year long and puts on a full production at the end of the year.  She really wants to do that one next year, but the practices are 2x a week, and it just seems like it would make her really busy.  We can think about it though.

This class worked on one scene from Matilda the Musical, called "Revolting Children."  It's about the children who revolt against the mean Trunchbull principal who thinks all children are revolting and disgusting.  They did such a great job, especially for girls who have never done this before!  It was really entertaining.  We had all heard Izzy sing and practice it so much that we all know the song off by heart, even Olivia haha.  Lily said she wants to try it out next year too, it looked like so much fun. 

Excited to go!

Practicing her moves.

We put in pearl earrings.  This was the first day she ever changed her earrings.

This was after the performance.  I am so grateful to these two for watching our girls while we were gone!

Here's the video:

Random FHE one night

The awesome chorister in our Primary did this activity for the children in Primary one Sunday, and all the kids just LOVED it.  So I decided to do it again at home for our FHE.  The kids loved it just as much at home.  They love and really look forward to FHE each week.

Remembrance Day Ceremony

The girls all had little parts in the Remembrance Day ceremony at their school this year.  Chloe's class recited a poem that I watched but was unable to get a video of.  Izzy joined the Handbell Group at school and her group did a little number.  And Lily was selected to describe peace in her own words.  She said, "Peace is this.  Peace is tasting Mom's best cookies.  Peace is smelling a yummy casserole in the kitchen."  I don't know why exactly, but I was really touched by her! It actually brought tears to my eyes when she said it.  Ben agreed and he thought it was really profound.  Sometimes we forget that the little things are the greatest things.  I also think that a soldier who is in war, wet and cold in a foxhole, would really agree that peace includes the comforting and delicious smells from home. 

Anyway, enjoy the videos!

Random Happenings

Lily impressed us with this great mark on her Rocks and Minerals quiz one day.  She is doing really well in school.

 

 

Izzy was chosen to be in her teacher's Writer's Café recently.  It is where she writes a story and presents it in front of everyone. She did a great job!

 

 

 

Chloe has started Piano lessons this year!  She really likes it and she does great.  We were lucky to find a teacher this year who comes right to our home.  And it is actually about $50 a month cheaper than when we went to the Prime School of Music. That will save us $500 this year! She is a really good teacher too.  The convenience of having it at home is so great.

 

 

 

Here is Olivia one day before preschool on Farmer Day.  She dressed as a cowgirl:

 

 

 

And today Olivia had Crazy Hair and Outfit day at preschool:

It reminded me of the crazy outfits she often picks for herself on ordinary days, haha.  Lately she has been layering and mix 'n matching pajamas.  Here are some of her creations that she is so proud of:

 

And here's a skirt Olivia thought was just too plain and so she colored on it with a marker!!! I am just glad it washed away completely.  Thank goodness for washable markers.

 

We love Olivia and all her creativity and uniqueness!

Gymnastics Videos