Sunday, August 19, 2012

Our Adventure to P.E.I.


We started our adventure with a six hour drive to Old Quebec City.  If you haven't been, you definitely should.  This was our second time there, but first with kids.  A completely different experience!

It was fun being back, hitting some of our favourite places including the Crepe place for breakfast, and the Funnicular ride.

The boys had fun exploring all the little shops and the balloon artist, and our horse drawn carriage ride.  The enjoyed the ride for a different reason than us, they wanted to ask all about the horse, whether the horse had friends, who were the friends, where did they sleep, etc.  We enjoyed learning the history of this old town.  
We spent two nights and they we hit the road for another 10 hours to arrive in Prince Edward Island, one of the most beautiful places I've seen.

My favourite things about P.E.I. 

Griffin Building sand castles

The boys loving everything about their vacation

Lobster

Cavendish beach and the red sand

The sunsets

Everything Anne of Green Gables

Raspberry Cordial

Playing race games with Anne


The boys loving Anne of Green Gables

Costume time!
COWS ice cream, my favourite FAVOURITE!

Griffin meeting Matthew whom he just adored

Family vacations are such a treat, the memories made, the time spent together, and sharing new experiences with our kids.

My favourite day was the day we went into Charlottetown to see the Anne of Green Gables musical.  My fingers were crossed that the boys would like it, not only did they like it but they loved it!  The laughed and sang along, and cried when Matthew died, and when we left they asked if we could come back tomorrow to watch it again.  This was my favourite memory, sharing one of my favourite stories with them, and having them share the love of theatre.


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Pizza Puffs, Peach Cobbler, and Pasta Salad

Last night we had friends over for dinner, so I decided to try a few new items.
To start off, I made these Pepperoni Pizza Puffs.  They were easy to make, tasted delicious and were a big hit with all. For step by step directions (and better pictures) go here:  Pizza Puffs

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
Adapted from Everyday

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 375o. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 Tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining1 Tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping

 Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad
Click here for the recipe: Pasta Salad

And for dessert



Marble Race

Yesterday, the boys were excited to spend sometime with their friends next door. 

They had been playing with marbles, so we decided to make a race track for them as seen on Pinterest.

We used one of our pool noodles, and cut in half lengthwise.

The pool noodle was a little curvy so I took the hot glue gun to keep the two halves together and straight.

Next, the kids made a start and finish sign using paper and straws and just stuck the straws into the pool noodle.  

Once we were done, the kids lined up their marbles and the races began!

The kids had a blast, and the whole project took about 10 minutes to create.





Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Pinterest Pin Ups

Pinterest Pin Ups of the Week
1/ Hair Braid- I love this hair braid.  I also love that this pin up shows you how to do the braid.  I can't wait to give it a try.  I will let you know how it goes.
You can check it out here: Braid

2/ Caught being Good.  This is a great way to praise your children for good behaviour instead of nagging about the bad behaviour.  I often check myself pointing out what is being done wrong, and this is going to be a great way to reward my boys for all the good things they do.  Each time I catch them doing something good, I am going to give them a ticket to put in the bowl for a chance to win a reward.  I have been thinking about different ideas including; lunch out with mom or dad, pick a new book, stay up 10 minutes late, etc.
You can read more here:  Caught you being good!

3/ Teacher Voice T-Shirt- love this!  I can't tell you how many times I have heard my husband tell people to watch out for the teacher voice.  This t-shirt says it for me!
Buy one here:  teacher voice t-shirt

4/ Marble Race for the boys- fun activity!  My boys have been playing with their marbles lately, and this is the perfect activity to keep them busy.  
For instructions, visit here:  marble race

Favourite Book of the Summer so far.....


Not only has this been my favourite book of the summer thus far, but also my favourite book by this author.  It is a story about three families from Nantucket that all deal with a tragic accident that takes place at the beginning of summer.

If you are looking for a good book, I suggest this one!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Birthday Celebration

 Last night I celebrated my oldest lifetime friends' birthday.  Lisa and I met in kindergarten, shared many of the same classes together at school, shared in each other's weddings, and continue in the journey of mothering all boys together.



I was more than happy to celebrate Lisa's birthday with her and her family.  While they are here at their cottage visiting, it was great to have them come in for a swim and dinner.


Check out the picture of all of our boys!  Oh Boy!

Beach Buds!

 As crazy as this sounds, the very next morning after returning from our vacation we headed to the beach with our friends, Monika, Alexander and Christopher.  It was the perfect beach day.  Waves!  


 These four have spent most of the summer together either at our pool, their pool or at the beach.  All four of them have a lot of fun together.  They are all so close in age and love to play together.


 My boys loved playing in the waves with the boogie board.
On the hunt for treasure.  These four spend a lot of time searching for feathers, shells and anything they would consider treasure!