The Fun Continues.... WEEK TWO

Another action packed week in the life of summer time Sam!  It's hard to believe him and I have spent 16 days straight together and for the most part have had the very best time.  I was secretly worried and dreading a WHOLE summer with Sam to myself; thinking I wouldn't be able to keep him happy and me happy for two entire months... that we'd get sick of each other and need a break.  And then I realize the last full summer we had together he was just a baby and I had just completed the most challenging year in my teaching career.  Five is wonderful... he's funny and smart and independent and lovely.  I'm so blessed and so proud to have this time with this little man.

We spent a morning at Calaway Park with Karen and Sawyer.  The sun was shining, the lines were very short, life was good!

Oh jeeze... I picture 15 years down the road... these two monkeys behind the wheel of a real car... YIKES!

Now that's an awesome mom... I'm making sure to pause this summer and appreciate the amazing moms I have in my life.  I let life take over during the school year and forget to work hard on these important relationships.  I love Karen... she has boundaries, yet knows how to let Sawyer be independent.  She know all about having FUN!  She talks to him like he's grown, but in the next moment she sits with him in a puddle while waiting for us on a ride.  Karen has been one of the most influential friends in my teaching career.  She has helped me realize who I want to be as a teacher and that what I believe is important is worth fighting for.  She is always honest, but with only the best intentions.  She has gifted me this same relationship in the mom world too and I'm grateful every day to have her in my life.

Who loves the ferris wheel?  We do!!!  High five!

Terror and joy all wrapped up in one sweet little face!

We got to spend a morning at Mac's lake this week too.  Mac and Sam played in the sand and water, roamed the playground and then had their butts kicked by a couple Brazilian kids in a game of soccer.  It was a great morning!  For me, selfishly, it was a long overdue visit with Robyn.  She is a person that I can relate to so well.  We go months and months without seeing each other and then when we do it's like no time passed at all.  Robyn is a tell how she sees it kind of girl, with a heart of gold.  I cherish our friendship, her parenting style, our similar love for teaching, her selflessness... I'm so happy to have this woman as a friend.  

Beach boy!

A hot morning we filled the pool and then by afternoon the water was warm.  Sam loves loves loves to splash!

VEGAS BABY!   We had an awesome mini-trip to Vegas this weekend to be with our friends as they got married.  The night before the wedding we went to Tournament of Kings (if you have young boys this is an AWESOME pitstop in Vegas) and then hit up the arcade.

Sam's viking helmet from the show... Uncle Bill wore it most of the time!!!  

Take a bus... NO, take a cab... NO, rent a limo bus to drive us 3 blocks... HECK YES!!  Though Sam looks as tired as I felt, it was a pretty cool ride back to the hotel.

My handsome boys waiting for the beautiful bride to arrive.

Post-wedding (sorry, no sneak peeks, the couple hasn't seen the pics yet!).  Two beautiful faces that I just adore.

Bam!  Classic wedding jumping picture!

Nothing like a post wedding dip in the pool on a 40 degree day!  Only wedding I've ever been to that has pool time between ceremony and reception!

Dining at the Paris - Mon Amis Gabi.  DELICIOUS!

Lucky boy snagging a quick snuggle with the bride!  Chelsey is another mom in my life...  She works hard to balance love and discipline, to give Linc the world without spoiling him.  She is patient, consistent, determined and her love is unconditional.  She is a friend that shows genuine interest in our lives, adores Sam and completely understands that somedays are a little more emotional than others.  I value our friendship and I'm so happy to have her in this 'sisterhood' with me.

How many kids do you think can say the got to climb up the leg of the Eiffel Tower this summer!?!?  I know at least two who loved it!

Nothing says wedding night like a quick on the street shot with Bumblebee!  Only in Vegas...

Teaching Sam the art of photo bomb... I'm sure that's going to come back and bite me in the butt!

We spent our last morning in Vegas at the Shark Reef.  I said "Quick, Komodo dragon face!"  Nailed it!

Just petting some stingrays.  You'll have to ask Sam sometime about the one that climbed the wall and jumped up at me.  Hilarious and terrifying all at the same time.

Look at this rag-tag group of resting tourists!!!  Love these guys!

Couldn't leave our Vegas hotel without a couple sweet flamingo shots.

A flamingo momma and flamingo Sammer!

Now that was a memorable week!!!  It's going to be pretty tricky to top that one.  Two weeks in and six to go... wonder what fun this week will bring us...

Summer Play Dates!

Summer got away on me and I feel behind on my blogging!  Dang it!  That's ok, we were busy having fun in the sun and doing mini adventures.  Here are some of the fun dates we had earlier this August.

Happy fourth birthday Mac!  Super fun beach birthday party!  Happy little boys squirtin' water squirters!

We went to the Calgary corn maze with a girl friend from work.  Lots of fun for little people! 

This is Sam's I-successfully-completed-the-corn-maze face!  The kids maze was cool because there were 5 check points that had facepaint to dab a finger into.  Once we had all fingers painted we were done.  Love the kids maze because I could still see how to get out!!! :) 

Lovely Lindsay and Silly Sam! 

This poor kid has small town blood... milking a pretend cow made him SUPER happy!

I LOVE the bouncy hill... LOVE it!

Sam is about to get a huge double bounce!  Go Lindsay Go! 

We had our friends the Alexander's over for a backyard water playdate.  Sprinkler under the trampoline is always a big hit.

And then BAM before our eyes our sweet little boys transformed into SUPER HEROS!!!!

It's a Parrrrrrrrty! Sammy Turned 3!

My handsome little pirate invited all his friends and family to a party in the gym of my school.  It was a blast, from set up to take down and turned out to be a huge hit.  Prepare yourself... there are a lot of photos!

(I took some of the shots myself, but I need to give some photo credit to my Auntie Bobbi, Kaysi and Lindsay F.  Thanks ladies!)

Pirate grub!  Everything from rainbow fishies to a pirate ship fruit bowl to enough hot dogs to choke a shark!

Uncle Blair doing last minute cupcake decorating... thanks sooooo much! 

Pirate garb!

One of the brilliantly pirate-ish decorations Yanna did for us.  LOVE IT!

Loot bags

Kicked off the party with some pirate colouring sheets.  Super easy way to ease the kids into being together.  They loved them and I printed them off the internet... easy!

Birthday boy with one of the million balloons we blew up... soooo many popped but we just started calling it cannon ball fire and no one cried anymore!

Having a little snack while watching our guests arrive.  I counted 15 kids and about 30 adults... what a loved little boy!

Payton walking the plank.

Sammy peeking over Payton in the ship wreck!

This shot looks way more dangerous than it actually was... Lincoln taking the fun to a new level!

Sam walked the plank and hopped fearlessly into the ocean!

Another quick bite.

Kaysi made the cutest birthday shirt for Sammy... we did a costume change and he was soooo excited for his new outfit!

Kids dipping into the pirate costumes... soooo funny!
Captain Lincoln

Silly Sammy

Kiley and her mustache

Pirate Peyton!

Avery looking very sophisticated.

Logan hiding behind her giant mustache.

ARRRRRRRRRR!

<3 

Pirate garb table... BIG HIT!

Even baby Serry, Auntie and (great) Granny got in on the fun!

Auntie Bobbi brought this great parrot... the perfect addition to a pirate party.  It looked very real, moved, winked and talked.  It even munched on Colten's finger!!!  (Love Caedon's face in the background!)

The Gorday girls checking out our parrot friend.

Pretty P(irate)

Happy little lass!

Photo booth (bought at the dollar store and it made for many funny moments, especially when kids fell over trying to poke their head in the hole... hahaha)

Mac loving the millions of balloons!

Sammy trying to buy Peyton's attention

Pin the Patch on the Pirate.

How cute is the back of Sam's birthday shirt... perfect!

The kids were soooo good.  They all took turns and watched each other.  Love these kids.

Sam and his lovely ladies... what a lucky boy to be surrounded by beautiful girls all day every day!

Hilarious and very awkward moment... ask me about it some time!

Next stop... pinata time!  We couldn't find anything pirate like for a pinata and we left it too late to make one.  So, the next best thing was a Nemo one.  We filled it with fruit snacks, BEAUTIFUL necklaces and gold coins.  It was soooo heavy!

A very captive audience waits patiently for their turn and for someone to break it!

Baby S (and Auntie) take a hilarious turn.  Tons of fun!

Sam up again.

Logan using all her muscles

Then, the moment everyone was waiting for, Lincoln steps up to bat.  He swings so hard it breaks off the string and lands on the floor.  With only 2 seconds of hesitation, he begins to beat a hole in it while it's laying on the ground.  Soooo funny.  Afterwards my Gramma told me "I had my money on that one!"  

Shaking the pirate booty (not mine!  The goodies inside!)

Quickly the kids gathered as much as they could hold.

Everyone found tons of things the liked!

Sam scored jewels and some snacks... perfect!

What little boy couldn't resist a beautiful girl with a chocolate coin kiss!

He's not at all excited about this situation!

All the kiddies waiting and waiting for cake.

Big blow!

Avery enjoyed her cupcake.  Nothing compliments the chef more than a little face just like that one!

Present opening time... probably the most intense part of the whole day for me.  I really did feel like these little pirates had invade my ship and were going to loot me.  Fortunately they were just trying to be sooo helpful for the world's slowest gift opener.  I'm thinking next year we won't open presents in front of our guests... is that ok to do or is it politically incorrect/

A hug for Yanna... our very special friend who not only helped decorate but helped us party too!

A very played out pirate heads home with all his new treasures.  He felt so special and so loved and unbelievably happy.  We truly have some of the most incredible people that have shared in Sam's life with us.  We love each one of you and are so grateful that you could come be with us on this day.  How in the world did my tiny little baby turn into a three year old.  Happy birthday my Sammy.