Timberline's Country Christmas

I've always heard of Timberline Ranch so I was really excited to finally have a chance to go and check it out.  Timberline is a Christian based camp and retreat centre in Maple Ridge that focuses on outdoor education.  They provide various camps throughout the year and I noticed that they even had a Rocks & Ropes one that Kai would probably love.  Right now they have their Country Christmas on from December 12-21st.  If I could use three words to describe it, I would say: relaxing, intimate, and country.

We live in Surrey and it only took us about 20 minutes to get to Timberline Ranch.  There's something very nice about few traffic lights and FREE parking.

You need to register ahead of time and our family was set to start at 6 pm.  They send about 20 people through every 20 minutes so that you can move through the stations without it being too busy.  As a person who gets overwhelmed with my kids in crowds, I definitely liked this part.

We were 10 minutes early so we went to the waiting room which was filled with air hockey, ping pong and a foosball table.  Kai said this was actually the highlight of the night for him.  I recommend putting your kids (and self!) in layers.  You are in about 6 different locations, inside and outside.  You're always undercover but the temperature varies greatly in each place.

Then it was our turn to start and we went to the Bakery in the Town Hall first.  Each person is given a cookie to decorate.  Fortunately the kids had their own icing bowls because Nya basically spooned the icing straight into her mouth.

There are friendly staff and volunteers EVERYWHERE.  Super helpful.  Very appreciative of that.

Then we left the Town Hall and went to the Lodge.  We started off with `Snowville' which is like a snowball toss.  The boys LOVED this.   They actually skipped `Storytime' to try to shoot some more snowballs (white plastic balls) into the holes.

Nya and Kai made snowmen ornaments.  They are actually really cute and again, there were so many volunteers to help out.  

For some reason Koen didn't want to make one but I think it's because he's sad we left the Snowville station.

The steps are all written on the wall with pictures which was super helpful because I had no idea what to do.

Then we went to the `Origins' section where there is trivia about traditions at Christmas.  Kai liked this part and it's probably because he could read it all.

Then we went next door to Storytime.  The boys skipped this part and went back to the snowballs.  Nya and I tried this part but she wasn't really into it so we left a bit early.  I think it may have been more interesting to them if it was a picture storybook for kids.

Then we hopped on the Wagon Ride to get to the barn where the Petting Zoo and Pony Rides were.  Nya LOVED this part.  Everything runs on a schedule so the wagon left every 20 minutes.

A pony ride is $5 per kid and it was worth it for our kids.  They were sooooo excited as it was their first time on a horse.

Gary walked alongside Nya to make sure she was okay.  I think it may have been the highlight of her life :)

There is a very small petting zoo there with sheep, goats and ducks.  We were able to pet the goats and the boys tried to feed them some hay.

In the barn, the boys played horseshoes, too.  We were at the barn for 20 minutes until the next Wagon Ride came to pick us up and bring us back to the Lodge.

We went back to the Lodge and picked up our dried ornaments and went home.  All together, the circuit takes about 1.5-2 hours.

The cost is always something that matters to me.  We were given passes to review it but it would've cost our family $56 plus tax  (including the pony rides).  It's definitely a kid based event so I wouldn't recommend it for a date night.  

Kai gave it a 9/10 and Koen said 7/10, therefore, I recommend it as a family activity!  Our kids are aged 2-8 which seems like the ideal age for it.   And if you go, and your kids have never had a pony ride, definitely do that.  

It's only open for one more week and the hours are:

 Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri 4:00-8:00 pm

 Saturdays 9:00 am - 8:00 pm

 Sundays 1:00 - 8:00 pm

Make sure you register ahead of time.

If you have any questions, ask away.  Thankful for a relaxing Country Christmas evening with my family!  Thank you, Timberline.

Love, 

Louise

*Disclaimer: We were given tickets to facilitate this review.  All opinions are our own.*

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

1.  Compliments from my daughter.  I came downstairs in a dress and the boys didn't say a thing.  Nya? `MOMMY!!  YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL! I LOVE YOUR DRESS!'. 

2. My `helper'.  Okay, to be honest I do not like cooking dinner with anyone in the kitchen.  Our kitchen is small.  I don't love cooking.  I'm thankful when she is satisfied that she is helping by tasting the shredded cheese.

3.  Koen's Uniqueness.   Of course when you get a sticker from the doctor you put it on your head.   The kids all got their flu vaccine yesterday.  Not sure how effective it will be but better safe than sorry.  Thankful they got the nasal spray version.

4.  Finally realizing the importance of Gary's Sunday afternoon football watching/nap time.   I guess he deserves it after a very long week!  I often feel like `Come on! Let's do fun family things!' so I need to remember that we will have at least 2-3 hours of rest time in the afternoon and then I won't be disappointed.

5.  Family walks.  We do still bring a stroller for Nya so she can hop in if she gets tired.  Her asthma is pretty bad these days so often we put her in there to catch her breath once she starts coughing. I LOVE FRESH AIR. PS I know her jacket is huge but it was just $5 with a removable fleece jacket inside.  She can wear it for 2 years :)

6.  Nerdy family fun.  Hide and Go Seek In the Dark.  The kids love this so much.  Only the person that is `it' gets the flashlight and everyone gets to be `it' once.  Nya has been asking to play each night so we'll have to do it again in the next couple of weeks.  

7.  Living in a big city.  We are close to so many things (Costco!  Shopping Malls!  Home Depot! Restaurants!) and I love that there is a great hospital nearby if we need it.  This was when our little Nya Bear was born and this was my first look at my little peanut.

8. Playdough `worms'.  Yes, now all the colours are mixed together but at least it kept them busy.

9.  Funny kids.  

Me: Koen, we've turned the fireplace back on so don't touch it.

Koen: Did I touch it when I was little.

Me: Yes.

Koen: Did I die?

*************

Three days ago:

Gary: Did you put the butter somewhere?

Me: No, I haven't touched it.

Yesterday:

Me: Koen, why is there a block of  butter wrapped up under your Christmas tree?

10. Purple lids.  Nya is obsessed with purple.  At Costco, the 1% milk has a green lid.  She insisted rather loudly that we had to get one with a purple lid.  It was the same price so I did.  Pick your battles, people.  She loves her `purple milk'. 

All right, friends!  I hope that you have a great rest of the week.  Don't forget to think of a few things that you are thankful for today :)

Love,

Louise

Oreo Candy Cane Chocolate Bark Recipe

I want to share this super easy and delicious recipe with you. I love for the kids to choose a gift to give to those in need each year. This year, we are choosing to buy a bicycle through Compassion so that a child can go to school in India. The boys love school and friends of ours are moving to India in the new year so this provides a great connection for them.

In order to make $45, they need to sell about 30 bags of Oreo Candy Cane Chocolate Bark. It costs about $1.50 to make each bag and they sell for $3.00.  It's really easy for the kids to get involved in the process, so here we go...

1.  Crush candy canes with a mortar and pestle.  

You can choose other toppings instead like nuts, pretzels or craisins.  I tend to stay away from nuts just because of potential allergies.  Martha Stewart has a few ideas too.

2.  Break up a bunch of Oreo cookies.

3.  Chop up large chunks of baking chocolate and place on a double broiler. 

A double broiler is just a bowl over a saucepan of water. I buy Callebaut baking chocolate from Superstore in the bulk section. You can use white, milk or dark chocolate and I personally love dark chocolate.

4.  Stir continuously.

5.  Once completely melted, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Pour the chocolate onto the baking sheet.  Cover with the toppings of your choice.  

Sometimes people mix the toppings in the chocolate but I really like to see it on top of the chocolate.

6.  Put the bark into the fridge for one hour.

7.  Remove it from the fridge and break it into pieces.

8.  Bag it up and you're good to go!

A little tip is to put the tallest piece of chocolate in the back of the bag, this allows the person to see that there is ample chocolate in there. Have a wonderful day, friends!

Love,
Louise

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Bobs & Lolo: A Christmas Show

This past weekend we went to Bobs & Lolo's Christmas show in Fort Langley.  I never know how the kids will do, or what they will think, but they loved it.  We were fortunate to have some of my nieces and nephews along to help pump up their energy.  Also, the winner of the giveaway tickets were won by one of Koen's best buddies.  

The first part of the show was the Rockin Robin Show.  I hadn't heard of her before but all of her songs were classics that parents would know with lyrics that kids love.  She had talking bird puppets which Koen and Nya thought were pretty cool.

Although there was theatre seating, the kids were welcome to dance up front which they did pretty much the whole time.

Okay, so then Bobs & Lolo came on and one of their songs is about `Muscles'.  So what does Kai do?  He starts doing push ups. Up front. 

You can see Koen was up front and centre most of the time.  He loves to be where the party is at.  They sang their new `Chris Moose' song from their `Wave Your Antlers' cd.  That song was in my head for a few days :) 

I spent some time dancing up front with two little girls too.  Bad picture of me but gotta capture it all.  Concerts are a little different these days but just as exhausting!

And then, the meet and greet afterwards!  It went from 4-6 pm so let's just say the kids slept very well after dancing up a storm!

I went to school with Bobs & Lolo (UBC) so it's always fun to see them doing their thing :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Love,
Louise

Frugal Friday {Stove Top Holiday Scents}

I have a great use for all of those mandarin orange peels that are so abundant in the Christmas season!

Just place orange peels, star of anise, cloves, and a cinnamon stick (or just cinnamon) into a pot of boiling water and then turn it down and simmer on the stove.  Here are many more recipes.  You could also make it with just orange peels and vanilla.  It's recommended that you set your timer so you don't leave the house with it simmering and run out of water.

{PS I couldn't find our cloves so I just put in ground cloves}

From our lovely smelling house to yours, have a great weekend!

Love,
Louise

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Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

1. The kids being crazy for Advent activities.  They seriously can't wait to get out of bed in the morning and we make them stay in until 6:30 am.  I just recycled most of the ideas from last year and they don't mind at all.

2.  A successful game night.  It can be tricky playing with Nya but we we gave her the job of `spinner' for the Bingo game and the boys were patient with her.  Kai doesn't love luck based games but he won anyway.  Koen was very pumped each time that one of his was called.  Nya just called `B45' each time.

3.  Our Fisher Price Nativity set.  Nya has learned that it's an angel, not a butterfly.  She's learned about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  She's adamant that the wisemen are women because of their longer hair. 

4.  So many options to see Santa.  I didn't want to wait in the mall to see one so we just went to Port Kells Nursery.  We donated to the food bank and I took a picture.  Poor Nya, I really don't want to traumatize her.  Koen was very torn.  Was this really Santa?  Could Koen ask him for what he wanted? Koen, who is not shy, could not say a word and asked me to speak for him.

5. Dora time.  My down time.  There are so many on Netflix that we cancelled our kids shows on cable (saved us $10 to pay for Netflix).

6. Couches that are well used.  Oh these monkeys, I've got some wild ones!  We will replace our couches, ottoman, kitchen table/chairs, carpets once the kids are older :)

7.  Others crafting with my kids.  Nya gets to do these activities at Noah's Ark and at daycare once a week.  

8.  Finding a solution to Nya's eczema.  Koen used to have it very bad and although we tried coconut oil, Cerave, oatmeal baths, and Aveeno, nothing worked very well.  Well, my friend recommended this and I went for it.  It was pricey for me ($32) and I picked it up at Shoppers Drug Mart.  The problem is that her skin was raw and bleeding so the Aveeno made her scream in pain.  I used this on her and within 4-5 days, her skin was amazing.  Seriously, very, very good product.  Fragrance and paraben free.

9.  Something to keep my coffee warm.  I picked up this Contigo thermos from Costco.  Works so well on the go!  I save so much money making my own coffee at home and taking this with me. Also, when I remember I leave it in my purse to be a little more green.

10.  Size 10. Go me.  I've been 11/12 for years so this is fun!

AND TWO BONUS ONES:

11. Beer.  I took a long, long break from it due to reducing our carbs/sugars.  I'm thankful for our reunion.  I plan on having just a couple a week so we'll see how that goes!

12.  Morning Snuggles.  I love my family.  I'd like to sleep in more but at least I'm sleeping solidly from 11 pm to 6 am.  Nya joins us at 6 am most mornings and then proceeds to fake sleep with giant snoring sounds.  It's cute but not.

I hope you are having a great week!  As usual, please feel free to share something you are thankful for today!

Also, if you use social media at all, please join me on Instagram, Twitter or facebook :)  

Love,

Louise

Our Marriage In 2014

About one year ago, I made the resolution to make Gary a greater priority than my children.  We were through the roughest part of parenting (sleep deprivation!) and it was time to seriously invest in our marriage.  I was not happy.  I felt exhausted, annoyed, and unappreciated.

The very first step was realizing that I had to change MY mindset. What?  I wasn't supposed to change him? This was key.

Then, I read a great book by Shaunti Feldhahn called `For Women Only'.  You can see all the posts about it here.  They're good. I promise.  I wish I could recommend just one but I can't. 

Where are we now?  Much better.  Seriously.  

What are the biggest changes?  

1.  We are more respectful to each other.  In front of the kids and when they are not around.  It's not hard either because I just don't feel as annoyed. More patience. More hugs.  Less `Why are you...?'.   I know I still have a little ways to go on this. 

2.  We spend more evenings together.  This has been wonderful.  Even though Gary is coaching basketball now, we have at least 3-4 evenings a week where we can cuddle on the couch and watch a show together (right now it's `Suits').  If you are on a couch, near a fireplace, with a beer or snack in hand, sharing a blanket, watching a show you love...this generally leads to more intimacy than if you are working in separate rooms.  He knows that I want to be with him.  And let me be blunt: Sex is important.  Go to bed at the same time. Schedule it if you have to.  Just do it. And if you don't want to, you really need to look into why and figure out a solution.

3.  We've each lost 15-20 lbs.  This was never in the plans but it has really helped me feel more attractive.  I put more effort into how I look and I know what he likes (skirts, in case you were wondering).  I find him more attractive too because he is taking better care of himself.  I'm not saying weight loss = better marriage.  What I am saying is that putting an effort into our health/fitness/how we look = better marriage for us.

I know this will continue to be a work in progress, especially as we start on a new journey of foster parenting in 2015.  I'm thankful for where we are and I'd encourage anyone who is less than happy with their marriage to do something about it.  Read my marriage posts, there's some great information in each one.  And please, if you have any advice or encouragement to share, leave a comment.  

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. Spend some time cuddling on the couch  ;)

Love, 

Louise

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