Cheery Cherry Blossoms

I'm SOOOO glad it's finally spring! Actually, the winter wasn't too terrible this year. Our first snowfall was on the last day of November and the thaw began at the first of March. 3 months of winter, that's how it should be. Our first year here, we had snow from October until May, and that is just too too long. I just need more blue skies and sunshine to thrive!

Very Special Day

Last Saturday Kaleb, Noe, and their dear friend Emma were baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Kaleb and Noe got all dressed up before hand to go and get their portraits taken at the mall.

On the morning of they got spoiled with gifts from both of their sets of grandparents and from mommy & daddy.

They're so excited to have their own scriptures now!

In the afternoon we headed up to the chapel for their special program.

We wish all of our Lee, Pittl, and Reil families could have been here, but we just live too far away. We're so glad Gramma and Grampa could make it though!

The 3 sweet children of the day!

Kaleb and Noe were both baptized by their daddy. Unfortunately, the water was freezing cold. I felt so bad for them, and think the church should invest in a new water heater, or learn how to fill the font properly. Fortunately, the Spirit was warm and the kids were good sports about it.

They were also confirmed by their daddy and grampa stood in the circle with Brother Woolsey and Brother Cameron too.

Kaleb is such a good boy who tries hard to always choose the right. I'm so proud of him!

Noe is such a sweet girl who also does her best to always do what is right. I am so proud of her!

The rest of the "Great to be 8" crew (minus one) who will be getting baptized this year.

Day Outside

On Friday, we picked Len up from work on his lunch hour and took Mom and Papa to tour Parliament Hill and the surrounding area.









I did mention it was Len's lunch hour, right? We grabbed a delicious spicy sausage from a street vendor to share and then hit the Golden Arches for some less expensive fare. For those of you not familiar with McDonald's in Canada, can you spy the maple leaf?

After we dropped Len back at work, we drove through Rockcliffe Park to spy some beautiful mansions of Foreign Ambassadors and the Ottawa elite.

Day Inside

On Thursday morning, I took Kaleb and Noe to the mall to get their pictures taken for their baptism. Afterwards we picked up Gramma, Grampa, Gavin, and Teague and headed back to the mall so Gramma & Grampa could spoil us with a movie...


How come singing Chipmunks are so cute? They just are! They also spoiled us with some shopping...

Kaleb and Noe each chose a new Webkinz, Gavin got another Thomas Train, and Teague got some Little People. Len met up with us after work, so this time we could spoil them with dinner out...

We went to The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro and seriously pigged out. They have 70 burgers to choose from and the most delicous onion rings and milkshakes ever! If you want to try, come and visit us!

Irish Much?

A lucky leprechaun visited us and left us all some green to wear so we wouldn't get pinched! Although we decided, instead of getting pinched those not wearing green would get a kiss and those wearing green would get 2 kisses (a much better game!)





I finally got THE BEST recipe from my friend Mary for Mint Bars, so of course I had to make them for us! Check out the recipe below.

Brownies
Melt: 2/3 cup Shortening, 4 Tbsp Butter, and 10 Tbsp Cocoa.

Add: 1 cup Brown Sugar, 1 cup White Sugar, 3 Eggs, 1 tsp Vanilla.

Beat until smooth.

Add: 1 1/4 cups Flour, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Salt.

Spread in a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes.

Mint Frosting

Beat together: 1/2 cup Butter, 4 cups Powdered Sugar, 4 Tbsp Milk, 1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract, a few drops of green food coloring.

Frost cooled brownies.

Chocolate Drizzle

Melt together: 3 Tbsp Chocolate Chips, 2 1/2 Tbsp Butter.

Drizzle over top of frosting.

Enjoy!

That night Len and I went to a reception at the Irish Ambassador, Declan Kelly and his wife, Anne's home in Rockcliffe Park. There were about 500 guests including many Canadian Politicians, National News Anchors, and other Foreign Ambassadors. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon gave an entertaining speech to the crowd that was written by a Mr. Leonard Reil I know (way to go, honey!) You can read more about how "Not Just Irish Eyes Were Smiling" from the Ottawa Citizen.

From the above picture you can see how the middle portion of the house is the original and that there are now 2 new wings on either side. This picture is one of the wings. This home is now the largest residence in all of Ottawa!

Cheesy Grin

This darling boy of mine has 6 teeth now!

Spring? Break

Last Monday kicked off Spring break, but my poor little Noe caught herself a flu bug. While she rested that day, the 3 boys played and I got caught up on our laundry. However, by Tuesday Noe was feeling healthy again and the weather was gorgeous, so the kids decided to have a pic nic with the neighbors in the backyard- complete with homemade popsicles.

Afterwards they wanted to change into their swimsuits for a water fight. I thought they were nuts (do you see that small patch of snow still?), but they were very convincing. I ended up filling a bucket with warm water for them to spray each other with.

This holiday from school is actually called MARCH BREAK here, because we are normally in the thick of winter still. However, this year it felt like summer (at least to the kids it did- tee hee!)

That night Gramma and Grampa Blue Eyes flew in to spend the rest of the week with us. Hooray! Now that's something to celebrate!