Project 365

2012 - Week 1

2012-01-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

January 1-7, 2012
1. 12 - on my old but very useful waterproof stopwatch
2. Finishing up and getting our cards out - Happy New Year!
3. A fresh perspective - Matt doing acrobatics
4. Marlee attended a SPA birthday party
5. Resolve to do LESS inactivity
6. Framed by a doorway - my OLW photo
7. OLW - LESS

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome back!

I have really missed this adventure of taking a daily photo of our life. I did manage to take a photo almost every day last year but never made it into any organized manner. But oh how I missed it and thought about it often.

So I'm back. But in a different way. I will most likely being doing a single weekly post - hoping that this will enable a more easy format for a year-end collaboration. I am still working at getting 2010 into a book and I am just not satisfied with how the pre-set format works. SO I hope to try it in a different way this year.

My goals are as follows:

to use a variety of free and purchased templates to put 7 photos from the week together

to either show just the template or to put the template into an 8.5x11 format that will eventually make its way into a book

to post on a weekly rather than a daily basis to keep it more manageable

to {loosely} follow Katrina Kennedy's photo guides (or any otehrs I discover) for additional ideas on photos for the day; not only for additional ideas but also to better my photography skills.

So here goes!

PS. The photos will be linked to my flickr account where you can find the sources.

Year 2010 Complete!

2011-03-19T18:29:00.001-07:00

So it is done. A few months behind but it is finally complete. I really love the end result and can't wait to get a book made out of our memories.

It is now the end of March however and I have not started to blog about 2011. I have taken a photo a day and I blog (a bit more regularly) about our daily lives here but I think for now I am taking a break from Project 365.

I had an idea to post in a different way (maybe weekly) but that still hasn't taken off either. Ihave also thought about doing amonthly layout with my monthly recap posts but that hasn't happened yet either. I can always come back and back post but for now suffice to say that I am on hiatus.

It's been great but for now please check in to our other family blog at

www.alijoy-forsuchatimeasthis.blogspot.com

Thanks for looking!

Day 365 - 2010!!!

2010-12-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

We had a girls day out and went and saw Tangled. We missed the first 3 minutes and had to sit in the first row but otherwise I LOVED it! It is definitely one I will see again. And it was a lot of fun to just go out with the girls.

...then Diane and I ran the Resolution Run through the Running Room. It is a 5km run around the lake. I think I have run once or twice since Mitchell was born (I tend to be a fair weather runner) but I managed to do this without stopping. Bring on the New Year! Of course we then went home and had Chinese food and relaxed with Melissa and the other guys.

Day 364 - 2010

2010-12-30T18:38:00.000-08:00

Mitchell is enjoying a new pastime - emptying as many containers out of the drawer as possible. It does make it hard to keep organized but I can certainly think of worse things for him to get into. I get a little worried about what he does with the forks though...

And we had to try and get a close up of his new teeth. We're up to 6!

Day 363 - 2010

2010-12-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

I got a new EXPEDIT shelf from IKEA (dad picked it up for me - thanks Dad), and it fits perfectly where I wanted it. One of the baskets holds all of our ipod stuff - wires, cases and boxes, and one holds my Project Life stuff for the time being. I'm hoping to declutter the hallway shelf and utilize the baskets more here. The digital frame fits nicely on top. What I like most is that it fits our scrapbooks and makes them accessible for the kids to look at them. I love it when a plan comes together.

Day 362 - 2010

2010-12-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to have everyone home and to just relax today. We all played some Wii together - something we haven't done for a long time. I forget that there are other things to do with it than listen to Matt play Mario Cart!

Even the girls got into it!

Day 361 - 2010

2010-12-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

Sarah, John, Macy, Mitchell, Marlee and I we went to visit Sean, Sam, Theoren and Autumn so that they could meet Macy. Matt had hockey camp so he had to miss out, much to Theoren's dismay. Mitchell took very well to Uncle Sean even though we hadn't seen him since May.

When we were there we were treated to the best Hannah Montana concert I've seen yet. Autumn was so cute - swaying, singing and lots of dancing! You go girl!

Day 360 - 2010

2010-12-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

The IKEA bowls are so easy to entertain with. I guess Marlee was getting jealous that Mitchell was having all of the fun and wanted to get in on the action. I haven't seen him do this with them though...

Day 359 - 2010

2010-12-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

Mom asked to have Christmas at their house since Sarah, John and Macy were up. Matt tried his hand at lighting the candles this year. Is he really old enough to do that now?

Once again, on this Christmas day we are reminded of how thankful we are for the most precious gift of all - His son, and eternity with our creator and those who follow Him.

Day 358 - 2010

2010-12-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Canada Macy Grace! You have a fan with your cousin!

Mitchell isn't too sure about Linus' kisses but they are more friendly than Kasha's (and humourous to watch too).

We all went downtown for the outdoor service and endured the cold Canadian winter...

...where the kids got a beautiful handmade sheep ornament from Charlotte with the Christmas message.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Day 357 - 2010

2010-12-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

Marlee and I went shopping while Drew and Matt went shopping for gifts for our immediate family. She got very creative with ideas for all the kids and even her dad. When we got home we locked ourselves in the basement and did all the wrapping.

Day 356 - 2010

2010-12-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

Happy 8th birthday buddy!

Matt invited friends over to the church for slides on the inflatable slide and mini stick hockey. He asked for a LEGO cake and we kept the food at snacks. Our families met at our house for family time and gifts afterwards. The party was a toonie party and Matt is making a list for all the loot he'll get when we match the amount. Us - well we just can't believe that you are 8 already!!! Happy birthday to you big guy of big hair and thumbs out fame!

Day 355 - 2010

2010-12-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

Mitchell SOOOOO wanted to join in the fun...

that the other kids were having outside in the snow.

It was our first day of Christmas vacation and by the time lunch was over it was time to get outdoors. Majorly. The kids lasted an hour by playing in the back yard on the swings, and with the sleds and by throwing snow at me through the window. And poor Mitchell was just able to watch. Adoringly.

Day 354 - 2010

2010-12-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

We have our Christmas cards back and ready to be addressed. I haven't written a letter yet, but I'm sure it won't take long. We used the photo from September with us all wearing our Terry Fox adidas shirts.

Editor's note: Yeah - these didn't get out until February!

Day 353 - 2010

2010-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Mitchell was having a great time entertaining himself in the mirror. He then moved on to climbing on Marlee. She loves nothing more than attention from Mitchell. So cool.

Day 352 - 2010

2010-12-18T08:58:00.000-08:00

We had a great re-connect with our moms and baby group for our 8th annual Christmas get-together. Has it really been 8 years? For us it has been 7 since we missed the first one (I think we were in TBay?). Anyway, it always seems to be a struggle to get there but once we are there we have a great time. As usual, Martina was a very gracious host, the food was great and Santa was totally generous. I'm glad that the kids still get along well even though they don't see each other all that often. I miss getting together regularly with the moms though!

Day 351 - 2010

2010-12-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

I witnessed (dare I say) a rare moment of the two of you playing well together. It tends to happen when the construction-type toys or creative/artsy type activities come out. It also happens more often when we say good bye to the technology for a while. This may be painful for the first bit but by and large the end result is so much better! (Psst - I think we are gearing up for some big changes in this area!)

Day 350 - 2010

2010-12-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Marlee's drawings are getting a lot more intricate in their detail. I love her creative side. She always has something on the go and it is exciting to see her adding text to her pictures too.

Day 349 - 2010

2010-12-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

Marlee and I had a lunch date today. She picked Burger King so that she could get a Zhu Zhu pet. It wasn't exactly as she thought but she was still happy and despite the rush (this was a little far from school), she was glad to get some 1:1 time. Me too.

Marlee was so happy to play Mary in the manger scene in the 3rd showing of Back to the Manger tonight. I'm sure she smiled the whole time.

Day 348 - 2010

2010-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

Mitchell seems to be liking carrots the most at the moment. This whole foods/ baby led weaning is still going strong. Messy and strong.

TIme to share a little mealtime banter.

Day 347 - 2010

2010-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Matt is so good about playing with Mitchell (all three are actually). Mitchell wants to do everything that the older kids are doing. Today they were using the automatic mode on the piano and cranking out some 'interesting' tunes.

Day 346 - 2010

2010-12-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Marlee and Matthew participated in one of the three shows for their play production this term. It was 'Back to the Manger' and they all did an amazing job. They met weekly and helped on the creative team, building sets and props. On the final play days they joined the drama team for the manger scene. Marlee was so excited to be playing Mary for one of the shows. We have suggested that each term they choose one play for creative team and one play for drama.

Day 345 - 2010

2010-12-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

Mitchell has his first infection and is on antibiotics. We think he may have scratched the inside of his mouth somehow. He is totally unaffected by it other then the fact that the antibiotics taste DISGUSTING (and trust me I know - I tried them - YUCK!!!) and he needs to be strong-armed to have them. This is apparently my job since I have the best success rate. Thanks Drew!

Day 344 - 2010

2010-12-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

Mitchell has been really getting into his food lately. I'm liking this baby-led weaning process other than the fact that there is more waste. He is doing so well with managing new foods and not choking. He usually chews and then spits it back out. There isn't a whole lot of ingestion but he is "getting" the whole process. I'm totally impressed.

Day 343 - 2010

2010-12-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

The snow has been adding a new dimension to travel these days. Today I decided to try the wrap since Mitchell is feeling a little snug in the sling over my winter coat. He seemed happy enough but he hates having a blanket over himself. Thank goodness it wasn't windy.

I got started on some "Gifts in a jar" for Christmas gifts. I got a great new recipe for oatmeal cookies at MOPS. Yum yum!

Day 342 - 2010

2010-12-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

We were hit with another huge dumping of snow so the kids had a blast on the snow hill at school.

This one particular stretch on the way home is probably the last to get cleared. It makes for a fun walk - especially with an infant! I had to go on the road.

Day 341 - 2010

2010-12-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

It appears that Mitchell will no longer be using the bassinet portion of his pack and play. It has been a good time buddy!

Day 340 - 2010

2010-12-06T11:20:00.001-08:00

Drew has decided to sell his company car and get a less expensive one. It happened much more quickly then he thought it would. Since it sold, his friend Clark has graciously allowed him to drive his Audi TT until he gets a new one. Poor guy. Driving one of his dream cars.

Day 339 - 2010

2010-12-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

We went to our friend's house for dinner tonight which started with a game of driveway hockey. The kids (and adults) all have such a good time together.

Since we were last here, they acquired a new pet. I was impressed that Marlee would try holding it. We loved to watch it eat it's meal worms. Drew was not so impressed and wouldn't go near it. They even had to put a cover on it for dinner time. Wuss!

Day 338 - 2010

2010-12-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Today's word was 'family'. They needed to unscramble the word to see where we are going to dinner tonight. God has given us so many wonderful people to fellowship with - people that we can in fact call family. Tell mom or dad the names of at least 5 different families that we fellowship with regularly.
We headed to church for our Christmas dinner. They were one of 3 families with children there - and they did remarkably well. It helps to bring supplies.

Day 337 - 2010

2010-12-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

Today's prompt was about service. "Ring-ring-ring your bells ring them loud and clear! To tell the people everywhere that Christmas time is here". We headed to Walmart to man the Salvation Army Christmas Kettle . It truly was a great experience - with maybe a few adjustments for next year but never-the-less we all enjoyed it. More on it here.

On the home front this little guy is getting more and more adventurous. He amused himself for quite a while exploring behind the couch today. Too cute.

Day 336 - 2010

2010-12-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

Today's word was "goodwill". We left out a good sized pile of things to pass on to others. I love it when they come to your door!

I got my Project 365- 2009 in the mail! Yey!

Day 335 - 2010

2010-12-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

Again I am being a little ambitious when it comes to advent. The kids went on a scavenger hunt for their advent calendars and clues. They love these activities and I admit that I do too. They ended up in the playroom where they found a lego advent calendar and their chocolate count-down calendars. They will have a daily activity in their pocket calendar. More will be posted on my other blog.

Day 334 - 2010

2010-11-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

I am still making the amish friendship muffins and loaves. This time I tried it with butterscotch chipits as well as chocolate. I also made a loaf for me as I'm not a fan of the muffins. They were so yum-yum!

Day 333 -2010

2010-11-29T21:02:00.000-08:00

I hit a lot of rabbit holes today in my quest to finish off my November To Do list. This was one of them. This sign fell apart shortly after I bought it and has been sitting in the basement for the last 4 or 5 years waiting for me to fix it so that I can give it to Goodwill. I had intended on painting it and putting a biblical quote about our house serving the Lord but it is no longer my style. In the end it took me all of 10 minutes to fix. Now it is gone.

Day 332 - 2010

2010-11-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

I started preparing the advent action tags (copied from Ali Edwards) that we will use for Advent.

Day 331 - 2010

2010-11-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

Matt played in goal for the first time. He loved it!!! They did lose 4-2 (but there was a REALLY good player on the other team) and as we said, he LOVED it! Have we mentioned that he LOVED it? We are now accepting donations for goalie equipment.

Day 330 - 2010

2010-11-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Cierra was very happy to get her magnet boards up in her room. Now she can see Robert every day.

Day 329 - 2010

2010-11-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

It pained me to put these in the garbage. Bye-bye Picket Fences, Touched By An Angel, Friends and more. In hindsight I should have let my mom tape over them but I didn't think about it. Now they will sit in the landfill for eternity. And that is also why we now limit our purchase of ever changing media.

Day 328 - 2010

2010-11-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Mitchell was doing some wild things with his tongue today - but I'll be darned if I could get a good picture of it. It was almost like he just discovered it was there and he could move it in and out.

Day 327 - 2010

2010-11-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

I finally got Cierra's inventory written out. All of her clothing, media, books and other belongings are categorized in a spreadsheet. I still need to go back and write up when she got certain things but for now it is good enough. As I went through it all I organized and purged a little. If I could only get her to let go of some of the magazine pictures...

Day 326 - 2010

2010-11-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

She's got the clothes.
And she knows how to use them!

I managed to catch a 'pose' today as we were waiting for the kids at school. I think we are going to have a fun time when this girl is a teenager - she already has a fashion sense all her own. I love it!

Day 325 - 2010

2010-11-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Guess who is sitting all on his own? He isn't able to transition yet but I know it won't be long. Then we are in for some trouble!

Day 324 - 2010

2010-11-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

Today was the annual Santa Claus Parade. As usual in our desire to have "everything we need" and be dressed appropriately, we ended up being late and missing the first few floats. We had to stand behind the group of people so the view was a little poor. BUT the kids loved it. They didn't care about any of those issues. It was a lovely night, they saw the lights, the decorations and the people and felt the excitement and in the end saw Santa - which was what it was all about. They are constantly teaching me how to just be content in the moment and not worry about all the what-ifs.

Day 323 - 2010

2010-11-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

Bibiti fell asleep on the way home today. So sweet (and getting heavier in this sling I might add).

Day 322 - 2010

2010-11-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

I honestly don't know where Matt comes up with these ideas. He is a unique and entertaining young guy. He is always keeping us in stitches - which makes it hard sometimes to keep him reigned in!

Day 321 - 2010

2010-11-17T06:45:00.000-08:00

It has been airplane central around here this week. Matt took the time to show all of the other kids some of the better ones he has learned from his book. Some of them fly really well! Now if they could all just fly to his room and stay there instead of all over the house!

A thank you shout out to Aunt Ya-Ya who has supplied all of the scrap paper from work! I don't feel bad {as} about using paper for these type of things knowing we have at least reused it once!

Day 320 - 2010

2010-11-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

It is rare that Cierra sits down to join the kids and their crafts so it was nice to see that today. They spent about a half hour drawing together. She was very proud of her accomplishments and set them aside for mommy!

Day 319 - 2010

2010-11-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

Mitchell made it quite clear today that he wanted to be sitting up - watching the world go by as we walked to school. I love that he is asserting his independence - in a tolerable manner!

Day 318 - 2010

2010-11-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

Cierra received a new Twilight book - it has quickly become a favourite.

Day 317 - 2010

2010-11-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

Better watch out Marlee - this boy is on the move and he wants YOUR candy!

Day 316 - 2010

2010-11-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

I finally got the family photos moved upstairs and on the wall. I can now check another item off my November to do list.

Day 315 - 2010

2010-11-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

Marlee and I went out for her lunch break at school. She of course picked MacDonald's for her 1:1 time with me. It was really nice to get out together and I hope to do this with each of them every other month.

I picked up 4 frozen chicken and 2 dozen farm fresh eggs yesterday! I am cooking up a roast chicken for dinner tonight!

Day 314 - 2010

2010-11-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

We had a visit with Steve tonight! He's home from Alaska to visit his dad who had a heart attack last week (who btw is recuperating well - just readjusting to the changes he has to make). We had a great visit and loved hearing tales from their last visit to India!

Day 313 - 2010

2010-11-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Matthew's class is busy continuing their "Flat Student" projects. This week "Flat Javier" is visiting with us and he has to journal about his experience with him.

Day 312 - 2010

2010-11-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Silly bands - another craze rolling through town. They are thin plastic bracelets that are in the forms of different shapes when laid out flat. They have everything from princess crowns and shoes to guitars, to cars and maple leaves. The kids have been trading them and losing them and learning lots of life lessons from them!

Day 311 - 2010

2010-11-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

After church we delivered flyers for an upcoming event, got Marlee to a birthday party, relaxed for a bit and then headed to a surprise party for Drew's partner's wife. Mitchell was a hit at the party and enjoyed the plate charger for entertainment. It is wonderful what is available to chew on!

Day 310 - 2010

2010-11-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

Okay - so we are so not impressed. The decals on our new (as in less then a month old) dishwasher are all rubbing off! And so far we have not heard back from the store we purchased it from!

Day 309 - 2010

2010-11-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Matt and I had a doctor's appointment today so we decided to have lunch out at Burger King before heading back to school. Our lesson for the day is that $3 kraft dinner is not really worth it for the following reasons:
1. $3???
2. Especially if it falls on the floor (thankfully they replaced it for us)
or
3. If you are too distracted to even eat it anyway!

Day 308 - 2010

2010-11-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

Grandpa came by the school to pick up the kids so they could shop for Samaritan's Purse Christmas boxes. While there he had a go on Matt's scooter. Go Grandpa! We joined up with them later for dinner at the mall and then went on to the City Hall where a friend of ours was displaying her art, along with her grandmother. Apparently anyone can put their work on display for a month at a time. It was really neat to see her creations - she has done a great job!

Day 307 - 2010

2010-11-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

Cindi was due for another visit today!

Day 306 - 2010

2010-11-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

The BeyBlade sensation! Every day after school the kids have a "battle" in the stadium. Interesting how these fads come and go...

Day 305 - 2010

2010-11-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Mitchell tried baby mum mums today. I think we have a winner.

Day 304 - 2010

2010-10-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone is dressed and ready to go; Cierra as Harry Potter; Matt as Obi Wan Kanobi; Marlee as a princess and Mitchell as a pumpkin. We walked to the neighbours and then they left Mitchell and I to hand out candy while they met up with C & C for a little trick-or-treating. The jury is still out as to which is better - door-to-door or Light the Night. Personally I think Light the Night is WAY warmer and you get the same loot. Come on guys - no brainer!

Day 303 - 2010

2010-10-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Mitchell is all about getting in the mood for tomorrow's festivities.

Day 302 - 2010

2010-10-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

Marlee and Drew put up the fall decor on the front porch a few days ago. Good job guys! We've gotten a lot of compliments on our "funky" pumpkins - just odd ones from the local grocery store but I liked them.

Day 301 - 2010

2010-10-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Marlee and her classmates put on a show for the parents on their study of Native Canadians...

...and we finally got the pool covered and officially closed up today. Thanks Papa Don!

Day 300 - 2010

2010-10-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

After dropping Cierra of at her Halloween party we surprised grandma at her office to say hello.

Day 299 - 2010

2010-10-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

Mister mister is on the move! Forwards! Not quite crawling but definitely moving forward and getting faster.

Day 298 - 2010

2010-10-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Voting day! We walked over and waited in line from 7:05 - 8:15 (me with the kids) to cast our vote. Jeff Lehman won for mayor.

Day 297 - 2010

2010-10-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

My parents brought us back the mother load of all divy! Flavoured cheerios, shaped kraft dinner and tonnes of flavoured goldfish crackers. S'more goldfish??? They are awesome!

Day 296 - 2010

2010-10-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Matt scored his first goal for the team today in ice hockey. He got to keep the puck - way to go bud!

Day 295 - 2010

2010-10-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Yep - more snow. The kids immediately got out the sleds but they did have a bit of trouble "getting going". It lasted until mid morning.

Day 294 - 2010

2010-10-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yep - that's our first bit of snow. More to come tomorrow I hear!

Day 293 - 2010

2010-10-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

100 lines of "I will think before I act or speak".

Day 292 - 2010

2010-10-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Bibiti fell asleep in the sling today (and of course I wasn't wearing mom's new one with the zipper!!!). I carried him this way for an hour! (btw - he's 19lbs-5oz now)

Day 291 - 2010

2010-10-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Note to self (well Drew really): animals like fat and grease so leaving the turkey pot outside overnight is not really a good idea.

Day 290 - 2010

2010-10-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

We all travelled to Toronto to watch Drew and Glenn run the 1/2 marathon. We missed their actual finish (we drove and then took the subway to get to the end) but got to see them in motion as they ran TO the start line! They finished very well - 1:43:08. Nicely done boys!

Day 289 - 2010

2010-10-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sporting a different hat and his shades today.

Day 288 - 2010

2010-10-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Matthew has a "Flat Matthew" project at school - so Flat Matthew got to play Wii this weekend.

Day 287 - 2010

2010-10-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

It was only us after school today so we headed to the library where Marlee and Matthew participated in the open lego room. It was simply a room with a few tables set up and several buckets of lego. And they really enjoyed it. Cierra and I and Mitchell looked at books and we actually ran into 4 families we knew. I'd love to do something like this at church one day!

Day 286 - 2010

2010-10-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Mitchell tried out the park swing for the first time and as you can see, LOVED it.

Day 285 - 2010

2010-10-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Mitchell is beginning to REALLY get into his food. I can't say that I enjoy this aspect - but what are you to do when he keeps grabbing the spoon JUST as you get it to his mouth? Or he then spits just enough out to rub all around? Regardless, the other kids are getting a huge kick out of this phase. Yes, it is JUST a phase right?

Day 284 - 2010

2010-10-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Drew and the kids went with Melissa and Jan for their annual trip to Port Dover - can you believe they went swimming on Thanksgiving weekend? While they were away I worked outside getting fall clean-up under way.

Day 283 - 2010

2010-10-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had the family over for dinner, talked to Sarah on the phone and enjoyed some quality time together. Nothing fancy but we wouldn't want anything else. We have so much to be thankful for!

Day 282 - 2010

2010-10-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight as I was sitting at the back table working on some scrapbooking, Drew was holding Mitchell. He wasn't overly fussy or anything but it quickly became apparent that he only had eyes for me. No matter how Drew was standing, Mitchell would try to turn so that he could see me. We played with this for a while before I took a break to hold him. It was quite fun to see him work this out.

Day 281 - 2010

2010-10-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Drew, Mitchell, mom and dad and I went to Queensway Cathedral to see the Hillsong Youth United and the David Crowder Band for dad's birthday. I have to say that we all enjoyed it but were not very familiar with either band's music and it wasn't very "singable" unless you knew them. We knew 3 out of all of the songs sung. None-the-less it was very enjoyable, we have some new music to upload and the restaurant afterwards was REALLY good. Mitchell did amazing, especially for not sleeping. He wasn't too sure about his headphones at first but he did get used to them.

Day 280 - 2010

2010-10-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ya-Ya and Grandpa John! Ya-Ya received a snickers Marble Slab ice cream cake to share with all of us courtesy of Matt's teacher who received a Terry Fox shirt from Melissa. The giving just keeps going and going and going... (and we'll keep receiving and receiving and receiving - YUUUMMMM!)

Day 279 - 2010

2010-10-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Turkey grinding at it's best. Remind me not to do this again. WAY too much work.

Day 278 - 2010

2010-10-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

So we are going on week 4 or 5 now with the light switch not working right...

(Yes, its a complicated 3-way switch that is affecting the bathroom and the eat-in area. Only one can be on at one time, but it's been a month already!)

Day 277 - 2010

2010-10-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

I took Mitchell to get his monthly weigh-in (a few days late oops!). I like to take it nakey-butt to be truly accurate - today he is 19 lbs 5 oz. I guess he is still eating well!

Day 276 - 2010

2010-10-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

We had the best time exploring the forest and the creek around the corner as a family. Drew tried out the backpack for Mitchell for the first time and it was a hit. There were so many cool mushrooms and weird tree trunks and colourful leaves. We had lots of great conversation together.

Day 275 - 2010

2010-10-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

Marlee and I took part in some barbie/pet shop/polly pocket/barbie furniture GIRL/ one-on-one time while the boys were at hockey (actually Mitchell was on the floor beside us chewing on the toy potty but that's okay).

Day 274 - 2010

2010-10-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

My worms are famous! Well sort of. A friend of a friend contacted me to start up her own vermi-composting bin. I was only too happy to oblige to pass on some of our red wigglers. They are amazing creatures and do the world a lot of good. With winter coming I need to get our bin going again too.

Day 273 - 2010

2010-09-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

It was Terry Fox Day at school so we all wore our shirts to support the event. Mitchell was not that cooperative for the photo as you can see. Thanks again Adidas for the shirts!

Day 272 - 2010

2010-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Our 'bubs" on our way to school. A day doesn't go by that Mitchell doesn't get at least 3 or 4 "Awww"; or "Look at that hat!"; or "What a cute baby!". We agree with all of the above.

Day 271 - 2010

2010-09-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

These are the books on my nightstand/coffee table/bathroom shelf right now. We've had 2 good days and nights in a row of sleep and the food ones are just for recipes so I hope I can retire this pile for some more "entertaining" reading soon.

Day 270 - 2010

2010-09-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

With the new development down the street there has been a lot of truck traffic. This kids try to get them all to honk their horns. Quite a few comply and seem to get a kick out of the kids.

Day 269 - 2010

2010-09-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner and brought some "Frogmore Stew". It is a combination of corn on the cob, Italian sausage, shrimp and potatoes.