Mason is 4!

Mason, our little sweet heart! It is so amazing how quickly time passes in the years with little ones at home. It does not seem like four years ago this little gentlemen came into the world and shocked us all. Neither of us were prepared to be told "it's a boy!" I think we were expecting (yes, even hoping for) girl number four. When he came out at 10lbs 1oz. and all boy we were both a little speechless, but the colour this guy adds to our life is beyond anything we could have expected. He is such a sweetie and yet all boy. He's up for any adventure, any seemingly dumb idea, and absolutely anything that has to do with the farm! This little guy could live in the barns. He asks everyday if he can go to the farm with daddy and when he's there, he's not just running around enjoying the time at the barn, he's asking questions, trying to figure out why things are done, and paying attention to what daddy does so he can copy him. It is so cute! I love watching how different he is from the girls. I have come to fully appreciate just how unique he is in our home. It is really neat to see how even in something simple like hanging out at the farm it's different. The girls you can tell it's all about being with daddy, and maybe the snack at the end, but for him, he loves those things too, but it's all about the farm. He loves helping out at the barn.The two of us have a little game we play when I tuck him into bed at night. Its "I love you more then..." The ultimate I love you more then... in Mason's eyes are one of two things, "I love you more then the farm" or  "I love you more then the New Holland Tractor!" It is so cute how much emphasis that he puts on these. 

For a boy who loves to be at the farm, he also loves to dress up and get his hair done. He reminds me of high-school Michael the way he primps, lol. If we leave without doing his hair he gets mad at me, and one day was absolutely devastated because I wouldn't let him wear his suit. He kept saying "how can I be Bruce Wayne without my suit?" lol. His favourite clothes are his dress clothes, and when I pick out the too small ones to pass on he gets all offended that I am taking them away. He is also very into pretty much any superhero, but especially Batman! He loves playing Batman, wearing Batman clothes, and reading Batman books. It's kind of fun to have a superhero mixed in with all the princesses at our house! Mason also loves playing Barbies with Bella, and the two of them come up with some hilarious story lines during their play time. 

I also love the way he thinks up random solutions to weird situations. On our recent road trip Emmeresen was desperate to pee so we pulled over and she couldn't go, so we drove a little further and made to a store where she almost peed her pants getting out of the car, Mason just looked at her and very mater of factly said, "I think her needs a pein" (his way of saying penis). The whole car cracked up, which didn't help Emme's bathroom issues, and he wasn't at all intending to be funny, he just saw that as the solution to our problems. There are so many funny things that he says to make us laugh, so many that I wish I think of to write down, but most of the time I either forget or they just don't sound the same if you are not in the moment. Mason has brought a lot of life into our home and continues to bring so much laughter. The girls adore him, and are always doting on him or laughing at him. I feel sorry for the first girl he brings home, lol, she's going to have some protective sisters to get approval from!

For Mason's big day we forgot to stock our streamer selection, and apparently decorating with streamers is as much a part of birthdays as cake, and so when he was unimpressed by the lack of decorations we had to improvise. Toilet paper and balloons became our custom party decor, lol. It held up surprisingly well, and only came down when we ran out of toilet paper and weren't planning to go to Costco until the following day, haha. For his birthday he requested: Heart shaped Swedish pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast, homemade pizza for lunch, and steak, potatoes, and corn for supper (a boy after my own heart, I LOVE my steak).

Mason and Jasmine share the same birthday so we had to make her some pancakes too!

one of his favourite birthday gifts!

Mason wanted everyone to dress up like superheros for his party, Aunty Brit was the only adult who got into the spirit, showing up as super mom with her superman, ninja turtles, and GI Joe who didn't make the pic. The rest were all pretty creative in their homemade superhero costumes, sadly it was so crazy I never got a chance for a group picture!

Jr. Batman was our cake topper thanks to JL8 comics on facebook for the template (check out his page if you get a chance). I had a lot of fun decorating this cake!

Our birthday interview, thanks to Ladybugs n' Latte's for the idea!

Favourite Colour:? Green

Favourite Food? Pancakes

Favourite Show? Frozen

Favourite Book? Superhero books

Favourite Toy? Batman toys

Favourite Song? Let it Go

What do you want to be when you grow up? Farmer

What are you good at? milking the cows

What are you excited about? turning big

What are your favourite memories from being three? painting, camping, boat rides, fishing

What is your favourite memory verse this year? Jesus died on the cross

What is one thing you would like to say to the whole world if you had the chance? Can I go to space?

Mason really enjoyed helping in the tractor this year. Most of the time he needed a cushion and bike helmet for protection, next year he'll get to have his own seat no helmet necessary!

I think this is my favourite Mason picture! I love the way he's posed!

ready for our run in colour!

sometimes the tractor days are just too long and a little nap is necessary

working hard with daddy

he was the perfect pirate cheerleader during the pirate loppet, cheering Cheyanne and Emme on while hanging out with grandpa

Mason was Little Willie from Duck Dynasty for Halloween this year

our little minion

ready to tour some barns

He loves his little cousins! Always following Lyla and Pyper around.

Our batman lovers!

Working Vacation

At the end of January this year we were lucky enough to take a working vacation. There was a farm tour and trade show happening in the Abbotsford/Chilliwack area that Michael wanted to attend. There was a couple old barns that had been renovated and made more efficient, even a few older barns that had been retrofitted for robots so he wanted to see how they were able to make things work in an older system. Of course there was also some amazing brand new facilities to check out as well. With the tours and the trade shows taking up a few days we decided it would be a good time to extend our stay and hit the aquarium and science world. It took us a bit to figure out a hotel to stay in, not the easiest thing when you have four children, and most places were booked due to the trade show. We actually ended up staying in Langley so that we could have adjoining rooms. The kids thought it was awesome! For me, I loved the fact that there was no house work, no meal planning, and no laundry! We had a ton of fun, it was the perfect way to break up the winter and put some fun into what seemed like an endlessly grey January!

This little vacation turned out to be extra special in our hearts as we also used it as a time to spend with family. Every evening we had an engagement with different family members. These are always special times for us and I always make it a priority to see as much family as possible when we are in the area. What made this time so special was that it ended up being our kids' last visit with great grandpa Haak, and the last time we all saw him before he got sick. At the time I never would have guessed that this would be our family's last visit with him. He was so great! Talked with all the kids, hugged each of them, joked about coming out to plant corn, and just loved on us. I am so glad that it worked out that we could spend time with him that evening. What a blessing to know that my kids were able to have that last visit with him while he was still healthy and able to engage with them. It seems incredibly unbelievable that just two short months later we are gathering in Abbotsford again to pay tribute to him and celebrate the legacy that he left. Once again reminded that life is short, make time to spend it with those you love, don't let yourself get too busy in the details that you don't appreciate the people in your life.

 Our first engagement of the trip was supper with Great Grandma and Grandpa Martins. It is a favourite stop for my kids.  The famous Apple Betty's. It's an all you can eat buffet, and well...the kids love it! This was the first time we have gathered with them and all the cousins at the restaurant. It was a lot of chaotic fun!

 

The next day we had the farm tour. This was a lot of fun, however a little colder then we expected. The kids did pretty good and we made it to four different farms before they got too tired and grumpy. One of the highlights was definitely watching the robotic milkers. Mason couldn't figure out where the robots head was though. I think he was expecting something more transformerish then what he saw, lol.

checking out the Lelay robot

can't be too careful, better make sure we don't cross contaminate so on go the boot covers!

yes the dolls came to each and every stop with us!

checking out the DeLaval robot.

We also managed to use the pool and take a bit of time just to chill out at the hotel in between plans. We were pretty busy this trip and didn't have a lot of time to enjoy just vegging out, but we did try and make the most of our time. The kids definitely enjoyed the fact that someone came in and cleaned up after them every day, and I enjoyed the fact that "that someone" wasn't me! :)

Day two was the Tradex. It was very busy in there, and it took forever to get Michael through the place. Every few steps there was either a farmer to chat with or a salesman vying for his attention. The kids had a blast, they kept saying they were trick or treating as each booth and display had some sort of candy or freebie to give them. We came home with a whole bag full of loot.

That's one giant tractor!

The kids enjoyed milking the fake cow!

The petting zoo was also a highlight!

Day 3, and my favourite day of the trip, was the Vancouver Aquarium! I love the aquarium and so did the kids. They loved seeing all the neat fish and running through the different displays. The beluga's are my favourite, I just can't get over how beautiful they look swimming around in the underground viewing area. The dolphin show was also really fun! Another highlight of the aquarium is the 4-D movie theater. It was so fun! Mason was a little freaked out when it felt like snakes were crawling by your feet. It was a really neat show we watched the planet earth oceans video while being sprayed in the face when the dolphins would jump or having your chair vibrated, etc. I would highly recommend taking the experience in if you are planning to attend the aquarium.

The jelly fish were another favourite. There were some really neat displays!

ready to take in the 4D movie experience.

The rainforest exhibit.

The penguins were pretty cute too!

...and of course you can't leave unless you go through the gift shop, lol, so one cute stuffie for all! We really did the tourist version, we even purchased the cheesie family photo! Oh well, I guess better to have a cheesie photo when they are still young and cute then when they are in the awkward teenage years haha.

Day 4 was an exciting  trip to Science World. If you are going to go I suggest getting a pass to your local science center (as long as it's more then 100kms away from Vancouver) as it gets you in free to Science World. Our pass to the Vernon Science center for the year was cheaper then it would have been to pay to attend Science World for the day. We decided to skytrain it to the Science center. Mason thought the trains would actually be flying so was a little disappointed that it was so easy to get on, haha. Small town kids! They were a little nuts and the trains were very busy, but we made it, and it was a fun experience for the kids. Science World was fun too. The Lego exhibit had just opened the day we got there so that was cool. The kids were able to participate in building the massive Lego mural which was kind of cool. They were given a little square and a pattern to follow and they would build their little square, a person would check it, and then it would get placed in the correct space on the wall. The other favourite part of the day was the Omnimax theater. It's such a neat screen. I love how it feels 3D because of the large scale of the screen.

hard at work building their squares

This was one of my favourite photos of the trip!

Science World meant some abandoned dolls, lol, good thing daddy was willing to carry the girly backpack and dolls while everyone else ran around!

It was a jampacked trip, full of lots of walking and late nights. Most nights by the time we got to the hotel the kids were zombies, and on a few, they were just outright passed out. We ended our trip with a superbowl party and another great day of visiting family. It was a pretty awesome trip and holds lots of great memories. I came home feeling very blessed to have gotten away. For Michael, it was the longest he'd left the farm in a looong time, and he was a bit antsy about it leading up to the trip, but once we got on the road he never looked back, and things went great on the farm.