Mike's Birthday ...

February 17, 2017

 

We decided to go outside to enjoy this warm sunny afternoon ...

putting on our snowshoes and venturing out to the field ...

Even with our snowshoes on ... it was difficult making our way at times ...

there was so much snow covering our earlier tracks ...

It was still a lovely hike ...

and soon Nathan and Alana would arrive to celebrate Mike's birthday ...

 

Mike had received a bottle of Tequila and some mini Cuban Cigars ...

and my gift was a bottle of pure Vanilla Extract ...

from Nathan and Alana from their trip to Mexico ... a few weeks ago ...

This was the perfect opportunity to crack open the Tequila ...

to celebrate Mike's birthday ...

After enjoying a delicious dinner of chicken ... veggies and baked spatzle with cheese ...

it was time to serve Mike a piece of his birthday cake topped with whipped cream ...

it was "Crazy Cake" made with Stevia ... and he was delighted to have chocolate cake ...

all to himself ...

As the picture indicates ... I think he was surprised that it was really just for him ...

We sang a rendition of "Happy Birthday" and then Mike made a wish ...

and blew out his lone candle ...

Mike was so surprised with all his gifts ...

especially because they were all for his new hobby ... Trap & Skeet Shooting ...

(shotgun shells ... sporting clays ... carrying pouch ... Beretta hearing protectors ...

clay thrower ... and the perfect plaque ...)

 

We had a lovely evening ... celebrating ... talking ... telling stories ... laughing ...

with a few shots of Tequila ... a few Martinis ...

then ... Mike and Nathan went out to the shop for cigars ...

The guys were excited for the morning to arrive ...

so they could shoot a few rounds of their shotguns ...

before they go to the shooting range on Sunday ...

The only issue was that the snow had started to fall again ...

 

 

All In One Day ...

October 29, 2016

It was an early morning for some of the hockey families ...

a few were a little under the weather ... after last night's Halloween party ...

We enjoyed watching James play hockey ... Oma ... Craig and Ella ...

watching from the enclosed warm area ...

Mike ... Nathan and I were out in the arena ... cheering the team on ...

After the hockey game ... we all travelled to Calgary ...

to meet Vern and Ellen for a late lunch ... early dinner ... at the Edelweiss Village ...

It is a complete European store ... with grocery items ... gifts ... deli ... bakery and restaurant ...

We had a lovely time visiting ... and eating the fabulous meals ...

Once we arrived back at the house ...

it was the to have a birthday celebration for James and Craig ...

We decided to celebrate this evening ... as James had an early morning ...

out of town hockey game ...

and our family would not be making the trip back to Alberta ...

James birthday #11 ... is on November 4 ...

and Craig's milestone birthday #13th is on November 24 ...

Both the boys blew out the candles ...

and soon the gift opening was happening ...

Craig received cash ... as he is saving money to buy a remote control truck ...

He was so happy and thankful ...

and James ... all he wanted was a new skateboard ...

 

James was so thrilled ... it was the exact one he wanted ...

he couldn't wait to try it out ...

a few rolls in the house and then we all had a piece of ice cream cake ...

Even though it was almost 10 o'clock ...

the kids went in the garage to compare the new one with the old one ...

they even had me stand on the boards to check it out ... holding on to me so I wouldn't fall ...

and then James went for a ride ...

down the driveway and onto the road ... with no jackets on ...

 

It was a little chilly for me being out there taking pictures ...

so I left the boys out there riding ...

 

October 30, 2016

 

Oma ... Craig and Ella ... were huddled together ...

watching a movie ...

while Mike and I packed things up to head back home ...

James had left early this morning for his hockey game ...

we had said our goodbyes the night before ...

It was a fun ... busy weekend ... again ...

!!!

 

Still Celebrating ...

January 10, 2016

We arrived at the house after our Chuck E Cheese activities ...

Ian and Nixon were having a balloon fight ...

while grandpa was out starting the BBQ to cook up some dinner ...

This was a good time for Nixon to light up the sparklers ...

hanging out with Grandpa ...

We enjoyed a lovely dinner ...

now it was time to sing Happy Birthday ...

and

enjoy some of Nixon's birthday cake ...

You can see by his eyes that he was thoroughly lov'in it ...

MMMMMMM

It was time to open up his Birthday gifts ...

he was so excited to have gotten a Power Ranger gun that turns into a dinosaur ...

a Snackees cup and some playdough ...

Nixon could hardly believe his eyes when opened up his gift ...

from mommy and daddy ...

He had asked Santa for this 2 foot T-Rex dinosaur ...

that walks ... stomps and roars ...

While Ian was reading the instructions on how it put it together ...

Nixon continued opening up his birthday card ...

He was thrilled to get this card from Oma ... !!!

With all the guys help in constructing this dinosaur ...

it was ready to take its first steps ...

and shout its roaarr ... !!!

Both Nixon and Daigen had fun playing with this toy ... !!!

 

This was the longest day ever ... Christmas ... Birthday ...

partying ... playing ...

No wonder we were exhausted by this days end ... !!