Craft night @ Kim's House March 7,2009

I was able to snag a night out with the girls to do a little bit of crafting and chatting. My sister was kind enough to take Sam for the better half of the afternoon into the late evening, which I am very grateful. So after getting Sam settled I made my way to Kim's house. Shannon was already there and shortly after I arrived Jill did too. It many conversations later that Laura joined us trying to get caught up with everyone. After a lovely dinner made by Shannon we forged into our choosen craft for the evening. A star book. Jill was kind enough to guide us through and we all managed to get the foundation for our books. I now have to complete by adding my pictures which there was not enough time that particular evening to accomplish(too much chatting). 

In addition to our project we celebrated Jill's Birthday! Hope you had a great day Jill!

I am already looking forward to our next project and get together. Thanks Girlz!

Enjoying the day February 19,2009

We managed to get out and enjoy some of the recent sunshine. Loaded up the car with dog and kid in tow and headed to the beach for a walk/swim and some great fresh air. Bronwynne had a hay day running and swimming, which was good as we had a ball issue within 10 minute off arriving. There were many other dog owners out and new aquaintances to be met. Sam was enjoying balancing on all the logs and jumping off. It is truly the simple things that make a day rewarding. 

The following day Darren headed off to work in the wee hours of the morning. Sam & I drove him in and had a few appointments to fill our day. In the evening Sam was goofing around running up and down the hallway being Super Sam of coarse!

I'm Back....February 15,2009

Here are a few picture but you will find more in my Flickr. 

Sorry about not updating recently but here it goes. We had the chance to go and visit some dear friends of ours out east. I am going to back up a bit here. You know when you meet people in your life and say hey they are quite nice and then move on. Well these friends are different  these friends are not like that we all met and immediately we were laughing. We don't talk on the phone every night or for that matter every week, but when we do get a chance to catch up it is just like yesterday with a few minor modifications. We always have a tremedous time with them. 

So back to our trip. We headed out knowing the weather was to be cool and we would take advantage of the winter activities in between talking, eating and laughing. We did manage to get a few activities in before the weather decided to warm up and I know you might be thinking this would be a good thing. Not in this situation as the skating got slushy as did our sledding coarse but we still continued to have a good time. We managed to sled a bit, skate on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, eat frozen maple syrup, head to Parc Omega and feed the wild animals a large amount of carrots, head to the museum in Ottawa and see a IMAX show and have a wonderful time catching up and enjoy wonderful food and conversation. And the kids had fun too!

 

Maya's 1st Birthday Party January 31,2009

We celebrated Maya's first birthday today with many friends. The kids had a fantastic time as the venue was the Y which was great at they have the bouncy castle, some mats, nets and music set up. After some energy was exerted we moved upstairs to the party room where pizza, fruit & veggies were served along with a very decadent chocolate cake with pink icing. 

It is always great to see our friends and know that we are blessed to be home and celebrating such moments in each others lives!

Projects on the go January 29,2009

While the weather has been up and down, I have managed to keep myself and Sam busy with a few projects here and there. Today I was working on some barrettes and Sam was coloring some flower Valentines. He still has a few more to go but thought I would snap a picture while he was down for a nap. This is the flower project.

Walk in the crisp morning air January 21,2009

This morning we managed to get out for a walk in the crisp air. Everyone needed it. I need to get out and take a few pictures as I have been in a slump so hopefully I can find a project that I can challenge myself with. Here are a few from the walk. I love the first on as Bronwynne is looking for the ball and there Sam is with the ball in his hands. Welcome to the circus!

Trying something new... January 19,2009

So today I am trying a soup(Salsa Chicken &  Black Bean) I found on this wonderful website. This woman took a 365 challenge to a whole new limit and did it. So I have found myself wondering and thinking I should be utilizing my crock pot a little more.

I hope you can find something you like and I will let you know how my soup turns out. 

Edited to say the soup is DELICIOUS! You must try it! I served it with some broken tortilla chips, avacado & sour cream. Yummy!

Grandpa's BIrthday Dinner January 9,2009

Saturday night we took the time to honor Grandpa's 65th Birthday. We had to do the dinner a few days earlier than is actual birthday as Darren was heading back to work. All worked out though. We saw most of the family and hopefully everyone enjoyed the dinner that I prepared. I didn't managed to grab a few shots of dinner or everybody singing Happy Birthday I don't know where my head was but you just can't do it all right!

Oh well here are a few shots of Grandpa opening up his prezzies. I think Sam was slightly confused he knew it was Grandpa's bday but was some how going on about Santa. Someone really needs to straighten that kid out hey! LOL!

On a side note I thought I would share the dinner recipe that I made. I actually snagged this recipe from our friend Georges. I just love it.


Orange Chicken
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Recipe By: from Georges Dawood
Serving Size: 0

Ingredients:

8 chicken breast
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium red onions
3-4 crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 bay leaf
1-2 grated & juiced oranges
28 ounces can of tomatoes
14-19 ounces can of cannelli beans/white kidney beans(drained)
salt & peper to taste
3-4 slices bread
2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Toss chicken in flour coat evenly. Brown in oil then transfer to casserole dish.

2. Slice onions into wedges. Add to pan and cook. Add garlic. Continue to add fennel seeds, bay leaf ,grated orange peel & juice, tomatoes, beans & seasoning.

3. Cover tightly and cook at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes until chicken is cooked.

4. For topping coat bread with olive oil and place on casserole and cook for 15-20 minutes more until golden and crisp.

Enjoy!

Super Sam! January 8,2009

We officially have a Super Sam in the house! I found this tutorial  awhile back and was anxious to tackle the project. One minor set back was that I no longer had a working sewing machine. But my friend Jill came to my rescue she had a machine at her house. So a couple hours or chit chat and sewing and voila!

Surprise Party for Judith! January 4,2008

This afternoon we attend a surprise party for Judith. For a bit a backround information Judith is my sister's best friend they have been friends since Jr. high from my memory. But I can say now that she is a friend/sister in our household. Karen & Judith have come to see Darren & I everywhere we have lived from Yellowknife to Nova Scotia. They didn't make it our to Calgary together but Judith did pass through the airport one time and we did managed to get out for a quick visit together. We are fortunate that she is right there to help, be a friend or just lend a hug when one is needed.
So today we raised our glasses in honor of her 35th Birthday. All the best!

Thank again Karen for throwing a great party!

Cheers!

Ringing in 2009! December 31,2008 & January 1,2009

We had the chance to ring in the new year with our friends. The Fields had once again opened their home to us all and our children. The kids danced, the men made comments which we intend to continue to ignore and the ladies laughed. Seriously we all had a wonderful evening and are grateful that we are able to have a chance to have gathering such as these.

Thank you again!
Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2009!

Wishing you and yours all the best for 2009!

Boxing Day Snow December 26,2008

Here is a glance of our Snow here on the wetcoast! Quite an unusual sight here. But, I can honestly say this made our Christmas. Bronwynne has been trudging through all of the snow she still has a tilted head I think that is her to stay. We are glad to see her spirits are back where they should be. We are truly blessed that she is in our lives and she brings so much to our days.

Christmas Morning! December 25,2008

Our Christmas morning almost started out around 6:00am but I managed to redirect Sam back to sleep for a couple more hours of much needed sleep. When he awoke we determined that Santa had indeed come for a visit and his stocking was full of goodies to keep him busy while Mommy & Daddy managed to get coffee!
A busy and fabulous morning was had buy us all. We even had Al-E still here enjoying in our craziness. Sam finally slowed down a bit to savor a hot raspberry scone and a tasty fruit smoothy.
We rested up a bit before getting ready to enjoy a turkey dinner at Grandpa and Honey's house later that evening.

Christmas Eve Dinner December 24,2008

Like many of you we try to balance the two families at the holiday season. So this year we celebrated with my family on Christmas eve. We hosted a lovely turkey dinner at our home. We were unfortunately missing my niece as she was with her Dad this Christmas. The dinner turned out beautiful. Sam was overwhelmed by the many gifts. He was spoiled and is still trying to ingest all that has occurred in the last 48 hours. I am glad that I am back home and able to host such an evening.

Stanley Park Train December 23,2008

We managed to head down to Stanley Park for the Bright Nights. Sam was entranced with all the lights and the displays. The train ride was like the icing on the cake. I am glad that I took the time to buy the tickets early and have a well planned event for us all. Just seeing Sam taking it all in was worth it all!