Live it!

My morning glory

Fresh out of bed, hair tossled and stripped (herself) down to her diaper...  this is Meg each and every morning. As long as she gets her bottle in bed with momma first thing, she is content to wait and watch what happens next - the mayhem that is  known as "getting the kids out the door to school". This is my Meg in a nutshell... and her delicious little smile could melt away the coldest of days.

 

Spirit Week

All week long the kids school is hosting 'spirit week'. Today it was literacy/character day. Chloe decided to be the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz and Keaton dressed up as Harry Potter. We threw the costumes together from old Halloween costumes and they had lots of fun getting ready this morning. It was like Halloween all over again... without the candy.

 
 

 

Jamaica - Part 1

My trip to Jamaica was amazing. I left the kids at home in the very capable hands of Daddy and Nanny Lightfoot and headed to Ocho Rios, Jamaica for a fun tim in the sun. My room-mate was my mom and we had a great time. There were 19 of us in total and we were all there to celebrate the nuptuals of my cousin Crystal (and her now husband Darrell) and my Aunt Betty (and her now husband Charlie) - yes, it was a back-to-back wedding extravaganza!

We left for Jamaica bright and early on Feb. 10th and we were in Jamaica and settling into a drive to our resort by 11a.m.  Jamaica is beautiful and the drive to Ocho Rios was about 1 hr 20 minutes. The resort we stayed at was Riu Ocho Rios and it was very  nice and really big. During our week there we had the opportunity to enjoy endless hours poolside soaking in the rays. The first 1/2 of the week, the sun was very hot. The 2nd 1/2 of the week it was overcast and not as warm but still perfectly fine. We had a few showers but nothing that could damper our fun. We enjoyed some time at the swim up bar and I spent a couple hours some days soaking up the sun beach side because I was the only one that seemed to want to swim in the Caribbean sea! That was okay though because I really enjoyed some moments of 'me' time and it was an odd vacation to just look after myself all week. I am so used to vacationing as a family and diapers and sunscreen and snacks and naps, it took me about five minutes to get into the swing of things. LOL!

We spent most our time at the resort. On the last full day of our vacation we taxi'd it into town for some souvenir shopping and supper at Margarittaville (which was yummy!). The food and drinks on the resort were all very good too. My favourite poolside drinks were: strawberry daquiri's, pina colada's, cherry coolers, purple haze and french kisses. All sweet concoctions! The buffet at the resort was good and there was always some place to grab a bite to eat. One night the buffet served all you can eat lobster tails and they were amazing. I loved the big breakfast with the omelet station. We tried some of the a la carte restaurants: Sir John's (gourmet), Tushimo's (japanese), Mammee Bay (steak house), and Mandalay (chinese). The Japanese restaurant was my favourite and mom and I enjoyed a meal to ourselves that night since everyone else was afraid to try japanese food - best food at the resort! The banana spring roll was the best dessert of the week. Needless to say I gained back some of the weight I'd tried so hard to lose for the trip... it just couldn't be helped!

The wedding day deserves a post of it's own and I'm still going through those photos... so until then here is a look at our week at Riu Ocho Rios. I have the best family and it was so fun to spend a special week away with them all.

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

Celebrating what matters most

On Monday, Feb 21st we enjoyed our Ontario holiday known as "Family Day". Shaune had the day off work and we spent the entire day at home with the kids - which is a rarity for us. Usually we are running here or there (hockey usually in the Winter!)  so we called a time out and stayed put. We took the kids into the back field behind the house and Meg had her first experience tobogganning in the snow. She loved it even with the bitter wind whipping across the hill. I tredged out in shoes (the snow was over 12 inches tall in spots) because I couldn't find my winter boots and froze my feet off so I could watch and snap some winter photos of the kids having fun.

 

 

 

 

 
 

We cooked a turkey for supper and had a great day enjoying "family". I wish every day could be like this (but perhaps in the summer?!)

Celebrating 98 years!

Like every year, we gathered at Aunt Carolyn and Uncle John's to  celebrate Gram and all she is to us. She turned 98 years old and she has had quite a year. Her health has failed her at times and yet she still shows up with a beautiful smile on her face and so much love for her family. The feeling is mutual as I'm not sure there is another Mom/Grandma/Great Gram who is loved as much as Gram Emerson is. She has 5 children that love her dearly, many grandchildren and even more great grandchildren. We all think the world of her.

Uncle Paul, who lives in Edmonton joined us like he does every year and this year he brought the whole gang. He, along with Aunt Barb and all of their children (Chris and wife Michelle, James, Rob, Michelle) flew east to celebrate the big birthday. The party was beautiful and Gram looked wonderful. 

The years are flying by and I really cannot believe my Gram (who always made the best roast beef suppers and apple pies) is 98 years old. I am so thankful to have her in my life!