count down

counting down the hours until ALL afternoon pre-school on monday. about 38 'ish i'd say.
cant. wait.

okay this pic makes me laugh so hard, and as i'm writing this i'm reminded of a previous pic of Greta making basically the same face years ago...

classic.

HAPPY PRE-SCHOOL GRETA!!!
** Note** Greta picked this outfit out ENTIRELY by herself. i was quite impressed.
however, i would have gone with a skinny jean instead of the skirt. just sayin:)

not so terrible 2's

***warning- this post is long and picture crazy***

I don't want to jinx it but the past couple months with Mr. Ozzie have been fantastic. He sleeps like the dead, eats everything in site, and overall is beyond stinkin cute. He just turned 2 this week. 2 I say. yikes. time for another? not likely. BUT we did get to have a few festivities for our little guy in spite of us all being sick on our death beds ALL last weekend.

Ozzie has been into nothing but Dinosaurs ever since we took him to the Calgary Zoo to the dino exhibit. He was so excited to see them, and then someone pushed a button and they started to roar. well, that was the end of it, he screamed bloody murder the rest of the time there, and dick literally was running to get him outta there so he'd finally calm down. funny. So then, somehow my kids ended up watching Ice age 3 (dawn of the Dinosaurs) shortly after that, and he was all of the sudden hooked. All he kept saying all day long was "Dido...Roar!" 5 million times. So that is how i decided on a dinosaur theme for his little party.

We went to Nicholas Sheran to swim first cause he loves the little slide there, and then we had snacks and cake with a few friends after. it was really cute, and fun, and ozzie got spoiled big time.

the only swimming pic i got, but he looks so cute and big in this one

the spread+ karen(sorry i HAD to put this one in, made me laugh:)

just eatin'

playing with his glow n' the dark dino, from his cupcake he didn't touch. should have had birthday corn on the cob, THAT he would have eaten:)
Stage left

Stage right

cooper of course, who loved the pepperoni's like no one else:)

i think the icing was a Little bit messy

Present time, and ALL the kids wanted in on it, so cute

Later that day we just hung out, played with toys and such. His actual birthday was the next day, and originally dick was supposed to work all day and then leave for saskatoon, but seeing as people like to cancel dental work lots in september, he had the morning off, so we took the kids to one of Ozzies ( well, actually both of their) favorite places on earth. The Pet Store. It has gotten so bad around here, that every time we get in the car he starts saying "Pet... Pet... Pet..." in hopes that he can subliminal message me into taking them there. it usually works.
He loves seeing all the pets, but i'm pretty sure the puppies and "nemo's" as he calls them are his favorite. then we went for family lunch at moxies, another of his favorites...ok, actually our favorites. but he doesn't care:) And then chilled the rest of the day, played with his super awesome car track and had pasta for dinner which he loves to say so clearly in 2 syllables, "PA, STA"

Frog book with daddy

pound-city

no birthday is complete without dancing in your birthday suit

The best and most awesome things about Ozzie at 2 are:

- his yammering. mostly in-coherent, but staggered with clear words throughout. he even tries some pretty cute sentences like, " mo milk peas mommy" Other favorite words, "Dido"- dinosaur, "Boo-doo"- bottle(which is actually a sippy cup), mommy daddy, ozzie but not greta even though he knows how to say it, ROAR, truck, "wack-you"- thank-you, Pet, Bye house, rock, asleep(followed by snoring sounds)

-his closed eyes cheese grin. love.



- he is so sweet, and gives hugs and kisses and bonks on command without hesitation

- he EATS!!!! i never have to worry about him, he loves almost everything. except rice, which makes dick really upset. but he feels better immediately when I say, Ozzie what do you want for lunch, and his response is "Soup". i swear the soup obsession is hereditary, no lie.

-he loves Greta and will copy basically anything she does, good or bad. they play pretty good together actually

-finally cause this is so long, He is SO sweet at night asking for a million primary songs by name, "rainbows" "try try try" " jesus said" "of God"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BUDDY, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

tidbits

greta today during lunch while dick was putting up curtain rods:

" Daddy, you're the goodest at fixing things in the whole world...

and Mommy, you're the goodest at cleaning.

Ozzie, you're the goodest at sleeping...

and Greta...hmmm....you're the goodest at drinking. Good Job Everyone!"


Ha. love her.

am i really almost 30?

just had my B-day this week. it sort of snuck up on me, like it usually does. but it was weird this year cause i honesly said and heard the words 29 and couldn't believe my ears. WHEN did that happen? like for real?
i remember specific birthdays throughout the years. turning 6 and going to Mcdonalds with my friends(come on, it was a big deal back then). turning 8 and getting baptized the same day as at least 6 other kids. turning 13 and my mom and dad taking me and my friends horseback riding in waterton, turning 20 and spending all day and night working a split shift at Joey Tomatoes. throwing my self a birthday party at 22 and renting an astro jump that all of my roomates slept in. turning 27 and being mass-o preg-o before ozzie was born. and here we are present day. 29.

this birthday was fabulous. it started with a day trip to Waterton with my family. the nice thing about being from a family with only 2 kids is that every time we get together it is a family reunion of sorts. the kids had so much fun just exploring and throwing rocks for hours, and we had an awarding winning picnic with my moms fried chicken and potato salad. seriously, even the deer were jealous.





then on my actual birthday we decided to head to Great Falls and shop and stay the night so we could bring more things back. really, a prefect Birthday for me:) target was heaven and dick took the kids mini golfing so we could get in some mall time and ROSS too. we slept over at the Hilton which was super nice, but we thought breakfast was free and it wasn't so next time, maybe we'll try somewhere else. the kids we super good, and swam and slept like logs. I on the other hand can NEVER sleep in a hotel. especially with my kids in a room with me. one little cough, wiggle, sleep talk, shuffle and i'm awake. i am the worst. next time, ear plugs.

sorry, these are a little blury, flash was off

is this smile getting old yet?

anyways, this year i must say how grateful i am for my life. my family, my faith, my blessings. so very grateful.

Next year, we're gonna PARTY!!!!!!

who knew?

who knew it could be so awesome to live so close to family, and have family come visit at YOUR house for a change? not that i'm surprised i guess, but seriously since we've been in Lethbridge its been a non-stop visiting, playing, family extravaganza. It' is SO nice to have my mom and dad here. I rip over to their house with the kids whenever for a visit, or jump on the air bounce, lots of delish sunday dinners-a- la Jesse, and my mom calls on random nights and says, go out, i'll babysit! Such a Treat!

then we get to be a few blocks from my Brother and his family too! Greta and Ozzie are in cousin heaven, playing with them whenver they get a chance, going to movies, swim dates at dougs, and lots of dressing up in ballet clothes and dancing of course. Kaiya and Jager are so much fun for Greta to play with, and cooper and ozzie will be good friends in no time i'm sure.

ozzie spends most days in this 50 cent teeny, tiny, pool

the kids loved the double slip n'slide

Then, we got a last minute phone call from our Sister n'law Jessica saying that her and all the kids we're here for a family reunion in Cardston, and they wanted to come play and sleepover! So exciting! Too bad Len couldn't make it, but we had as much fun as we possibly could in less than 24 hours, staying up late watching movies and eating popcorn, playing in the fort, playing barbies and petshops and everything girl, while ozzie and Landon sent cars down the spiral ramp for hours on end. Then they were able to come to our ward, and even jump on the tramp for a bit. Cant wait till they can come and stay longer!

the kids (minus Ozzie who was napping)

Greta could not believe the "big girls" knew how to do a pyramid:)

the unison "jump"

Anyways, summer has been great so far, and we love living close to family and having visitors whenever, so come over!

hair cut

BEFORE

finally broke down and took greta to the salon for a major chop last week. both of us were extremely sick of the stringy, tangly, mop she had grown. she was in big girl heaven, and sat as still as a statue, i couldn't believe it! except for when she saw all of her hair in a big pile on the floor, she started laughing hysterically. then Kristy asked if she wanted it curled and her eyes got so big and excited! it was such a fun little mommy daughter date, i cant seem to get enough of her these days!

during

AFTER

So cute, love this little muffin! oh and as a prize for sitting so still and good she got to pick out her own OPI nail polish. when i asked her what color she wanted she said, " Umm, pink sparkles of course."

PARTAY!!!

It's been awhile since i posted on here, and i really wanted to write about my little Greta turning 4 this past month. I remember when dick got into school thinking wow, Greta will be 4 when he is done, and so big and grown up. I CANT believe that day has already come and gone. Gretas B-day is May 12th, and since we were leaving to AZ on the 13th we had a few friends and family over for a little b-day celebration at the new pad. It was a little cold, but we were still able to hang out on out super fabulous new deck( one of my fave parts of the house)
Greta was excited all day, and since we were giving her(and oz technically) a trampoline for her b-day we had to keep the blinds shut all morning while dick slaved over putting together the new tramp. Just before everyone came over i said, " Greta do you want to open a birthday surprise?" of course she did, and i said, what do you think it is? she replied, "A Puppy? i really hope its a puppy." well....not quite but she was super excited none the less.


The killer part about the whole day, was Greta kept asking "when are my friends getting here?, Like Halle, Clara, Elias, Jost" ....it was a killer. Explaining our missing besties was super sad for me, especially over and over again. But she was so excited to finally get to have her cousins and Auntie and Uncle there for once, and some of her good friends too.



WE had yummy food, and a puppy cake and "pupcakes" as Greta calls them because since we moved Greta has been pretending to be a dog pretty much EVERY day. she only answers me in barks, and even though it gets super annoying, i thought it was an appropriate b-day theme.( i guess we should have got her a puppy, would have been perfect:)





Greta got 3 new barbies/doll that she LOVES, a new movie, and adorable jewlery chest, and a super fun Dr. Seuss game. Oh and also a tinkerbell lantern/ doll from G-ma and G-pa. She was in HEAVEN. I'm slowly letting her open presents to spread out the excitement over time, but i love hearing her play pretend with her barbies, prally the funniest thing ever.

she strategically held all the presents in front of her face

All in all it was a great day, and it was so nice to have a little normalcy around the house amidst all the travelling and moving etc.

Greta you are the best 4 year old in in the World! You constantly amaze me with your intelligence and sensitivity to the spirit and things that are meaningful. You can be a stinker too, you love to drag out bedtime as long as possible, and get pretty sensitive when boys start being rough around you, or teasing you. You've also recently started walking with a little hip action and posing with your hand on your hip which is pretty stinkin cute.
You have the best laugh ever, and i could listen to it all day. You love reading stories on the ipod with daddy, and you say the sweetest prayers, and you always bless everyone in our family to be "safe and fine and lovely."
You are a very good big sister, you generally share all the time with Ozzie and always try to make him laugh when he's sad, and it always works. You also always remember and remind me that everything we have and around us Heavenly father made, and you give the best morning, mid-day and bed time hugs! We Love you so much sweetie, Happy Birthday!!!!!!!