Discovering the Playhouse!

A good friend of mine just opened a play center/coffee shop in town! It is a wonderful addition to our community!

The kids had a great time running off their energy and Auntie Robyn and I had a break!

Jorja and her friend Abby met up for a play!

Even Rhiannon got into the action! They also have this cool iClick game that shines an interactive game on the floor! So much fun!

Here is Shallen playing on the giant iClick piano!

So for a good time call Tammy and Martina at the Discovery Playhouse in Nipawin!!!

Kid fun and Mom sanity approved!!!

My Crazy Life

You may have noticed that I have not blogged in a while... I looked back and realized that my last entry was a week before I went back to work in the fall. That pretty much summarizes my life... When I am teaching full time and being a full time mom (while is really like working two full time jobs) I don't have much time for extras.
When I started this blog, just before I went back to work after Shallen was born, I wanted to have a place where I could relay my life as a full time working mom of four.
Everyone I spoke to told me that I would need to find a way to balance work and "life". I seem to be managing ok (some days) but this blog shows me that when I am working I can't seem to find time to blog... Which is something I enjoy and I hope u enjoy too!
I just got a new iPhone 4s that I just figured out how to blog from!!! So I hope that will help me to keep in touch more.
My New Years resolution is going to be to try to blog at least once per month... Hmmm I should look back on this blog to see what my resolution was last year!!! This sounds pretty familiar! ;)

Now back to the work life balance... I sit here at the Tisdale recplex blogging as I take a break from my marking.... While my girls are in a Dance workshop in the auditorium.... Mark or watch my girls dance.... Oh the dilemma!

My small pile of marking.... I have two more piles this size at home!

I know that this may seem like an easy decision but in reality when one is a teacher this is a decision that is made daily. If I choose not to mark (which I think I do too often, hence my marking piles up)it affects my students and I get momma guilt in I don't watch my kids... Because really in the big picture what is more important??

A "Wicked"ly Good Time... Defying Gravity!

The stage was dark. A hush fell over the crowd as a green light began to glow and grow...
Our trip to the Broadway Play "Wicked" was full of ups and a few downs.
It all started with a shopping trip to find the perfect pair of shoes. After too many shoe stores to count Andrea bought a pair of witchy black shoes perfectly adorned with a silver buckle, an excellent choice for our evening festivities. Robyn chose her shoes by fashion not comfort. They were sexy GaGa-inspired black glittery high heeled beasts! (but man they were cute)
After getting cleaned up from the shopping we headed to the restaurant Chianti's in Saskatoon where Andrea, Robyn and Charles, my cousin Randal and his crazy wife,Amanda, and their two girls and I went out for supper! The food was excellent as was the two bottles of wine Andrea and I finished!

You could not imagine the amount of people we saw from Nipawin at the restaurant and at the show. Andrea got to know one even better when she tripped on a crack in the bathroom and fell into one of their arms! She was not able to defy gravity.... Even with the new witch shoes!
Finally we were off to the play! It was awesome! The costumes were amazing. The singing and dancing were choreographed creatively. And although the storyline was somewhat changed from the book the play still had great ability to capture the imagination of the audience. I wish they would have spent some more time developing Elphaba's background and childhood. Andrea was in tears at the break for intermission! The injustice that the witch had to go through was just too much!

Once the show was done and the shirts were bought we had to get back to the van for the drive to Amanda's house. This was a great adventure. Robyn's GaGa-inspired shoes wanted to see if she could defy gravity and she fell on her face when she tripped on the sidewalk. Guess she couldn't defy gravity either!!! LOL

I sure am glad I didn't buy new shoes today!!!!

Andrea and I have decided it is time to start taking our daughters to the theater! I am sure our husbands will think it is just another reason to shop! (although I think we will skip the shoe section!)

Bumps, bruises, beauty & bikes!

I love alliteration! There is nothing more engaging than a blog title using alliteration! LOL ;)
This week we said farewell to Kelsey (Or Chelsea as we like to call her), James, Cale and Reese Hayes. We had a great time while they were here. Our liver and bellies are still recovering from the daily escapades! We hope they come back to visit us again another summer!

Look at the sad face. The poor girl was stepped on by her little sister which gave her the mark under her eye. Then she fell off her bike and her face had a run in with the ground! I am afraid to take her to town in fear that she is removed from my care!

We are enjoying this time with Auntie Robyn. We are spoiled since she is spending all this time with us this summer since she is on maternity leave!
We had a spa day up at the campsite. She did pedicures, haircuts and dye jobs! We are so lucky!!! Makenna got her hair cut and dyed with black and pink streaks while Rhiannon and Jorja now sport pink streaks. Shallen got a pink streak thanks to a crayola marker! I am totally ok with my kids getting things done to their hair. It can always be redyed, or cut and it always grows back!

Shallen has been watching her big sisters ride their bikes this summer. We have an extra little bike kicking around so Mike put the training wheels on it and Shallen suckered her sisters into pushing her around.

She doesn't pedal yet but I am sure she will catch on soon. You might remember that Jorja just took those training wheels off this summer... Doesn't take those little sisters long to follow behind their older siblings!
Today I am off to Saskatoon with Andrea and Robyn to see the play "Wicked". It will be my 3rd night away from the trailer this summer! I am sure the twisted sisters will haves great time in the big city! (but that is a whole new blog!)

F is for Family...

We were raised with the belief that family is important and that the more people you share your time with makes it even a better time.

We were lucky to be raised with this philosophy. Holidays were always filled with family and friends. We never knew who would be around for Christmas dinner since mom and dad would invite whomever they heard were alone for Christmas.

This welcoming feeling did not end with the Christmas season however. During the summer there was always a steady stream of aunts, uncles and cousins heading to the cabin or camping in the driveway. This has not changed much, although a couple of the aunts and uncles now own cabins here too!

Mom and dad are in their glory when the cabin is at full capacity. It has taken a while since they added on to the cabin and moved to the lake but they have now reassembled the decks and are back entertaining at full tilt.

The Hayes' invasion is in full swing with Kerry and her two kids (Dayen and Jaden), James and Kelsey and their two kids (Cale and Reese) hanging out in the campground. It is fun for the kids to have built in friends to hang out with all day. Jim and Sandra have also been here with their trailer and boat. We just wish that wind would go away so we could get out in the lake more. Wendy is also here which is nice since she helps out with all the kids.

Our campsite is always full of kids. Sometimes we don't even know who they belong to!
Of course we have lots of toys and good snacks so we seems to attract them!

We are all very thankful for Cory who bought Andrea a Margarita maker for her birthday. Our kids are now used to doing ice runs to the store.

And auntie Robyn is here so we are being pampered! We love when she comes to town!

We love all our family, in laws and out laws! Later this week my cousin Eden is coming here from New York. We don't get to see her very often so it is a treat when she comes to visit.

So for all the above reasons I know I am lucky to have such a wonderful family. As weird and dysfunctional we all are we love each other and THAT is what is important!