2013 recap: a girl turns 7!

If you've ever met our kids, you'll know that they are certainly one of a kind. Sometimes they think alike and other times they can have individual interests that engulf them completely.

Last year, Emma had asked that we throw a Princess Leia/Star Wars themed birthday party for her and of course with a BIG Star Wars fan in the house (dad) how could we possibly say no?!

Here are some shots of our big girl (71/2!) at her party last October :)

Princess Leia herself! She was also dressed up like this for Halloween.

One of my newest favorite thing to do for my girls' birthday parties is a dessert/

treat table. Its a great focal point for the party and who doesn't enjoy treats at a party?!

I took the colors from the characters to make up the tissue paper accordions

as a backdrop. So much fun!

star wars themed dessert/treat table

At the time Emma was really into playing the Lego Star Wars game on

XBox so naturally she requested her Princess Leia cake look like the one from the game.

Princess Leia Lego cake made by The Cake Mama (me!)

You're gonna laugh about how I came up with the idea of using the cookies below
for my Wookie Cookies: I was at Superstore in the frozen section looking for punch
for the party. At the end of the aisle I saw these:





and INSTANTLY a light bulb flashed above my head. I grabbed a
bunch of boxes of these and cut the beak off the penguin and voila:

Wookie Cookies!

I added some white and milk chocolate to make the "belt" he wears across his
chest.

Star Wars Wookie Cookies

a Star Wars party just isn't a party without pretzel light sabers!

are you a Jedi or Sith?

Star Wars pretzel light sabers

Emma's friends were invited to dress up as whichever character they chose.

I think it's safe to say she had a great time at her party. We also made a R2D2

pinata that was virtually indestructible! (would you believe it was

made out of a paper bag recycled from Target lol!)

I had so much fun putting this together for Emma. She is a sweet

and sensitive soul with incredible talent. She is so loving and I know

we can all expect great things from her! Thanks to everyone who

came out to celebrate our 7 (going on 8) year old!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!

counting my blessings.

it's been a month since i've started
working for our city's children's & women's
hospital and now that i've become
ever-so-slightly comfortable at my new post,
i've had some time to reflect being here.

when i started, i really didn't know what to expect.
work is work and that usually all there is to it, right?
well not here. it's a multitude of feelings
that surround this place that makes it not just a job.

here, we prepare specialized medications for
the tiniest of tinys -the ones struggling to stick
around and discover this place. we also
help the children that get really really sick
for a while and get better and get to go home.

we also help the children that get
really really really sick and are hoping to go home.
-and the ones that never do.

we help moms and moms-to-be prep
to welcome their little ones into the world.

sometimes, we stop to give directions
wandering visitors with tears of joy
 and sadness.

happy, sad, anxious, angry, frustrated,
hopeful, fearful, joyful and relief are probably
the most common feelings but the one thing
that i feel when i come into work everyday is:

blessed.

blessed that i am in good health and have
the ability to be kind and compassionate to others.

blessed that i had relatively smooth and uncomplicated
pregnancies and deliveries.

blessed that i have 2 incredibly amazing
and healthy daughters.

blessed that i have a life worth living
and that i have the drive and aspiration to
live it to its fullest.

it's the simplest things in life
that are so easily forgotten.

i invite all of you to take a moment
to count the many blessings in your life!

outsmarting mr. leprechaun

with st. patrick's day around the corner,
i thought i'd spend  an entire afternoon
neglecting my children  a quick moment on
pinterest checking out some ideas.

i'll never forget the day emma came home from
school telling me that she came into her
classroom and it was a big mess!

there were books all over the floor, green footprints
everywhere and a letter from the naughty leprechaun
looking for his pot of gold.

her reaction was so adorable it got me thinking
that this year would be even more fun getting
a visit from a leprechaun with
both girls around!

check out & follow me on pinterest!

days of summer: cannon beach

when we arrived at cannon beach 

we did not waste any time soaking up

the sights and eats!

it was perfect weather for flying kites

so we ventured through the shops to find the 

perfect one.

the little ones had more fun throwing bird seeds around in the

hopes that they'd find some birds...

there were far too many, which one would we choose?!

we finally settled on a:

mermaid! (sorry its so high up!)

off to the beach!!

it wasn't quite swimming weather, but warm enough to

dip your feet in the water..

and build sand castles..

and bury ourselves in the sand..

haystack rock, made famous by the goonies movie!

perfect weather to go treasure hunting!

or..

be completely silly on the beach!

it cooled down quite quickly which worked out

cuz it was time to check into our little bungalow!

complete with a little fireplace, fold out sofabed (ektorp ikea lol)

a separate room with a queen sized bed and shared ensuite.

and a little kitchen too! super cute and everything we needed

for a weekend in.

once settled in, we went to have dinner at a very

popular pizza joint.

after dinner we strolled along the beach and watched 

as people set up bonfires and played volleyball; so cool,

wish they'd let us build fires on the beach here!

also wish they sold $4 bottles of wine up here too.

and ended off the night with some wine and a sampler

of the donuts we purchased at voodoo!

stay tuned for our wild adventures by haystack rock!

days of summer...part 3

today's blog post takes us back to our family fun camping trip

to golden ears provincial park and campground

in beautiful maple ridge, bc.

the nice thing about this campsite is that its about 30 or so minutes away from home

but very nicely tucked 10km into the woods by alouette lake.

there's nothing our kids love more than being outside 

so what perfect way to spend a family weekend than

in the great outdoors!!

this summer emma finally mastered riding her bike sans

training wheels, so she was pretty stoked to take her

bike for a spin around the campgrounds.

sadly, she took her very first spill going down a hill...

it was a moment that literally happened in slow motion

for me, i could see it happening but could not get 

to her fast enough to stop the fall! :(

alas, like the trooper she is, she got back up again

this time only walking down hills she felt were too steep

for her and in the end, managed just fine.

we did a lot of wandering around, and really, a lot 

of sitting around..i mean camping is all about r&r right?!

i think my nephew knows how to do it best!

the kids also took part in creative arts and crafts..

followed by a lovely stroll to the lake.

now to unbeknownst to us, this very day would be the only day

we'd have hot weather, so instead of packing up for an 

evening at the beach, we thought, 'hey, lets dip our feet in and visit the lake

and head down tomomorrow'

right. because then it clouded over and rained.

but while we were there, the kids managed to create some fun

by skipping rocks!

it was time to head back to the campsite for dinner

and a roaring campfire to roast s'mores in!

i think i lost count as to how many this girl had..

the next morning, the kids were craving fruit loops while

moms and dads prepared a real camping breakfast complete with

pancakes, eggs and bacon!

olivia pondering the meaning of life in the woods...

the kids dubbed the little forested area near our campsite "the jungle cruise" (from

disneyland no less) and spend countless hours exploring their

little piece of jungle.

i've said it before, she's destined to be a star!!

i wonder where she gets it from.....

the sunday would mark the last day of our cousins camping with us

but i think this picture describes the kind of fun they had over the weekend!

and then there was 4....the girls enjoyed poking their sticks in the fire..

with parental supervision of course! they even managed a s'more each!

the next morning we were packed up and ready to go home!

the minivan is a godsend!!

success! another great family trip that we

hope will become an annual tradition!