Pre-Halloween Preparations

Rosie and I took advantage of some time this morning to get our pumpkins ready for Halloween night. I covered the table with lots of newspaper while dj jazzy Rosie chose the right tunes to set the mood (she went with a rock mix) and then we set to work creating two jack o' lanterns to spookify the steps of our little house.

Rosie lost interest about 5 minutes into it and only joined me again once the cleaning of the pumpkins was finished. For a child who quite willingly dives into most messes head first, she still surprises me with the things she finds even beyond her comfort level. Those pumpkin innards were beyond gross for her. But she sat with me and we chatted about all sorts of things. She practised writing her name and I cleaned and carved. Finally we ended up with "scary pumpkin" and "happy pumpkin". I was a bit disappointed with the name choices but Rosie told me they were good names.

Rosie in her pink, furry boots with said carved pumpkins

Beyond the actual pumpkin carving, we just had so much fun together. I told her when a song came on that I really liked and she did the same. We sang together when we knew the words and even when we didn't. She told me about her favourite parts in High School Musical and why Chad was her favourite. I told her about trick or treating when I was a kid. It was the best. There is nothing better in all the world than to just slow down and actually spend time with these little, wonderful beings in our lives. They teach us so much about what is important. And we can find ourselves relaxing, laughing, singing, sinking into the thickness of life as opposed to hovering on the surface. Thanks, Rosie, for helping me to slow down. I love you.

~Mandy

A Beautiful Autumn Day

October 29th was a really beautiful day here in Caronport. The weather was sunny and warm which is such a wonderful surprise for this time of year. So the girls and I headed outside because it was a day that demanded to be enjoyed. I cleaned up the gardens and prepared them for winter, though I was so thankful that winter seemed so distant in that sunny moment. Brookie helped me water the plants one last time and Rosie . . . well Rosie took advantage of the warmth in her favourite bathing suit.

Here Brookie is working on the front lawn. She is such a huge help.

Brooklyn was extra generous with the water for our silver maple tree - Sylvester (yes we named him. It is easy to keep track of names when there are so few trees and it seems to me that trees around here deserve to be named)

Rosie plays the "Don't spray me/Please spray me"game with Brook

Later that same day while I was in Moose Jaw, Sean and the girls made chocolate chip cookies. Here are the girls waiting patiently at the oven for the cookies to be finished. Let's just say it has been a while since I have made cookies, which may explain the eager anticipation.

All in all, it was a glorious day. It was one of those fall days that make me imagine God smiling down on us and saying, "Here. Enjoy."

~Mandy

Let's Go To The Theatre

On October 21st, the whole family went to see Annie at the theatre in Moose Jaw. It was very exciting. I still remember my first time going to see live theatre and it was life-changing for me so I was anticipating the same for our little girls. They have seen the movie numerous times and they couldn't wait to sing along with their favourite red-haired orphan.

Of course, nothing but the fanciest dresses would do. Here the girls pose for a picture with their programs. We saved these as keepsakes.

Here we are about to get a glimpse of the theatre for the first time

Front row seats - and I am not joking. We could see really well.

The girls were fascinated by the orchestra pit before the show began.

We thoroughly enjoyed the show. The girls were quite spellbound through most of it and then we started losing Rosie at about 8:30. She was exhausted. But the whole experience was amazing - we even got a drink at intermission and after the show, Sean took us all out for dessert and a drink. We arrived home tired, full and ready to dream about "Tomorrow".

~Mandy

Highland Dancing 101

This year the girls are trying out highland dancing. A friend of ours arranged for an instructor to come to Caronport every week and run classes out of her basement. Now, you may imagine that recreational activities are not that easy to come by around here so we thought this would be a great opportunity. Every Tuesday afternoon, the girls try their best to tap into their Scottish roots.

Rosie listens intently while supposedly stretching

Here she is in action

Brookie stretching

A little barre work (but using a couch works too!)

It really is great. The classes are small and the instructor is from the big city (Regina) and we don't need to drive into Moose Jaw. The kids get to move around and have some fun too. I don't know that it will last long. Brooklyn is a perfectionist so she gets frustrated by not being able to do everything right away and I think Rosie wants to just dance to her own music, which doesn't include bagpipes or a lot of rules. I just hope I can get one picture of them attempting the sword dance wearing kilts.

~Mandy

Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale. ~ Hans Christian Andersen

And I completely agree.

~Mandy

Recently, we received a package from Ama, Bops and Aunt Nessa full of wonderful presents from their trip to Prince Edward Island. It was so fun to see the girls enjoying their Anne of Green Gables dolls, their sand dollars from the ocean and new night gowns. One of their favourite gifts was their "High School Moosical" t-shirts from a place called Cows . These are the greatest shirts. So here they are modelling them for you. In the first picture, you will also notice some super rad boots on Rosie. They are her pink furry moon boots. I think we will all agree that there couldn't be more perfect boots for our Rosie Roo.

~Mandy

Frolicking in the Snow

What better thing to do on the first snow day than build a gigantic snowman? Sean and the girls set to work creating one of the biggest snowmen I have ever seen.

Brooklyn's good friend Maia from next door came over to lend a hand. Rosie gets easily sidetracked.

Sean was there to lend a hand

And here is Stanley, giant snowman and friend to all.

~Mandy

A Saskatchewan Tradition - Snow in October!!

We woke up on Thansgiving morning to find our world had been covered in a blanket of white, sparkly snow. Of course, the novelty of snow has worn off for me. I am unfortunately left with thoughts of bundling up two small children, cleaning off the car, unbundling two small children, wet floors, more laundry and rebundling said small children. But who among us can resist the feeling of surprise and excitement when we see again the first snow of the year? Well, I can't. Brookie and Rosie couldn't either. And so we found ourselves exploring our world of white not long after breakfast.

Our neighbour, Lloyd, was unveiling his prize-winning pumpkin. I can't remember exactly how big it is but it took three people to move it. We couldn't pass up an opportunity to get a picture with Caronport's largest pumpkin.

Brooklyn and Rosie posed for a picture just outside our house.

We thought this tree, blooming with fluffy snow, was so pretty against the blue sky.

No matter how you feel about snow and winter, that first clean, graceful covering of snow seems to remind us of really good things - things too beautiful to even put into words. And then we move into the "My hat is itching me", "My mitts fell off", "My feet are wet", "My mitts fell off again", "I'm cold" and "Can we go inside now?" stage. But for those first precious minutes, it is glorious.

~Mandy

"A photo says, You were happy, and I wanted to catch that. A photo says, You were so important to me that I put down everything else to come watch." ~ Jodi Picoult My Sister's Keeper

Stargazers

A few nights ago, Sean had gone out and it was just us girls. We were doing the usual evening stuff which includes me trying to clean and tidy around Brooklyn and Rosie while they have one last swim in the imaginative pool, journey through the imaginative forest, class at the imaginative ballet school, ride on the imaginative pony, well, you get the idea. So I was focused on the never-ending mess when Brooklyn came and asked if we could go outside to look at the stars. It was getting really close to bedtime and stuff was everywhere. There were many reasons to say "no" to such a request. I mean, I even have the "it's a school night" excuse to pull out when needed, but the front door was open and I felt this perfect autumn breeze and before I knew it, I was saying "sure" and heading down the front steps.
We all laid on our backs and looked up at the prettiest sky full of stars I have seen in a long time. We talked about stars and constellations and our favourite star. Rosie suggested that we count them. We got to twenty and abandoned that plan. We laughed and snuggled, basking in the stillness of our street, the vastness of the universe and the treasure of moments exactly like this one.
Finally, it got a bit chilly on the grass so we came in and got ready for bed. As I was tucking Brook and Rosie in, before we thanked God for the stars, I thanked them for stargazing with me.
~Mandy