the out-of-towners.

last weekend we stole away and went to one of our favorite places. it is a wonderful place filled with good friends and always a great time. this time was a little different. we went for a surprise party for one of the main people we see on these trips. mike & the boys house {that's what we lovingly call it.} is usually the first stop when we get there and we always stay there as they do when they come to our house.
this time, though, it was a little different.

this weekend we were part of the surprise!

this excited and confused the kids a little. there were a couple "when are we getting to mike's? when do we get to see finn and eamon?" and after the millionth time explaining we got the big, "WE ARE STAYING AT A HOTEL?? With a pool?! YIPEE!!!"
when we finally got there, i never saw them again......

we arrived friday and had to somewhat lay low till saturday at 4. now the town that this is in is a big town but a small town. you know those kinds? we had some funny escape plans if in fact we did see them - being in a town 7 hours away from home you wouldn't just bump into each other - their shopping isn't THAT great.

the kids and me went to check out the new-to-canada target and had three plans in mind should we bump into them - plan 1) stuff our selves in the doll/stuffy display and hope they don't notice, plan 2) pretend we are mannequins and plan 3) RUN!! Tony had come with a more exceptable one that we were there to support our friend at the children's book author fair going on in toronto on sunday....yeah that was a good one - i had forgotten that one......

anyways when it came right down to it he was surprised & mortified {hates being the center of attention}, brian & marsha's has the best pool ever so the kids were busy {plus there were a ton of other kids there!}, we partied all night long and had fun.

taking a minute out of the busy pool schedule to say surprise and hello.

her too.

giving mike his gift.

the luxurious robe from us to him.

custom lego set from his sister-in-law...there is actually a mike guy there as the announcer! so cool and perfect for the lego obsessed family!

aydan with aunt kelly and the card the kids picked out for mike.

all the guys together - they have been close friends since high school!!

the downside was that we were leaving the next day and we didn't get our full 48 hours worth of visiting in. we stuffed some in on sunday and then headed off.
short and sweet.

until the snow starts to fly.....

one fabulous weekend.

our weekend was all sugar and spice.

friday ended with the husband convincing me that there was a photo to be had outside.

there sure was.
the rain, snow and cold had created icy shells around the individual branches of the trees and icicles hung everywhere.

this was me all dressed up to - tried to do one of those faces the girls are doing these days - fail! dork!
although to get the shot i had to lie under the tree in the snow and this caused the home owners to come out and investigate to make sure that i wasn't the victim of a hit and run - the roads were very very icy and i thank them for their concern. thankfully it was neighbours that i knew so the embarrassed level was slightly lower.

saturday was a beautiful day - warm, sunny - and as luck would have it the lions club were putting on a winter carnival. 

there was a giant snow hill, great friends, lots of new snow and lots of sunshine. to me that equals fun fun fun!!

saturday night was capped off with hot tubing and another family competition - this time mario kart {the husband got his hands on two more controllers so we all got to play together at the same time - 4 players at once!!} then we switched over to the kinect for some just dance kids 2. the boys won the mario and i'm pretty sure the girls rocked out the dance - we just couldn't figure out how to keep score on that one!

on sunday we were invited to the baptism of a very special little girl.
isn't she beautiful?

the light in the church was magical and there was something about the whole ceremony being conducted in french that i felt transported to another place entirely.

thank you christian and sylvie for inviting us to share this special day with you.

great weekend.
hopefully great week to go with it. fingers crossed.

craft it forward...giveaway.

I thought I would add a giveaway this week, but not just any giveaway... It's the Craft It Forward  giveaway. Here's how it goes...
I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here... They must in turn post this on their blog and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment. The rules are that it must be handmade by you (sewing, painting, pottery, photography, doodle, whatever!), and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011.
I commented on petit a petit and family's blog and I can't wait to see what I'll get in the mail... I promise to share as soon as I get it!
So who wants to play? If you think your not crafty enough, no worries! What counts is that you make a little something, ANYTHING!  I'll totally help if you want... For more inspiration you can check out my Pinterest, I have a few DIY boards with easy ideas to try out...
When you leave a comment, let me know if you want something for you or your kids.... Don't forget to leave your e-mail as well.
You want to know more about Craft It Forward, click on the button below...

Happy crafting!!!

this weekend.

this weekend was for brothers and sisters. 

this weekend was for stocking up. one of the biggest costco shops ever!

this weekend was for finishing up the dinosaur project.

this weekend was for a family pizza party/movie night and for a little boy to get his reward. we promised coop that is he kept his room clean we would rent the green lantern. we made good on our promise {although his solution was to play everywhere else through the week but his room as to not mess it up...clever guy} and our little guy fell asleep halfway through the movie. poor guy!

this weekend was for road hockey and sunshine.

  
this weekend was for smiling.

this weekend was for stuffing as many kids as possible into the trampoline and for listening to the giggling.

this weekend was for decorating cookies.

this weekend was for best friends.

this weekend was for dressing up and decorating pumpkins.

this weekend was awesome.

 

happy thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving!

this year i am thankful for good health {although we all have colds!}, happy times, awesome kids, wonderful husband, great friends {old and new!} and awesome weather.

we are heading off on a road trip this afternoon to return monday night. we are going to have a weekend filled with a high school reunion, touring the city, thanksgiving with friends and a lot of catching up with old friends & chatting - well  guess you could call it wine & gabbing!! hope you have a happy thanksgiving filled with laughter and smiles!

all the best. xoxo

this weekend.

this weekend was all about canada.

 this weekend was all about best friends.

this weekend was all about brothers and sisters.

this weekend was all about running in the grass.

this weekend was all about family.

this weekend was all about having friends over for a barbeque and for bonding with new little friends.

this weekend was all about freezy tongues.

this weekend was all about sprinklers and trampolines. 

this weekend was all about glow sticks.

this weekend was a long weekend.
this weekend was all about 30 degree + weather.
this weekend was all about having ice cream cones before lunch!!
this weekend was all about perfecting the baseball hit.

this weekend was all about reveling in the husbands barbeque skills and eating every last bite.

this weekend was about the dog getting skunked and having to wash him twice - poor guy.

this weekend was all about dropping everything and dipping our toes in the lake.

this weekend was all about eating outside.

this weekend was about getting sunburned and not regretting it.
this was all about rootbeer floats - been so long since we have had them!! yum!

 
this weekend was all about family movie night and introducing the kids to the wizard of oz.

this weekend i felt the pulse of summer.
this weekend was epic.