Mini Break!

Well we managed to get away for a few days... I can't recall the last time that happened for awhile! On Sunday morning we left to drive Ariel up to Camp Squeah for her mini camp of 2 nights. Meeko went to spend the weekend with Dad and Rita (thank you!). We loaded up the car and made our way up to Hope. I can't remember the last time I was up that way, its been awhile for sure.

We drove for an hour listening to Adventure in Odyssey cds, so glad the kids enjoy them as much as I do. Ken got his first listen to them and quite liked them too. In Abbotsford we stopped for lunch at Red Robins, so thing we don't have close to us so it was a fun treat. Ariel thought she died and went to heaven with the cheesy macaroni.  Another hour on the road and we made it to Hope and to the camp.

As we drove in we saw a huge painted sign saying 'Fellowship of the King' which of course caught my Lord of the Rings loving husband. Sure enough it was the theme of the camp that summer.

Registration was fast and Ariel was assigned to cabin 'Daisy'. We grabbed her gear and made our way over the the cute cabins. This was my first experience to Squeah, as I was always a camper/leader at Camp Tulahead which was up in Princeton. I was going in as blind as Ariel was, but there was something very warm and inviting about this camp. We then saw a familar face standing on the deck of the cabin, Sarah! Ariel smiled and ran up the stairs, as she knew Sarah from our church. She had told Ariel she was at Squeah this summer and I wonder if she got Ariel put into her cabin, but either way it was a fun surprise.

Ariel picked a top bunk, something she always wanted to try.

It was then time to say goodbye. She was fine, a bit reserved and goofy which is her way of being nervous. We drove away and I was misty, it was hitting me how big this was. Thankfully we didn't have far to drive to get to Chilliwack to where we were staying a few days. However it took longer than we thought as we hit a huge line of traffic. Ken checked his phone on twitter and discovered there had been a huge accident, and so we ended up waiting over an hour shuffling along. When we saw the car involved finally it didn't look good for whoever was driving it... very sad, praying they were ok.

I had a free hotel stay from doing work for a tourism fellow. He has said it was old fashioned and under most cases that would have been fun for me, but when traveling with a 3 year old that doesn't always work. Our room was super cute, but it was TINY. 2 small rooms connected but no floor space at all, and no tub but a very small shower, which Xander won't go near at all. It just wasn't going to work for the little guy, so Ken went down to see if we could get a different room. They had another that was better but didn't have any charm like the other room, so it was function over cute. It had 2 beds in the same room and more floor space and a tub. It felt really warm and we discovered over the course of the next 2 days the 'a/c' wasn't so good... it was cooler in the hallway. Sigh... oh well, it was free. We also were in a pretty old part of town, we actually didn't realize until the last night that going over the overpass would take you into the new part with what would have been some better options for us. Again, oh well.

The first night we found a small place for dinner, and it wasn't too bad. We had fun joking about snails as we tried escargot for the first time. If you have seen Steve Martin's the Jerk then you would get our humor. Haha. I got a great photo of Xander and Ken with the snails via my phone. Tee hee!

The next morning was the holiday Monday so most things were closed. I had managed to find online a cute farm not too far away doing a 'brunch' as a holiday special. So we headed down in hopes of some fun and adventure. Well when we arrived we were not disappointed! Simply, IT WAS AMAZING! 

They had cute tables set up under a tent with hay bales to sit on and cut flowers making it pretty and colorful. They had beautiful tea cups set out to pick from, oh had we found something perfect for me! Haha. They had another tent set up and when you walked through it was filled with farm grown goodness. 

This farm's specialty was cheese, and had lots of goats and cows, so they had so many wonderful cheeses, it was so so so good. Then lots of homemade bread, jams, honey, butter, yogurt, salads with feta and goat cheese, quiches, potato salad, ham, water buffalo, smokies, berries, whipping cream and shortcakes, pies and chocolate cupcakes. Everything was made by hand, on this farm. The ham was the most moist thing I have ever had. The cream for my tea was stunning. We ate ourselves silly... seriously we didn't eat again till dinner. Xander had lots too and he was free as he was under age 6, score!

After we finished we got to see the animals and that was probably Xander's favorite part. He cried when it was time to say goodbye to the kitty and the goats. Our little animal lover.

Next up was a trip to Minter Gardens. We hadn't been since Natalie and Peter's wedding so it was a treat to go again before it closes this October. It gave Xander a great opportunity to run, and Mommy to take photos. It was relaxing to shoot flowers and just stroll through the gardens. 

Some of my favs...

Xander found the outhouse for the dwarf... he claimed it his own, haha.

He even let me take a few shots of him, such a cute little man!

We were pretty tired after all our walking and headed back to the hotel and got a blizzard on the way, yum. By the time it was dinner time and we could think about eating again, we found out about other restaurants on the other side of the overpass. We made our way and Xander picked tacos. In typical fashion they handed Ken our order, only it wasn't our order but someone else's, so they gave us ours but told us to keep that order too... so we had a crazy amount of taco stuff now. We bagged most of it up and enjoyed taco treats through out the evening. 

The next morning we checked out and made our way to find pancakes, again Xander's choice. Then we got on the road to camp to pick up our girly. We got to watch the closing with some songs, a cute slide show and quick info on what had happened during their time there.  

Ariel then came over to find us and Xander hugged her like crazy. He really had missed her, even to the point where he carried his toy phone those few days in case she would call him. Too sweet! We picked up a t-shirt and started the journey home. Ariel telling us all about her adventures. She was sad, probably a mix of tired and things coming to an end. She is eager for next summer now, its amazing how much they can grow in such a short time... she felt older when we picked her up. Wow.

So that ends our mini vacation, hope you enjoyed getting a small insight to our trip, but now its time for bed, I have lots of cakes to make this week.

Last Month of Summer

Hello August, you came quickly! Before you know it will be September and back to school for the kids. This month is filled with wedding orders, birthdays and a few family visits. Should be a wonderful month of fun!

We survived the 4th summer of the Imagine That Arts Camp, and had a record number of kids come, 135 I believe was the final headcount. Its always tiring but so inspiring to live such an intense week of art. We had both Ariel and Xander take part as well. Xander in the preschool class and Ariel too mixed media and sewing. They loved their time there and it was great to see such a different Xander at camp this time, taking part and making stuff vs not making stuff, haha. We look forward to next year and enjoy our rest... ahh.

(you might have to watch the video via youtube)



The Saturday following the camp was Ariel's birthday party with her friends. Ariel had wanted a ballet themed party, and wanted Auntie Kara to come and teach her friends, so once we compared schedules the only weekend that worked for both of us was that one Saturday after camp. At the time I always forget how tired I am after camp, but we managed to pull it off.... although there were tears about 1130pm the Friday night following the Celebration Night for camp as I was trying to make Ariel's cake last minute. After a short moment of 'ack' things started falling into place and the cake was done and the scene set.

Ariel awoke the next morning and LOVED her cake.

Our theme was snowflake ballerinas, after I had seen a beautiful craft of making a ballerina with a snowflake skirt... it was the whole inspiration for the party theme....but I realized that I forgot to make it, so that stunk as it tied everything together, as its kinda odd to think snow with ballet, oh well. Something to laugh about.

I pulled out some stuff from my Christmas stuff and kept things simple and sweet. The ballerina with the snowflake skirt was to hang from the light... doh... maybe I can photoshop it in, haha.

Ariel was dressed in her favorite ballet dress up outfit and ready for her friends to arrive. 

The girls arrived, dressed in the blue tutus we had gotten for them to wear. I made little head pieces for them to add to the fun. Its amazing how much they have grown since last year. 

Auntie Kara brought her pointe shoes for the girls to try on, Ariel was thrilled!!!

A pretty special party indeed! Kara helped choreograph a cute dance for them to perform and tape, which I emailed to the parents following the party. A big thank you to Kara for making Ariel's 7th birthday so special!

Ariel got her present from us early, Saige, the new American Girl doll she was longing for. The girl loves her dolls.

Then on Sunday morning we had our Art's service. Kara had worked with a group of our church's girls for the past several Wednesday evenings for a dance presentation. Most of the girls don't have much dance background but they did such an amazing job, it was so awesome! Do watch the video, it will make you smile.

(you might have to watch the video via youtube)

This week I was back to my regular cake orders and helping order the Royalty jackets for National girls. Speaking of which, we got the photos from the pageant, these are a few of my favs!

Ariel in formal wear and personal introduction

Personal Fashion, love this outfit on her!

Commercial

Speech Arts  

Crowning! See those directors chairs behind her, that is what she gets one with her name on it next summer when she finishes her service. She is very excited about it!

Royalty shot

Ariel is excited about her jacket, I'll post photos when it arrives. They are super cute! As for now, we are just packing her up for her 2 night mini camp experience. When did she get to be old enough to go to camp?!  

Ok, off to finish the laundry... whee!

Update Time

I was told I haven't been updating enough so here goes a little recap of summer activities thus far.

First off, I had a crazy Star Wars themed wedding cake for a friend from church. It was pretty funny to deliver something so 'different' to a fancy place like the Vancouver yacht club, haha. Anyhoo, they loved it and it was the start of the real start of wedding season. I have almost every weekend booked in August for weddings, crazy!

Ariel did swimming lessons at the pool for 2 weeks and passed swim kids 6!!! Wow, she is such a crazy strong swimmer for such a tiny thing. She was the only girl in a class of 5 big boys who towered over her. She worked hard and was excited when she found out she passed with flying colors. She is going to give swim kids 7 a try in August, she loves a challenge so it should be fun.

The Tour de Delta was in town again for another bike race filled evening of fun. We always enjoy going and this year Ariel was old enough to ride in the kids race. Some of her friends from school rode too so it was a great night out, and she got a free dinner at the end of the race including a cute medal. 

Then it was VBS time! This year Xander was able to go and was SOOOO excited. It was a wild west theme and there was lots of yee-haws around our place for the week. Both kids had friends from school in their classes so that was really nice. I must say I enjoyed the mornings off for a week. It was a small taste of what is coming in a short year once Xander starts kindergarten. Wow.

During that week we had a big of a scare. Meeko went in for his 3rd set of shots and everything seemed fine until late afternoon. While enjoying a visit from Maureen and Andrea, Meeko's face started swelling up. His eyes looked puffy and before I knew it, his eyes were so swollen they shut and his muzzle was 3 times the size it should be. Maureen stayed with the kids while I ran Meeko over to the vet. Seems like he was having an allergic reaction, most likely from the rabies shot. They gave him some benadryal and kept him for an hour to watch him. Thankfully it seemed to work and we got to take him home. He was groggy but good. He had to have a few more pills over the next few days and was finally back to normal.

Ariel had a big pageant coming up and she needed some new photos so I took her out for headshots but was having so much fun we did some shots down at the beach by the ferry terminal during sunset. This is one of my favs of the night.

In the end this was the shot we got and I was super happy with it.

Ariel had been raising money for Children's hospital for her pageant and in the end raised $1286.50 which was thrilling for her. When VBS ened on the Friday at noon, we picked her up with the suitcases already packed and Ken took us to our hotel. We checked in and Ariel met for a short meeting with her coach Megan for a quick run through of her routines. That evening was just the interview portion so the girls got into her shirts and whites and were ready to go. Ariel's white shoes were too small but we couldn't find any in her size so she wore flip flops until the last minute when she had to put them on. Thankfully she was a trooper and you couldn't tell, but its time to find new ones soon!

That night the girls all went swimming and had a wonderful time. The next morning was full day of competition, starting with beauty with personal intros. With natural pageants there is no make up and only simple hair so its pretty relaxed. Its more about public speaking and basic walks, so we just tend to get to enjoy the day more without running around. Ariel did great on her intro and it really started her off on a strong foot. 

She did casual wear, then on to commercial and speech arts. For commercial she did a cinnamon toast crunch ad, which was really cute. Speech arts was something we wrote together about her observations about coffee and parents. Well she had the room laughing pretty hard and then we just had to wait. 

The evening was the carnival and lots of fun for the girls. They had a recording booth and Ariel and pal Emma recorded a Taylor Swift song. She got lots of little trinkets and goodies from the games and ate lots of treats.  A fun time indeed!

The next morning we headed to crowning. First off Ariel was named Miss Congeniality by her peers which was really special. She also won best headshot for her age group too, woot for me! They started doing the age groups and finally got to hers and my stomach was in knots. It was a tight group and 3 of the girls were really fantastic and I couldn't pick who would win. The group got smaller and smaller then was down to those 3 girls, including Ariel. The announced the first runner up and then it was just 2... they announced the Petite Miss BC title which was the other girl and then it hit me, SHE WON! I started crying, I was so excited for her, and she was just smiling away totally thrilled. Then the director announced she had the highest score of the WHOLE PAGEANT! That is when my legs went to jelly, I don't remember much but coming up to help her off stage with her arm load of gifts and prizes. 

We had our own moment on the size of the stage and totally missed the next age crowning. Her friend Emma who won last year (Ariel was runner up to her) was so excited for her, now they were both in the royalty family. Ariel has her title for a year and then will crown the new girl next year. She gets to help at events, will have a uniform like Emma's to wear during the year, and gets a cute jacket with her title and name on it. She has to keep her sash and crown safe during the year so I am out looking for a special box to keep them in. 

Following the crowning the new royalty had to stay for photos and get into their whites. I am looking forward to the year ahead as we get to get to know the rest of the royalty moms of this new group, some of which we are already good friends with. We got our score sheets and saw that Ariel was almost getting perfect scores in every area, it was amazing, she has grown so much in a year. So proud of her and her hard work! Way to go baby!

The National Canadian Girl National Royalty 2013/2014

And then it was July!

Um whoa, when did that happen?!  Oh right we had end of school events, dance recitals, a crazy amount of cake orders and Ken was in New York.... yep that is what happened.

So back tracking, we saw the end of the school year for both kids. First up was Xander, who has not only grown so much in his personality and skills but height wise too... check out that picture!

His teachers were emotional talking of his progress this year and how he ended with a bang standing up with his friends and singing part of a song, which he "HATES" to do in front of people. I was so proud and he was too, I could tell.

We are sad one of his teachers won't be working in his class next year, so praying its a smooth transition for him meeting someone new.

Ariel's end of school first came with sports day with a super hero theme. She loved that and we painted a mask on her face for the fun day.

She was excited to be on the same team as her older friends from church. Ken took the day off to help with Xander so I could enjoy the time with her.

The last day of school we got her report card that she was on to grade 2 and exceeding expectations in several areas of study. So proud of her work ethic at such a young age. Excited to see who her teacher will be in the fall, and looking forward to registering Xander for Kindergarten for fall 2014 so we can have both kids at the same school finally!

Dance photo weekend was crazy as Ken was away in New York for a Pixar masterclass, so I was trying to balance cakes and kids. I am excited to see the photos, I saw the previews and they are gorgeous. I love Ariel's ballet costume, she was a bluebell and it was just so pretty and sweet.

That weekend also marked the arrival of a new family member, I now have a niece! Miss Natalie arrived weighing in at 10lb 9oz, born at home. We got to finally get over and see her amongst the crazy days so we could email pics to Ken who was eager to get home to meet her too. Ariel is very excited to have a girl cousin finally.

Dance recital this year was 3 days of crazy for me, as I wanted to help every night behind the scenes. It was such a great moment to meet some of the 'pro moms' who have been doing this for years. Ariel only danced 2 nights as they didn't have the little ones do the late night show. The days she did dance she was on fire. She loves an audience and I am so proud of her and her 3 performances. We also learned about some quicker changes this year with more routines come getting into other costumes and hair styles. Those new moms I met came and helped me so much as I was tending to herding the kids onto the stage, I got a clipboard, so you know its an important job, hahaha. I was surprised during the thank yous to get my own bouquet of flowers from the studio for a thank you for sewing some last minute tutus. Ariel presented me with them, which was super sweet!

Ariel and I had fun with the pile of fluff as you can see.

Following the last day of school was Ariel and I getting to go see Taylor Swift together!!!

Lots of our friends from church and the community were going to so we were able to ride down with friends, which was lots of fun for the girls.

We had an amazing time and it was special for the both of us. She loved the dancers she had on stage, including ballet dancers on pointe for 'Love Story'

Then Ken and I celebrated our 12th anniversary! Wow, time sure flies when you are having fun. We celebrated with a movie with the kids, Monster's University. It was a fun time together and we do look forward to a time this summer we can get away ourselves.

Now we are full steam ahead for Ariel's big National pageant. She has raised $800 thus far for Children's Hospital, I am so incredibly proud of her. She is practicing and we are excited to see how she does.  Then we are into Imagine That camp time, so the summer is flying and we are having fun!

June... summer is on the horizon...whee!

Wow, we entered June this past weekend, and it came in with glorious sun and warmth that was so awesome! Although I am a tad overwhelmed at how much is happening in the next 3 weeks but I am always amazed at how things fall into place and so I don't get too stressed, but enjoy the roller coaster ride. I am really loving today's semi relaxing day, and a dog curled up at my feet.

I do have one particular week that involves a full weekend of dance recitals, wedding cake order and a few big school events (talent show and sports day). I think the following week I will sleep, haha. So that week if you don't hear much from me, you will know why.

So the big news yesterday was Ariel signed up to try out for the school's talent show later this month. She went to the audition and made it! She was excited but so typically Ariel about it, which is mellow. She said she was nervous and messed up a dance step but did well. The teachers watching gave her more credit than she gave herself and I am excited to see her perform in front of the school. Eek!

We are nearly done her last set of swimming lessons as of this week. She nearly passed swim kids 5 last time, just missing 2 requirements so we are eager to see if she made it this time. I am impressed with how good she has gotten and after talking to our friends and our neighbours who are involved, we are thinking of looking into swim club next summer. We shall see.

Summer is taking shape and we have some plans in place. A tad different than we originally thought but it will all be good in the end. Due to the dance camp dates being different this year, Ariel can't attend which was kinda a sad moment in the house. However both her and Xander are ready for fun at VBS, a first for my little man who has been dying to go the past few years.

*All ready for the May Days parade, a wild west theme. 

Ariel is gearing up for a huge National pageant, with girls coming from across Canada. Its a fun weekend and we are excited to meet some new friends and for her to do her best. Then we all are at Imagine That for a week of crazy fun, Ariel is taking mixed media and sewing and Xander is in Preschool Arts. Ken is back teaching animation and me cake and cupcakes. Woot!  August rolls around and Ariel goes off to camp for 2 nights and we are in birthday season. I think we are having Ariel's early this year in July just for some extra space between the 2.

Xander is nearing the end of his first year at school. Its been a great year, and one of much growth for him. I will blog all about it soon, as it needs a post all of its own. I will share his little alphabet performance, so cute!

Meeko is now 11 weeks old and growing so much! Next week he has his 12 week visit to the vet and his shots. Once he has these, we are safe to take him to the park, puppy classes etc. Until now we could only hold him out and about, now he can be on the grass on his feet. His long hair is slowly coming in, so he looks super fluffy. He wants to chew on things but isn't destructive, more playful. I noticed he is responding more to his name and can do the command 'sit' almost every time.

Xander enjoys his furry friend, and they love to play. This is one of their favorite games, it will be a sad day when they both outgrow the car. Haha.

We have been ending our activities slowly. Sparks ended with the big district advancement ceremony where Ariel moved up to Brownies and Mommy was recognized as a new Guider (leader). We attended the Monday night Brownie troop meeting, the one we are joining and really had a great time. She got her hand book in the mail already and she is eager to start earning badges come fall. It was really cool to see all the older girls in the program and the services they provide to the community. Love the Girl Guides, if you are interested in joining, its totally worth it! Ariel will be a 3rd generation Brownie, a full post coming on that later too!

Been doing some sewing in my brief time away from cake decorating. Ariel is going to a birthday party this weekend and her friend is a huge American Girl fan... and Justin Bieber fan. So for her present, I sewed her doll an outfit and made a tiny JB t-shirt! Yay for photo transfer paper. I already have some people asking if they can buy a t-shirt similar to it, so another business? haha who knows. 

Well I need to get back to my cakes, working on the annual gala for a Vancouver group and prepping for the rest of the orders for the week. Whee!