Wednesday of Few Words: Top 10 Photos of 2011

I am a little late to the party, but I am going to kill two birds with one stone with this post.  I am linking up with Stasha's Monday Listicles on Wednesday.  The topic this week also lends itself to a Wordless Wednesday or a Wednesday of Few Words post.

But, for something a little different, Listicles went on a little field trip to Kim's Book Nook.  So to link up or read some of the other amazing posts, click here.  The topic this week is share ten favourite photos.  So without further ado, I present the top ten photos of 2011 taken by my sweet, hubby, Captain Canada.

1.  Sarah getting ready for ballet class.

2.  A beautiful summer evening and loving where we live.

3.  It's not a dance party without a disco ball.

4.  Iris picture taken at VanDusen Gardens.

5.  Our beautiful boy and his love of marshmallows.

6.  Fun in the tub.

7.  A weekend away in one of my favourite cities, Seattle.

8.  My birthday present.

 9.  A date night with friends turned into a jump off.  Sunset at Kits Beach.

10.  Sarah at her Halloween pre-school party.  She was pleased as punch that her Daddy could be there.

What happens when...

What happens when your crafty girlfriends tell you to be ready at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday for a birthday extravaganza?

You start with cupcakes because what's a celebration without a little cake?  Original Cupcakes delivered with a delicious buttercup cupcake with loads of peanut butter icing. There was also some singing and whispery candles that indicated that I have two boyfriends.

There was shopping, both window shopping and the real thing.  We shopped for books and tea and workout gear.  Lululemon loved us on this day.

You talk and talk and then talk some more because its not that often that you get to spend a whole day and part of a night with girlfriends. You drink tea to take the edge off the chill from the cold and rain. I was introduced to DavidsTea and now I want to drink it all the time and buy it for all of my friends.

You get manicures and pedicures and ohh and ahh as your feet get rubbed and your hands get massaged.

You eat a lot of food.  All of your favourites.  If you are a burger fan, check out the Canuck burger at Vera's.  Amazing.

You put an exclamation mark on the evening with a chocolate fondue.

Delightful pound cake meet delicious melty chocolate

But most of all, when your crafty friends tell you to be ready at 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday for a birthday extravaganza, you thank your lucky stars for a group of friends so thoughtful and so much fun.

Thank you Janice for capturing our day in pictures.

Weekend Round Up- Our Own Jessie and Woody

We had a busy weekend.  While I am still catching up with everything, here is a picture of Jack and Sarah ready to head out to Toy Story- Disney on Ice.

Wordless Wednesday: Question and Answer

Question: How many adults does it take to get four kids organized, sitting and smiling for the camera?

Answer:  At least four.  Three to jump around, make silly faces and yell, "smile" and one to take the picture.

It's Captain Canada Again........

It’s Captain Canada Again (pause for applause). 

I volunteered to write a blog post today because it is a very special day.  Today is November 21, 2011.  Why is this a special day you must be thinking?  It’s special because 40 years ago today, my beautiful wife was born.  I’m very glad this day happened.  Without this day there are a lot of things that would be missing in my life.  Like a number of pairs of my socks and other things that I lose regularly (my wife is an expert finder of things).  Without this day I would be missing a great number of laughs, and a few tears (hers not mine)  And without this day there are two cute smiling faces that I wouldn’t get to wake up to in the morning.  So yes I’m very happy November 21^st, 1971 happened.  Happy Birthday to my most special person.  

Overcoming a Fear: Through the Eyes of a Child

Today we headed to our local mall to see Santa.  This is big because we have never seen Santa.  And by seen, I mean that the whole sitting on the lap thing has never really worked for us.  When Sarah was six months old I shoved her on Santa's lap and danced around like a crazy person trying to make her smile and not look back at who was holding her.  She didn't smile, she did look behind her and the camera caught her in mid scream.  Every year since that time in 2007, our visits to Santa have been relatively unsuccessful.  The kids either flat out refuse to go or if they do go, they cry.  Today was a whole different story.  I watched Jack and Sarah go from being firmly committed to not going to visit Santa to sitting on his lap and grinning for the camera.  Their experience with Santa was a commentary on overcoming a fear.

Step One:  Identify the Fear. We got to the mall and Sarah had already declared she was not going to see Santa.  She was keen to watch Jack talk to Santa, but she was not doing it.  Jack was all talk, but upon arrival he hid in Daddy's arms and would not look or talk to any of the elves that were trying to coax a smile.

Step Two: Desensitize the fear. Sarah got a little braver when she realized each of Santa's elves have a card, much like a hockey card and that you could get a check list and can collect all the cards.  All the elves were incredibly friendly and excellent with kids.  It was fun to watch them get right down to the kids' eye level, ask questions and really listen to the answers.  Sarah loved the challenge of meeting new elves and getting their cards.  Jack is always keen to do what his sister does, so he started collecting the cards too.  Soon enough they were chatting up the elves like they were long lost friends.  Jack even did a dance for one of the elves.  It seemed like as they spoke to all of these different elves, they realized that these "strangers" really were not that bad and had no intention of hurting or scaring them.

The Turning Point.  During one of Santa's breaks between talking to kids, he came over to the fence where Jack and Sarah were standing.  He handed them his trading card and gave them each a high five.

Step Three: Watch what others are doing. After getting Santa's card and meeting every elf we could find, we grabbed some lunch.  As soon as Sarah was done eating, she wanted to head back to the Santa area, to meet more elves and see what Santa was up to. As I headed over to meet them, I couldn't seem them anywhere.  All of the sudden, I heard my name, they were in line. Sarah made the decision that she wanted to sit on Santa's lap.

Step Four:  Confront the fear head on.  After waiting in line for about twenty minutes, it was our turn.  They both were nervous, but had their game faces on.  There were whispers of toys they wanted, promises of cookies to leave out and shy smiles that got more sure as the minutes past. They bid Santa farewell with big hugs.  I was grinning from ear to ear at their cute smiles and their brave faces.

because someone thinks I'm special

My birthday present from my Captain Canada and the kids.  A lot of love, sweat and tears went into this project and I adore every inch of it. 

I look at this picture and get a big goofy smile on my face. Look at those cute faces.

It's Friday, so I am linking this post with Let's BEE friends hosted by Bruna.  Hop over and meet Kirsten and link your favourite post of the week.

Family Tradition: Elf on a Shelf

We have started a new tradition in our house this year.  It is all about the Elf on a Shelf.  I read about him last year, but he was sold out everywhere.  So this year as soon as he was available, I grabbed him.

The Elf comes with its own hard cover book.  Read the book to your kids to introduce the Elf.  Choose a name and get started.

Our Elf is named Fisbee.  Each morning he is somewhere around the house, watching the kids.  When Jack and Sarah wake up, they go into full on explorer mode.  The Dora and Diego adventure continues until they find Fisbee's hiding spot.

At night, Fisbee flies back to the North Pole and reports to Santa, letting him know if Jack and Sarah have been naughty or nice.  By morning,  he has returned to our house and finds a new vantage point.

Fisbee and I both hold Trevor Linden in very high regard.

On December 24th, Fisbee will fly back to the North Pole.  He will not be seen again until next November.  Until then, he will continue to lurk around the house watching and listening.  

Wordless Wednesday- Holiday Picture Take 1

Captain Canada got a new background for doing portraits.  Check out Gram, Bubby and the kids in an early holiday photo.

Happy Wednesday.

To Seattle, with Love

Dear Seattle,

I am writing this letter to let you know how much I adore you and what a good time we have together.  I just returned from an adult only, weekend away in your fair city and all I can say is that you delivered.

I feel I need to back up a little and give you a little history on how this whole love story started.  I had visited you a few times in previous years, but my adoration began to grow in late March.  We took the kids for a mini-vacation and we all returned from the vacation with big smiles on our faces.  There was so much to see and do and while it may sound cliche, you truly offer something for everyone.  We loved our time with you so much, that we started recommending you to friends and family.  I wrote blog posts praising you and sent emails to friends with itineraries of where to stay and what to see. Since March, we have spent time with you, no less than four times.  With each visit, I grow a little fonder of you and all that you have to offer.

Here are just a few of the things I love about you, my dear sweet Seattle:

1.  You are a short drive away.  It takes us just a little over two hours to get to you.

2.  You offer a sweet room with a fantastic view.  Hello Space Needle.

3.  The people are so darn friendly.  A map in your hand and someone will ask where you need to go.  A long wait at a crosswalk and someone will chat about it and then wish you a good day.

4.  You are flexible and good with kids.  Bring the kids and you can head to the Children's Museum or the Pacific Science Center.  Adult only, head to Purple Wine Bar or any of the other fine restaurants, you have to offer.  We learned what we liked and what we did not like about Spanish red wine on Friday night.

5.  It is always a treat to wander around Pike Place Market and find unique treasures or take home a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

6. Two words:  Piroshky Bakery.  The wait in the line up is totally worth it.

7.  I accept that it rains a lot and I am used to it because it rains a lot where we live.  Even in the rain, the cobbled sidewalks and twinkling lights are mesmerizing.

8.  I enjoy your transit system.  The "free fare" areas and your monorail are very convenient.

9.  I love to shop. Your downtown area offers me every store under the sun and then some.  I could spend days wandering in and out of stores.  Check out this weekend's big purchase.

My new Ugg Boots.  Hopefully I get up the nerve to wear them outside soon.

10.  You make everyone happy.  While we enjoyed the sights and sounds listed above, Captain Canada also enjoyed seeing all you have to offer through his camera lens.

Who is taller, Captain Canada or the Space Needle?

Thank you Seattle for showing us such a good time this weekend.  Here's to you and me and many more happy weekends in the future.

Love Lisa and the Schwartz Chronicle Family.

I am linking up this post with Stasha over at The Good Life.  It is Monday Listicles time and I love lists.
This week's list is all about the perfect vacation and this little kid free vacation, was the perfect vacation for right now.

Wordless Wednesday: Just Another Day in Jack's World

Looking through the Toys R Us catalogue, trolling for Christmas presents.  I am not thrilled that he is pointing to a Nerf gun.

Playing with his pet dinosaur.

These are a Few of Their Favourite Things

Ask any parent about stages and they can reel of exactly what stage his/her child is in.  Kids go through stages and I am not just talking about the terrible twos.  They go through stages where they are crazy about something and before you even realize it, that stage is over and the kids have moved onto the next great thing.  Both my kids went through the, I love blueberries stage and both kids are over it.  Sarah went through a stage where she loved to bake with me, now she is pretty indifferent about the whole thing.  Jack, while at one time, was crazy about No David books, has now moved onto the Rhyming Dust Bunnies books.  Well Jack and Sarah hit the jackpot this weekend.  Our outings included a lot of things they love, stages they are knee deep in.  It was a weekend of favourites.

We rode the Canada Line and the Sky Train.  Double the fun.

We took in the sights at Science World.

Jack got to revel in all things dinosaur.

Look up, look way up at Brontosaurus

Sarah got to test her skills at the different brain teaser games.

Not only does Jack like to ride trains, he loves to drive them too.

Two words:  Face painting

A quick stop to run an errand,  turned into an extended stay when Jack spotted Mater, another favourite.  There was no way we were leaving without taking Mater for a spin.

A trip to English Bay and Stanley Park presented us with more of our favourite things:

A playground we had never been to before.

A chance to play near the water and throw rocks.

photo taken by Allan Attridge

Lots of family time.

Photo taken by Allan Attridge

You know what they say, "If Momma is not happy, no one is happy."  Well the opposite is also true.  When the kids are happy, Momma is happy.  And Momma was very happy this weekend.

I am linking up with Let's Bee Friends, hosted by the lovely Bruna.