Christmas Morning ...

December 25, 2016

Early Christmas morning ... coffee was brewing in the kitchen ...

 while the grandchildren were waiting up in their bedroom ... 

for the sign that they could run down and see what Santa had brought them ...

They couldn't wait to check out their stockings ...

the adults (still a little sleepy) ...  were seated on the couch ... 

and excited to watch them ...  as they checked out every item that they found ...

They were also delighted to recieve Nerf guns from a special Santa ...

the war would start after all the gifts were opened ...

and I know that grandpa and daddy will be taking turns ... at taking shots ...

After the stockings were emptied ... all their little gifts were put into a box ... 

to keep everything separated ...

Nathan was the elected Santa ... wearing the official Santa hat ...

to hand out the gifts from under the tree ...

 

 

The first gifts to be opened were from Daigen ... Nixon ... Uncle Ian and Aunt Kendall ...

Craig received a model of a 55 Ford F100 Street Rod ... James received a Heli Ball which hovered above his hand ... and a small wireless speaker ...

Ella received a few Shopkins sets ... 

The grandchildren continued to open gifts and were so excited and thankful ... 

with each and everyone of them ...

Cards and money from Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave ...

as well as Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob ...

 

 

Ella loved her new pink bathrobe and her own fuzzy blanket ... and hot pink bean bag chair ...

Craig received a Model kit with paint ... brushes ... glue for him to build his models ... and his most precious was his Remote  Control Car ...

James was  over the moon excited to receive his Drone and the Xbox NHL 2017 game ...

 

 

Daddy received lots of hugs and kisses ... 

it was wonderful to see how thankful they were for all their gifts ...

We had given Nathan a mirror for the house ...

 

Even though Mike was not feeling well ...

he would not miss watching the children open their gifts on Christmas morning ...

Mike did open his gifts ...

receiving a new quilted flannel jacket for working ...

Mike was not quite sure on what the gift I had gotten him was ...

he sure had a puzzled look ...

He received a Lund BedXtender for his truck ... 

to keep items from sliding to the from of the box or to extend the length of the box ...

when the tailgate is down ...

Santa also brought him a  new weather station for the house ...

It was a beautiful morning with our family and friends ...

 opening all of our gifts ... and sharing special moments ...

Daigen's First Day of School ...

September 7, 2016

Daigen's first day attending his new school ...

It's wonderful to see Daigen so happy ... we're so excited for him ...

We know how much he enjoys going to school ...

having fun and learning ...

 

Nixon was happy to stay home with daddy ...

Ian was working from home today ...

and 

Nixon was able to continue building playing with his Lego ...

 

 

Waiting For Oma ...

September 4, 2016

Mike ... Nathan and the kids were needing a break ...

It was time to jump in the pool and play ...

Ella wanted to show everyone how she could swim with her Mermaid Tail ...

After a while of swimming ...

they all jump into the hut tub to relax ...

and waiting for Oma & Joe to arrive for dinner ... 

Finally Oma and Joe made it ... Oma's request for dinner was BBQ'd steak ...

and all the fixings ...

I can tell you that no one else minded either ...

 

Another surprise for Ella ... 

Oma & Joe brought a DQ ice cream cake for her Birthday ...

Ella was also thrilled to receive some cash in her card ...

She's one lucky little girl ...

 

After spending time with Oma & Joe ... before they left for home ...

The kids wanted to have a fire in the fire pit ...

and roast some marshmallows ...

I couldn't believe that they still had any room in their tummies for more food ...!!!

  September 5, 2016

Craig had found Nathan's old battery operated toy truck with many wheels...

this crawler truck would go up and down stairs ...

and as you can see ...

it even drove over Ella ...

Nathan was enjoying having a turn playing with it ...

While Nathan and the kids were getting ready to head back home ... after a busy fun weekend ...

I was out on the back deck ...

gathering all the swimming gear ... when I approached the Mermaid Tail ...

a beautiful dragonfly was resting on it ...

Of course ... it was a perfect photo opportunity for me ... 

the kids eventually came to see the dragonfly ...

We had a great ... busy weekend ... !!!

Mike and I were so ready to sit back and relax now ...

 

 

 

An Early Birthday Surprise ...

September 2, 2016

The Knight family finally arrived ...

they were so excited ... because the boys knew we were going to celebrate ...

Ella's birthday early ...

After lighting 9 candles and singing "Happy Birthday"

it was time to open her gifts ...

Ella was so excited ... she was wishing for a Mermaid Tail ...

and was totally surprised when she opened up the package ...

Ella couldn't wait to try it on ...

she really wanted to go out and jump in the pool ...

but it was almost 10:00 and the nights were getting cool ...

so it was decided that she would go swimming in the morning ...

Grandpa was busy stoking the wood furnace to heat up the pool water ...

The boys couldn't wait to show their friend Mason ...

their Great-great Grandfather's mechanical toy ...

of the bartender shaking up a Martini ...

taking a sip of it ...

and then watching his face turn red ...

while smoke was coming out of his ears ... as the drink was too strong for him ...

The kids watched him over and over again ...

and then finally made their way out to the shop ...

but not before everyone had some Birthday cake ... !!!

 

Dagmar

The Boy's Birthday ...

September 1, 2016

A special birthday for the boys ... Daniel and Timothy ...

these Cabbage Patch dolls ...

were "born" on September 1, 1986 ...

It's wonderful to see the grandchildren play with them ...

knowing they were their dad's toys ...

Mike helped in the kitchen today ...

with filleting the Kokanee ...

We loved the last batch of smoked fish ... so we decided to make more ...

Once the fish were filleted ...

they were put into the brine ... then placed in the refrigerator for 8 hours ...

While the fish were marinating ...

there was time to work with the Huckleberries ...

and make a batch of Huckleberry jam ...

The Kokanee were finished marinating in the brine ...

It was around 11:00 pm ... the fish were drained ... patted dry ...

and placed on the racks to set overnight in the refrigerator ...

They would be ready first thing in the morning ...

to be placed in the smoker ...

It was a productive day with all the jobs accomplished today ...

 

Garden Time ...

July 9, 2016

The morning was spent in the garden ...

gathering the broccoli ... peas... cauliflower ... Kohlrabi ...

a few potatoes and carrots ...

The kids taking time out for some lunch ...

then back into the pool ... swimming around with their snorkels ...

Ella helped out with hanging up the towels ...

while I was busy in the kitchen ...

There were afternoon showers ... with a beautiful rainbow over the field ...

we headed back down to the garden ...

to pick fresh raspberries ... lettuce and peas ...

perfect for our evening meal ...

The vegetables were prepared and vacuumed sealed ... ready for the freezer ...

then it was time to get dinner prepared ...

the kids were starving ...

Craig finally made it back to the house ...

from his canoeing trip ...

and James and Ella went up to Marysville for the night ...

Craig was determined to check out the box ...

that had been stored in the white shed out back ...

These little toys had been tucked away for years ...

Craig spent a few hours going thru them all ...

tossing out the broken ones ...

then hauling the good ones downstairs to be washed and disinfected ...

He was amazed at what their dad and Uncle Ian collected ...

most of them were from the Happy Meals from McDonald's ...

 

It was nice to spend the evening with Craig ...

 

 

Houston Valentine's Day ...

Ian sent these picture of the boys and said ...

"This is how we do valentines day😍"

The boys were so excited ... Hot Wheels Track ... balloons and a huge chocolate Kiss ...

We also had a great visit on FaceTime with the family ...

catching up on what's happening in their world ...

Daddy setting up the track and playing with the boys ...

then out to the pool area to blow up the balloons with water ...

and the fight was on ...

The family enjoying pizza for dinner ...

and once the boys were settled

Ian & Kendall had a quiet evening ... relaxing ...

some wine with a cheese ... meat and fruit platter ....

 

More Presents ...

January 15, 2015

Kendall had taken Daigen to school ... when she arrived home ...

she had another birthday gift for Nixon from his friends ...

He was so excited when grandpa helped him put together his ...

Fisher-Price Imaginext Power Ranger Robot ...

More gifts for the boys ...

these gifts were from Nathan, Katie, Craig, James and Ella ...

Daigen loved his new red scooter ... and Nixon is going to take Tai Kwan Do lessons ...

Nixon received a small gift from grandma ... some Power Ranger figures that go with his Robot ...

We had an interesting morning when Kendall took Daigen to school ...

Grandpa and Nixon were still sleeping when I was going to let the dogs out ...

I decided to let them out thru the garage ... I had unlock the door from the inside ...

but when I took Meatball out ... the door closed behind me and I was locked out ...

All the other doors were locked as well ... I put Meatball into the backyard ...

I knew that the bedroom window was open ... so I started to call up to Mike to get up ... plus knocked on the door ...

I wasn't getting anywhere ... so I went to the neighbour to give Mike a call on his cell ...

of course it went right to voice mail ... no help ...

I went back to the house ... I knew that when Nixon would get up and he would see me outside ...

he would come to the door ... and he did ... we talked ...

I had asked him to go upstairs to wake Grandpa up to come and help Grandma ...

I was so proud of him ...

He went upstairs and told grandpa that I needed help ...

Mike was still half asleep ... Nixon came down and said Grandpa wouldn't wake up ...

I then told Nixon he should run upstairs and jump on him ... he started to laugh ...

I think he liked that idea ...

Finally Mike did get up and came down to unlock the door ...

I gave Nixon the biggest hug and kiss for being such a big helper ...

I will never go outdoors from now on without taking the keys with me ... !!!

 

Later in the afternoon we were outside relaxing before we went out for dinner ...

the boys were having fun on their scooters and playing ...

Nixon wanted to sit down on one of the chairs ... the cushions were a little damp ...

so he took it off the chair ... and underneath the cushion was gecko ...

Ian leapt up from his seat and caught it to show it to Nixon ...

Nixon wasn't to sure if he should touch it at first ...

Ian was good with him ... showing him that it would not hurt him ...

He finally did touch the gecko and then they let it go ...

Nixon watched it as it scurried away into the bushes ... maybe he will find it again sometime ...

 

Birthday Celebration Begins ...

January 10, 2016

Now that we had finished breakfast after our Christmas celebration ...

it was time to celebrate Nixon's 4th birthday ...

Kendall wanted Nixon to receive our gift to him ...

so that he would have a chance to ride his scooter before we headed out ...

for the day ...

Daigen also received a gift ...

for both the boys to have some fun by the pool ...

Here's Mr Cool ... on his new ride ...

the boys had a lot of fun ...

cruising'

Love the shades boys ... !!!

It had warmed up a bit outside ...

the boys wanted Grandpa to fill the water balloons up ...

there was an attachment for the garden hose to fill up 40 balloons at once ...

the boys had so much fun ... popping and throwing the balloons ...

Love the last picture of the boys in the hot tub ...

Part of Nixon's birthday celebration ...

was spending the afternoon playing games ...

at Chuck E Cheese's ...

Nixon really wanted to ride the race horse ...

and he did really well placing ...

Both the boys took turns driving the 4x4 ...

and playing basketball ...

Daigen loved this game ... he has quite the arm to make the shots in the hoop ...

Nearing the end ... collecting the coupons ...

from the games that they had played ...

cashing them in and waiting in line to pick out their prizes ...

We all had a great time with the boys ...

It was so nice to see the them sitting down ...

and talking about their day ... !!!

Time to go back home and continue with the party ...

 

 

Tossing Teddies ...

December 6, 2015

Nathan and the kids went to the Calgary Hitmen ...

annual Teddy Bear Toss ...

When the first Hitmen goal is scored ...

the fans toss already bagged Teddy Bears on to the ice ...

The Teddy Bears are gathered up to be donated as Christmas presents ...

to hospitals and charities ...

There were over 28,000 Teddy Bears tossed that evening ...

This is a wonderful event for the WHL to have this annual event ...

bringing joy to so many children ... !!!