My two little Pianists

Last September, we bought an electric piano, and my sister Ashy started teaching Mason and Dakota piano lessons.  They have sure learned a lot over the past year - they went from not even having a clue how to read music notes, to being able to play some decent songs!  She even got them music for some primary songs, and that was their favorite thing to play.  I am very proud of the progress they've made, I sure hope they stick with it.  Mason is quite talented naturally, but he sure likes to rush through it and doesn't really like to practice.  Dakota sure tries hard, but it's taking a little longer for her to catch on.  We'll see what happens, but hopefully we can convince them to keep it up!  Ash was a great teacher too, and sure fun for them to have lessons with her.  On Sunday we had a little piano recital at my Mom's house with Skyler and my Mom who also took lessons this year!  It was a fun little event, and the kids did well. Now for Summer break!

Happy Father`s Day!

Happy Father's Day to the two most wonderful men in my life!

My amazing husband, of course - Lee - you are such a great husband and father, and I don`t know what I would do without you.  I see more and more how even though we are so different to the point of driving me crazy sometimes, we are exactly what each other needs in our life!  Our qualities compliment each other's so well, and I am so grateful for that.  We have both improved and grown so much over the last 11 years!  He is such a devoted, loyal, hard working man who does all he can to make me happy.  He is always trying to improve his life and our relationship, and he would do anything for me.  He has been sooo busy with work lately that he hardly has time to even do anything for himself, and yet he still manages to be there for me when I need him the most, and to take time to be in the kids' lives as best he can.  He helps out a lot with all of the kids, but especially with Scarlett.  I know I am probably one of the only wives whose husband is willing to get up with a baby any given night, and early almost every single morning so that I can sleep in.  I swear, he has not complained even once about me waking him up!  He has such a great positive attitude, and helps me to see the greater picture.  Not to mention, we sure have a lot of fun together.  Lee, thank you for being the greatest father of my children I could ever ask for!
Also, my wonderful father - Dad, I couldn`t have asked for a better father!  What an amazing example this man has set for all of us.  He is spiritual, and has taught us how to put the church first in our lives.  He is hardworking, and his motto of "Work hard, play hard", has become well known to everyone who knows him.  Throughout my whole childhood, he has been so great at taking the time to teach and do things with each of his children.  From "interviews" to "dates" to fun family vacations, he added a lot of joy to my life.  He can make any situation a good and fun one, and he always seems to have a positive attitude through whatever life throws at him. Who else answers the question, "How`s it going?" with "Outstanding, but getting even better!" every single time?  I have learned from him to always do my very best, and to live life to the fullest.  He cares deeply about all of us, and it shows.  I would also say that my Dad is the Wisest man I have ever known!  Dad, thank you for who you are and for all that you do!

And just a quick little mention of my two growing boys, that I love so much and hope will become great fathers like my husband and my Dad!  Mason is such a little rule-follower, I really think that will help him to be an obedient man, dedicated to the gospel.  I know he will be a great missionary, as he has already started inviting any of his friends that don`t go to church, to come to our church!  He is grateful to have friends in the church who can make good decisions with him - just the other day, he was so proud that him and his friend said they couldn`t have Iced Tea at a non-member's birthday party they were at!  And everytime he has Rootbeer, he diligently makes sure it`s the kind without the caffeine!! So cute.  Mason has a great work ethic as well, and wants to be the best he can - even if he struggles a little bit sometimes....
And my cute little Griffin - not such a rule follower, but wow, what a happy little boy who knows how to fill everyone around him with joy!  His smile is mischevious, but lights me up inside.  He is so outgoing and makes friends with absolutely anyone he meets.  He is very smart, and has a great sense of humour, already. He makes me laugh and smile each and everyday, and sure tries hard to be a good boy and make us happy.
I am so blessed to have all of these great boys in my life!

More Soccer Pics

As promised, here are Mason and Dakota's soccer pictures, it kind of took me a while to get them!  It has been a lot of fun watching the kids play this season, but I must say it will be nice to have our Tuesday and Thursday evenings back!  Only a couple more weeks!  This school year has just flown by, it's crazy!

Mason was lucky enough to get a few of his friends on his team - he's got Mikey Holland, Tyson Smyth, and  Hunter Murray in the picture. Mason did quite well since he is one of the older boys, and he sure practices a lot at school and at home!  He scores quite a few goals for his team.

Dakota has one friend from school on her team, but she is in grade 2, since Dakota is kinda on the younger end of her team! (Not to mention the smallest by far!)  She held her own though.













And I couldn't resist putting in a picture of their biggest and cutest fan!!  Ha ha, Scarlett!

Before and After

I don't usually like to post pictures of myself, but I just got my teeth redone and wanted to post the before and after!  Hopefully you can tell which is which!  I had veneers before, but they were getting old and cracked so it was time to redo them, and I was very happy with the change!  My dentist was able to make them all longer and thinner, not to mention whiter!  Pretty cool.

A rare and exciting Visit!!

We were very excited to have a visit from Grandpa Loewen yesterday!  We haven't seen him for at least a couple years, and the kids were starting to forget who he was!  They seemed confused in their minds that we were talking about "Great" Grandpa!  But it didn't take long to win them over again, and they loved him all the same when he came to visit!  It was actually an unfortunate set of circumstances that led him to come to Alberta - Lee's sister Shauna had to get surgery for her Collitis, and unfortunately it didn't go very well, and she was bleeding internally and they couldn't seem to stop it.  They were worried they were going to have to cut her open to try to repair the damage, but thanks to everyone's prayers - I'm sure - she recovered on her own, and is now doing fairly well.  Everyone was worried for her life for a while though, so Ernie came to see her in the hospital.  That probably helped her spirits as well.  Anyway, we are all happy and relieved to hear she is doing better now - hopefully she'll recover fully soon.  And we were happy that Ernie stopped in Calgary on his way home to see us.  He came for a nice dinner, got to watch the kids play soccer, and had some good bonding time playing games and stuff with the kids.  It was nice to see him again, and he said he and Donna were going to try to visit more often.  We'll try to do our part with the visits as well - it's a long drive with a baby, but we're getting close to being out of that stage of life!
By the way, I just had to post BOTH of these pics because I love how the wind is blowing Scarlett's hair in the second one!  Ha ha, it looks great!

Ishy Squishy Hands and Feet!!

I absolutely LOVE baby hands and feet, they are so soft and squishy, and the little lines of chub are so darn cute!  I can't help but smooch them!  I don't know if I've been admiring them even more than usual since Scarlett is my last baby and I am trying to savour every last bit of her!  But seriously, these are really cute, right?!