Live it!

An every year Fall treat

I remember making caramel apples with my mom every year and now my kids are happy that the tradition continues. The easiest (and tastiest) way to make them is with the pre-made sheets of caramel that you just wrap around each MacIntosh apple... mmm mmm good. Easy peasy and 5 minutes in the oven  = a treat for the whole family. Meg even got to eat some of the inside apple too!

Chloe thought she should pose with her apples before they went into the oven:

 

All done and ready to eat...

...or should I say "DEVOUR"....

 
 
 

Vung Tau Girls

When we were in Vietnam, there were the 4 families from Ontario and we all were adopting sweet little girls, all from Vung Tau (but in 3 different orphanages). We spent many hours and days together during our time in Vietnam and we quickly coined the girls as "our Vung Tau girls". Each of them have a special place in my heart - I was there as each of them met and became part of a new family.

I was so excited that Jen and Quinn Anh were able to come for a visit today. They live 4 hours from us so we will not have a ton of opportunities to get together. Jen's son was in a hockey tournament here and it was the perfect few hours to get together and let Quinn Anh see Meg. Jen said that Quinn Anh was very excited to see baby Meg and I can say that Keaton and Chloe were really excited to get the chance to meet another little girl from Vietnam. Quinn Anh is beautiful and she has changed so much since those first timid and emotional days in Vietnam. She goes to Kindergarten a couple times a week and is doing great with her 4 other siblings! Chloe had a blast and knew just how to get her giggling - I think she had a fun time playing with Chloe's Barbie dolls and running around our backyard exploring. We felt so lucky to get a visit from them!

 
 
 
 

A treat

We have 2 kids in our house that are wild about fancy schmancy coffee drinks and milkshakes. Yes, I know it is totally not appropriate to allow an 8 yr old and a 6 yr old to be drinking these but once in a while we treat them with a trip to Tim Horton's for a tasty ice cappuccino or to Starbucks for frappucino.

Shaune came up with the idea on Thanksgiving Monday that he'd treat them to an ice cap - from home. He found a delicious recipe on-line and went to work creating happiness in a cup for Keaton and Chloe. They were thrilled and drank them up. i even gave one a try and they were sooooooo good - better than Timmies and a lot cheaper!

Later in the evening we wondered why the kids were so buzzed  -  oh ya, the caffeine!

Chloe taste testing straight out of the blender

 
 
 

Shopping for baby

I bumped into a great new online site today and was excited to see so many of the things I've been looking for all in one spot. The store is called http://www.csnbaby.com/ and you can see from the link just how vast the selection is. Everything from nursery decor to baby essentials and all the best educational toys - there are some really great things to be found.

I was especially  looking for a new diaper bag for me and Miss Meg. My order is in and I should be getting this delightful (and ever so pink) diaper bag in the coming week - I will be sure to let you know how I like it once I get it in the mail. I'm a big fan of all the Skip Hop products and found the on-line store had really reasonable prices in comparison with our local baby boutique here in my home town.

Happy shopping!

Thanksgiving 2009

Ugh, i had a great descriptive thoughtful and thankful post all typed up but Type pad ate it and I don't have it in me to be that  wordy again tonight.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We enjoyed some hockey (tournament in Gananoque - we won the B champs & got a surprise visit from Sadie and family), some family time (delicious prime rib at the Lightfoots, amazing turkey dinner at Aunt Ann's), a nice visit with my cousin's from out West (Edmonton, AB), some lazy time (Monday we didn't leave the house!) = we gave thanks that Gram made it through a health scare and was able to get out of the hospital in time to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. We were thankful for Meg's first Thanksgiving with us - it was a long time coming and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. We enjoyed spending time with all 3 of our beautiful children!

... and I was very camera-lazy! I barely managed a few photos - but here they are.

...the sun was going down when I finally managed a couple shots of the kids on Thanksgiving Sunday.

 Lazy long weekends!!! LOVE THEM!

 
 
 
 

He likes to run!

Keaton signed up for Cross Country running this year and qualified to run in the big race at the Sandbanks on Lake Ontario. On race day my mom and I (along with Meg) drove over to the county to watch him run and cheer him on. He was disappointed with his placing (There were 75ish boys running in his age group and he placed middle of the pack) but not for long... he had a great time watching all the other age groups race and seeing all his friends from different schools - that he knows through hockey but never gets to see at school. It was a long race and I was so proud of him for finishing and with a smile on his face too!

 

It was so windy and cold that Meg wore her little snowsuit and I even bundled my big red scarf around her to block the wind from her neck. Isn't she the cutest little cheering squad you've ever seen?