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.

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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.

Puzey Reunion - 2016

After our Edmonton trip we headed to my mom's for a family reunion.  All my siblings, their families and mom were gathering on the farm for the weekend.  We arrived on Thursday which was an overcast and rainy day.  Since the weather was not ideal we hung out in the house and chatted.  The kids played and had a great time together.

Mom had made a schedule of which family was in charge of prepping meals and then who was in charge of clean up.  The schedule worked really well and it was nice to take turns preparing the meals.  The food was awesome.

We had a couple of sickies during the reunion.  Mom had fell while camping with Amber and Jared and broken her knee so she was out of commission and had to use a wheelchair (I think she just wanted to get out of doing any work - just kidding).  Poor little Armin was under the weather for a few days and had a couple visits to the emergency room in Vulcan, but he is doing much better now.

The kids are getting older and it is fun to see them have a little more independence.  Thursday afternoon it was still a bit cold, but the older kids decided to go into Champion to swim.  Cora has her drivers license so she was able to drive them in - so awesome!

On Friday morning Cora drove herself, Leah, Emry and Ashton to Cardston so they could go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  Ashton was pretty excited for this little adventure sans parents. She even treated them to a milkshake afterwards.  I'm so grateful they like spending time together as cousins and that they would choose to make going to the temple a priority.

The younger kids spent time playing and doing some crafts.  Although I think mom and Rachel enjoyed the craft making just as much.

The kids enjoyed swimming at the little pool in Champion, and down at Little Bow Provincial Park.

The girls decided they were big enough to go down to the water themselves.

Tuckered out after a day at the beach!

Our weekend ended on Sunday.  Mom had bought the little girls matching dresses.  They looked so cute for church.

Mom, Rachel and I sang a trio in sacrament meeting, and then we headed back to Calgary for Jason's work party.

It was so nice to get together.  I love my family and I hope we always want to spend time together. Til next year! 

Edmonton Traditions

We had another little trip this summer to Edmonton.  Going to Edmonton has become a bit of a tradition for our family.  It is close and the kids really enjoy it.  The Science Centre in Edmonton brings in excellent exhibits and I had heard of another one they were currently holding.  It was an exhibit on Sherlock Holmes.

We traveled up on a Monday morning and headed straight to the Science Centre.  It was a good exhibit.  It was interactive and you had to solve a mystery.  Had some movie and TV memorabilia to look at as well.  We all enjoyed the exhibit and spent about 2 hours there.

After the exhibit we checked out some of the other activities at the science centre.  Cadence loved being able to have a bit of freedom and to explore.

The rest of the day we spent at the West Edmonton Mall and did a little shopping and got some supper at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

The next day we spent at the Waterpark at the West Edmonton Mall.  Everyone had a great time. Cadence loved the slide in the kiddie pool.  I think she went up it about 2 million times.

After a long, exhausting day at the waterpark it was time to hit the food court and grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

Hanging out at the hotel.

After a great breakfast at the hotel we headed to Galaxyland, and a bit more shopping before heading home.

The Whack a Mole game was out of order, but Cadence did not seem to mind.

They all had a great time in the big play area.

Ashton was big enough for the big rollercoaster this year.  He was a bit nervous, but went on it with his dad.

We had such a great time as a family.  It really does not matter where we go as long as we have fun together.