Pagent

So we have just arrived home from our summer holiday.  We drove to Palmyra to watch the Pageant at the Hill Cumorah (hillcumorah.org) and then we spent a few days in St Catharines with family.  It was a wonderful five days and we have a few more funny moments from Paige to share.....

When we arrived at the Hill Cumorah, we parked our car and there were speakers playing choir music.  Paige said, "listen, it's Jesus!"

Paige sat with her Auntie Angela for part of the pageant and this is what went on between Paige and her:
I had Paige on my lap during the battle scene during the pageant and I squeezed her really tight and told her I was scared and asked her if she was too. Her response was "you need to be brave Auntie Angela." 
Later on during another battle scene when the fire and other loud noises were going on, I again hugged Paige and told her I was scared and she said "you need to be quiet or they'll kill you!"

Brave

Ryan is away on young mens camp right now so I decided to take the time to take Paige on our first mummy-daughter date.  I`ve been planning it for months and I`ve been so excited.  I only told Paige about it a few hours before we went!  We left the youngest two with Grandma and we went to have dinner and a movie.  Where we had dinner was Paige`s choice (McDonalds) and what movie we saw was mine (Brave - you can`t go wrong with Pixar!).

We had a lovely dinner together, being silly and chit chatting and then we went to the movie theatre.  Ryan had tried to take her to see a movie last summer but it ended badly with Paige running out the exit door before the show had been on for five minutes, so I was crossing my fingers this time that now she was older she was more ready.  It was wonderful!  She sat really well and we laughed and giggled together, Paige asked a few questions but otherwise sat and was really engaged with what was on the screen.  I knew the movie was about a princess who wanted to change her fate (marriage) but other than that it was a surprise.  Well, I couldn`t have picked a better first mother-daughter date movie!  The whole movie was about the relationship the mother and daughter had and how they made it better.  By the end of the film I was trying to hold back the tears it was just so lovely.

That night grandma put Paige to bed and said prayers with her and she said `thank you for my mummy daughter date`.  I often worry that I don`t spend enough time having fun with Paige and it was lovely to go out with her just by ourselves to do something fun.  She is such a wonderful inquisitive little girl and it really was a great date.

Family

This evening we went and spent the evening with Ryan`s aunt and uncle and his cousins with their families and children.  It was so lovely!  We spent the evening sitting around a bonfire making smores, the kids went swimming, played in the sand pit and then finished the evening catching fireflies.  Whilst watching and spending time with family my heart was so warmed, watching the children, all different ages playing togther so well, outside in nature, you just know that that's what every child should be able to experience, that's how the world should be, finishing your day together, grateful for your blessings, outside in this beautiful world created for us.

Bridal Shower gift

This weekend I went to Ryan's cousins bridal shower.  I wanted to give a gift that would be fun, original and useful.  This is what I came up with....

A dishwashers basket!  I was so proud of myself, here is what my "giftbasket" contained:
A drying rack (doubled as the gift basket!)
Dish soap
Hand soap
Dish sponges
Metal scourers
Counter cloths
Tea towels
Oven mit
Pot Holder
Air freshener
Bamboo cutting board
Sponge holder
Sink mat
Magnet note pad
Counter cleaner
Air freshener

I kinda got a little excited and kept seeing stuff to add but I left it at this as it kept with my theme pretty well!  Just a note too, if recreating this you could take some stuff out to make the initial cost less or add more if you have money to spend!  However, I felt that this was all stuff you may not think you'd need until you were moved in somewhere which hopefully means we've saved the couple to be some cash that they can use towards something else.

Anyway, I pretty much loved my idea and loved how it turned out.  I will definitely do this one again!

Girls Bedroom

The girls started sharing a room about a year and a half ago.  When we got back from England in March we knew it was time for Sloan to move out of her crib (that was falling apart) and into a big girls bed.  That happened in April/May.  When we were visiting my parents my mum had bought Paige her very own bedding for at nana's house and at the end of the visit it was hers to take home.  I thought it was so cute I knew Sloan just had to match and when I found out there were curtains (blackout ones no less!) to match too I was in heaven!

However, I only just bought the curtain rod yesterday but once I had it I got right on the job and I spent this morning re-organizing/tidying/putting together the girls bedroom.  I had them shut their eyes before they came in to see the finished project and got "wow! I love it" as the reaction.  I think we scored!

The pictures above their beds are their 4 generation photos with my family

Sloan's bed

Paige's bed