I asked Ben what he wanted to do this morning and the first thing he said was "a craft"... luckily, I had just stocked up on some Easter Crafts, so that is what we did. He was so precise! He took his time and made sure that everything was right where it was on the diagram that it came with. I love doing crafts and when he was little, I was so afraid that he would not like to because he was a boy....I'm so glad I was wrong!


the finished product





he wanted me to stand with it too... he took my photo all by himself!


then we made some yummy strawberry vanilla cupcakes for dessert tomorrow night....yum!

On our way home today, Dave had one request... to stop at Lowe's. I didn't really see the point, I mean how much different than Home Depot could Lowe's really be? How many power tools and plumbing parts can you look at before your eyes start to go crossed? I was making fun of him as we were walking up. I had told him that the only way we could stop is if he let me take his photo in front of this store... he said "sure", not even batting an eye!

I was laughing at him as we walked in.... and then those doors opened...! WOW! I got one quick shot of both Ben and Dave and then was in a slow sprint over to the sinks and vanities! I could not believe the selection of everything this silly store had to offer.... I looked back at Dave and he had a "I told you so" look on his face. By the end of the trip, we had chosen a beuatiful vanity for the basement... as we were walking out, I was secretly wishing we had one of these stores closer to home!


My 2 boys in front of Lowe's


this was my "hurry up and smile, I have some shopping to do" photo...

What would a trip to Calgary be without a day of shopping at Cross Iron Mills? And what would a trip to Cross Iron Mills be without a trip to the Bass Pro Shop? We also went into Build-A-Bear because when I was here with my mom, I saw that they had E.B, the character from the Easter movie HOP. I really wanted to take Ben to that movie and I thought it would be cute for him to have the bunny that is in the movie. He was so excited when we told him! I love how sincere little kids are - everything seems to make him so truly happy and excited - it makes me so happy to see him happy! Love my little Mr. B!


Ben and the moose at the Bass Pro shop


Love this one!


Ben making his E.B stuffed bunny at Build-A-Bear. This was his first time in the store ever!


picking out E.B's heart


putting it in...


giving him a bath... it was really cute & he had lots of fun!


You can kind of see E.B in the video, but here is what he looks like

All packed up for a little road trip back to Calgary.... we've been there lots lately - I will explain later....
Ben was so excited to go - we left after I got home from work and didn't get there until 11:30 tonight... Mr. B was awake the whole time, singing and talking. He kept me company while Dave took his truck. I really don't like driving long distances (I usually take that time to catch up on my napping) :)

all packed up and ready to go!

Ben was over at Granny and Boompa's tonight for his weekly sleepover so again, thanks to Granny, I have some photos for the day...What I find funny, is that the last few Tuesdays that he has been there, she has him shovelling her snow... hmmmm, might have to look into that one! :)
I'm kidding, Ben loves shovelling - he's quite good at it. Dave showed him how to throw it over his shoulder and he does really good... a few more years and we can watch him clear the driveway from the front door! :)


picking it up....


pushing it under the railing because its still a bit to high for him to reach over...


B and his Oiler Bear. Jon bought him the teddy bear for his first birthday and when my mom and I were in Calgary on Sunday, she bought the Oilers clothes to dress him in from here

Today was a very special day (for both me and Ben)... Today was the first day of Ben's unparented (yes, no more me getting into the water) swimming lessons. I was not sure how it would go today... I had visions of him trying to get out of the pool and not wanting to get in without me - but I was so wrong! Paulette has Taylor and Emmerson in the class as well, and Dave was there watching because he is still off with his knee, so I think all of those factors helped tonnes! The girls and Ben did so good! No one got out of the pool, no one cried, everyone listened to the teacher - they were perfect little kiddies!! Can't wait for next week!

My mom and I were in Calgary today and I had asked Dave to take Ben to WEM to get him some black hightop sneakers I had on hold at a store. Poor Dave was not feeling good, but being the good hubby that he is, he bundled him and Ben up and drove to the Mall, to discover that they had not put the shoes on hold for me like they were supposed to and there were none left in Ben's size...ugh! I got a call from him explaining this... poor guy! He told me he had found Ben a shirt and hoodie and was not sure if I would like them... Dave has never bought Ben clothes before on his own, so I was a little worried.... He emailed me some photos to my phone and I was quite suprised at his taste!! Good job Dave!

love the hoodie - it has wording all about Rock Music... really cute!

I saw this shirt the last time I was at the Mall, but didn't think Dave would like it....funny how he thought the same about me - I love this one too!

Sadly, this is the only photo I have for today... We were invited over to the Caharel's for a night of appetizers and dessert and that is exactly what it was.... 5 hours of not stop eating - one appetizer after another, after another. Then to top it all off, one dessert after another! By the end of the night, we were all so full and the kids were so confused because of the fact that it was not a "dinner". We would give them a spring roll and some veggies, let them eat it and then go play until the next appetizer was ready... I know this is how they eat in some parts of Europe - would take some getting used to, but still a great night!


I apologize for the hazy photo... Dave was using his phone to take the photo because I forgot my camera. I love how Ben's little head is poking out and the girlies are cuddled together.... love those 3!

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!

Ben has been waiting for today to come for a week now. We talked about it last week and I explained to him what it was all about... he loved the idea of Fooling someone and every morning he would ask if it was April Fool's yet... well today I got to say YES!
I looked online to see what kind of "kid pranks" we could pull that he would understand and find silly... Here are a few..



Ben turning Daddy's Cheerios Green (this didn't work too well.... you are supposed to put food coloring in the cereal bowl and then put the Cheerios on top to hide the food coloring. Then when you pour the milk on top, it is supposed to change colors... well, the Cheerios soaked up most of the green color, so the mild didn't change too much...noted for next year!)



Ben turning Daddy's milk blue... this one worked great!


"I lost a tooth" prank on Granny... he loved this one!


the girls and Paulette came over for lunch today and Ben turned their milk blue too... this time, we just added the food coloring straight to the mild carton so that it poured out blue... T&E didn't seem to care too much.... girls! ;) This was as they were getting ready to go home (yes Ben has no pants on again...) They love sitting in the windowsill and taking turns sitting on eachothers lap - Paulette and I just sit and laugh and watch... soo cute!


LOVE this photo!!!


this was my April Fool's Day joke to my 2 boys... Meatloaf Cupcakes..


with Mashed Potato Frosting...


and a Cucumber Flower! Yum!

Its funny, when you turn anything into a cupcake (even meat) it gets gobbled up! I wanted to do this for desert, but I ran out of time... next year!