Swim Time and Banff Trip

I'm playing catch up, Elias just finished swimming at the end of November. This was his 1st time in lessons and he loved every minute of it. There were only 4 of them in the class, so he got to know the other kids pretty good and received a lot of one on one attention. We spend much of our summers enjoying the lake at the cabin so Elias was very much used to jumping and playing in the water. He had no fear jumping off the ledge into the water and was always the 1st one to dive down and get the rings and bring them back up.. they even took them in the deep end with water noodles, overall a great time for him.

typical Elias

Nixon insisted on having a picture too!

We also got to go to Banff at the start of December with friends. I knew i wanted to go somewhere to celebrate Jeremy turning the big 30! So i decided Banff would be a fun time, I had never been there and it would make a good weekend, not too far and i knew Jeremy had been dying to get in some much needed snowboarding after all those winters living in Saskatoon and not being close to the mountains. Me and Jeremy left a day early, and that was sure nice. Just the two of us, I can't recall the last time we ever stayed overnight somewhere with just the two of us. The next morning we took the gondola ride up the mountain, enjoyed some hot drinks and beautiful views, but food at the top was oh soo nasty. 

view from the top..

We also did some fun shopping, Jer got new snowboard boots, happy birthday Babe, and then we met everyone for dinner. My friend Karen's parents had a timeshare in Canmore a 1/2hr away from Banff. It worked out great, much cheaper than staying in Banff and some great memories were had. I'll never forget walking the Longest hallways ever in exsistence to our rooms, haha and trying to enjoy the hot tub and outdoor pools while being not so entertained by some very annoying and interesting people, some very drunk and some in their undies. yes, Dont ask... Hey its Banff, right. But besides all that, there were some nights of incredible food eaten, some fun shopping, late chats and game nights.. oh man. and some much anticipated snowboarding for all.. even though i think i broke my tailbone.. maybe the spa next time.

sorry these two were emailed pics, blurry but you get the drift.. loads of fun!

It was a great weekend, so happy to spend it with Jeremy especially, happy big 30 babe, I love you

Delicous Dinner Recipes!! yummo

Okay so i had to post these two recipes that i have made in the last few weeks. I am big on changing things up in our dinner routine and i use food blogs a lot, you know they will most likely always be good if someone is blogging about them.

Anyhow here they are, Enjoy!!

French Dip Sandwiches.. seriously soooo good! I just kept wanting more! 

Jer and my parents both said this was the BEST beef dip they had ever eaten.. make sure to serve with delicous fresh buns and a good piece of white cheese.. 

This recipe comes from the tried and true food blog Our best bites . Check it out all their stuff is awesome.

Chicken Tikka Masala ( similar to butter chicken)

We LOVE Indian food around here and so do my kids. I usually add a little less spice than recipes call for, so its not too spicy for them.. And this one did not dissapoint! It was seriously Awesome, probably the best recipe i have found. Even if you think you dont like Indian food you will like this. Nixon just kept on asking for more and more.

The recipe calls for a jalapeno pepper and 2 tsp of cayenne, but like the girl from the food blog i cut out the pepper completely and the cayenne down to 1/2tsp.. yummo, i could have some more right now.

Jer said he would have thought the cook was East Indian it was soo good! Hope you like it. Here's the recipe from another  tried and true food blog, Mels Kitchen Cafe.. always good stuff over there too!
Oh and if possible serve with Naan bread, makes all the difference. If you have never tried it, its the bomb..haha really though. Its a Indian bread.. usually beside the pita bread. Just pop it in your  oven on broiler for a minute to get warm and eat with the rice and sauce..so yummy soaking it all up!

Elias Turns 4!

Elias turned 4 a few weeks ago and since he is really into dragons and loves the movie "How to Train your Dragon" I did a party for him with a dragon theme. It seems like this party was bound to never happen, due to weather and other annoyances.. but it did finally happen and it was alot of fun for him and all his little friends. We played lots of games, Pin the Tail on the dragon, dragon egg races, and the parachute was a HUGE hit!! I had the cutest little viking party hats and a cupcake dragon cake to top it off.. overall lots of fun and yes lots of work. Elias got a ton of fun presents and has been playing with for the past couple weeks.. we also got him 1 gift a Playmobile Dragon Castle.. its seriously the sweetest thing ever.. so much detail and such cool stuff.. i actually enjoy playing with him. I remember playing with Playmobile sets as a kid and loved them, so it was fun to get him his own. $$ for sure, but so well made and lots of fun for years to come.

do you think he was excited?

all his little buddies

His cousin Joel helping him out

Nixon pounding a cupcake

all the loot, someone's spoiled!

Elias at 4 yrs old is in prechool and swimming lessons this year. He loves both and is really into being creative and playing by himself now.. thankyou! he loves dragons (of course), superheros, army guys and tanks, anything he can build and Loves any kind of board game, we play a lot these days. He is really so sweet, always giving me compliments, whether its thanking me for being a "good cooker'(his words) haha or telling me how cute the house looks or how beautiful i look.. its all the time, its so cute. And Elias and Nixon are getting better at playing together and its fun to watch him help his brother or teach him a cool new trick. Nixon adores Elias and well we couldn't agree more.

 I love you sweet boy, Happy 4th birthday!