Girls weekend to the city!

Instead of birthday parties this year we've decided to do family trips instead. We're trying to spend money on memories instead of stuff and stress! The boys trip is coming up in March to see the Mini Pop Kids in Abbotsford, but a few weekends ago it was Kennedy's turn to take a trip with Mom and Auntie Ra to the city to see the Paw Patrol Live show! Ang and I have taken each of the kids to a show when they were toddlers so when I saw the tickets come available for PP, I knew I had to ask Auntie Ra if she wanted to join in!

Off we went first thing Saturday morning!

First stop off the ferry was OLD NAVY! 

She was so cute "ooohhh Mommy. this is PRETTY....you buy for ME?"

Waiting for Auntie in Lululemon! 

Finally off to Ikea and excited for Smaland...only to see it full...and even on the tip toes just a bit too small! Unhappy little KJ girl for sure

So to make up for it we got $1 frozen yogurts

Happy girl playing her puzzles which me and Auntie shopped!

Full buggy and happy smiles

Tired girl at supper at Boston Pizza

Way over tired snuggles at the hotel at 9pm! 

The next morning we were off to the show at 9:30!

Cutest little Skye ever!

Loving her $30 (!!) light up wand...which died before the intermission so we returned it for a t-shirt and stickers instead!

Trying to show off her tail!

She was so excited to dress as Skye that day! 

A little selfie just before heading in to the arena

Found our seats and time for a few group selfies

Hard to get one where she's looking, not blurry, and not smiling weird! hahahahaha!

 

Such a pretty little girl waiting for the show. The late night the night before definitely caught up with her and she was tired and grumpy but still did really well.

 

She sat quietly through the whole show and was fascinated by the costumes! 

Big fake smiles with Auntie Wa (she can't quite say Ra yet) :) 

Walking back up to the the hotel to head home!

So tired but refusing to nap so gave her a cookie to stop the whining!

Sticker book time while waiting for the ferry

Finally on the last ferry and having some much needed down time with her puzzles! 

Truth Tuesday - I didn’t want to but I did anyways

Tonight after supper I spent two hours decluttering and reorganizing my en-suite bathroom and throwing out half the junk that has been in there for years. After finishing the bathroom I got the two littles to bed and then as I was in my bathroom about to get ready for bed myself, James came in to see me. He picked up my phone from the dresser and said “hey mom, can I take a selfie of us?“ In that moment all I wanted to do was say no....I felt frazzled, tired, and just plain cranky and awful. My hair was frizzy, the bags under my eyes are big and dark and I just didn’t want to say yes, but then I realized that these days where he wants to have his photo taken with me are probably coming to an end in the near future so....I took the picture.

Is it the best picture of us? Not even close. But do I love it just the same because he asked me for it? Absolutely yes!

As I am making positive changes in my life I’m trying to see myself the way my kids see me. It’s not easy for me and I struggle especially to see the beautiful woman that they see me as. I’ve always felt very plain Jane and have never been viewed or commented on as a pretty girl. Earlier tonight Jordie grabbed my phone and asked me if he could take a picture of me by myself but again I was feeling tired and haggard and not very picture worthy so I said no. His reply to that was “but mom, I always think you look like the prettiest lady in the world” My heart melted and I told him that was nice of him to say, and now reflecting back on that moment, I wish I had said yes to letting him take my photo. When James asked me a short bit later about taking a selfie together I realized how important it was to take the photos that they ask me to take because in that moment they are trying to connect with me and they are seeing my worth far more than I can. I always love when I learn something new from these beautiful little humans I created. I am such a lucky mama to have them and I do know how lucky they are to have me too. I have my downfalls for sure but they will NEVER grow up wondering how I feel about them. They have always known, and will always know, how much I love them and will always have their backs!

Monday Motivation - The Week Ahead

In looking back through my January posts I saw this week ahead one I did the first week and I really liked it so I altered the questions I little bit and here is a new set of questions and my answers. I like this kind of post and am going to attempt to keep these ones up as I find them very thought provoking and interesting to go back and read later about how I was feeling in those moments.

1) One thing you are looking forward to this coming week - Hopefully having a super productive week filled with PAC and Strata catch-up, 4 yoga classes (fingers crossed for Friday waitlist!), organizing my ensuite bathroom and getting it back together after the toilet install 2 weeks ago, plus work, a bunch of extra kids before school, student led conferences night, school based team meeting with James's teacher, kids sports, and finishing off with volunteering at the Horizon Business Awards on Saturday night! It's gonna be busy as ever but I'm looking forward to it :) 

2) What are some things you are going to do for yourself - My 4 hours of yoga are my me time...and I'm so happy that I can make it work this week! With Jim being off work recovering from his surgery I'm certainly taking as many classes as I can. I know once he goes back to work in a few weeks my ability to attend classes is drastically going to decrease, but I'm still going to attempt to do at least 2-3 classes per week!

3) One accomplishment you are proud of from last week - The only thing I'm proud of from last week was just getting through the week! It was a tough one all around but as always I did it! Some weeks are harder than others but when I get to Sunday night I'm always proud of what I've accomplished.

4) Your intention for the week - Do what I can, and be okay with whatever does get done...and whatever doesn't get done will eventually get done too. Just work along at a good pace always trying to get stuff knocked off the to-do list and try to get two things done for every one thing added to the list. It's a great hope, but never practical in my crazy life :) 

5) What is the biggest obstacle to achieving your goals this week - Time and energy! I am trying to watch what I eat and just be more active and hoping that will bring me more energy. I'm also trying to sleep more at night and forcing myself to go to bed earlier so I don't trudge through my days exhausted. It seems to be helping and I'm feeling more motivated to reach my goals than I ever have been before.

I look at this picture and it brings me great peace so I'm sharing it here in this posst. It is one of my all time favorite photos I've ever taken during one of our awesome family camping weeks on Texada.

Making dreams come true - Kings 7th Player Opportunity

Our local BCHL hockey team, the Powell River Kings, in coordination with Westview Agencies as the sponsor, has an awesome program called the 7th Player and as of Saturday night both of our boys have had a chance to be that player! It was super easy for me to sign them up for (a quick two minute online form) and I'm so glad I did it. These kinds of experiences are what I believe the best childhoods memories are made of!

For those that aren't aware of what the 7th player is, here's the run down! The boys got a special jersey to wear and keep, then they got to go into the the Kings locker room before the game and listen to the team talk and get their photo taken with their favorite King! As if that wasn't awesome enough they then get to skate out with the Kings for the on ice warm up, then stand with them for the announcement of the starting line up, then get introduced as the 7th player, and then finally they get to stand on the blue line with them for Oh Canada. It is truly an incredible experience for minor hockey kids in our community and I am so happy that they each got their chance to experience it!

Jordie was up first back in mid-December for his special night! 

Getting ready to head in to the dressing room!

The jersey was huge and went down to his knees! 

He chose Hunter McKoy - who was one of the Kings that came with us for trick or treating back on Halloween as well! This kid is great and we all loved him when he spent a few hours with us that night. Kennedy still talks about the green M&M guy :)

Standing to sign the national anthem.I didn't take many photos...I chose to video more instead :)

Jordie's little buddy Henry was there in the tunnel waiting for him! 

Henry's mom Alicia is the Kings photographer and a long-time friend of mine and snapped some pictures of both of the boys too! Here are the photos that Alicia took of Jordie! 

He looks so serious waiting for his big moment to be introduced! 

I love this fist bump photo so much!

BIG smiles as he skated off when the anthem was done!

Video of Jordie's big skating debut with the Kings

Being announced as the 7th Player!

It was James's turn this past Saturday night and he was so excited...and SO NERVOUS for some reason too! Funny how each of our kids is so different! 

James chose Levi Glasman as his favorite player!

These are the photos that Alicia captured for me of James on the ice!

Standing waiting for the anthem to start! I think it's funny how far away James stood from the players!

Big smiles looking over at Alicia and his dad in the tunnel

Singing Oh Canada! Both of the boys were upset that they had to leave their helmets on for the singing of the anthem as they know the respect aspect of taking off your hat and are always super diligent about it, but also understood the safety rules of the Complex as well and why they weren't allowed to do it too! 

 He was so excited when he skated off the ice and said that the player closest to him said that he was a good singer :) 

Such a happy moment for our biggest guy!

Now James's turn to skate with the Kings!

And his turn being introduced!

Two things about this post:
1) Yes I cried when both of them skated out and when they were announced too. I wish the audio on Jordie's video to hear more of what they said about it!

2) If you are in PR and haven't signed your kid up to be the 7th Player yet.....do it! And if the spots are all filled up for this year, then do it next year! It was so worth the two minutes it took me to do it, and it's a night that I know my boys will never forget. 

Saturday smiles - We love Rocco

Such a great time at the Kings game tonight! We’ve turned a corner and Kennedy finally loves Rocco like most kids do. He’s the best mascot ever and has a heart of gold and is amazing with kids and adults of all ages.