Oh Christmas TREE!!

The girls have been SOOO excited for Christmas this year. Last year we had no tree and activities were limited (all totally worth it tho). So this year we were all anxious to do some decorating. We broke down and bought an artificial tree. Ive had a live tree since I married Mike and it has been fine. However, live trees bring problems that I didnt care to deal with in a new home and with a mobile baby. So the girls and I went to choose a tree...and we had a lot of fun! The tree has been up for a few days and they have been DYING to decorate it. In fact they have just found weird things around the house to hang on it because I was not pulling out the decorations fast enough. So today is the DAY!! My RS christmas party was last night and life has resumed to normal. Mike is working for the next 48 hours straight so we need a fun activity!I wanted to post a before and after shot of the tree. I was so tempted to buy decorations to have a 'decorated tree' this year. But until we can put up a second tree in the basement for all of our christmas collectable ornaments (you know the ones)...they will be on this tree. So here is our kick off to the Christmas season!! We love this season!!! Anyone else have their tree up yet?????

James is 9 months....TOTALLY late!!

Ok...Im sooooooo late on the 9th month post! Busy month! James has learned so much this month! Everyday he wakes up and seems to figure out a new trick! The first was crawling...he had been on the brink for weeks...and just finally took off one day..and hasnt stopped. Changing diapers and dressing has become really fun..because as soon as you lay him down...he twists and races away! The girls think it is hilarious...especially when he is NAKED!! What could be cuter than a little naked baby crawling around!! It then didnt take him long to find the STAIRS!! OH my! I had to add a soft gushy rug at the bottom so if he stumbled he would have some padding! The girls are great at encouraging this new trick ...they coax him up! But they are also good at following behind in case of balance issues! His latest trick is standing up!!! This one cracks me up because everytime he gets up he has this look of pure excitement on his face as he sees his world from a whole new angle! I just sat down to work this morning...and he comes crawling around and pulls up right beside me with this HUGE GRIN!! So cute! This has been an adventurous month for sure. We are all kept on our toes as we madly search for choking hazards everywhere we go...thus the late post...Ive been busy chasing JAMES!!!

HALLOWEEN!!!!

We had a FUN Halloween this year!!! It was soooooo great because it was the WARMEST halloween in 50 years in Calgary!! This was highly unusual...18C today. The kids didnt even wear coats!! It was sooo great! James borrowed Ben's shark and was so darn cute! He loved it...and loved eating the teeth on the costume (sorry Ben). The girls had a fun day at school complete with a parade and sock hop. They then wanted to keep the tradition of going to the mall this year with their friends the Humphreys' even tho it was so warm. We decided to go to see the cute costumes. Then the girls all came back here to go trick or treating in the neighbourhood! They scored and got soooooo much candy (we even donated to the childrens hospital). Then they spent the next 2 hours, sorting, counting and trading! It is so funny how it keeps them entertained for hours! It was fun to see the neighbourhood get all decorated for the holiday and we will have to step it up next year. Hope everyone had a happy halloween!!!

8 Months and Mobile?!?

8 MONTHS OLD!!!

James celebrated his 8 month birthday while staying with the Dahl's (in fact, Mary celebrated her birthday the same day!!) This month has brought many new fun changes. He is much more balanced while sitting, he rolls all over the place, and he now scoots BACKWARD!! It is hilarious! I put him in the family room today and had to answer the phone, while on the phone, I watched him scoot backwards all the way into the kitchen and under the kitchen table where he got stuck between chair legs! It was so funny! His other new trick is that from a laying position, he can get up into a sitting position! I have found him SITTING in his crib after his naps!! Good thing I lowered that crib!! What a fun stage this is. He is babbling a lot now and prefers the DADADA's over the MAMAMA's no matter how much I coach him. He also has started patty caking and is so darn proud of himself! It seems he is just growing and changing and learning new tricks over night! We never know what the next day is going to bring! So fun!!!

Kalalau Trail.....

The Kalalau Trail is a famous hike that follows along the Napali Coastline. It is an 11 mile grind that takes someone going at a good clip an hour per mile. You hike all day...camp on Kalalau beach at night then hike out the next day. We were heading to the beach when we passed the trail head to this hike. Mike wanted to check it out so we did enough to get a taste of what the hike is like. We hiked maybe a mile in and turned around. It was beautiful and around each corner you didnt know what the next stunning view would be. It is definately an adventure to add to your lists!!!!

Waimea Canyon and Napali Coastline

Waimea Canyon
Looking down one of the valleys toward the Napali coastline...there were clouds moving in and out of this valley for the hour that we were hiking this trail...everytime you looked out there was a new spectacular sight!!
More of the coastline...
And another view...
Mike..trying to find a path down...luckily..there was none..lol.

Helicopter Tour of Kauai!!!

This was definately one of the hilights of the week. Now I was quite nervous to get into this flying bird...which is odd...considering helicopters are a strong part of my Bullock heritage (Bullock Helicopters was my grandfathers business). Nevertheless...I got on despite my nerves..and it was truly amazing. It was just like one of those 360 film experiences...complete with a little hawaiian music playing thru the headphones. It was breathtaking. There are so many different beauties of Kauai. They have Waimea Canyon which is the grand canyon of Hawaii. They have the spectacular falls that were used in the film Jurassic Park. Then there is the Napali Coastline which is amazing...from above and below. I hope you enjoy the slideshow. Just remember the pictures were taken thru the windows..so they arent the greatest...and if the sun was shining there was too much of a glare and you got a major reflection. So these are truly amateur pictures. I would highly recommend this tour if you ever visit Kauai!

We are home!

This is where we stayed on Kauai...if you look carefully you can see Mike returning from his surfing fun!!

We finally made it home! It is sure a long way home from Kauai!! We left Kauai at 8pm and arrived into Vancouver at 8am! Mary and James met us at the airport and then she had a mountain picked out to climb! The Grouse Grind! Unfortunately, James was ready for a nap..so I quickly volunteered to wait with him while Mike and Mary climbed! They did it in 56mins which I guess is great! It is straight up and a popular activity for Vancouverites on the weekend! Thankyou Mary for entertaining us for the day and to the Dahl family for adopting James for the week! He had such a fun week with you and thanks to you...I dont think he missed us for a second! We left Vancouver Sunday morning and met Kristin, Brent and Ben at the airport with the girls! We had a quick lunch and then the Hagermans caught their flight back to the warm Arizona sun! The girls had a great great time with Auntie Kristin and loved having Ben around too! They had tons of fun activities and even visited Kristin's favorite ice cream shop (see her blog). They have told us non-stop about all the fun they had! Im so glad they were having a great time with us gone! Thanks so much Kristin!!!

This was the view from our balcony! I sat out here anytime we were back at the hotel! I loved listening and watching the waves and palms! We also had great sunsets from here!

KAUAI!!!!

Aloha!!! From the Garden Isle....

I am having serious technical issues trying to blog pictures! I dont know if it is the wireless connection that is slow...or whether the whole island is just slow. Anyhow, I will have to deal with the pictures when we get back to the mainland.  For now this picture will have to do!  This is the Na'pali coastline of Kauai! Before we arrived in Kauai I had read about this coastline and how it is the MUST see of the island. However, it is unaccessible by road. So you either hike (11 miles in and 11 miles out) or kayak (16 miles one way) or helitour.  It is truly spectacular. We have seen it from the air (helicopter tour). We have seen it from high above (driving up canyon and then hiking) and we have seen it from the coastline (we did a one mile sampling of the eleven mile trail).  The views of this area are so amazing.  As we drive along the island...I just cant stop looking around....it is like a postcard every where you look! Im so glad we rented a convertible so I could take pictures along the way. SO BEAUTIFUL!!! The beaches have been amazing and the weather is perfect! We are trying to soak in the sun, because rumor has it there is snow in the forecast in Calgary! Anyhow...just wanted to let our babysitters know we are doing fine...and survived the helicopter tour!  Thank you SOOOOO much Kristin and the Dahls for having our kids!! And for everyone else who is having them for dinner and to the zoo!! Many Mahalo's!!!

Yummo Cookie!!

This is James' first arrowroot cookie! He just popped two little teeth and he is gnawing on anything and everything...so I picked these up at the grocery store. He giggled and giggled and gnawed it away to nothing! He is loving having these little teeth to experiment with!

Fall colors

We have had an unbelievably beautiful September in Calgary! The colors have turned yet our summer sun is still warm! 25C today!! That is almost unheard of on October 1st! I love watching all the colors change...especially on my drive to school and back. Hopefully this warm weather will last another month!!

Boys and their toys!

My sister and I always wanted to have at least one baby close together. So when she got married we decided she could have her first and I would have my last together. Well, as much as you plan, life sometimes decides for you and as it turns out we have sweet little boys almost exactly one year apart. I can tell already that these boys are going to be little buds. They were playing cars together today!! So sweet! I love little boys!!!

Fall Weekend in Park City Utah!!

I was so lucky this past weekend to be able to join the rest of my family and go to Park City Utah to celebrate my grandpa's 90th birthday! The weekend was fast and furious and we raced from activity to activity. I took only James with me and left the 3 girls with grandma (thank you!!). James was a trooper and went with the flow! We had a great time at Utah Olympic Park riding ziplines, alpine slides and we even went on the wild bobsled ride!!! Longest minute of my life!

We enjoyed a nice evening with so many extended family! It was so nice to visit and catch up with so many that we hadnt seen in so long. Sunday we made a trip out to Salt Lake to visit with my Grandma Shirley and her husband Max and many cousins!! Thank you to all that made the effort to stop by for a visit!! It was so fun to see all of you and your cute kids!! It was a fun fun fun weekend! For more pictures from the weekend...check out my sister KRISTIN'S blog! The link is on the side!

Cute Lil Chefs

Chef Paige &  Chef Hallie So CUTE!!!

 Chef Paige is ready for instruction! The girls took their class very seriously and worked hard on their recipes! We cant wait to try their delicious pancakes!! Maybe they will whip some up at the cabin for us next summer!!

Chef Hallie was a little nervous about the first class...but all worries were gone when she found out pancakes were the first thing they were going to learn to make!! She LOVES pancakes! Hopefully she will learn to make her pancakes so they dont have a crust!!

Terry Fox Run (4X4)

It was time once again for the annual Terry Fox run!! I headed out to the school not knowing what the track was going to be like. The only daughter of mine I found before the race started was Paige. So Paige and I headed out with James (yes those are the runners in the background, we were bringing up the rear).

The track started out as this nice gravelly road, a little bumpy but doable. Then the track took a turn into the grass/rocks/roots. So we started 4X4ing thru the track. It was a major workout..but so fun and such a beautiful day! We have had such a beautiful indian summer this week and the leaves are stunning! It was so neat to see all the kids working so hard on the run this year. I especially loved all the signs of hope and encouragement along the way! My mind turned to Terry Fox constantly thru out the run and the courage and hope he had. I cant believe he ran a marathon a day!! I also thought of my dear friend Christy ((hugs)) the race definately had more meaning to me this year!

After the race, the classes participated in the tug-of- war. This was a cute event and the girls LOVED it and each of them won for their class! I have no pictures of the other girls..because by the time I found them...my camera was out of batteries (whoops).

James was a trooper thru the event! He loved the 4X4ing and never complained about the rough ride. He especially LOVED all the attention. He was constantly surrounded by admirers. Then we got in the car and he just tipped over from exhaustion. It was a fun event!!

Kulinary Kids

IS THIS NOT SO CUTE??

I had to buy this cute little sugar cookie because it just makes me laugh! I have to protect this little cookie...as I have 3 girls that are dying to consume it!!

There is a cute little cooking school for kids that just opened in Calgary! I have to say...I jumped for joy when I found out about it...because I have been looking for this EXACT thing!! My girls LOVE to cook and I immediately signed them all up for a class! So if you are in Calgary...take a second and check out Kulinary Kids! Im so excited about this little cooking school! My girls took their first class this week and are excited for a little Christmas course that starts in November. The school also has the cutest items in the store, including cute little sugar cookies! Can you tell how excited I am??

Calgary Science Center

The girls went to the Science Center with Uncle Brian and Auntie Christine while I was on bedrest! They raved about it! So I needed an activity for Saturday and we decided on the Science Center! We had such a fun time with the Humphreys girls! We learned a lot and had a ton of fun trying out new things. Everything is so hands on.  We saw a great film called the living sea...the screen is all around you. James was so tired by the time we got to the film, I thought for sure he would dose off...but as soon as the opening scene with fish swimming all around you began...he was mesmorized.  He loved the film.  We visited with the Cool chemistry guy who did some great experiments....but I promptly reminded the girls these experiments were not to be tried at home!  All the girls were very brave and laid on a bed of nails...very interesting indeed. The girls loved the grocery store and eatery where they spent a lot of time!  So cute!  We had a great day and would highly recommend the science center for some fun hands on learning!  We missed you Christy..hugs :)!!

1st Day of SCHOOL 2008!!

Yeah!! Finally the first day of school! The girls were so excited because they were starting at a brand new school! New for them...and the actual school was opened in February...so its brand new! They jumped out of bed...got dressed...lunches made and off we went!! Emily is starting grade 5, Steff is in Grade 3 and Paige is a cute little 1st grader!!!

I AM SO THRILLED....this is my new drive to school! Because we are on the city's west edge we get to drive this cute country road...complete with cows, horses and a pond housing ducks and geese! No traffic....woo hooo!

I love this view of the mountains every day!! The first day of school and the first snow in the mountains! It is a spectacular view...and I get to see it every day!!

AND in just 6-7 minutes...we arrive at our new school!!! I feel like Ive hit the lottery now that the girls are in this school! It is nice and close...the drive is so easy...and there are tons of fun member families in the school!! Even better...it goes thru Grade 9 (9th grade for our American friends)!! Woo Hooo! I am seriously doing the dance of joy!!!