Gymnastics Gymboree

Alia has been in gymnastics this fall/winter and has absolutely L.O.V.E.D it! This past Sunday was a BIG event in her world... she got to show us all what she had learned at her end of the year gymnastic display!

Some of our closest friends came to watch her do her thing, which was a huge blessing to one little gymnast... and to her mommy and daddy!

 

Almost up... Alia's the one in the bright animal print leotard, by the way!

Waiting for the music to start...

... then off to do their thing!

I took a few videos for the grandparents! :)

Be forwarned, there is LOTS going on though! Just keep looking for the little lady in animal print... 

Waiting and warming

It's been a LONG winter around these here parts. And the fact of the matter is... there's only so much you can do in a little 1100 sq. ft. house for months and months on end! I'm SO thankful we have a basement to let the kids run around and burn off energy... but sometimes, we all just need a change of scenery.

This was one of those days. I didn't feel like loading the kiddos up and heading out in the freezing cold... so we got creative with our afternoon snack time. Marshmallows don't really count as a healthy snack, but they sure bring on the smiles!

Especially when roasted over an "open fire!"

Little C.P (our nickname for Caidre Praise) was just certain one of her sisters would share if she waited long enough!

And sure enough, the wait was worth it!

The event made the even longer wait for Daddy to get home, a little more bearable...

... and a lot more tasty!

Messy, messy... but oh so GOOD!

The classic messy eater picture... we're all got 'em. We've got several with the other two girls, and it's no exception with the last born!

You know the meal is good when there's some heavy duty "shoveling" going on!

And smiles, as big as these! :)

I Love Seeing...

... my baby...

... love on her baby!

A Bushel and a Peck

She's quite the little "doll" eh?! 

(A Bushel and a Peck is from the musical "Guys and Dolls"... I won't exactly be letting the girls see it any time soon, but it's fun to sing around the house! And where she gets her shows moves... I have no idea!)

My Last One...

... is a Mama's girl...

... and I'm soaking it up, all that I can!

Horse Drawn Sleigh

We are so blessed to live right outside a fun quaint little character town (okay, okay... I guess it just got moved up to city status!) and several times a year they put on free events for the community! A big harvest festival, a tree lighting/bonfire, a street rally, and most recently... a winter festival, among many other things!

We weren't sure if we were going to go but when we saw horse drawn sleigh rides on the "roster"... we knew the girls would love it!

But woowee, the temps dipped that day!

As we were waiting our turn, we grabbed an extra blanket from the Expedition and wrapped it around the girls to help keep some of the chill away. 

 Not fancy... but oh so practical!

Some of our neighbors/best friends were a couple of people ahead of us so I couldn't help but snap a picture of S's first sleigh ride too!

The excitement was overpowered by the wind chill, I think! It was WAY colder than we were expecting!

I asked my dear husband to get a quick shot of our little family on the sleigh... but because of my fixed 35mm lens, this was the best his "arm shot" could do! :) Proof that I was there, I guess!

The girls were quick to thank the driver... 

and then Larren was certain that the horsies would feel warmer if she gave them a thank you hug as well!

 We warmed up with some hot chocolate and a bonfire... then went on our way to check out more of the fun things going on!

One of which was an igloo that the girls could play in.

Guess what just got added to the girls "daddy do list" for next winter?!? :)

I'm just thankful it's an igloo and not a team of horses!

The Art Gallery's Newest Member...

The littlest lady of the bunch has officially joined her older sisters in the artist ranks!

Thanks to Auntie Erin and Uncle Josh's Christmas encouragement...

What do ya think... did she like it?! :)

This is what the club meetings look like...

Uhhh.... the littlest member still has a thing or two to learn...

... but we'll be sure to cover proper marker etiquette before the next show opening!

Buster Bars Gone Bad

At the "last minute" we had some of our closest friends over for an afternoon of snow play. We roasted marshmallows around a bonfire, went trekking through the woods, and took lots of rides behind the snowmobile! ("We" being "they"... as you can probably guess!) We ended the day with a big pot of chili and a hot pan of cornbread to warm us all up. I hadn't thought too much about dessert, but knew we had a couple boxes of DQ buster bars in the freezer that would suffice just fine!

Who doesn't like a buster bar right?!

Well, I should have consulted with my husband on the idea... because he knew that they had melted a bit, and then refroze to the current state they were in.

At first glance they looked fine...

... but look at them from a different angle and you get a clear picture of the melting/refreezing thing!

 It's a really good thing our friends love us... because they certainly aren't coming due to our stellar dessert menu! ;)

"Fossil" (aka Rock) Discovery

Winter has been messing with us this year. Over the last month our temperatures have been all over the map!  -45 degrees F to 35 degrees F and back again!

On this particular day the weather was reasonable and I decided to suck it up, don my long johns, and get the kiddos bundled up to spend the afternoon outside. Besides being reminded that I have a VERY strong dislike for winter... I have to admit, it was okay! I'm glad to stay in my role as the "hot chocolate provider" but it was good to get outside a bit... and appreciate the indoors that much more!

We did the best we could sledding down the small snow drift in the back yard, we played on the play structure, we went for sleigh rides around the yard, and then the girls decided it was time for a "fossil hunt."

Their goal was to uncover the rock in our front yard... 

... and to my surprise it kept them entertained for quite some time!

I tried bribing them with hot chocolate and visions of a warm house to go in to... but there was just no stopping them, they had to get to their goal!

So Caidrie and I made several more loops around the house while the girls dug...

... and soon they struck the mother load!

Little did these explorers know..

... that the weather would do a good job of uncovering their rock for them, only to have it covered, and uncovered several more times since then!

Winter in the Canadian Prairies... ya never know what you're gonna get!

Just 'a Swinging

The hour before supper is the CAH-RAZIEST hour at our place. Never fails that the most fights will be fought, the most tears will be shed, the most toys will be tripped over, the most requests will be made, and the most "deep breaths" will be taken over that 60 minute period!

Well this day was no exception. The littlest lady wanted to snack on anything in sight, the middle was whiny, and the oldest was bossy... and I was not only trying to get supper ready, but also get myself AND a host of snacks ready to head out with some ladies for the evening.

I had seen the idea (on Pinterest, of course!) of hanging a Sleepy Wrap from the table as a kids hammock... and it seemed like as good a time as any to give the idea a try!

I simply got out my wrap, tied it tightly around the kitchen table, and let the girls have at it!

** Just a heads up, my middle maiden is a "free spirit" when it comes to clothing, she thinks that wearing just panties is completely acceptable attire! We're working on it... but it's clear that her and her sister are warm blooded Canadians! Their internal temp. gauge is ALWAYS "too hot!" **

We had to tighten it some more (which I did AFTER these pics were taken!) since they weren't getting much clearance...

... but even then they were still having a great time!

And when they were finished, out came the babies to get a ride too!

It was a good reminder to me that when the day gets to be a bit much, sometimes all it takes is a little creativity and a little distraction to boost the attitude levels a bit!

And considering I love my Sleepy Wrap way to much to pass it on... I think I'll be keeping it around for quite awhile... who knew it had so many uses?! :)