updated

I just edited some more pictures, and with my limited knowledge of photoshop, it doesn't take too long.
I posted some pictures on my somewhat neglected photograpy blog.
if you want to see them, click here.

bad news

I headed out to the closest costco yesterday to pick up a few things, and of course, Pirate's Booty was on my list,

but then I found out that that item has been discontinued, and that store was already out. but the nice lady looked on her computer and said there was still some at the next closest Costco. I had just enough time to get there and home before the kids got home from school, so of we rushed and picked up a cart full. I felt like I was getting so much, but now I wonder- if I can never get it again, maybe I should go get some more. we are going to have to ration it. this is serious.

Easter weekend in 13 pictures

1.the girls in their Easter dresses

2. Sadie and her easter egg hunt loot.
3. Jack climbing up the tree to get the egg.

4. Maggie and her easter egg hunt haul.

5. so excited to find an egg!

6. Grandma and Grandpa George, at their 65th wedding anniversary party!

7. Ben loves ceasar salad!

8. some of the boys hanging out. Jack is playing with a little motorcycle and a guy.

9. I was feeling a bit like the papparazi!

10. Grandma and Grandpa George and all of their great grandchildren, except the one who's head you see at the bottom of the picture!

11. I liked this shot.

12. we went to a town easter egg hunt, that was really just a candy scramble, and here are the kids comparing their loot.

13. good thing Jed had a big bucket! my oh my. I am still picking up candy wrappers, but I am pretty sure we have reached the bottom of the bucket. That was a lot of candy! and that was just Jed's. Sadie got 64 pieces of candy.

what a happy Easter it was!

sneak peek

I got to take pictures of these super cute girls again!
they were so fun, I was laughing a lot during the shoot!

I thought this one was funny, because it was hard to just get a smile and not a funny face, so to get a serious face was amazing!

this was the pose Heather thought was cheesy, but I think it is one of my favorite pictures of the bunch!

hope you like them Heather! I still have to go through a bunch. I can't believe how easy it is to take a couple hundred pictures in such a short time! what did we do before digital cameras?

and pictures of the rest of the weekend- well, maybe tomorrow!

oh- and just click on any picture if you want to see it bigger!

blur

the Easter weekend was a blur.
a lot of driving
a lot of wind- we were in southern alberta, after all.
a lot of family
a lot of fun
and an awful lot of pictures.
I have to take Jed to to dentist right away, then I hope to spend the rest of the day in front of the computer going through the hundreds of pictures!
but I will have to look over seminary, and make lunch, and clean up, a bit
oh, and I have a lot of laundry to do too!
hopefully I can share some pictures soon!

Booty head

1. yesterday was Sadie's last dance class. She was in a 10 week program (minus the one week I totally forgot) and she had such a great time.
she wasn't the most coordinated girl out there, but hey, it was her first class, and she did really well!


2. finally got to take some pictures of Maggie. she kept doing a silly grin, and was chewing some gum- that does not make for easy pictures!

3. a few days ago, Maggie and Jack built this sweet snowman. he is melting pretty fast now though, and Maggie was quite sad about it yesterday.

4. the snow is melting (yay!) then freezing at night, then melting again. hopefully someday soon we will be seeing some green grass.

5. my first day of babysitting the nine month old today. wow. baby food, everything in the mouth, crawling all over, being carefull what Maggie gives her to eat = good times today.

6. will probably be babysitting a 5 year old boy a few days a week soon, too. = me crazy.

7. no. no. no.no. no. NO.

oh, I can say it. or at least type it!

8. I figure if I am home anyways, I might as well have someone else to play with Maggie, and be paid for it too! right? am I crazy? wait, don't answer that.

9. I am officially a booty head. that is what fans of pirate booty are called, and man, am I ever a fan. love this stuff. love costo that sells two big bags of this together. must get some more. and it is organic so that means it's good for you, right?

10. heading down to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter. what a long drive. what a lot of cousins. what a lot of fun!

11. there is going to be a celebration for Cory's grandparents- for their 65th wedding anniversary while we are down there. so great!

12. I hope it is spring where we are headed. spring would be nice.

13. I get to take some pictures for a friend of my sisters when I am down there. I am excited for that too. two very cute girls. fun.

stuff

okay, I am kind of embarrased to show this to all of the blogger world- well, whoever happens to read this little blog of mine, but this is my life, and my house, and if you came over this is what you would see.

stuff. lots of it. and it is embarrassing, and a mess, and I am so happy to say- in hopefully two short weeks (my fingers are crossed) my basement will be done, and all this stuff can move downstairs, or maybe not- I think goodwill might get a large delivery soon.

because really. do we need this much stuff in our lives?

probably not. too bad I didn't sort through it all before it has been cluttering the corners of my house for months and months.

in fact, I have a box in my hallway that I think I will go fill up with some of this stuff I just don't need.

Happy Lucky Charms Day

- as Jed would say it!
we had the usual green milk
in fun St.Patrick's Day cups


the kids found some chocolate gold coins under their pillows when they woke up.
left there by a leprechaun.









and, we did indeed have lucky charms for breakfast.

have a happy St. Patrick's Day today!

Then and now

so this was then. back when I thought spring was here. the big puddle at the bottom of the driveway is a sure sign.
the sun was shining, the snow was melting.
spring, right?

then came yesterday.

and snow, snow, snow.

lots of it.

I am afraid that spring might never really come.

but I still have hope.

deep down under all that snow.

yesterday

the big day.
complete with the monkey cake.
that was quite delicious.

here she is, the sassy little three year old!

Thursday the thirteenth

1. on this day, 3 years ago, my sweet Maggie was born.

2. it was really early in the morning that she was born.

3. it was a Sunday, and all my young women walked over to the hopital during their young women's class to see me and my new baby. ( the church is just a couple of blocks from the hospital.)

4. now that she is three, I think we really need to get the potty training going. But being that I have been through this four times before, I am of the experience that it will happen when they are ready, and not before. so here's hoping she will be ready soon, because I am so ready to be done with diapers!

5.she has been talking for months now about her monkey party she is having. hmm. a monkey party.

so, I am making a monkey cake, and I bought some Dora ice cream she has been eyeing at the grocery store, and we will call it a party.

sounds like fun to me!

6. she is one of my best eaters! she is the only one who will share my guacamole with me, and eat my grapefruit with me in the mornings. when we sit down to eat though, she will usually look at the dinner and say-"me no like that," but then usually eats it all.

7. she is the only one who all my kids get along with. they all adore her. and she adores them too.

8. I love that she has mor hair now. it has taken a few years, but she has it.

I love that sometimes it looks a bit red, and I love her crazy curls.

9. wow. I can't believe my baby is 3! time flies by.

10. I am so glad it is a birthday today, and that we get some cake and ice cream.

I love cake and ice cream!


11. Maggie has a cousin that was born on the same day as her, and she is turning 4 today. so fun.

happy birthday, Hannah!

12. at breakfast, we fill up her bowl with milk and cereal, and she always drinks the milk out of the bowl first, then will eat the cereal. sometimes. and sometimes she leaves the cereal and never eats it.

13. happy birthday, sweet Maggie girl!

First place!

my Jed,

this handsome guy-

the one who pesters his brothers and sisters to no end,

and the one who cut off his eyelashes,

that one,

well, he got first place in his class at the local music festival! for playing the piano.

(there were only three kids in his class, but still, pretty good)

and what makes it even better was that both his Grandma's, his great aunt and his grandpa all got to see him play! fun stuff.

I even got an email today saying he won a music scholarship and asking if he would play at the final show,

then I got another email saying, whoops, he probably won't be playing, but he still won the scholarship!

too fun.

what a boy!

today

1. the mohawk is now gone.
2. Jack is happy because he doesn't have to brush his hair now!
3. my father-in-law has been helping out around the house the last few days. my fridge now has water and ice! yay. it has been a few months. more than a few, I think. thanks!
4. I just read Life as we Knew it- not sure who it's by- my mil has it and is now reading it, but man, do I ever want to go out and get some food storage! it is a great book- highly recommended! especially if you need a push to get your food storage, like I do!
5. our van is at the garage today. there were some strange noises- never a good sign! and the back door won't open. makes grocery shopping a huge pain! hopefully it will be back soon, and be all better! and not cost an arm and a leg to fix. because I would like to keep all my arms and legs.
6. Jed is playing the piano in the music festival tomorrow! I am so nervous for him! he is a good little piano player though!
7. once again, I tried to get a picture on this blog, but no go. how boring. I know, every post needs a picture, and I tried, I really did!
8. I think I need some chocolate.
9. I might have to buy more easter treats before easter- in fact, I am almost positive, because I am pretty sure what I have now isn't going to last until then.
10. my sister's kid's school did a fundraiser with purdy's chocolates this easter. yum. my mom used to work there- so delish. so I ordered a bit. I think I will give the kids the cheapy stuff, and save the purdy's goods for my own easter treats. is that bad?
11. I don't have them yet. that is a good thing, or they really wouldn't make it to easter.
12. it looks like Cory might be headed to General Conference. tickets have been obtained. lucky guy. but this is good, because if he gets to go on a trip, maybe I can go on another one too!
13. I am betting when he goes- with the bishop, and one of the young men, they probably won't stop and shop like a bunch of women would. sad. a road trip with no stopping and shopping. I can't imagine!

Wacky hair day

once again- as happens every year around this time, it is wacky hair day.
here's Jed's wacky 'do. some ponies, some spikes, some orange and some red. pretty wacky.


but then, there's Jack. I still can't believe I let him do this. last night we cut most of his hair short, except the top, leaving him with a mohawk.
tonight we will cut that off. oh, yes, it will be gone tomorrow. for sure.











I have no idea how people really do them. the only way we could get it to stick up is making it spiky. crazy kid. and an even crazier mom for letting him.
he kept telling me to cut the sides shorter, but this is the shortest I would go, I am sure that tomorrow he will think it is all too short.
I tried uploading pictures of sadie, twice, but they were not coming, so imagine her with one side a bit orange, one side red, and ponytails all over.
what a wacky day!

March?!?

this is the scene out my front door today. you can't really tell, but it is snowing.

again.

what is up with that?

although it is to be expected. I do live in Canada. and March is not yet spring up here! not in these parts anyways. April maybe. but not march. much to early for spring.

and yep, that leaping picture is by Bobbi-jo. we jumped a ton of times, and she captured it. so fun. and yep, Cory is quite the jumper.

today

Happy leap day!

to celebrate I let my kids have lucky charms for breakfast.

now that is something you don't see around here every day!

thirteen thoughts

1. Sadie in her easter dress. almost done Maggies- it just needs a button. if you have a 3 year old that needs a dress just like this- check my Etsy shop- there is one there- just waiting to be worn. it is a super cute dress. really

2. I had a bit of a job interview today. the family who I might be babysitting for came over so their dad could meet me, and we could talk. I think it went well.

3. and boy is my house clean right now. too bad I know it won't stay this way for long. but I am enjoying it right now!

4. I am still working on my quilt for the quilt along. 43o squares are taking me a real long time to sew. and the pressing. must press each square. I'm getting there. slowly but surely.

5. could spring be here? the snow is melting and dripping, and slushy everywhere. but I don't think this is it. I am no weatherman, but I am betting it will get cold again. I would be happy to be wrong, but, well, this is Canada. and it is only February.

6.I was looking back at my blog, trying to see when the basement removations were first started- it was a year ago. wow. a year. time to get it done.

7. the carpet guy came and measured our basement, and we picked out the carpet. and by we, I mean Cory. but I think he chose well, except he picked one with a pattern on it, and I wanted the no pattern one. nice.

8. so, looking back at my blog was fun. fun to see what was going on in my life, the little things, the big things, my thoughts.

9. I love blogging- for the people I have 'met' through it. for instance- I came across this blog. I think because her name is Kristi, that I clicked on someones link to her blog, but ends up she lives near Washington DC, and had blogged about a ribbon outlet store, that I told my sister about -who also lives in that area, and now my sister went there,and loved it- all because of blogging. love it.

10. so, checking my junk mail, it looks like I am the lucky winner of the 2008 irish lottery! how exciting. must be urgent, since I had 3 emails from them. funny because I never bought a ticket. amazing.

11. Maggie is big on singing the abc song- but when she sings it, it is abpd. so funny. and t u b. she is close though. so close. and so smart! now I know my a b p's next time won't you sing with me.

12. the cookie from the last post is long gone. in case you were wondering. and it was delicious.

13. speaking of cookies, my cookie jar is empty. and we can't have that! I think that needs to be fixed ASAP. I know what I am doing this afternoon! yum.

a cookie, and soup

hey, Shelley, look what I found- those delicious sugar cookies at my grocery store- and chocolate to boot! so delish. that one is sitting there, taunting me. we will see how long it will last! not too much longer, I am sure!

I had big plans yesterday, to make Baked Potato Soup- and take pictures all along the way- the way Pioneer Woman does- so fun, but it didn't happen. I did make it, and it was so good- so I will just share the recipe with you, and if you so desire, make it, and try it, you just might love it! I know I do!

first I will give you the recipe the way it is- then I will tell you what I do differently- okay, here it is-

2 large baking potatoes

3 tbsp thinly sliced green onion

1/3 c margarine

1/3 c flour

2 tsp fresh dill or 1/4 tsp dried

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 c milk

3/4 c cheddar cheese shredded

4 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

bake potatoes. cool, scoop out insides. In large saucepan cook onion in margarine until tender. stir in flour, dill, salt and pepper. add milk. cook and stir til thickened and bubbly. Add potato and half of cheese. stir until cheese melts. garnish with cheese, more green onion and bacon. serves 6.

okay- I bake about 6 potatoes- I guess I like it more chunky. I never have dill, so I skip that, I usually try to use powdered milk in baking- gotta use it somehow! I guess that is about all I do differently.

but I also save the skins from the potatoes, put cheese, green onion and bacon on those, broil them, then we have them with sour cream. yum. it is a pretty economical meal- and delicious to boot! love it! and if you go to Red Robins you can get some there too- you could probably make a whole pot at home for what a bowl will cost you there, but it will still taste good, and you won't have to wash the dishes!

sweet sisters

so, for the last couple of weeks, Maggie has been sleeping in Sadie's bed with her.

so sweet.

I am thinking we should just get them a double bed, so they don't have to be so squished. but it is quite cozy.

It's thursday..

and you know what that means!
13 things.
hmm. lets get started.

1. Maggie just came up to me and said- "it's dripping all over me." let me just share that she has a very runny nose today. nice.

2. did you see the eclipse last night? amazing stuff.

3. babysitting. makes me feel like the queen ant in bugs life when she says- It's our lot in life- its not a lot, but it's our life.
okay, that doesn't sound right. maybe I better watch it again, but babysitting seems to be my lot in life right now. I just got another possibel babysitting job. could turn it down. I haven't said yes, or no yet. still thinking.

4. that book club book I said was good- I take it back. well, it is good, in a disturbing kind of way. so if you like weird, slightly disturbing books, then feel free, but I am no longer recommending it to all. take that as you will.

5. went to a pampered chef party last night and had my first taste of brie. mmm. yummy.

6. I was looking through some pictures on the computer, and thought I would post some of my favorites.
here's sweet Maggie

7. I love this one of Jack. If I made it big, where could I hang it? it is so him.

8. and my sweet Sadie.

9. I really need to get my December kids to pose for their annual photo shoots! new photo's needed.

10. we ran out of primer for the basement. Cory is picking some up today. then we can continue in the basement. oh so close.

11. I went out for dinner with a friend a bit ago, and we both ordered baked potato soup- it was yummy, and ends up, I have a recipe that is almost exactly the same. so good- I just made it last week, but tempted to make it again.

12. I am ready for spring. and the snow to melt and be gone, and the leaves to be back, and the grass to be green. anyone else with me?

13. Ben informed me this morning that he is out of clean boxers- and I said- in my best wonderpets song voice- this is serious. then I heard maggie in the dining room saying- we have to help him- in her best wonderpets song voice. if you haven't seen the show, this will all mean nothing, but if you know what I mean- it was pretty funny.