miss s would like to invite you...

to join her for tea!

We recently celebrated Miss S and her third birthday with a princess tea party. Miss S was very excited! She invited her bestest girlfriends...

and planned her menu. She requested that Mommy make a princess cake...

and she told the baker she wanted pinkalicious cuppy-cakes...

She served lots and lots of teeny tiny tea party food, and pink lemonade...

and put out her best tea sets. And the pink. pink. pink. flowers everywhere, that she picked out just for the occasion...

When Miss S woke up on the morning of her party, she said about the decorations, "It looks so be-yoo-ti-ful, Mommy"...

After Miss S greeted the other princesses at the door, she decorated tiaras with them and they talked about their shoes...

There was lots of tea drinking...

and playing with gifts...



But the best part of the day for Miss S, was blowing out her candles on her princess cake {she has been talking about this since her big brother's party last month. "I'm blowing out the candles. Just me. I don't need any help"}...


And she didn't.
So, how do you take your tea?

summertime

The temperature is so smokin' hot here these days.

R has finished the school year {and with a great report card no less}.

It must be summer!

R, Miss S and I spent the entire afternoon and early evening yesterday, poolside with Monique and her kiddies. We had a picnic lunch and played in the sun. And then we had a picnic dinner outside too {the husbands joined us after work}, because the idea of cooking inside in this heat just seemed like too much trouble! I love how easy it can be to entertain the kiddies in the summer. Water. Sand. They can play for hours.

Here are some photos from our recent trip to Sandbanks that celebrate summer...

Have a great summer!

i'm still here

just haven't found much time to blog. After Wonderland...

• we spent the following weekend camping {our first trip this season} at Sandbanks. Loved it there
• I had a great girl's night out with friends
• we went to the Year End BBQ at R's school {cannot believe he is almost done his first year of school!}
• the kiddies had their last soccer/t-ball lesson
• and the last skating lesson
• my Grandpa came from Winnipeg for a visit, and
• my brother and sister arrived for a visit, especially for...
• Miss S's birthday bash

I'll post more photos of the fun we've been having, soon...

{Miss S at Sandbanks, Outlet Beach}

{Ooooh...I'm watching The Bachlorette right now with Auntie M and Jillian is taking one of the guys snowboarding at Lake Louise. I do miss the mountains. I loved snowboarding at Lake Louise, my favorite ski hill back home. Oh, now they're at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, so great there. If they go to Banff next I will be jealous. So many memories of Banff...}


{Oh yeah. They're in Banff. So jealous. It was like a hundred degrees here today with the humidity and my broken air conditioner...and Jillian is in Banff. I want to go to Banff}.


OK, no more posting about The Bachlorette, I will resume posting about my life {not Jillian's, although her life is way more exciting and has so much more drama}, soon...

canada's wonderland

We made the last weekend into a special long one, and took the kiddies to Canada's Wonderland...

with Monique and her family. We had a blast, spending 2 full days at the park and some time being tourists in Toronto.

I came home with a camera full of photos, so when I can narrow them down to a reasonable amount, I will post more photos later. Here are just a few, for now...

I love Wonderland. On the way there, Miss S kept asking "are we at Disneyland yet?" Not quite Disneyland, but Wonderland is the best theme park in Canada that we have been to. It is bigger than I thought and has great rides and entertainment for all ages. We will definitely be going back! {We haven't even done the Waterpark part yet, it was a bit cloudy and kept threatening to rain when we were there}!

crop for the boob

OK, now that I have your attention {and Grandpa is blushing}...

That is what Katie called her crop to raise money for her sister-in-law's Weekend to End Breast Cancer team. Katie hosted a fabulous evening this past Friday, at A Fine Mess, and raised over $500 for a great cause. I had a great time...

{Katie and I}

and I actually got a bit of scrapbooking done, for the first time in a while. Check out more photos from the crop here on Katie's blog, Kataroo's Kitchen {and drool over her amazing scrapbooking while you're there}. Congratulations Katie for a successful event!

and so it begins

My life as a hockey mom. I see my future spent in smelly dressing rooms and arenas. Driving to early morning practices and games. Freezing in the stands. Avoiding the scary hockey moms that yell at the refs. And the coaches. And all the kids.

But it is worth it all, to see this...

{And yes, I did take my camera into the locker room, much to K's horror. I can probably get arrested for it, but it was too cute to pass up}

R was so excited to get his "real hockey player equipment". Especially his "real skates like the Sens wear". And his mouth guard.

{DoubleTrouble - E is playing hockey too}

Guess who else was excited. These two...

K. Daddy. He is so excited to see his boy playing hockey. He had a little too much fun getting the boy all decked out in his gear.

And Grandpa. Grandpa has been talking about "When R starts playing hockey..." since about the time R was born. No, maybe earlier...like when I announced I was pregnant. I thought maybe R should learn to walk first, before he plays hockey. Grandpa wouldn't miss this for the world {he did move across the country to see it}.

Lookout NHL, here comes R!

upper canada village

K has been wanting to go to Upper Canada Village since we moved. While his sister, Auntie K was visiting...

we took her and the kiddies to Morrisburg to check it out.

And then, since we were so close to Cornwall, I convinced K that we needed to go to Auntie Em's Scrapbooking, because I have heard such great things about it. The shop did not disappoint. I picked up some great trim, paper and a border punch, and will go back anytime I am in the area.

That night, we left the kiddies behind for some grown-up time, had dinner at The Fish Market in the Byward Market and took The Haunted Walk tour in downtown Ottawa {so not my type of thing - but K loved it}! The highlight of the tour is the former Old Carlton County Jail which has been turned into a hostel. Scary.

elton john and billy joel

Live. In person. At Scotiabank Place.

Face 2 Face. Dueling pianos.

It was such a fabulous concert. I loved it. They may be old, but they still rock!

Monique and I had a great time at the concert on Monday. I went to the show mostly to see Elton John {saw him in Calgary before and loved it} again, but ended up thinking that it was Billy Joel that put on the best show. He is great in concert - a fabulous entertainer and so funny. I still love Elton, he just didn't play as many of my favorites this time, as he did at his last show.

You just cannot beat hearing legends like Elton John and Billy Joel live. So much fun. I am still singing thier songs in my head...

You can read more about the show here.

auntie k came to town

and we had fun doing things, like taking the kiddies to my favorite little village Merrickville. {Are you sensing a pattern here - if you are not from Ottawa and you come and visit us, we take you to Merrickville. OK?}

We introduced my sister in law to the chip truck. Or in this case it is more like a chip stand - no wheels involved. What is it with Ottawa-ians {what do you call people from Ottawa exactly} and chip trucks? Don't get me wrong...the chips are fabulous, I have discovered, but before I moved here, I would not have considered eating food that was sold from the side of a truck.

Anyway, I wanted to eat at this chip stand just because I love the name...

and the chips {ie: they were called fries in my previous life} were fabulous. Bonus.

We went in a few of the shops, but mostly we wanted to spend the day outside with the kiddies, enjoying the sun. We had fun exploring by the canal...

until we came across our first...

snake, sunning itself on the rocks {it took off into the water when Auntie K screamed}. After the second, and third, and fourth and fifth snake, Auntie K decided our adventure was over!

We watched a boat that we thought was too big, pass through the Rideau Canal locks. {I am posting these photos for Burke because I hear he likes locks {???} but I don't think he reads my blog, so pass it on Shar. Then maybe he will be more likely to let you buy your dream home in Merrickville}...

{raising the deck of the boat}

{stopping traffic}

{the road swings. wheeeee!}

{and then bon voyage cruisers}