Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Art







When Kimball went away to New Jersey I surprised him with the "Putto's Kiss" painting. He gave the poster to me years ago and it has great significance to both of us but it was just laying around and I hadn't put it up in our new place. I wanted to do something different with it so I cut it down and modge podged it onto a canvas and added some texture and acrylic paint. It turned out how I wanted it and Kimball loved it. We're going to hang it in the bedroom.
While I was painting, Cassidy and her good friend Emma were watching me. Emma was moving at the end of the month to Edmonton and she said she loved angels and asked me if I could do a painting for her. She's a sweet girl so I decided to do something for her. I wanted it to be on a smaller canvas but couldn't find the size I was looking for. Cass said that her favorite colors were black and purple so I tried to work that in. I think it turned out cute and she loved it. Her mom said she couldn't wait to hang it in her room at their new place. I just love painting, I'm working on something abstract right now, we'll see how it turns out. Things are getting pretty busy around here with school starting this week!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Fun in Edmonton!!!




ha ha ha!!!







We had such a great time in Edmonton this week! We met up with Aaron and Skye and the kids. It was so funny...we were texting the whole way and when we got into Edmonton I told Kimball that it would be so funny if we got to the hotel at the same time as Aaron and Skye. Well we are driving on the Whitemud just a couple minutes away from the hotel and Kimball says "that's a blue Toyota Sienna, what if that's them?" We were laughing so hard!! We pulled up beside them and started honking. What are the odds that we would get there at the exact same time!!!
The hotel was great (except for the crazy party in the room next to Aaron and Skye...next time no booking a hotel with a HUGE casino ok guys!!!!! lol!) We went swimming at the hotel that night and ordered pizza. The kids had so much fun seeing their cousins.
We spent the whole next day at the Waterpark. So fun. It was great going during the week, it was so slow and we didn't have to wait for slides. The kids crashed pretty hard that night and we had fun chatting and playing cards. We got some school shopping done the next day and parted ways in the afternoon. We had a blast and will definately be making this an annual event between the Varty Party and the Tagg Team!!!!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Farewell Howard Family









We are so sad that our amazing friends the Howard's are moving out of town. We have known each other for over eight years. We lived two houses down from each other for five of those years! What an awesome family! They have been so good to us over the years and we will have so many great memories to look back on.
We threw a farewell party for them on the 17th. It was great, we had about 40 people come. We got a little crazy at the end and decided to see how many people could jump on Melissa's bed!!
We are excited for their new adventures in Okotoks, and wish them all the best. We love you.

Family Vacation!!!













We had such a wonderful family vacation this year!! We took the kids to Drumheller and we camped for four nights at the cutest little campground. We went to the museum and saw all the sites in the area. The kids love camping so much!!! Kimball and I were talking around the campfire one night about eventually getting a tent trailer. Cassidy was horrified, she said that camping is only "true camping" if you are in a tent! She doesn't want us to get a tent trailer...she's too cute.
We drove to Stettler one of the days and took the kids on an old fashioned steam locomotive. It was so fun. On the way home we stopped in Edmonton at the Ramada Inn. The kids love that place, it has two waterslides that are perfect for them to go down.
We loved our family vacation and are planning to go back to Drumheller someday!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

13 years...and lucky in love.

Kimball and I have been married for 13 years today! Words cannot describe how happy and blessed I am to have him as my husband and best friend. He truly is my soul mate. I cannot imagine my life without him. We first met when I was 17 years old and I immediately felt so comfortable and safe around him. He is so patient with me and understanding. He helps me to see my potential and not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me how beautiful I am. There is no one else that I want to spend all my time with, we are always together. He is leaving for two weeks for a training course in the States at the beginning of August. It will be the longest time that we've ever been apart and I don't know how I'm going to do without him here. He is the love of my life, my rock and my best friend. Happy Anniversary sweetie.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

O Canada!!!







We had an awesome Canada Day! We went to the parade in the morning with our good friends the Howard's. It was good, the kids got a ton of candy and free stuff. Then we went to a barbecue at their place after for lunch. It was great! I made Canada Day cake pops. They turned out cute and were so fun to make!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Little Helper



So the kids have jobs that they do every day in the kitchen. We have a chart on the wall and it rotates throughout the week. Ashton has been begging to be on the list for the last little while. He's pretty little, but we would occasionally give him a job like helping to set the table or helping to load a couple plates. Well, he's officially on the chart now! He is so cute and capable and willing to do his little jobs (most of the time!) Kimball snapped this picture the other day of him cleaning the table. He's too cute!!!

Room make-overs!
















A few weeks ago I decided that Hunter and Cassidy's rooms needed a bit of a make-over. It was frustrating for me and for them that they didn't have a specific area for their trinkets, books, papers, toys etc. I got these great little shelves with colored bins from Ikea. They are perfect! It is helping them to be more organized and tidy. I also picked up a couple bedspreads from Wal-mart that I thought looked good. The rooms aren't quite done yet, I still have to paint something for Cassidy's room and get a few more things for her walls. She also has a "secret spot" in her closet just for her to go and relax in. I want to paint in there and get tons of pillows for on the floor and hang a cute curtain.
I was telling Hunter that I wanted to get him something like a little shelf with knobs that he could hang his hoodies on, and he liked the idea. Well I was at the dollar store the other day and found the coolest skateboard shelf. It was exactly what I was looking for! I bought two! One is gray and the other is yellow.
It was fun helping the kids organize and give their rooms a little lift. They are such great kids and I love them so much.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Third Annual Couple's Quad Trip!


















We went on our annual quad trip up to the sand dunes this past weekend. It was so awesome! We went with the Howard's and the Beaulne's. Two wonderful couples and great friends of ours. We left on Thursday around noon. It was raining here in town and we were hoping for great weather. We got sprinkled on a bit on the way out and it was cloudy but as soon as we got to our spot the sun started shining! It is so quiet and peaceful out there. Kimball was super excited to try out his dinghy. He wanted to pump it up before we even set up the tent! He caught a ton of fish and I caught five!!! It was so great! We went swimming and fishing, we relaxed and napped and sat around the fire eating s'mores and talking.

The only hiccup on the trip was a flat tire on our way out. The road is really bumpy and rough and they are preparing to pave part of it. You can only get in with a 4x4. The boys had it fixed pretty fast though.

Thank you to Auntie Melissa for taking such great care of the kids so we could do this. She is amazing and it's a blessing having her live with us for the summer again.

Can't wait for next year's trip!!!!