A New Roof

Here is our home. It's a beautiful, old stone home. 

For the past few years our roof has been showing its age but it was challenging to find someone good to replace the steel and also to make sure we could pay for it. This was the year and this fall they arrived to do the work. 

The weather conditions were tough for the guys to do the work. Roofing isn't easy and it took longer than expected but it is done. The guys worked hard and keep the yard around our home tidy. 

It's all done and it looks beautiful!

Jean's Quilt

For Jean's 6th birthday I decided to made this butterfly quilt.  

I admired a butterfly quilt that was hanging in my local quilt shop... I admired it for months thinking that it looked difficult to make but after chatting with the owner, she felt that I could definitely make this quilt on my own and if I needed any assistance, to just ask!  She had kits of fabric put together that included the quilt pattern so I took the plunge and bought what I thought Jean would love!  

Here is a link to the design studio that provided the pattern.

Brookshier Design Studio

I found the instructions and diagrams very easy to follow and before I knew it, I was done the blocks of the quilt.  It is so pretty!

I am so happy with how it turned out!  It was surprisingly very simple (I would say that I am an intermediate level quilter... passed the beginner stage which is exciting) and the blocks turned out really nice.  I love the fabric!  I chose to use flannel for the backing so it would be soft for cuddling with.  The only downside is that I chose to make the lap size quilt (it had instructions for a baby, lap or bed size) and it doesn't quite cover her bed but I have a large, warm, pink blanket for under this quilt and it looks nice.

By the way, Jean loves it and is looking forward to when we can paint her walls... purple!  I will be choosing white instead!

Loving Life

This is what stuff of parenting is made up of.

It's a crazy, awesome life we are living right now but I wouldn't change it for the world. I am bursting with happiness and pride. I have said this before but again, I love every stage of parenting...so far and I think Ian and I have done a great job embracing it all. We made it through sleepless nights because we knew the cuddles the next day would be worth it. We went with the flow as the temper tantrums came and went (truthfully I don't remember many). It was difficult but exciting watching each of our children start school but they all love their school life which we are so thankful for. 

These days we are not home as much as we would like. Our children have opportunities that we don't want to pass up and despite the amount of commitment required as in time and money, we are more than happy to support them. Each one of our three children has amazing opportunities right now - between competitive dance and hockey we are running the roads most days. Time management is key but you know what?  They are learning that skill very quickly. There are actually so many skills they are learning beyond how to dance and play hockey. 

We appreciate our days off and relish in it's peacefulness. We are looking forward to our family vacation in January/February (farmers travel in the winter) but surrounding all of that are memories being made and experiences to embrace. 

Today we leave on a mini-family vacation aka an "away" hockey tournament. Our first. We have been anticipating it for quite some time. Our bags are almost packed. Alex will work and play hard and the girls will have some good times with the other rink rats otherwise know as the sisters.  Ian and I are looking forward to spending time with the team parents whom we are really enjoying their company. 

Sometimes I wonder what others think of us; the whole idea of our kids not having the chance to be bored, of our family being so busy and having a schedule that is out of our control.  We don't feel any of those things very often. No doubt there are weeks when we feel like we travel the roads too much and some days the kids just want to stay home but then we talk and they decide that they do want to go and they love what they are doing. Alex NEVER complains about going to hockey. Grace loves being part of the dance team and understands the commitment she needs to have. Jean is still young and we are starting slow for her - just a little bit of dance commitment and more time to be at home just playing. The time they decide they don't want to do it anymore is the time we are done. 

One more thing: the families that have done all of this; have run the roads like us for years, taking their children from practices to games to competitions... They have no regrets. They tell us those were great years and that they miss those times.  They raised some great kids as well!

I am so thankful for our life. Now off to pack!

Christmas Gifts

I have been thinking about Christmas gifts for our family and saw this blog post shared on Facebook. I want to keep it so I can reread it... It has some really good ideas for homes like ours that want less toys and more meaningful presents. 

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6108036?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037

Vancouver with Friends... and a baby!

I am writing this blog post with a full heart.

Kelly, Trisha and I have been friends for... oh about 18 years to be exact.  Holy smokes I just did that math and it doesn't seem right - that is a long time!  I met these two in the fall of my first year of university and right from the start we became fast buddies.  Kelly and Trish were best friends from high school and they just scooped me into their friendship and away we went.  Those university years were fun, fuzzy and adventurous... we had many crazy times... too many to count.  All I can say is that a girl couldn't have better friends during those university years!

Kelly, myself, Trish - our first selfie!

After we graduated, we all went our separate ways.  Kelly got married (Trish and I were in her wedding party) soon after we graduated and settled in southern Ontario, Trish went to Teachers' College and then traveled the world ending up in Vancouver and I went to Teacher's College and then moved to the Ottawa Valley with my university sweetheart.  Needless to say, we live very far from each other now but over the years we have tried to meet up periodically.

Trish and her husband, Randy, had their first baby last June so it became the perfect opportunity for Kelly and I to take a trip to Vancouver to see them all... and provide Trish with out parental wisdom of course.
I am just home and had a fantastic time.

Helen is 5 months old now and such a sweet little baby.  Motherhood had come so naturally to Trish... I am so happy for her.  Helen is the apple of her daddy's eye.  They are such a happy little family and I loved being able to spend time with all of them.

Trish and Helen were our official tour guides for Vancouver and area.  Helen loves taking public transit and being in her carrier.  She does not like driving in vehicles for very long.  We took it all in stride and saw as much as we possibly could!  Trish knows the transit system really well so we got to really see most of Vancouver.

The day after I arrived in Vancouver, I met up with some family that we don't see very often.  Melissa (Ian's cousin) lives in Vancouver with her partner, Bill, and they are expecting their first baby very soon.  Her nieces, Montana and Paisley, were visiting her for the weekend so I got to spend some time with them all for a nice morning having brunch.

I arrived a day before Kelly so Trish and I walked around downtown, had gelato and I saw some of the Olympic Village.
After Kelly arrived we went to Stanley Park (by train and bus) and walked around the park and sea wall.  It was a beautiful day - perfect for walking.  We saw a coyote really close, the Vancouver Aquarium, walked along the sea wall and saw totem poles.  Once we returned to their home, Randy made us a delicious supper.  It was a great start to our trip.

On the second day we drove to Squamish (1 hour drive) to meet up with a cousin of ours to tour herbeautiful store.  She sells many locally produced items along with really nice gift ware, an indoor pumpkin patch, and other small stores including a coffee shop.  It has been open 2 1/2 years and Natalie has done very well with her dream for this store.

On our way back to Vancouver we stopped at Shannon Falls and went for a small walk.   I was in awe with how beautiful the BC forest is - so different than here in Ontario.  The trees are very very tall and there is so much moss covering everything.  The forests are magical... or they seem that way!

No trip is complete for me without finding a farmers' market.  I was really excited about going to Granville Island!  We took the train and a bus to this part of Vancouver.  It was a rainy day so our first stop was the Umbrella Shop.  Only in Vancouver!  This was actually quite comical - the store clerk was very knowledgeable about umbrellas and I realized that I didn't know there was so much to know about these useful tools!

We had lunch in the indoor market (fish and chips - so good!) and then wandered around.  The produce was amazing!

Amidst the market, boutiques and Emily Carr University (all part of Granville Island) there is a cement plant but even it was creatively decorated.

We left Granville Island with treats, presents for our children and SALMON.  Both Kelly and I bought a whole salmon to take back home with us!

Our last day of touring Vancouver started with a trip to the Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe... it was like taking a trip back to my childhood.  The food was delicious!

After our huge meal we toured the Cambie Road area, where Trish and Randy used to live.  Then we headed to Trish's favourite gelato shop, which has 218 flavours of which some we could sample.  Not only did we see many sights in Vancouver but we had many types of food as well - it was like we were on a foodie vacation!  I loved it.

We then drove to a suspension bridge in North Vancouver and went for a much-needed hike, especially after all that amazing food!  I am not a fan of heights or suspension bridges but I made it across...twice.  Again, the scenery was beautiful.

By that evening we were tired.  We stayed at home for supper and had greek food delivered.  It was really good and then went to bed early to be up early for our flight back to Ontario.

My trip to Vancouver was perfect!  I am so happy I went and coming home was really wonderful.  I got many hugs and kisses when I saw my children and husband.  I hope Trisha, Kelly and I can plan another vacation together in the next few years again.

Halloween 2014

Despite snow in our forecast, it was a beautiful evening; cold but quite nice for trick or treating.
Every year I try to encourage the kids to be creative when putting their costumes together but Grace is the only one to takes me up on that!

Jean knew she wanted to be Mini Mouse since last Halloween.  All year long she asked me for black high heels just like Mini so I broke down by the end of the summer and found her some (on sale) and then Grandma Mary Ellen gave her the Mini dress for her birthday as an early present.  I thought it was a nice change from the usual Disney Princess that she wants to be!

Grace decided on this costume in late September - she is always so good to be creative when coming up with what she will wear.  We researched SuperWoman on Pinterest and the boots were a must!  We made duct tape boots (there are quite a few websites with instructions) and found the rest at Value Village and Walmart.  She had fun putting this costume together.

Alex decided on being a Ninja very recently.  We were at Value Village and he was unsure of what he wanted to dress up as until he found this costume.  He really liked the sword!

We are off on our trick or treating adventure... all through the countryside we drive to Renfrew and back.  We like to visit family including great-aunts and uncles, Granny, Grandparents and a few houses in between.  Its always a fun evening!