Playing at Grandma's and Boating!

Richard has been very busy with work. Last Monday, he had to work late, so I went out to my parents to have a wiener roast. The kids were excited and it was fun times. I did a quick little FHE lesson too. So it was fun and good! We went and roasted marshmellows for treat, which was yummy but also a huge mess! I don't know how Cadence does it but she gets it EVERYWHERE! Grandpa was a mess too, but he claims it was because Cadence sat beside him! Hmmm, don't know dad but I think she got her messiness from you!! ha ha!

Getting ready to go out to the farm for FHE! I noticed that DJ was all matchy, matchy with his blue and orange shoes, and outfit and my old hat! Too funny!

My mom watched 2 of my kids Tuesday morning while I ran to Lethbridge to do some shopping and errands. DJ and Abbi stayed with my mom. They had fun and were happy when we got back. DJ had a blast playing with the toy tractors in the living room. I thought it was funny how he made "mountains" out of all the pillows. It kept him occupied for awhile.

DJ happily playing with his tractors!

He set up his own "mountains"! Funny boy!

My mom got these cute magnet dolls from a lady. The lady gave them to her for my girls because the dolls were A, B and C names. Anyways it's a fun toy for the girls to play with at Grandma's. They had fun checking it out.

Grandma and the girls playing with the magnet dolls and dressing them.

Oh, funny thing that happened, and this is totally random....but I caught Cadence with scissors. She cut a piece of Brianna's hair. I threatened to cut off her hair (crazy mom), and she screamed no. I talked to her and told her not to do it again. We were leaving my bathroom when I noticed Abbi on my bed. She gave a BIG sigh and said, "Aahhh, kids, right mom." It was so random and totally unexpected that it made me laugh so hard. Abbi was being totally serious too! She cracks me up!

After swimming lessons we headed out to St. Mary's Dam to meet up with Brent, Tiff and Megan. We took the boat out for the first time this year. The water was SO HIGH. I couldn't drive to Wally's Beach, because they had the gate locked. So we all went on the boat. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand and water. We made a fire on the beach and roasted hotdogs and marshmellows (my kids ate way too many hotdogs this week!)! It was too cold for me to get in the water but it was a fun, relaxing time! It was funny to watch each of my kids do a face plant in the sand, from running down the sand hill. It was pretty hilarious! They laughed about it too!

DJ had so much fun digging and playing in the sand.

Cadence was running in and out of the water. You can see Cain swimming in the water. She was always keeping a close eye on Cain, so he wouldn't get too close to her!

Brianna running around while her aunts Tiff and Megan are trying to get a tan!

Cadence running away from Cain. Brent and his friend, Mark trying to get us a fire going!

Cadence roasting her own marsh mellow!

Everyone just playing and having fun. That is the sand hill that the kids would come racing down and do face plants!!

Brianna, Cadence, DJ and I rode the tube back to the docks. It was a long ride but they all liked it. DJ wasn't too sure. He didn't like the wind in his face. So he grabbed my hand and clamped it over his face and then he was fine! If I moved my hand he would grab it and put it back! He is so funny! We got back and his hair was stick straight up! Too cute!

My mom was waiting for us at home, so she could watch my kids. I ran to the parent kindergarten meeting. I can't believe my girls are going to kindergarten. I didn't realize that we have to buy things for kindergarten. They had a whole list of things. I guess the fun is just beginning......buying 3 of everything! Can't wait to label everything...NOT!! Oh well! I am planning on getting my name on the sub list for bus drivers here in Magrath. I already got the ball rolling and am hoping by September that I'll be on the list. That way when the kids go on field trips, I can hopefully be their bus driver. I'd love to do that.

Hopefully we'll have some nice summer days to enjoy lots of more boating this summer!

Swimming Lessons!

I got my girls in swim lessons in June this year. I was a little worried about the weather, if it was going to be too cold, but did it anyways! They didn't have it till 3pm every day, which I loved. So the Monday of their first lesson we went to get Cadence's cast off. They cut it off first. I was so proud of Cadence, she kept jumping and was ready to scream. I kept saying, "Your ok Cadence, no screaming." So she did her really loud, nervous laugh. She kept going, "HA HA HA HA HA, IT'S TICKLING ME!", over and over. It was pretty funny. We had a lot of people sticking their heads in to see what was so funny! They got it off and her poor arm was still swollen and looking funny to me. She didn't want anyone to touch it. So to make a long story short, after x-rays, she got a new cast on. We were so lucky that day to have a resident doctor put her new cast on.....yes this is sarcastic. I just have bad luck with resident doctors. I'm sure there are some good ones out there but I never seem to get them. He put the cast on and wouldn't listen to anyone on how to do it. I could tell it was going to be a very rough and sharp cast. We came home and sure enough Cadence cut herself and Brianna. Everytime she bent her arm it was scuffing her upper arm. So I took her back and they cut it off and I had Dr. Baker put on a water proof cast. I didn't know there was such things, but there is. He did an awesome job and $20 later we were off!! I'd gladly pay for a water proof cast anyday! So Cadence just missed 2 days of swim lessons, and then she got to go in it with her new cast! YEAH!

She was happy and I was happy. The girls loved their teacher, Peyton. He was so good with them. Abbi turned into a little fish. She would dunk her head and do everything he asked. Brianna is very cautious, but would usually do everything with his help. Cadence would also, but again is extra cautious with the water. I was so proud of all 3. They are getting more comfortable in the water, which is good. I'm hoping to get them into another lesson before the summer is up.

My cute kids cuddling in their towels to warm up after their lessons. DJ had fun swimming in the kiddie pool while the girls did their lesson.

Getting into the water. They had some freezing cold days for their lessons, but they always went in. Luckily the pool is heated so the water was usually nice.

My 3 girl swimming in the deep end with their teacher, Peyton.

Abbi went up on the diving board all by herself and jumped. I totally missed it the first time so I asked her to do it again, she gave me an eye roll but did it anyway!!!

Last day, with their report cards!

They were sad when the lessons were over. The last day was a stormy one. So they had a "dry" lesson then got their report cards and candy from their teacher. Way to go girls....you did GREAT!!!!

Father's Day!

Last Sunday was Father's Day and it was a good day! The kids were so excited to give their dad the card and gifts that they had made. They helped me make Richard breakfast, which was eggs, bacon and waffles with some juice. Then we gave him his gifts. He is a wonderful father and his kids love him to pieces! They always love doing things with him. One of the favorites is riding in the truck with their dad to the dump! When he gets home from work he is always bombarded with his kids and then they are ALL trying to tell him about their day. It's always so cute to watch and listen too! He will tell the girls stories at bed time. Sometimes it is of when he was growing up and other times he just makes them up! I stood outside the door one time and listened to his made up story and was just giggling quietly. It was hilarious and the girls were loving it! He's a wonderful father and I love him so much!

DJ and his dad at the Magrath farm, one Sunday before church.

Richard and the kids all ready for church!

We went out to my parents after church. My dad is one of the best dad's EVER! We've always been close and still are. He's a great grandpa to my kids too. His grand kids love him so much. They always love to go see grandpa Paxman! He always does crazy things with them. For instance he had these big elastic bands (ones for physical therapy), that he had to use to strengthen his leg. He got two of the girls and put them back to back. Then put this band around them. It was around their stomachs. He then counted to 3 and then yelled go. They both started running, which caused the band to stretch. Then the stronger girl ended up making the other one bounce back, which ended up knocking both of them over. It was hilarious. Only dad would think up of something like that! The kids loved it! DJ's new word for the week is, "Paw paw"! He said it on Monday. I was sitting on Richard's new chair (a zero gravity chair that mom got for dad too). DJ came in the room and saw me and said, "Uh uh mom, a paw paw." Which meant, no mom that's Grandpa's chair. It was so funny! Thanks for being such a great dad and grandpa too!

My dad and DJ. I wanted to get a picture of the 2 together to show how much they look alike. They were fooling around and teasing and laughing this was the best picture I could get! DJ got his dimple from his Grandpa Paxman!

Of course I can't forget my father-in-law, Eric. He is also a great dad and grandpa. The kids had fun helping me pick out his gift and card this year too! Way back when Richard and I were dating, when I was living with Steve and Stacey and working 2 jobs. Every other night I had to drive to Raymond to drive my milk truck. One afternoon I was late and had my pick-up floored. I was flying and passing a lot of vehicles. As I was passing a van, I happened to look over to see Richard's dad staring at me as I FLEW by him. I was hoping he didn't recognize me but he did. He mentioned later that he knew Richard and I were meant to be together, because Richard was 1 speeding ticket away of getting his license taken away. I did speed a lot but never got caught back then! He is a great dad and is always willing to come and help us with anything. He even put up with us while we lived with them for a couple of months!! ha ha! We are lucky to have some great dad's in our lives!

DJ and his Grandpa Spencer. DJ loves his grandpa and is always his little buddy as soon as he walks in the door!

So even though this is a late post I hope all the father's out there had a wonderful Father's Day because you deserve it!

Sunday Drive!

Lately Richard has been so busy with work that he's had to work every Saturday. So on Sundays we try to stay home and do things as a family. With this crazy weather we've lucked out and have had really nice, hot weather on our Sundays! Last week after church and lunch we decided to go for a Sunday drive. The girls wanted to show their dad the "beaver dam", which is actually the St. Mary's Dam. I showed them on Thursday because the water is so high I knew the gates would be letting water out. It was neat to see and the girls were amazed. Cadence kept saying, "Beavers make that dam, right mom." I had to explain to her how it was built. It was cute.

Anyways, on Sunday they were so excited to show their dad. We parked and walked up the path to the look out point where we could see the big spray of water. DJ had slept through it at our last visit so he was pretty excited to see the water too!

Here we are at the look out where we can see the open gates to the dam behind us and the water shooting out in front of us. The kids were so mesmerized with it!

The girls were very interested in what all the different plaques said. So Richard is explaining this one. DJ was just running around everywhere!

The only time DJ stayed still was to stare at all the water coming out!

Abbi wanted me to take a picture of her walking on the path!

Afterwards, we drove down into the park. We've decided that's where we want to go camping sometime. There's a new playground there, and water to swim in and tons of trees. It was really pretty down there and cool to see the water shoot off the spill way.

Here's the view of the spillway from the bottom.

The kids then played at the playground for a little bit. Then we headed home. On the way back up to the highway Richard saw a marmot staring at us. So we stopped and showed the kids what a marmot looks like. It just sat there and watched us. The kids thought it was so funny!

The kids had a blast playing in all the rocks!

Oh, I figured out a very funny thing this past weekend. I noticed about every other morning when I woke up there was honey on the counter and sprinkles (you know what you put on cupcakes). I found it really weird. I'd clean it up and a couple mornings later it would be there again. I finally brought it up to Richard (I always forgot to ask or tell him) and asked if he was eating sprinkles...ha ha ha, which I found hilarious! He kept saying it wasn't him, but I didn't believe him. This is the guy that ate a dishwasher tablet during the night....it's no joke! ha ha ha! Well we were laughing and joking about it on Saturday morning when Brianna skips into our room with a funny smile on her face. She said, "No mom, I ate the sprinkles." Then she laughed so hard. I guess she'd wake up in the middle of the night and go eat sprinkles. Crazy girl. Richard, of course, had to say TOLD YOU SO...it wasn't me!! It was so funny!

I let the kids finish off the rest of the sprinkles. Here's DJ eating the hearts!

Cadence eating the heart sprinkles too!

Abbi wasn't messing around she ate as much as she could!

Brianna was showing us how she ate the sprinkles in the middle of the night! Silly girl!

Well I have a few more posts I am working on. Always trying to stay up to date is so hard, but I try!

Last Day of Pre-School!

I can't believe that my girls are finished pre-school. It was a fun, fun year for all of us. They loved going to school so that made me love it too. They were always excited to come home and tell me what they did. They were able to make lots of friends too.

Here is their class. As you can see they are all cute little pirates with their hats on!

The plan for their last day was going on a treasure hunt at the fish pond. But it was a cold rainy day last Wednesday. So they had a treasure hunt in the school. They got to make pirate hats and a pirate ship. DJ and I came 20 mins early to pick them up and got to watch a fun slide show with the other parents. It was of pictures they took through out the year.

Here are their 4 teachers. Mrs. Clifton is the one in the pirate hat, Mrs. Giske (behind her), then Mrs. Perks (behind Cadence, and that is her aide), and Mrs. Gruninger.

Then they had a little presentation for each of the kids. The teachers made each child a little scrap book for the school year. It included pictures and things they have made. It was so fun to look at with each of my girls. We were coming home and Abbi said, We are all done pre-school, do we go to Kindergarten tomorrow. When I said no she asked if its the next day. I explained that it is after summer. They were all bummed!

Abbi with Mrs. Clifton getting her cool memory book of pre-school.

Abbi getting a hug from Mrs. Perks and her pirate boat she made.

Abbi getting her treasure from Mrs. Gruninger!

Brianna with Mrs. Clifton. It was funny how big of a change the teachers noticed with Brianna this year. She was so shy last year by herself. She just kind of stood back and watched everyone but not this year!

Brianna getting her hug from Mrs. Perks.

Brianna got her treasure!

Cadence and Mrs. Clifton.

Cadence getting a hug from Mrs. Perks. Mrs. Perks was her favorite teacher she loved her so much! Mrs. Perks was the one that worked with Cadence on her speach so they did a lot together!

Cadence getting her treasure from Mrs. Gruninger!

I am hoping the weather gets better so we can have some fun outside. Even with the crazy weather we have been outside a lot! So that was the girls fun last day of pre-school.

Soccer and Bikes!

This year I left it up to the girls to decide if they wanted to play soccer. Brianna and Cadence were both excited to play but Abbi chose not too. She didn't have fun last year so I didn't force her this year! She has fun watching her sisters and running around with DJ and other kids. We've had some crazy weather lately so sometimes they have soccer in the ice arena. It POURED all day on Friday but by Saturday it was so nice out. They had it outside and it was so nice to sit outside in the sun and watch!

I wasn't sure if I was going to let Cadence play with her broken arm. My worry was she'd accidentally whack someone in the head with her cast. She swings that thing everywhere and I've been whacked a time or two! It hurts! My dad suggested putting it in a sling and tying it to her chest. So that's what we did. It worked out perfectly. Good thing you can't use your hands in soccer, so it worked out good. They've been teaching the kids how to play soccer. So it hasn't actually been games but more like clinics that they rotate and take turns doing. My girls have loved it and I've seen some improvement in how they handle the ball. The soccer association has a British soccer player here that is teaching the kids some skills. It's been really useful and he's been so good with the kids. They all love him!


Cadence and Brianna are the two right in front of the British coach. They have to wear these huge pennies, so I tie them up in the back!



Waiting in line at one of the stations. They had to kick the ball with the top of their foot. You can see Cadence with her sling!

DJ chasing his friend Luke and trying to grab his ball back. Those two were funny together!

DJ has to bring his soccer ball every time we go. He's pretty good and running around and kicking it. He usually finds someone else to play with him and Abbi. That keeps them entertained. Sometimes it ends up in a little scuffle over the ball! DJ will share his ball for only so long, then he'll grab it away! Kind of funny! But for a two year old, I think it's great that he'll even share!

DJ just takes off running so fast kicking his soccer ball. He loves playing!

After soccer we came home and I got everyone lunch. Then I finished cleaning the house, doing laundry and just getting things done. Richard had to work that morning and didn`t get home till just after 2pm. We then were ready to go into Lethbridge. I volunteered Richard`s (he didn`t mind at all, he`s awesome like that!!) assistance in helping my brother build a deck. I met up with my mom, Emily, Megan and Tiffany and the kids, at Henderson Lake. It was really busy but the kids had a blast running around and playing. We ordered some pizza and then headed over to Brent and Tiff`s house to eat with the guys.



After we ate, I had promised my kids that they could ride their bikes. Brent`s house backs onto a church parking lot. So we went out his back gate and the kids rode around the parking lot. It was perfect. Abbi and Brianna were determined to ride on two wheels. We had practised a tiny bit earlier in the week, but it`s a bit harder on gravel road. So I told Brianna what to do and away she went. I found that they did better if I wasn`t holding onto the back of their bike. I know it sounds weird but very true! I made them learn on DJ`s bike, which is pretty tiny. I just put the seat up. I showed them how they can catch themselves with their legs. Since the bike was small they had no problem catching themselves. I showed them how to walk with their legs (like a stryder bike) to get the bike going and then put their feet on the pedals and go. I was so amazed with how well they did. I stood behind them and got them going and then they were on their own. They`d go a few pedals and then put their feet down. Then they`d go again. About 30 mins later Abbi and Brianna were zooming around everywhere. I was cheering and clapping for them. They were so proud of themselves and I was proud of them too. We called Richard over (who was working on the deck) and they SHOCKED their dad. He couldn`t believe it. You have to remember that this was Abbi`s 1st time trying and Brianna`s 2nd. They both caught on so quickly! It was fun watching them ride around.

Brianna just taking off on the "little" bike. She was so happy and excited that she could ride without her "little wheels"!

This shows you how small this bike was for my girls! But I think that's what gave them confidence. Abbi was just taking off to ride. She did AWESOME!

DJ brought his trike and I worked with him too. I showed him how to pedal and got him going. It was funny because he thought I was pushing him, but then I came in front to take a picture and he then realized he was pedaling and moving the bike on his own. He had a surprised look on his face then he smiled. The parking lot had a little slope so that made it easier for him to get the idea of what to do. But he can now pedal himself around. I have to remind him to put his feet on and pedal instead of walking with his feet. He does so good!

I went to take a picture of DJ pedaling and as soon as he saw me with the camera he went to fall off his bike. He's such a goof ball!

Cadence was a little sad that she couldn`t learn how to ride on two wheels. I didn`t even want to try because of her broken arm. I told her as soon as her cast was off, we`d work with her. So that made her happy. She did have fun riding her bike around though. We came back to Brent`s house and I told them they could ride back and forth in front of the house. I was talking to everyone when I heard Cadence`s panic scream. I ran out the front door and was trying to find her. She was SCREAMING so loud! I came flying around the corner and she was halfway down the block riding her bike, screaming. I got to her and she was screaming, I DON`T KNOW WHERE I AM. Poor girl. I got her calmed down and turned her around and we went back. She went right by the house and got lost, even though she was just around the corner. I then pointed out to her that Brent`s house was the only one with a car trailer in front of it. After that she was fine. She is a cutie!

Cadence showing me how she can ride with one arm! She's excited to learn how to ride a two wheeler when that cast comes off!

It was a fun afternoon and evening. I got home with my 4 kidlets sound asleep at 9pm. They are way to big for me to carry them all in one at a time and put into bed (used to do that!)! So I woke them up and hurried them into their jammies and bed. They all went right to sleep! It was a good day!

Oh, on Friday we stayed at home all day. It basically poured all day long. I talked to my kids about Uncle Steve and Aunt Stacey moving. We made them a big candy card to give to them. They were stopping on their way to Lethbridge. Then they took off Saturday morning to Williams Lake, BC. Anyways as I was explaining to my girls that we are not going to see them as often as we normally do, Abbi teared up and then started sobbing. She kept saying, "But mom I don't want them to go." It was so sad and I have to admit, it made me tear up too. I feel the same way as her. Steve, Stacey, Mikah and Shaylee came by later that afternoon. We were able to give them the card and talk for a bit. Then we all gave hugs and said our good byes. Poor Abbi just hid her face in the couch, she did NOT want to say goodbye. We will miss them but hope everything goes great for them in BC.

We had some beautiful days on Saturday and Sunday. So we spent a LOT of time outside. We woke up Monday morning and it was warm out but looking really cloudy. So I told the kids to hurry and play before it rains. So they were outside playing by 7:30am! I hurried and got things done and myself ready and decided to take them to the church parking lot to ride bikes. So we went just before 10 and rode bikes for an hour. They had a blast. Our neighbours came with us. So the 5 girls and DJ had fun riding their bikes!

I sat in the driveway with my chair while the kids went back and forth on the road!

Cadence asked me to take her picture and this is how she posed! Funny girl!

Abbi is my little dare devil! She pedals as fast as she can then yells, "Look at me hit the bumps Mom." She flies over the bumps on our "bumpy" road and bounces up and down! She's only waxed out a few times.....including into our suburban.....crazy girl!

Then after the girls came home from school, it still hadn't rained but was still really cloudy, so we got the bikes out again. I sat in my chair by our side road and they rode up and down. That's the beauty about no training wheels they can ride on rough roads! They rode for almost an hour then the rain started. So we made the best of the day and played hard outside! Good thing because it rained ALL DAY today (Tuesday)! Plus it is still raining. Go away rain! So we spent the day inside. We played with all the toys then picked everything up and made forts. I went and popped popcorn and everyone layed in their fort eating popcorn and watched a movie. It was a fun relaxing afternoon!

I walked by and noticed Brianna and Abbi totally into the movie and holding hands. It was so cute! I ran and got my camera to capture the moment!

Cadence showing me her fort. They sure love it when we make the forts!

After the movie DJ got a little wild! Crazy boy....had to get rid of his energy somehow!

Then on Wednesday was the girls last day of Pre-school. But I'll save that for it's own post! Till next time!