Our trip over Niagara Falls....

We spent two nights at the Great Wolf Lodge, what an amazing place. I had booked and cancelled a few times in the past as I just couldn't see spending 399.00 a night on a room, but it was worth every penny.

The lodge from the minute you walk in the door is designed for kids, here's a picture of story time which happens every night at 8:00 in the main lobby. The trees and animals in the display move and talk , tell stories and sing. The story reader also reads two stories, this time it was Robert Munsch which the kids absolutely loved. Such a great idea to help the kids slowly wind down from a day of swimming and water slides

My children are not hard to please at all, they were so excited to see that their room was separate from ours, and the fact that they had bunk beds was a huge hit with them.

As we were leaving the hotel my Mom decided to treat us to a trip over Niagara Falls by helicopter.

As you can see from the pictures, the kids thought it was amazing. I on the other hand was green the whole trip, and counting down the seconds until we landed back on solid earth. Despite being nauceous the whole time, I managed to get some really good pictures.

A couple pics of the kids looking at the falls the old fashioned way.

Scarlett's 6th Birthday.....

Scarlett's 6th Birthday party was at Zooz Indoor Playland.

All morning Saturday the kids must have asked me 100 times if it was time to go yet.

This is a pic of Scarlett sitting on the stairs patiently waiting to leave.

She had about 22 friends come to her party, and it was a lot of fun.

The kids had fun climbing on the rock climbing wall, going across the ropes over the crocodile river, and ride the
slide.

I've attached a short cut below to the rest of the pictures.


http://picasaweb.google.com/evans.kmsk/ScarletttSBirthdayPartyZ00z















http://picasaweb.google.com/evans.kmsk/ScarletttSBirthdayPartyZ00z

Scarlett turns 6 today....

Wow, my girl is 6 today.

What a difference a year can make, Scarlett has changed so much over the past 12 months.

She is such an independent girl, she knows what she wants and will do anything (good or bad ) to make sure she gets her way.

Scarlett has a fiery temper just like her dad, its hard to know what will happen if she's in a bad mood or is tired. A simple discussion can turn into a fight, or hearing her tell us we are ruining her life.

She is doing very well in school, she is extending on all subjects and can't wait to start grade one in the fall. She is looking forward to starting french immersion (although it might because of the pizza lunches she's knows you get there).

She spends a lot of time drawing and writing notes to her friends. She is also very addicted to her dad's MP3 player and has become an avid country music fan. Whenever she goes in anyone else's car she wants them to put on her favorite country music station. Right now her favorite songs are "Travelling Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks, 1,2,3 like a bird I see by Tim McGraw. Although Martin has also been known to add a few hip hop and rock songs on to the player also.

She is a very strong swimmer now, and is looking forward to starting lessons again soon.

Her best friends right now are Catherine, Victoria, Kate and Beth. She claims to have a boyfriend named James, but won't really talk about him.

She is still very protective of her brother, although I notice that she doesn't necessarily want him included when she has friends over as much anymore.

Pics of our trips to the zoo.....

we got a zoo pass this year, and I hope to make it there many times.

This past week we went and saw the new dinosaur exhibit which was amazing. The kids loved seeing the dinosaurs move and roar. They were surprised at the actual size of the T-Rex.

As usual they love the kids zone, and want to spend time there.

We are making another trip next week just to spend time at the splash park.

http://picasaweb.google.com/evans.kmsk/OurDayAtTheZooMay2007

Kaleb's 4th birthday.......

My baby boy is 4, and isn't a baby anymore. Sometime in the last few months he went from a toddler to a big boy.

Ever so often I look at him, and wonder what happened. He's a big boy, so tall no more baby chubbiness. He still has his light brown hair, but its definitely darker than this time last year, I wonder if it will go blond during the summer again. But I don't think it will, it seems to be getting darker as the months go by.

Kaleb is very loving towards me , he wants to snuggle buggle every morning before we start out day, and won't go to sleep until we've snuggled and talked about our day.

He is very good now at telling stories, he will go on and on about things he's done, or what happened at school. Of course every time you ask him what they had for lunch, his answer is always dirt and worms.

He seems to have matured a bit lately also, he is following directions much better. If I want him to get dressed I don't have to say get pants, get a shirt , get underwear, I can just say get dressed.

He will be moving up into the raptor room soon at daycare, which is kind of a sad thing for me, since the kids started at the daycare one of them has always been a twiddle-bug, so mommy has to come to terms with the fact that both kids are growing up.

Hot wheels are his favorite thing to play with, Aunt Kerri gave him a box for Christmas that was full of them, and he takes the time to set them all up. Its funny to watch him and Scarlett playing together, she will get out the little ponies and somehow hot wheels and ponies go together.

Kaleb and Scarlett are still the best of friends, they are both very protective of each other. If Kaleb gets a treat he has to make sure Scarlett is getting one also. He always includes her in everything he does, and wants to be with her no matter what she is doing.

Bed time is not one of his strong suits, unlike Scarlett Kaleb dosen't seem to need much sleep. It is a struggle to get him to stay in his bed at night, he does the 5 reason why I have to get up every night. We are starting to let him stay up longer than Scarlett, just because he really is not tired. So while Scarlett is in bed snoring away, he is playing with his trucks or reading a book.

A mamma's boy for sure, Kaleb is my guy, he dosen't want daddy if he's hurt or angry. Martin says I baby him, which is probably true, he is so different from his sister and I figure while he wants and needs me I better enjoy it.

Brrrrr its so cold here today......

-34c with the windchill.

Poor Kaleb was crying that his fingers hurt, I was putting him in van which is in garage and didn't think to put his gloves on.

So I ended up getting their hats and gloves out of their school bags, it was that cold.

We are so ready for winter to be over. With these cold temps the kids are not getting outside while at daycare, so they are all going stir crazy.

Last week Christine (Kaleb's teacher) said that they took them outside for 10min, just because they were all out of control, and needed to get rid of some energy. They had them run around the perimeter of the yard just to burn off some energy.

You can see the toil it is taking on both teachers and the kids, everyone is tired of winter, and praying for the warmer weather to come.

The 5 grandkids....

Alexis 4, Braedon 1, Scarlett 5, Blake 2, Kaleb 3

Very hard to get 5 kids to sit and actually look at the camera at the same time.

Pics of the kids and their great Grandparents from Christmas Day...

My grandparents live in an old age home about a 1/2 hour from us. My granfather is on an alzheimers floor, and has no memory of any of us, but is still happy to have us visit him.

I will give him a hug and kiss and say Hi Papa. He will sit back look at me and say "I don't know you do I" "Yes Papa, its Kimberly I'm your oldest grandchild" "No, I don't think so, I never seen you before"

Very sad to see, but its also conforting knowing that he while he can't remember us that he is still happy to see us.

I try to take the kids every couple weeks, I tend to grab donuts or something to keep the kids busy, and we only stay about 20 min but you can see how happy it makes him to visit.

My grandmother lives on another floor, where she can go and see him anytime she wants. She too is slowly losing her memory, and it is getting hard to go and see her with the kids but I still try.

Best friends at the park....

It was such a nice winter day, so I decided to take the kids to the park, before winter really hits.

We stopped along the way and took some pics.

Victoria and Scarlett have been best friends since birth, they go to the same daycare, are in the same Kindgerten class.

Kaleb and Jessica by default spend a lot of time together but I think they too will be friends for life.

Kaleb trying to kiss Jessica was such a sweet surprise, and Jessica's acting coy was so adorable.

We all had such a good time, it was fun to go to the park again.

Just so you know, I'm working backwords on this (m)

I have our wedding pics ready to add. Plus the kids birth pics and such.

So as you visit the site , go through the archives and you might find something new.

What a treat today...

January 12 2007, not quite the way I wanted to start the new year...

I went to my new Gym, to pay for my membership, and when I was leaving the parking lot I was t-boned on the driver side.

It happened so quickly, yet so slowly when I close my eyes I can see the truck starting to swerve and then the car smashing into me.

My first thoughts were, okay my legs work, my arms work, get me the hell out of here.

I practically threw myself out of the passenger side, I just wanted to get away from the van, the car that hit me must have broken its radiator because the hissing and smoke coming out of it had me convinced it could blow at any second.

I went to the hospital to get some xrays and thanfully nothing was broken.

One good samaritan ran over to me right after it happened and brough me a blanket to sit on, so I wouldn't be sitting in the snow and ice on the side of the road. This woman gave me a hug and held my hand, she was cuing and rocking me like you would a child. And I was so thankful, I couldn't stop shaking, knowing that it could have been so much worse.

I am so thankful that I walked away from the accident.

I have minor back and neck pain, but physio will take care of that. I am just so happy that the kids were not in the car, the majority of the impact was at Scarlett's seat, and I am so glad she wasn't in the van.

Scarlett's goes to Kate's house for a sleep over...

If you had asked me if I thought she could do it, I would have said yes. I would have told you that she would go and never look back, but I guess I was wrong.

We didn't have to go and pick her up, but according to Andrea she definetly was not a happy camper.

She woke up quite a few times during the night, wanting to go home and see her mommy. But in the end she did stay.

A couple days after I asked her if she wanted to do it again, and she said that Kate could come to her house, but no way was she going back there. LOL

So my tough and rough tomboy does have a soft mommy's girl side.

Scarlett's first sleep over....

we had Victoria come over tonight for the first time.

The girls played dress up and watched the Wiggles Santa's Rocking video.

So far they seem to be alright , they are sleeping on the floor in their sleeping bags, with about 2 dozen stuffed animals.

Here's hoping no one wakes me up tonight, but I think Victoria will do just fine.


Well they did it, they both slept through the night without a peep. They were awake by 6:30, but overall it was a fun night for them.

I went upstairs about 11:00 and finally put an end to the carrying on, they were just laughing and giggling for a couple hours.

I'm sure Victoria will be over again in a couple weeks for another one.

New Years Eve 2007....

Erin, Brad and Brandon came over for dinner on New Years Eve. Its fun to see the kids playing with their cousins.

We did our new found love of Cowboy steaks, what a great marinade that is.

Brad had to work so they let jsut before 9:00, the kids and I did a count down at 9:00, we toasted with a glass of champagne and orange juice. The kids took out some pots and pans and banged them for a bit, I was going to let them go out on the porch to do it, but it was just too darn cold.

Early in the day I had bought a cheap video game that plugs into the TV with Ms Pacman and pole position. So the kids had fun playing with that, and once they were in bed Martin and I played for quite a while.

I was determined to beat him, but sadly I suck at video games and he quickly surpassed my high score.

Martin and I have up about 11:00 and were asleep well before midnight.

Christmas 2006.....

Another Christmas over for the year.....

We spent Christmas Eve alone with the kids, we watched a couple Christmas movies, Rudolph and Frosty. Scarlett and I stayed up and watched White Christmas, while she sat and watched it I don't know how interested she was in it really.

The kids were in bed about 10:00, and then Martin and I set about the task of getting ready for the morning.

This year I tried to make cinnamon rolls from scratch, which actually turned out pretty good, I also made the overnight french toast cassarole.

The kids were so funny Christmas morning, they weren't interested at all in getting up. Scarlett asked if Santa had come, and when I said yes, she did want to go downstairs, but when I turned the TV on they were quite content to watch it.

I went downstairs and started the french toast, and coffee. Got the cameras ready, and then called the kids down. I actually had to call them 3 times before they would stop watching the TV. LOL

Scarlett was so excited to see her beauty salon (make-up table) and couldn't stop asking me how Santa new exactly what to get her. Of course we had to let her sit and put on a couple pounds of make-up. It was fun trying to explain that she shouldn't put lip gloss on her eye lids.

Kaleb was so excited by his Geo-Trax, he kept saying "Just like TY's, Just like Ty's . One his friends had this and Kaleb loved it when we were there.

Scarlett stopped dead in her tracks once she saw the camera's and then it was pictures all day. The Fisher Price digital cameras were a hit for both kids.

Martin totally shocked me by getting me a new digital camera, I had no idea and was thrilled to get it. Right away I signed up for a 3 hour course at Henry's to learn how to use it. I had asked him for a new digital, but never expected a DSLR. So I also have all his extra lenses from his camera.

After our Christmas morning, we went to our friends parents for Christmas dinner. Walter and Janet Austin were so kind to invite us over to their dinner. We had such a good time.

The kids of course were spoiled, between Dana, Andrea, Walt and Janet they ended up with a bunch more toys. Scarlett was so excited over her Bratz doll, and Kaleb was thrilled with his Thomas the Train clothes and puzzles.

Janet cooked a delicious meal of turkey and all the fixings. It was topped off by the most delicious Christmas pudding I've ever had. If I can convince her to give up the recipe this will be a tradition for us in the future.

My 34th birthday.....

We had a great night last night.

Scarlett decorated the kitchen, with streamers, she set the table with birthday plates cups and a table cloth.

She didn't want any help, she made me wait upstairs while she did it so I would be surprised when I came downstairs.

Martin took her out shopping and on her own she picked me out some very beautiful slippers and p.j.'s. Hot pink slippers, and hotpink p.j.'s with snow flakes all over them. I looked like a big thing of cotton candy.

It was a great birthday, the kids were so excited to sing to me, when I dropped them off at daycare, they made all of the teachers wish me a happy birthday, and they invited most of them to the party.

Our night at the Rockettes....

Scarlett and I went to the Hummingbird Centre to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes.

Scarlett was mesmorized during the show, the look of excitement and joy on her face was pretty amazing.

Of course now she wants to be a Rockette.

Her favorite part was the Wooden soldiers, and the multiple Santa's as they explain how Santa can be in so many places.

I absolutely loved the Nativity scene at the end. Very well done, and totally in keeping with the spirit of Christmas

We will definetly go again next year.

Silly us we set off to the mall this morning, with the idea of seeing Santa. We had high hopes for a quick line-up and then off to finish our shopping.

Almost 2 1/2 hours later, this is the best picture we could get. Scarlett did want to go up at all, and Kaleb was making the really silly faces.

Over all give the waiting time not a bad picture

Scarlett's Senior Kindargarten Picture and report card...

Mrs Stickle


What a great report card, we are so proud of her.

Our interview with the teacher went great, she really didn't have anything to talk about. Scarlett is acceling at reading, and she is going to start sending home harder books for her to read. At the end of Kindergarten they should be reading at a level 5. By the end of Grade One they should be somewhere in the 16-20 range. Scarlett is at the 14-16 level.

Agian we were told that she is accelling at all academic aspects of Kindergarten, socially she is a great asset to the class. She is very friendly and outgoing with all of the kids, and is friends swith all of the students.

She still needs to work on appropriate reactions to things that she is asked to do that she dosen't want to. While she has grown up emotionally, it is still the one thing that is holding her back.

We talked again about giving her harder work to do, as she is a bit bored. Again the teacher talked about how she is going to have her more involved in Grade One work starting in January.





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Thanksgiving 2006....

What an amazing weekend.

Temps were in the late 60's early 70's. Unheard of weather for here.

We had a great time, with Derek Mic and Blake, Grandma and Grand Tokarski..

Kaleb managed to ride his bike through the whole path in the forest. I only had to carry it over the fallen trees and such.

It was so nice to get a beautiful long weekend, one last time before the snow flies.

As usual we packed up the cottage, turned the water and such off. I doubt we will go up again before Christmas but you never know.

Dinner was a typical turkey, stuffing, potatotes, apple pie, banana pie etc. Mom went out to buy the turkey but came home with a frozen butterball that is pre-stuffed and is cooked from frozen

We all agreed the dinner was great except for the turkey, it was really bad. LOL Oh well live and learn, I see these cook from frozen ones all the times, I thought it was a good idea but apparently not.

Nova Scotia 2006

Our rafting trip was amazing, we started by walking down the walkway you see to the left.

We walked right into the mud and muck and then into the zodiacs.

When we started out the river was very small, and most of the lake you see in the picture is a large sandbar.

Within 3 hours the water level rises to upwards of 15 ft past the end of the walk way.

We were told the water that comes in the Bay of Fundy is more than all of the fresh water in the world.

While these are pictures taken from River Runners website they show what we did while rafting.

There was no way we could have taken pictures during the trip.









This shows the tidal bore entering the river, the day we went it was only about a 2 ft wave.













Many times our boat totally disappeared in the water, and was completely full of water.

Pictures of the kids from May 2006

We were so pleased with the way these pictures turned our of the kids.

The two of them together we had blown up and it is hanging in the front hall of the house.

The one of Scarlett kissing her brother was not planned, so it is really a special picture, showing the love she has of her brother, or at least had for that moment.

Canada Day Weekend 2006

We spent 5 days at the cottage for the Canada Day Long weekend.

The weather was really great, it was a bit cloudy and a bit of a breeze so it kept the temps down. Which also kept the bugs away, so all in all a perfect weekend for the cottage.

Scarlett finally mastered her two wheeler, by the end of the weekend she was going faster than I could. She did take one really good tumble and skinned her knees and elbows but other than that she did great.

All of us went to the boat launch , Kaleb made it the whole way on his bike, I was so impressed, I figured I would end up walking him back and trying to figure out how to carry his bike while pushing mine.

We tried to do the same ride again the next day but Kaleb had a breakdown, about half way back and cried the whole way.

Scarlett scared us to death on the Sunday, I was sitting on the dock with her reading a book, when Ryan asked her to go swimming. I told her yes and off she jumped into the river, she swam out about 15 ft then turned around and started to swim back. I looked at her and thought something was wrong but couldn't figure it out, then it dawned on me that she didn't have her life jacket on. I just about fainted on the spot, I didn't know what to do. I jumped in the water just in case, but she did make it to shore.

I am more freaked out now than before, when she jumped in what if she hadn't come up, we never would have found her. We had a discussion about water safety and I doubt she will do it again, she scared herself because she new she was having trouble.

AHHHH the joys of motherhood.....

the joy you feel as you snuggle in bed with your 5 year old and go over your day.

The kisses and hugs you get as she drifts off to sleep.

Watching your little girl (who's not so little sleeping like an angel beside you)

Ahhhh the wonders of being a mother.
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Then reality hits, your angel flails during the night, kicking you in legs , bum, does a 180 so that her feet are in you face.

She takes the blankets, or has to sleep ontop of the blankets which then won't let you pull them up.
She thens turns the 180 back and ends up punching you in the face.

But the most precious part is when you roll over to find out not only is her bum in your face, she has somehow managed to pee right on to your pillow.

Being a monther is so much fun.

Kids daycare pics June 2006 ....

To my daughter on her fifth Birthday

May 18, 2006

Scarlett,

Happy Fifth Birthday!

Last night I admit I got a bit teary eyed thinking about how you were turning 5. How can this be, just yesterday I was being told that you would be entering this world backwards. I swear it was only last week that you took your first steps, or maybe it was last month that I heard for the first time “I love you Mama”.

My beautiful girl, you make me smile every day. (You also make me mad and frustrated and angry) but boy can you make me smile.

I was just reading the letter I sent to you 4 years ago on your first birthday, how my favorite time of day was when we snuggled together in the morning. I am so thank-full that this is still our normal routine. I love waking up each morning to look into your eyes and hear you tell me you love me.

You have grown into a beautiful young girl, you are still very much your own person. You are opinionated, stubborn (boy are you stubborn), you are loving and caring, very protective of your brother. You still have no fear of anything, one of your friends moms asked if you would be capable of having a sleep over, I laughed at this question. You my daughter can go anywhere and do anything without looking back.

Each day I watch in amazement as you grow and mature. You started Kindergarten this year and I have loved watching you learn. Within two months you learned all your letters and numbers and moved on to reading. It is amazing to hear you reading to me, I could sit for hours ( and actually I do this a lot).

You are a very outgoing child, and have many friends. Lately your best friend is Katherine from next door, the two of you are joined at the hip. At least 4 or 5 times a week she is at our house or you are there for dinner. You both have a love of ponies and spend hours imaging yourselves riding through the forest.

Listening to the stories you create amazes me, your imagination is endless. For some reason you ask to talk about things every morning while I’m in the shower. “Mom, can we talk about drains” was the question today. Why do we have drains under the sink. Where does the water go. Why? You are forever searching for answers to many questions.

Your protectiveness of Kaleb makes my heart skip a beat sometimes. You won’t tolerate anyone picking on him or treating him badly (although you’ve been known to do it yourself) If I tell you you can stay up late, you ask about Kaleb. If I give you a treat when Kaleb isn’t around, you make sure I save him one. I truly hope that the two of you continue to grow up together and remain the best of friends. On weekends at the cottage you tend to sleep in the same bed, your father and I love to stand at the door and just stare at what beautiful children we have.

My sweet angel, my princess and my Scarlie bear and my chicita banana, all of the names express my love for you.

The past 5 years have been the most amazing journey, one that I never dreamed could be so much fun, I look forward at your future and wonder what you will become, I dream about you as you enter each new step in the road of life.

As always I love you, and will be here for you always

I love you

Mom

The Danger of Kindergarten.....

The pictures don't acutally do justice to the injury.

Scarlett was running in the playground when her and naother boy named Matthew banged into each other cheek to cheek.

He came away without a mark, but she looks like we've taken to beating her.

The school had me take her to the doctor and for an xray just in case. The doctor acutally called the school to verify my story.

What will they be when they grow up ....

Two kids sharing one room, dosen't really work.....

Kaleb has been temporarily moved into Scarlett's room while Martin paints his.

Up until this point Kaleb has had a child lock on his door because he won't stay in his room. So each night we give him a kiss and a hug, then we stand at the door, blow him a kiss, pretend to do a big hug and squish him, he does the same back. We save we love you, sweet dreams and see you in the morning.

But now that he's sharing a room with Scarlett, this is the routine. Good night Kaleb, sweet dreams, big hugs, see you in the morning, and don't get out of bed.

For about 5 minutes we hear nothing, then maybe a few jumps on the bed, a little laughter. Which is okay, kids will be kids , we can't expect them to just go sleep.

Around 9:00 I go upstairs to make sure they are asleep, and find them both sitting at the window sill talking to the neighbours. So I clsoe the windows and the blinds and read them the riot act.

11:00 I go to bed, I do my nightly ritual of kissing the kids, and of course I find the windows wide open, its 0 deg outside so their room is just a tad bit cold. They both are asleep.

Around 1:00 a.m. I am woken up by a strange noise, kind a static sound. I go to Scarlett's room no kids, I try the spare room nothing, I find them downstairs with the TV on and sound very low.

I stood in the hallway listening, they were giggling about how we were asleep and didn't know. It brought tears to my eyes they were so darn cute. I eneded up leaving them there, I figured one night wouldn't hurt them.

Around 2:30 I heard them come back upstairs and go to bed, my sweet little angels.

Scarlett's first orthodontist appointment.....

she does need to have some work done. Probably next year, once her adult teeth are in in the front.

He says he will put spacers in her teeth to help her upper jaw grow more. He says she's not that bad, her teeth do touch at the front but she naturally moves the top ones back since its more comfortable.

The price for this first round is about 1000.00 so not too bad yet. Of course he is also saying she will need braces at 10 or 11 at a cost of 6000-7000.

First swimming lesson of 2006.......

Both Scarlett and Kaleb had swimming the other night. Kaleb is in private lessons, which the teacher agreed was a good idea since he really wasn't listening, all he wanted to do was dive under the water.

Scarlett did really well, she can almost swim the required 10m on her front, on her back is a different story , she tends to sink like a stone. She also tried tredding water but that didn't go so well either, again she sank.

Both kids said they had fun and wanted to know when they go back again.

What do you do with snow.....

Skating is over for the year

Both kids had their last night of skating. Scarlett passed level one and will move to 1 hour lessons in September.

Kaleb's report card said that he is slowly getting better, and is almost skating now. He is so funny to watch, he can almost run on the ice but there is definetly no gliding going on, he has mastered the art of walking on ice.

Scarlett is getting faster each day, she is starting to do bunny hops, and twirls. She dosen't pay attention during the lesson just wants to skate around the rink. What a surprise her not listening.