Braces $$$

A couple of years ago Ashton had a retainer to straighten a few teeth that were needing to be moved for others to come in.  Since then some teeth that should be coming down by now still aren't, and he's lost the last of his baby teeth, so he's ready for braces

First appointment was lots of pictures and xrays.

Smile!  Ha ha ha!

Then last Monday we headed to the orthodontist to have the braces put on.  They've decided to just put them on his upper teeth first, with the bottom teeth following in two months.  They taught him how to take care of them and what he is not allowed to eat or drink.  He received a really nice electric toothbrush and all the tools he'll need to take great care of his teeth for the next two years.

The first few days were pretty rough.  The brackets tore up the inside of his mouth and his gums and teeth were sore.  He is doing much better now and seems to be back to normal.  It's astonishing how expensive it is, but I'm sure he'll have a beautiful smile

Traditions

A couple of weeks ago we got together with the Puzey side of the family for our annual chocolate dipping.  We had each made 3 batches of fondant and then got together to dip it.  It goes so quickly when we work together and it's lots of fun.  This year we made olympic cream, maple walnut, peppermint, coconut, cherry, vanilla and toffees.

Last chocolate of the day - out of chocolate!  He he he

My kids love going to the farm.  They had a great day playing with their cousins while we worked.  Fun memories being silly!

Scotch tape faces

After chocolate making later that night we left Ashton babysitting at Grandma's house and Jason and I headed into Lethbridge for the Valdy concert.  Mom, Dave, Char, Leah, Blake, Jared, Amber and Emry were all able to go as well.  If you don't know who Valdy is he's a Canadian Folk singer.

He was one of my dad's absolute favorite performers and I grew up listening to his records and dad playing and singing his songs on the guitar.  In fact I asked mom and dad to sing Valdy's song Renaissance at my wedding reception.

Valdy got on stage, just him and his guitar, and started singing and it was a song I knew and remembered well and this flood of emotion overcame me and I could not contain the tears.  Thinking of my dad, missing him, feeling like he was with us.  So many wonderful memories of my childhood.

Valdy really is a spectacular performer.  I love his rich voice, he is an amazing guitarist and his stories are funny and entertaining.

Once I got past the initial tears I loved every moment and could not stop smiling.  He sang all my favorites and new songs as well.  It was fun to sing along.  Such a great night!  It was so great Dave and Jared brought their kids to the concert.  Had I not needed Ashton to babysit we would have as well.  I think it is time to pass on my love of Valdy to my boys.  I love traditions.

Great Aunt & Uncle

Jason's sister Nicole's daughter Jessica (did you follow that) just had a beautiful baby girl.  Jason and I were able to visit her on Saturday.  We were sorry the kids were not with us they would have loved to have met their new little cousin.

So with the birth of this little one I am officially a great aunt!!  Crazy.

Here is sweet Braelynn.

I very much enjoyed some baby cuddles.  She is such a cute little thing. You seriously forget just how little they are when first born.

With Great Uncle Jason

3 Generations - Braelynn, Jessica, Nicole

We had such a nice visit.  Congratulations to Jessica and proud Grandma Nicole!

Toddler Quiz

On facebook yesterday I noticed a little toddler test.  Without any coaching you ask your toddler the questions and write the responses down.  I thought I would do it with Cadence.


Cadence - 2 1/2 years old

What is your name?  Cadence

How old are you?  10, then she said, me 2

When is your birthday?  You my mom

How old is mom?  ummmmmmmm

What is your favorite colour?  Pink

What is your favorite food?  Macaroni

Who is your best friend?  Admi (Adam)

What is your favorite animal?  Monkey

What are you scared of?  Lions

What makes you happy?  You, pandas, baby lions

Where is your favorite place to go?  Nani's house

What do you want to be when you grow up?  You


What a sweet girl!

Halloween 2016

I'm a little late posting about halloween but here it is finally!  Halloween came and went in a blur this year.  We didn't even seem to find the time to carve pumpkins.

Ashton dressed up as a ghostbuster.  His costume turned out awesome.  He made a proton pack, ghost trap, and utility belt.  They were much better than anything we could have bought.  All we purchased for him was work overalls.

Bowen dressed up as Darth Vader.  Star Wars always a favorite in the Atwood house.

Cadence dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.  I wasn't sure Cadence knew who Little Red Riding Hood is but she kept telling me she was going to Grandmother's house.  Apparently she's heard of her.

We took Cadence out to a few houses, then came back to hand out candy and the boys went out by themselves for a couple of hours.  Once the boys got home we put Cadence to bed and then watched The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - my favorite!

Happy Halloween!!

Fabulous Friday

With my calling at church I'm over Relief Society activities.  I'm not quite sure how this happened, it is certainly not a strength of mine.  With changes to our ward in the last few months we don't have an RS activities committee anymore so it falls on me to take care of things.  This past Friday we had a Fabulous Friday (it's like Super Saturday but on a Friday!)  I spent a few weeks organizing and buying all the supplies needed.  It actually turned out great and was a fun evening.

I headed over Friday morning to get things set up.  I couldn't believe how much stuff I had to haul over.  Thank goodness for my hubby's help.

First we had a little production called "Teach the Children".  A cute story of Santa explaining all the true meanings of the symbols of Christmas and how it is all tied to the Savior.  After we headed to the gym for dinner and crafts.

We served chicken taco soup, chili, tortilla chips and pumpkin loaf.  The food was yummy and barely anything was left.

We had 5 craft stations.  People could make as many or as little of the crafts as they liked.  It was a relaxed, low key evening and no one was in a hurry to leave.  It made all the hard work worth it.

We made:

Pinecone Elves

Halloween Blocks

Service Advent Calendars

Sunday "Cans"
it is a tin can covered in cute paper with popsicle sticks with ideas for appropriate Sunday activities for kids.

and lastly Chocolate Apple pops

So many people pitched in to help and I was so grateful.  First successful event under my belt.  Now to start working on the RS Christmas Party.

2 1/2 Year Old Photo Shoot

On October 7th Cadence turned 2 1/2 years old.  I actually think Cadence is 2 1/2 going on 13.  She seems so much older than she really is.  She's quite tall, has an amazing vocabulary and can carry on whole conversations with us.  We all love her to bits and she is just a joy!  She's sassy, confident, and has a mind of her own.  Her favorite expression is "me do it meself!".  How blessed we are to have our little girl.

Age - 2 1/2 years old (October 7th, 2016)
Weight - 32 lbs
Shoe size - 6 - 7
Clothes size - 3T
No additional teeth yet
Tons of curly, gorgeous hair
Full vocabulary
Sleeps from 8 pm - 8 am
Naps for 2 - 3 hours
Loves her dollies, stuffies. Sleeps with several.
New favorite is Elmo.

Tried to take some pictures of her the other day - it's nearly impossible.  Here's what we ended up with!

Practicing her duck face!

Full of sass!

What!!  What's wrong with the way I'm posing?

Hope you always stay your spunky, sassy, funny, sweet self!  Happy 1/2 birthday Cadence.  We sure love you!!

Grades 5 & 7

I can't believe we are back in full swing with school already.  The summer seemed to go by so quickly.  Both the boys are in middle school this year.  I'm enjoying having them in the same school and bus again.

Bowen is in Grade 5 and he started back a day earlier than Ashton.  He was up early and excited to go.  I drove him over to the school to get him settled in with his new teacher.  They are in quite a big school so it is nice that the first day is just for the new Grade 5's so they can have the school and teachers to themselves for a day.

The next morning both boys were scheduled to go.  Ashton is in Grade 7 this year.  They both got up early and looked so nice for school.  I'm proud of the young men they are becoming.

\

So grown up and handsome!

It has been so nice that they can walk to the bus stop together and Cadence and I don't need to go out in the mornings.

Have a fantastic year in school!!

Another Year Older

August is my birthday month!  Yes, you read that correctly, my birthday month.  I like to stretch out the celebrating.  My actual birthday was pretty quiet.  Jason was at work but Ashton made me a wonderful breakfast.  He is becoming quite a good cook.

Once Jason got home from work we had party food for supper - hotdogs, chips and pop.  Jason and the boys made my favorite cake for dessert.  Yummy german chocolate cake!!

I got a new purse and wallet that I had bought (for myself) at a bag party my sister hosted a couple weeks prior.  I love them.

Jason and the kids got me a canvas print of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" (one of my favorite paintings).  I've added it to my other Klimt print in my bedroom.

On the weekend Jason had arranged for my mom to come up and babysit the kids and he whisked me away for a little getaway.  We headed north and stopped at Cross Iron Mills and did some window shopping.  Then we ate at Milestones - so delicious, and then went to the new Star Trek movie.

We continued onto Airdrie and stayed at a brand new, lovely hotel.  After the free breakfast the next morning Jason had one last surprise for me.  In Airdrie there is a huge vintage, antique store called "Where on Earth Did You Get That".  I was in heaven.  Such a great store.  It was loaded with lots of fun treasures.  I couldn't help but think how much my dad would have loved it too.

We took our time exploring, and I left with one little treasure.

It was a wonderful weekend with my sweetheart and the perfect wrap up to my birthday.  I'm very blessed.