Stinky Pinky

I haven't forgotten about you blog world... really.... honest. Its been a little rough here.... lets just say these few little words sum it all up....

PINK EYE!

Ugh... I will be back soon. Promise... with lots to share including:

- Chris and Kara's wedding

- cakes galore

- Ariel's dance camp

- VBS

- and the saga of pink eye

I am going to aim for the weekend, I really want to catch up before Imagine That starts next week.

Survived...

Its been a crazy week, what else is new eh?

Following our anniversary it was Canada Day and so we spent the morning out in the village enjoying pancakes, and the festivities until it was cake time... hmm cake!

This past Saturday I had the fun and of course stressful experience of photographing a wedding. I had done this couple's engagement photos and they asked me if I could do the wedding as well. Nothing really prepares you more for stress than a wedding. Unpredictable conditions from weather to venues can make it a roller coaster ride for sure.

For the most part I feel pretty good about things and how they went. Of course the perfectionist in me would love to always do much better and I look at things overall and say, that was good, that could have been better but all in all at the end of the day it was a special day to be a part of. Head over to Jaybird Creations to see a sample of the pictures from the day. They were a lovely couple and I wish them the best!

On the funny side of things, me and my young assistant managed to set off the church's alarm. Well, they didn't lock the door and the alarm was set, so really it could have been anyone. Classic me eh? I also made the cake for this wedding, talk about one stop shopping. Haha. I was pretty much gone from 9am to 11ish at night, a full day and I crawled into bed after a soak in the tub to sooth my swollen feet. It would have been nice to sleep in but with church the next morning I was up with the sun and a little boy who was eager to see his mommy.

Xander pretty much stuck to me until noon when he finally realized I wasn't leaving. He didn't let me leave the nursery so I got to sit with my feet up, which was nice since I was zonked but I was bummed to have missed the service.

The next day was 4th of July, and so we loaded up the car and headed off to Point Roberts for the pancakes, parade and to take in the beach. It was lots of fun but I did manage to get my yearly burn, doh. I am hoping it fades before Saturday as I will look pretty silly in my dress looking like a lobster at Kara's wedding.

The parade theme this year was 'animation' so lots of weird stuff, these 2 were the best ones, the Flintstones...

...and the smurfs.

Even though I got a burn I had a great time with our family, and a bit sad too as it was Ken's last day off before going back to work. We have enjoyed our mini break with him home, especially the kids. They enjoyed the beach and exploring the sand and its creatures...

...Xander thought this was a ball and was quite upset it was tied down, haha.

Tuesday I had planned to do laundry, clean up and meet with Brenda in regards to Imagine That coming up. When I called to set up our meeting, she suggested the water park and so off we went. The kids played hard, Xander even took his nap in the grass while Brenda and I chatted business and caught up on our social lives. Very good day and fun for the kids too.

Later in the afternoon was Xander's haircut appointment to trim his locks for his ring bearer duty on Saturday. It went really well, in fact I think this was the best appointment yet. Look how cute he is! Yeah the hat kinda hides his hair but he loves it so much, and boy does it suit him.

Today was finally the dreaded 'shots' day. Ariel was getting her kindergarten booster and Xander was finally starting his shots. Long story on why he is so delayed, but regardless he now is on the road to catching up finally. So we headed over and Ariel was being very brave, not showing any signs of being scared. When we finally were called into the room it was our friend from church doing the shots, so that was awesome! She started preparing Ariel who once was on my lap seemed to freak because she realized she had a tiny sun burn on her arm and I think the thought of us holding her arm on it make her get overwhelmed. She cried when the shot finally came but stopped as soon as it was over, happy to get a lollipop and sticker for her efforts.

Ariel then decided she wanted to go back to the toy area as she didn't want to see Xander cry, aww . So I got ready to hold down the boy as he was getting 3 shots. Its so hard seeing your kids cry, but thankfully Xander just like Ariel stopped as soon as it was over. Yay! He gobbled down his lollipop even before we left the room. After our 15 minute wait to make sure there was no reaction, we went to the dollar store to pick out a treat. Ariel got 'toot' goop, ugh. Her friend got some and of course she was eager to choose that as her prize. Xander got a hot wheel car and was in his glory. Haha.

So that has been our week in a nutshell... lots coming up and it looks like the summer sun is finally staying... making our home extremely warm and slightly uncomfortable. Oh well.

At the beginning...

10 years ago around this time I was waking up, it would be the day that I would marry the boy who had changed my world. Its hard to believe at times it has been 10 years already, but then I look around and I see the effects of time passing before me. Grey hairs and wrinkles I never had before... A scar on my stomach that bears the story of children coming into our life and changing us again from just husband and wife to Mom and Dad... and just growing as people but still very much connected to who we were then that day to who we are now, stronger and very much still in love.

I look at Ken and I see the boy who charmed me with his love of puppets, music and film. I also see the man who stood by me when my world came crashing down and helped me to stand when I wasn't sure I could. A strong man of faith who loves both me and the kids and puts our needs and hearts first. His face is older and wiser, but he is still the scruffy boy I know and love.

Music always takes us back to moments in our lives that remind us of something or someone. The song that played when I walked down the aisle was from an animated movie. When I first heard it I realized it was our story, it was our song and ever time I hear it I am moved to tears thinking of the day we started 'forever'.

We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart

Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Live is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep going on....
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road and I wanna going
Love is river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

10 years... its only the beginning. I love you Ken!

Mini Vacation... sort of

Well after several days of Ken being off in New York for business (no I wasn't jealous at all, haha) he returned home on Sunday morning. We stayed home from church to meet him and all head to the potluck lunch together afterwards. He got lots of special treats for the kids who were beyond excited to see him. They went running down the hall and each grabbed a leg, pretty special.

Daddy got Ariel some new American Girl outfits for Julie and Joy and a Disney princess nightgown. Xander got some new Cars 2 toys and Cars jammies, both were thrilled. Mommy got a Sex and the City glass and pocket mirror for my purse... the glass I am using right now... hmmm cosmo!

Ken is now taking this week off as a mini break, and since its a busy one for me leading up to my wedding shoot on Saturday, I am glad to have the help. I baked 100+ cookies last night and got the first part of the icing done today. Hoping to finish them tomorrow and then get them bagged on Thursday for the drop off on Friday.

So while Ken was gone I was knee deep in 5 cake orders and they should all be all up now (hopefully) on my Jaybird site if you wish to see them. Thankfully the weather was in my favor and it wasn't too hot but I did at times had to rotate the cakes in my fridge to keep things cool. At one point I took a picture of the craziness haha.

We managed to finish up some other projects with Kara in regards to the wedding. Programs are done, wine labels done and working on pie toppers (which reminds me...) Kara had fun cooking french toast with Ariel while I worked, it was delicious!

Xander also tried out painting after watching Ariel and deciding he wanted to try.

I love his first masterpiece! Do you see a dragon or unicorn? Those were the big ones spotted from my facebook peeps.

Ariel also finished up her gymnastics class. She was so cute waiting to go in, when did my baby grow up! I had hoped to tape her dance but lets just say it wasn't communicated when it was happening during the practice time and they did it but I thought it was still the practice, oh well. Ariel was a tad disappointed I didn't tape it but it was ok, Daddy had seen it the week before and that was all that mattered. She got a certificate for completing the class and we got some slurpees to celebrate!

Hmmm slurpee kids, haha.

We also picked up Ariel's kindergarten schedule and supply list for next year. We found out that she will be in the full kindergarten class vs the kindy/grade 1 split. We were fine either way it went, figuring she would love the challenge of being with older kids or being in the class with the kindergarten teacher we hear so many great things about, so we got the later and are pleased as punch! Ken couldn't believe kids in gr 1 need a flash drive! Oh how the times are a changing. We of course were in the time when computers were just being introduced to schools. I remember the big day in grade 4 going to the lab and getting the run down on floppy discs, haha. Now my nearly 2 year old can run my iphone!

Speaking of my phone, I love it! I don't know what I did before, it makes my scheduling, organizing and keeping things running smoother than ever! Not to mention if I forget my phone I can capture moments like this.... mc rib is back! A joke between Ken and I, haha.

Or my sweet kiddies having a picnic together...

...or Grandpa and his boys Henry and Xander being crazy.

or finally capturing Xander at his first movie! Cars 2, meh, that is all I will say about that, haha.

If you notice my anniversary ticker we are nearly at the big day, 10 years! Eek! I promise a special post will be made on the Thursday so tune in for that. I am off to work on wedding cookies! Bye!

Vancouver on the Map

... but for the wrong reasons. If anyone caught the big Stanley Cup final game between Boston and Vancouver they know the winner was overshadowed by the actions that followed in moments after the clock ran out. Much like 1994 when the Canucks lost game 7, a riot broke out... this time it was far more planned and frankly left most of BC in a state of disgust and embarrassment.

We were on every tv station across the world... and you know you hit an all time low when you show up on TMZ!



We happened to have a student over for dinner who is attending our church, and we all sat on the couch stunned at the events. Of course with social media no one can hide anymore, and people are getting caught daily!

People have also reacted in ways of grace as well... going down to clean up the mess and write messages of thank you to the police who had to take on the ordeal. I am still upset about it, but I won't let it define me or my country!

This week my baby girl finished preschool... sniff. She got her little diploma that I stuck into her school memory book. She seems so grown up, when did that happen?

I did the annual first day and last day pictures to see how much she grew and changed in a year.

During the final week we had a park party and an outing to the bird sanctuary. Lots of fun and kinda sad too since lots of her friends will be headed to different schools.

Yesderday Ariel and I went over to her dance studio to register for fall! It was picture day so we got to see all the older kids in their costumes and oh boy they were pretty! Ariel was excited to know she would get her own costume next year, eek! We signed up for pre-primary ballet and beginner Jazz. After a short visit with some friends we saw there, we headed off to pick up Daddy's Father's Day gift.

I caved and got us iphones! We had been taking about it for a long time and with both of the kinds of jobs we have that it would be a good idea but I convinced Ken not for awhile, in hopes of surprising him. He of course was thrilled and feels like one of the cool kids now, haha. I am so excited to have all my work related emails, contacts and schedule with me to look at anytime, especially when out getting supplies, as my Mommy brain tends to kick in and I forget stuff all the time.

Time for some crazy Xander cuteness. His smile, oh boy is he gonna woo those girls one day, haha.

The past few weeks I had lots of orders but the highlights were a 25th anniversary...

... and a gala event.

This week week I have have 5 orders, 2 of them are large 3 tier cakes, the rest are smaller but still detailed. Looking forward to them since there are some fun things coming up.

Its strange that we are on 'summer schedule'. Ariel's last gymnastics session is this week, so look for a video performance of her dance coming up. I am looking forward to the summer activities starting soon, but first we have to finish up everything for Kara's wedding which is quickly approaching. Ok, time to finish some emails and get to bed.

Dancing Through Life

Tis the blog about Ariel's ballet viewing and our date to see Wicked (hence the title of the blog, its one of the songs from Wicked, if you didn't know)

First up was our sweet girl's last day as a 'kinderdancer'. Next year she will be in 'pre-primary' ballet and joining Jazz as well which is exciting! Ariel is beyond pumped and is eager to be in the 'big girls' classes.

Daddy was able to join us as he is teaching again this semester so he could move his schedule around as he would be staying late. He is always excited to see her dance, and as usual she was amazing to watch. Miss Julie had told us how good her coordination has continued to be, and her timing and following the music is just wonderful.

We taped a most of the show, but here is just a sample.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

During the week I had 2 orders, one for a Mario themed cake...

the other a jazz dance cake (which I booked while in the bathroom at church, lol, probably the most interesting place to do business. Ha!)

Then on Saturday Ken and I left the kids and went to see probably my new favorite musical, WICKED! It was beautiful, from the costumes, music and visuals, we were spellbound! We were in row 4 up front, amazing seats but then it was a present for our 10th anniversary this month! Whee.

We came out of the theater at 5pm to the city filled with crazy Canuck fans! I would have loved to take a picture but I didn't bring my camera, felt like holding hubby's hand instead that day, whee! But to give those who don't live, here is an idea of how crazy downtown is when its the playoff finals... this sums it up.

Xander outgrew his soft sole shoes finally, his big toe actually popping out the front. Since he is starting to be more active outside I felt it was time for his first runners. So off to the shoe store we went and came home with these! He LOVES them, and gets excited when its time to put them on his feet, a good sign I guess. Can't believe my baby will be 2 soon!

Wow, I started writing this on Monday and its Friday... yeah, it was busy, and I PROMISE next week I will catch up on everything. But for now, happy Friday everyone and Go Canucks... yeah, I will cheer for the home team, even if I don't care much, I care for everyone who does. Woot!