Fun Times!

We have had a very fun and very busy week. Because of the COLD weather and snow, I was forced to become a bit crafty (this is not natural for me!). So, we decided to paint some pumpkins...

and decorate a haunted ginger bread house.

Allie decided to eat the frosting. Can you tell?

The finished product.

Poppy and gagu arrived on Thursday afternoon. On Friday we went to the corn maze to pick out pumpkins. Do you recognize this scarecrow? 

She had fun in the corn maze by herself for about two minutes.

So I had to join her and carry her through.

Cargill had a bowling Halloween party on Saturday night. All the kids wore their costumes and we got to bowl. In Canada the bowling ball is small and there are only five pins.  I thought it was harder than US bowling. Dan won both games, but gagu was most improved.

Allie's Halloween costume this year is Lady Bug Girl based on these books.  She loves the books and I like that she is more interested in Lulu than princesses! 

Here is our little lady bug girl.

This is her buddy Neala whose daddy also works for Cargill.

These two can be trouble together. But that night they just bowled! :)

Gagu and Lady Bug Girl!

Poppy was Allie's assistant. He would get her balls every time it was her turn and cheered her on every time.

In the books, Lady Bug Girl has super powers so Allie would shake her wand and cheer every time we bowled. I am quite certain that her super powers where what allowed us to bowl two successful games of five pin.

In one of the books Lady Bug Girl plays with Bumble Bee Boy.  Allie's daddy was a real sport because he dressed up as Bumble Bee boy.  Allie was so excited!

One of Dan's co-workers has a daughter named Hannah.  Hannah was bowling and, as usual, was so sweet to Allie!

On Sunday after church we went to my friend Anne's third annual Halloween party. As soon as we got there Allie lined up by the wall with her buddies and demanded food.

Maya, Nixon, Ryan (the host), and Allie

These are Allie's best buddies in Saskatoon. She still misses her first best friend, Callum, but she is so thankful for these friends.

Anna, Nicholas, Maya, and Allie

On Sunday night Allie and gagu cooked. Mommy had the night off! :)

Poppy played dress up dolls with Allie. What a guy!

Then it was pumpkin time. We only had three pumpkins, but Allie made sure everyone had one.  Poppy and gagu shared a pumpkin, daddy and Allie shared a pumpkin, and mommy and Bella shared a pumpkin.

Allie (and Bella) weren't sure what to think of the pumpkin guts.

The finished products.  In true Canadian Halloween style, there are some snowflakes in the pumpkin picture.  Aren't you glad you aren't celebrating Halloween here? :)

Poppy's pumpkin, mommy's pumpkin, and daddy's pumpkin

Allie was pretty upset when she learned this morning that it was just me home with her all day.  I promised her we would be in Minnesota soon for Christmas and, until then, we have wonderful memories of this trip to tide us over!

Snow!

The snow definitely hasn't let up, but I am choosing to embrace it rather than get depressed that winter arrived on October 22nd! And, doesn't my family look especially cute dressed for winter?

Last year I was excited that Allie's snowsuit from the year before still fit (check out last year's blog).  Well, I'm not exactly sure why the snowsuit fits again this year since it is a 10-24 month snow suit, but it does.  Thank you Hannah Anderson for the snowsuit that apparently grows with your child!

A Difference in a Few Days

Today as Allie and I were driving home from running errands it started to snow.  I'm not talking about a few flurries, it was snowing hard and fast and I was a little depressed because less than a week ago we spent the afternoon at the park down the street.  Oh how I'm going to miss fall!

Last week at the park, with a day time high of 70.

The next photos were taken today after returning from errands.  The cold, long winter is setting in.  Allie can't wait to build snowmen, go sledding and drink hot chocolate. I am trying to adopt her positive attitude and I actually think it is wearing off on me. Just one more reason to be thankful for my sweet girl!

Canadian Thanksgiving

We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving over the weekend. Last year we hosted Thanksgiving and invited another American family. This year all the expats were out of town, so thankfully my friend Jodi invited us to her parents' farm about an hour outside of Saskatoon.  It was a wonderful day spent with great friends and reminded me just how thankful I am to have made such incredible friends during our assignment in Canada.

Allie, Anna and Maya helped put the finishing touches on Uncle Brad's (Jodi's brother) cake.  They decorated it with dirt (crushed oreos) and gummy worms.  Allie can't stop talking about the worm cake. 

In the middle of decorating the cake, Anna stopped what she was doing, gave Allie a huge hug and said "I just love you so much Allie".  It melted my heart!

After a huge meal of turkey and all the sides, the girls went outside to play on the swing set and drive the pink car.  (Allie also cannot stop talking about this car!).  Jodi's parents live on the river and the views were amazing.  The leaves peaked a little over a week ago, but I wished they were still peaking because the views would have been incredible with all the color.

The three cutest girls in all of Canada! :)

I don't know that we will make it back to the States again for Thanksgiving this year, so it was wonderful to be able to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving.  It was also a real treat that I didn't have to cook the turkey this year! :) Since this will be our last Canadian Thanksgiving, I am glad it was such a fun one!

TGIF!!!!

After the week that we've had, I am so thankful it is Friday!  Allie had a terrible stomach flu this week. She also had a mild flu last week. We are ready to be done with the flu in the Mauer house!  Dan and I never got it, which is a blessing, especially since I have finally ALMOST stopped puking with pregnancy. It would have been a real bummer to get the flu just as I was getting over morning all day sickness.

Today Allie and I ran errands. While I was trying on boots, here are the beauties Allie decided to try on. Can you tell she likes pink?

She had all the women in the store laughing.  They were so impressed with her walking skills in such high heels.  But, let's be honest, she's been wearing my high heals way more than I have these last couple of years! :)

Here are a few photos of sick Allie.  Her nuk was in her mouth 24/7, unless she was throwing up. I am now re-teaching her that the nuk is only for bedtime (and the rare days she takes a nap!). It is a work in progress...again.

As you can tell, Allie was not in the mood to smile. It was quite sweet that Bella was cuddling right along with Dan and Allie. As usual, she doesn't want to be left out.

For all the moms reading this, the key to a successful, and peaceful, shopping trip is to bring a friend with you, drive a car, and eat a sucker. Even with all this fun, Allie didn't want to smile for the camera, but she sure had fun at the store!  I am hoping I can bring her friend Brogan with us every time we need to grocery shop! 

Have a wonderful weekend!