fun things

I love Crafting!!  If you can't tell!  And I love Vinyl Lettering.  If I lived in my own house I would put it straight onto the walls but since I rent I make signs!  I also need help being organized.  So I make charts.  I just thought I would do a little blog on the signs and charts I have made.  I get my vinyl from here. Anyway here are some signs that I have made.

Personal Progress Chart

In our church we have a youth program for 12 to 18 yearolds. For the girls we have something called Personal Progress.  It is a program that helps the girls make goals and complete them. To encourage the girls we have decided to do a leaders vs. girls. So I made a chart to show our progression. 

Now you can't tell by the pictures but it covers the wall in the YW room. The Circles are about 8" and the little circles around the edges (for the goals)  are 1 1/4" and the little bigger circles (for the projects) in the middle are 2".

  I got vinyl lettering from Just Stick 'em. She is fabulous. I told her what I wanted and she made to suit! I love working with her. 

Now this isn't to monitor individual progress, it is to see how the Young Women and leaders are doing as a whole. I loved how it turned out but I have to say it looks so much better in person!

Troble with Twins

I got an email from Today's parent today and of course had to read the article about Twins... Here is what it said..

"I really don’t like to complain about the stress of being a parent. I am a “the glass is half full” kind of gal to begin with, and I also recognize how fortunate I am to have children. And I feel a bit Scrooge-like for making birthday parties the subject of my rant. However, (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?), last weekend was my twins’ birthday, and I find planning their party even more challenging than my other two kids’. Basically, I feel like it is my duty to try to make up for the fact that Wyatt and Theo were born on the same day. Here’s why I think they get ripped off:

• They have to share their special day. Yes, sharing is a lesson all kids need to learn, but not getting your very own day once a year seems unfair.
• They have to watch someone else get presents, too. When you are opening gifts beside someone the same age as you, it’s hard not to like what you see. I spend a lot of time picking presents for each kid based on their individual likes and interests, but at least one of them — if not both — end want something the other one receives. To combat this, we could give them each the same thing, but this defeats the whole “they are two different people” theme I am committed to.
• There is nothing left to give them. Their birthday is January 11^th. Perhaps other parents of January babies can relate: I am a bit overwhelmed by the gluttony of the holidays, and quite frankly have to try very hard to muster up the wherewithal to shop for more presents.
• There’s too much cake. We always have two cakes, not just because one likes chocolate and the other likes vanilla but because, again, it’s important to recognize they are individuals. We sing "Happy Birthday" (in English and French) to each kid. That means singing it four times. (It’s a surprisingly long song!) A few days later, I end up throwing out a shocking amount of stale cake. I really hate to waste food and money. (Yes, I know, cupcakes would be more economical, however, they just don’t feel the same.)

I would love to hear from anyone who can relate. Do you have twins? Do you have a child born in January? (Or between December 26^th and 31^st? I can’t image how hard that must be, too!) Did you give birth on your birthday? Do you have any suggestions? Let me know. I have a year to plan for their 8^th birthday party. I know I can do better."

I decided that I needed to reply.. I understand her plight about keeping them individual, I hate it when people call them "The twins"...I never dress them the same and I don't expect them to be the same person or like the same things... But, they are twins. They are boys. Most 7 year old boys have similar interests. So I wrote a response.


"My twin boys birthdays are on December 3rd.  They just turned 7.  I also have 2 girls who are in May one week apart from each other... When I was growing up there were 6 of us kids, too many to have birthday parties all the time... So I have taken up the tradition of my Mother that we only have birthday parties on certain years (3,6,8,12,16). We always celebrate birthdays with dinner and cake (only one cake thank you very much. I try to accommodate their likes and dislikes but usually I make an ice cream cake and who doesn't like ice cream cake!) and then on their non party years we go swimming or skating or whatever the kid/s want to do. We very often invite some friends along.  On birthday years I tell them they can have as many friends as their age so when they were six they had six friends... etc. and it was easy  because my twins had the same friends... I mostly have their party years at home and it works out fine for us.  They pick the theme and I do the rest. My boys so far have enjoyed being special, they get to share their birthday with each other! As they get older they might not want to do the same things, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I know it would be a lot harder if they were not both boys but so far they enjoy the same things, even being individual, but what I have seen at school all the boys seem to like the same thing so it is not just because they are twins. So don't feel guilty about sometimes having them wanting the same thing or getting the same thing, just let them be themselves, even if sometimes they want to be the alike."

It's Christmas time!

I can't believe it is only 2 weeks until Christmas!  Although according to my candy cane advent calendar there is only 5 days! Haha!  I thought I would share my Christmas card that we made this year.  Usually I make Christmas cards with paper and ink.  This year as I was looking online for ideas I saw a company that did photo Christmas cards.  They were $.69 each.  So since I have 50 cards at least to send out I decided that we could do it better.  So Scott had taken some family pictures this year and we used the one of the kids. He took it into photoshop and manipulated it to what I wanted. Then I took over and added the text and embellishments.  It was great to work together on this project. I think they turned out fantastic!

Then I always have trouble coming up with a Christmas letter.  I can't just write a letter so I have to really think about what I should do.  This year I decided to use the Grinch who stole Christmas as my template and came up with this.

Every child down in Burnaby liked Christmas a lot…

But the Grinch, who lived in North Burnaby, did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas Season.

Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

So on Christmas Eve he paced back and forth.

 Complaining, muttering and deciding his course.

Then he got an idea. An awful idea.

The Grinch got a wonderful awful idea!

He laughed to himself as he began his great trick,

Of making himself look just like Saint Nick!

He collected his bags and his reindeer- dog Max,

And began his decent to the Burbanks complex.

He snuck in the door and looked from his left to his right,

 When a girl named Ava turned on the hall light.

She looked at the Grinch and wasn’t fooled one bit.

 She knew his story so she asked him to sit.

She looked at him, with her soft thoughtful eyes,

And started to tell him her thoughts with a sigh.

“Now,” she began, “Dallin and Alex are seven.

Believe me when I say living with them is not heaven.””

““But, they have worked hard to be good this year,

They are in grade one and never show fear.”

“Their teacher’s impressed because she knows they like fun,

But they do sit until their work is all done.”

“I know they were good when they went to Disney World,

And to the beach where they rode waves as they curled.”

“Deneile and I stayed home”, she pointed out.

“But we had gone before so we did not pout.”

“Grandma Bachelder came to take care of us;

We had so much fun there was no need to fuss.”

“”Grandma took us to ballet and piano too;

Deneile had her cross country run, Oh so much to do!”

“Deneile is so grown she’s already ten;

She’s baking and sewing every now and then.”

“Did you know that I turned eight!

And with that came a very special date.” 

“I got baptized, a special gift you see,

So I can have the spirit always here with me.”

Ava’ tilted her head as she pondered some more

And then she went on as the Grinch eyed the door.

“Mom is so busy all through the year

Running us there and running us here.

“She also has her volunteer work;

She goes every week to help the Youth of the Church.”

“”Now Dad””, she said, ““has also I fear

Been a very busy guy all of this year.”

“He works all day long making shows for TV

And this year he filmed a commercial with me!””

“Dad went from contractor to employee now!

We are very excited I am sure you see how.”

“He is busy at church, being executive sec.

To help the bishop so he’s not a wreck!””

“So why mister Grinch would you want to do this? 
I really think that something’s amiss.”

The Grinch hung his head and began to cry.

“I am just so lonely and that’s really why.”

 Ava gave him a hug and told him to stay

And share in their Christmas the proper way.

“When you know about Christmas and the reason we sing,

Christmas will be a whole different thing.”

“The Spirit of Christmas can be wherever you roam,

And then you will never again feel alone.”

And what happened then?

Well...The children all say

That the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.

And the minute his heart didn’t feel quite so tight.

 He was happy and full of Christmas time light.

He smiled at Ava not sad in the least.

And He himself... Carved the roast beast.

Merry Christmas

From the Burbanks!

Birthdays!

 I can't believe that my babies are seven!! All I have to say is when did this happen? Was it really seven years ago I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to do this.  Was it really seven years ago I had a 3 1/2 year olde 18month year old and 2 babies.  I know I don't remember most of those first few years but I am still surprised that it seems to have gone so fast.

I am very grateful for these boys.  They keep me on my toes, and they are definitely helping me learn patience. I am learning that consistency is so very important and so very hard to do!  I am so glad that they are in our family!

I was not feeling well on their birthday so I did not make the cake! Thank heaven for DQ!

We only have parties on the 8th, 12th and 16th birthdays so this was not their birthday year, but, we did invite a few families to go skating at the family skate!  It was a lot of fun and we had hot chocolate after in a room I booked for the occasion!  Dallin and Alex did amazing skating since this was there 3rd time ever skating and the other two were in preschool!  Alex fell quite often trying to go faster than he was capable so he was feeling a little sore on the hips that night and decided that he didn't want to go skating for their next birthday...

Well my boys, I am so happy that we had a good time and that you are in my family!

Love You Always!

Florida Beach

With a successful, but busy Disney World trip we decided that we should go and enjoy the Florida beach! We went to Cocoa Beach, you know where Major Nelson and Jeanie live from "I Dream of Jeanie". We actually stayed in a motel right next door to

The sand was amazing! It was so soft it squeaked!



The first day the sand was too soft to build anything, but it rained in the night and made the sand perfect for sculpting!


Although make sure you put sunscreen on or you will be so burnt you won't even be able to move your arms!!

My sister bought 2 body boards for the kids to play with while we were there. It was cheaper to buy one then to rent one. She then passed it on to another family who were staying there..
It was really great to be able to relax and play after the crazy busyness of Disney World!

Making Costumes

This year Dallin wanted to be a Jedi. Well I couldn't find a Jedi costume. So I looked on line and found this website. It gave instructions on how they made their costumes. I followed it but since my boys want to decorate their room in Star wars I thought I would make the Jedi robe out of fleece so he could keep it as a bathrobe later. I was going to make it out of terry cloth but there was no brown and it was $30 to $60 a meter so I decided I didn't need a bathrobe for $60!! Crazy right! I couldn't believe the cost. Anyway here is the result!!

Dallin's getting ready to fight!

Ava said, "Why don't you smile?"
Dallin said, "Because Jedi's don't smile."

With the hood down.

Well that is my first project for Halloween over. Next Ava's which costume!!

Disney world!!

In 2008 Scott and I took the girls to Disney World. There were a few reasons we decided to take just the 2 of them. 1. I was dumb, and bought something that was an "amazing deal" from the phone and it only gave me a year and a half to save. 2. The boys were only 3 years old so I decided that I was not up to taking four little children. I had friends who thought I was not so great for not taking all the kids... but I was fine with that. I don't mind splitting the kids up to go to Disney. Well for the last few years we have been saving and we have finally taken the boys to Disney World. I don't know if they were too excited it. I have decided that if you want to take the kids to Disney wait until they are asking or even showing some slight interest. When we told the boys that they were going to go to Disney World they were fine with it... Not overly excited by any means. Well Deneile says, "While you go to Disney World do we get to go to our cousins in Vernon?" That is when Alex perked up and said, "I want to go to Vernon instead." WHAT!! Deneile was happy to take his place but he decided to go to Disney instead... They got more excited as the weeks went by. Counting down the days.

Alex was a little nervous about the flight. He has the idea that he has motion sickness so when we got on each of our flights (2 there, 2 home again) he had to check the pocket for a throw up bag and have the corner sticking out of the pocket for easy access. He thankfully never had to use it, and I don't think that there was even a twinge, but he made sure that it was ready and available! The flight was pretty good. They did really well. I had brought crayons and colouring books, puzzles,DS's, homework book and lots and lots of snacks. On the first flight there were some TV's up on the roof but they couldn't see them very well so they did the homework books for a little while and then played DS etc. Alex was starting to feel a little antsy and when he found out about the bathroom he went about 6 times in the last couple of hours. I think he just needed to get up and walk around and the only time he could do it was going to the bathroom.

They finally did fall asleep.

When we finally got to Disney they wanted to make sure that we did everything the girls did. Every ride we went on at first they would say, "Did Deneile and Ava go on this one?" "Did Denelie and Ava like this one?" "Were Deneile and Ava scared of this one?" But once we got through those first few they started to relax and just enjoy the rides.




Tom Sayers Island where the boys could just run! Tunnels to explore and a fort to play in!


They didn't want to do a few of the rides. Now before you think we are horrible parents, these rides are made for little kids... so when we told them they had to at least try every ride, we weren't making them go on these crazy rides or anything. Nothing goes upside down and most are floating down a river and watching the sights. The thing I like about Disney is that everything is designed for kids. Even most of the line ups have things to see and do while you are waiting. It is really a great place. Now we went the first week of October so the crowds were decreased quite a bit from a summer trip I would assume so a lot of the rides we just kept walking for whole line. Even if they were a 20 or 30 minute line you kept moving the whole time. Now we didn't have to enforce the "You have to try ever ride" rule except for a couple of times.


For example... Mt. Everest. It is a roller coaster that never goes upside down but it does go fast. Well the girls didn't like this ride so the boys went thinking that they would not want to go on this ride. Well I could not convince them to go on... so I told them that we needed to get into the line for ice cream... I did not lie!! We walked into the line and as we are walking around and around Alex looks at me and says, "This is not the line for ice cream!" I told him it was and as soon as we came through on the other side we would get some. Well we did get it and so therefor I did not lie! I know I am justifying it. But there were a few times we didn't even enforce it, for example Space Mountain and Tower of Terror. Even ice cream wouldn't have been worth making them go on those rides so I was fine to let them be.

My sister and her family came at the same time and that was nice. We didn't spend the whole time together. We went to Magic Kingdom on Saturday and they didn't want to go that day so they went to a different kingdom. But 3 out of the 5 days we were together and it was good. My sister and her husband are too hot on making you sick rides so it was good for us. We took their one daughter who wanted to go on those kinds of rides and they took our boys who didn't to something else at the same time. We did have a good time! We tired our kids out so they were falling asleep on the way home and got up bright and early to start over!



On Sunday we all did the Disney Hollywood Studios.



It was fun. A lot of shows and not too many actual rides. I mean there are rides there but not a lot like at the magic kingdom. There were stunt shows that the kids loved. At the Indiana Jones stunt show they told us how they made us think that they were punching and kicking each other. After the show the boys had to try that out of course. The thing I regret the most at this kingdom was that we didn't realize that we had to go really early to sign up the boys to do the Jedi training session.


We watched and the whole time they just really wanted to be up there. So if you ever go and your boys like Jedi's and won't be scared to actually fight Darth Vader, then walk in the park and ask someone where to go to sign up for the training. It might be later in the day but it will be worth it! They were really disappointed. But they got over it and we went on the Star Tours ride twice and they were happy. And really they probably don't even think about it any more... It is just me! Parents are so funny...




Of course we had to see McQueen and Mater

Buzz and Woody

And the Green army men.

On Monday we went to Animal Kingdom.

I love this kingdom. This is where the Mt Everest ride is and to tell you the truth, bribing with ice cream is just a win win situation because you will want it too!!

It was really hot!

There is a safari ride that you climb into a truck and they drive you around and you see all the animals. There are no cages, you drive right by the hippos and the rhinos, lions, cheetahs, giraffes. Everything right there, it looks like their natural environment and it is neat to see them like that. Disney never falls short when making things feel real and amazing! There are a few live performances in this kingdom. The Finding Nemo, which I loved!! It is all puppets and singing but they walk through the audience the puppets are absolutely amazing! Then there is the Lion King show... I loved it. A lot of singing and dancing. They asked Dallin and Alex to get up and dance with them but they wouldn't do it. Too shy. But it was really amazing.

The kids weren't so hot on the 3D show about bugs. It was a little to scary for them... The glasses were cool though.

All in all I really liked this Kingdom!

On Tuesday we went to Epcot.

I liked this one, it was pretty good but we missed a lot in it. I think that this kingdom was the most adult oriented. The front part was more for kids, and a lot of it is like a science world.


There are a few rides and one of the boys favorite, Test Track, was here.

There was a Nemo part here where you could talk with Crush...

And where Bruce fell of the wagon!

In the back half of the park is the World Showcase Lagoon.


It was neat but we only got halfway around so a lot of the things I wanted to see we missed.

I love the buildings!

Alex in Italy

Although I don't know what was there, but I have always wanted to go to England and see what it was like there...



Wednesday we went back to Magic Kingdom with my sister and her family this time.

Even bars can't hold them!

It was fun to go with my sisters family, although I worry that since we went there on Saturday we might have been pushing them along at a quicker speed then they might have wanted to go. But I enjoyed being there with them. At one point we were standing in line and Alex looks at me and says, "I am so excited about tomorrow!!" "Oh how come?" "Then I can have a play date with Jacob!" "Alex, we are at Disney World having a play date with Jacob." "I want to go to his hotel!" Good grief, what was the point really of spending all this money when really they seemed just as happy to go to Jacobs hotel and play DS together! Ah well. I had a great time and I am sure they will remember it as well.

And after all that I am still smiling!!