First Ice Breaker!

Tarp - ~$150.00

Skates - ~$38.00 (X2)

Helmets - ~$40.00 (X2)

Chiropractor bill - $ yet to be determined

Steve's countless hours building & flooding the rink and finally putting it to use:

PRICELESS

We had our first skate today! YAY! Sooooo much fun! Steve was flooding like a madman all weekend and today was the inaugural skate! All his hard work paid off!

I had to in cure a 5 minute penalty on the bench due to my skepticism about Steve actually being able to pull this off. ha!ha! The picture above shows me serving my time (all 30 seconds lol!) on the bleachers. I borrowed little chairs from my classroom (shh Donna..I'll return them don't worry!) and the kids did so well. By the end they were both standing on their own. When they would get tired we'd sit them down in the chairs and spin them around and have races. They loved that the most really!

Steve and I will both surely be calling a chiropractor soon because this a really a back breaking activity. We take breaks holding Abbey! lol! When you get your stamina back, you have to take Michael ha!ha! They are announcing messy weather for the next few days but next weekend we'll surely be out there again!

Our first family skate was better then I could ever have imagined! An unforgettable moment for sure...and who would have thought this city girl would ever be skating in her OWN backyard! LOVE IT! The Valley Rules!

Hilarious!

Our good friend Mr Taylor, an Ottawa Senators fan and an expert at PhotoShop (you should see what he can do to my chest...can you say double D's! ha!ha!). Anyway...he copied a picture of our rink from one of my blog posts and added T.M.L.'s captain Mats Sundin skating in the middle of it hosting a golf bag and sent it to Steve! Hilarious! Steve and I were both laughing so hard. Steve wrote back "I knew the voices were real...."If you build it, he will come".

Zamboni Rentals?!?

It's -100 degrees out there (and that's NOT a P.E.F.!!!) and Steve is out there flooding the rink...AGAIN!!! He's thinking that we will be skating by next week (weather permitting... and cooperating!) Can you make out the figure in the dark? It's my rink-obsessed husband! ha!ha!

Sweet Dreams!

Abbey snuck into bed with us last night around 3 a.m. and about an hour later I was woken up by her shouting "Non merci!" with her arms straight up in the air beside me. I have no clue what she was dreaming about but it's nice to know she's polite...even in her dreams! :-)

Rainbow Riders Gymnastics!

Saturday mornings are usually gymnastics day but yesterday they had a big competition there so... Sunday was gymnastics day this week! It's such a blast! I had to take a picture of Abbey in her warm-up suit.(sponsored by Paquin & Associates hee!hee!) It's adorable on her!

I swear I'm not being a biased Mom but Abbey is a natural gymnast! I know, I know...you're thinking I've turned into one of "those" Moms ha!ha! but she is so darn good at all the different stations. It's so well set up and Abbey and Michael are both really enjoying it!

I took some pictures today. There's a lot more of Abbey but that's just because Michael is such a wild man running from station to station that it's easier to take pics of Abbey.

On the balance beam and uneven bars...

Check out the big muscles!!! Abbey just LOVES her bodysuit. She wants to sleep in it!

Go Moose Go! lol!

Abbey learned "bum drops" on the trampoline this week! This picture truly captures how much fun gymnastics is! I swear before our 12 weeks of classes are through I'm going to take a turn jumping on the trampoline! Rainbow Riders Gymnastics Club Rules!

Saturday morning!

Three year old's attention span is... not very long. This morning we did SO many activities. First, we made smoothies and had breakfast. Then we painted!!! Always so much fun!

I asked Abbey what she was painting and she said "Maman, Daddy, Abbey, Michael".

Michael was also working on his "masterpiece" as well so I asked him what he was painting. He answered "Un gros mess, Maman!" How true! I laughed so hard!

So that was 20 minutes! hee!hee! Then we made PlayDoh....much fun as well! They get a kick out of measuring the ingredients. When I pulled out the flour from the pantry Michael said "fait des crepes Maman?"...obviously I'm NOT a baker because the only time the flour comes out is when we make pancakes! Busted!!!

I couldn't talk Michael into making any other colour then blue (which we made last time) but Abbey chose green this time. It's so messy and I basically have to soak them in the bath for an hour to get the food colouring off their hands. I should buy some disposable gloves to help the situation?!?

We also went outside for a while to "help" Daddy with the rink, went for a walk, played in the basement, did puzzles, watched Mickey Mouse Club House (a new favourite) and this was all BEFORE lunch!

And people wonder why I love my weekend naps! ha!ha! Hope your weekend was as eventful!

Playing with Daddy!

On Wednesday night I subbed for BUNKO so Steve was home with the kids. The three of them had SO much fun together! They completely transformed the basement into a fort. Here's what I came home to...

all of the furniture moved into the center of the room, all of our comfy basement blankets draped over the furniture...and a really awesome fort in the middle of it all!!!

Can you just picture Michael, Abbey and Steve (6'5)playing in the fort with their flashlights?!? Too funny! Whatcha won't do for your children eh?!?