Birthday Boy!!

It's that time of year again...skiing!!  Greg was itching to get the kids on the slopes already, so we signed them up for a Sat/Sun lesson on Nov 15 and 16.  Poor kids...it was brutally cold on Saturday morning.  The car said "1 degree" when we arrived.  Brrrr.  Sunday was much better, and Greg and I even had an hour or so to give our ski legs a preseason warm-up.  I was surprised at how quickly it came back.  Should be a fun season!!

Ben celebrated his 8th birthday - teenage mutant ninja turtle style - on Saturday, November 15 with his friends.  He wanted to have a bowling party again, which was fine by us because it's fun!  The kids bowled for about an hour, and then enjoyed cake, games, and presents in the party room.  What a great group of kiddos!    

Wednesday, November 19...Happy 8th birthday to our Benjamin David!!  I volunteered at Ben's school that morning and brought in some "turtle treats" for his class.

 

When Ben got home from school that afternoon, we skyped with Maw Maw and Paw Paw.  They got to watch Ben open the gift they bought when they were here a few months ago.  Ben was so excited to get this Lego set, and I kept thinking how amazing it is that we have technology like this to share these moments together...a true gift indeed.

 

After dinner, Ben opened presents from family and we enjoyed some leftover cake.  (The joy of having the party before the actual birthday means that Mom doesn't have to make another cake!)  We could not be more proud of our big guy or more honored to be his parents.  We love you Benjamin, and we are truly wishing you a magical year of being 8!

Happy Halloween!

The last half of October was full of parties...Halloween and birthday.  One of Ben's friends from school invited him to a Halloween party.  Dad and Ben enjoyed the party, and Ben couldn't wait to come home and tell me that he ate eyeballs!  :)  Nathalie went to a super-cute Frozen birthday party for her friend, Nicole.  She made a marshmallow Olaf, and best of all, Elsa came to say hello and read stories.  These little preschool friends were in princess heaven. 

 

October has been a rough month in some ways.  I had lots of practice in taking the good with the bad.  The good...swings, leaves, apple cider.  The bad...flat tires and another set of stitches for our little gal.  Some of you may remember that Nathalie had 5 stitches in her forehead last October.  Next October, I am wrapping her up in bubble wrap!  She's still smiling though, what a trooper!

So, originally, Nathalie had agreed to be Tinker Bell to go with Ben's Captain Hook.  We already had the costume, so I was thrilled.  After school one day, we drove to the mall to pick up Ben's costume from the Disney store.  Not sure what I was thinking taking a 4 year old girl into the Disney store for the first time.  Nathalie barely stepped one foot in the store before catching her breath and exclaiming, "oh Mommy!!!".  She was in love...admiring all the princess dresses, shoes, dolls, etc.  Until we get to the Frozen section where she spots the Elsa dress.  She looks at me very seriously and says, "Mommy, I NEED this dress."  Little did she know that I already had the dress at home, waiting to surprise her for Christmas.  Alas, the Elsa dress made an early appearance the week before Halloween, and she was smitten.  She twirled and sang the afternoon away...safe to say that Tinker Bell is forgotten and Elsa is here to stay! 

And now for the main event...Halloween!!  A few pix from Nathalie at school with her teachers and Ben's Scout party.

Happy Halloween!  Ben was excited to start the trick or treating and showed me all of his Captain Hook poses before we went.  It was a gorgeous night...about 50 degrees, and the kids got a ridiculous amount of candy.  Captain Hook could barely lift him pumpkin it was so full!  After counting and enjoying some treats and handing out a few pieces of candy to kids who came to our door, it was time to put these candy monsters to bed.  What a great night!

Pumpkins and Pies!

October started off with school pictures.  Here's a picture of this cutie pie practicing her smile.

 

After church on Sunday, October 5th, we drove to the Calgary Corn Maze to enjoy their pumpkin festival.  The kids loved getting to pick out just the right pumpkin and took a little ride on the "cow train".

 

Time to wander through the corn maze...the sad, short corn maze.  With the weather being so up and down this summer and early fall (think snow!), the corn didn't grow too high at all.  I didn't mind...I liked being able to see the kids as they ran around and explored.  After the maze, we had some play time on the slides and mini golf.  A fantastic day and a perfect way to start ushering in my favorite season! 



On Friday, October 10, Ben's teacher hosted a "Thanksgiving dinner" for the kids and their families in the classroom.  What a great idea!  Lots of yummy food, and it was fun getting to see the kids enjoy a meal together.

After some Thanksgiving dinner prep on Saturday morning, we headed out for an afternoon bike ride.  It really has been a beautiful fall so far...so blessed to be taking advantage of the warmer temps and the fall colors.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!  Greg's bright idea this year was that "WE" should make our pie crust from scratch.  I enjoyed this sentiment, since "I" would be the "WE" in that suggestion.  So, when it came time to make the pie crust, guess who's help I enlisted to press the "pulse" button?  "WE" made a pretty tasty pie, and I was also proud of roasting my very first turkey!  Mmmmm...

That evening after dinner, we decided to walk off some holiday calories in North Glenmore Park.  After our walk, we played at the playground for a bit before going home and putting those calories right back on with some pumpkin pie and whipped cream.  Happy Thanksgiving!