Somebody is a decade old

My boy.

My happy, smiley boy

is now 10 years old!

I cannot believe it.

He'll be a teen-ager soon,

then he'll be going to College and start working,

then he'll marry,

have children

(I'm going to be a grandma).

How can I stop this boy from growing?

We love you very much, Jakob!

We are excited to see what God has in store for you.

Birthday Outtakes

Our funny little princess 

who likes to make faces 

and pose in front of the camera.

Here are her birthday outtakes.

This girl can be a comedian when she grows up!

You need two hands now

Yes, my dearest Beata needs two hands now… to count her age, that is!

She is now 6 years old, and needs two hands to count up to six fingers.

First five years really flies fast.

She is now in Grade 1, and in school every. single. day.

Tonight, when I tucked her in, she gave me a big smile before I left her room.

And I don't think I'm ready for her to grow up.

(Insert big, fat tears here)

……..

Happy 6th birthday, Beata!

You will always be my baby girl.

PIC OF THE WEEK: Family Of The Day

Taken a little after 9 am after sleeping at midnight the night before

hence messy hair and puffy eyes

Photos taken by Auntie Tess

This is my vote for Pic Of The Week

although I think Raymond would disagree

and would want me to choose the photo from Niagara Rapids

which I am not posting ever

as the Pic Of The Week.

Sorry, hun.

(It's my blog!)

Double Three

Happy 33rd to me!

We decided to go back to Great Wolf Lodge

for a fun-filled, early-weekend

birthday celebration.

We came with some of our relatives this time and that's double the fun.

Triple the fun would be all the blessings we received that birthday weekend.

Upon check-in on Thursday at GWL, I mentioned that it was actually my birthday.

I asked if we get any special deals since it's my birthday.

The lady behind the front desk said she'll she what she can do.

And few check-in signatures later (I had to make three since we booked three separate rooms)...

we were given five bags of arcade coins!

Then, they had this "Family Of The Day" contest everyday for guests staying at the hotel.

We filled our ballots and placed them in the box, hoping that we would be up early the next day
to be able to attend the draw that's held before they open the waterpark.

With at least ten entries, our room number was picked and we got to be "Family Of The Day" on Friday.

(Complete with a special orange F.O.T.D. seats for the whole day

with bar fridge on the side supplied with bottled water and an appetizer plate,

six mini-golf passes, more arcade tokens,

free pack of GWL palying cards, free photo from Niagara Rapids slide,

a GWL drink container to keep, and an extra 10% off at the craft store.)

Saturday morning, we got a good start of the day from the free hot buffet breakfast  

(because the manager of this little hotel at River Road was so nice

that he did not only fixed the problem with our rooms for our overnight stay,

but gave us complimentary breakfast coupons for four adults, too,

and the server at the restaurant did not charge us one single kid breakfast!)

We are so blessed that weekend, don't you think?

Not to mention the extra coupon booklet handed to Raymond by a stranger while waiting at the lobby of GWL...

And another coupon booklet that he found by the bushes while we were playing mini-golf...

And another free round of mini-golf because Raymond got the bonus shot at the end of his mini-golf round!

(Insert VERY big smiley face here)

I can see clearly now...

New flash for my dslr.

An early birthday present from hubby and kids.

Thanks to our yard sale which paid for most of my SB-600.

Another bonus...a 2 GB Professional SD card inside the flash bag.

Happy birthday to me really!

I can see clearly now lalalala!!!

My very willing models for my new flash minus Jakob

(he's having a "heart-to-heart" talk with dad)

Tickets please

Hot Warm day, perfect for a backyard party.

Happy 1st birthday, Angelina!

Happy 5th, Virginia!

Welcome to the circus everyone!