Room Makeover

It has been a busy few weeks. Around vacation and lots of summer fun, I have been working on projects around home. The biggest project I am doing is making what used to be the kids playroom into Brock's bedroom. We moved most of there toys to our gazebo and they use that as a playroom now.

Brock's bedroom is going to be a tractor room complete with a tractor bed. Luke and I finished building the bed a few days ago and I finally got it all painted yesterday. We are still working on the walls in the bedroom. Orange is a color that requires many coats of paint. Already have 3 coats of paint on one wall and it looks like we may still need another coat.

I will be doing posts about the room makeover. It is going to look awesome when it is all done and I know that Brock will love it. What 3 year old wouldn't want to sleep in a tractor bed? :)

Everything in the room is going to be colorful and all about little boys. From the tractor bed to the toolbox dresser to the dumptruck painted on the wall. It has taken a while to get it finished with 3 little boys but I am excited for it to be finished this week.

The room that Brock is currently is, we are going to redo for Malachi. We are going to make a boat bed for Malachi and decorate along that theme. It should be a bit easier as the walls are mostly going to be white except for the accent wall which is going to have blue stripes.

I am getting excited for the rooms to be done. And after that it will be Jackson's turn to get his room redone. A lot of work, but fun to do. And the finished rooms will be worth it.

Keep watch for lots of photos and DIY ideas to come.

Kites over the Dunes

In Dieppe, each year there is an annual International Kite Festival. Many of the greatest Kite flyers from all around the world gather together and fly amazing kites. Before the kite festival, they have a practice session at the Bouctouche Dunes which is not far from our house. We were privileged to be able to be there during the practice session.

It was amazing to watch kite after unique kite flying in the wind, soaring high above us as we looked out across the boardwalk and the bay. The boys really enjoying the kites. And Luke and I did too.

Enjoy these pictures of a few of the kites flying at the Dunes!

We watched the kites for a while and then headed to get some ice cream. It was a fun family outing and we enjoying making new memories together.

Berries for Breakfast

When we wake up in the morning, one of the first things that we do is eat a delicious breakfast. It is usually something quick and easy because my boys do not like to wait long. On Luke's days off, we do enjoy special breakfasts like pancakes or omelettes. And we love enjoying fresh fruit with our breakfast.

During Strawberry season, we enjoyed strawberries most days. And now during blueberry season, we love enjoying fresh blueberries each day.

Delicious Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Waffles, Oatmeal with Blueberries, Blueberry Muffins and fresh berries are some of the yummy ways we enjoy Blueberries with our breakfast.

Here are some more ways you can enjoy Blueberries today. Enjoy a healthy breakfast with blueberries today.

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake at Alexandra's Kitchen

Oatmeal Superfood Breakfast Bars at A Healthy Life For Me

This is Day 4 of 5 days of blueberries.

Blueberry Buckle

I decided to make an allergy free Blueberry Buckle. It is delicious and easy to make. 

Top in a glass pan, first crust, then blueberries and after that the topping. 

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy.

Blueberry Buckle Recipe

1/4 cup Melted Coconut Oil
1 cup Corn Flour
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum

Mix together well. Press into a greased 9x9 inch pan.

Layer with 2 cups of Blueberries

Topping:
1/3 cup Corn Starch
1/4 cup White Sugar
1 tbsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup Melted Coconut Oil

Stir together until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of blueberries.

Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned.

This is Day 3 of 5 Days of Blueberries.

Summer Time Berries

This week has been a hot one. Nobody wants to turn on a stove and cook on days like today. So I sharing some easy no bake recipes that you will love. 

Tastes like Muffins without having to bake. Delicious Recipe from The Big Man's World.

No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Parfaits by Becky's Best Bites. 

Grain Free Blueberry Cheesecake Bites from Holistically Engineered.

No bake Blueberry Cream Pie by Healthful Pursuit. This recipe does contain almonds and pecans but is free of peanuts, dairy, wheat, soy and eggs. It is made with 100% natural ingredients.

This is Day Two of 5 Days of Blueberries. Enjoy your blueberry in one of the above recipes today.

Blueberry Pie

This is the first day of my 5 Days of Blueberries Series. I am sharing a delicious pie recipe. Enjoy this delicious pie filled with fresh berries.

Blueberry Pie Recipe

3 cups Fresh Blueberries

1 cup Sugar

3 tbsp Flour

1/2 tsp Lemon Juice

9 inch Unbaked Pie Shell

Combine first 4 ingredients together and spread in pie shell. Cut extra pastry with a cookie cutter and decorate the top of the pie. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until pie shell is golden.

Day One

Blueberry Season

It is now blueberry season and we love blueberries. Luke went and picked us some  delicious berries this week. Now we can enjoy fresh berries as well as many berry recipes. This berries are as yummy as they look.

Blueberry picking does take a long time unless you have a blueberry fork. We don't have one. Most u-picks will sell berries already picked as well. Our local blueberry u-pick will sell berries for a very good price. They sell already berries, in 12 2-lb containers for $26. That is an awesome deal. I think that we might buy some more directly from them as well.

Be sure to follow my blog for the yummy recipes that I will be sharing. You don't want to miss out on 'My 5 Days of Blueberries' series that I will be posting starting tomorrow, August 17.

Aquarium and Lighthouse

We visited the New Brunswick Aquarium and Marine Centre after we went to the Acadien Historic Village. I was excited to see seals, maybe more then the boys were. We were able to get there just in time for the seals feeding. It was fun watching them do tricks and swim through the water. 

After that we were able to visit the touch tank and touch star fish and a blue lobster. B really enjoyed touching the star fish. It was great to be able to let the kids have this experience. Then we walked through and enjoyed all the fish tanks and the exploration centre. It was fun being able to see so much marine life.

Outside, is a lighthouse. It is not open to go in, but you are able to walk to it and see it up close. There is a boardwalk to walk around to look at the ocean. 

Acadien Historic Village

The Acadien Historic Village was a great place to go back in time and see the two separate centuries at work. We went back in time and saw horse drawn carts, working wood mills, wool being spun into yarn and homesteads with livestock and fresh vegetable gardens. Then was a church and one room school house as well as a tavern and general store. Also a restaurant featuring old fashion meals was on site.

Then we crossed a covered bridge into another century. Here were the first cars, a hotel and grain mill. Also, a wood mill and gas station. One of the main features of this community was the large hotel and the working general store. Here you can purchase old fashioned items made in the village from blankets to barrels and nails to candy, many items are for sale.

It the village, there is also an old fashioned photography studio where you can get individual, couple or family portraits dressed in old fashioned attire. It takes about 4 hours to explore the town and visit the many homesteads throughout the village. The boys loved seeing the many animals at the various homesteads and throughout the village from chickens to pigs and horses to geese, there were all kinds of farm animals to see.

All the buildings and scenery was beautiful. It was all laid out like a close knit community and it felt like we were at home.

Luke and the boys enjoyed all the livestock.

Seeing the old, antique vehicles was neat and B loved them so much.

The walk through the village almost makes you want to live in a village like this with friends and family close and a community that cares. Our century has become more focused on electronics and social networks and is missing out on some of the closeness of family and friends that there once was.

Another Day of Vacation

We spent a day traveling to the New Brunswick Railway Museum which is about 90 minutes from our house. It was a fun day and B and M enjoyed sitting all the trains. And they also got to sit in the conductors seat. There was a station building housing small toy trains engines and tracks, one was a Thomas the Tank Engine train and B was really excited to see Thomas at the museum.

They picked out souvenir trains to bring home with them and had fun playing with those on the drive back to the city for lunch. We had our lunch and then went to Butterfly World to enjoy the afternoon watching the many different butterflies.

It was fun to explore the inside of the trains and see the many parts of the railway system.

It was a beautiful day to walk the grounds and learn about the New Brunswick rails. 

Trains are not as much a part of our culture as they used to be and so it was fun to see how they used to need trains in everyday life.

God's creation comes alive at Butterfly World. You can watch the butterfly cycle and enjoy the colorful butterflies that God has made. 

Each butterfly is unique and it is fun to be able to see them up close and with so many in one place.

More Vacation Photos

Vacation is always so much fun and nobody ever wants it to come to an end. I have enjoyed the past week with my family so much and that is how I feel. Sometimes I wish our vacation would never end, but in reality it can't go on forever. But we have made memories to last forever.

Today I will share with you pictures from Fredericton.We enjoyed relaxing here with our family. A night in a hotel was very exciting for the boys, as this was there first time to stay at a hotel. We had a room with a balcony overlooking the indoor courtyard and they loved standing watching the swimming pool.

Also, there was a fountain with fish and turtles and that was the highlight of there hotel stay. We relaxed and ordered in chinese food for supper and also had breakfast delivered to our room. It was so much fun to watch the boys enjoying the evening and morning.

We also took them to Odell park. They loved playing at the playground and enjoying blowing bubbles in the field. The playground was built to look like a fire station and firetruck so they enjoyed playing on the equipment.

Also, we stopped to see the Big Potato, a large roadside attraction. B couldn't stop looking up and was amazed at how big the potato was. We enjoyed our time in Fredericton. On our drive back to home, we enjoyed the scenic drive for a while until a detour directed us onto the main highway.

We stopped to see the Silver Fox and enjoy lunch close to where Luke grew up. All in all, it was a fun day and we were glad to get home and start the rest of our stay cation enjoying the rest of the week with fun days out and road trips.

Enjoying our afternoon at Odell Park.

Here is the indoor courtyard at our hotel and the Big Potato.

Some pictures of our scenic drive and visiting the Silver Fox.

Vacation Pictures

We had a wonderful vacation filled with many memories and fun adventures. Every day was busy and a joy to spend with our three little blessings. Traveling with 3 boys, 3 and under is busy in itself. But it is so much fun, to see their little eyes gleaming with excitement when they see tractors and trains, zebras and lions, sheep and pigs, seals and starfish among other things.

Experiencing a train ride, touching starfish, feeding fish, putting feet in the ocean water, all these things are exciting, but when seen through the eyes of a toddler, they become extraordinary, amazing adventures. And throughout this week, we were able to share these experiences with our boys. Vacation was so much more than time off  work, it truly was an extraordinary adventure.

Our vacation began with a trip to visit my parents. We celebrated B and M's birthdays with a carnival party. Also, we enjoyed attending tent services. We celebrated New Brunswick day with fireworks. After visiting with my family we headed on our vacation, first visiting the woodmen's museum not far from where I grew up.

The boys loved the train ride, although M somehow managed to fall to sleep on the very bumpy ride around the museum. They enjoyed sitting on the tractor and seeing an airplane up close. Also, we got to see canoes, log cabins and feed the fish in the pond. It was a great beginning to vacation.

We enjoyed our visit to the woodmen's museum. 

Here in the lower left corner, B and J are enjoying the train ride.

The many antiques and displays were fun to see. 

And we enjoyed feeding the fish in the pond.

Here B and M were sitting on a tractor. 

B says he is going to work driving a tractor when he's big so he loved it so much.

I will post more vacation photos of our fun vacation around New Brunswick. Check back to share in our adventure and fun through photos this week.

New Brunswick Day!

Today we are celebrating our provincial birthday in the capital city of our province. Happy Birthday New Brunswick!

Homemade Laundry Soap

I do a lot of laundry with 3 small boys. When I get laundry soap on sale for a very good bargain I will buy it. But, a lot of the time, I save money by making my own soap. It is very easy to make and saves me a lot of money. 

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Sunlight Soap

1 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

1/2 cup Oxi Clean

1. Grate soap into small fine pieces.

2. Add other ingredients. Mix well. 

3. Store in an airtight container. Use 1 tbsp for a regular size load. Sometimes I use a little extra. 

Frugal Tip: Use vinegar in place of fabric softener.