Happy Birthday Justin!

Happy Birthday Justin!  16 years old today! 

"It was a dark and stormy night....."  Actually it was a dark and stormy night sixteen years ago when Justin made his first appearance.  (He says he can't remember a thing.  I'll never forget!)  Justin's birthday menu:  caesar salad, garlic toast, chicken parmesan, and a big ol' DQ ice cream cake.  Yum.  It's all about the food.


New Year's Eve

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, what can I say, five children make it hard to sit down at the computer!  Hope everyone is staying warm and safe during this very long winter, I know I'm counting the days until spring arrives.  Here's a picture of our Joshua from New Year's Eve, he sure knows how to be the life of the party.  Rock on Joshy!

Until We Meet Again

I hope everyone had a meaningful Remembrance Day. Lest we forget....

Food Bank Drive

On the 16th of October the Beaumont Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints held a food drive along with Campbells and Shaw Cable.  Campbells and Shaw Cable agreed to match our wards donation.  We collected 5000 lbs of food, which means 15,000 lbs of food went to the Leduc County Food Bank!  Here's a picture of Josh and friends while we were unloading our vehicles.  The youth and children all worked really hard with their parents to drop off flyers and pick up the food. It was hard work, but lots of fun, and we were all glad to help out.  Thanks to the organizers for planning a great event.

Snow on the Scarecrow

We woke up this morning to a little bit of snow on the ground, surprise!!  Welcome to Alberta.....It snowed lightly until the afternoon.  Josh was really excited because he has been dying to go sledding, unfortunately it was too warm for much snow to accumulate.  The temperatures this week will range between 2 degrees celcius and 5 degrees celcius.  Sigh.  Ever gone trick or treating in a snow suit?  It may happen (again) this year.  The leaves aren't even off all the trees yet!!  Thank goodness Scott and I got so much yard work done this weekend, it really payed off.  Hope you are all having a pretty fall, wherever you are!

FLYing through the Holidays

Feeling stressed out at the thought of another crazy holiday season?  The Flylady has started her holiday missions this past Monday, but, as she says, you're not behind, just jump right in!  Check out http://www.flylady.net/ for Flylady's holiday missions, and to print off her free Holiday Control Journal.  Don't know who Flylady is?  Well, she is a great little lady from Southern U.S.A. who has started a home organization website that helps you get rid of clutter and set up routines to help keep your house neat and tidy, and guess what?  It works!  I've been following Flylady since we lived in Calgary many years ago, and although my house is far from perfect, my daily routines usually keep me on track.  Check it out, you won't be sorry!  Especially this time of year, she's a real lifesaver.

The Phantom Ghost

Saturday night we were all watching a movie when the doorbell rang.  It was quite late for a visitor, and Justin ran up the stairs to see who it was.  No one was there, but there was a gift bag on our doorstep full of goodies, with a poster of a ghost that said "We've Been Spooked", and a set of instructions.  The Phantom Ghost had struck!!  We were instructed to do the same to two other families.  So this evening for family night we got two gift bags ready with treats, made our ghost posters and got ready to strike!  It was hard to decide which families to target, but we managed to narrow it down.  Josh and Scott hit the first victim's house.  Their black sweatshirts helped them blend into the night.  Sarah and Jeff were the next phantoms, and ran like the wind (or a gentle breeze...)  We were playing some Halloween tunes in the van to make it seem more festive.  Is Kung-Fu Fighting a Halloween song?  Scott and I were debating this.  He said it's not spooky, and that I just like the song.  I said some people dress up like ninjas so it's appropriate.  He's right, though.  I do like the song.  We also listened to Ghostbusters and Thriller.  It was lots of fun. After a few minutes we decided to see if our packages had been picked up, and they had been!  In fact, one house had their phantom already hanging in their window.   Here's the poem we attached to our treat bags:

The Phantom Ghost


The Phantom Ghost has come to town,

To leave some goodies as I see you've found.

If you do not wish a curse to fall,

Continue this greeting, this phantom call.

First, place this Phantom where it can be seen,

And leave it there 'til Halloween.

This will scare other Phantoms who may try to call,

Be sure to participate - you'll have a ball!

Second, make 2 treats, 2 Phantoms, and 2 notes like this,

Deliver them to 2 neighbors who might have been missed.

Don't let them see you, be sneaky and quick,

The hardest part is deciding whose house to pick.

Third, leave at the door where there is no light,

Ring the doorbell, run, stay out of sight.

Be happy, have fun and come join the season,

The best kind of tricks are the ones that are pleasin'.

And remember this one very important fact,

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE DAY TO ACT!