October Snow Day

So of course when October rolls around there's always the chance of snow. We always always hope it stays away, but we're not that lucky I guess. Earlier this week we got hit with a ton of October snow. Just in time for Halloween. yay (sense the sarcasm). So of course we bundled up for a little fun in the snow. I love how Cait is so willing to do anything the girls are...they're standing still for pictures? Ok, I will too!!

Thanksgiving

Ben's cousins all get together twice a year and  put on a big party. It's a lot of fun. They book the church, have a pinata, set up crafts for the kids and a photobooth for everyone - ALL while eating LOTS and LOTS of yummy food. This year Ben was off living the dream (like usual). But...that's why I married him (in case you were wondering. He's got big dreams and passions and that's why I love him so much)! So the girls and I got ourselves all dressed. Of course we happened to match (that happens often when I'm picking out clothes...you just never know when you'll have your pictures taken). Well by golly...there WAS a camera there, and it was willing to take our picture! I'm glad we got this picture. I WISH Ben could have been there - because we need new family pictures (plus it would have saved my mom some worrying over the state of my marriage due to my husband never being in pictures). But this picture of us girls is awesome too. Hailey's posing like usual, Paige is her typical sweet 4 year old self, and Cait, well that's Cait right there. You can't beat that scowl, and you know you're loved when she gives you this look. And I look like I might have actually gotten a full nights sleep!

Cait and I tried out the photobooth...it wasn't quite the success I'd imagined!

It's my Birthday

So I turned 30 last week! What a big and exciting thing! I had big plans of having a huge Birthday party - and playing games and yummy food and all sort of wonderful things. But sometime in the last 11 years I became a little bit more like my husband than I had expected. A perfect night to me is just a quiet evening with some of my closest friends...and even more perfect is just a quiet night with my husband. Relaxing. No responsibilities. So that's what I asked for this year for my Birthday - some downtime. So to start it all off I went to Montana with some of my favourite people. We had invited a few others, but not everyone could make it (work, their hubbies out of town, or nursing babies). So Charlotte, Becc, my good friend Lahni and I made a long weekend trip to Montana (thanks to Lahni's family for letting us use their cabin). I spent a lot of money - on ME!! Only me! This is rare. But I promised myself to focus on myself. Of course I picked up a few things for the girls...but I got a little selfish this weekend. And that's ok. We ate out, we shopped, we found some Cafe Rio, and we stayed up late talking about everything. It was soooo good to have hours and hours of girl talk! 

Apparently Ben still has some big plans for me and I can't wait. I'm thinking a weekend away with him. That's what I want. We'll of course go out to dinner and a movie or something. But I want a few days, in a cabin in the mountains with my hubby!! That sounds perfect to me.

Anyway, 30 isn't that big of a change for me. My hair already went grey a few years ago. I'm never going to have wrinkly skin...so I'm not worried about that. lol. Mostly I just feel legitimate. Like this is the age I'm legitimately allowed to have 3 kids, we're allowed to own a home, I'm allowed to be ok with a quiet boring birthday. No one's looking at me thinking I'm WAY too young to live the life I do. I'm legit.

Zumba girls

So every year I have high hopes of putting my girls in dance. I dream of these wonderfully sunny afternoons where they come home from school, happy and full of good energy. We load into the van, we sing songs together and dance at the stoplights. Then we go into the dance studio and then I sit quietly and watch with my perfect 1 year old who is content to sit on my lap and watch for 2 hours. And their teacher comes to me after and gushes about how talented my beautiful daughters are. And then I go home to my clean house, dinner is made and my hubby walks in the door after a perfect workday and we eat a peaceful dinner full of healthy organic food together. And no one, I mean no one complains about their cooked carrots, or raw carrots or that darn pepper in their dinner!

But, that didn't happen this year. Because I forgot to sign my girls up for dance. But I did get them into Zumba...which happens to be AT the dance studio, so we're almost there! And instead of those sunny afternoons we get to drive in slushy snow. And we have to take our shoes off at the door and trudge through an inch of dirty water (melted off boots), and then I race my girls into their class 10 minutes late. I don't sit around because there are always overdue library books to be returned, and especially because there's a one year old who will NOT sit still an watch. But I'm pretty sure their teacher still tells me how talented my beautiful daughters are...well not in those exact words. But she does smile and hold Paige's hand when Paige refuses to dance with the rest of the class. And she gives Hailey big thumbs up for trying so hard and getting all the moves right. So I KNOW she loves my daughters. And even though dinner is never on the table, and everyone is complaining about their dumb carrots, and the Hub's is hardly every home. It's still pretty idyllic. 

Anyway, Zumba. It's basically a workout - with dance moves. The girls wear fancy skirts with cymbals on them and Angie and I made little Zumba shirts for our daughers to wear.  It's the highlight of the week!