L-e-v-i....is F-o-u-r!

Here's the Birthday Boy...already 4! He was so excited when we sang, he could hardly contain himself...just sat like this with a big old grin, giggling away...
A hockey cake...of course!

And then on to the presents...

Big sis hovered close by in case her help was required...

Hmmm...a hockey stick straw...

Meanwhile, Big Sis 'Lyssa amused herself with her baby sister...by putting huge paper bags over her and laughing while she rapidly beat her way out...

Guess what this book was about...hockey! And he has his new pirate shirt on...

'Mars became quite infatuated with the cute, brown haired, blue-eyed boy on Levi's Pjs package...and kissed him repeatedly...sigh, just like her Mom! (hahahahaha, you're welcome Trista!)

Now look who has the hockey straw...you drop it, she'll find it...

Ah, the perfect ending...Dad is reading the hockey book...

All partied out! He made this face on purpose - the nut!

Miss Kyla entertaining 'Mara...

Cheeky girl!

Happy Horsey Rider - Thank you G'pa J!

And a girl right after Auntie Lynda's heart...enjoying a couple Herman cartoons...

With the Woods'...

Chatty cousins - Samara & Annie (chewing her tongue like her Dad)...
And the many faces of Maddison while she colours...

Serious stuff...

Mr Grady peeking over the table...

Young Rhett looking like he was caught a little off guard...

Keithan & Jacko were chatting away under our table...

Miss Myla was eyeing me & my camera quite cautiously...

Drewbs couldn't stay still for a minute...faster than I could hit the button, he looked away and made this Big Bird face!

Storytime...under the table...

We took over G'ma Woods' new common area & entertainment room...

Aunt Joanne & Uncle Roy enjoying every precious minute with Maddison...

Amara & Molly - these gals are two weeks apart and they were "apart" in responding to my pleas to look at the camera...first Amara...

...then Molly!

See, then neither of them looked at me...

Happy 1st Birthdays Cuties!

Lady Blanche & her great bunch 'o kids!

Aunt Joanne, Lorraine, Marian, Elaine & Dale

And almost all of G'pa & G'ma Woods' grandsons - Tyson, Tim, Darcy, Kevin, Kirk, Derek, Daryn & Tyler - missing Jarv!

Maddison looking adorable for the 2 minutes she hung out with Greg.

Related Regardless...

What a fun weekend with some "funny" guys! Big cousin Kirk was entertaining 'Mars & Levi on Friday morning on our way to SK...
The gentle giant playing mini-sticks hockey with Levi...wisely it was a short game or this guy may have needed a lengthy massage and some physiotherapy!

Miss Amara, learning to walk...

And that a cow says, "MOO"...not "ROOOOOAAAAARRR"! She loves Lions, Bears, Dogs, etc...anything that can ROAR...and then according to her, cows have a gentle little "moooooooooo".

Making faces at me, making faces at her...

Closely examining a picture of herself...don't you wonder what she's thinking?...

And here sits the other cousin & gentle giant, reading books with lively dramatics. When Levi first saw Derek come up the stairs on Friday morning he literally greeted him by saying, "YOU are a FUNNY guy!" (Thanks to multiple views of Derek & Kirk's online singing video.)

Heeeeeeeeeeere's Kirkland!

And this is definitely Derek...caught almost falling asleep at Levi's lively 4th birthday party, or was he distracted by his own thoughts which were automatically totalling his travel expenses in his head?! :o)

A great weekend with this amusing & genuine duo - two of my numerous relatives that I'll gladly claim! Some 1st cousins not removed...or just 1st cousins...and to the kids then, would that be double 2nd cousins or 2nd cousins once removed...who knows?! Regardless, we're related and they are a dose of the best medicine - laughter!

In loving memory...

G'pa Woods

A true gentlemen, loved & respected by many as a dear husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, friend, neighbour...he will be dearly missed!

Thinking of all of his family...

Finally Frosty!

And I don't mean the ice cream dessert from Wendy's...I mean hoarfrost!

It seems that we've had a lot of hoarfrost this winter being milder, but never on a morning that I had time for pictures. However...on this perfect, blue sky, sunny, Sunday morning...
We had great spikey hoarfrost that lasted for hours!
The detail was difficult to capture with my camera's limited macro ability...but it was awesome!

On some twigs, you couldn't even see the twig for all of the frost...

And on other twigs it was only well coated on the one side...

It sounded like tiny shards of glass falling on the ground, as it melted or the wind blew it off...

And made for a picture perfect day!

It even coated the dead & frozen blades of prairie grass along the road.

Ok...so I finally had a chance to take pics...now, please, please, please...just be Spring already!

Farewell to Winter...

B & L and sons spent a week at this cabin at Elkhorn Resort...skating, vegging, sledding, strolling, skiing, etc
So we drove up one day & joined them...and this was one of my back seat co-travellers...
And very quietly in the waaaaay back seat of the Sequoia, this was another one of them...

And a third one...all very quietly absorbed by Archie comics...

Spencer was taking Lyssa for a ride on the ice after she retired her skates...looks like DaddyLongLegs was pulling quite a load here!

Levi decided that he needed to take a little break from his hockey game...either that or he got a penalty for fighting. He enjoys play fights immensely, but fortunately they are usually short lived & he always volunteers to serve his necessary penalty...even if he pretends to stomp his way there or have a small fit once in the penalty box!

I have tried pointing out that hockey fights are purely demonstrative of horrid sportsmanship and he could just skip that part...but NO, no, no...its all part of the game!

I don't pretend to understand...

Lys & I hung out at the nearby playground, on this big yellow slide...

and the little "angel" made snow angels...

Spencer endured multiple distractions while tying his skates...can't miss a thing, you know!

And these 3 - Lys, Levi & Graeme - sang a very loud rendition of "I'm the King of the Castle"...as only they can...

And this was our winter day...(I got a picture and now it's "good bye", I say!)...

Two pals - Graeme & Levi - hiking back to the cabin.

Levi recently told me that he really like his big cousin Graeme because "he has such a cute face!" Well who could argue with that?!

My best sisters - Trista & Lois!

Miss Mars enjoying her sweet potatoes & peas! Yum, yum...

Love those dimpled hands, pointy fingers, long curly lashes & rosy little cheeks!