The Whidden Family

No fair (said in a really whiny voice)

The past few days, it has been raining. Alot. When the clouds finally cleared, this is what was on the mountains.

SNOW! Seriously? I am SO not ready for this.

Sigh.... I guess I have no other choice but to go to Hawaii tomorrow. Maybe that'll help.

This weekend we had our friends the Jarmans come visit us. They have been across the world living in the Philippines since January and we have missed them so much! As usual, the fun started the minute they arrived. We went quadding, fishing, swimming, watched UFC, ate yummy food, and played lots of fun games.

My favorite was watching the kids play this Wii game called Just Dance. Oh my goodness: HILARITY. These videos might give you a little taste of what fun we had. Or maybe it's only me that thinks they're funny.

Blast from the Past

Back in the late 80's/early 90's, my mom taught my sister and I how to make the coolest jewelry. It was all the rage. It came in plastic sheets, you cut it into funky shapes, then baked it all together in the oven to make earrings or a brooch. And yes, this was actually what grown women wore, and not just a craft for kids. Does anyone else remember this? And what it was called??

Last week all the females met in Lethbridge for lunch and some shopping. My mom, sister and grandma had just come from a second hand store where they found NONE OTHER than those glorious little globs of plastic.

I think I've said it before.... the 80's are back baby!

Recapping

So after the reunion last weekend, my 17 year old sister Carly came back home with us. Carly, Carter, Hayley, and I had a busy week of quadding, tennis, walks to the park, and plenty of Rock Band while Jared was at work. We hiked up to Josephine Falls one day and enjoyed the view.

She was dying to use the bear spray...haha

We went back up to Edmonton the following weekend. Saturday Jared, the kids, and I all went to West Edmonton Mall Waterpark. Sunday we got to see some other Whiddens - Tim and Ashton (yay!). On Monday, Jared started a Seminar for work, and the kids and I hung out with my family and some old friends while he was away. I also attended my beautiful cousin Lauren's bridal shower (and realized why it's probably not the best function for a 6-year-old boy to attend, haha!)

At the shower, my Mom took this picture of Carly and me. Everyone says we look alike, and we never thought so...until we saw this picture. She makes a much cuter mini-me!

We got to see so many friends too. We got to have a playdate with Kirsti, Skye and River and Trena and baby Brady. I forgot my camera on most of the playdates, but got some of when Jeanne and Covell came to visit...

And remembered my camera for the Spray Park with Kristi and her 3 kids. Morgan and Andrew are twins who are also 6, so Carter was in heaven! They all had so much fun together.

We are home now. After being way too busy for way too long. We might not even leave our house all weekend. Maybe... no promises though.

Mendenhall Reunion

This past weekend, we headed up to my parents house in Sherwood Park. We had a reunion with my grandparents, parents, siblings, and the grand kids. The weekend started off with a treasure hunt. My sister Lisa painted rocks gold and hid them. The kids collected them and then went to "Grandpa's Store" and traded their gold in for random fun little prizes.

Friday afternoon, we went to Kenilworth Spray Park for the afternoon. The kids played in the water, while the adults had a Bocce tournament.

Saturday we took a bus ride to Edmonton's Heritage Days. There were tents and displays from every single country, as well as singing, dancing, preformances, and ethnic food.

(this picture is for the Jarmans)

We also had the "Mendenhall Olympics", which included events such as: The 100m Balloon Dash, Mater Race, Wheelbarrow Race, Three Legged Race, Rocket Shooting, Golf Shootout, and Tug of War.