X-men

When I go to take a picture, and see that the memory card is full...I know I need to look for some special gems, because the kids got the camera:-)

Batman, a Jedi knight, and Spiderman

ummm...May gets to be the princess in distress, I guess

Brothers

These two crazies have definitely hit that stage where they have the same interests, and are friends (they are 3 years apart). Oftentimes the "friends" part involves lots of "he hurt me" "no he hurt me first", but...boys! They enjoy each others company, and often play wild LOUD running crazy imaginary games.

The nice days are when they are inspired to play calm and quiet games:-) A few days ago, they played cars for hours. Brian even came home from work early, and offered to take them to the store (for the necessary cilantro needed for an "emergency batch" of guacamole:-)...and they chose to stay home and play. I think that was a first!

Love these cute little guys

Surprisingly, Byron

Brian has had a few nicknames in his life. Barney is a noteable one - given to him by his former boss, and friend, Luc. I don't even really know how it happened, one day, he called him Barney, and it totally stuck. To the point that everyone on the jobsites didn't know that wasn't his real name, it's all they ever called him.

Well, now he has another one. Byron. It comes from this SNL skit, about Canada, which is hilarious. I believe he was officially dubbed by a new "boss", the youth pastor we work under at the church, Pastor Paul. Much to Brian's chagrin, he's being called Canadian-by-association:-)

Well Byron, surprisingly, Canada is not the threat that once it used to be:-D

My Favourite Things

It's been awhile since I've done a "My Favourite Things" post, and I thought I'd share something with you that I LOVE.

If you are someone who bakes and takes things places, this is sooooo nice. Or even if you just bake and keep it at home, still great. I never knew it existed, actually, until my sister in law was given one at a bridal shower a few years ago. Then I borrowed all.the.time, since we were neighbours. Then I moved. My life was basically incomplete, lacking this handy thing:

This is a Snapware 2 Layer Cupcake and Cookie Carrier. I got mine from Amazon for 20.99, free shipping:-)

Great things about this handy dandy storage container - well, first of all, you are not limited to 2 layers. If you buy more of them, you could do triple, or quadruple, or more!! Haha. They just snap to each other, so there is no end to how many you can stack and carry. I intend to buy one more set of these, actually, but so far I only have 2 layers.

It is big/tall enough that cupcakes piled high with icing don't touch the top. You can easily bring 24 cupcakes to an event, without them sliding around, getting smooshed, or getting plastic wrap stuck to the icing. That alone would make it worth the investment in my mind. But it doesn't end there...

When you arrive at your party, you easily lift the tray out, and snap the handles down - no need to transfer to another tray to set out on the table!

AND, it's reversible. It does the same thing for the other side, which is smooth, so cookies, or even small cakes can go on that side.

Again, snap the handles down the other way, and set it out! So easy.

It's a sturdy and well made product. I feel there is nothing similar on the market (that I have seen, and I've looked). For an approximate $20 price tag - uber worth it.

Here I have mini blueberry muffins, using the "cookie" side of the tray. I have no intention of going anywhere, but I do need to make more banana muffins today, so they will go on the bottom - keeps the flavours from melding, and they snap together to keep everything fresh on your counter - without having a bunch of different containers going on on the countertops containing all the baked goods.

I so totally highly recommend this product, it's not even funny. I seriously think you need this. And it really makes the best wedding gift ever!

Box Hockey

We sure do have fun with our "Grace Gatherings" - yesterday we hosted 35 people for dinner and fellowship, and the weather was so perfect, allowing us to use the outdoor space we have with this "new house". It's a really great house for hosting a crowd, when the weather is nice, that is for sure.

In the yard we had a few games to play too like, Washers (similar to cornhole) and Box Hockey! Here Brian is playing Pastor Paul, but I am unsure who won this one. It's basically a fight using ax handles and heavy ball (boce or similar). Totally fun. We had a marvelous fire, roasted marshmallows, and made cookies (and ice cream sandwiches), and a little midnight snack milkshake, with whipped cream and a cherry on top! Who doesn't wish they were over for a night of fun and fellowship?!

Mt Trashmore

We played at Mt Trashmore today with lots of friends. It was the perfect day to do so! I wish we'd brought our kite to fly! Baseball got "rained out" because a big storm came through last night, leaving the field underwater this morning.

Mountain Climbers!

Maisy Daisy

Well, this is a glimpse of what talks to me all day long. I've been watching May everyday since she was 3 months old! She's soooo not a baby anymore (she was 2 in Oct), and I can't say I'm sad to see the era gone. The occasional babysitting for a baby or 1 year old, and yah. I guess you don't realize how much work it is, until you're not in it anymore;-) There is MUCH wisdom in having all your kids close together. Yes, it is helpful to have older ones to watch and help...but really...it's much easier to stick with one age bracket instead of spanning them all. But anyway, she's still the "baby" around here and generally has figured out a way to use her "sad eyes" to manipulate Kenna into anything she wants.

She is also quite the talker! Mind you, not very many things are real words, but if you're tracking with her, you'll get the gist of it. It's adorably cute Alien Language, as my kids call it.