Tractor Pulling

Today we went over to the Strathcona County Vintage Tractor Associations Tractor Pulling Show to watch the tractor Pulling - the guy on the tractor is the founder of the Association - he is originally from Wales!!!! we watched him pull on his tractor - he did quite well! There were several women pulling on their tractors too! Sam LOVED the show - and Lloyd did of course! We had hay rides and mini donuts and there was a silent auction and all kinds of things going on there.....it was held at a beautiful acreage and the weather was gorgeous!

Lloyd admiring a renovated old tractor

Our wedding caterers....

We were at an event today and we saw this food van there....we didn't buy anything from it as it smelt really greasy...but it may have been really GOOD food - who knows lol! But on the side of the trailer it said that they do wedding catering!!!! We thought that was hilarious so we started joking to the kids that we're going to get 'Porky's' to do the catering at their weddings!!!!

Imagine telling people!!! You know, you're telling everyone about your childs wonderful wedding celebrations and then they ask you who is doing the catering and you respond with 'Oh, Porky's'!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!! I mean, it just doesn't sound right does it????? ;)

Garden developments

This is how our garden is doing so far.....the strawberries are now done for the year. We have a LOT of tomatoes that are SLOWLY turning orange....we continue to water them. They need more sunshine.....they are still very green. The golden beets are doing well - not quite ready. Carrots doing well....again not quite ready....Lettuces doing very well - I think this type is called butter something or other......

Pumpkins and squash just need growing time now and we continue to water them. The pumpkins will need to change colour but the squash - how do I know when they are ready? Are they ready yet? I can't even remember what I planted lol! I only took a picture of a little bit of everything for ya but I didn't take a pic of the tomatoes which I still have to do and I must have forgotten to do......and we have so many! They did really well :) Can you spy Sams little peas growing around the squash?

Playdate!!

Yesterday the girls had some friends over for a playdate! It was supposed to be a day at the splashpark but the weather wasn't warm enough :( so we ended up playing here and Susie and her friends played paintball in the woods and went on the trampoline and played in the water and generally just hung out and watched a movie were just 'girly' (and annoying - omg girls are so ANNOYING and loud and giggly and screechy and did I say LOUD and ANNOYING????????? Boys when they come over are quiet but girls are just loud and annoying!!!!) but Abigail and her friend were lovely and did crafts and played Polly Pockets and were sweet and lovely!

We had a picnic outside and it started to rain so we took another big blanket outside and put it over our heads like a tent and carried on with our picnic in the rain and that was good fun :)

Two of the girls Mom is a friend and she stayed for ages chatting with me which was nice and they all wanted to meet my bees and our new pig and see the renovations and I was chatting with her about Abby going to school and her new diagnosis and their house move and everything so she was here a good couple of hours or so which was really nice.

We opened up the hives and everyone tried the honey and loved it :) The second time we opened up the hives it was cooler and damp and the bees weren't too happy and it was more 'dramatic' and sooo funny! Holly thought started calling me the mad English bee lady!!!! But no one got stung and everyone enjoyed the honey and thats the main thing!

In the end Susie and Abigail were invited to go on a sleepover to the girls house for the night - Abigails VERY FIRST sleepover EVER so of course Abby was very VERY excited! So she packed her bag (would have packed for a month if we'd let her!) and off she went on her her sleepover thrilled to bits! She phoned at 9pm not to say goodnight but to ask if she could sleep an extra night! Lol! She wasn't missing us. I started asking her if her friends had left some shoes at our house and she was obviously bored with talking to me so mid way through my conversation she asked to speak to her dad.......he was all sad talking to her because she is growing up too fast and he missed her (lol) and he was moaning to me about how fast they are all growing up (lol) but it was so quiet and so easy at bedtime and this morning no mess to clear to up and no chaos and noise :)

No one phoned at all so at 1pm I phoned to ask if I should pick them up and they are having a great time! So they are staying for the afternoon and will call when they need picking up!

So I'm Mom to one for the day! Laurie, Susie and Abby at sleepovers. Chris at a friends! So just Sam and I here! And the workmen!

Sams busy day!

Sam has been busy today. He started the day painting at my writing table in my bedroom. He hs also spent time today working in his preschool workbook which involved cutting practice (he had to cut out squares, circles and wiggly lines) and drawing numbers and also sticking on stickers - like apples on trees and shapes onto certain places etc etc.

He has also been at the table with the playdough and sat outside watching the workmen pull off the back of the house - which is amazing to watch :)

It's just Sam and I here this afternoon (and the workmen) so its very quiet here (well apart from the workmens noise lol) and its nice to be able to focus on Sam for a change!!

Monday...

Yesterday we had an appointment to have the childrens portraits taken. The local company that takes school portraits had advertised for volunteers to model for them so that their photographers could practice on children of all ages before the school year starts. In return, the parents get two sheets of pictures of each child for free :)

I figured this was a great deal so I signed up! I even bribed Chris to go! He agreed after I got my Mom to ask him nicely to have his picture taken for Grandma ;) He didn't agree to smile though ;) He also refused to wear matching tshirts to the rest of his siblings lol - and I agreed NOT to push that one lol!

So yesterday we headed to a park in town near a pretty creek and met with the photographers and the kids had their pictures taken - all except Sam that is - he plain out REFUSED!!!! And no amount of bribery helped! Sigh!

But this park was so pretty and I had never been there before - I think I will head back there with Sam one day when the kids are in school and take a picture of him myself so I have a matching picture of him to go with all the other pictures! I may even go back there to take some Fall pictures of the kids! There is a pretty bridge and a pond and lovely big trees!

After the portraits were done the kids cooled off in the spray deck (fully clothed) as it was 34c out! and then we headed to the 7-11 for some slurpees before going to Sobeys to get the picnic food for todays 'supposed' trip to the pool - which is now for tomorrows picnic and day out instead!

Our trip to the pool turned into a trip to the movies instead and a playdate here at home with paintballing in the woods instead!!

I'm kind of pleased in a way as I am enjoying having some relaxing time at home - its been a lot of rushing about lately and I need more quiet time at home - today was also a chance to get caught up with cleaning the house and scrapbooking! I'm obsessed with mini albums at the moment :)

Abigail has been crafting all afternoon too - she's using my hot glue gun to decorate things - no doubt she will post about those on her blog though :)

The piccies above are from my cell phone (lol) and are of Susie at the park, then Chris with his slurpee, then of Abby and Sam in the spray deck in their clothes :)

Grandmas hat!

This is a picture of Lloyds Mom Terry in her GORGEOUS birthday hat that Abigail sent her for her birthday!

Abigail took a class at the library this Summer and part of her class (I think it was the Geronimo Stilton Class) was learning to make hats! For about three days all Abby did was make hats! She made hats for everyone! They were everywhere! So Grandma had to have one for her birthday :)

Doesn't Grandma Terry look wonderful in her birthday hat?

Thanks Terry :) You made Abigails day :) She's so happy you sent a picture - she wants em to post this picture on her blog too!

Sam on the porch...

Abby tries to unicycle!

Removing the flower bed yesterday

Bertha made quick work of removing the flower bed in front of the porch yesterday! This is stage one of changing the entire porch! There is method to our madness ;) We want just grass in front of the porch! The whole porch is coming down and being changed! I love having a front porch but really don't like the one we have - it's nasty concrete and done really cheaply and is cracked and finished nastily!

We plan to have lovely wooden steps coming down in the centre with handrails to match the railings going around the wrap around porch. The actual porch will be all wood (or that fake wood stuff that I can't think of the name for!!!! Thats going to drive me crazy all night now!!!!) and either side of the steps we just want grass with maybe a really big half barrel planter for annuals each summer. Maybe a miniature spruce in the centre for some winter colour and decor...... and growing over the porch we will have my Scarlet Honeysuckle - LOTS of it for the hummingbirds :) They adore it :)

Instead of the nasty concrete you can see that was behind all the grass and plants, we will have slate detailing stonework (don't know what you all call it) the stuff you have on the walls......and this will be on base of the pillars that are at the back of the house outside the walkout basement too.....

Maybe this post should have been on the reno blog instead.......Hhmmmmm maybe I'll move it later.....

Star of David project!!!!

itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/its_a_creative_world/2008/08/will-you-make-a-star.html

If you have time in the next week perhaps you could take part in this little project on the 'It's a Creative World' blog! I think I'm going to make a star or two to send!!! They need almost 6 million to have one for each person who was killed in the Holocaust, so that's a LOT of stars!!!!!

Last few piccies from the raceway....

My Little ones.........

Snapshots from the raceway

Oh and as miserable as everyone looks I promise you it's the heat - they all say they had a great time and enjoyed it - it was just VERY hot - but no one looks very happy in the pictures lol!!!! Well, Chris NEVER looks very happy in pictures so no change there lol but even Susie doesn't look too happy in these but she is normally always smiley in pictures but I think everyone was just hot until the sun went down a bit!