The Neilsons

Sneak Peak at Family Pics 2010

2010-11-14T21:09:00.000-08:00

LILY JOAN NEILSON

2010-05-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

She is finally here and we all LOVE her

Lily Joan Neilson

May 12, 2010 at 7:31pm

9lbs 4oz & 21inches

She is such a good baby and the girls are in heaven.

NO,NO, NO, NO..............

2009-06-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Just last week I said my kids would never do this. I can't believe it Ava CUT her hair. I never keep scissors out, I thought that I was a smart mom. I of course was on the phone, Ava found the scissors and went to town. She came and found me and was so proud, "Mom look." I just started saying no, no, no, no and then started crying. Ava kept saying, "it's okay, Dad fix it."

This was after Auntie Lisa cut 3 inches off the bottom

The only hairdo we can do now

Come on show me your hair

Come on silly girl

Okay, she is still cute

Camping

2009-05-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

We went camping May long weekend with ZoBells in Waterton. We had a windy but great time. The girls loved the waterfall, icecream, the lake, walks, bike rides, great food, cousins and sleeping in the campout (what they call the motorhome). I love camping.

GRADUATION.....

2009-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun weekend with MiKen and getting her all graduated. It makes me kinda sad thinking that she is the last of the Woolf's to graduate high school, we are all getting so grown up. I remember MiKen starting kindergarten when I was in grade 11. She is such a little beauty queen now and my girls think she is just the most amazing thing ever. Mia got a little dress made out of the left over fabric and was in heaven. The lady that made MiKen's dress did an amazing job and MiKen told Mia while it was getting made that the Fairy Godmother was making her a ball gown and that Mia would be able to go and see all the princesses with their beautiful dresses soon. Imagine how Mia felt when she got to go and get the Fairy Godmother to measure her for her dress. Verla, the amazing seamstress, made all the nieces that came to grad little ball gowns and they really were the cutest things ever.

I love you MiKenLee and am so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS STACEY AND NEIL WE TRULY WISH YOU THE BEST

2009-04-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Scott's sister Stacey got married this weekend so it was a crazy one for us. There were many late nights and lists of things that needed to be done but it turned out really nice. Stacey looked beautiful and all the little girls stole the show. They were her little flower girls and looked so cute in their matching dresses. Mia definatly would have to say her favorite part was the dance. She never left that dance floor and did NOT want to dance with anyone, just by herself. Scott literally had to drag her off kicking and screaming at the end of the night. She is our little dancing queen.

EASTER

2009-04-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great QUIET Easter, which is strange for us considering our four families. We spent most of the weekend at home just being together. It was really nice. Scott's birthday was right in the middle of the weekend so we kind of combined our Easter dinner, birthday dinner. We had a very non traditional Easter/birthday dinner and had steak with all the fixings. It is Scott's favorite so we had to do it. We did our own little Easter egg hunt on the Easter Monday, it was weird in all 5 years of being married we have always done this with one of our families. The girls loved it and were so excited to see what the Easter Bunny brought them. Have I said how much fun little girls are lately?? They really are my favorite, I don't know what i would do with a boy, even though someday I would like to find out. Anyway, back to the topic, I really love Easter and how it is in the spring when everything is waking up. It really helps me to remember my Savior and the Resurrection. I am so grateful for the sacrifice that he made for each one of us.

Happy Birthday to the #1 Guy in our Lives..... Our Dad, Husband, and Best Friend. We love you and hope that you had a great birthday.

2009-04-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

ZONE CHAMPS

2009-03-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

YEAH for the PANDAS

we are so excited that you won ZONES

CONGRATS DAD, MIK, and MIKEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

2009-03-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

She sang Happy Birthday to everyone she saw today, I don't know if she knew it was her birthday or thought it was everyone elses.

HAPPY day to you AVA, we love you sooo.

Some of the things we love about AVA

-counts to 10

-she gets so excited about the littlest things

-can almost do her ABC's or at least she almost knows the song

-know A is for Ava

-always smily

-loves her sister

-makes you feel like you are her favorite as soon as you walk into the room

-a great sleeper

-loves all her grandmas and grandpas

-always raising her eyebrows

-cleans up so well

-loves baths

-LOVES, loves nursery and asks me everyday when I am doing her hair if we are going to church

-loves her sister, they are best friends

-talks really well

-loves to snuggle, but only for a minute and she says "one minute" before she snuggles in, she is busy you know

-eats all the time and will try anything

-HAPPY, HAPPY

We love you AVA, what would we do without you!!!

Skiing at ONE?????

2009-02-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun weekend!!! ZoBells have this tradition of getting together and all going to Kalispel and skiing on the week that all the ZoBell boys birthdays are. Their birthdays are all every other day starting with Jamie (20), then Shane (22), then Jess (24). It also lands on reading week so all the kids are out of school. Jess' oldest sister Kari lives in Kalispel so we all crashed at her house and had a blast. I was so proud of my little girls, they both skiied and loved it. I couldn't believe it, Ava is 1 and she did it!!! It helped to have these ski vests and you just follow them down kind of leading them like a horse, pull one strap and they go that way. I haven't skiied in forever, I snowboard, but you kind of have too with these little vest things. It was so fun and we can't wait to go again.

2009-02-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

We have been busy all week long preparing for this fun, fun holiday. I love Valentines, because it is a day all about LOVE. We made cookies and decorated, whipped up some valentines, decorated the house and just got excited for the big Day. Scott always buys the girls and me flowers so of course he stuck with tradition, which us girls all loved. The girls and I decorated our bed with fun little treats for him and then we just enjoyed each other that day. Scott and I went our for supper the day before which was so fun, I love any little bit of time we have to spend just him and me because we really don't do that very often. Every year that these little muffins get older things become just that much more fun.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

AVA loves cinnamon hearts

our crafty little woman

Sisters are so fun

Mixing

The finished product

These girls had to decorate fist thing in the morning even before breakfast

Surprises for DAD

Happy Birthday Dad

2009-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

We had a great day today and it really made me think how lucky we are to live this close to family, especially my parents. We got to spend the whole day together with my dad for his special day. My mom has always made a big deal about birthdays and I have now carried on that tradition. I LOVE birthdays!! Mom always has balloons up at the bottom of their lane and makes the whole day special. I hope that my dad had a great day. The girls and I woke up and made little posters for the birthday boy. They love any sort of craft. Mia especially loves to use scissors right now. We took them over to my dad and then had a great lunch all together with GG as well (that is what Mia and Ava call Great Grandma and Grandpa Woolf). After supper we all got to go skating and it was so fun. It was the first time Mia ever wore skates and surprizingly enough she loved it and didn't want to leave. I don't have skates that fit so I just had to watch which was a bummer but you should have seen Ava. She loved just going around and around in someones arms or on their shoulders. I love seeing the girls try new things.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Swimming, Swimming in the Swimming Pool...

2009-02-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of the things my girls love, love love. Swimming I have to say is one of their favorite things to do. We went for Family Home Evening with Grandma and Elaine and Jared and their little girls. Mia and Ava are crazy in the pool, we seriously had to watch them every stinkin second. These two wanted to be under the water the whole time. Ava would just fall off the foamy boat they had at the pool and be under the water waiting for me to see her and lift her out. Mia loves to swim under my legs even though I pretty much have to push her through. I love that they have never been afraid to put their faces under. I guess it helped to put them under the water as young as 6 weeks.

Jillian Jiggs

2009-01-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

I love these Jillian Jiggs books. The illustrations are beautiful and the little girl in this story is so full of character. We got the treasury for Christmas and it is such a good book with great little messages in each story. Mia has been bugging me since she got this book from her Auntie Caryn to make these pigs. We decided to try it one day, and went to town and collected all the things that we needed. She was so excited (I don't know what for most, missing her nap so we could tackle the project while Ava was sleeping, or just making the little suckers). Well, as we started I found that it was a little harder than I thought it would be and not that kid friendly. She was just fine with watching all the sewing involved, and designated herself as the stuffing girl. She did a great job and we had fun doing a little project together. I did get left after a while as she got a little distracted. We made one for her little cousin Madi too, as she is in the hospital right now with a Staph infection. Ava was quite excited for her little pig when she woke up. Mia knows exactly which one is hers as it is just a tiny bit bigger than Ava's and she doesn't let them get mixed up. Projects are fun, I think we will just pick one next time that she can be more involved in.

The Most Snow Ever......

2009-01-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

I have seriously don't think I have seen this much snow in my life. We have had so much fun with it. The girls love all the tall drifts and playing king of the castle. They even slide down them over and over. I have to say that I love WINTER. I love snow and cold and hot chocolate and everything about it. I do get a little cabin fever as do the girls but we have had fun.

Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam

2009-01-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

We have a new little primary goer at our house and boy was she excited. I told her that her new teacher's name was Sister Jasmine and she stood there and just looked at me with awe. I wasn't sure why she was looking at me like that and then she said, "Princess Jasmine is my teacher!!!" It was so cute. She even had to bring her little Alladin figurines to primary to show Jasmine. She has done wonderful and loves her class and primary. The chorister in Primary even wrote me a little note that I got in the mail saying how she is so proud of Mia for how reverent and big she is. Now, wouldn't that make a mom proud. I have had to sneak little peaks every once in a while in the primary room and she is snuggled right up to her teacher with her arms folded. She is the only girl in her class with 2 other little boys. This big step almost makes me cry, I don't want my girls to be getting this big!! We are so proud of you MIA

The weather outsides been frightful

2008-12-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

But we really have had such a delightful time. I LOVE the winter and snow and cold and everything about it. My sisters Elaine and Nadine were here the WHOLE holidays and our little families had so much fun playing outside. I didn't get a pic of sledding and the huge snow fort that the dads built for the kids but we had a blast in the cold and snow. These pics were taken before we really got all the snow and you should see it. My parents lane is sooo snowy and the drifts are way taller than our vehicles. They have had to be dug out to get anywhere 6 times!!

Quadding, of course

Mia and Ki spent hours outside

Mia and her daddy

My little Eskimo

One of the many snowball fights, notice Ava in the red, nice throwing form

Christmas 2008.....

2008-12-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

Our little actresses, acting out the nativity

Trying to help Ava watch the play

This Christmas we spent it at the Neilsons and had a blast. It was a quick trip as we got there on the 23 and then left on Christmas day. But boy did we pack in a bunch of fun. As soon as we got to Red Deer we went straight to the pool, as usual. They have the funnest Swimming Center with waterslides, a river, a huge kiddy playground, fountains, and two hot tubs. The best part about it is that it is WARM!?! We love it there so much that we really try to go every time we visit Scotts family. We had so much fun that night that we got up on Christmas Eve morning and went again. My girls are fishes and love to have their heads under the whole time. We really have to watch them because sometimes they need a little help taking a breath. That night we had an amazing Christmas dinner, thanks to Scotts mom. Then the traditions began, acting out the nativity and getting the Christmas Eve pajamas. They were so cute doing the Nativity, Mia was one of the angles and Ava was Joseph. We finally have two boys in the family after a ton of girls but they weren't quite old enough to be Joseph yet. Ava was on a mission getting Mary to the Stable and then once her job was done she had no interest in the play anymore. Mia and her older cousin Madi absolutely LOVE each other and despite 3 years difference in age are inseperable when they are together. Those two were both angles and practised their parts for about an hour before the big show. Grandma Neilson bought all the grandkids the cutest pajama's all matching. They looked so cute all going to bed. Once the kids were safely nestled all snug in their beds, the wrapping began. I get my wrapping finished before this night but Scotts family has quite a big job on their hands once the kids are in bed. Scott and I helped and I think we went to bed about 2 in the morning.

Scott's whole family was able to be there this year, all 19 of us, and it was to fun to all be together. I am not sure when or if this will happen again for Christmas as we are all starting our families, but it was so special (especially for Scott's mom) to have us all together. We love Christmas and love just hanging out and spending time together.

All the Neilson Grandkids in their matching PJ's

Notice Scott's attempt at a beard

I think Mia wished she could have him for Christmas

Ava with the mountain

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree......

2008-12-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

We went on our annual christmas tree hunt up in the mountains and boy did we pick a beautiful day. We went on a monday afternoon and had the whole area to ourselves we didn't even see a single tire track anywhere. It was so much fun to watch these girls try to find our perfect tree. They loved everything about it, the quadding, the snow angels and just being out in this beautiful spot. I love moments like this that we can spend together as our little family.

Look at these faces!!

You should see our tree, it is really amazing coming from the mountains. The girls loved to decorate it and are really a joy to watch this Christmas season. They are starting to understand what Christmas is all about. Mia keeps telling me that baby Jesus isn't born yet, but he will be soon!!

I love these little girls

ARIZONA

2008-12-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

We were so lucky to go to Arizona this last month and visit my sister Renee and her family. We had such a fun time and these little cousins really had fun being together. Don't get me wrong, there were alot of crazy times too, with all 5 being 3 years old and under. But it was so worth it. I love my sister and it was just fun being together for two weeks.

Playing in the sand

Hanging out in the Astro Jump

Crazy Ava

Jumping, jumping, jumping

Best buddies

Snuggling in their fort

Kisses goodbye

We sure had a fun time being together. We went to 8 different parks, shopped a bit, did a project, organized Bransons 4th birthday party, visited, watched movies and just spent time together. Thankyou Renee, for letting us come. We love you guys

One of the many parks

Riding on an alligator

Feeding the ducks

The Birthday Girl

2008-11-30T18:40:00.000-08:00

Our big girl Mia turned 3 this last week and let me tell you she has been waiting for this day to come for the last month. I think that I told her a little too soon that her birthday was coming because she wouldn't let me forget this last month that she was having a birthday.

Grandma Joan made her this cute little crown poster

She woke up to streamers on her door and got to dress up as a princess all day

The beautiful cake that her Auntie Tanya and Auntie Stacey made

The big three year old

Blowing out the candles

Opening gifts - thanks everyone

Mia had a great birthday week, she really was the princess all week. On her birthday on Wednesday we got up to the house all decorated and then opened her presents from us. We went to Grandma Joans house for lunch and a sleep. We had a great supper of fish and chips (her favorite) and cupcakes. Scott, Mia, Ava and I went swimming to end the day. On Saturday we had such a fun Princess party with all her family. It was fun because she got to see all four of her grandmas and grandpas this week. She had wonderful Aunties who made her an amazing cake, each year they top last years. She is a lucky girl to have such fun cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas. We love you Mia you are getting to be such a big girl.

hApPy HalLoWeEn

2008-11-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had as fun of a halloween as we did. We started off the week Carving Pumpkins with ZoBells for FHE. We have done this with them quite a few times and it is so fun all getting together and seeing everyones pumpkins. There were some pretty fun ideas.

Lots and lots of pumpkins

I feel really bad because I didn't remember my camera when we went to our annual halloween party at the Welling Church. The girls wanted to be matching little ballerinas. They love these little costumes and want to wear them everyday.

(Note: I am a bad mom and didn't even get pics of these little muffins on halloween day in their costumes, but they did wear these little dresses) I did their hair all pretty and they even got to wear make-up

This week we also made cute little halloween cupcakes and delivered them to all our neighbors and friends. I love the fall and all the colors.

Sisters.........

2008-10-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

I love sisters. Especially these little sisters. Ava is in love with Mia, and tries everything that Mia is doing. If Mia says something, Ava says something. If Mia jumps off something Ava has to try it. These girls are funny little muffins and I love to just watch as they become closer little friends everyday. I hope that this is the way they always are to each other.

Ava

I have been quite excited that as she is talking and communicating better, making her happier and me happier. She is so cute these days, trying every word that she can and doing a great job at it. She is kind of a funny little duck too, if you ask her to smile you get the biggest funniest smile ever, eyebrows way up and mouth wide open. She is really into playing with her sister and loves to pretend in their little kitchen and with the dollies. She is quick to say sorry by giving you a big hug and snuggling her little head into your shoulder. She will kiss any owie that you have and I catch her kissing herself when she has a scrape or little bruise. She never lets me miss the phone whenever it rings she says over and over phone, phone, phone... she loves the Popcorn popping on the apricot tree song and I have to sing it three times before she will go to bed. We are so glad she is a part of our little family, it sure wouldn't be the same around here without her.

Mia

What can I say about this little girl, she is quite the girl. I think she may think that she is about 10 and the things that pop out of this little girls mouth are funny. She got all her toys out all over her room and I said, "Mia, you really went to town" and she said, "Momma, I can't go to town by myself." The other day she told me her tummy was crying because it was so hungry. She has this high little voice and you don't miss things she says. She loves to repeat herself just in case you missed it. She loves to snuggle with her dad in the morning and is our little alarm clock at 7:15 on the dot. She is a great helper and can clean her room all by herself. She is a little bit of a perfectionist, she has her little kitchen totally organized with all the dishes in their right place. I wonder where she gets that from??? She is a great big sister and I am grateful for her good example to Ava. She is always looking out for her little sissy and loves her to bits. I love having her as my oldest and the patience she has for me.

Last of the Summer Fun

2008-09-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

girls just want to have fun

Ava is in heaven......being with her daddy on the quad

all strapped in and ready to go

we love all our cousins

just hanging around

Mia and Sophie....these little girls love each other

Scotty and Jess' mom Joan....two of my favorite people

playing in waterton

We sure have had a fun summer. Mostly with family, but hey, that is really all we have time for with four families. Not that I am complaining, we are so lucky to have all these amazing families in our lives.

*****************

We went on a camping/quadding trip with the ZoBells and had a great time. Mia and Ava were in heaven playing with all the girl cousins. There are 10 girl grandkids and only 4 boy grandsons in the ZoBell family. With Three boys first and then 9 girls and 1 boy at the end. So let me tell you it is a girls world over there and my girls couldn't be happier. I love family

2008-08-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

I had a blast these last two weekends. I have been working my butt off to get ready to sell some of the things that I make at the farmers market and it was so fun. I went up to Red Deer to stay with Scotts mom and dad for the week and sold at the greatest farmers market there. It is huge and outdoor and amazing. I made my baby bracelets, head bands, flower clips, soother clips, and Renee made these great nursing covers that I am going to attempt for the store in Lethbridge. I did really well and am going to go again next year. I sell my things at this little store in Lethbridge as well, so it is nice because anything that didn't sell this last week I can just take into the store. I love baby stuff

My TWO Dancing Princesses

2008-08-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

I found these little dresses at the Farmers market in Red Deer and haven't been able to get them off these little girls. I thought Mia would like them because everytime I turn music on to dance she says " Mom, I can't dance I don't have my princess skirt on." They love to dance and dress up and just play with anything girly. You should see them twirl now!! I love girls it is so fun.

CaLAwAy pArk

2008-08-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Mia was a ride-a-holic

Ava had a blast too

This was my favorite

Mia and her cousin Madi

Ava driving a boat all by herself

The girls loved the horsies

Mia got to see a princess show and she was so excited

Ava and I riding on the train

We had so much fun going to Calaway Park in Calgary. I wasn't sure if my girls were old enough yet but they had a blast. We went with Scott's family and even Scott came. I didn't get a single pic of him though. He won all the little girls prizes by being Mr. Tough Guy and hitting this thing super hard. They were pretty excited about that. I love summer, have I said that yet this year. We have had a blast.

Our Temple Picnic

2008-08-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

These girls loved all the walls to sit and balance on

picnics are so much fun

The girls and I decided one morning to go on a little picnic. The weather has been quite nice this summer, not to hot so we have really been enjoying being outside. We got all packed up and went to the Temple in Cardston. It was so fun to just be there and feel the peace all around. Mia absolutly loves going to the temple because she thinks that princesses live there. She has seen quite a few brides on the grounds. She says she wants to go and live there and wear the pretty dresses. I explained to her that if she is really a good girl and listens really good and says her prayers and follows all the commandments (Jesus' rules) she can get married there. She says that she wants to live there too, who could blame her, it does look just like a castle. We had so much fun and are lucky to be this close to a temple.

HapPy hApPy BiRTdaY tO YoU

2008-07-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

I love birthdays so much and I think that it puts a little pressure on Scott but like every year it was a great day and I had so much fun!!! The day started off by going to ZoBells for a great birthday lunch and visit. I love the ZoBells so much and am so grateful to have them in my life.

Then we had a great cake compliments of MiKenLee, my sister at my Mom and Dads

These are a few pics of the girls fooling around

Scott got me these beautiful Birthday Roses

Our little family

That night was great because we got a babysitter and we went on a Date!!! We never do that so it was so fun. We went out for dinner at The Keg with my parents and MiKen and then we went to a movie. The girls had a sleepover at their Aunts so we had the whole night to ourselves. I was the most excited about sleeping in!!! I can't remember the last time I got to do that. Well, things didn't quite turn out the way we expected. Mia and Ava had a great night watching princess movies and playing with their cousins. They went to bed quite late and then the fun began for the poor Blackwells. I guess Mia decided at 4:00am that she had enough sleep and woke up wanting breakfast and movies. Then Ava woke up at 5:45am ready for the day as well!! So at 7:00am I hear a knock on the door and the voice of these little munchkins. I was so out of it, thinking I really don't know what is going on. So much for my treasured sleep in. I feel really bad, my girls are the best sleepers, so I really don't know what was going on. We won't be trying this again. Other than that I had a great day.

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS !!

HOLY HAIL

2008-07-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

This summer we have had quite the storms. Last Wednesday right after the girls went down for their naps I thought we were seriously getting attacted by something. It sounded as if someone was throwing rocks at our house. I looked outside and their was hail bigger than golf balls coming down everywhere. It lasted about 15 minutes and I have to say I was a little scared. My girls however, just slept right through it, which is amazing because it was so loud.

There wasnot too much damage just our siding got a few dings and the worst was my windshield and our CRV which is pretty dinged up. I really don't like storms like that.

July 1st

2008-07-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day!!!

We had a great day with family and friends. We got to go to the parade in Raymond with Scotts sisters. We then went to a big ZoBell family dinner where we ate lots of yummy food. Then we let Mia stay up late and watch the fireworks. We had a blast and love these kind of days when you just get to hang out and be with your favorite people, your family.

Our little family at the parade

Scott helping the girls catch some treats

The Neilson girls

Mia trying to get into her gum

Scotts sister Eryn and her husband Kevin

Scotts sister Caryn and her husband Brett

My sisters: Elaine, MiKen, and Nadine we you missed Renee and Mik

My mom and dad (cute Canada shirts)

My sister Elaine's family

Nadine and her boys

MiKen and her friend Janna

Mia and some of her cousins

Ava and her cousin Elle, they are 5 days apart

Mia and Ava with some of the ZoBell cousins

And we can't forget my moms traditional cake, with the American flag for all her kids that live in the States

We are so proud to be Canadian and I am so grateful to live in this country

Summer Fun.............

2008-07-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to get our new Bike Trailer. The girls are having a blast going for bike rides and we are get to be outside and enjoy the summer. What more could you ask for. We have had so much fun so far this summer. We have our garden planted and are watching it grow everyday.

We are so excited that it is finally summer. We got to have Scotts sisters girls over for a sleepover for two nights and that was so fun. All these little girls played so well together. We are lucky to have such a handy dad in our family. He build this thing from scratch, no kit we just bought the plastic parts and used leftover wood from some the houses he is buiding. The girls love it. It looks just like something you would buy at Home Depot. Great Job Scott!!! Mia and Ava both love the swings. Ava can say swing so that is all she asks for everyday. They are growing so much everyday. I love to just watch as they play.

San Francisco

2008-06-16T21:46:00.001-07:00

Things we did while in San Francisco:

Can't go to San Fran without riding the Cable Cars to Union

Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

This Aquarium in Monterey Bay was so neat

We loved the jelly fish this picture doesn't do them justice

Had a picnic at the temple in Oakland

Went to Alcatraz I would highly recommend this!!

Ghirardelli Chocolate factory was sooo good

We left our hearts in San Francisco

The Exploratorium: the kids loved all the hands on science stuff

We loved Baker Beach: two minutes from Nadines

And of course my favorite Fishermans Wharf with all the little shops, clam chowder and cheap jewelery

We truly had a blast and love this city!! Thanks Nadine for being such a great hostess, tour guide ect. We love you guys and had so much fun

WE LEFT OUR HEARTS IN SAN FRANCISCO

2008-06-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

We are sooo lucky!!! We got to go to San Francisco for 8 days and it was such an amazing trip. My sister Nadine and her little family live there while her husband goes to school for dentistry. It was fun to see them and all the sites. They seriously live a two minute walk from this view. What lucky ducks. I will post all the pics soon and let you in on all the details.

In Remembrance

2008-05-27T10:02:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Sunday. It was our Stake Conference today and they had a Canada wide broadcast. The Prophet was able to speak to us along with other General Authorities. I love our prophet!!! It was also a special Sunday for another reason. At this time every year we have a family get together to celebrate Jess, and his life. It is such a good thing, as all of my family and his family get together for a party to celebrate his life. We eat and laugh and just be together. We also take time to talk about him and all the wonderful things that we remember. It has been 7 years and I have to say that time has gone fast and slow at times. I am just so grateful to be able to be married to a guy that understands this. We are so blessed, and really this has been a miracle for both of us. We are lucky to have four families that are so close to us and that we get to be a part of. My girls get to have four sets of grandmas and grandpas that love them. I know that this is our Heavenly Fathers plan for Jess, Natasha, Scott and I. I don't know what exactly Heavenly Father has planned for us, but I do know that we will be SO SO happy. He will take care of the things we don't understand and we will have blessings we can't even imagine, as long as we stay faithful. I love that we can take time out of each year and celebrate Jess and the wonderful person that he is. I am grateful to have such a wonderful life full of all these people that love and support us. Life is wonderful.

Rain and Kleenex

2008-05-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Rain and Kleenex is all that we have seen around our house this week. It has been raining and raining all week, and ALL of us girls have been sick, sick. Being a sick mom is not a fun thing, I really just wanted to snuggle in my bed and have someone take care of me. But that just isn't possible when your husband has to go to work and you have two sick girls that need more of you than usual. So my sick little muffins and I have had a bit of a hard week. We have had to survive on juice, kleenex, and Barbie Fairytopia, Mermaidia, and Mariposa. Don't get me wrong, Scott has really helped as much as possible, he came home early a couple of days, brought us home extra kleenex, made supper one night and brought home supper another, once the girls were in bed he brought me advil and juice and blankets. He really has been a great help. We are lucky to have such a great guy for a dad a husband. I will just be very grateful when this week is over and I can start to not feel like such a zombie.

I don't want to forget this.................

2008-05-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those little moments when your kids do or say something that you want to remember forever. I love that about being a mom, you get to have those moments when you just can't believe what you are seeing. I always catch myself saying to Scott did you see that or did you hear that. I love those moments. In the last month my girls have really made me know why it is that being a mom is the best thing ever.

Mia she is so excited about new words that she is learning. The last two weeks she has been stuck on the word beautiful. She needed to go to the bathroom in Superstore the other day so I am running through the store because all us moms know that a two year old has a VERY short window that you have to get to the bathroom in. As soon as we got into the stall she let out this huge gasp and said, "Mom this Potty so beautiful." I am sure all the women in there thought she was so funny, or maybe they were laughing at me because I couldn't stop myself and let out a huge laugh.

Ava loves to have us sing her to sleep. So whether it is Scott or I putting her to bed, she gets more and more excited as we are going down the stairs to her room. As soon as you put her in her bed she can't contain herself and starts sqeezing her hands into fists over and over again. She wants Popcorn Popping and she wants you to sing it over and over. How can you not sing it 6 times before bed when she loves it that much. Then you tell her don't cry, and she lets out a little cry and you say it again, don't cry, she stops. You leave the room and she goes to sleep. Amazing!!!

I love being a mom most of the time. But how can you not be so grateful for this amazing thing that you are doing, when they do these little teeny things that just make your whole day so BRIGHT. I just hope that I remember these things when they are pushing every button.

Ava is growing up

2008-04-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

What can I say about this little girl. She is truly fun to watch as she is growing. She is the friendliest girl. Wherever I am she wants so bad for people to talk and hold her. We were in the checkout line in Walmart the other day and she could'not contain herself. I was holding her and there was this old man behind us, she was twisting and turning so she could get her to look at her and the whole time saying, hi hi hi hi hi. This happens everywhere we go. She loves people and attention. She says hi to everyone and holds her arms up to be held. I think that she would go with anyone and be happy as long as they held her and talked to her. She is really staring to talk and will try so hard to mimic what I say. We were over at our neighbors looking at the baby horse and she stared to say neyney, over and over. She loves her auntie MiKen and says Ke Ke to get her attention. We got her hair in a little pony tail today, I don't know is she really likes it but she sure looks cute. If you notice in the pic she also loves to take only one shoe off, and then walk around with the other on. In her sarseat she constantly takes one shoe off and I will get into a store or wherever and then have to search everywhere thinking it is lost somewhere in the store or on the road. When I finally give up the search and we get back in the car, there it is on the floor. I love you Ava and am so glad to have you in our family

What color are your Eyes

2008-04-30T10:57:00.001-07:00

I came around the corner this morning and caught Mia looking at herself in my mirror. I watched her without her knowing and she was really checking out her face. It was the cutest thing. She stood there for a couple minutes and then she ran over and grabbed Ava's cheeks and looked at her face. I wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but after Ava struggled out of Mia's grasp. Mia came up to me and said, "mom, my eyes are brown and moms eyes are brown." I was shocked she figured that out on her own. I then asked her what color Ava's eyes were, she said "not brown" then thought about it for a while and said "blue". I told her that Ava's eyes are the same as dads and hers were the same as moms. What a smart cookie, I love it when these little girls learn new things, I am sure she will be on this topic for a few days and we will be hearing about each others eye color all day long and then she will be on to something new.

Sisters

2008-04-30T10:43:00.001-07:00

I have to say that I think that having a sister so close was so much fun. I love having all my sisters. As I watch my little girls I think that they are really truly loving being together. What got me onto this topic is this morning I was watching them have their bath and they are in there having a blast. Mia layed on her back and started to kick as hard as she could and then she manouvered Ava and showed her how to do it. They were both laying on their backs kicking their legs as hard as they can. My bathroom was a little wet what that didn't matter. Mia will randomly tell me "Ava is MY sister."Ava is lucky to have a sister that lover her so much. Mia always wants to have Ava right with her when she is doing something. If Mia is ever by herself somewhere, Mia will ask "Where is Ava, I miss her. " I love girls and hope that these two will be the best of friends always.

wE cAnt WaIT fOR SuMmeR

2008-04-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to be outside as much as possible, because the weather has been so nice. The girls love bubbles and eating lunch out on the front porch. Today, sadly it snowed in the morning, Canada is so weird because just yesterday it was 18 degrees (Celcius). But hopefully SUmMer is soon here and we can play all day outside.

PReTeNdInG

2008-04-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Have I ever said how fun it is to have girls. I love all the pretending we get to do, playing house is my girls favorite thing. Mia loves to be the mom and Ava and I are her babies. This kitchen has been the best little thing, we LOVE you Grandma and Grandpa, thankyou!! They make dinner for Scott and I all the time, I just wish we could actually eat it and then I wouldn't have to make dinner at all.

Go Calgary Flames Go

2008-04-09T21:53:00.001-07:00

Scott is a huge hockey fan, or I should say Flames fan, so in honor of the first playoff game I cooked him a dinner all in the Flames colors.

We had a ton of fun at our little hockey family party and cheered the Flames on. The girls were excited too, I think because their dad was cheering and giving high fives.

We all got into our flames get up and were quite excited. I guess the cheering paid off because they beat San Jose 3-2

Mia is in her own bed!!!

2008-04-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

I know, I know you are probably all thinking this should have happened by now, but she loves her crib (and so do I, she stays in and calls me when she wants to get out). Scott built this little bed while I was in Arizona helping Renee and her family with the new babe. I have to say it is the cutest thing I ever saw and because it's so cute, it convinced me to try the bed thing. We had to buy TWO cribs when Ava was born so both girls could have them. I have to say that my husband is a pretty handy guy.

Mia loves it and still stays in it and calls me when she is ready to get up. She is still napping for 2 or 3 hours and tells me she is tired and wants to sleep in her BIg GiRl Bed.

I have to admit I cried the first time we put her to bed. I was singing her songs and balling. I don't want my little Mia to grow up.

2008-03-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

HApPy SpRinG tO yoU

2008-03-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to wish you all a Happy Spring. We are excited for nice weather and getting outside. Our family got to go to Scotts families for Easter and had a great time. We brought our quads and took all the kids for rides, went swimming, dyed easter eggs, went on a hunt and the Easter Bunny even found us out in Delburne. We are so grateful for families and this season helps us to especially remember the atonement. We love you all and are so grateful for you.

2008-03-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

Our sunshine girl Ava

2008-03-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

riding my bike in my tutu

2008-03-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

coloring eggs at Grandmas

2008-03-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

coloring eggs with my cousins

2008-03-25T15:13:00.001-07:00

Collecting Easter eggs

2008-03-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

The cupcakes

2008-03-12T15:56:00.001-07:00

The birthday girl with her cousin

2008-03-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Ava!! You are one already I don't want you to be one. We had a fun party with all her cousins. We love birthdays at our house. We went swimming (Ava's favorite) and had yummy cupcakes (Mommies favorite)

2008-03-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Mia and Ava. They are my favorite and so happy.

2008-03-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

Our little girls have been so fun lately. They are growing and changing everyday. Ava just turned one on the 3rd of March and Mia is 2 1/2. They are good friends and are such good girls. What can I say I love being their mom. Ava started walking about a month ago and it has been fun to watch her conquer that. Mia is talking so well and is my little parrot so I really have to be careful what I say.