Father's Day 2024

We also celebrated Father's Day in June.  How blessed we are to have Jason as the father in our home.  After church it was time to open presents.  I hardly ever surprise Jason but he wasn't expecting his gift this year.

After a dinner of Jason's favorites (steak, roasted potatoes, green beans and deviled eggs), Cadence had prepared a little game for us to play.  I'm sure the order of winners was completely based on our answers.  Wink, wink!

The boys tied for 3rd place, I received 2nd place, and Jason received 1st place.  Cadence had made us all certificates and trophies.

Thanks for being the best dad Jason!!  We love you so much.

Celebrating Daisy

From January through May we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.  To finish up we celebrated Daisy's 4th birthday on May 2nd.

She was spoiled on her special day with cake and a new toy and some treats.  We love her so much.  She's a great little dog and we love having her be a part of our family.

 

What's extra special about Daisy's birthday is that it falls on the same day that our Kenneth David was born.  This year would have been Kenneth's 16th birthday.  Can't believe it has been that long.  We are sad he isn't with us in this life but there is much comfort in the fact that we know we will be together in the life to come.  We celebrated and remembered him with cake as well.

Charcoal portrait by Jason

And That's a Wrap!

This past Friday night was my year end music recital.  The week leading up to it was a busy one, with final lessons, preparing treat bags and summer practice charts, purchasing groceries and lots of baking and preparing.

24 of my 28 students were able to perform at the recital.  Everyone played really well.  Cadence did great playing 2 piano songs and then sang Crocodile Rock (I accompanied on the guitar), we invited everyone to sing the la la la's at the end with us.  It was fun!

I ended the recital with singing "Fear of Flying".  It was a song my dad loved by Pied Pumpkin.  Shari Ulrich sings it - I'm no match but I did my best and I think everyone enjoyed it.

After a photo with my students we had refreshments in the gym and visited.  It was a really great evening.  

By the end of June I'm always feeling a bit tired and sometimes frustrated with teaching but the recital always reminds me how much I love teaching my students and gets me excited about starting another year in September.

And that's a wrap!  Now to enjoy a couple months off.

Cadence's 10th Birthday - Part 2

Part 2 of Cadence's birthday started with getting her ears pierced.  Cadence was very nervous but the piercer was able to put her at ease, and even through her fear she was able to go through with it.  I was proud of her.  She's been wanting to do it for so long.

Nani came up to join the celebrations.  We opened presents and then went for dinner at one of Cadence's favorite restaurants.

Cute new purse from nani.

Triple bunkbeds for 18 inch dolls in the works.

Ashton and Jason are building it and then I'm going to make mattresses and little quilts and pillows.

After dinner we finished up with cupcakes.   

Confetti cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese filling and cream cheese icing.

 

Happy Birthday Cadence!  We sure love you and hope you have a fantastic year!!

Cadence's 10th Birthday - Part 1

To continue with our season of birthdays Cadence celebrated her 10th birthday on April 7th.  Her birthday weekend started on Friday after school with a birthday play date with one of her best friends.

First on the agenda was to go to the Y to go swimming.  After a couple hours there we came home, and while I got their lunch ready they worked on a couple crafts.

I made paint palette sugar cookies that they decorated with icing and smarties for paint, and then they painted flower pots.

 

 

Then it was time for lunch.  Cadence had requested a tea party.  They had 4 choices of teas, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, tuna salad sandwiches, shrimp with cocktail sauce, veggies and tzazkiki, strawberries, raspberries and apples, and sugar and oreo cookies.

I made them each an individual birthday cake decorated to look like a hydrangea flower.  I don't think I used the right piping tip.  They didn't quite turn out as I had envisioned.  Cadence thought they were cute and tasty so that is all that matters.  They were confetti cake with strawberry cream filling and a cream cheese icing.

It was a great birthday play date, and a fun start to a fantastic birthday weekend.  Stay tuned for part two.

Battle of B.C.

 A few months ago Bowen asked if he could attend Battle of B.C. in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Battle of B.C. is a 3-day Video Gaming Tournament for competitors in Smash Bros and Melee.  Even though he would be 18 by the time of the event I wasn't quite comfortable letting him attend without any parental support so we decided to go along, and also celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary.

The three of us headed to the airport in an Uber at 3:30 a.m. Friday, March 29th.  We were almost to the airport when Jason received an email that our flight had been cancelled and we had been put on a flight at 4:30 p.m.  This was a huge problem as Bowen was registered to play doubles at 11:30 Vancouver time and not only would he forfeit the game and be out money, it would also forfeit his doubles partner as well.

We continued onto the airport to see what we could figure out.  After arriving we talked to a ticket agent and we were put on standby for the 6:00 am flight, after we didn't get on that flight we were put on standby for the 7:30 am flight.  That didn't work out either, as only 2 or 3 standby customers were getting on each flight and our entire plane of people were trying to get to Vancouver.

The next flight left at 8:30 a.m.  It was full already but was our last chance to get Bowen there in time for his match.  Jason went to the ticket agents and pleaded our case.  He asked if Bowen had more of a chance of getting on if he flew alone.  Bowen has never been on an airplane or traveled alone but he was willing to do it.  This tournament meant a lot to him.  With only one seat left available, Jason's persistent requests and many, many prayers Bowen boarded the plane.  He was able to negotiate the train system in Vancouver, find the venue and arrive to his match on time.  

After such a stressful morning, and it really wasn't important when we arrived in Vancouver, Jason and I decided to just wait until our guaranteed flight at 4:30 p.m.  We had a leisurely afternoon at the airport.  We ate at Chili's, had snacks, talked and people watched.  Jason always says that it doesn't matter what we do as long as we are together and we definitely put that to the test that day!

Our flight left on time and we arrived in Vancouver that evening.  Bowen was busy at the venue, so we let him know that we had arrived and we checked into the hotel and then went for a nice dinner.  

 Love some of the older architecture in this part of the City.

A beautiful view from our hotel room.

I had made the mistake of neglecting to purchase gum before our flight and my ears were terribly plugged until the next morning but we were still able to have a nice dinner and walk back to our hotel.  Bowen grabbed a bite to eat on his way over to the hotel and we finally all settled in for the evening.

Saturday morning Bowen headed over to the venue early so Jason and I slept in.  How heavenly!  No kids, no responsibilities, absolutely no reason to get out of bed.  The Oilers were playing a matinee so Jason found it on TV.  We decided to be really lazy and ordered food from the restaurant in the hotel.  While Jason watched hockey, I had a shower and got ready and then we had lunch.  We ordered a scallops appetizer to share and we each had a bowl of clam chowder.  So delicious!!

After lunch, we finally left the hotel and went for a walk.  Our hotel was right on the water front.  It was so beautiful.  We walked down by the water and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and views.  

Cool statue outside the Vancouver Convention Centre - Bowen's Venue

 

A bit later we took an Uber to David Lam park to a Cherry Blossom Festival.  I was not expecting the crowds, but it was fun to be in the large group enjoying the amazing cherry blossom trees.  Some were lit, and the effect was quite spectacular.  We walked around for a bit and enjoyed some music.  We had planned on just eating at the food trucks but with the crowds the lines were so long we decided to find dinner closer to the hotel. We found a little mom and pop pizza place and went and picked up pizza for dinner.

Sunday morning, Bowen was back at the tournament so after we had breakfast we took an Uber to the Granville Island Market.  Loved it!  Right up my alley.  Lots of little shops and artisans. 

We bought a little something for Ashton and Cadence at home and I bought myself a beautiful music tile called a memory block made by a local Vancouver artist - Sid Dickens.  It's named "Rhythm - pure and undiluted.  Evoking cherished memories.  Fueling spirit and soul."   Apparently he is quite famous and has just retired so he won't be making them anymore.  Now I need to find a spot in my music room for it.  

 

Two things on my eating bucket list for this trip was first to have clam chowder and second to have a lox and bagel.  Found a place that made their own bagels and they had lox and bagel on the menu.  Jason grabbed a reuben bagel and we sat outside by the water to eat.  It was such a beautiful day.  Finished off with some amazing donuts. 

We met Bowen for a late dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Pricey but delicious.  I had sablefish.  I ate fish at almost every meal - I figure why not when you're on the coast!

Our flight home on Monday wasn't until later in the day so we slept in a bit, checked out of the hotel and left our luggage there, went for breakfast. and then walked around for a bit.

I love how there are gas stations on the water for the boats.

 

Grabbed a gelato and had lunch, big surprise I had fish n chips.  

Then jumped on the skytrain back to the airport.  Flight was on-time and we arrived home about 11:00 pm Calgary time.  It was such a great little get away and I'm so glad we tagged along with Bowen, who by the way had a fantastic time at his tournament.