Funny Friday ~ I couldn't wait to have a daughter to take cute pictures with....

And this is what I got...

This kid KILLS me every single day. She says the craziest things and never hesitates to give you the finger if she feels its appropriate. I'm not going to lie, I'm terrified of the teen years with this kid! Hahahahahahah

A true labour of love - memories of an amazing hockey season!

Around the end of the regular hockey season when it looked like James's rep team might sweep the playoffs and make it to provincials, I got it into my head that I'd like to make a photo book for him to remember this amazing hockey season!

Well...before I knew it, I was deciding to make a whole team book. Kind of like a school year book, filled with photos that the parents had taken throughout the year, as well as their individual and team photos taken by Jenn Parkin.

I am very thankful that the parents were good sports with sending me photos and I am SO PROUD of how this book turned out. It was a ton of work (I would estimate maybe 60-70 hours total?) but when I look it, I truly feel in my heart like it was worth it. And seeing the kids smiles tonight when they got to sign them all and look through them....100% worth the time I put in! 

Photo memories are the best things you can invest in. They last forever, and I truly hope these kids keep these books and show their own hockey loving kids about the year they had a phenomenal season together! 

He loves the book, and that's what really matters to me!

Tonight we had most of the team over (15/17) to sign the books, play in the backyard and have some ice cream sundaes. The 2 missing kids had signed the books before tonight so all of them had all 17 signatures in them!

They signed the books, then we fed them ice cream sundaes, then they destroyed our back yard a bit playing and jumping, then we let them look through their books just as they were starting to leave. I love seeing these photos of them all flipping through them together. I also loved hearing them commenting on the photos and remembering funny stories from the season...it was exactly what I was hoping for!

Now...here are a bunch of my favorite pages from the book. I mainly want to put them here so that when James moves out, I'll always have some photos of what the book looked like. They may be kind of fuzzy because they are essentially screenshots of the online PDF of the book. If you want to see the PDF of the whole book, let me know and I can email it to you to look at :) 

Here are around 60 pages of the 109 in the book!

Here is James's individual page! 

A record of every game they played together this season! A whole lot of wins in there :) 

Team stats - this was probably one of the most time consuming part of the book, but I loved it! 

What I love about this Just for Fun page...That photo was taken seconds before the puck dropped on their first game together. I remember being SO nervous and so excited for James and I remember tearing up watching him starting that game. It brings chills to me to think about it. And fun fact...that was the score of that first game too...13-0!

This was such a fun tournament weekend together! 

Nothing like a team mom dressing up as a mascot to cheer on the team - she's the best! 

Another incredible tournament weekend - but this one at HOME! 

That Santa photo makes me smile! And remembering the massive Christmas party we threw with close to 90 people there. So much fun! 

This was a huge game at home for our kids - and a huge win too!

These signs were a huge highlight for all of us! 

Time for Provincials now! Lots of pages in the book from this week we all spent together, but not a lot shared on here. Just imagine lots of hockey action shots :) 

The mix of disappointment at not playing for gold....with the total excitement of playing for bronze, made for a really exciting final game together as a TEAM! 

Seriously a parenting moment that I will NEVER FORGET! Watching your child excel at something like James did out there during the provincial games, is a pride that I have never felt before. It was amazing and one that I will always cherish. We were so fortunate that we were both able to get the time off work to travel there together and not miss a single minute of the excitement of it all! 

A bunch of us decided to rent a box suite for the Canucks game on the same night as our bronze game! It was a very long day for everyone, but totally worth it. Truly an experience my kids will never forget. Again, family memories to last a lifetime are always worth the time and money you spend! 

Post season recognition!

And of course one last PARTY together! 

As we say goodbye to this team as James moves up to U15 next year, I'm left with feelings of happiness at how his year went, and trepidation of what next year holds for him. He will try out for the rep team again and of course he hopes he'll make it, but I'm not sure my mama heart is really ready for contact hockey just yet. Update to come in September whether he makes the rep team again or goes back to playing house hockey! Truly as a family, as long as he's happy then I'll support him in whatever happens!

Throwback Thursday - Baby and Toddler James!

While trying to pick a baby photo for the Grade 7 slideshow I was flooded with memories of what life was like for us when James was a baby. It was only 13 years ago but man it feels like a lifetime has gone by. He was the best baby and such a happy toddler. He was smart and funny and cheeky and so loving. So many of the same qualities he still has today! 

She grew something...

She definitely didn't get a green thumb from me. I kill every living thing I get...except for my kids (those I've managed to keep alive 13 years already!)

Our neighbours are the BEST people and last summer they came over and together with Kennedy they weeded the raised garden bed and threw some seeds into it and hoped for the best. We got one small head of lettuce last year that was attacked by a slug and some deer and that was it, our season was done. Not a single thing they planted actually survived to be eaten.  Hahahahaha....right about par for my growing abilities!!

Fast forward to about a month ago and I look out and see the girls gardening once again in the back yard. There was one small head of lettuce started so they weeded the rest of the bed and got to planting once more...and again we hope for the best! 

Last night they came over to check the garden and told Kennedy it was time to pick this GIANT head of lettuce that had grown in the past few weeks. 

She was so proud of herself...and now the plans are starting for a big veggie garden next year. 

Peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, berries...we'll see if we can actually pull it off!

But for now, she's just thrilled with this victory!

Another day…another dog post!

Yes, I’ve turned into the crazy lady who loves her dog maybe more than her kids. 😉

This dog is just too cute and the bond he has with these kids just makes all the barking and dog hair absolutely worth it, even on the days he drives me crazy. I still get excited when I see him when we get home and he's so happy that he howls uncontrollably until every person has given him his pets. I love that he waits for me to go to bed, falling asleep behind my chair at my desk in the den. He has the best doggy smile and loves being anywhere with us that he can. He loves to be in the car going for a drive, at the ball park watching the game, or just being outside in the yard while we jump on the trampoline.