January to the End of Grade Six

We rang in 2013 with a nice big meal and relaxing day at home.

 

January saw us all in Edmonton to see the Tragically Hip in concert. It was a great show! Gord did not disappoint BrownieJ at her first concert. The addition of some ear plugs for the LittleJ’s made it an enjoyably loud experience.

February saw us enjoy a week long break from school. We took the time to once again go to Edmonton to visit the Star Wars exhibit at the Telus World of Science. We went with SusanR which was a wonderful chance to visit after not seeing each other for far too long.

At this exhibit we were able to learn all about how the characters were developed, the influences of events in their life, their places of origin and interactions with others on who they have become in the movies. Obviously, the real point of the exhibit is to show how all of this information can be applied to the world around us. It was a great way for anyone who visited to develop more empathy and to become a better global citizen. Who knew, that Star Wars had such value?

Each person received a little bracelet that tracked your visit to 11 stations. At these stations, you developed your own character with unique traits. It was interesting to see how our choices shaped our characters outcome. Most entertainingly was that the kids worked hard keep SusanR from accidently choosing all Dark Side traits as she is not familiar with the movies.

While in Edmonton, we visited our favourite Macaron bakery outside of France, Duchess Bake Shop for lunch and some amazing baked delights. If you are ever in the area, we can not highly recommend this bakery enough:  http://duchessbakeshop.com/ For our other two lunches while in town we visited two other “You Gotta Eat Here” destinations in Edmonton which were also fantastically scrumptious:

Tres Carnales Taquirea where we enjoyed chips and salsa, beef, chicken and fish tacos. It is a hopping place at lunchtime in downtown Edmonton so go for a later lunch or get your food to go. The food arrived quickly, was fresh and very flavourful. This is not your Taco Time Mexican food nor is it Tex-Mex. The tortillas for tacos are fresh and soft. The meat is a little bit spicy in a tasty enjoyable way not an eye watering way.  http://trescarnales.com/

 

The Sugar Bowl, a long time Edmonton establishment is place that I have not been to since I was child living in Edmonton. The kids greatly enjoyed their meal and I loved taking them somewhere I had not been to since I was their age. ScoutJ had their famous Chicken and Waffles which he brilliantly made into a sandwich for easy eating.  This menu item really is all that the hype makes it out to be and more. Flavourful pan-fried chicken, crispy yet tender Belgian style waffles and a maple sauce that is finger licking good. I had their daily special, a chicken Po-Boy which was over the top since it includes their pan-fried chicken. For those of you from Calgary, think “Chicken on the Way” lightly battered flavourful chicken! http://www.thesugarbowl.org/about.html

 

So if you find yourself in Edmonton, we give six thumbs up to any of these places.

Valentine’s Day 2013 saw us out for lunch with our friends and enjoying Boston Pizza’s heart shaped pizzas. It was a great way to enjoy lunch and gaming/chatting with friends.  

April saw the very exciting for DaddyJ, hair cut for ScoutJ. While the growing it long experience has been fun, he was ready for a change.

 

May brought us the milestone of ScoutJ’s grade six celebration! It is hard to believe that he is already going into junior High, after all we were just touring the school while he was 18 months old yesterday! There have some bumpy spots along the way where getting to this point seemed unlikely to arrive, like the point where I was not sure he would let go of my leg to stay at pre-school ...... LOL and here we are nice years later with a tween not a toddler! At this rate I will be blogging about Grad in the blink of an eye.

May and the nice weather also saw the addition of long-boards to the kids collection of outdoor activity items. One of my favourite moments was seeing DaddyJ adjusting BrownieJ’s bike for her!

In June I set off to the Formula 1 Montreal Grand Prix on a MommyJ adventure. It is the first time in several years that I have attended the race and it was exactly as exciting as I remember. This year’s weather was far cooler than past years which allowed for some fantastic racing which included race speed records, the highest number of cars finishing and some outstanding driving. It is not many years that you are afforded so many positional battles while the pole position car leads from start to podium.

 

 

 

Thanks for a great Mother’s Day present family, I sure enjoyed it!  

Father’s Day saw us out for a MASSIVE Elk burger and equally massive schooner of beer in Canmore at the Grizzly Paw. Although, we renamed the day “Daddy’s Bud Light Day” in celebration of the present we secured him:

 

 

The end of school was quickly upon us with both kids writing provincial exams. Exams went well for both as they were more focused on our fast approaching annual road trip which would see us heading out east to lake country for two week.

Unfortunately, for many families here in southern Alberta what most kids will remember about the end of school this year was the devastating flooding! While we were okay here on the hill, our hearts go out to all of those who have experienced loss, property damage etc with this dramatic weather. It was an end to the school year that we will all remember for the cancelation of school from flooding.

 

December 2012, BrownieJ’s big trip, Crafting with Friends, Cousin Extravaganza, Christmas and BrownieJ’s 8th Birthday

With the holiday season fast approaching with a long break from school on the horizon it was a jam packed month.

Phineas and Ferb

It began with BrownieJ’s leaving for Regina for three days with DaddyJ. Again this was his first time going on a trip with her solo and a great adventure.

What brought them to Regina in December you ask? Phineas and Ferb on their “Best Live Tour Ever”, the stars of a Disney animated weekly show.  They were treated to a singing, dancing light show that left them singing the songs for days! BrownieJ loved every minute of seeing her favourites and singing along.

They stayed at a “Sleepy Bear Hotel” aka Travelodge with a waterslide. They spent so much time in the water on that slide that they both had red dry patches of skin from the chlorine when they got home! The good news, no germs survive that pool.

 

They ate at all of BrownieJ’s favourite places including Brewsters, the Hotel Restaurant and Subway every day!  They even made a trip to the Science Center for an entertaining afternoon of fun.

Thanks for making BrownieJ feel so special and taking her on her own adventure with you DaddyJ! Xxoo

Mean while back at home, ScoutJ and I were enjoying our own time together. We went to see Skyfall and what a 007 movie to see for your first! Needless to say he enjoyed it very much after his favourite burger from Joey Tomato’s. ScoutJ also made pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches by himself for the first time that weekend. I am pleased to report that they were delicious and there were not accidents. Just think, he will not be forced to eat only cereal and microwave food in University!!!

 

Making Holiday Crafts with our Friends

We were able to hang out with our little friends and make some holiday crafts mid-month. BrownieJ taught BuddyC how to French Knit on the “knittyB” and many a friendship bracelet was made. ScoutJ and BuddyS made a giant paper chain! What a great way to spend an hour after school crafting with your friends.

Cousin Extravaganza

Just as school ended, the cousins arrived with AuntieL and UncleD. They spent the day at our house where many games of pool were played, many laps on the F1 racing game were attempted, some rock’em-sock’em games of Mah Jong were played, good food eaten and best of all more laughing than we have done in a long while together!

The highlight of the day was watching the four cousins decorate a gingerbread house together. Everyone had an important job to do and managed to work together seamlessly. I suspect that more candy was eaten than was used and I know that they were very creative in using the candy that did make it onto the house!

 

What a great way to spend the day with family.

Christmas 2012

We enjoyed a Christmas at home after a busy year of travel. It is nice to be able to relax at home some years. Christmas Eve the kids opened one present after eating out Tourtiere Pie for supper and watched the classic Christmas shows on TV.

Christmas day saw us opening presents in the morning complete with personalized letters from Pere Noel to the LittleJ’s. After that it was all about relaxing, a light lunch and having fun in an effort to build up an appetite for Turkey Dinner. It was a delightful meal and a wonderfully relaxing Christmas day for the whole family.

BrownieJ’s 8th Birthday

Can you believe it?!!! BrownieJ is eight! For her special day we enjoyed pancakes for breakfast. Then there were a few gifts to be opened before heading out to Build a Bear. You know you really really love the Birthday Girl when you willingly head to the Mall on Boxing Day for fun! She enjoyed making a bear and visiting all of her favourite shops. Thankfully, it was late enough in the day that the crowds had diminished dramatically. Then it was time to go for ribs at her favourite rib place, The Keg. Everyone enjoyed their dinner very much before coming home to enjoy an “Angry Birds” themed cake.

Happy 8^th birthday baby girl! Xxoo

Well, 2012 was a good year. We saw new places, made a lot of memories and learned a lot of things. I think that we will all look back on the year fondly for the adventures. Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

November 2012

November was a busy month. The LittleJ’s had several PD days off from school where we did a bit of Holiday decorating including making foam gingerbread houses, gingerbread trees, the actual tree and around the house.

There was the fun of playing with Oreo our little hamster, who would sadly pass on to Hamster heaven near the end of the month. As you can see, he was a funny little guy who enjoyed playing in his ball and peeking out from his cage at us. His most entertaining skill was acting like Houdini and escaping his cage at odd hours. We will miss you little Oreo.

 

October 2012 Thanksgiving, Brownies, 5k Race, Birthdays and Halloween!

Thanksgiving in Kelowna

As is our tradition, we enjoy an annual trip out to Kelowna to visit some vineyards, relax and waterslide. This year, our trip coincided with Thanksgiving, which was celebrated at Joey’s Kelowna with a yummy meal. We all enjoyed this break from school/work with lots of laughter.

 

Heart Beats Walk and Run

ScoutJ and I took up walking in the summer as a way to spend time together and exercise while he was in his cast. This led us to take on the challenge of walking a 5km race. Our race of choice was The Heart Beats walk/run which raises money for children suffering from heart disease.

Having more than a few running t-shirts of my own from over the years, I knew just how much fun this could be for ScoutJ. He enjoyed the day, the competitive aspect of it and even managed to kick out a few bursts of jogging. The highlight for him was definitely his sprint to the finish line. What a great way to try something together. I hope in the years to come there will be several more for me.

 

DaddyJ’s Birthday

This year being a pre-milestone birthday was celebrated on a weekday with dinner and DaddyJ’s favourite desserts at home. These included donuts from Jelly Modern (Bacon Maple of course), Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from the Log Cabin and Huckleberry and Vanilla ice cream from Village Ice Cream! While we were all hopped up on sugar for days, it was well worth it and I think that DaddyJ even enjoyed it a little bit.

My favourite part, was the card from the kids which reminds him that the “nuts don’t fall from the tree”! Tee hee hee, happy birthday DaddyJ.

 

BrownieJ is officially a Brownie!

October saw BrownieJ officially enrolled into her Brownie troop. Or as we like to say, baked up into a Brownie. Yippie

 

Halloween 2012

BrownieJ, ScoutJ and BuddyP all enjoyed trick or treating together at Halloween in BuddyP’s community while I handed out candy at home. A great time was had by all. Thanks for a great night Sfamily.

 

ScoutJ’s 11th Birthday

This year to celebrate ScoutJ turning eleven he chose to go on an adventure with DaddyJ. They jetted off to Los Angeles to enjoy the world’s highest dropper at Six Flags, Universal Studios and a game at the LA Dodgers! It was the first time that DaddyJ has traveled with ScoutJ solo. After a few hundred reminders to keep an epi-pen on them at all times, to change their clothes and to try to eat a vegetable that was not on a burger, they were off on their Four Day adventure!

  It was an adventure to remember. It began with their arrival in LA, renting a convertible silver Mustang, a stop at 7-11 for slurpies to beat the heat on the way to the nearest In-and-Out burger! What a way for the boys to kick the party off. After that it was time to check into the hotel and end the night with an order of carrot cake n’milk.

The next day, ScoutJ’s actual birthday, they set off to Universal Studios for a VIP tour. This was a great way to ride some rides, learn how a number of movies were made and enjoy a delicious lunch. While there, ScoutJ learned that he had many classic movies to watch when he got home including: Jurassic Park, Jaws, War of the Worlds, Water World (ugh) and the Terminator movies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That evening the boys headed to Dodger Park to see ScoutJ’s first MLB baseball game. Thankfully, he got some great advice from his tour guide at Universal and he knew in advance that the ideal number of Dodger Dogs to consume is 1.5! Now, this being his birthday and his first game, the boys sat in the Club sections which allowed them to gorge themselves on yummy junk food while sitting one row up from the field. It was certainly a birthday that ScoutJ will always remember!

 

The following day, the boys were off to see the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Guinness World Records museum. It was a slightly more relaxing day after the big birthday adventure day.

 

For their final day in LA, the boys were off to Six Flags Magic Mountain to ride the world’s highest dropper, 5 seconds of free fall and some roller coasters that are still giving DaddyJ nightmares! It was an amazing time for ScoutJ and he reveled in the fun of the rides and watching DaddyJ’s heat beat almost out of his chest while sweating buckets.

 

The boys came back from their trip having had an amazing time together bonding on their adventures. There is nothing like a trip and one-on-one time to bring you together. Thanks for making ScoutJ’s 11^th birthday such a memorable one Daddy.

Xxoo

Meanwhile back at home, I was enjoying a great time with BrownieJ. We enjoyed her first pedicure together, complete with little painted flowers on her big toe and dinner at Brewster's. There were sleepovers in Mommy’s bed, watching movies until too late and generally enjoying our time together. Girl time was great!

Labour Day long weekend in Montana

We ended the Summer of 2012 with our annual trip to KK7 aka Glacier National Park. This year we were not in KK#7, we were instead in KK#15 which turned out to be just as good. It is a little farther from the park but as the small J’s get bigger, it is less of a worry.

 

 

Additionally for something new, after enjoying our time on the boat in Bear Lake so much, we spent two days on Flathead Lake. The first day we spent on a boat in the south end of the lake. It was lovely to ride around, swim off of the boat and enjoy thrilling each other with crazy tube rides. The second day we rented at the north end of the lake and had even more fun. I really enjoyed driving the boat and doing my very best to launch DaddyJ off of the tube while flinging him across the wake! Who knew that I would get over my qualms about driving the boat so easily. With a little bit of practice I was even able to get fairly close to him while he bobbed in the water after being flung off of the tube.

 

It was a fantastic way to wrap up the summer, looking back on all of our adventures and enjoying one last long weekend in our favourite place to camp. We were all excited about CubJ moving onto Scouts and Grade Six while SparkJ was moving onto Brownies (baking up as we like to say) and Grade Three. With the time going so quickly and the kids growing up in the blink of an eye, I appreciate these times together more and more.

Bon Voyage Summer 2013!