The perfect tree

We made a very last minute decision to go get our tree today and we were in and out of there in less than 20 minutes! We got a super cute little tree that I think is gonna look great in the small space we have available for it this year.

The kids are pretty cute too! 

And of course an attempt at a family selfie too! Jordie is so heavy and I have no idea why I didn’t make his daddy hold him instead! 

Some other cute photos too. 

This is us...basic, happy, and in our own home

By the time our reno was done I was kind of done with everything and didn't really want to get family photos done this year, but knew that if I didn't I would regret it. We'd missed the good weather window for outdoor photos and I didn't want to fight with a toddler in a dress outside, so I asked Jenn if she would just come to our house and take the photos here. I've always loved our stairwell and have taken thousands of photos of my kids on it, but I love it 100x more now that the ugly terrible blue carpet is gone! I also love our new kitchen and wanted to show it off a little bit too. Keep in mind the tile backsplash and a few other finishing touches aren't done yet, but you get the basic idea :)

So, here are our family photos for 2018. I've decided to share them on here because I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do Christmas cards this year or not!

My goodness Jordie looks so grown up in this photo! 

This one is kinda cute and my favorite of this pose for sure!

I had high hopes for this pose...but our daughter was having none of anymore photos by this point!

Now some more showing off our awesome new kitchen!

Hahahahahaha.......Jordie and Kennedy kill me in this photo!

Notice anything different about this photo of Jim?

Now for the individuals of the kids!

Hehehehehehe....I've got to get a video of her doing this face! It's too funny!

He's looking so grown up these days!

This guy was a total photo rockstar for this shoot! Such a handsome big boy that he's turning into!

Gonna be a heart breaker!

Now some parent/kid combo photos! 

My daughter was having none of these photos with me

BUT of course she smiled with her daddy!

Now for some with the boys too!

Wow, this kid looks like me!

And wow this kid looks like his Daddy!

My two Jimmy's

And last but not least we'll finish off the post with just one of me and Jimmy! Another year of photos done and you'd never know that every time I look at these I see Jim's missing glasses, his socked feet and my backwards sweater :) Hahahahaha...memories to last a lifetime!

Thanks once again go to the very talented Jenn Parkin Photography for another amazing job well done! These photos turned out exactly as I hoped they would. Easy, comfortable and just so very us.

2018 has been a rough year but I am so thankful for it too

I am sad to see that I haven't blogged since August, but also can admit in my heart that I just haven't had the time or energy to do it either. I want to make it a goal of mine in 2019 to get back into it and I'm hoping that once my holidays come in December that I will be able to at least get in a couple of year in review type posts to share some of the THOUSANDS of photos I've taken over this year.

Even if I haven't shared much since the summer, we have been go, go, go since school started in September. Hockey for both boys, karate for James, swimming lessons for Jordie, slime classes for both, before and after school childcare for friends kids, a crazy toddler, a huge home reno that had us working non stop for 4 full weeks (and away from home as well), just to name a few things!

And just because no post is really complete without a photo...here is a regular attempt at a photo in my world. No one is smiling normally and after 10 shots we abandoned the mission and went to school. Such is life and my goal of the perfect picture just never happens anymore...and I'm more than okay with that! I feel like this photo actually super describes my crazy life. James is fake smiling at me, Jordie is making a face and Kennedy is just trying her best to escape from us all! Hahahahaha 

Bear Mountain Resort weekend getaway

This post has been a long time coming and has some great photos of an amazing weekend that Jim and I had with Ashleigh and Sean way back in May! We escaped all of our kids and took off to the Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria for 3 nights and it was glorious. We ate when we wanted, drank as much as we wanted and slept in with no kids to wake up and take care of it. It was definitely one of the most fun weekends I've had in a long time!

We tavelled over to Comox by ourselves because we were taking our van to the Dodge dealership for  a repair. It was so strange for us to be in the vehicle alone...that almost never happens in our world!

Here are the boys admiring the view from our room

Looked right down onto the putting green

We had adjoining rooms that made it one big large suite. This was the kitchenette in our room

Our room had two beds...then beside this room was a large kitchen/living room area with a bathroom, and then Sean & Ash's room was adjoined to that living area. 

We went for a walk to check out the pool at the resort. 

Oh and for some of us to try out the gym...hahahahaha

Then we went to do some shopping...and I convinced the boys to try on these awesome short shorts. I was laughing so hard that I was crying...and the sales lady thought we were all crazy!

Back up to the resort to get changed to go out for dinner and drinks

I had a fair amount to drink that night and was having a great time!

Off to the pool for a little late night swim!

Jim snapped this funny photo of Sean that night too!

Beautiful weather for the boys golf round that morning

Highlight of my day...sitting alone drinking my tea in the sunshine!

Here is a shot from the course

Ash and I were in our room when the boys hit the 18th hole so we were able to watch them finish the hole from our balcony.

After golf we did some more shopping and enjoyed these massage chairs outside of Winners

Hahahahahaha...highlight of the weekend was Sean trying on my new and very comfy onesie pajama romper that I had bought! 

Up and ready to go for their second day of golfing!

Second day of spa treatments commencing! Ash got a pedicure and I got a hot stone massage.

Eating some super yummy crackers while enjoying the sun on the patio after my treatment

The view from where Jim & Sean ate lunch after their golf

The view of the hot tub from the spa patio

A great photo of the T's before we headed downtown for dinner with their friends Derek & Laura.

A little group elevator selfie

Harbour sunset

Late night card playing for the boys

Some more golf photos from the boys

Overall it was a fantastic weekend and one that I would love to do again sometime! It was so great to just be husband and wife again, instead of just mom & dad. Plus we always have so much fun hanging out with Ash & Sean! :)