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The Big Four Zero ... 40

Juli - August 2020
Despite the definite damper of Covid-19 ... finding 40 with family, friends, food, fun and frolic!! Celebrating four decades! 💖 Weiterlesen
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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 5

    Car Rides ...

    26. Juli 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ☀ 26 °C

    I just thought I should include some of the car rides we took while we were commuting here and there and everywhere. There was no shortage of shenanigans and lots of laughter to be found enroute to where ever we were headed!

    Well ... except for poor Janine when she was in the backseat on the way to Granville Island. She gets dreadfully car sick … so … she did much better when she was switched to the front seat!!

    And well … I don't even know what to say about the green convertible!?! Nice ride though … 😉    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 5

    Last Day in BC Together ............

    26. Juli 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ☀ 22 °C

    Sunday was our last day celebrating our daughter's 40th birthday in Vancouver. We spent the morning trying to clean up the evidence of all the fun that was had during out time together. We certainly didn't want to leave Sharon with a mess … especially given that she was immobilized and relying on crutches to get around. Clearly, she was going to have one heck of time simply doing the essential parts of living her life … never mind cleaning up after a weekend of nine extra people staying in your home. The laundry was a big enough job in and of itself. So ... we did our best to pack up and leave things somewhat tidy before we sent Tiana off in an Uber to the airport.

    She was delighted to be heading to Germany to visit a very special person in her life. She and Steffen had not seen each other in person since March, but had been connecting daily since they met in Lethbridge while Steffen was working here in Canada. We were all so excited that she was finally going to be reunited with him.

    And … she let us know that she took Janine's advice on how to get a great sleep on her 10 hour flight … and we were delighted to hear that she arrived safe and sound. Their smiles speak surely to the sweetness of their reconnection. 💖

    As for those of us who were departing a bit later from the airport ... we took the opportunity to head back to White Rock for a nice oceanside lunch before departing from our wonderful time celebrating in Vancouver.

    It was a really hot day and everyone must have thought the same thing! White Rock was hopping!! The beach was filled and so were the restaurants. We lucked out and got a table on the covered patio at the Washington Avenue Grill! It was our last chance to have a succulent morsel of fresh seafood before these prairie people were headed back to the land locked communities in which we all live!

    It was tough to decide what to order … but … the special of the day was incredibly tasty and was selected by a few of us (pictured below)!! We had a beautiful view of the ocean … and low and behold … there was a Cannabis store right under us. This was a lovely discovery for some of our party goers!

    Our 8:00pm flight was delayed leaving Vancouver because the family seated directly in front of us in seats 16D, E and F were ultimately deplaned after the flight crew discovered that their little 8 year old daughter was vomiting before take off. 😰

    UHMMMM ... from our front row seats (I mean directly back row seats) we could see that the WestJet crew handled the delicate situation with ultimate professionalism. However, it was determined after a 40 minute re-assessment of their 'fitness to fly' given the family had been travelling all the way from the Philippines ... it was determined that they should be deplaned in the best interest of all travelers on board.

    I have to admit that it left all of us feeling a wee bit more vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 knowing that we had been on board with these folks. Once again I was grateful for our N95 masks.

    I have attached a few pictures that I received of our partiers with our party girl. Unfortunately, I didn't have one of Tiana with everyone.

    UPDATE: As of 3 weeks later … none of us contracted Covid-19 in our travels. Tiana is back from a wonderful time in Germany and is currently in the midst of her two week mandatory quarantine.

    And … we are currently planning for part two and three of the surprise 40th birthday celebrations. Stay tuned … 😍    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 16

    Party Prep - for the Second Celebration!

    6. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    And so ... is there anything more heartening than an 11 year old girl wanting to create the best 40th birthday celebration ever for her Mama?!? It is absolutely sublime to witness her enthusiasm and eager excitement for making this a most memorable birthday for her Mama.

    My sweet grand-daughter is an excellent planner and had already nailed down her ideas of how she wanted to honor this significant milestone birthday for her mom. I picked her up and we headed for Party City!! She already knew the color scheme she wanted. Lime green (because its her Mom's favorite color) and grey "with a pop of gold, white and black". And so, the plastic table cloths were purchased in grey. The cups and cutlery were in lime green. We picked up a few other things … but … it was beautiful to see her vision coming into reality.

    We opted for a sleep over at Grammy's house because we knew we had more planning to do. Talaya drew up the blueprints so the rest of us could capture her vision for how the backyard would be configured for the party . The beverage table, the food table were on the blueprint. We even talked about whether or not it would be fun to have a photo booth.

    Grammy offered a few suggestions … but … her grand-daughter was very selective about what she opted FOR or AGAINST, I was getting a clear sense that she envisioned a lovely level of elegance to be part of the energy of the day!

    She had already asked a very good friend of her mom to send out the invitations. And so, she crafted up a little commentary to send out to Janine regarding the invitations. Here is what she said:

    "Hi J9
    We are thinking to tell people we are having a surprise 40th for mom on Saturday Aug 29.
    Please have them come between 3pm and 3:30pm because my Grammy will bring my mom just after 3:30. They can also bring their kids. Please ask people to bring their own drinks but we will have a place for them to put them on ice if they need ice. We will eat at around 5pm. We are thinking of pulled pork but we’re aren’t for sure on that yet.
    Can you tell them to confirm if they are coming by August 20th so we can know how much food and stuff we need.
    Thank you for sending the invitations."

    Isn't that just the sweetest? We chuckled a bit about her mom's nickname being 'Boss T'. We agreed that my grand-daughter came by her 'take-charge' attitude honestly! We chuckled about how she could easily be called 'Junior Boss T'. It is always beautiful to see a young girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it. 🙌

    We felt pretty darn good about our accomplishments and I caught a cute pic of my delightful grand-daughter relaxing for a bit outdoors. We played an never-ending game of War and then I taught her how to play a card game called Golf. She was well in the lead for about 6 holes … but then … Grammy took the lead and won the game! Not that I am competitive! Wink. Wink.

    We enjoyed our supper of chicken pot pie … and … we also had our first feed of Taber corn for the season! We watched a funny movie together and hit the hay. It was a good day and I could just feel how excited my sweet little gal was to see her dreams for her Mom's birthday coming to fruition.    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 17

    And the creativity explodes!!

    7. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After a good sleep ... my grand-daughter and I awoke to more conversation about how to make the birthday celebration something that her mom would fondly remember. We talked a little bit more about how to do a photo booth … without ridiculous expense.

    Given that my grand-daughter is exceptionally creative and artistic … we decided to pick up all kinds of poster board and dowels and let her create all the 'accessories' that might be fun to have for the photo booth.

    We also decided to go back to Party City and pick up the balloon arch for the photo booth and then headed over to Michael's to get the supplies for the creative adventure!

    I could hardly wait to see all the embellishments that she created ... and .. she did not disappoint!! Take a peek at where her exceptional artistry took her ...    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 32

    Some Additional Preparations ...

    22. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ☀ 28 °C

    As the official day for the big 4-0 birthday looms closer ... there were a few things that still needed attention. So ... Grammy picked up Talaya and we set off to check a few more things off the list.

    Two more celebrations are planned! A 'family' dinner on August 26th! When Talaya asked her Mom what her favorite food might be ... she said Mexican. So, we are going to arrive at the house, order our Mexican Food from Cafe Verde rather than Mucho Burritto (because they have a sauce that the birthday girl LOVES). And, we will follow it up with some nice cheesecake ... also a favorite of the soon to be 40 year old!

    We will also have her open her gifts on her official birthday! Talaya is very excited because she decided to take a whole bunch of polaroid photos of her and her brother in unique and special seating arrangements and then display them on a cork board for her Mom to enjoy!!

    I thought it was such a thoughtful and loving gift idea! As a Momma myself, pictures are always a way to capture the moments in time that seem to escape so darn quickly over the years. Grammy picked up a "40" charm that the birthday girl can add to her Pandora bracelet. She has been collecting beautiful reminders of her life to add to her gorgeous charm bracelet for quite some time now.

    The final celebration will be on Aug 29th. It's the last weekend before students are back to school. We were saddened to see that many of the guests we invited were unable to attend due to other commitments. We decided to shift our perspective on it though.

    Talaya and I discussed that sometimes when things don't turn out the way we had hoped, it is because there is a blessing attached that we might not be able to see. We agreed to look for the good things about having a smaller, more intimate group of people. And so, we are planning to make the very best of however things turn out!

    We enjoyed our time together picking up a few items we still needed. We were both feeling a little hungry so we picked up some warm, soft, freshly cooked pretzels at the "Mr Pretzel" kiosk in the mall! I had never had one before ... so ... I opted for a savory one with parmesan cheese! It was delicious!! Talaya went for the nutella one! Talaya got one of those fancy drinks (mango tea) with the tapioca balls inside it (aka 'boba'). I had never tried that either ... so ... decided to get my brave on! Gah!!! Argggghhhh. Good thing we had some napkins handy because I sucked up THREE of those balls in my little sip!! I'm not one to spit things out ... but ...I just couldn't do it. The texture of those balls is indescribably horrid. 😝

    We picked up some material to drape behind the balloon arch for the photo booth. And ... we also got some long handled spoons for a game that Talaya is planning to play. She is going to make some teams and invite some friendly competition to take shape as we celebrate outdoors!

    Auntie Sharon sent a beautiful PowerPoint of pictures of the birthday girl. I am having trouble finding a projector to show them on the wall outside! Fingers crossed that someone will know someone who has one we can borrow. đŸ€ž

    After our shopping was complete we made one quick stop to get a 'refresher' for Talaya to enjoy while I sipped my wine when we got home for happy hour. Talaya ordered the Pinkety Drinkety at Starbucks and offered me a sip in the car. I wasn't brave enough to take it until we got home. I wasn't sure if it would be 'spit-worthy' or not ... so ... I wanted to get home before I let that liquid pass my palate! And so, headed back to Taber for our sleep over. We picked up something we both very much enjoy for supper! Subway!!!

    Talaya loves, loves, loves loads and load of cucumbers on her sub. I love to have lots of pickles and jalapeno peppers on mine. Talaya forgot to order pickles on hers ... so, as usual with Subway ... when the contents of mine were falling out all over the place, she reached over to snaffle up what she thought was a pickle. Guess what?? It was a jalapeno instead! It didn't stay in her mouth any longer than those horrible balls stays in mine. Apparently, she thinks jalapenos are 'spit worthy'! đŸ˜‚đŸ€Ł

    After a fews rounds of cards (Trash, Golf and War) ... we finished up our evening with a movie. Dennis the Menace provided a few good laughs for sure!

    Yep. A good day was had by all. And ... the best is yet to come!! The birthday girl has been in quarantine for the last 13 days after coming home from her trip to Germany! And so, only one more sleep and Talaya gets to be reunited with her Momma. She is over the moon excited to see her again!    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 36

    It's Official Today! She is 40!!

    26. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ☀ 21 °C

    Although our birthday celebration started in July in Vancouver ... today makes it official. Tiana Terae is 40 years young today! And, we look so very forward to convening at her home and sharing some laughter and food together! I have not yet seen her since she returned from Germany and had to stay in quarantine for 14 more days.

    As I shared in a text with her this morning ... IIt's so hard to fathom that we were sharing our delight of your birth 40 years ago with this love filled sign! Your arrival into our hearts was one of the most remarkable moments in our lives and we remain ever grateful for the gift of YOU Sweetie! 🙌 As I sip my coffee this morning, I am fondly recalling so many joyous memories!! I can recall some slight contractions started about this time of the morning on August 26th, 2980!! I was so eager to meet you that I started pacing around the neighborhood to make sure the contractions didn't stop! Some 16 hours later ... I finally got to hold you in my arms!! I had never seen such a beautiful baby!! And ... I look forward to holding you in my arms again later today too!! Seems like far too long since I have done so!

    I am eagerly anticipating the chance to celebrate this milestone with you later today!! đŸ€—

    HAPPY HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY Sweetie!!
    😘🎈🍧🎁🎉🎂💖

    Yes ... this spectacular soul was born to be wild, born to be outrageous, born to live her life out loud. She was born to be courageous, born to make some mischief, and definitely born to rock'n roll. She was born to spread her wings and fly and born to bare her soul and soar! She was born to be a dreamer, born to dare and do! She was born to make the world a better place ... and ... has done exactly that!!

    Yes Sweetie ... the world is so much better because you are YOU! And, it was truly a delight to gather with most of our family in honor of your 40th. You mentioned that this particular milestone has been a tough one for you. We certainly hope that our attempts to celebrate have brought you some smiles. Gully has certainly made it her mission to ensure that you are feeling celebrated and honored in the most magnificent ways possible.

    It was also so very nice that three of your best friends joined us after supper to continue celebrating their love for you. I wish I had taken some pictures! We ended up laughing and talking until 11:00pm ... but then ... it was clearly time to get Papa home to bed. 😉😮    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 39

    Let's Get This Party Started!

    29. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    It's the final part of the celebration today! The idea for this part of the event was inspired by my grand-daughter. All the members of the family received the following text from her on July 19th:

    "Hey every body it's Talaya I made a group chat with all off the parents in are family and Hailey but not my mom because it will be my moms 40th birthday on August 26th and I am planning a huge birthday party for her and I was hopping you guys could give me some ideas to add to her party. It won't be on her actual birthday because her actual birthday is on Wednesday and I will be inviting her friends so I want every body to have a fun time and drink so it will either be on August Friday 28th or Saturday 29th depending on if people work on Friday. And don't worry I am going to be asking all of you for some advice and fun things that I could put in her party because I don't want it to just be me that is making all the plans I want it to be all of us.I will give more details when it get's closer to her birthday and yes I know her birthday is still like a month. but it is her 40th so I want to be amazing. This is a surprise birthday but I did tell her that we are doing something for her birthday because I didn't want her to think that we all forgot about her birthday. On her actual birthday you can still say happy birthday and stuff just don't tell her about her surprise birthday party. And if you are gonna tell your kids just make sure that they know that it's a surprise. And again I will be asking all of you for more ideas because I don't just want it to be just me I want it to be all of us and make it super special. And we might also be able to have a little family get together on her actual birthday or something like that because the surprise birthday that I want to plan with you guys of course I will be inviting her friends.

    And just to be clear I am not trying to be rude trying to plan this so if you think I'm being rude in any type of way planning this please know that I'm not

    I will call everybody separately and write down their ideas so I can add them to the party "

    Isn't that just the most precious evidence of love ever?!? I reassured her that I did not, in fact, think she was being "rude" but rather than it was heartening to see her so committed to bringing the party to her Momma's 40th birthday!

    And so ... I agreed to be her sidekick and accomplice. And, as you have previously learned, we had lots of fun pulling things together. And ... now ... today is the day it all comes together!

    I picked up the birthday girl at noon and whisked her off for our traditional birthday lunch and shopping! One never fails to enjoy the most lovely lunch at Plum ... but ... when Tiana ordered the pulled pork ... it took every ounce of me to silence my instinct to say " Sweetie ... order something different ... we'll be having that for supper!" 😏

    We followed up the lunch with some browsing and I sneakily tried to contact the folks back home if they needed more time for set up or not. Talaya wanted everything to be exactly perfect before we arrived ... but ... by 4pm the guests had been waiting and we got the go ahead "the adults say you can come".

    All the decorations that Talaya and I had purchased warmly welcomed the birthday girl!! And, although it was a bit windier and cooler than anticipated ... the party was ON again!!

    It's always a joy to see your children smiling and connecting with people who love them.    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 39

    Friendship, Fun and Games ...

    29. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The joys of the celebration continued as people surrounded the birthday girl with smiles and conversation and cake!! Slices of delicious cheese cakes in a variety of flavors …. and … a carrot cake!

    And then, as dusk was befalling around us, with our bellies full of Papa's Pulled Pork (spicy or sweet) ... coleslaw, pickles, sushi, baked brie with garlic, and a number of other delectable contributions generously contributed by the partiers ... we were divided up into two teams and played a raucous round of cups! Team One took the win. However, when it came to the egg transfer game ... Team two took top prize! Well ... until it was requested that we play another round. And then, Team One took charge and handily beat Team two.

    Regardless of the outcome of the games, it was really so much fun for adults and kids alike! There just seems to be something joyful within us humans that gets activated by playing games. Laughter seems to spill out spontaneously whenever people are playing games.

    And then, when it was dark enough, we played the video of pictures honoring the birthday girl that was lovingly created by Auntie Sharon. It was beautiful to revisit the moments of my eldest daughter's 40 years!! And it was equally delightful to enjoy the pictures her friends had submitted of times they had shared together over the years. As I shared in a Facebook post:

    "I had the ultimate honor of sharing some precious time during the 40th birthday celebrations of my daughter (Tiana) with the impeccable 'tribe' of friends she has held so very dear over the last quarter of a century. I won't name you here but you know who you are!! The depth of their connection was not lost on me. It is rare … and … oh so precious.
    The following reminded me of how lucky those of us are to have these cherished and REAL friendships. I am so grateful to honor some of my treasured friends with such immeasurable regard. And, yes, I won't name you here either … but … you know who you are! 🙌

    My comments were inspired by the following sentiments written by Wonderoak by Jess Johnston :
    "The highest honor of friendship isn't getting invited to "that party" or out on a girls weekend. It's not clinking champagne glasses at fancy brunches or wearing matching shirts on a beach in Florida. That all is nice and fun and good and special, but it's not what it's about, not at all.
    The real honor of friendship is being invited into someone's REAL. It's getting an invitation into the nitty gritty, the not-so-pretty, the hard stuff, the vulnerable stuff, the weird stuff, the unpolished stuff. It's being welcomed into a home where the sink is full of dishes and the laundry is covering the couch. It's entering the places of heart ache and pain. It's being invited to the hospital room when your friend is still in her mesh underwear from birth. It's sitting crosslegged in old sweats on the floor and laughing till you cry. It's carrying around secrets that you've been trusted to keep. It's listening and hearing. It's holding space for each other. It's answering phone calls just to talk something through.
    The highest honor of friendship isn't found in beautifully planned events or brightly filtered photos.
    The highest honor of friendship is messy and dingy and real. It's in unfiltered photos of laughing so hard your double chin is showing. It's loving each other's babies and holding each other while you ugly cry.
    I can't stress this enough:
    If you've been invited into even one person's real, you are blessed.
    Cherish it."
    Follow @sisteriamwithyou. for more.

    And so ... maybe one of the best parts of celebrating the people we love is getting REAL. And, as I write this I am both humbled and honored by all the real moments, real emotions, real love and real commitment that was part of these amazing celebrations. 💝💖    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 39

    A Few More Smiles ...

    29. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    My creative little grand-daughter crafted up all kinds of photo booth accessories for the party! And, it was nothing short of terrific to see people having such fun with the crowns, glasses, ties, mustaches, rings, hats etc.

    Pure joy. Plain and Simple. Pure joy.    Weiterlesen

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  • Lansers on the Loose ...The Big Four Zero ... 40
    Tag 40

    And Fun Was Had by All ...

    30. August 2020 in Kanada ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    I just happened to notice that this story I have been penning in honor of capturing Tiana's 40th Birthday on the page has spanned exactly 40 days!! Ha ha ... too funny!

    And speaking of funny ... check out Papa's post party hair!! As we were sitting and having our coffee the morning after the final celebration, I could not resist snapping a picture of Papa. As we were sitting there reflecting upon it all, we could not get over the amazing job that Talaya did in terms of making sure her Mom's 40th was as magical and memorable as possible. Well done Sweets!!! You knocked it out of the park! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    And so, I will close by sharing that I decided to put all these memories together in this way using the Find Penguins App because they will take these posts and bind them into a beautiful book that Tiana can keep as a token of this milestone birthday during the Covid-19 pandemic. I know it wasn't what she was imagining her 40th birthday would look like ... but ... I am hoping that as she greets 50 and 60 and 70 and 80 and maybe even 90 (who knows!) that she will be able to look back fondly on the moments captured in the pages of the book.

    Happy 40th Birthday Sweetie! We couldn't love you more ... and ... feel like we received the most remarkable gift when you were born 40 years ago! We cannot imagine our life without all the moments magnificently marked by your spirit, sparkle and shine! Oh ... and ... your mad karaoke skills!! đŸ„°

    Yep. You brighten this world by your mere presence in it Sweetie! We are all so much better because of you!! xoxo    Weiterlesen

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