Room Service

We just got back from a great weekend in Calgary filled with fun memories.
Justin was asked to attend a conference there and was treated to a hotel room and room service.
It was awesome.  We didn't get there until around 9 so we has already eaten but who can pass up some free room service?  We ordered some cheesecake and some fruit, and were treated with some delicious chocolate cookies.

 Twelve dollar cheesecake.  We expected it to be a little bit larger, but it was enough to quench our sweet tooth!

The prince and princess and our room service tray.  Justin and I have never had room service or stayed in a fancy hotel.  So this was a treat for us too.  We stayed up late with the kids and just enjoyed the night.  I think we all had a great time.  Just outside our window was the Calgary Tower.  We were right across the street from it.  Noni had a little bit of a scare looking out the window (we were on the top floor) at the Calgary Tower.  He would not let Justin let go of his hand.  He was so cute.  It was just and unexpected and fun night.  Justin kept saying to Ruby  'Remember this night' and she kept replying 'I can't'.  I hope she does. She has the best memory of anyone I know- so I am confident she will be fine...

And Eldon was there- whether he enjoyed himself or not is still unknown...

Gallets

When Ruby was young she used to call glasses goggies and noni called them gallets.  Now they both call them glasses.  (They are getting too big)
There are a lot of perks that come from Justin being an optometrist, like for example, we are finally MAKING money.  (It has been a long time)
One of my favorite perks is being able to go and try on glasses.
There is nothing better than a little kid with a pair of glasses on.  They are just way too cute!
Ruby loves it too.  She has her set favorites- the glow in the dark ones but I like to make her branch out.  There are some incredibly cute ones there!
Here are some of my favorites from the last time we were there.

 Is this not the cutest picture you have ever seen?  He reminds me of the old man from UP.  I just love his mouth and the way he is standing!

 Ruby loves purple.  As she should- these glasses look so awesome on her!

 Eldy isn't really a fan- but that cute cry face is awesome.

What a cute little head.

Mustaches

I was asked to do a booth at a relief society activity. It was to be geared towards having fun with kids.

It wasn't until I started to plan it out that I realized 2 things.

Number 1:  I used to have fun with my kids all the time.  We used to do really fun things, and life was good.

Number 2: I have been slacking a bit since I got pregnant- a year ago.  I was just so sick, having fun was the last thing on my list.  Life is still good but we really need to get the fun back into it.  

So here I go to 'Carpe Diem'

I love mustaches, I just love them.  Not real ones mind you.  I don't want Justin to actually GROW one.  Please no.  But I do love fake mustaches.  I really do.

My kids tolerate them.  (They love them deep down I am sure.)

I printed out the props- (I found the free printable here)

And we got to work having fun.

 Noni didn't have as much fun as the rest of us.  I guess he wasn't in the mood.  He kept crinkling all the props and after this photo was taken he promptly ripped those glasses in half...  I just turned them into a monacle...  when noni gives you lemons make lemonade- right?

 Ruby was such a good sport!  And isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen?

 Eldon is awesome.  Look at that little guy- he is SO AWESOME!  He didn't even cry or complain.  He as quickly learned to endure...

This was so fun.  and you get some awesome photos from it for memories later.  We will do this again soon. I just need to find some more mustaches....

Good Deeds

Today brought me drama.  Car and snow drama.

One thing after another drama.

The kind of drama that has you asking two questions- 'Really?'  and 'What's Next?'

It began with a crazy snowfall.  Like 2 feet of snow.

Then Justin was taking Ruby to school and got stuck outside the house.  Mom and I didn't notice and luckily some guy came by and pushed Justin out and Ruby got to school and Justin got to work.

Then the time came for me to get the Rubes from school so I decided that I would take Noni since it was his birthday and I never take him and he really wanted to come.  

So I rushed and got him ready- which can be quite the feat especially when it is so cold outside.

We went outside and the first thing Noni does is walk into the huge snow bank.

He fell in all the way up to his chest.  It looked fun but he wasn't wearing snow pants and was covered in snow.

I grabbed him as quickly as I could and wiped him off then put him in his car seat.  He immediately started crying because the cold snow was touching his skin so I went to start the van to get it warmed up for him.

The van won't start.

Try again, nothing.

Just clicks.

Of course.

So I haul poor Noni back into the house, break the bad news to him- call Justin and go back outside.

By this time I am going to be late to get Ruby so luckily Justin's 230 appt didn't show up so he was able to run and get Ruby.

In the mean time I hopped in mom and dad's car so I could meet Justin at his work and get Ruby.

I was a little bit worried about getting stuck but thought I would go for it anyway.

Well- what do you know.

I get stuck.  Things were looking good.  I thought for sure I would be fine.  Sadly, I was not.

So I call Justin.  Of course.

He says he will keep Ruby at work until I can get there or until the end of day- whichever comes first.  At this point I'm thinking end of day.  The hard part is I am stuck in the middle of the road at an angle- leaving minimal space for anyone wanting to get around me.

So I kept trying to get out.  I shoveled, I rocked, I looked, I waited and tried again, I prayed.  

Still I did not get out.  

So I sat and waited a bit.  Tried again.

Still nothing.  In the mean time I thought my screen filter was on because my screen seemed dark so I pressed the screen filter button and it turns out that it wasn't on and I turned it on.  Now I cannot see my phone screen- which seems rather minimal but when I am trying to communicate via text with justin and I can't see my screen it is rather maximal.  I can't even see my screen to turn my screen filter off.  It was sad.

Finally a glimmer of hope.  A truck had driven by twice while I was trying to get out and I thought for sure that it would stop and someone would help me.  Turns out- no.  

But another good Samaritan did show up.  He couldn't get me out himself- he tried, I will give him that.  Luckily someone else saw our distress and came to the rescue.

I finally got unstuck and then the awkward moment came.  

You know the moment- these two guys have helped you get out- something you are grateful for and really should stop and thank them for but if you stop then you will most likely get stuck again and look like an idiot so you do the awkward wave out the window with a thank you yell to follow.  Sadly it doesn't truly show your gratitude to its full extent but what am I to do?  I just hope they felt my gratitude.

I went and got Ruby from Justin's work, we tried on a few glasses and headed home to finish Noni's cake and get the pizza dough ready.  

We had survived and Ruby got picked up in time and I learned a valuable lesson- Always stop and push people out of the snow, it will be appreciated even if they just wave and yell out the window to say thank you.

It was also this kids birthday- and this kid is awesome!  He fills my day with joy and mischief.  I really love him.  I see that sweet face and I just feel glad to have him around.  I can't believe that he is 3.  We had a little family party with him.  I will fill you in later.  But it included butt-staches.... of course.  You've never heard of a butt-stache?  Well stay tuned my friends, stay tuned...

Rainbow ButtStache.

January brings to us a new year and a special little guys birthday.

Justin Myers Snell turned 3.
THREE!  Can anyone believe it?
This little guy is so incredibly adorable he can just about get away with anything, and he tries.
I can just see that mind of his working and I love it.
He brings so much joy and excitement into our family.
I cannot believe what a big boy he has become.
He is always reminding us that he is not a baby anymore.
He is strong and loves to wrestle.  If ever he falls or gets hurt it is a rare occurance to see him cry.
I am really having a hard time putting into words how much I love him and how awesome he is.
He is AWESOME and I LOVE him.
He is super chatty and has his own special way of pronouncing certain words-  which I think is awesome.  Luckily we have Ruby the interpreter in our family.
Noni loves planes and the outdoors and snow and running and wrestling and Ruby and now his baby brother  whose name he frequently forgets.
He has mastered the art of unders and prefers to wear only them the whole day.  Anytime I put clothes on him he asks 'where are we going?'
He is sweet and lovely and wonderful.
We are so glad to have him in our family.
This year for his birthday I decided to make him a mustache cake.  We were going to have some family over but everyone got sick so it was just us this year.  I found an awesome cake on pinterest that I wanted to make- it looked easy and all i required was a circular cake pan.
Well we don't have one.
So I thought I would just do a rectangular cake pan and cut my own mustache shape out of it.
That is how the 'Buttstache' was born.  (Lovingly named by Ruby)

It was a monstrosity of a cake, in fact I am ashamed to admit that I even made that...  Perhaps the ugliest thing I have ever seen and rightfully named I am sure.

Despite its outward appearance it was delicious- therefore teaching a valuable lesson- never judge a cake by its appearance....

Eldon wanted in on the action too.

Doesn't he have a sweet little face?

Juliette

We are all completely in love with Baby Juliette (our new niece).
She is so sweet and lovely.
Ruby cannot get enough of her.
Myers mostly ignores her until she is gone.
But he did once say that she was as cute as a marshmallow- and if you know Noni- that is a BIG deal.
It means her REALLY loves her.

We all really love her!
Ruby now wants to name our baby Romeo if it is a boy.
I just hope ours is as sweet and as cute as little Juliette....

I Love To See The Temple

One thing I really love about Ruby is her ability to notice and love all that is beautiful.
She really truly appreciates it.
The temple in Calgary has just been finished and they are having their open house right now (a time when anyone can go in and take a tour of the temple before it is dedicated.)
I knew we were going to take the kids but I was also looking forward to Ruby's reaction to the beauty of it.  She did not disappoint and was sure to notice all of the little tiny details that only she could.
It was a great experience and I am so glad that we were able to go as a family and enjoy the peaceful feelings that were there.
Even Noni stopped for a second or two to take a look around.

I hope that as they grow they will remember the experience they had there, and the feelings they felt while inside.  I am grateful for temples and for this new temple in Calgary.  The open house is still going on for another week- if you get the chance it is well worth your time!

Pockets

This little Noni of ours HATES clothes.
I get them on if we are going outside and then that is about it.
He will only sleep in a diaper and that proves to be his preference when just relaxing around the house as well.
This does, however, pose a problem when one is trying to carry things around in his pockets.
Noni seems to have found a remedy for that.

Here he is with his wand in his pocket.  I mean one never knows when the need for a naked magician will arise.  He frequently carries around fake cell phones in his 'pocket' and has been known to even put his marshmallow potty candy in there for safe keeping- though was quickly stopped, as we prefer to practice safe food handling in this house.
One day he will like clothes again- right?

Noni's New Uniform

This is how you will find Myers these days.

Well- the fake mustache tattoo is optional... (but I think it looks awesome- don't tell him this when he is older and can grow a real mustache- I don't think those are awesome.)  He has decided that he likes to play in his diaper.  I have decided that this is not ideal.  Hence the onesie and overalls.  It seems to keep him out, for now.  Hopefully he will be able to go back to regular clothes soon- we are working on potty training and with any luck it will happen soon.  That would be a small miracle.  A wonderful small miracle.  Here's hoping....  At least he makes a great fashion statement, and who can deny the cuteness factor?

Noni The Warrior King Turns TWO

Myers turned 2 while we were in Alberta- I can not believe it!

We knew that Justin wasn't going to be there so we made sure to celebrate it with Justin before we left.

Here is Noni in all his half naked glory.  

That kid seriously loves to be naked.

He was pretty lucky this year he got to celebrate his birthday 3 times with 3 different desserts, mini cheesecakes, ice cream cake, and this monster cake I made him.  (I saw it on pinterest- that site is awesome!)

I did run into a few mishaps- like the cake being lopsided- but I think it only added to the full effect.  

Myers loved it.

And of course what is a birthday party at Grammie's without a hot chocolate party?

To my little Noni,

You will always be my little Noni- even when you are fully grown and have children of your own.  (Though lets face it- I can't even begin to imagine you all grown up)  I don't know how the name stuck I never thought it would but it has and I love it and I love you.  You are a wonderful, sweet little boy.  You are always the first to comfort Ruby when she gets hurt, though that is normally because you are the one who caused the hurt in the first place and are therefore the first one on the scene.  You do love to bug Ruby and she, for the most part, loves it.  My most favorite thing that you do is when you hug me around the neck so tight and say 'Love Mommy'.  It just melts my heart.  You have the sweetest little face and the largest round eyes.  I love your craziness and your love for battle-axes.  You weild a sword well my son.  I love that your head seems to be a quarter of the size of your body and that when you get really tired it seems to be too heavy for your body and you go into tripod mode (your head and feet on the floor and the same time).  You tend to go into destructo mode around 4:30 and don't come out of it until bed time.  You do not like heights and hate being thrown in the air.  You have recently gotten into putting your hand into your diaper and so we have had to take drastic measures and put you back into a onesie.  Those are really hard to find in your size.  You will copy every thing that Ruby says or does and are so darn cute when you do it.  I love to hear you talk and to watch you learn and grown.  You are not afraid of any one or any thing.  You will take anyone on in a wrestle and I often see you taunting the larger kids...  You are solid and are definitely built like a rock.  You are a rough and tumble boy and I am loving every minute of it.  I really love you.

Eggies

I have absolutely no idea how this happened.
After posting about Noni here I thought it was pretty ironic that this happened.

Justin and I were around when this happened.  We were just in the other room and he was VERY QUIET.
He can't even open the fridge door-  it is too high for him.
Ruby helped him out on that front.  I mean, what are 'big' sisters for?
She opened the door and then she high tailed it out of there- you know to distract us from the real issue at hand.
She let him have a few minutes of freedom and then she told on him.
'Mom you should come and see what Noni is doing'
That was when we found this mess.
Lucky for Noni a friend of ours had this happen to her a couple of weeks before, so we were able to skip the angry/shocked stage and just go straight to the laugh/ take pictures stage.
I just wish I could have seen the whole process.

Noni The Warrior King

This is a little bit of an old picture but I deemed it too awesome to leave in the pits of 'things that should have been posted but never were because frankly sometimes I am just too lazy to do it.'
I saw it recently and it made me smile.
I thought it might make you smile too.

The back story-
Ruby and Myers were coloring- well Ruby was coloring and Myers had just woken up from his nap and apparently had no need for clothing so he was sporting the diaper only look- and they were giggling and just enjoying themselves so I wanted to see what was up, you know, join in on the fun.
That was when I found Ruby prepping Noni for war with the traditional war paint.
Noni-the-warrior-king.
It took a couple of days for the red to wash off but it did, eventually.

I couldn't get mad.  It was too impressive.  She was thorough- His scalp was even decorated.
Consequently Noni thought coloring on himself was fun for an extended period of time.
I am grateful that I can now say he is out of that phase and on to the next.
Kicking.

While I am making you smile I thought this might just do the trick.

'I can't put my arms down!!' (Randy on 'A Christmas Story')

And this too.
Look at that sweet little cute head.


He hasn't changed a bit.

Monster Bag

Wouldn't you be terrified at the sight of this?  A one eyed paper bag monster who has an arm growing where the other eye should be.  It also makes some pretty awesome growling sounds and will chase you wherever you go.  Pretty awesome....

He chased us around for a good while with this paper (of course I don't let him play with plastic bags) bag on his head.

I'm thinking Halloween 2011- the perfect costume!!!

My favorite is that he stuck his hand out of the eye hole and did his best to catch us.  

Imagine a lot of Myers growling and Ruby screaming.

It was pretty fun.

Oh the things that entertain!

(as I am sitting outside writing this blog Ruby just found a worm and accidentally ripped it in half.  I think it had something to do with her and Myers fighting over it.  It looks pretty nasty- but is still alive and she thinks it is pretty awesome.  Here she is now bringing me the other half.  Gross I just got a little creeped out and scared Ruby into dropping it.  The best part is that I now have to act like it is no big deal and that creepy crawlies don't bug me so that she can form her own opinion of them. - how do you like my 'as it is happening dialogue?'  Just think of it as a up to the minute news broadcasting.)

In some other exciting news- we are headed on another family adventure!  We are off to Kalahari- probably THE BEST indoor waterpark ever invented!  We got a super awesome deal!

I'm sure you will hear more about it here soon.

I don't think I was blogging yet when we went last time.  But it was pretty epic (am I allowed to say that as a 20-something mother of 2?)

I wish we could all get together and do it again!  What about it Wiebe's and Hughes'?  If you leave right now you could make it there just in time for our fun tomorrow!!!

I really want to go on the four man tube with Justin, Mark and Jared again.  That was fun, a little scary but fun!

Just Diggin'

Here is how you can find Noni most days.

Rain or shine.
Hungry or full.
Just sittin' diggin' fer gold.
I do hope he finds some... and before his nostrils are too misshapen.
Luckily he has little fingers.
Hopefully I will break him of this habit before he is 16- it just gets awkward when you are that old.

My Corn Muffin

I thought I liked corn on the cob- I was pretty sure Justin liked corn on the cob and I knew Ruby LOVED corn on the cob- what I didn't know was that Noni was crazy for corn on the cob.

CRAZY INSANE for corn on the cob.

He would eat his piece until he was satisfied and then survey the table until he found an unattended corn cob and he would go in for the grab.

Ruby lost at least 2 cobs of corn to the Noni-corn-snatcher.

I almost lost one but Justin swooped in with a new piece of corn that would satisfy the little corn monster.

He managed to polish off 2 and a half cobs of corn on his own.  One and a half of which he stole from other people at the table.  It made for an interesting dinner... Its hard to eat your salad when you have to constantly guard your corn.
We have learned to eat our corn quickly.

Pineapple Popsicle

Everyone loves a good old fashioned pineapple popsicle don't they??  mmmmmmm DE.LI.CIOUS...

One Is The Oldest Number This Kid's Ever Seen...

Today marks the momentous occasion of our little Noni turning one.
He is a one year old.
It is shocking to the motherly system.
He is marking this occasion by doing his best to become a walker today.
If he keeps practicing and stops dive bombing to his destination I could see it happening.
But I'm ok with him being a crawler for a little longer.
My motherly system can only take so much.
He is becoming quite the little guy though.
He has always been a charmer and still is.
He does his best to fit in with the older kids- but still cries when his crawling doesn't keep up with their running and they lap him.
He does this really cute high pitched yell when he is happy to see you.
Mostly Justin gets it because he is the one who leaves for work and comes home but I have had the 'Noni Welcome' a few times and how sweet it is!
Last week we were at play group and Noni had 2 folding tables that were leaning against the wall fall on him and he only got squished in half a little bit- and only cried for a few minutes- so he's pretty strong.
Noni is a chunk.  He has got the rollie pollie belly, the ravioli hands and feet, the puffy cheeks, and I don't even want to get started on the size of his legs!  As for his bum- lets just say that many a person has been tricked into thinking he has a full diaper when in fact it has been empty and clean...  He is only a few pounds away from Ruby and going strong- need I say more?
Noni has the most wonderful dimples EVER.  He gets them from his dad- and I love them!
He has the tiniest ears ever- we aren't sure where he gets those- but they are still cute.
Myers loves to learn and is always learning new tricks.
His favorite food is mandarin oranges.  He loves them.  And really who can blame him?  Easy to peel, no one looks at you weird when you eat 2 or three at a time, they fit in your pocket, they can substitute for a ball if needed and of course they are delicious- I think I have convinced myself that they are now my favorite food...
Noni loves Ruby and as far as I can tell the love goes both ways.
Infact I am pretty sure every one loves Noni, What's not to love?

He is such a wonderful little guy....

The Little Guy is Growing Up.

This post is for those of you who haven't seen Myers in a while.

Which is pretty much everyone.

You wouldn't believe how much he has grown up!

He can even get his own food out of the fridge now.  (But only if Ruby opens the door for him)

We are going to start putting him on the 'making supper' schedule.

He can make a mess so large that one could only assume someone much older and larger than him must have made it.

He is amazing at building things...

(He always builds better with his shirt off)

But don't take my word for it take his-

He is 'SO BIG'

Though he is large in stature and mental ability he is still quite humble- and when asked nicely- he will be sure to give you a one-of-a-kind high five...

And isn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see?