80's Comebacks Rock

First off, yesterday there was an earthquake in California where I have several friends living, so I hope you guys are all ok! Praying the damage is minimal and life gets back to normal soon for you all.

Tuesday morning Ken and I did a little demo at SDB Church on animation for their arts summer camp. It was lots of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. Ariel joined us and had fun coloring and eating lots of Oreo cookies.


Ken did demos about drawing cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse and then about making 2 page flip books.


Ariel and I came home with lunch, a treat of McDonalds for our little princess who was so good this morning. She was so happy about the fries, that she forgot about Daddy having to leave to head to work. Speaking of McDonalds, when did they get rid of the Big Xtra (Big N'Tasty for my American friends). Apparently during my time giving up fast food. Weird, I was kinda bummed since it was my fav, but I had a chicken burger instead.

It was raining outside in the afternoon so I spent some time online and I got to listen to Rick Springfield's new song. You may remember him from the 80's with his big mega hit Jesse's Girl. Well, he is back with another song I think is totally awesome. It has similar bits that resemble Jesse's Girl, which is why the fans will be excited, and has a great sound. I am all about anything 80's so I have to post it and share it all with you. I heart Rick Springfield, and What's Victoria's Secret is now downloaded to my ipod via itunes. Yay!



Today Ariel and I made a quick run into Richmond to return some stuff and to check out the fall lines. Usually around this time they come out with boots and rain gear, and for our area, its somewhat important, haha. Last year you might remember how upset Ariel was because they had no pink boots small enough for her feet. Well this year I am happy to say her feet grew and we are the proud owners of cute pink boots with little ladybugs on them. She ran all over the store with the biggest smile on her face. We also hit Gymbo to check out the big sale on we got a call about yesterday. With my 20% coupon added to the sale prices, I was a happy girl. Yay. Ariel's favorite hat, she kept saying meow while wearing it. $8, woot!


Well I have made my lists for the big birthday party which is coming up on the 9th! Seriously, I can't believe its gonna be August by the end of the week. Crazy! Ariel is making sure I remember by wearing her cake shirt, haha. She is also sending out a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to NANA today!


I am looking forward to the long weekend with Ken home (except for the Saturday when he teaches). Not sure what we will do yet, but I am sure it will be involve some prep for the party. We are going to a BBQ to celebrate Nana and Aunty Fran's birthdays on Saturday evening. Should be fun to see everyone. Well, I am going to finish cleaning up the living room before princess gets up, joy. Hehe.

Find Your Grail

Hey everyone! Its Monday morning and Ariel is still sleeping so I figured I'd get my blogging done early since I have some things to do out and about once princess wakes up. Her birthday party is 2 weeks away and so I have lots to do still, gack!

On Saturday, Ken went off to teach, so Ariel and I spent the morning at home playing. She got to open another early birthday gift from Nana's friend Jo Anne.


When I asked her what it was while opening it, she yelled A TOWEL! Yes, Ariel got a super cute Little Mermaid towel. Perfect for visits to the water park. Thanks so much!


At noon we headed over to join Nana and Papa for lunch since Aunty Ev would be coming out as well. Ariel was pleased since we managed to hit pizza day again. She gobbled it up and then tried a little of Nana's lemon tart.


After a visit, we came home for naps. Ken got home and just as we were about to do some housework, Dad and Rita showed up for a visit. I personally like the distraction from chores. Haha. After they left, we did 2 loads of laundry, got the kitchen, bathroom and living room cleaned up. Yay, looks good.

Sunday morning we went to church and heard the big announcement (that we already had seen on facebook) that Graeme (Irene's son) and Kalia (Roy the Worship pastors daughter) are engaged! For me its such a wild thought because Graeme is another one of those kids I use to babysit, I remember when he was born... and now he is getting married! Wow. Congrats you guys!

After church we picked up Kara to babysit for Ariel. Dad and Rita were already at our place so we gobbled down our bison burgers they brought for us, yum, and headed off to Spamalot! Ken and I brought our own killer rabbits and had a picture outside the theater. Hee.



The guy who scanned our tickets laughed at our bunnies asking if we had already come to the show. Nope, just crazy fans who already had bunnies. They also had a cutout that Ken stuck his head through for a picture.


I can not say enough about the show, it was FANTASTIC! If you ever get a chance to see it, I highly suggest you do. If you want a sampling, check out you tube for some clips. After the show, Dad and Rita took us to this great new Italian restaurant called Trattoria So yummy, and I can't tell you the last time Ken and I were at a really nice place in Vancouver. We shared the pasta platter that had spaghetti and kobe meatballs with tomato, fonduta penne pomodoro, linguine pesto and lasagna. Sooooooooo good!


Dad and Rita had the carne & pesce platter that had grilled tiger prawns, veal piccata, grilled lamb chops, roasted trout and baby arugula salad. They also got a kobe meatball appy since their dinner wasn't ready when ours was served.


If that wasn't enough food, we then sampled some goodies from the dessert menu. Dad and Ken both had the tiramisu...


... I had the chocolate almond torta, so good. Rita just had a glass of dessert wine that was really sweet. I love ice wines, and this was pretty close to it. Very nice.


We came back to Stella's where Ariel was with Kara. There we had another mini dessert of tarts, and Ariel showed us how she had eaten one earlier. Kara took some cute pictures of her time with princess, so I will try and post some of those soon too.


Well, I guess I should get the day going and start my list of things to do. Bye!

Nice Day for a White Wedding

Ok, the past 2 nights I haven't been getting to sleep until past midnight, ugh. Hoping tonight will be different but as I see its almost 11ish now, I figure by the time I am done blogging it will be midnight. Oh well.

Today Ariel and I had a lazy morning since I knew we would both be having busy afternoons. We went for a walk in town and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Ariel was decked out in her shades and hat... and her purse with her little poodle, lol. Too cute.


Late afternoon Ken comes home with our friend Jen, who is catching a ride with us to the wedding. Stella comes over and collects Ariel who is eager to spend lots of time with her favorite Aunty Lala.

I have been looking forward to this wedding for weeks now! We haven't been to one in a few years now... I guess the last one was Mike and Jo's, and thats 2 years ago this August... crazy. Anyhoo, we were so excited to be invited, and actually we played a big part in the meeting of Nicole and Blake. You see, one day when we both were working downtown, Ken was wearing his VanArts shirt, which is the school where we met and worked at. Nicole noticed his shirt and actually thought at first glance it said 'VanAnts', hee. Basically in the weeks to come, she and Ken started talking on the bus about the school when she inquired about it, eventually signing up for one of his part time classes and then signing up for the 2D program... where she then met Blake. The rest is history. Another VanArts love story.

So we arrived and the ceremony site was outside by this cute gazebo. Blake and his groomsmen and groomsdog made their way up front.


Then the bridesmaids came, the first was a former student as well, Monika, with the couple's other dog.


After all the bridesmaids, then came Nicole and her dad. Her dress was so pretty with the black detailing, very Nicole!


I think he was pretty proud, don't you?


Blake in awe of his bride.


The wedding was really sweet but they didn't have a microphone on them, so it was hard to make out some of the ceremony. It didn't help when the building behind then had its AC unit turn on. Oops.


You may kiss your bride!


Yay, congrats to the newlyweds!


Then off to the reception! The cake was so pretty, and each layer was a different flavor. Yum.


Then cutting the cake together.


First dance....


They are really cute together. Hee.


I loved Nicole's flowers, so pretty!


They had the personalized M&Ms like we did at Ariel's first birthday last year. Great little favor for everyone.


We had a really great time and I think our table by far was the most fun. It was just 4 of us, since the other people were no shows. So we had a blast with Jen, and another former student Troy. Here are some video clips from some of the craziness. Haha.

Thanks again Blake and Nicole for inviting us to be a part of your big day! We had a wonderful time. Blessings to you as your start your lives together.

Triumphant Return!

Yes, I am proud to say my dear hubby finished writing his course at 1am last night... I know because I was still up too. Haha, I couldn't sleep and ended up researching stuff for our upcoming trip on the laptop (which I hate because it lacks a mouse, ugh). Anyhoo, this means not only do we get to spend some quality time together, I get to use the regular computer (with mouse) to blog again! Yay!

Tuesday night Ariel and I joined Maria again for the follow up photo shoot with the Cinderella costume. The few pictures I saw on her camera were amazing! Can't wait to share them with you once they are on her site. Stay tuned!

Yesterday was coffee party with the ladies. We met over at Linda's and it was a nice walk for me, since she is only about 15 minutes from me. However, both Ariel and I slept in that morning and were scrambling to get out the door to be there by 10am.


Nana surprised everyone with a surprise guest, Jan! She is one of the early members of the group that my mom introduced. Since then she has returned to her true love Montréal and keeps tabs on us all via my blog.


It was nice for Jan to be able to meet little miss Ariel in person.


After coffee I came home to find a slip from the UPS man like I thought I would. Ken was expecting an important late package in regards to his course, and needed to watch the material that evening... and I thought I was sunk. However, thankfully it was our regular driver and he knows me well (especially after the amount of packages that have come during the writing of this course) so he had thrown it up on the deck, and written a note on the slip telling me, so we would have it in time! Bless his heart. I think I need to make him some cookies, and Ken totally agrees since he was a lifesaver in this case.

Today Ariel and I went for an early walk to the store for some milk and veggies for dinner tonight. We picked up some buttered popcorn flavored jelly belly beans for Ken as a congrats for finishing the course. *Yuck, but he loves them* Then we stopped at the post office to pick up a parcel for Ariel! Yes, she had received her first birthday gift, from Jenn and Oceana for our birthday exchange on the Mommy board.

Before coming home, we stopped to visit Stella briefly. Ariel was very sad to leave Lala and was crying pretty hard. Luckily for Ariel, Lala is babysitting tomorrow while we go to a friend's wedding, so I am sure they will have a great time.

We got home and once Ariel had calmed down, we pulled out the present. Oooh, for me?


She is really getting good at opening stuff.


NO WAY! I LOVE IT!


Mommy, I am trying to draw, no pictures please!


Then Ariel went for a nap, er sort of. During my pedicure both Nav and I could hear her talking up a storm in her room. Eventually she fell asleep. Yay. When she got up and we changed her outfit (she is having some SERIOUS drooling issues in her sleep - molars?) and she tried out the gloves and wand that came with her gift as well.


A big thank you! Ariel loves her gift, it was perfect gals, thank you again!


Well, Ken just got home and is finishing his dinner so I am going to go join him and Ariel. Lots coming over the next few days, wedding tomorrow and SPAMALOT on Sunday. Eek! I shall leave you all with a picture of me and my favorite girl.


Good night and I look forward to some more regular blogging again. Whee.

Happy Days!

First off, exciting news! Ken's mom got the news today that the growth that was removed from her thyroid was in fact benign! A huge answer to prayer, so thank you all who were doing so for her. This past week has been a rough one for her. She is pretty sick and been having a hard time keeping food down, so countinue to pray for her recovery.

Had a very lazy day, and it was perfect. We went over for a visit with Nana and Papa. Ariel was having a great time, but I think was still a bit tired from the action packed weekend.


Well, nothing else to say, so I will leave you with this fun game. You know you want to (all you lurkers (family friends) come on out and play.

Memory Game:

1. Add a comment to my blog by leaving a memory that you and I experienced together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little, or A LOT. All you have to do, is simply, remember. If you are a blog reader you can post a memory of a post etc...

2. When you've done that, post this to your blog, experience the memories from your lifetime, and I'll return the favor.

How Much Fun Can You Squeeze into One Weekend?

Apparently, lots! I am just sitting back on the couch playing on Ken's laptop from work because he is busy writing. Ariel is napping and I am enjoying the quiet, since it won't last much longer. Haha. We had one action packed weekend, and it was lots of fun seeing so many people.

It all started on Saturday morning as Ariel and I had been invited to Rowan's 3rd birthday party. All the way there in the car she chatted about the 'party' and her 'friends'. It was really cute. For some reason she wouldn't carry Rowan's gift, it was like she was freaked out by the wrapping paper. Once we entered the backyard, Ariel was blown away with the toys and kept referring to it as a 'park'. That was pretty cute.

Sienna is showing Ariel how to blow bubbles... but Ariel proceeded to stick the bubble wand in her mouth. Guess we need to work on that. Haha.


Rowan blowing out his big '3' candle on his hot wheels birthday cake. Ariel took one look and yelled 'CAKE'! We shared a piece since I knew she was pretty full from the yummy lunch of meats, cheeses and fruit.


Then came presents and Rowan got some lovely things. He really liked the football and hot wheels coloring book that Ariel gave him. Ariel had the most sheepish grin when Rowan went and gave her a thank you hug. She really likes him. Hee.


Ariel was getting kinda tired at this point and really needed a nap, so we thanked our hosts and headed home. I changed my sticky cake girl into some shorts and tank so she could nap until it was time to go to the next party.

Everything was quiet until I heard a loud wail! I ran down the hall to Ariel's room, thinking she had hurt herself. When I opened the door she was standing in her crib sobbing and pointing behind her. She cried 'binkie binkie'! I looked on the floor thinking she had dropped it, but then I saw it... her poor binkie had an accident... with Ariel's teeth apparently. When I picked it up she cried louder and wailed 'fix, fix'! I scrambled to look in her drawer for a spare, just so she would calm down. When I finally found one, she stopped crying and smiled... but a nap at this stage was a no go. She didn't want to return to her crib and said simply 'I play'. So I got her dressed and we headed over to Kara's party.


It was nice for Ariel to have a good visit with Stella and Kara before everyone started arriving. We helped set up some of the last minute touches, and Ariel even helped Kara stock the cooler with some beer. Don't worry, she didn't partake. Hee.


When people started arriving, she did very well and made friends with some. She was a bit tired from not napping, so every so often would find an empty lap and bring a book for a story.


Katie and her nephew, Kylan arrived and Ariel was very excited to have a little friend to play with. At one point he wanted to wear her hat, it was very cute.


The Ariel's other friend Issac arrived! We haven't seen him since last summer I think, so it was amazing to see how grown up he was looking.


Then the 3 of them went and talked to Holly the dog through the fence. Good times!


We got to visit with lots of friends included Deb and Blair (which was a total surprise). Ken soon arrived from work and after our 'first' dinner of the night, we then said our goodbyes and headed over to Dad and Rita's place for our 'second' dinner of the evening.

At Dad's we got to visit with my Aunt Valerie and Jim and Uncle Jerry and Aunt Rachel. Dinner was yummy, and we even made room for a tasty dessert (which we got to bring the leftovers home with us, score!) Ariel was really into the strawberries, and was pretty loopy from lack of sleep. When Ken put on the finger puppet and had him falling, she thought that was the funniest thing ever... and you really need to see it to believe it.



Can you believe the cackle she has? Hahaha. She laughed so hard that she ended up giving her self the hiccups. After all that we needed to head home since it had been a super full and we had church in the morning. Ariel pretty much crashed right away, and slept soundly... with the new good binkie of course. However, before bed she wanted to read stories, and she showed us how well she remembers her favorite book, 'The Hungry Caterpillar'. I was impressed, but I am her mom so I am sure I am bias. Oh well. Hee. (*First word cake she whispers, so its hard to make it out*)



The next morning we had Dianne arrive on our doorstep! She was joining us for church and lunch out, so that was fun. Since I was on nursery duty today, we got to visit while playing with the kids. Then we went to Ricky's where the super long line ups had us go over to ABC instead. However, we probably waited just as long for our food and the staff were kinda rude about the whole thing. Thumbs down to service, but the food was awesome! Ariel blew us away with her behaviour and waited so well. Near the end she was calling out for her fries, and I don't blame her.

After lunch we had to take the dorky tractor picture that everyone does. Haha.


Ariel loved sitting on the big wheel. She was really upset when we had to leave it behind. TRACTOR!!!!!!!!! She cried, and since she was mad, didn't want to ride in her stroller home and proceeded to walk the whole way! Wow, she was pleased with herself, and had a nap no problem after that.


Dianne and I then played our regular 'I'm leaving now, but really ends up staying another 2 hours' game we tend to do during our visits. Haha. We had a great chat about everything happening in our lives at the moment. One of these days we are going to make it up to visit them in Calgary, especially once they have their little baby girl from Ethiopia! Praying hard for a referral soon you guys!

I am so thankful to have friends like Dianne that grow up with you and still are as wonderful as the day you met them... especially if you were a totally weird kid at camp that sang songs about Twinkies and waffles. You are a blessing Dianne, and thank you for the wonderful visit.


Well, I should get dinner ready. I am looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow and the countdown to another exciting weekend which includes a wedding and SPAMALOT! Yay!