Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Some days these kids can ruffle my feathers and drive me nuts!

With kids home for the February break your best bet to keep them out of trouble is to keep them busy!  The kids really enjoyed the Upwards Basketball camp with their cousin and trading Olivia for her cousin was fun for everyone.  When we traded kids back and there was no more camp that's when the trouble started.

Carson somehow got gum stuck in his hair and then thought he could get it out with Shampoo in the shower. 

 I had a newborn coming any minute for pictures so I had to let the gum set for an hour or so.  This gave me ample time to survey my awesome Facebook crew and they suggested using peanut butter. 
 To be honest I was skeptical and thought for sure a buzz cut was in order. 
"Why should my hair be the only one to enjoy this peanut butter.  Think I will just eat some off my thumb!"
 Thank You Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter from saving my sweet red head.  Just let sit for five minutes in the hair and then comb out.  It was so easy!
 And not to be outdone by the mischievous 6 year old is teenager who continues to ruffle my feathers on a daily basis but not usually so literally.  While cleaning his room one day I took down his make shift curtain that was a brand new duvet cover that had been nailed to the wall and put his duvet inside.  To keep it from sliding around I put safety pins at the four corners. 
 Dissatisfied with my home improvement he decided to pull the duvet back out of the beautiful cover that was adorned with embroidered butterflies not taking the time to undo the safety pins. 
 I may have had a mild tizzy fit and thrown the duvet and it's cover into the garage.  That is where he retrieved it from not wanting to be bothered to find a replacement, opting instead to create this mess. 
 How is there any hope for the Circus house when we are outnumbered 2 adults to 5 kids and then they step up their game making a mess even while they sleep.  I hope you all survived the February break with your house and mind in tact. 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

An Original Place

Swift Current's newest restaurant bar, Original Joes, opened this week.  I was very excited when I was asked to photograph the opening night.  It was the first job I had got thanks to Twitter!  Being a business person in today's social media driven world I was very impressed by how on the ball Original Joes is with their social media campaign, especially twitter.  Here is a story about the guy behind the tweets, Jeff Humphreys . If you want to see for yourself,  tweet @Original_Joes ask a question or give a review and he will notice.  The night I was at Original Joe's in Swift Current he suggested the Fish Tacos and I have to tell you he was right!  They were so delicious.  I would highly recommend going there for supper and drinks. 

What you will find at the restaurant:

Unique decor, tasty food, friendly servers, interesting handles for the beer on tap, big portions, wine, beer, slushy drinks.




What you won't find:
A kids menu, that's right it's adults only  Woohoo!  You don't have to cut up anyone's meat, order a meal with a toy or have crayons anywhere on your table.





 Look at the smile on this mom's face reflected in the No Minor Sign :)
 The friendly staff has had a chance to try many of the dishes so they were able to make recommendations. 

 These fish tacos were delish.  Especially the avocado inside. 
 The fortune teller origami out of the coaster. 
 Mmmmmm Beer. 
 Really neat art from around Swifty. 

Cute Beer taps. 



Disclaimer****  I was paid to take pictures of the restaurant but not to review the restaurant itself.  And I did feel a little guilty leaving my older two kids alone and my hubby at the Herbert Rink with three other kids while I ate and drank and visited (aka worked)  These are my honest opinions! 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Memories of Tijiuan and Brett Wilson's 2011 Garden Party

 I am so excited to share with you two videos from the very talented Blayre Ellestad. 

In September Mr. W. Brett Wilson put together a team of 60 enthusiastic friends, family and business associates to travel to Tijiuna Mexico to take part in this life changing experience. My sales rep Karen and I were two of the lucky volunteers.  We went away with a greater appreciation, many new friends and such wonderful memories.  I can truly say it was on of the most meaningful things I have ever experienced in my life and I would do it again in a heart beat.  Blayre did such a great job capturing what is was like to be there. 

Homes of Hope - Making a Difference - Tijuana from Elle & Be - Blayre Ellestad on Vimeo.

Blayre was also at the Garden Party where Brett graciously hosted a fantastic party which raised over $325 000.00 for Dare to Care and anti bullying program that works with schools.  So much fun and all for a good cause! 

2011 Garden Party

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Bronco Birthday Boy!


We spend a lot of time shopping at our local CO-OP and one of our favorite stops is the Deli counter where the kids can flip through the cake book!  Well after a year of looking and deciding on a favorite cake, changing his mind more than a few times the day was finally here!  When I asked Car if he wanted me to make a homemade cake or if he would like one from the CO-OP it was not a long pause before he clearly let me know we needed to jump in the van. 
 Here is the dinosaur lava cake!
It's all about the cake. Carson at 5


Carson at 4 when everyone had the flu the week of his birthday and we had to cancel the party and the cake and instead went to the Parts Dept of our local Ford Dealership with donuts!
 Carson at 3 with some serious "Soother Teeth!"


With the party in full swing the big kids with their juice boxes and hot dogs are demoted to the living room to eat.  I can't believe they are actually sharing one tray. 
 Chips, friends, hotdogs, cake what more could a 6 year old want?
 I am not allowed to touch sparklers........Long story ask me about it sometime. 
 Do I have anything on my face?
Look how excited he is about this giant jawbreaker and candy.
 Big brother can read the cards for you. 
 This is how Goodie bags at birthday parties got started.  She wanted to open presents too!
 All is forgotten by the time we get to the rink to watch the Broncos. 
Our favorite Bronco Goalie/Santa.
 Big fan with colorful hair. 
 Hey there is Miss K!!  The birthday boy is sitting in seat 13 on Friday the 13th.
 The kids LOVE Charlie horse. 
 Hi Charlie.
One of the kids' favorite parts of the game.....Treats. 
 Bubble gum Ice cream.  I finally got her hair brushed but we had to put in the colored hair spray she asks to put in every morning. 
And the very next morning Carson  I realized that my little boy was all grown up as for the very first time he put on all his own hockey equipment without any help from Mom.  One of those bittersweet moments when you are so glad you don't have to do everything for them but kind of sad they don't need you as much. 
Still sporting the green and blue hair from the night before. 
 So the good news was that even with Pat out of town and having to take Olivia to dance and Levi to work that I was able to get Carson to hockey early.  The bad news was that we were actually there 3 hours early or some would say at the wrong time :(. 
Happy Birthday to our sweet little red head!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Kinsmen

The Kinsmen are such a great organization, my Dad was a member, Pat has been a member and my brother in Davidson has pushed a plane to Regina and Saskatoon a number of years to raise money for Telemiracle.  I was even on Telemiracle 10 with my singing group "Just Friends"  we sang The Rose and That's What Friends are For.  Olivia and Pat have both also appeared on Telemiracle. 

So when the Kinsmen ask for a donation it is an easy sell.  We got a call one evening last week that "Stitchy" and the boys were on the way to our house with the "Ugly Car".  You can choose to leave the ugly car in front of your house or pay a donation and send them on their way.  We were happy to give the guys a check and send it to our neighbors. 

 At least this year the kids had their clothes on!  This is from Last year. 
 The car from last year's stop. 

The Kinsmen will be our male models at the 3rd Annual Lasting Impressions Wedding Show on Feb 26th at the Sky Center in Swift Current.