THANKS.

I just wanted to take a moment and say

Thank You ...

to the Cabin.

It is always there for us whenever we need a little get-a-way.

And this year it was our Thanksgiving destination.

It is small and quiet

with no phones or computers or internet-

thus, the niceness of it!

We enjoyed making and eating our Thanksgiving meal together,

then assembling a puzzle and watching a kid favorite- Home Alone.

(Where we discovered a striking resemblance between Kevin

and one of our own in both appearance and behaviour.)

But back to the Cabin.  It is so nice to just to step away from it all

for just a few days or a weekend and escape to you.

You are typically cold in the beginning (especially during winter)

but you warm up quite nicely.

So Thank you Cabin.

Thanks for the care-free, relaxing times.

Thanks for the fun memories.

Thanks for your simplicity.

And also thanks for the break post-Christmas

where I left my messy, messy home in the suburbs

to be with you and my family, and the cousins with no worries.

In. A. Week.

Every year since, my second son was born, the end of October and beginning of November have been a very fun but FULL week for me.  So in a week this is what happens.

Jayson's Birthday.
Halloween.
Tyler's Birthday.

And it would probably be fine if it were just those three, but there is always more going on.  Friend parties (not every year), family parties, halloween parties, here and at school.  It has always been a week that wipes me out and so it has been a challenge for me, but as I type that I feel like I wouldn't change it, if I could.  So here we go!

Jayson.

Yes, we still do" heavy, heavy hangover" at our house (it is a Dean thing).  This year Jays received a lot of money for gifts, which he later spent the majority on DR. WHO memorabilia because well he is a FAN.  He also requested a TARDIS cake, so I did my best.  He didn't have a friend party this year but I still owe him a day at the movies with a friend.  He has changed a lot over the past year.  He now wears shoes larger than his Father and is taller than me and quickly gaining on his older Brother (they are just 2 inches apart).


Halloween.

Who are these two monkeys!

Halloween was thankfully a low-key day because all the HALLOWEEN activities had been done earlier in the week/month.  So after eating some mummy pizzas, we got all dressed up and one by one the kids took off to be with their friends so we didn't get a group picture.

We have Dr. Who (the Tenth Doctor).

A Ninja.

Batman.

And Snow White.

We also took a few pics with the PUMPKINS they carved and then it was time for TRICK-OR-TREATING!

Tyler.

 

 

The Lego was created by his youngest brother as a surprise.   This young man is pretty simple.  I made him choc chip cookie-oreo brownies for his birthday served with his fav ice cream, mint choc chip.  He also received a bit of money but is saving it for something special.  He really wanted to get his license on his birthday but had to wait two days longer because the DLD is not open on weekends.  He spent his special day with a good friend hanging out at Boondocks.  He too has changed quite a bit these last few years, of course he is taller than me and about the same height as his dad.  He grew out his hair and now it curls and waves every which way.  And he is looking forward to getting a job to earn a little money for a car and a phone.

I feel so blessed to be able to celebrate these two young men in my life but I also fear that if I blink they will be gone having new adventures in their lives, not under my roof and that makes me sad.

In The Last Last Few Weeks

We met the newest member of the Dean clan.

The new favorite baby cousin.

 

Just look at those smiles.  She keeps asking me where we can get a baby and put in my stomach so that she can have a little sister.

 Attended our first soccer tournament of the season and the outcome was a hard fought 1st place finish in the Glory Tournament.  What a great accomplishment for Mr. P and his team.

 

Celebrated a Birthday-

 Fancy Style with 7 little girlfriends and a few involved brothers.

 

 And played with sparklers to celebrate the 24th.

Our Fourth of July

Began with our family going to our Neighborhood Parade and Breakfast.  Where these two were so excited to decorate their bikes for said event.

We then journeyed to HOT St. George to do some more celebrating with extended family.  The day ended by meeting up with family at the park to watch the BIG fireworks.

But the weekend was full of family fun.  We spent many hours in the pool at my Mum's complex.  We went to the theaters to watch Dispicable Me 2 then took the family out to a restaurant for dinner (something that was a special treat because we rarely do that).  Then there was a endless display of store bought fireworks outside my Brother's house.

Saturday we were in the water pretty much the whole day.  We went to the river where we sent up camp and my brother taught us how to skim board.  The older boys really enjoyed it but I didn't do so well at it.  Even the little kids even got in on the action.

 

 

 

 

 Mostly it was a lot of this,

 and this,

 and this,

they even caught a dead fish.  Yuck!!

After the River we went back to my Mum's for a BBQ and more swimming.  A Wonderful Weekend, even in the hot, hot weather.

March

It has been a while-
and although I paused in my postings
life has been plenty busy all around me.

So this is me playing catch-up.

In March...

 

We visited Dad at his place of employment.  It was Spring Break so all the kids were out of school.

 

 

We celebrated a birthday with a Pirate Party and I was lucky enough to find the cutest pirate in all the world.

 

 

 

We also celebrated Easter with an Easter Hunt at grandma and grandpa's on Saturday and church on Sunday.