Christmas Concert 2009

Here's a clip from Abbey and Michael's school Christmas concert. Their class sang Vive le vent!

Abbey is first on the left and Michael is second from the right. They did so well and I was so proud! 

Poor Steve had to miss their concert again due to being away flying the sim. Thank goodness for technology...at least the video lets him see the performance nonetheless.

Here's a close-up picture to see how cute they really were! teehee! Special thanks to their personal shopper Claire Paquin! :-)

Cool Gift!

Grandma McAlpine bought this super cool gift while in the States on vacation. We received in it Abbey's birthday box. I've never seen anything like it but it was a HUGE hit! 

Here are some pictures to describe it.

It comes with a number scale that tells you what jewel sticker to use when. You just have to follow the number patterns. There are 6 designs and they are all equally as beautiful and intricate!

Here's Abbey modeling her first completed crown... ball gown to match of course (over top of PJ's ha!ha!) SO much fun to make together! Great gift Grandma! Thank you! 

Five Years Old!

I must admit I had a hard time with Michael and Abigail turning five. I'm not ready for my babies to grow up. I feel like so many parents wish away their time with their children and all I want is for time to slow down!

Here are my beautiful twins now! I'm so proud of how much Abigail and Michael love each other.

So here's a little rundown of what Abbey and Michael were like...at FOUR!

What they want to be when they grow-up?

M: architect or bulldozer driver

A: doctor or teacher (when Abbey said this Michael answered "Non Abbey si tu es un professeur il faut aller a l'ecole meme le soir comme maman!" HA!HA!

Favourite foods:

M: tacos and steak

A: pizza and fajitas

Favourite TV show:

M: Mighty Machines

A: Strawberry Shortcake

Best friends:

M: Jacob, Cedric and Christina

A: Daphnee, Sophie and Victoria

Happiest when...

M: I'm on my bike and when Daddy is tickling me

A: I'm hugging Mommy and when I'm at Disney (teehee!)

Favourite restaurant:

M: Montana's

A: McDonald's

Michael still can't say his "s blends" therefore skate becomes 'kate and smoothies are "foothies" but I love it and know he will grown out of it one day. He also says "J'ai aime..." instead of "J'aime"...that one I don't really care for. I also can't break Abbey from saying "muliere" for lumiere?! Not sure when she got that one?!? but it's kinda cute! They sometimes say "chelal" instead of "cheval". They both don't say their "r's" well so "Arrete" is "Ayete"...I hear that one a lot "Ayete Michael" or "Ayete Abbey". They also have trouble with their "g doux" sound...so "gentil" becomes "yentil". :-)

So here's how I spent my last few minutes with my four year olds! Reading a Birthday Dr. Seuss book that tante Tanya sent as part of a special birthday package. I LOVE being a Mom more than I could have ever possibly imagined! Bonne fete mes anges! xo

Birthday Celebration!

Abbey and Michael turned "5" November 16th! I can't believe it's already been FIVE years since I gave birth to them! Time flies when you're having fun! :-)

Every year as I'm planning their birthday party I think..."why oh why did I give birth in November?!" For the rest of my life amidst report card madness I will be sending out invitations and hosting birthday parties! oye! But this year..no report cards to worry about 'cause I was too sick with H1N1! For the love!! Nonetheless the party was super FUN!

We hired the cutest, most out-going and talented cake maker ever...Michelle! but she actually made cupcakes! AMAZING cupcakes...made this Mommy look really good! lol!

Here she is displaying her art! Michael wanted chocolate cupcakes with blue icing and she placed sugar cookie on top to look like a hockey puck with hockey sticks across the middle. (look closely you can see them...the sticks and icing match! LOVE it!) Abbey wanted vanilla cupcakes with pink icing...now the "piece de resistance" was the chocolate butterflies Michelle made (that's right...made!) to place on the top of them!

We had the party at the bowling alley. It was a Glow-Bowl game and the kids loved it! We had 14 kids and they were all so well behaved. Here are Abbey and Michael right before they blew out their candles!

Make a wish!!!

Here's Michael and his school buddy Cedric opening a gift!

Here's Abbey with her best "school" friend Victoria.

Here's a pic of the gang...pictures were hard because of the Glow lighting but you can still see the big smiles! Fun was had by all!

P.S. Thanks to Donna for getting my blogging groove back!

This is not Chantal blogging, right now....

This is Donna blogging. That's right, I broke into her blogspot account and I am telling you all the things she is not blogging about.

1. The kids birthdays... party was a GLOW IN THE DARK bowling party, with lots of kids and an awesome cake x 2

2. Being so sick with H1N1 that she missed an entire week of school!

3. Being a super mom yesterday, making pancakes for breakfast, making Shepard's pie for supper while Abby made banana chocolate chip muffins ALL BY HERSELF (which were really yummy, too), she also washed the kitchen floor... which apparently she does almost every night... frig, i wash my kitchen floor like once every two months.... and she did other things yesterday, but I can't remember.. .but man, oh , man.. mother of two 5 year olds, and Steve left for like 2 days or something and she is cooking and cleaning... wow..

4. going to Trenton and Ottawa for Xmas.... like so cool.

5. Pregnant with baby number 3.. and its not twins. Ok, that was a lie. She isn't pregnant, and never will be, boo hoo.

So, Chantal. This is what happens when you don't blog for like 25 days. enough, already. Why the frig are you washing your floor every night, when you could be blogging.

Get the hint!! oh, and thanks for making Fajitas for supper tonight, and having leftovers for me. Oh, there, see, another amazing thing she has done. Like Christmas concert mayhem all day today, and she goes home and makes something really cool for supper, and is bringing leftovers for lunch tomorrow.!!!

k, by for now, and perhaps you should change your password!

Donna

Our Brick-less House!

Steve and the kids have a story that only they read together...The Three Little Pigs. Steve does all the voices and scares them silly with his booming "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!" voice. It's so funny to hear them carrying on. Abbey and Michael get absolutely giddy with excitement. Over the months, Michael has become quite concerned that we don't have any bricks on our house. Bricks are an anomaly in Nova Scotia really. We only have one house on our street that has it. Anyway the reason I'm telling you all this is the other day I overheard Michael and Abbey having a conversation while colouring. They had been playing outside with their friends Christina, Catherine and Luke. All of a sudden I hear Michael say "We're really lucky to have Luke as our friend." and Abbey responded "Yah! He's really fun!" Then Michael said "The best part is that his house is made of bricks so if the big bad wolf comes here, we can run over there and he will keep us safe!"

I bursted out laughing!!! Crazy how their little minds work eh?!?

Crystal Falls

After watching the Remembrance Day ceremonies on TV, Abbey, Michael and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and hike up to Crystal Falls. Steve and the kids had done the hike last summer but it was my first time....but definitely not my last! I loved it! The path follows a quick moving river below so you constantly hear the sound of water rushing over the rocks. Awesome! It's a long trek in for little people but so worth it.

Here's Abbey mid-hike.

Here's my tree-hugging boy!

Here I am with my babies at the end of the hike. The walk back was a little more tiring for them. I heard many requests for me to carry them...but they made it! It was a great family outing and I can't wait to do it again! 

Remembrance Day

In Nova Scotia, Remembrance Day is an official holiday. There is no school and most businesses are closed out of respect. There are beautiful ceremonies taking place honouring all the soldiers and the sacrifices they've made for our freedom.

I was explaining to Michael and Abbey the significance of Remembrance Day and we were talking while colouring special Remembrance Day activity sheets. Michael said "I don't know anyone that's dead." Abbey responded "Yes you do Michael... Terry Fox. He was a soldier with one leg remember?!" I had to laugh. Kids always remember Terry Fox because we talk about him in September in all the schools and we all do the Terry Fox walk. The kids reference him all the time. Well now he's being praised by Abbey not just for raising money for cancer but apparently he fought to keep our country safe. lol! A little humour on this solemn day!

Today we remember....and are very thankful to the men and women (and their families) who made the ultimate sacrifice. I'm proud of our Canadian Military and proud to have a husband who is a part of it. 

Young love...

This is Abbey's first love "letter". When I dropped her off at school last week (a little late), her little boyfriend ran out into the hall to greet her and said "Je pensais que tu etais malade. Je suis content que tu es ici maintenant." He then handed her a picture he made for her. Isn't that adorable?!? Not sure if you remember but I referenced Frederic in a post last year about how Abbey had decided she was going to marry him. Well a year later they are still going strong! HA!HA! 

Isn't the attempt at a heart hilarious!

Draft Pick 2023

We are officially a Hockey Family...and we love it (except for the cold rink part ha!ha!) Steve filled out all the required paperwork so he can be out on the ice with Michael...which Michael obviously LOVES but Steve is in Europe right now and Thursday was Michael's first practice flying solo (sans Daddy). I was a little nervous dressing him, wanting to make sure I had all the equipment just right.  I had made a Shepherd's Pie to warm while at the practice (5:15 to 6:15) so when we came home it would be ready to go. I pre-heated the oven while I dressed Michael in his gear. I had Michael almost all dressed when I found the &$%# shin pads at the bottom of the hockey bag! ARGHHH!!  I had to take the whole bottom half of his equipment off and start over. In the excitement, I forgot to put supper in the oven! For the love!!!! I was halfway thru practice when I remembered! Anyway, Michael was AWESOME out there by himself. I was so proud of him. And instead of Shepherd's Pie for supper...we had KFC! lol! Successful night overall!

Here's Steve getting Michael's skates on! Michael is #17 (but #1 in our hearts!)

The boys getting their instructions! Steve's there too - far left.

Michael's best buddy Jacob is also on his team. They have so much fun together! When one falls, the other one skates over and lays on the ice too. They are about the same level of skating which is a bonus too! Isn't this picture adorable!?!

I'm a proud Greenwood Bombers Mommy!

Halloween 2009

What a treat to have Halloween on a weekend this year! The weather was amazing! 17 degrees...so warm...definitely windy but a nice warm breeze. We spent a wonderful family day together enjoying the Fall festivities. First stop was Noggins Corner Farm in Wolfville. Abbey and Michael had a blast (and so did Steve and I). Noggins has a huge corn maze, apple orchard and a big play area for kids, among many other things. Here's Michael and Abbey sliding in the play area. These slides are SUPER fast...Steve and I both tried them...only ONCE!!!! The kids loved them though and did them over and over again!

Along with the corn maze, they also have a rope maze. Looks easy...but looks can be deceiving! 

Michael was busted cheating! teehee!

Family picture in the orchard taken by the tractor driver!

Pumpkins carved...now ready for Trick-or-Treating! woohoo!

Here's the gang. Michael, Ethan, Abbey and Eva ready for their Halloween treats! It was a great day, great evening, great FUN!

Pumpkins!

or as Michael says "PUNKINS!" I love carving pumpkins! I love the smell, I love the seeds...and it's just so much fun!!! Here are Michael and Abbey with the pumpkins they chose from the farm patch.

Here's Steve, Michael and Abbey getting started on

 the pumpkin cleaning. Last year, Steve was away for all this so it was extra fun for him to be able to share in the excitement with the kids. 

I love this picture of Steve and Michael. They look so happy to be working together! I'm ecstatic that Steve gets to be here for Halloween this year. Should be a blast! I'll post pictures tomorrow! Happy Trick-or-Treating Everyone!

Thanksgiving Feast!

Grandma always prepares a huge Thanksgiving Feast for us! Here's Michael helping Grandma cut up a loaf of bread for stuffing. The first time I helped with this job 11 years ago, Ann gave me plenty of instructions...don't squeeze the bread, make sure the pieces are a certain size, etc. but Michael was allowed to do whatever he wanted with the bread crumbs. What you'll do for a grandchild eh?!? ha!ha!

Here's Bob carving up our huge turkey! It's the second year that we order a grain-fed turkey and I must admit...it's awesome! Worth every penny! 

Thanks for the great visit Grandma and Grandpa! Looking forward to next year already!

Our Thanksgiving Tradition...

Every Thanksgiving my in-laws, Ann and Bob come visit us in Nova Scotia. It's always nice to look forward to their Fall visit. Part of our tradition is a visit to Dempsey Corner Orchards to pick apples. The apples go from tree to pie (and apple crisp too) all is one day. DEEElicious!!!

Here's a picture of Ann, Bob and Steve in the middle of the orchard contemplating how many apples will be needed for the said pies! bahahaha!

Here's Michael sampling the apples...just to make sure they are okay for Grandma's pie! lol!

Walk of Fame!

Taken at the corner of Hollywood and Vine in L.A. during my parents trip to California. Too funny eh?! LOVE IT!

Corn Maze!

Last weekend, we went to the Evan's Family Corn Maze with our neighbours and had so much fun! The kids LOVED it and had a blast running around to all the different stations to get their stamps. The problem was that they literally wanted to run...so we had to try and keep up. With the corn stalks being 7 feet high, it's quite conceivable that you could lose a child in there. Yikes! We didn't let them out of our sights!

Here are the kids at one of the stamping stations. They had 8 stamps to collect and they were displaced all over the maze. (See map pic)

Here we all are at a dead end. Luckily Steve could lift the kids so we could find our way out!

I think Fall might just be my favourite season. The colours, the weather, the activities, the turkey feast!!! Ah who am I kidding...summer wins hands down...two months off is hard to beat!

Here's the Laurel Street Gang in the maze! 

BONUS: We bought our first bag of Honey Crisp apples of the season right after we left! Yummy!!!!

New Play Structure!

This is what $60 000.00 looks like! 

Our new playground equipment is amazing! The kids and I bike down every weekend (usually more than once since it only takes us 4 minutes).  It has so many cool features. Super FUN! 

Abbey has totally mastered the Monkey Bars. Here's a cute little video!

By Popular Demand....

Everyone seems to be calling and emailing about Steve's landing video. Here's two more videos of Steve flying taken by the Loadmaster. Check out the Davey Crocket hat on the flight engineer. Too funny!

Maybe I'll get someone to videotape a Math lesson of mine and post it to see if there's as much interest! tee!hee!

Here's Steve right after take-off - 60 degree bank turn on his way to Alert from Thule.

Here's Steve landing on a clear day in Alert. A little less nerve wracking I'm sure!

He's BAAAACK!

and not a moment too soon! These past two and a half weeks have been the hardest ever of all the times Steve's been away. There was just so much going on...the dreaded bus situation, Abbey and Michael starting "maternelle", me starting my Master's and the craziness that is September for teachers...I thought I was going to go off the deep end (seriously!). But all that ended when I heard to garage door go up Friday morning at 4:32 am...a whole two days early! Yay!

Steve was staying in Thule and flying back and forth to Alert dropping off supplies. Here's a video of Steve landing in Alert...you can appreciate the conditions they were flying in. If you listen carefully after landing you can hear the reverse thrust kick in to slow the Herc down.

Here's a pic of Dundas Mountain ("The Beer Can") taken from the cockpit and one of Steve on top of it. He and the Winnipeg crew he'd been flying with while in Thule decided to climb it. It took them 22 minutes or so but the record up is a little over 6 minutes.

Cool iceberg shot taken from the cockpit. I'm fascinated by icebergs and would love to see one.

So, life back to normal! I'm a happy girl!

All in a Day's Work...

Who knew this...

could cause so much grief in this Mommy's life! 

This is bus #227...many sleepless nights have been spent thinking about said bus. AHHHH!

So, as previously mentioned in an earlier post, the first day went pretty well all things considered. I cried, but really what mother doesn't right?!? 

I picked Abbey and Michael up after their first day excited to hear all about the days events. They seemed okay with it all...until bed time! Everything always comes out at bedtime eh?!? This is when my darling little boy announces that he is never taking the bus again and that the bus driver is mean. Now in my most understanding loving voice I explained how lucky he was to be taking the bus and how he was only able to do so now because he's such a big boy. All to no avail. There was just no changing his mind...I decided not to keep fighting it so I put him to bed with lots of extra cuddles and hoped for the best the next morning.

Alarm goes off Friday morning, I'm showered, dressed and ready to wake my babes up by 7:15 am. Walk into Abbey's room with a cheerful "bonjour ma belle Abbey" and my princess wakes up, stretches, gives me a hug and tells me she's excited to wear another dress to school today. Fantastic...so far! I approach Michael's room, pause at the door...say a little prayer and bounce in with an even-friendlier, more upbeat "bonjour mon beau Michael" to which his response was hide under the covers and yell "I'm not going to school and I hate the school bus!" Hmmmm... WONDERFUL!  So NOT the response I was looking for?!?

I gave him a few minutes to settle down and got Abbey ready to go and then Steve called to wish the kids a good day. I had warned him that today might be rough so he thought he might be able to give Michael a Daddy pep talk. Yeah...that wasn't happening either! I somehow managed to get both children dressed, fed and out the door in time for the bus. 

The moment of truth * cue dramatic music * the doors to the bus open, Abbey hops on, Michael throws himself onto the pavement and cries like he's having his fingernails torn off.  So now I've got Abbey on the bus and Michael laying on the street corner...FANTASTIC! 

Needless to say, Janice (oh wonderful Janice) drove Michael to school (he wasn't getting off that easy) and my little princess rode the bus solo. Emotions were running high all around

and so ...day two of the walk of shame into my school with my big sunglasses hiding blood shot eyes! FOR THE LOVE! 

SO funny!

My friend Donna is our school's secretary...we call her the Queen! It is truly unbelievable what this woman does in the course of a day. She wrote this blog about our first day back that is so funny (funny now that we've all lived through it anyway). Oh My God...bus dismissal was pure mayhem and she captures it perfectly! Check it out...

http://peterssm.blogspot.com/2009/09/it-can-only-get-better-from-here-on-in.html

Back To School

For the past 4 years the end of August always means the same thing...saying goodbye to Ottawa, packing the Buick up to capacity with all our new purchases and making the 15 hour drive across three provinces to arrive in Kingston in time for my re-integration into the working world. (with my Mom along for the ride...did I mention how much I love her?!?) This year, Hurricane Bill had different plans for us so we ended up making the drive a three day affair, stopping in Fredericton and Moncton before making it home. 

I dread, no DREAD leaving Ottawa. I cry and am miserable leading up to my final days there and usually my first day back in Kingston too but once I get into my Nova Scotia groove again all is well in my world. 

My classroom set-up went great. My Mom was there to help (again...God I love her!!) and I'm really excited to be teaching a new grade this year. Michael and Abbey are starting kindergarten (it's called Primary here) and taking the bus for the first time. Lots of new stuff to look forward to right!?!

I started class on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd and Michael and Abbey weren't scheduled to start until the following day which was great since I could focus 100% of my energy at school on the first day and not be worrying about my little munchkins. 

Thursday arrived...WAY early! Abbey and Michael's bus comes at 7:45am and with Steve flying up North for the next two weeks, I wanted to heave plenty of time to get ready and make it as stress-free as possible for everyone. 

My friend Janice met us at the bus stop and then followed the bus to their school to make sure they got to class okay (that's the hard part in being a teacher...you can never be a part of your child's first day of school and maybe hiring someone to do so was a bit over the top but it was so worth it for my sanity!!)

Here are my little darlings getting on the bus on their first day.

Here they are settled in the front seat!

Now about two second after the bus was out of sight was when I lost it! Oye! I cried and cried and cried some more. Now most of you know that I work less than a one minute drive from my house...not a whole lot of recovery time for my blotchy red eyes. I wore my big sunglasses inside as long as I could... but by 10ish, the puffiness had gone down, Janice had come to give me my camera and show me the pictures she took and give me the run-down of bus arrival and I was back to normal. 

Here's Abbey and Michael getting off the bus at their school (pic taken by Janice)

SO...we survived day 1! Stay tuned for day 2!!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Here's how we started our day this morning...

PJ's and rain boots....gotta love it! What's with the weather this summer? Global warming...ya right!!!!