October Phone Dump

Oct 31 today - here is a random assortment of pictures from our busy month....

we got a new rug for our bedroom - it was Branson approved! 

games night with the Schmulands!

my birthday gift!  a 2017 agenda!

Sully's first field trip!

dinner with the Kraftchick family!

friends of ours have a BIG dog :)

CBC's Annual Turkey Bowl - staff vs students

Thanksgiving with the Tysdal family

our Thanksgiving Tree

family hike on Thanksgiving Monday

we have been trying to fly a kite for months but it is hardly ever windy in Abbotsford - we finally got a day and it was SO FUN, until I flew it into a tree :(

Sully was invited over to our friends Cara & Daniel for a special morning of baking cookies and hanging out!

a fundraiser for our unit - Party for the Prems!

fort making with the boys

B & L - reading the "truck" book to their "babies"

baking with Nana

we had a bit of a situation the night we were trying to fly out to LA...it's a long story...but these people (along with the Schmulands) saved our BUTTS - they all stepped up and took care of things so we could still leave and make our plane!

Sully went to a "Frozen" themed birthday party and got to go skating at it!

5th Annual Pumpkin Party Night

For the past 5 years we have gotten together with the Wall family for a pumpkin carving/crafting night.  Last night we gathered to get our craft on and of course eat and play :)

Crafting - nice that the big kids are old enough to do the majority of the work!

Dinner break

The finished products - an owl, 2 foxes and a raccoon!

Love these kids!

Willow View Pumpkin Picking

One of my favorite things about living in BC is that they have real pumpkin patches!  Each year we make the trek to at least one to pick our prize pumpkin for the year.

Willow View Farms is our patch of choice - it's a fun place and FREE!

checking out all the animals in the barn - we were even able to feed a few goats!

went to see the apple orchards

picture by the giant pig

and then off to the pumpkin patch!

Branson was pretty pumped about the pumpkin choice!

another success visit to the patch :)

Master Closet Reno

This post is a little late in coming!  We started a little closet reno in August - finished it in September and now here I am blogging about it in October :)

I don't really have any "before" pictures - but picture a little room with two hanging rods and that's it...and NOW...Matt built me a beautiful custom walkin!

Our to do list for the reno...

1. change bifold door to french doors

2. paint 

3. new baseboards and casings

4. build custom shelving and drawers

5. hang mirror 

6. organize and decorate

The finished closet....

love these little God made custom jewlery holders :)

 my very favorite part of the closet...my hidden laundry baskets!

 We are very happy with our new space!

Birthday Getaway

A few weeks ago mom texted Matt and asked him if he needed a babysitter so that he could take me out for my birthday :)  One thing lead to another and all of a sudden we were booking a fairly last minute trip to LA to see Nathan and Caitlin!

Logistics were tight on the leaving end and due to crazy weather and cancelled flights we relied very much on some AMAZING friends to fill in for us on the parenting and picking up of mom end.  Thankfully, by the time we took off, everything was sorted and we could relax (after a one hour delay on the aircraft to to a walkway that would not pull back)!

Nathan and Caitlin picked us up from the airport and drove us down to Balboa Island where Caitlin's parents have been renting a beach house for the past year.  It is the cutest little spot!  The next morning we woke up and walked down tot he local bakery for breakfast.  And then took a stroll around the island.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL!  

Then Caitlin and I were off to get pedis and mani's - delight!  and the boys went for a kayak.

In the afternoon Mr. Giss took us out for a boat (let's call is a yacht) ride.

enjoying the cruise

Mr. Giss - our captain is in the back there :)

after we cleaned up and headed out to dinner at a local restaurant in Newport, Nathan and Caitlin dropped Matt and I off at the orchestra.

the venue was so neat, our seats great and along with the orchestra was none other than Amy Grant :)

back to the beach house after the show and Nathan and Caitlin had gotten some birthday cake - each peice was as big as your face and SO GOOD!!!

the next morning we had breakfast on the patio (note the view)

forced Nathan to take a selfie before we left the house

the view from the dock

and then we were off to Disneyland for the day!!!

we ate supper at the restaurant that is inside the Pirates of the Caribbean - if you do Disney (with adults) eat there!

waiting for the fireworks (even the Starbucks cups at Disney are themed!)

It was a quick weekend, but oh so perfect!  We jam packed so much into such a short period of time and got to spend so much quality time with Nathan and Caitlin - it was such a treat!  My heart is so full!