Pumpkin Patch Adventure!

Today Stella and I took Ariel to the pumpkin patch for her first visit ever! We were originally planning to go tomorrow, but with a forecast of rain, we jumped at the opportunity this morning since the sun was out. I have often driven by this farm, but I have never had the chance to check it out. I think I was having just as much fun, maybe more, as Ariel. Hee. Who doesn't like a huge dancing pumpkin?

We bought our tickets and made our way through the bus loads of school kids. We climbed aboard the hay wagons and road out to the fields. It was really cute how they did a sing a long, and Ariel was really into that.



Along the way we saw the pumpkin grave yard, pumpkin princess' castle and of course the great pumpkin!


Ariel got to really break in her new boots with all the mud. Of course Stella and I were in running shoes, so it was a bit mucky for us. Ick. Ariel did pretty well once she got use to walking in the boots. She really liked the mud and eventually realized the pumpkins were cool too. I took lots of pictures. Whee.






Once we picked two nice pumpkins, we tried out the corn maze. Ariel wasn't into it, so we found 'the creative' way out.... straight through the corn. We then waited for the next wagon back and Ariel was enjoying watching the kids around her.



When we got back to the main area, the live music was playing and caught Ariel's attention... that and 'Polly Pumpkin.' She was following it around and wanting to touch and snuggle it. If there was ever a wonder if she was ready for Disneyland's characters, the answer came today. I can't wait till the day comes we can take her. Hee.



At one point Ariel sat down to watch the music, and the pumpkin did a dance for her. I caught it on video... more so for Ken. He thinks its pretty funny.



After our apple snack, we went to see the barn animals before packing it in. Yay for lamas!



I think our car has a new level of mud now, but it was worth it for a moment like this!


Well, the radio contest winners will be announced on Thursday, so if you haven't voted, please do, and if you have, thank you so much. We are just so tickled she made it to the website. A star in the making! I will share some of the email comments later this week because they are pretty funny.

In closing, I send out a huge congrats to my cousin Trevor and his wife Claudette welcomed there second daughter into the world today. Her name is Ashlyn Mya, weighing in at 7lbs 8oz. Blessings you guys, and can't wait to see some pictures!

Cheer on Ariel and VOTE!

Hey everyone! I think I mentioned before, but if not, I entered Ariel's dancing to Bon Jovi video in the baby blooper contest at Crave 95 (our fav local radio station) and SHE MADE THE FINALS! Now its up to the public to vote, so I am asking for you to take a moment and vote for her! Follow the link HERE and then vote for 'dancing to bon jovi'. We totally appreciate your votes and we will see what happens! We are just excited to see her video on the web page of the station, it was a fun surprise to see today! Whee!

As for today, Ariel and I headed off to the park this morning for some fun and pictures. Sadly, she still isn't totally better and wasn't really into the photo moments. She did enjoy the ducks and leaves, but soon got tired and wanted to be held. You know when SHE wants to be held, she isn't feeling good.


I took her for a treat at McDonald's. She was pretty happy after that and came home and took a HUGE nap.


She woke up feeling really good, and the nose is getting more and more clear. Yay. Then we put on her Michigan cheer leader outfit, and of course that was a big hit.


Other neat news today, I found a cute doll cradle at the new consignment shop today. I got it for $12 and plan to sand it, stain it and make bedding up for it. This will be Ariel's Christmas present. I can't remember if I mentioned that we are going to hold off on her play kitchen for her birthday gift next summer. Anyhoo, I was looking for ideas and I wanted to make something, as that is my goal this year. Its a homemade Christmas! Everyone will be getting something made by me or our family. Its a challenge, but I think it makes things really fun too. Stay tuned for the transformation of the crib.


On Saturday we found rain boots for Ariel's tiny feet. The only ones that fit were a bright yellow color. Ariel wasn't too excited about that, and while trying them out, grabbed the pink ones off the shelf and made a run for the door. The sales lady told her that only the bigger boots came in pink. Seriously, the only colors were yellow and blue. The yellow as you can see is very Spongebob Squarepants. I did get a suggestion to paint some flowers on them to pretty them up a bit... I may consider that.


I also added some side blinkies to my page here. Yes, I am a huge dork, but I think they are cute. So blah!

Ok, I am off to clean the kitchen and sew the night away....remember to VOTE!

Freaky Friday

It was one of those days. The kind where you wake up and you are on edge all day because you started out on the wrong foot. Blah. Anyhoo, I was to meet my dad for breakfast at 8am and after a rough wake up at 3am with Ariel (who was having a hard time going back to sleep) I ended up sleeping through the radio going off. Not to mention Ariel was still out too, so no help from her. I rolled over to see the clock say 807am. ACK!

I flew out of bed, calling Ariel to wake up. I called Rita to see if my dad had left already and he had, plus no cel phone on him. Doh. I called the restaurant and sounded like a complete loser trying to explain what my dad looked like and if he was there waiting etc. While getting ready there was a buzz at the door and it was dad.


We finally got out the door at 845am and were sitting waiting for food. I had also realized at this point it was going to somewhat mess up my plan for trying to get the Bon Jovi tickets that went on presale today. I had a code from the radio station for early tickets, and I didn't want to miss out. I have been waiting to see them since I was a kid. They have been one of the bands on my MUST SEE list, one that was still a reality. (Lets face it, is Fleetwood Mac ever going to come around here again, all together? I highly doubt it.) I do give credit to our awesome Canadian dollar, as many bands are coming up here to make money. Whee. Tis a win win. Hee.

So at 9am, while chatting and eating breakfast, I call ticketmaster and become even a bigger loser since the automated system has me pulling out my hair. Why couldn't I talk to a person!!! Argh. We ended up driving back to my place after breakfast so I could run upstairs and use the computer to try and get tickets.

I plugged in the code and waited.... 2 tickets available.... YES.... BEHIND THE STAGE....who would really want to sit there? SERIOUSLY! Who pays $100 bucks to see nothing? Um, not me thank you very much. I tried a few more times and got ones that were not much better. I then figured I check the radio station's facebook page to see if the general population had indeed had the same issues as me. Turns out they did. Nothing was left... but then I spotted someone who had posted another code... well, nothing to lose, lets try it... Section 114, row 22! I was in shock, finally the first set of tickets to pop up that didn't suck! Woot. Needless to say, I bought them. Hee. I got a hot date with Ken, whee... now to book a babysitter for December 15th.

Now after the craziness, Stella and I finally made it off to Richmond. Went to the craft and fabric store and were back in time to pick up Ellie who was spending the afternoon with Stella while her mom worked. We decided to have lunch at White Spot for fun. It was a real eye opening experience having 2 kids in the backseat of my car. Ellie is just about 6 years old, and Ariel I guess wasn't impressing her all that much, here is a small sampling of some of the things she said.
'Ariel is hurting me'
'Ariel, I don't understand what you are saying'
'You can play with my little lamb, but don't suck on it'
'Why doesn't Ariel talk?'
Only to be trumped with, 'I think you need a new car Janet.' I ask why and she responds, 'this one sounds funny.' Hahaha. Um, yeah. Thats the volvo sound. Hee.

So the girls shared a pirate pack, and I got to have sweet potato fries, yummy. We headed home and we parted ways so Ariel could have a nap. I finally got to relax and made some new bracelets for princess. Ariel was very excited when she saw them when she got up. She calls them 'pretties.'

Tonight was massive laundry night, and Ken went downtown to set up for his class tomorrow. Dad had finished building his new set for the class to use, since he needed an extra due to an over sized class. He also just finished up a big scene this week for Galen's project. Ariel can now get herself up at Daddy's desk and tends to draw on his animation. I think Ken put a note to Galen of Ariel's contribution.


So Ariel helped me as much as she could with the laundry and was in a fabulous mood. I think the sickness may just about be over. She is eating again, feeling great but is still kinda snotty. Two out of three isn't bad.

Tomorrow we are off to look for some good rain boots... wish us luck. With her small feet, we will need it!

Sniffles

That's Ariel's new name today. Yes, the little princess has been somewhat 'drippy' today. Yuck. We have been pretty lucky that Ariel hasn't been sick more than once since she was born, and come to think about it, I do believe it was around this time last year. Weird.

It didn't slow us down today, since she was still perky and showing no signs of fever we went to the library for the story time. She actually wasn't sniffy at all then, so that was nice. Ariel managed to freak out a two year old within less than a minute of being there. I guess the other little girl wasn't expecting Ariel to run over and practically hug her. This poor girl 'screamed' and jumped into her mother's arms. Ariel stood there with a dumbfounded look.


I then had to become the mom that made sure to correct her daughter's behaviour. Ariel was taking toys from some of the kids... even though the toy she was taking she had one already in her hand. Good grief. Anyways, I didn't want to be the mom everyone hates, you know the one that watches what their child does and turns a blind eye to it. I was glad when some other kids did the same thing later, so I didn't feel like I had the bad seed. Lol.

Naw, she was very good, and enjoyed the songs. Erin, Ellen and Carter was there too, so that was a nice little visit. We are planning to see Erin and Carter at the pool tomorrow. The original plan was to go downtown to visit Ken at the school for lunch, but decided to wait until princess was a bit more on the mend.


After the library we had a quick visit at Stella's. Ariel got measured for a new wind suit that she is making for her. We bought the material last year, and Stella just found it again, so its time to make. Whee. Here is the kicker, after measuring Ariel this is the general comment... SHE IS TINY!!! Seriously, the pattern size indicates that she should be in a size between 6-12 months! Her chest is the 6 month size, her legs are fitting a 9 month size... no wonder the best jeans that fit were 6-9 months. So unless she has a major growth spurt... she will be shopping in the petite section most of her life. I am thinking of renaming her Thumbelina.


Not much else to say. The afternoon was mellow and I tried to rest while I could. I am a little tired I think from the busy weekend, and I am messing up the days in my head. Its really Wednesday? Argh.

Yesterday we did the big event of putting fleece sheets on the bed. Yay for a cozy bed. Ariel tried to help... sort of.


Ok, I am off to clean up the hallway... there is still some laundry to be sorted from our trip. Blah.

Home again!

So we returned home yesterday after a fun filled weekend in Birken. We basically pulled into our place just long enough for me to switch clothes and then head over to Dad and Rita's for another turkey dinner. Whee. I think I could eat turkey every night, its just so good. Yum. Ariel ate 3 large pieces of turkey herself, and kept pointing to the plate after each piece to express her wanting more... and fast! Here she is with Rita's decorations, helping herself to an ornamental gord, she takes after me that way. Hee.


As for our weekend away, we had a super time, rain and all. Yes, the rain as usual followed us, and I ended up being quite stuffed up and sneezed a lot of the time. However, it never put a damper on things, just made them more memorable, especially for Ariel.


We left home around 10am on Saturday to meet Blair at his place in Burnaby. After switching cars and loading up all the baggage our daughter comes with, we were off. It wasn't too bad of a drive up. It wasn't sunny, but the rain hadn't really started yet either. We stopped in Squamish for lunch. Ariel had another Pirate Pack, and was showing off to Blair her eating abilities.


An hour and a bit later we arrived at the cabin, and the rain was really coming down. Aunty Deborah was very excited to see us. Ariel immediately started checking out the ins and outs of the cabin.


She was then fascinated with watching Uncle Blair sleep on the couch.


We had a snack of homemade antipasto (that I brought up as a gift), crackers and cheese. Ariel liked the crackers and cheese a lot!


When the rain slowed down a bit, we took a walk up to the house where Aunty Deborah's mom and dad live. Ariel was very excited to meet their cat Pepper.


Back at the cabin, Ariel enjoyed playing on the rocking chair...


...and then helping Aunty Deborah with making the dessert for after dinner, baked apples. However, as you can see, her way of helping was picking up the apples with the sugar already added, and licking it off. Blair apparently didn't want those ones... but I think she licked them all. She has had her shots, so no worries. Haha.


After dinner it was bath time, and Ariel got to use the fancy tub. Quite an experience for her I think. She was pretty keen on it.


Then off to bed.


The next morning was Thanksgiving, and Ariel was dressed for a festive day.


I found where the cats were sleeping during the rain, which was a huge mystery apparently for Deb and Blair. The cats didn't seem pleased I found their home.


Ariel loved bird watching with Daddy on the deck...


...and the waffles Blair made for breakfast, yummy whip cream!


Ariel found many things to do at the cabin, looking from the upstairs and teaching Blair how to use her phone.


Another break in the rain came and we had a walk down the road. Ariel led the way. Aren't the trees changing color amazing!!!


The rain started again so we headed back... but then we got to see the most incredible rainbow on the deck, a double one as well! Can you believe how stunning that is? Wow.


We got dressed again for dinner. The turkey looked great, I was amazed it was cooked on the BBQ. Very cool. Ariel loved the food, but more so ripping up the fancy napkins with help from Deborah's dad.


After another bath, it was off to bed again... once she had fun playing on our bed of course.


Another morning came and this time it was SUNNY! We had some girl time on the deck watching the water. Please notice my daughter was all pretty and dressed while her mother was still in process.


After a yummy pancake breakfast, we had another walk down the road.


Aunty Deborah's sister Sheila joined us. Ariel liked having two fingers to hold.


Here we are at the lake...


...Ariel studies the trees...


...plays in the puddles...


...and basically shows how much fun she has had on her trip! Thank you to Aunty Deborah and Uncle Blair for such a wonderful time, it was great!


We left just around noon and had sunny drive through the beauty of the golden trees. I am thankful, very thankful indeed.