Happy Easter Monday....

Wow, what a busy weekend we had!  Not only was it the long Easter weekend, but our oldest son, Ryan, had his 37th birthday on Easter Saturday!  Can I possibly be old enough to have a 37 year old?  I guess I am LOL!  Thankfully, I don't feel old enough to have a 37 year old....hehehe!
 

We had such fun times with our 3 grandkids that live close to us.  Friday they all came over and we spent hours outside, working in the yard, playing hide n seek,going to the park after supper and most importantly, coloring eggs!!  I decided to give them their main Easter gift on Friday as Easter morning they would be so overwhelmed with all the goodies the Easter Bunny left at home and here, that their gifts would just add to the confusion LOL!
 

Yes, that's Ms. Hannah with her purse always close at hand LOL!

She's such a girlie girl/tom boy mix :)

 

Big sister Hailee is wondering why she can't hang

upside down by her knees without touching the ground

like she used too....hehehe!

  

Cade and grandpa cleaning up the yard!

Cade would stay outside 24/7 if he could LOL!

 

Yes, grandma managed to climb in and out of this "jeep"

without hurting herself LOL!

 

And the best way to color eggs....why with your

hands of course LOL!  Don't worry, it will come

off in the bath :)

      

Little Cade like golf...imagine, 3 1/2 years old and he likes golf already LOL....so we bought him a little golf set. Yes, an actualy golf set, with a golf bag that even has a stand on it. You should see the size of the driver!!  Of course his sisters couldn't resist so they spent some time digging up our dead lawn (we haven't had rain in weeks), trying to perfect their golf swings :)

Sad as it is these days, the name Bench in clothing seems to be the "in" thing, and our young GDs are not immune to the pressure at school to have all the name brands.  Mom has already bought them a few tshirts etc, so while Easter shopping a few weeks ago we came across the cuteset Bench jackets at a specialty clothing store for kids.  This grandma couldn't resist those darn jackets either....hehehe....so Hailee and Hannah each have a Bench jacket....different ones of course. So they're happy and grandma is happy LOL....and grandpa is happy too to see them happy, but he didn't see the bill for them...hehehe!
 

 
 
Saturday grandma and grandpa went over to the gk's house to celebrate daddy's birthday. We had a delicious supper and I made two loaves of bread in the bread machine to bring over. Ryan loves home made bread. My mom (Baba) used to bake bread, cinnamon buns, everything etc from scratch, so the boys developed a love for all things yeasty as they were growing up, and especially while she lived with us for 9 years after my dad passed away...hehehe!  She'd get up at 4:00 in the morning to make sure the buns were ready before the boys went to school :) Great memories.  Thankfully, Ryan doesn't mind bread machine bread, so was almost as happy with it as he used to be with Baba's bread :) He'd better enjoy it because it's the closet thing to scratch bread that he's going to see from me LOL!
 

Poor Hailee gave her slice of bread to grandpa and told him she didn't want to hurt grandma's feelings, but that she didn't really like the bread....hehehe! Too cute :) I only wish I didn't like it!

We weren't having a big Easter dinner celebration like we usually do, so I wasn't too worried about getting dinner ready on Sunday....which was nice for me as I was starting to feel very tired.  Ham, salmon, mashed potatoes with Boursin cheese (yummy), coleslaw and lots of veggies. NO homemade bread LOL!

When the kids arrived I had their Easter pails on the back steps so they could start hunting immediately after taking their shoes off....and it didn't take long for big sister Hailee to start finding candies in all the places the Easter Bunny always leaves them...hehehe! It didn't take long however for Hannah and Cade to get into the act :)

Once "most" of the candies were found it was time to decorate their Easter cake.  I say "most" because grandpa always holds some back and puts them out once the kids are gone so they can continue to find them for weeks and months afterwards.  He loves hearing their enjoyment when a few months after Easter, they come across a chocolate. They'll come running to me saying "grandma, grandma, the Easter bunny left another egg, look." :))  It's the little things that make life worth living :)

Everyone was stuffed after supper and cake. I packed up lots of food for our neighbor to take home and he left happy :)  He loves to eat and I know how difficult it would be for a widower in his 70's to make good meals for himself.  He loves coming here and says it's just like family :)

   
The kids and grandpa went outside for a bit but they didn't stay too long as it was cold....brrrrrr.  Mind you, this was still the nicest weather we've had for an Easter weekend in many years. So what if we needed winter jackets! LOL!

Mom wasn't planning on the kids staying long enough for baths, but thankfully she always comes prepared.  Pjs are always close at hand :)  Around 8:00 they all packed into the van to head home and our neighbor took his food and walked across the street, happy to know he doesn't have to worry about what he's going to eat today :)

This grandma is usually a night owl.  I may go to bed early but I lay there and watch tv.  Last night, I was exhausted and lights were out by 10:45 and I was out cold a few seconds later.  I hate to even say what time I crawled out of bed this morning....hehehe....but suffice it to say it was almost a 12 hour night!  Poor Sparkles was all tuckered out too and hadn't moved a inch all night. She is SO much like me and didn't get up until I did LOL!

Today is a nice quiet day. In fact I'm writing this in mid afternoon and still in my nightie.  Grandpa did a bunch more yard work earlier and my flower beds are starting to look clear.  All we need now is some much needed rain!

All in all, a great long weekend. Family, friends, good food...what more could we ask for :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Busy like a Bunny!

Easter Bunny that is LOL!  We've had a few very busy weeks with trips to Southern Ontario for conferences for hubby and visits with our two youngest sons and their wonderful families!
Baby Aislin is growing like a weed and almost 2 1/2 months old now. Before we know it, she'll be crawling LOL!  As I did for our own 3 sons, for the first year of our grandkids lives I bake a little cake to celebrate each month. Just because Keelan and Aislin live hours away, doesn't mean I can't bake a cake and send a pic to them, right? LOL!  And that's what I've been doing for Aislin. 

Their daddy wondered why he never gets to eat any of those cakes, so I said I'd bake one and bring it down with us...hehehe. He asked for Marble cake :)  As you can see, I made an Easter basket and added, what else but lots of candies.
Well when I carried it into the house I couldn't ask for anything better than the look on Keelan's face! He had a smile from ear to ear and ran to the dining table to pull out a chair. He could hardly wait to get at those candies....hehehe!  It was a very special time for grandma and grandpa as we weren't really part of his first couple years of life, so this is the first cake I made that he could enjoy. So as I said, VERY special :))

I'm sure in a couple years Aislin will know

what cake means too LOL!

 

 

Mmmmmmm.....yummy :)

  

Our oldest GD, who by the way just turned 16 a couple weeks ago, has her G1 and is driving now....everyone keep your kids inside LOL!  Last weekend when we stayed overnight on Saturday, Grandpa took her out driving twice.  Not sure who was more nervous....hehehe....and I was the one who taught our 3 sons to drive.  Grandpa seemed to be okay though and was trying to help Brittney not be so....um...what can we say....um....nervous?? LOL!
  

LOL....lock up your kids!!

Happy Sweet 16 Brittney!

Her favorites...Smarties and Kit Kat Bars LOL!

  

We ordered pizza for supper and sat outside by a nice fire in their backyard, trying to stay warm in the cold north wind....but it was sunny, and that's all that counts :) Having Smores made us get closer to the heat, so all was well.
 
There have been a few great sleepovers with the grandkids close by.....pancakes for breakfasts...swimming lessons, dance lessons, playing outside....just lots of fun and doing what grandma and grandpas are supposed to do....enjoy the wee ones!

Today mom and grandma decorated cupcakes for Easter to bring them to school for Hailee and Hannah's classes. We didn't get a chance to watch them enjoy the treats as they were all dressed to go out for lunch recess, but I'm sure they all disappeared LOL!

 

  

  
This long weekend is supposed to be wonderful, weatherwise, so grandpa and grandma are going to take advantage of the sunny, cool weather and do some yardwork.  Once it gets warm and humid outside, this grandma doesn't do much yardwork any more. Those days are long gone!

The gang is coming over tomorrow afternoon to decorate Easter eggs....another tradition that they never seem to forget....hehehe....and I've been told by Cade that he wants to color some his favorite color....ORANGE!

It's hard to believe but our oldest will be turning 37 on Saturday! Yes, I said 37!  Where has the time gone?  We don't feel any older....well let me rephrase that....our minds don't feel any older, our bodies, that's another story LOL!

We still live in the same house that we bought a year after we got married. The bedroom our 37 year old had as a baby, toddler, teenager, adult, is now a sleepover bedroom for his own 3 children....and let's not forget all the toys, games, stuffed animals that have taken over the room :))

Yes, where has the time gone?  We're so lucky to be able to share in our adult children, DIL's and grandchildren's lives. With so many people moving all over the world for work, opportunities etc, we are VERY fortunate to be so close to our son's and their families.

Life doesn't get any better, and it's wonderful going into this Easter weekend, knowing what really counts and so grateful we have it :)

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

First Day of Spring.....

This has been a very unusual 1st day of Spring for us northerners this year. I have a feeling it will go down in history....not only for the above normal temperatures and records we are breaking, but also for the fact that this grandma forgot to bring her camera when Grandpa and I went to visit the grandkids after school today :(  I NEVER, repeat NEVER forget my camera....sigh.

However even having no pictures can't stop the memories from being tucked away safely in my mind :) Besides, what did we do before digital cameras were so readily available?  We kept memories tucked away in our minds :) 

It was supposed to be just a quick 10 minute visit....hi guys, how are you? how was your weekend away?....normal stuff.  It then led to going to the playground just a couple doors up the road...playing for an hour (ohhhh my aching shoulders from all that swing pushing LOL and teeter tottering)...excited voices yelling across the playground to mom "Can grandma and grandpa stay for supper?"  I tried to get them to stop, but mom said she was going to ask us before the kids even did. She had planned a big supper and needed help eating it all....as it turned out we took leftovers home with us...hehehe!

After little hands and faces were washed, we ate supper and even had pink whipped cream and fresh fruit for dessert. Yummy!  Boy, grandpa was very lucky we were asked to stay as it would have been leftovers again had we come home early LOL!

Tonight is mom's VBall night, so I offered to give the kids a bath.  Hailee said she likes the way grandma washes their hair, but I'm not so sure she'll say that again after getting shampoo in her eye...hehehe! Mom gave lots of kisses to wet, shiny faces in the tub, and off she went.

All three kids were squeaky clean....grandpa gave his usual after bath tours of the house, kids all wrapped snuggly in their towels....pj time...and we left them happily playing on the living room floor with daddy. I'm sure it didn't take them long to fall asleep tonight :)  And I know it won't take grandma long to fall asleep either LOL!

Grandma loves you....and won't forget the camera again :)
xoxoxoxo

Ouch.....

   
Yes, Ouch is what our DIL was saying yesterday when she had an infected tooth extracted.  I brought her to the oral surgeon and picked her up. The funny part is she doesn't even remember paying for the work done, or our ride home....hehehe!

Around 4:30 yesterday afternoon our phone rang is a little voice on the other end said "grandma, can we come for a visit?"  As if you need to even ask :)  Then she said "I mean for a sleepover." LOL!  I asked if she wanted me to pick her up or have daddy drop her off on his way back to the office after supper.  I think we all know the answer to that one....hehehe!
 

A definite right of passage for anyone living in the North LOL!

All winter long we shovel tons of snow off the driveway, and at

this time of year we shovel it back onto the driveway so it

melts faster and makes those snow banks disappear....hehehe!

Ahhhhhh....child labor and all they wanted was a Dilly Bar!

  
  

Hehehe....I hated to burst their bubble, but they thought

if they piled snow into a puddle that it would turn into

ice overnight. With our mild temps it wasn't going to get

below freezing last night. They still had fun though :)

I was planning on picking up little Cade as well so mom could have a quiet evening with her sore mouth, but by the time I got to their house I was informed that he has already called Grandpa and asked if he could come over too....hehehe....little monkey :)

So an unplanned evening of fun was an unexpected surprise, thanks to mom's extraction :)
  

Hannah relaxing after all that shoveling!

Great job Hannah :)

    
This morning it was BLUE pancakes and we made some biiiiig ones that almost took up the whole plate LOL!  Both finished them, plus more, with no trouble at all :)
 

Hey grandpa, don't forget Nutella on the other half LOL!

  

 Don't put it in your outh all at once Hannah :)

  

Mom called and said she was going to pick up the kids then head to town. I asked if she wanted me to tag along....I really didn't want to see her lifting the kids into car seats etc.....she isn't supposed to lift anything for a couple weeks, thanks to the tooth, so we all headed to town.
    

Killing some time while mom was looking at Dishwashers!

Going from mattress to mattress just trying them out :)

  

Dreaming of summer days while on a riding lawnmower.

Won't be using that for a few weeks yet Cade LOL!

With rain boots, coats, tshirts, sunglasses and a new dishwasher picked out we stopped for lunch. Yum it was good...thanks mom :)  Poor mom couldn't eat though, again, thanks to that darn tooth....hehehe!

Big sister Hailee spent the week at a friend's camp and was coming home tonight. Tomorrow they're all leaving for the weekend to go to another camp so it will be a quiet weekend. I may be able to get some work done outside....well, at least where it's dry and there isn't any snow left on the ground :)  I really need to move a couple feeders as I'm tired of shells being dragged into the house every time we come in the house.

Have a great weekend guys.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

That Was Fast.....

How quickly can 24 hours pass by? Just ask grandparents who have been having fun with their grandkids, and they'll tell you that it goes waaaaaaay too fast :)

More fun in the cabin....and we can't forget

those flashlights!

  

Cade & Grandpa hiding in the bottom bunk LOL!

  

It was a pretty good night last night. Hannah and Cade got settled in their cabin, and left the bottom bunk open for grandpa to crawl into when he was ready for bed. And by crawl, I mean crawl....hehehe! He was afraid he was going to kneel on one of them LOL!

 

Hailee was feeling much better this morning.

She even put a window in her Fort!

   Grandpa said at one point Hailee was over in the deeper snow, trying to cut a block out of it. She kept calling to Grandpa to come over to help her.  He told her that he couldn't because he was much heavier than her and he would just sink down in the snow, breaking it all in pieces.
Hehehe....she rolled her eyes and in a hissy-fit way said "ohhhhh that's just what daddy says.
He's just like you grandpa!" LOL!
  

Should have known that wouldn't do the trick.  The odor was still just as strong this morning....sigh.  I have a feeling it will need professional steaming to get it smelling good :(   I just moved a little table in front of the recliner so no one would sit in it, and proceeded with making pancakes....GREEN for St. Patrick's Day that's coming up next week :)

Thankfully Hailee was feeling much better this morning...tired, but no stomach problems. They all wanted to go outside to finish off their snow fort. Just as we were getting dressed for outside, mom & dad came in.  We all had to go out to see their forts, then mom and I came back inside as Grandpa, Daddy and the 3 kids continued building their fort walls :)

It's a beautiful sunny day today and the snow is melting away....not quick enough for me, but at least it's melting.
  

  
All too soon it was time for the gang to head home. They were going to a friends for supper tonight and had things to get ready. 

That hour we lost over night due to Daylight Savings Time, really made the morning zip by today!  Even though they didn't leave until 12:30, it still seemed "early" LOL!

All in all it was another great sleepover. Hopefully next time Hailee will be able to enjoy it more :)

Grandma Loves You......
xoxoxoxo

Are We Ready?

Hmmmm.....grandpa and grandma are always ready for the grandkids to come over. Everyone should know that by now LOL!

It's been a while since we had a sleepover with Hailee, Hannah and Cade, so today is the day. Their school break started yesterday, so this will be a nice way for them to start their week off :)

They should be here around noon today, so grandpa and I are thinking of ways to keep them busy...hehehe!  A trip to the Dollar Store will definitely be on the agenda...if they want to go.  Quite often when the kids get here, they don't want to go anywhere. We shall see :)

Be back later!

Well, our day didn't go quite as planned :(  Poor Hailee has a stomach bug. Not a fun way to start a week off school.  She was SO tired from not sleeping much last night, and the bug, that she didn't want to do anything.
 

Ahhhhhhhh.........
  

We all went outside to play and build a fort in the backyard, but Hailee eventually wanted to come inside before Hannah, Cade and Grandpa did.  She immediately laid on the couch and didn't move for the rest of the evening...although she did ask for some chicken noodle soup.  She didn't even want to go out for supper!  We knew she was definitely sick when that happened :(
 

Put it right here please grandpa!
 

  Hey, I need more blocks!!

    

Making a Fort is hard work LOL!

  

Grandpa took Hannah and Cade to McD's...a real treat...and then to DQ for dessert.  They brought Hailee a small plain Sundae back with them, and she had no problem eating it....hehehe! 

Hailee slept on the couch for a few hours, and when she woke up she wanted to cuddle on me. Poor thing had a sore belly so I rubbed it for a bit. Then...it happened....she lifted her head (we were face to face) and she vomited. It went everywhere! All over me, my hair and the recliner we were cuddling in LOL!
 
Grandpa picked her up (of course she never got a drop on her LOL) and brought her to the bathroom to wash her face. I on the other hand stripped my clothes off in the kitchen, then quickly grabbed some cleaning supplies, a big plastic bag and lots and lots of paper towels. I scrubbed, squeezed, sprayed every inch on the recliner that got "hit"....finishing off with half a bottle of Febreze.
   
Grandpa took her on our bed and she fell asleep within minutes.  Grandma on the other hand had to have another shower and wash my hair. When I say it was everywhere, it was everywhere LOL!
 
So Hannah and Cade are sleeping in the cabin they wanted me to make for them, grandpa will sleep on the bottom bunk beside them, and Hailee will sleep with me.  Sure hope her tummy doesn't act up any more tonight.  Poor little thing is so tired.
  

What can be more fun than building a cabin??

 

Let's hope tomorrow will be a better day!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo
P.S.  By the way, none of them wanted to go to the Dollar Store.  Hailee said "but grandma, you know if I was feeling good that I'd go." LOL!  All they wanted to do was play in the cabin and outside in the snow!  What more can we ask for? :))

Time Keeps Rolling Along....

Grandma got off lucky this year. I didn't have to make

cupcakes or a cake. Mom made these delicious

chocolate cupcakes that disppeared quickly :)

And rolling, and rolling :)  Today our little granddaughter Hannah turned six years old! Yes, six years old.  Normally this wouldn't seem like a big deal for most people, but having spent the first 18 months of her life in hospitals having test after test, surgery after surgery for some bladder/kidney problems, seeing this little one turn 6 seemed to mark a milestone. Like we've been able to leave her "babyhood" behind and enjoy what's to come.
 

The Birthday Girl with mom & dad :)

HAPPY  6th  BIRTHDAY  HANNAH!

WE  LOVE  YOU!

  



I doubt Hannah will have any idea of how grandma is feeling today. I'm not even sure if anyone else in the family feels this way, but I do :)  It's difficult to explain....but all I know is it feels very good to see a healthy, happy little girl enjoying her big day with so many friends and family around to help enjoy it with her.
 

The Birthday Girl with grandpa and grandma :)

 

The Birthday Girl with Memere & Pepere :)

   

We all went to see The Lorax at the movies, then had a party there with pizza, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, cupcakes, a DQ ice cream cake (which Hannah just loves) and presents....lots and lots of presents.

It was a wonderful day seeing our 'baby girl' take this happy step in her short life. This grandma can sleep well tonight knowing Hannah had a wonderful day, and hopefully a wonderful night....mom and dad have a total of 5 girls sleeping over tonight....hehehe!

Happy Birthday my little Pixie!
Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo