How to Train Your Dragon

Tonight was the night that we decided to take the family on our date night to the theater to watch "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3D. What a great decision!!! The kids had a blast watching it - all THREE of them - and Navia loved how "cuddly" the dragon Toothless was (one shown in picture) It was also nice to watch a movie together without wanting to get out of there because the movie was bad - nope - GREAT movie!

In the middle of the movie Kaleb leaned over to me and said in an excited whisper, "Mom, I thought this was a great movie but it just keeps getting better and better" and he turned back, glued to the screen.

I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but the really cool thing is that today we bought the book by the same title, which is the first in the series - and we didn't buy it for Emma. Nope! This book is for Kaleb and he can't wait to start reading it tomorrow to see what is the same and what is different from the movie! And . . . this isn't a "child's" book - it is 224 pages long with 19 chapters!!! YAY!!! I think we just might have found a series that Kaleb will enjoy, but we'll see. He actually was tested last month on his reading capabilities and it looks like he's reading at an end of Grade Three level!

So, we'll see if we're purchasing number 2 in this series sometime soon - I sure hope so because it's great to see the kids reading like this - kinda reminds me of how I was when I was younger.

"A Note from Hiccup -

There were dragons when I was a boy.

There were great, grim, sky dragons that nested on the cliff tops like gigantic scary bird. Little, brown, scuttly dragons that hunted down the mice and rates in well-organized packs. Preposterously huge Sea Dragons that were twenty times as big as the Big Blue Whale and who killed for the fun of it.

You will have to take my word for it, for the dragons are disappearing so fast they may soon become extinct.

Nobody knows what is happening. They are crawling back into the sea from whence they came, leaving not a bone, not a fang, in the earth for the men of the future to remember them by.

So, in order that these amazing creatures should not be forgotten, I will tell this true story from my childhood.

I was not the sort of boy who could train a dragon with the mere lifting of an eyebrow. I was not a natural at the Heroism business. I had to work at it. This is the story of becoming a Hero the Hard Way.

- Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third" (excerpt from beginning of book)

Bye, Bye Braces!!!

Last April (10 months ago) Emma had braces put on her 4 top front teeth . . . this is a picture of her taken a year ago so you can see what her teeth looked like . . .

She LOVED having braces and had fun choosing what colors of elastics she's have each month. Then today came . . . this is what she looked like before we went in for her orthodontist appointment . . .

And this is what she looked like after her appointment!

She is happy to have them off because she was missing her sticky treats, but the cool thing is that at the same times she's happy, she's also looking forward to getting them on again! Yep - we're only on stage one and now we're going to wait for the rest of her baby teeth to fall out and her adult teeth to come in and then we're back to braces (probably in 1.5 yrs). Her adult eye tooth is already starting to come in and the doctor knows that there isn't enough space, but we need to wait and play it by ear. He figured this way at least she could have a break and then we're back to it again.

But - isn't there such a HUGE difference between the before and after pic . . . wow!!! Her doctor did a great job!!!

So now we wait 6 months and go back just to check on how things are looking, and from there figure out when stage 2 will officially be starting! She does have a permanent retainer on the back of her front 4 teeth to keep them in place until everything is complete, but if you weren't told about it you'd never know.

If you see her around now she will definitely be smiling HUGE just to show you her "new" teeth!

Winterlude

Today we decided to have a Winterlude day- considering it was the last weekend for it if we didn't go today we would've totally missed it - so we packed our stuff (and kids) up and went to Jacques-Cartier Park to Snowflake Kingdom and had the best weather for it!!! And really, what better thing to take Grampa Bailey too!!!

We started off in the snow sculptures, where each province had an entry - the kids loved the details carved out of the snow. And of course we HAD to have BeaverTails - and I'm pretty sure that we now have Grampa hooked!!!

Standing in front of the winning sculpture - Alberta's Ice Skates

Then we entered the park where Mommy just HAD to take a picture of everyone in front of the Winterlude Mascots, Mr and Mrs. Ice Hog (okay so the Mrs. was otherwise occupied with other guest so it's just with the Mr - hehehe!).

There were various other characters roaming the site as well . . . .

Grampa and the "girls"

Grampa and Navia by one of the snow carvings

The CANADA ARMY and MARINES had areas that you could try out various things and the one that the kids couldn't wait to do was hook up Grampa and Daddy up to the sled and have them pull Kaleb and Navia around while Emma was pushing at the back. Needless to say, Emma fell. But Emma wouldn't just fall and let go - nope! She hung on for dear life and was dragged around the course - it was hilarious to watch!!! I just happened to take a small video of it - check it out below - I'm thinking she really only got a couple steps out before she fell :)

Kaleb wanted to give a try pushing it while Grampa and Emma were off at another ARMY area, but as you can see - he wasn't any more successful than Emma at pushing it for the entire time!

There was also an area that you could try snowshoeing - which the kids did pretty well!!!

Emma was pretty fast - even trying to run

Kaleb thought that racing Navia would be a fun thing, but . . .

Yep - Navia's one snowshoe fell off! It didn't stop her though - she just picked it up and kept on running!

Then - the part that we really came for - the ice slides!!! There were various ones to choose from, single and group ones. The kids loved how fast they could slide down and even Daddy and Grampa did numerous runs!

Navia trying the sitting pose to see which if it is faster than lying down.

Kaleb figured the lying down was the fastest!!!

Then they tried the group one - and came down in a huge falling-over mess!!! Would you believe that they started in a line all nice and straight?!?!?

Grampa and Navia ended up coming in first, with Daddy a close third, then Emma and then at the end, Kaleb

Daddy doing a slide - sitting works better for him because he can see where to stop at the end and not run into an unsuspecting child :)

There also was a tubing area that they all took turns doing - it's Grampa's turn!!!

Daddy goofing around with Emma - she was pretty dizzy after being swung around so fast! (kinda neat seeing the Parliament Buildings in the background)

We then went to Confederation Park to see the ice sculptures and came across "Taffy on Snow". The last time that Gramma Bailey came down Brade and the kids went to a Sugar Bush place with her and it was the first time they'd tried maple taffy - it was cool to be able to now do the same with Grampa.

Choosing which one they wanted

You can't see the little syrup drips on Kaleb's head after Grampa and I were showing off our taffy - oops - guess it's laundry time!!!

I think we just might have hooked Grampa on another sweet treat!!!

So the day started out with a McDonald's breakfast - then did Winterlude for the entire afternoon - came home and put the kids to bed and is now ending with "Memphis Bell" - yep - it was a good day!

Breakfast at Our House

Our kids LOVE instant oatmeal for breakfast - but the cost just isn't worth it. We've made it with instant oats, etc but it is a bit of a pain and the kids end up doing it wrong without help - and without help equals a huge mess!!!

So, my mom was here this month and came up with a GREAT way to make instant oatmeal - she took snack bags and put individual servings in each bag and then put the bags in the box of instant oatmeal with directions on the side - now the kids just need to add water and put it in the microwave . . . brilliant idea!!! No mess, no extra work and the kids LOVE making their own breakfasts - we've changed it up with adding raisins sometimes, brown sugar, cinnamon and we might even try a chocolate one. . . the possibilities are endless (and cheap!!!)

So, from my mom to me to you - here's an easy way to have your kids eat healthy breakfasts for less. Thanks Mom!!!

Dinner, Movie, Skating, Beavertails - A Great V-day Wknd

This past week Navia has been sick for 7 out of 8 days - ug! So with her still not feeling 100% Daddy took on Valentine weekend with the kids. He got home early on Friday night and took Emma and Kaleb out for supper and a movie - The Tooth Fairy.

The kids LOVED it and when Kaleb came home from the night the first thing he said when he walked through the door was, "tonight was so great!". Yep - they had fun!

Then on Saturday Daddy took Emma and Kaleb out to the canal to skate, eat BeaverTails and have hot chocolate. Yum! Navia and I hung out at home and Daddy actually came home with pictures :)

Beavertails - My favorite is the cinnamon and sugar - you just HAVE to have one when you come down!!!

Then on Sunday - actual Valentine's Day - we played for ReChurch so had to take off early and then after church we went to a friend's house for Valentine's Brunch. The kids had fun because they have a ravine type area at the back of their house so could spend all afternoon playing outside!!!

For the last 9 years Braden and I have had the same tradition for Valentine's Day - it started when Emma wasn't even a month old and we didn't want to get a babysitter - Brade made us a picnic in the living room and ordered in Chinese food. This year we changed it just a bit and used the coffee table instead of the floor :)

It's kinda cool to be able to have a date at home by putting the kids to bed early . . . but . . . I am looking forward to this week when Braden's Dad comes and he's offered to watch the kids while we go out on a real date!!! Yay!!!

Gramma's Robes

This post is a long time coming - way tooooo long in coming. But - they're all done now!!!

Gramma Bailey had started sewing robes - but she just didn't start one - nope - she took on the project of sewing EIGHT!!! Yep - one for each grandchild and then seeing the material for the girls' she just had to sew one for her little girl too. Life happened and Gramma wasn't able to finish them, but they were all cut and Navia's was mostly completed. While I was still in Saskatchewan I finished Navia's, Emma's and Auntie Jenna's (with my mom's help) and then I took the pieces of Kaleb's back to Ottawa with the intention of finishing it right away. Rhonda had taken the pieces for her boys' and she finished them for this past Christmas. Well - it took me longer than I had planned, but when Daddy took off for the wknd at the end of January I decided to finally get the last robe together. The girls' robes were kinda hard just because of the type of material, but the boy robe - it was sooo nice to finally work with easy, non-falling apart material.

So - here are all the final projects (yep - I kinda "borrowed" a photo from Duff and Rhon' s blog,http://5men1lady.blogspot.com/2009/12/grandma-robes.html) I figured this way we could see them all together - like Mom would have wanted.)

Auntie Jenna, Emma and Navia in Regina

Navia, Kaleb and Emma in Ottawa

Thad, Ezra, Solomon and Eli in St. Louis

They all love their robes and I guess the St Louis boys call them their "Gramma Robes", just like our kids do. They are just another physical way of remembering how much their Gramma loved them.

We miss Gramma very much and can't believe that it's coming up to eight months that she's been gone, but Braden and I hear so many "do you remember when Gramma..." stories from all three of our kids - and this is cool! She left her grandbabies (as she would say) with amazing memories of their times together and no doubt in their minds that they were really, truly loved by a very special woman.

Emma and Gramma - August 2008 in Hamilton, ON

Kaleb and Gramma - April 2007 in Airdrie, AB

Navia and Gramma - July 2008 in Regina

Gramma McGifford's Visit

Gramma McGifford came down from February 3 - 9th - just missing my birthday, but for the first time we had a grandparent down for a grandchild's birthday - I guess that's what happens when you live provinces away :)

As soon as she came she we put her straight to work - first babysitting the kids because I was working when she came and then the next day watching Navia while I did lesson planning. I know that Navia appreciated that!!! Then on Thursday night she was able to go to the Awana Car Rally that Emma and Kaleb entered their cars into.

For Emma's birthday she received a scrapbooking album from Gramma and Grampa McGifford and she was wanting to work on it with Gramma, so each night she would stay up a bit later than the other kids and the two would work on it together.

Gramma also spent way too much time working on the cake for Kaleb's party, but it was so worth it!!! I remember when I could choose whatever cake I would like and it would magically appear on my birthday. It was cool that Kaleb could do that this time!!!

Navia got to spend a lot of time with Gramma while the kids were in school as I was getting things ready for Kaleb's party and lesson planning.

The day that Gramma left though, 2 kids were home sick and I was doing it all by myself . . . oh well . . . it was good that they were able to be healthier while she was down - for the most part anyways . . . I guess there was a bit of coughing and a fever which kept us from Winterlude, and Kaleb from a birthday party, but overall it was good.

There was a bad part to the visit though - it was too short and I couldn't find my camera lots of the time so there aren't enough pictures. I guess I'm just going to have to learn how to use Gramma's camera . . .