Samson's Secret...

The boys have just come back from their annual week at Grandma & Grandpa Heinbuch's in Rocky Mountain House, and they had a blast as usual.  They're still getting over it - I've been thankful that yesterday and today have been cold and rainy to allow for maximum rest.  Grandpa took Zack and Nathan fishing, and they both caught good sized rainbow trout (that are now in our freezer).  The boys love spending time there, and they love going to VBS each day of their stay.  Pete and I had a good time while the boys were away, and we went on a couple of dates, which was very nice.

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A couple of weeks ago, while riding in the car, the boys were asking me about the story of Samson, and so we talked about how a woman used her beauty to get Samson to tell her the secret of his strength.  Then Zack said, "so then the moral of the story is never tell women anything."

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The boys have been playing together well lately; only about 10% of their time ends in someone storming off.  Most of their playtime together involves police.  Either pretending the Hot Wheels cars on the car mat are catching bad guys, or pretending that they are police and/or bad guys themselves.  I caught a moment of this while cooking supper that made me giggle:

Zack (toting a Nerf gun and wearing a paintball mask): Nathan, you are under arrest... For being extremely annoying.

Baby Elli

Elaina "Elli" Grace is a pretty awesome little girl.  I've never really connected with the babies of other people, but having snuggled her each morning while visiting Amanda in the hospital and being able to enjoy cuddles a few times a week, I'm hooked on this little one.  The boys (and Pete) love to hold and fuss over her, too!  We've even babysat her for a couple of hours already while Mommy & Daddy had some much-needed together time.  I'm so excited to get to know the girl she will become!

Nathan reading "Yummy Yucky" to Elli.

Growing Up

After ten years of a thirty-five dollar IKEA fiberboard kitchen table (which was technically a desktop with screw-on legs) with cheap plastic chairs, we finally said goodbye to it and bought our first actual real wood dinette set.  Six chairs and a leaf so we can comfortably seat eight, and it's black-stained cherry wood.  So exciting!

Recent Savories...

I've been busy, and having fun, with lots of baking projects!  Between parties here and orders too, it's been crazy and awesome.   Here's some pics.



Ninjago "Ninjabread Men"

Lego Head Marshmallow Pops

Ninjago Cupcakes

Angry Birds Cake

Balloon Cookies

It's Aliiiiiive!!!

After the initial sadness that not all the plants I transplanted from my Grandma had survived the winter, what a surprise to find that now every single raspberry chute AND my white peonies are growing!  I'll put up pictures when they're more impressive-looking, they're a little tiny and pathetic right now...

The Next Day

Nathan is 7 years old now...  Hard to believe it, but it's true.  He is so excited about his birthday, and the party too!  But I think his favorite day has to be the day after the parties, when there's no one here and he gets to work on unpackaging and building all of his new toys.  Nathan is one of those kids that thoroughly enjoys every toy he gets, big or small, he cherishes it.

May Flowers

So thankful that spring is done sprung-ing and our afternoons are spent outside.  We had two days of solid, perfect rain last week that made everything start growing!  I transplanted some raspberry plants from my grandma's yard and despite the weather this winter, there are leaves on them!  (I also transplanted a peony bush, but I'm thinking that one didn't make it...)  I've planted flowers in our big planter, and the boys' grade one trees are budding little baby branches.

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A while ago, Pete took me and the boys to see The Avengers in the theatre. After seeing it already (on opening night with Kyle, of course), Pete decided that it wasn't that scary and that the boys would love it. Well, it was fantastic - I have to say that I enjoyed that movie thoroughly. Not only was it clean (no swearing or sex) and not scary, it was super entertaining. There was one really tense "will he make it through the door before it closes and we'll never see him again" scene where the super hero narrowly makes it, and amid a quiet theatre everyone could hear Nathan say, "PHEW!!!" Zack loved it too, and he has been telling everyone who will listen about all the scenes he can remember.

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Pete has been working quite a bit already this season, and this year they have given him the responsibility of going on the road with a service truck.  This means taking a truck full of tools and parts out to jobsites to fix the equipment, or doing services like oil changes and air filters and all that jazz right on the spot.  Starting today he will be in Edson all week, but driving home each night.  He's not too happy about this transition, but with the nice post-graduation raise that he got, it's a little easier to handle.

Happy 8th Birthday to Zack!

I can't believe that Zack is 8 now!  We spent the weekend celebrating his birthday with friends and family (Mario-style as always).  Happy Birthday to our ever growing boy!