Christmas in a glass

Officially dubbed the "Christmas Smoothie", this one is a keeper for sure!  And yes, it's green!  It was a big hit here today...in fact, we ended up making it twice.  Once for lunch, and again for dinner.  A simple recipe that came from Bree and Jenna's Sportball coach and one that has now made it onto the favourites list!
















Incase you want to bring a little "kid friendly" holiday bevvie to your table, here's the nitty gritty of the recipe:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup raw spinach, finely chopped (puree with the milk before adding the other items)
8-10 frozen green grapes, halved
6 "limeade" ice cubes
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Blend it all together and enjoy!

Super simple and super good!  This recipe could very easily be adapted with other fruits both fresh and frozen.  And yes, I did tell the kids that there was spinach in their drink....I just made sure that they liked it first!

the power

It's that time of year!  You know the holidays are looming closer when this little guy "pops" in for his visit.

Hello Christopher Pop-In-Kins! 

Oh, if only you new the power that this little fella has over my clan of kidlets.  Who knew that a little dude dressed in green and red could have such a powerful impact?  Well, at this time of year, as excitement mounts and tempers can tend to fly (just a little) it's nice to know that this little elf can help keep things in check.  Because, if silly behaviour ensues, then this little guy reports right back to the big guy himself.  That my friends, is a power unlike no other!  Here's to weeks of good behaviour!  (Right?)

school portraits

Wow.  I think they are growing up.  Goodness.

he's eight!

Today the day started early.  Six in the morning kinda early, as the oldest of my little clan celebrated his eighth birthday today.  Wow! Eight!  As tradition would hold, Aidan is always an early riser on a special occasion, and as he has for the past several years, always wears his white collared shirt.  Love it!  A bit of a birthday tradition, or "perk" if you will, is that in this family if it's your birthday, then you decide on what we do for the day and what we eat.  Thanks to our most recent snowstorm, you can only guess what Aidan's "to do" list consisted of.....

Yep.....TOBOGGANING!! 

And not just tobogganing with all of us, but inviting his buddy from a few houses down, along with his dad, to join us.   

Oh, there was one more request....thermoses filled with hot chocolate (in this case both regular and peppermint) and cookies!  What could be better than warming up and enjoying hot chocolates on the hill? 

Having a great friend to share it with! 

Smiles galore this afternoon I tell ya!  It was a busy tobogganing hill today, and it was awesome to run into lots of school buddies and their families.   

We topped Aidan's big day off with a dinner of his choice....pizza & fettuccine alfredo, and of course....cake! 

So little guy, Happy Birthday!  You continue to amaze us everyday, and we are so very lucky to be your parents.  You have grown up so much this year, and have made us so proud.  You can always make us laugh, and you are always their to help out your younger sisters.  Thank you Aidan, for just being you.  We love you!

icy pumpkins & frozen bats

Since moving out west, I have only had one Halloween that we had to set our pumpkins in a snowbank, and dress up (it was only Aidan at the time) in our snowsuits, rather than our chosen costumes.  Well my friends, it happened again.  It was a cold one.  Not as cold as it was years ago, but enough to put a bit of an icy damper on the evenings festivities.  There were a few last minute costume changes, and the kids did their best to make their attire work with the weather.  By the end of the evening, I had a few very frozen pumpkins, very excited kids, and candy trades happening all over my kitchen and living room.  They made the best of it, and so did we.  Snow was swept away from the step, the kids were layered up, and the tea was on.  It was still a very fun evening!

They're troopers my little clan of princesses, pirate, and pumpkin! 

Today my friends....well, I spent the day packing away the orange and black, the spiders and bats, and the witches and pumpkins.  And if you haven't guessed already.....yep, I am making room for my snowmen!  They will be popping up over the next few days as I switch gears to my most favourite holiday season!  Crazy?  Well, yes.  And I am ok with it!

before the snow flies

It's on it's way!  Snow that is!  Today just may have been one of the last warmer days of the year, before the temps drop tomorrow, and the snow starts to fly!  Not that I'm complaining....goodness no!  You all know that I love winter!
So, because the kids only go to school for a half a day on Friday's, we thought that a little adventure into the mountains seemed an appropriate way to spend the afternoon.   Now, you may look at the pictures and think that "I thought she said it was warm, those pics don't look warm at all!"  Well, yes.  It wasn't really "warm" where we were, it was...nice.  Crispy nice.  But, you throw in a little rock tossing, some good snacks, and geocaching, the temperature means nothing. 

 

Bree was all smiles and loved carrying her own pack.  (Note to self: bring two backpacks next time.  You'd think I'd know that by now.) 

One of the "missions" if you will, for today, was to get Bree and Jenna more actively involved in geocaching.  Something that we as a family love to do.  So with a little intro on how to use a GPS (we're talking very basic here) and then what to do when you get really close to where the "treasure" is hidden....

....they did quite well!  Talk about excitement in the woods!  Their first unassisted find!  Yay girls! 

And the best part....doesn't Bree score a Little Pet Shop character....something that both these ladies love to play.  How awesome is that? 

Now....the one thing we need to work on is explaining to the girls that a geocache isn't hidden under every tree, or every rock, or every bush, that we pass along a trail.  It makes for a really long walk back.  We'll work on this one....

fall hiking

I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday than a fall hike!  Prairie Mountain was our destination, and although I have climbed this one several times in the past, I did forget how steep this climb actually is.  Egads!  But, these two little climbers amazed me once again, and did not seem bothered by the steep ascent to the top.  They thought it to be more of a game than actual work.  Phew!

We had an amazing lunch at the summit, albeit it was a quick one, as the temps were a wee bit chilly and wisps of raindrops kept us from lingering to long.  Seriously though, I could have spent the day up there, just.....sitting.

I still get goosebumps whenever I hear the words "wow!" and "cool view!" from both of them, and no doubt my smile is huge.  But, yes, they still do there fair share of complaining, but hey, it's worth it if you ask me!  And when they talk about their adventure the entire way home, well......I'd say the hike was a success!

flashlight friday

Four adults.  Six kids.  Two families.  We all entered the corn maze, and we all....made it out.  In the dark!  It was "Flashlight Friday" at the Calgary Corn Maze last night, and what a fantastic evening it was.  I have never navigated my way through a corn maze at night, and despite my over active imagination, I think I did ok.  I mean, I had the best possible leaders ever....how can you not trust a group of kids aged three through almost eight to lead the way?

 

It was dark in there my friends... 

And that corn field?  It was about the size of three football fields.  Did I mention it was dark? 

The kids however, did great.  Bree and Jenna bailed a little early, but lasted longer than we thought they would.  They had more fun going down the tube slide in the dark with their flashlights.  Who wouldn't think that was cool?! 

Thanks to our dear friends for having us over for a fun pizza dinner, and then heading off to the maze.  A fantastic evening, and we are so doing this again next year!

morning at the market

It's always an adventure when I travel to the Farmer's Market with my two little ladies.  They are becoming quite "market savvy" when it comes to shopping, and they also know a good photo op when they see one.   I have trained them well...

Next week, we make the adventure again, back to the market, to select that perfect pumpkin.  I am thinking I may even grab one of those specialty ones that are white!  It was a feast for the eyes today with so many pumpkins piled so high.  The market had a good fall vibe today as we wandered the aisles picking up fresh produce and locally baked breads and treats.  And the chai latte I had from my favourite "tea guy" was the icing on the cake for our morning at the market.

thankful

This year, we are finding many things to be thankful for.  We have had quite a busy few months, and we were able to see oodles of family since summer began about five months ago.  Now, as fall is starting to settle in, we are once again celebrating Thanksgiving with family.  And that my friends, is the one thing (of many) that I am thankful for this year....family.

Thankful for being able to spend Thanksgiving with everyone.

Thankful for a crew of fun cousins...

Thankful for the addition of a new cousin who will eventually be running around with the older ones...

Thankful for a fantastic family life...

Thankful for dinner helpers and the rewards the helpers receive...

Thankful for baby Cameron and someone who thinks he is just "all that"...

But most of all, thankful for being lucky enough to spend the holiday with family, and share so many special memories and good times.  And, make so many more!

 

 

 

Cameron Brynn Augustine

Yes!  Meet my new little nephew Cameron!  And, let me tell you....we are so very excited to welcome this little guy to the family.  He is so darn cute, and today....I got to have my very first snuggle (ok, I had more than one!) with this little bundle of joy! 

He melts my heart I tell ya!  Welcome Cameron!  May your life be filled with so much happiness and may you bring even more joy to your big brother Rory, and your fabulous mom and dad.

We love you!

absolutely stunning

Today we celebrated Fall's arrival with a family hike along the shores of Upper Kananaskis Lake.  However, with temps hovering around 26 degrees, one wouldn't nesessarily associate today with Fall.  More like....a summer weekend.  With full campgrounds, picnickers grabbing a spot for the day, canoes and kayaks cutting through the calm waters, and hikers galore dotting trails all over K-Country.  It was a day that was perfect in many ways I suppose.  Hikers even had an extra bounce in their steps today as we made our way along the shoreline trail....us included!

The water was a beautiful calm....had me itching to get those canoes we have talked about for a few years now.  What a great day to be out on the water!

Aidan and Maelle took turns using mom's camera and took some great shots.  Hey look!  I am actually in a picture for a change!  (this is one of Aidan's shots)

The kids had a blast hiking along the trail.  Only a few stumbles and cuts today by Bree and Jenna....we have improved since the last hike! 

The colours were stunning everywhere we looked.

The girl's stuck together for most of the hike, and it was fun to listen into their little conversations as we went.  Just need to work on keeping our eyes on the trail now...

We realized again today at just how lucky we are to live near such beautiful places like Kananaskis.  The mountains continue to amaze us everytime we visit.  We are so thankful that we can bring our kids here and that they enjoy these places as much as Brent and I do.  They truly are magical.