It's all fun and games at Nana and Poppy's!

We made a trip over to Prince Edward Island to visit Nana and Poppy's, and the kids spent some time out in the yard.  It's always a beautiful place to take pics...

Happy 5th birthday big boy!

My son celebrated his fifth birthday on November 16th.  It's hard to believe that it was 5 years ago, that I gave birth to him.   Time has flown by so quickly.   He has grown up to be a very energetic, but bright little boy.  He was thrilled to start Kindergarten this year, and has made several friends....He has a great love for reading, music and art....

This year we celebrated his birthday at My Gym, a place that he loves to spend his time at.  12 friends attended...His cake, Willy Wonka of course!   My son, is an "Old Soul,"  or at least that's what we call him...His favourite film of all time is "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"  from 1971...

He first wanted Gene Wilder's picture as Willy Wonka on his cake, but I thought that might be difficult to do in icing, so he settled for a Wonka bar and a golden ticket instead..

This is the hot dog swing!

And the parade for the birthday boy!   High fives for everyone!!!

Overall, I think everyone had a great time.  My son saw some friends that he hasn't seen in awhile, and I did too...It's always nice to catch up with other parents...

Well, now that the birthdays are overwith, we can concentrate on Christmas....  

Halloween! (just a little bit late with this)

Trick or treating this year...We decided I would hand out the treats and my hubby would take the kids door to door this year.   It's amazing how Halloween has changed.   We had hardly any small children this year, mostly older kids.   At least they all put some thought into their costumes, for the most part anyway.  We had  a total of about 35 kids this year, which is less than last.  My daughter went as a poodle this year, and my son, a little cowboy.....

I think Halloween as a whole is dying off...Less and less people are handing out treats, and I think less and less kids are making the rounds....But my kids still love the pumpkin carving, and the trick or treating...My son said it was the best day of his entire life.....  Until his birthday anyway!  :)

Almost Halloween!

Another year, another weekend to carve the pumpkins in advance of Halloween....This year's forecast is calling for rain, thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Sandy...It's going to be a wet one I guess...Not much fun for the kids all around...

My daughter is dressing up as a poodle....My son, as Woody from Toy Story...Both will be cute as a button, as always...

So, on the weekend before Halloween, we always carve two pumpkins...My kids get their choice of what they would like to have carved.  We never do the traditional jack-o lantern face.   It's always of a character that they really enjoy...

Here's 2009.....
Cat In the Hat

 And Blues Clues..

Here's 2011....

Pooh Bear and a cat face...

And for 2012....
Casper the Friendly Ghost

And Pac Man..

The way it goes is...Daddy helps the kids gut the pumpkins...and I do the carving...

Lots of seeds to roast for Daddy...and lots of pumpkin to boil up and freeze for when Grandma comes at Christmas..She always makes pumpkin pie...

And this year, for the very first time, our pumpkins came from Poppies garden in PEI....Thanks Poppy!  Good job!

\

Happy 8th Birthday little girl

Not so little anymore....8 years old...Wow....How time flies...As she grows up, it means I'm getting older too...and it seems things have sped up somewhat..You know when we're kids, and we're in such a hurry to grow up?  "Mom, I wish I was 16 and could learn to drive a car....Dad, I wish I was old enough to stay up later."    We try to teach them, that growing up isn't as easy as they think it is....Sure, it comes with a few perks, but it also comes with a lot of headaches as well. More responsibility........ I look back now, and think about the things I would have done differently when I was younger...Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hated the way I grew up or anything.  I had it pretty good...But there are a lot of things I could have done as a child or as a teen, that I didn't do, and probably should have...

I still remember the day clearly...Well, most of it anyway....October 17, 2004....Water broke early that morning, off to the hospital we went..Contractions didn't begin for hours....but when they do, Hoo Boy, drugs please!   Epidural came later....at around 3pm....My husband enjoyed NFL football on the TV in the Labour and Delivery room while we waited.....11:55pm, she finally came into the world....reluctantly....They had to use the ole' forceps to do the job....But she has been an absolute treat ever since.....

8 years old...She is so independent now...and smart..The one thing I am so glad about, is she still loves to spend time with mom and dad...We're still okay to hang out with...It's still cool  for Mom and dad to take her places, play the Wii and act silly around her....That's okay..And we still get plenty of hugs and kisses and the daily "I love you."She takes great pride in looking out for brother as well...Mommy #2....

This year's party was at the Dieppe Aquatic Centre with 16 screaming kids..

Yes, those are pictures of an empty pool..You see, they frown on people taking pictures of swimming children,  because we all know they end up posted on the Internet for all the world to see..

Afterwards, it was time for cake and presents..

This year she wanted a cake with a cat on it...Okay, so I had to do some brainstorming to do....Hello Kitty?  Nope, too old for it, and doesn't really like it anymore..  A cake with cat figurines on it?  Nope, that wouldn't do...Then I thought of those Twisted Whiskers characters...The ones you find on greeting cards, cats and dogs with these huge eyes and big smiles...I printed off a pic and took it over to McBuns and this is what they created.  I was thrilled!  Amazing job!   And delicious....

Next up, the younger one...The boy....turns 5 on November 16th.....Could someone stop the clock please...if even just for a moment?

Then it was off to Mapleton Park! Two parks in one day!

After a short stint at Irishtown Nature Park, we packed the bikes into the van and headed home...Instead, we ended up at Mapleton Park and decided to take a bit of a walk through there as well.   This is one of my favourite parks in Moncton, and it is very close to home...
And it is another great place to see the fall colours...I think my kids had a pose for almost every bench throughout the park!