Happy birthday Noah

Oh boy, someone is 11 years old - how did that happen?

We had dinner for Noah at Red Robbins, where they serenaded him with a birthday song.

Birthday boy!

I made him this awesome candy bouquet.

But he had to do a scavenger hunt to get to the prize.

I had a bunch of clues for him to solve, and he got the goods.

Here he is, hiding away with his candy haul.

And then we had ice cream cake. Because it's the best.

And here is a picture of his little sister Leyna, because she has to be included too!

Mother's Tea 2014

Last week was the Mother's Tea at my nephew Noah's school. I went to this a couple years back, but couldn't go last year because I was too busy with work and the King and I. But I got to go this year!

They had the gym all decorated in Christmas garb, it was great!

And they sold some lovely poinsettias, trees and ornaments:

They had a TON of silent auction prizes:

Including this contribution from the Grade 3 class:

They also had a big bake sale. My sisters and I were big fans of the big bake sale!

And here was a highlight of the afternoon - hearing the boys sings!

There's Noah, in the back row!

And another highlight: the baked goodies and free coffee!

Noah's Bday

Yesterday was Noah's birthday! He's EIGHT already!!

He and I love playing mystery games on the iPad. The are problem solving or hidden object games, we call it "The Mystery." So I decided to make his presents into a mystery/scavenger hunt game.

I took empty toilet paper tubes and filled them with goods: candy, coins, stickers, chocolate:

And wrapped them all up:

Eight in total, for his eight birthday.

Some had riddles he had to solve, which took him to another part of the house to look for other clues. It was pretty involved, I must say.

Here he is just before the final prize, which was a kite hidden in my mom's bed.

And here's the carnage of torn up wrapping paper and clues. It was lots of fun -  don't know how I'll top it next year...!

Magic Show

This past weekend I took my nephew to see a magic show called Somnium, by Camilo the Magician. Camilo is an amazing magician - and he's also in theatre; he was our stage manager for How to Succeed last summer. Here we are, excited for the show.

Stage is set! It was amazing, over an hour of mind-blowing tricks. Plus Camilo has such great stage presence and was so funny, the audience loved him. Plus - MAGIC! There was lots and lots of magic!

Here's a pic of Camilo and Noah - who loved the show, along with everyone else!

Fireworks

Each year in Vancouver we have the Celebration of Light down in English Bay. It is a huge event, with tons of people heading into the downtown core to watch them. I'm not crazy about the crowds, so last weekend we checked out some other fireworks. These were outside of the ballpark, where the Vancouver Canadians play.

They were awesome! Don't you just LOVE summer??

Birthday Boy

It was my nephew Noah's birthday last Saturday! I was on balloon duty, as usual.

We had a big old party in the park, with another family, who's son is Noah's classmate. Double celebration.

Noah and his boys, playing in the park:

Noah and Thuya - the birthday boys:

Heavy duty barbecuing!

And lots more fun times:

You gotta love birthdays in the park!

Mother's Tea

Last week me and my sisters and mom went to my nephew's school for their annual mother's tea. It's a great day - lots of decorations and baskets to bid on.

Here's the outside of the school - lovely decorations

And inside: 

The boys singing: 

And some awesome silent auction baskets. I won a basket filled with candy!

Star Blankie - done

Finally, I can post something about yarn! I finished my niece's star blanket in time for her birthday last weekend. She was too shy to model in the pictures, so her brother stepped in to help:

 It was a pretty quick project. Once you get going, you really get going. And she loved the colour combo!

Summer birthday

It was my nephew's birthday last weekend! Did you know I'm the official balloon blower in the family?

Did you also know they have indoor beaches? It's a great idea - kids can run around and play in the sand, even if it's raining outside.

Ahhh summer!

Noah's birthday presents

Here are somethings you need to know about my nephew Noah: He turned 5 this month and he loves the colour red. So I made him a Red Angry Bird and a Red Robot for his birthday. That made him happy.

So he made me take pictures of him jumping off the couch. Boys, I tell ya!

A little later, I found his robot on the kitchen table covered in flour - alone and perhaps forgotten.

Then my sister sent me this picture of Noah, snuggled in bed with his new buddy. Tee hee, looks comfy!