Canola Fields in July

Well, last weekend Joel and I actually got to go away for a night to celebrate our anniversary! Friends of ours took the girls for us so we could go up to Saskatoon and spend a night there... it was a great time! We got lost in the city a couple of times, but all ended up okay! We went out for a relaxing supper, went to see Toy Story 3 and then walked along the river - it is absolutely gorgeous! On the way home, Joel took some back roads that he knew, so we passed by a few canola fields... I made him stop so that I could take some photos! I just love the fields when they are flowering, especially the flax ones, cuz they are purple, but we didn't pass any of those! Here are a few of the pics I took...

July - visit from Grandma Willms!

Grandma flew out on July 1st to spend some time with us while she has her summer off! It was a great time and we packed a lot in, but also had a lot of time just to sit and relax, and also do some gardening! Weeding is always better with 2 :) Our first stop was Buffalo Pound. Joel had Friday off because he worked on the holiday so he could have a long weekend. We packed up a picnic and set off for an afternoon of fun in the sun! It was a perfect day and we enjoyed our lunch, and then went for a swim in the lake!

Burying Daddy's feet in the sand on the beach.

Such concentration... we don't really know what she was watching, but she was very intense!

Chloe decided that trying to cover daddy in sand all over would be good, too...

I decided I needed a prego pic, as I don't really have on yet... This is me at 19 weeks - with my lovely sidekick!

Mom and I took the girls to the Mortlach Saskatoon Berry Festival. It was a good time! There were booths set up, live bands playing, lots of people to visit with (the joys of living in a small town) and good food! We enjoyed Saskatoon Berry pie and the girls had ice cream cones... then we took the horse drawn wagon ride. Chloe kept calling it a "party". I guess to her it was!

Sunday after church we enjoyed lunch on the deck and of course had to take a family pic! Too bad grandma is hiding behind Chloe...

Well, it was a great visit, and sad to see it come to an end - especially since we all (except Joel) ended up with the flu right after Grandma left! But at least we get to come to the Valley in a couple of weeks! Can't wait! Thanks for a great visit, Mom!

Happy Father's Day!

These were actually taken about a week ago - the girls took out the bat and ball and Joel was throwing it to them so they could hit it. They were actually doing okay! Pretty good for a 3 and 4 year old! And they have a great coach for a daddy, too! What I find funny is that Karissa bats left and Chloe bats right!

Happy Father's Day! After church Karissa was begging for a picnic, so we packed a lunch and headed out to our beautiful backyard! That way we could enjoy the picnic but Karissa could still get her nap in :)

For supper we ate chicken burgers and corn on the cob out on our deck! It was a really fun day. In the afternoon we had gone down to the store and gotten ice cream - and got caught in a thunderstorm on the way back! It will be great when the girls actually understand what Father's Day is all about, but until then, we'll still have fun!

Oh yeah, these birds built a nest in one of the trees in our backyard! We noticed it last night when some friends of ours were over! Joel cut some branches so we could see them a little better. The little birds are so cute! Especially when mom or dad brings back a worm for them to eat! So fun to watch!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

It's hard to believe that Chloe is 3 already! On the 26th, is when her actual birthday was, but we also celebrated with friends yesterday (Saturday). I found some cute butterfly cupcakes online (cuz I was dying to use my cupcake tower!) and we had a few friends over to help us celebrate. Chloe had a great time with her friends even though the weather wasn't the greatest...

Sharing supper with Fiona and her 2 girls, Kaylana and Jahnaya, and Matt and Kelly Delong with Caleb.

Happy birthday dear Chloe!

On the night of her real birthday, I had picked up a treatzza pizza from DQ and we had that... she is such a little poser when the camera comes out!

Yeah! The life jacket that I asked for!!!!

Opening up the sleeping bag from Grandma and Grandpa.

Cool dude with sunglasses - she refused to take them off for the rest of the night!

We had to dig Karissa's sleeping bag out too, so that she could be a part of it all, and the girls camped out in the living room for a couple of days while the weather was yucky outside... great fun!

All in all, it was another fun birthday.

May Happenings

This month has been pretty cold, so I guess most of these are probaly April pics, but they had to be posted! This hawk was in a tree in our backyard! I saw it quite by chance while we were eating breakfast, and thought it was just a big bird... then Joel looked and realized it was a hawk! It's a pretty young one, and I don't know if he was after the squirrels or what.

The girls were taking their babies for bike rides a few days ago. So cute!

Yeah, Chloe's not really allowed to use the markers anymore... this is what happens when she does! Good thing for washable markers!

Easter pics from home!

Hello again! Yes, this was quite a few weeks ago now, but I'm just behind in everything else, so why not the blog, too? On Easter weekend Joel's parents came out to see us! We had a lot of fun together, and it was a great long weekend! We managed to pack a lot in, despite the fact that Joel's mom was still suffering from shingles - not fun! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we fired up the barbeque for the first time and threw on some steaks... yum! Joel and his dad had to clean everything first, but what are dad's for, right?

Of course we did a traditional easter egg hunt...and we got to do it in the backyard, which was a lot of fun! Usually it's still pretty chilly this time of year, but this year spring decided to come early!

The girls in their Easter dresses after church with Oma and Opa.

The girls and Oma had just finished dying a bunch of eggs - that was a lot of fun! Kind of stressful at times, but still, very fun!

We had a fantastic weekend and were so glad to share it with Oma and Opa!

Easter in Calgary

Okay, so I'm a little slow on the uptake, but here they are anyway! I drove out to Calgary with the girls 2 weekends ago (Palm Sunday weekend). Originally it was just to spend the weekend with my sister and her family, but then our parents flew out and it turned into an Easter gathering!!!! We had such a blast... The girls all decorated cookies that Mom made... then we got to have tea with the cookies and paska! Yum!

Easter egg hunting... that was so much fun! The girls were great :)

After the hunt.

While Rachelle and I hid the eggs, Grandma and Grandpa gave the girls their easter baskets which were full of goodies!

Before church on Sunday. Aren't they pretty?

This was taken at the zoo - we went into the gardens where they had all sorts of amazing flowers! Love the hydrangeas!

Nice pose of the girls... :)

The girls inside the kangaroo pouch.

Hanging out in the dinosaur park... Karissa did NOT like this part of the zoo! The dinosaurs are so cool - they actually roar and move their heads and tails. Not cool to Karissa, though - just scary :)

It was a fantastic trip. We all had so much fun. It would have been nice if Scott didn't have to be in class, and if Joel could have come with us - and if James and Lesley weren't on the other side of the world! such is life...