Merry Christmas!

I must admit I definitely enjoy the kids being older for Christmas morning! No more 5:00 am cries of "can we get up now!" We opened gifts at 9:00 am. YEAH!! However of course with age comes more expensive gift requests! Here's a few pics of the kids on Christmas morning!

22 week pictures

Here are my 22 week pictures basically of the babies faces. They looked alot better on the screen than they printed out. Twin A was looking directly at me and I could clearly see the baby's face and Twin B is looking down and again on the screen it was clear but they didn't print very nicely. Oh well!

Ava and Luc

This was taken last weekend just before we went to Frank & Mary's for an early Christmas gathering. Ava loves her Uncle Luc!

Early Shower Gift

Many many thanks to Gayle & Dad for this great gift! It's already become a favourite area for us to hang out especially after dinner. I know we'll all be doing alot of rocking very soon! The babies are growing fast!

Thanks to our family for their help!

Many thanks is extended to our family for helping out the last few weeks with Ava. She is doing well. Special thanks to Rachel & Angie for loaning us some clothes and offering up a bunch of "yard sale" bargains. Here she is driving her car in her exersaucer and playing with her hanging toys on the playmat.

18 week update

Here are our new pictures from my next ultrasound. They're not as clear as the previous ones and babies are getting bigger so it's now hard to get a full shot of them.

13 Week Ultrasound

I went for my next ultrasound today. The pictures are so much clearer this time! They actually look like babies! Everyone is doing fine. The babies are growing just as they should be. Stayed tuned for further updates!

Cleveland Hockey Tournament

Nick's team participated in the Rock'n'Roll Tournament held in Cleveland, Ohio this past weekend. His team played hard and it paid off. They won every game they played and moved onto the championship game and also won that as well! They came home very tired but it was well worth it.

A Referee in the Family

Nick attended the Referee Training Camp held at the Radisson Hotel in Windsor this weekend. He is now officially a referee. Of course, like everyone else, he has to start off small and work his way up. This means we are back to 7:00 am to the arena on Saturday mornings as he is only qualified for the Timbits and Atoms for now. He is anxiously awaiting his call for his first game!

New Additions to the Family

OMG -- FINALLY!
After many years of trying it has finally happened! We found out a few weeks ago that I had a confirmed pregnancy however it wasn't until today that we had our first ultrasound. Imagine our surprise to hear the doctor say "there's two!". (The top picture is twin B and the bottom is twin A). I've now known for almost 12 hours and I still cannot believe it! Because it's still early it's hard to make out anything in the pictures but I know when I have my next one things will be alot clearer! OMG! TWINS!

Sault Ste. Marie Archery Shoot

Luc participated in an archery shoot this past weekend in Sault Ste. Marie with his mom, stepdad and stepbrother & stepsister. He had a great weekend especially since he has only been shooting again very recently! He competed in the pre-cub division. He had 30 targets to hit each day and the highest possible score is 330 per day. On Saturday, he had 184 points and took the gold medal. On Sunday, he had 186 points and again took the gold medal and on Monday, he had 240 points and yup you guessed it -- took the gold medal. He placed 1st overall. What a great weekend! Good Job Luc. We are very proud of you!

Baby Ava is Here!

Tara gave us all a little scare yesterday by going into labour a little early, but all is well. Ava Anne-Marie Sauve-Lawson was born on July 20, 2008 at 12:51 am weighing in at 5 lbs. 13 oz. and 19 inches long. Ava is doing well but is spending some of her time in the NICU as Tara has toxemia and still has some blood pressure issues. However both are ok and will hopefully be released safe & sound in the next few days. Here is one of her first official photos (other than the naked ones taken as soon as she was born) taken this morning when we took the boys to the hospital to meet her for the first time.

Tara's Baby Shower

On July 15th, I had a small baby shower at our house for Tara and baby. We had basically immediate family (all of Tara's aunts and grandma's and of course girl cousins). I made the "cakes" for Tara. One is made from bath towels (white one) and the other is made of baby diapers (pink one). Jim's Angie also made one from diapers but I'm afraid I don't have a good picture of it but if you check out Jim's blog there's a good one there. Tara received alot of beautiful gifts. Now all she has to do is wait for her baby girl to arrive in August.

Port Stanley

Chris's cousins Joanne & Russell own a cottage in Port Stanley and invite their family & friends to come up for a "fun day" on the long weekends in the summertime. We took advantage this holiday and went up for the day. Tara joined us as well as Ashley & Lauren. It was a sunny and warm day! Here we are at the beach!

Old/New Farm Equipment

Chris bought 2 wagons from his Aunt Louise and Uncle Richard a couple of years ago when they retired from farming. They were in great condition and were a solid dark green colour. He has been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to change them to "John Deere Green" and the chance & money finally arrived. He purchased extensions and a tarp (I want to know why only "sons" and not "wife who puts up with all the crap during farming season") and his brother John did the painting. I think the final product turned out perfectly! Can't wait til wheat season to try it out!

High School Graduation

On June 25, 2008 we attended Tara's grade 12 graduation from Essex District High School. She must have been in a huge hurry. When it was her turn, she ran across the stage, grabbed her diploma and ran off. We didn't even have enough time to take her picture. I think I managed to get one of the back of her head. That said, we did take some very nice pictures in the courtyard after the ceremony. Good Luck in the future Tara. Let your dreams take you wherever you want to go!

Gosfield North Grade 8 Graduation

On June 18th, Nick (our middle son) graduated from grade 8. We have been anxiously awaiting this day for quite some time. Nick is ready to move onto high school and begin the next chapter of his life. This is a very exciting time for all of us as he will have a new and fresh start. I am certain he will continue improving and show everyone that he can achieve his goals. Congratulations Nick! Good luck at EDHS!

District Track Meet

Our final event was held on June 13 at Sandwich Secondary High School. It was a very stormy (and scarey) morning. Lots of lightning! The kids were all sent into the high school cafeteria while the adults (or shall I say "crazy people") stayed out in the tents to guard the food and kids belongings. We, as usual, were the envy of the other schools as Frank Mazzara (our school vice-principal and track coach) put on a great lunch for the kids --Each year he borrows tents and buys lots of juices and water for the kids, which is kept cool in a kiddy wading pool with lots of ice, and sets up quite the spread for the kids to eat all day. We always have kids from other schools walking by to check us out!-- Nick finished off his track days at Gosfield in style. He couldn't have had a better day if he tried. Oh yeah, the weather cleared and the event went on. He finished as follows: 1st in 100M in 13.27 seconds, 1st in 200M in 26.87 seconds and again the relay team blew everyone away with a 1st place finish at 51.12 seconds again breaking the school's record. Gosfield took 3rd place overall and Nick took the silver medal in open boys with 20 points!

Graduates

OMG! Can you believe it? We have two, yes 2, kids graduating this year. Nick is graduating from Gosfield North Central School -- Grade 8 -- and Tara is graduating from Essex District High School -- Grade 12. Here are their official graduation pictures.

Regional Track Meet

The Regional Track Meet was held at EDHS today. Nick qualified in several events and had his best season yet -- so did Gosfield overall. He finished 1st in 100M at 13.34 seconds, 2nd in 200M at 27.30 seconds, 4th in Triple Jump at 9.33M and 1st in the 4x100M relay. Not only did the boys in relay -- Mike, Nick, Josh & Kyle -- set a school record they also set a Regional Record. They won the 13 yr old boys penant and Gosfield placed first in the event with 879 points. Nick won the silver medal for the 13 yr old boys with 23 points!

Gosfield North Track & Field Day

May 1st began our track season with the Gosfield Meet held at EDHS. Luc participated in Running Long Jump 11 yr old boys, landing at 3.87 M and took first place in his heat for the 100 M finishing in 16.44 seconds. Nick participated in a few events. Here we go...100M in 13.00 seconds, 200M in 26.94 seconds, 400M in 1:01.69 mins., 800M in 2:37.50 mins., Shotput at 12.72 M and Triple Jump at 10.36 M - all 13yrs old boys. Great Job Boys!

Detroit Red Wings Playoff Game

On Friday Night, we took Nick & Luc to see their first professional hockey game in Detroit. It was game 5 against Nashville in the first round of playoffs. It was a great game! We arrived just in time to see the warm-ups. Of course the Detroit end was packed so Nick & Luc stayed down at the glass beside Nashville. The players were awesome. They flipped up pucks to the kids and the boys were actually filmed by the camera crew. There I was in the stands holding all the pizza and pop and I happened to look up at the Jumbotron and there they were -- a few of their friends were watching the game on tv at home and saw them! We watched the octopus fly up into the rafters, Karen Newman (Chris' favourite part) sing the national anthem and Ozzy was in net. The game went into overtime but thank goodness not too late as I had to work that night. We had a good time!

Supercross 2008

On Saturday, April 12, Chris & I took the boys to the Ford Field in Detroit, MI to see the Supercross Event. We purchased a package which allowed us to go behind the scenes and get some free stuff. Actually the only free thing we did end up getting were these giant Monster Drinks that it turns out they wouldn't allow you to take inside so we had to inhale them - Nick was the only one who actually did- before we could go into Ford Field. It was a good event. A little noisy and definitely lots of exhaust fumes but fun. Of course, I'm not sure if Chris enjoyed the bikes more or the supercross "girls".

Milton Hockey Tournament

This past weekend Nick's Hockey Team - Essex Ravens Bantam AE - headed to Milton for their final tournament of the season. The 1st game against the Milton Winterhawks, the boys dominated taking a 4-2 win. The 2nd game they played was against the Waterloo Timber winning 3-1. Game 3 was against the Espanola Elks - they fought hard to win 1-0. This win put them in 1st place and allowed them to move onto the championship game (against Waterloo). This game was very exciting (and nerve-wracking). The score went back & forth ending in a 2-2 tie. The boys had to play 1 minute overtime periods beginning with 5 player on 5 continuing down to 1 player on 1 until someone scored a goal. We were down to the 1 on 1 with Matt Conley facing off. After great puck control in Waterloo's end, the opponent had no choice but to take Matt down resulting in a penalty shot. Matt made no mistake and deeked out the goalie and buried the puck. A very sweet victory ending a great season. Final score Essex 3, Waterloo 2.