waste management in kitchener-waterloo

i had the privilege of going on a trip with my daughter's class 

to the region of waterloo's waste management facilities earlier this week.

first of all - it was a great trip.  

the students loved it and i think they learned a thing or two!

as always, i brought my camera along and i'm so glad i did.  

there are a few images i want to share with you.

this is what the landfill looks like:

the garbage you can see was dumped within 

24 hours of the photo being taken.

that's a lot of garbage...

(can you imagine a years worth?)

now here are some images of the many things 

that can be recycled and should not be in the landfill...

 please recycle friends, 

and use your green bins!

(for those of you who have not heard, 

timmy cups can be recycled or, even better, 

go in the green bin for composting!)

sweet shoppe party

this was such a fun party to put together for my 8 year old!

it was a sweet shoppe in the 60s theme, 

and all the girls came dressed for the fun.

i was amazed with the costumes and hairstyles of our guests.

the premise of the party was to earn sweet shoppe dollars

that they could spend at the sweet shoppe.

to earn the money they participated in simple activities 

that you would do at most parties,

but adding the money factor was cause for great excitement!

the first activity was creating a paper purse 

that would hold the money earned.

then it was on to auntie beth at the nail and tattoo shop

 to get their nails done and a 'sweet' tattoo applied...

a little music from hairspray and dancing...

then opening gifts.

the girls thought they might have to use their money 

for the ice cream shoppe, 

but they actually got 'paid' to create and eat ice cream sundaes...

(squeals of joy!)

~

flavours included mint chip (my girl's favourite),

chocolate, vanilla sprinkles and orange sorbet.

for toppings we had chocolate and strawberry sauce,

smarties, jelly beans, gummies, sprinkles and whipped cream!

finally, they were on to the sweet shoppe to spend their sweet shoppe dollars!

it was so fun to watch them count out their money 

and fill their paper purses with goodies to take home.

~

hearing my girl say it was her best birthday party ever... 

was sweet music to my ears!

aubree's 3rd birthday

my niece (who is also a big sister now) had a birthday party recently:

i had the pleasure of making the cake (pinterest inspired)

for the celebration and photographing the fun!

~

there were many guests (of all ages) at this party, 

but we'll keep the focus on the birthday girl...

i think she liked the cake!

twelve years

today jude and i celebrate 12 years of marriage.

i am so thankful for our journey so far, 

and excited to continue on this path together for years to come.

we were able to get away for a few days 

(just the two of us) 

earlier this week.

it was so nice and relaxing...

tonight we had a picnic with the girls at rockway gardens,

a place we love to visit on our anniversary.

it was a great night!

these photos are courtesy of $20 well spent...

i picked up a wireless shutter remote this week.

loving it!

this spring...

much has happened over the past month or so around here...

the biggest news is, we bought a house and sold our current home!

it happened so fast and we're very thankful for a quick, smooth process.

we'll be moving in august - up the street and closer to our school.

the girls are thrilled as they will now have their own rooms,

and we'll be even closer to some of their good friends.

we will miss our neighbours here and our big backyard,

but we're excited to move to a similar vintage of home 

with all the renos pretty much done.

happy father's day!!

here is a little video i put together for jude this weekend.

he is away for a few days for a combination of work and play.

he'll be showered with art, cards and gifts upon his return,

but he missed out on breakfast in bed this year!

emery has just completed her dance season.

she was invited to compete with the dance 

studio run at our community centre.

we love the families and leadership there.  

it has been such a positive experience for her 

(and me in my new role as dance mom).

she loves performing and has no fear being on stage, 

and i've learned to do curls, buns and stage makeup...

this image is from her rec. recital this past weekend:
 a 'serious' dance to music from james bond...

selah has given t-ball a try this year and seems to really enjoy it.

she finishes up the season this week and excited to get her first trophy

(she remembers that emery got one when she played)!

tiny but powerful...

selah also got her ears pierced earlier this spring:

don't worry - she was smiling again shortly after this moment.

her ears are healing perfectly and she's excited 

to try some new earrings on when the time comes...

jude and i are looking forward to a few days away 

this week to celebrate our 12th anniversary.

we've been spoiled the past two years with big trips (mexico and greece),

this year we're heading to muskoka.

beyond that, we're excited for summer!

so there's a little update on us,

how are you doing?

a mother's day at home...

if you live around here, you know it was a stay inside sort of day.

last year we had a great time on our mother's day hike
(kind of a tradition)...

this year, we had a lovely family day at home.

it included a 7 layer breakfast cake (in bed) created by emery,

piggie back rides from daddy to make mommy laugh,

 tons of beautiful art work from the girls,

a mommy makeover by emery

(outfit, hair and makeup...  my first time wearing red lipstick - ever!),

 showing the girls photos from when i was little,

and introducing them to an episode of the flintstones (great show!).

i also may have gotten a new purse from jude...

impressive, eh?!

and a quiet hour at home while the girls went to the mall to pick up 

some special gifts they had in mind for me...

 one pair of earrings for each of us from selah,

and a mother/daughter necklace from emery.

super cute.

~

and in case you're wondering,

emery has reapplied my lipstick twice since my makeover.

many reasons to smile today...

what do you like to do for mother's day?

six year old cousins

these two were born four days apart in april 2007.  

chris was 6 lbs, selah was over 9lbs.

buddies from the start...  

 here they are - six years later!

it's always fun when it works out for them 

to celebrate their birthdays together!

 and what's a party without an uncle who can fly you to ceiling?

i'd say that's something to smile about...

happy weekend friends.