haven't you always wanted a monkey?

Latest Hobby

2011-12-31T16:41:00.001-08:00

hunting near the River

We recently discovered geocaching. It's like a treasure hunt, but it's not dangerous, it's in your neighbourhood and you get to use a fancy GPS. The kids are in heaven. We even have a code name to record when we have found a cache. Yep, pretty exciting. I think there is more geocaching in our future.

with our treasures in the park by our house

The Christmas Train

2011-12-29T08:20:00.000-08:00

We don't have a ton of traditions. With 2 parents working shift work in this family we can't guarantee we'll be free a certain day or that we can always have Christmas dinner on the 25th. People are in the hospital over the holidays so people have to work at the hospital over the holidays. We fit everything in the best we can. But one thing we always do is the Christmas Train, aka Bright Nights in Stanley Park. We kind of went by accident the first year when R was a baby and I think we've been every year since. When cousin A was born we made it an event with hubby's side of the family.

This year there were 12 of us including some friends. The theme was the Polar Express- so appropriate since we watched it Christmas Eve and K asked for a sleigh bell from Santa.

It was wet but fun none the less. What a great tradition.

What Christmas Looked Like

2011-12-28T14:11:00.001-08:00

Opening Nana and Grandad's gifts Christmas Eve after the service.

Christmas morning blur...

Princess tent for the princess's bed

Family visit to Papa's

December in Review

2011-12-26T14:30:00.001-08:00

I tried to publish some pics before Christmas but blogger crashed on me, twice. So here are some of our December experiences in picture form...

Pick out the famed IKEA Christmas tree

Hilarious Preschool Concert

Santa visits at the concert

Falling asleep reading about Rudolph

Calvary Christmas concert

Cousins Christmas fun including movies, cookies, a ride on the Carousel and a sleepover!

I will upload the camera later and share Christmas day fun in the next few days, stay tuned.

lunch with Santa

2011-12-19T17:20:00.001-08:00

Just at the end of November we spent some time with grammie and Skipper and Auntie and went out to Gram's house for some Christmas fun. It started with a Santa party that had dancing and singing, meeting the jolly old elf himself and getting awesome presents. It was a great time!

Dancing with Grammie

Avoiding all audience participation and doing a word search instead

Then we spent some time decorating trees and gingerbread houses. Very Christmas-y stuff!

Wearing his present from Santa! He was first to finish his tree.

Look at all that candy... those are some sweet houses.

Trying for a nice picture...

2011-12-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

In other words "Just stop it, be serious and smile for goodness sakes!" Or something like that. That's what I get for trying to take their picture after I just got off night shift. And when Dad is off mountain biking for, oh, three hours when I just got off night shift. But it was overcast and dry and Christmas is coming sooner rather than later, so out we went. They had their own ideas for poses so we tried one of their ideas then one of mine. Worked fairly well. I had the camera on a program setting. But I didn't realize it. Oops. Good thing the set program was a good choice as it turned out.

I had to delete quite a few pics from the end of the session because they were all blurry as I was laughing too hard. So it wasn't all bad. And the pictures are cute!! I saved the real winner for the Christmas cards, so hold on you will see that eventually. These here are the runners up.

Camping in the Basement

2011-11-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Another case of cool things happening when mom is at work. Kinda sad for me, but so fun for everyone else. Dad really pitched the tent in the basement and let them sleep there all night. He slept in his sleeping bag on the couch. Before bed was a little movie on the nook (e-book). What great memories!

Remembering

2011-11-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

This week we went to a service to remember A's grandmother who we called GG Nan. I went back through all 7+ years of our digital photos and found all the great shots of her and passed them on to hopefully be useful some way or other.

The biggest thing for me was the sweet and ladylike way she had about her. Very gentle and well, sweet is the perfect word. I was fortunate to have so many years to have gotten to know her and for each of the children to have gotten to know and love her too.

I will surely remember her every time we use our silver teaspoons that were hers, our cake plate that still has the family name written on the bottom, some crystal from her parents' farm, as well as some lovely jewelry for me and many play necklaces for L.

We love you GG Nan.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, Halloween is a major thing for the little ones. They love the costumes, they love the candy, they love the excitement.

Sleeping Beauty on her way to school to see the boys

At their school there is a parade of costumes first thing after lunch. It's a fun little tradition where everyone in the school gets to see each other's costumes and show off a bit.

Indiana Jones

Green Lego brick

Soon A. had to head off to work and the grandparents all started showing up.

We lit the pumpkins and took the obligatory group costume pictures.

We were joined by our friend Luke Skywalker, I mean A. and his Mum.

And we made the rounds.

There were a few glitches. Indie's whip kept unraveling, the Lego block couldn't put candies in his own bag (his arms couldn't quite touch), and the princess had to hike up her dress to climb the steps. And man, was it cold!

The next morning we took inventory. What a great night.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

LATE ENTRY

Oops. I just found these pictures from our quick family trip to the local pumpkin patch.

I think I'll just slide them in here, ok?

Aren't they cute little pumpkins?

the Day Before the Big Day

2011-11-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is the story of the Sunday before Halloween. We hung around all afternoon and did pumpkin-y stuff and last minute preparations.

We hollowed them out, scooping the guts and saving the seeds.

Someone in our family is pretty gross on a regular basis (licking spilled slurpee off the playground equipment this afternoon, BTW it wasn't his slurpee, it was garbage left there from lunch). But somehow he can't stand the thought of touching pumpkin guts. Can't figure that one out.

Watching Daddy do the carving. Mum is the cleaner, Dad is the carver.

R's choice of pumpkin faces and a to do list for the day.

Occupying himself while Dad carved out his design.

K's design...

Watching it come to life.

L's was the last pumpkin to be carved, so she got creative during her long wait.

The finished products. L's, R's, K's.

And we fell asleep by candlelight.

The votive holders on either side were from VBS this summer.

The pumpkin one in the middle R made at school.

And that was the day before. Stay tuned for a recap of the actual day itself!

Belle visits Papa

2011-11-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

When the kids were younger and not in school full time it was much easier to get them to visit the grandparents in their costumes. Now L is the only one home during the day, and only 3 days during the week! Well we did make it to visit Papa and I am so glad we did.

She had a few costumes this year and the Belle costume is more indoor appropriate so a good choice for this day. Everyone asked if she was a princess which made her very pleased.

Then Papa fell asleep so we wandered around to visit the neighbours and L danced her little heart out for them. They had a great time watching and she had a great time dancing.

I have always said that nursing homes and daycares/preschools should be in the same buildings. It would make everyone happier!

Reading

2011-10-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have some posting to catch up on, but for now...

My cute readers!!!

Library day is becoming a pretty big deal around here.

Jelly Bean

2011-09-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

L's first time as a Jelly Bean Helper was this past Thursday. Um, hello super cuteness.

She insisted on bringing a small barbie like toy that we got for free *cough* McDonalds *cough*.

I tried to talk her out of it, then big brother R tried to convince her to bring something else, but no such luck.

Apparently, her favorite part of the whole thing was letting everyone touch it. She went around the circle twice, and kind of skipped the part where you sit and answer questions:)

I love seeing her do so well at preschool. She jumps in there and does all the things she has watched her brothers do before.

Oh, and she picked a red jellybean in case you were wondering.

Random September Happenings

2011-09-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

The first few weeks of September are always busy. Finishing up summer things, starting back to school things. Action, action, action.

R has the same teacher as last year (yay!) and has a smart board in his class. It is an interactive touch screen that is actually very cool.

Due to the shuffling back and forth and the multiple short days I decided not to work the entire first week of school. But every decision has consequences- I spent the last hot weekend working 3 nights in a row. So I slept in the basement, it was very cool and dark- it worked great!

We had a nice little visit with Papa on one of those days when school was done at 9:20 am. Then K went to Grammies for a few days as he had no school the Thursday/Friday of the first week back.

That's the update!

PS - the camera met an untimely end due to an incident with the tile floor. Don't worry the ugly tiles are fine and will surely be in this kitchen for another 30 years. A new camera might be making it's way here on September 25th if all goes well. Fingers crossed you won't have to look at silly iphone pictures forever.

First day of Preschool

2011-09-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Thankfully L's start to preschool has been easy peasy. She has been going in to drop off and pick up her brothers since she was born so the place is pretty familiar. Also K spent some time with her teaching her about preschool in the last week of August. He taught her that she should share and listen and sit criss cross applesauce.

The first orientation day she sat right down and told the teacher she could sit criss cross applesauce and sang the song. It was hilarious! Here she is confidently striding in to her first class! She picked her own clothes, shoes and even her hairstyle for the day. And of course she has her rolling princess backpack to hold her butterfly lunch kit!

The only issue is that she gets exhausted. Here is a post preschool nap on the cold kitchen floor!

Back to School

2011-09-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

According to my blog July and August didn't happen... I will work on a summer update later. Lets just say we enjoyed the summer and our camera broke ... hence the lack of posts.

Today was the (brief) first day of school for R who is starting grade 2 and K who had his first day of Kindergarten. By next Wednesday they will both be there all day!! Little Missy has her first day on Thursday. Stay tuned!

school shoes

a few more crazy antics, and we're off

biking in the sun

2011-06-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

We spent some time in the driveway biking and scootering a while back. I love having a gigantic driveway so the kids can play and stay off the street. In the winter I hate having a gigantic driveway because I hate shoveling the whole thing. But in the summer, it's great!

Could she get more pink?

riding the scooter a bit

a little break from biking

Star Wars Birthday- the crafts and costumes

2011-06-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

What is a party without costumes and crafts? To some people these are not essential party elements. To my kids they are a must.

I copied many online sources as well as some brilliantly creative real life friends and made light sabers from pool noodles. The real life friends suggested letting the kids embellish their own light saber. It was great and I never would have thought of it but that part was a huge hit!

cut noodle in 2

cover the bottom with duct tape

once around with the duct tape

then 2 more layers to make the base

then release the children to add buttons etc.

I had a drop cloth laying around so I cut it up to make easy no sew vests for the little jedi friends coming to the party. Here are some pictures in case you can't guess how they were made just by looking:

cut a rectangle

slit up the middle

small V at the neck

and one skinny piece for a belt

And since I was trapped at home with sick kids for the TWO WEEKS leading up to the party, I made a jedi pouch for each boy, while my sick kids were watching movies. Fabric scraps from dropcloth and old drapes. Twine from a coffee sack project I did a while ago.

Then I made a costume for the birthday boy and for me and Daddy from old drapes. I love that kind of sewing because you don't have to finish the seams. It is so much quicker that way!

Birthday boy as Luke

note the highly decorated lightsaber
Mommy Jedi

Daddy Jedi

More Jedi vests

Ok, I think that is every thing I can possibly say about the party!

Trooper Cake Pops

2011-06-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Since I don't really make anything fancy in terms of food, I have decided to channel that latent creative energy 3 times a year into the making of birthday cakepops. Really, they are the best treat to make for a classroom. We figured out the transport issue this time. But the teachers love them because the mess is very minimal. A few of R's classmates even demonstrated how they eat the cakepop in one bite. Nice, boys. Nice.

These particular cakepops were going to be death stars. Easy right? A ball with lines on it? I bought an edible marker for the task. I would have preferred grey candy melts but I couldn't find any so white seemed close enough. Except it wasn't. The marker didn't work. It doesn't play nice with candy melts.

And with icing the 'death star" attempts looked terrible. Yikes!Since we aldreay had a few dozen plain white cake pops awaiting decoration... we needed a plan B. What is white and roundish and relates to Star Wars? Storm Troopers. Ok, Clone Troopers if you are 7. My artistic Hubby took over for a bit...

Ok, the body kinda helps it look more like a storm trooper, sort of...A red Clone Trooper? Captain Rex (I think)? No it looks more like a bloody blob. Not the idea really... How about just plain black and white faces and cartoonish bodies? Much better! Yummy treats for the class, with left overs for the party and family party. And you can even tell what they are supposed to be! I hope.

The preferred method of transport is a board with holes drilled in it. Then spray painted black because I always have some spray paint lying around! Worked great and looked good too!

Another few lessons learned in our 3rd attempt at cakepops: make them small. Make sure they are really cold before dipping them. Thin the candy melts with shortening. Much less 'mistakes' this round. The kids were sad as they are the designated mistake eaters.

Cakepop info here. Thanks to Bakerella for the idea.

Star Wars Birthday- the food

2011-06-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

I am not really a food person. If you know me you know that. I eat the same breakfast every day. I eat the same 2 meals every night shift I work. I hate putting energy into something that just gets gobbled up and is gone. But I do like to eat. I do like cake:) Every year my sis and bro-in-law put tons of energy into making a beautiful theme appropriate cake for my kids' birthdays. This time- R2D2! Delicious!

For R's party we stole some ideas off the internet and blatantly copied other people's genius and devotion to cool food ideas. I bought plates and napkins at the party store.

Dominos made lunch for everyone- despite what the sign says. Two points if you know that movie reference. Maybe 2 point off, it's kind of a stupid movie. The kids were a bit too busy playing to eat much pizza or much cake. (We are having pizza for lunch all week now.) The sprite + lime sherbet was cool and went over well. Unfortunately, Superstore makes white lime sherbet so it wasn't as yoda-y as I had hoped.

Jedi juice was really apple. They liked it too. The pretzel sabers were yummy and easy to make. I melted candy melts in a mug in the microwave. Then I watched TV and individually dipped each one. Took a few shows but it was easy.

There you go. Snacks, drinks and cake. That's everything right? Oh no. There were cake pops too! I will write about those next time. There were a few epic failures before we came up with cake pops that looked like something (sort of). Stay tuned!

Star Wars Birthday!

2011-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

For some reason my children consider birthday's akin to Halloween. "What am I going to dress up as for my birthday mom?" Hmm. Not sure how they got this idea, but the theme parties continue around here. This time my big R turned 7!

This was the invite backdrop.

The party details were written on top in a free star wars font.

We just printed the pictures from home!

The idea of a Star Wars party was decided on and the imaginative play and dressing up began almost immediately. Quite conveniently we did Star Wars for Halloween last year. This Vader costume was hanging around since then. He chose to be a Jedi for the actual party. Little princess Leia is in a pillowcase and my belt!

My friend also did Star Wars last Halloween and lent us a genuine Leia costume so my daughter didn't have to wear a pillowcase to the actual party! Blaster from the dollar store.

Birthday boy wanted to be Luke. I got him a blue pool noodle and made a costume from old drapes left over from our apartment when he was first born.

We invited all the boys from R's class and some from last years class. 12 including the birthday boy. Wow. 12 is a lot of boys!!!

After getting Jedi vests and decorating lightsabers we tried them out a bit in the back yard.

Gotta have a balloon popping game. They loved it. It took 2 hours to blow up the balloons and 2 minutes for these dudes to destroy them.

Then we had a scavenger hunt for Star Wars figurines attached to clues that Yoda left us...

And we did attack Vader. Let's just say the spoils of this particular battle were sweet.

Check back later for a post about the food and projects for this party:)

Bowling Birthday

2011-06-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

My clever sis and mom decided to celebrate my birthday by going bowling as a family!

the teams

I wasn't sure how it was going to be- but I loved it! I would definitely take the family back again. The kids had so much fun bowling for real- as opposed to the Wii. K actually beat the other 2 kids (and his dad)!

I think I got the best score of everyone, that makes it fun too. They probably let me win because it was my birthday!

And in my opinion every party should include ice cream cake, YUM!

K picked what to have written on the cake. Isn't he the cutest ever!

Tough guys -2

2011-06-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

A few more snap shots of the Tough Guys camping trip...

Ready to go home!

And we're out

Tough guys

2011-06-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Another big event in May was the annual guys only camping trip known as Tough Guys that is legendary in my house. What little boy wouldn't want to camp with Dad, Grandad and Uncle and hike and do an obstacle course and get very dirty? I know it is way up there on my boys' list of perfect scenarios. There are a ton of pictures so this post is part one!

stay tuned for more...

boys and shoes

2011-06-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

I bought these runners for R for about 30$ because his old ones were too small. They lasted about 2.5 months then this happened!So I broke out a pair we bought on spring break. He wore them once and now they look like this. Yikes.Speaking of shoes, I guess I need to find sandals for these boys now that it is getting sunny ocasionally.Because this look just won't do....

Friday Party

2011-06-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anything here in over a month. Yikes. It might have had something to do with all the days I was working. A and I had just 3 days off together all month. Not a ton of down time. But we did get things done.

Most husbands would not love being left with the kids all their days off. Nor would they willingly take on 2 extra kids on a Friday just for fun. But I guess he likes to live on the wild side. And it was sunny so they played outside. That helps.

All Dressed up...

2011-04-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

On a freezing day last week, my sweet sick princess decided to venture outside. She hung out on the deck and had a snack as if it was summer. Oh, and she was wearing a hat and boots that are to be hand-me-downs and her fairy costume from Gram. She's a keeper.

Dolly had a pink tutu on on too. I forgot.

Pop Bottle Science

2011-04-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

K got a little kit called Pop Bottle Science for Christmas (thanks Auntie and Uncle!) and we just broke it out a few weeks ago. He loves it. In fact we did the same exact experiment with Mom and Dad on 2 different days, that's how fun it was. There are many more experiments in the book- looking forward to trying out another one!

Easter Recap

2011-04-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, here we go. I will let these pictures speak for themselves.

There ya go. We dressed up, we ate chocolate, we got a terrible cold.

We spent the weekend celebrating Easter and L's birthday!

Hope you had fun too!

Birthday Party fun

2011-04-25T11:15:00.001-07:00

For lack of a better idea it was a flower birthday party. We had a few cupcake and princess details thrown in too.

The favorite presents included a pink vacuum, a dolly, a great bike, a Dora umbrella and some dress up things and much more.

Flower basket cake by Uncle GSpring flowers and a cakepop garden

And a few mini cupcake cakebites. They turned out very cute and were pretty easy, I might try that again.

And a few decorations

Happy Birthday dear L...

2011-04-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

We have a big 3 year old today! Yep, it's been 3 years since this little fairy was born.

Party details to follow, but there might be decorations:

Flower cakepops:

And mini cupcake cakebites:

And there is sure to be lots of fun as we celebrate our sweetheart!

When the Momma is away...

2011-04-12T21:16:00.001-07:00

I spent last week in a hotel at a work conference*. My wonderful hubby took vacation for the week to run the show back home**. The first day I was away, yes the first of 6, I got an email with this in it:

Her explanation was "I want to be a soldier" I don't even know what that means. Or how she even would come up with that phrase. (brothers) But I do know R read us a Robert Munsch book the week before I left called Purple, Green and Yellow. It was about a girl who colours all over herself with super-indelible-never-come-off-till-you're-dead-or-maybe-even-later markers. Hmmm. Thanks a lot Mr. Munch.

But still she is so cute, who could resist that face?

*I was expecting the break from mothering to be better than it was. I was ready for the cuddles and stories after about 2.5 days. The upside is that I am still glad to be back being their mother, that effect has yet to wear off. It's nice to feel renewed in your everyday life sometimes.

**Despite the above incident the kids were fine with Daddy and I really didn't worry about them at all.

Spring Break in Seattle- the Bay

2011-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

On the way down and back from Seattle we spent a night at the family cabin. The kids love it, there are lots of kid friendly activities and it is also free!

We were at Costco a week before our trip and A spotted this great kite. It was cheap enough that we deemed it safe for use by our children;)

The only spot big enough and windy enough to fly it seemed to be the field by the playground. Some of us played and some of us flew the kite, it was perfect.

The other thing that the Bay is perfect for is bike riding. It's flat, there are very few cars and the speed limit is 5 miles per hr. That's pretty slow.

This little monkey rode a bit.

This one finally let us take the training wheels off.

Guess what, he can do it!

And my little princess got to ride in the bike trailer. Somehow it doesn't come out very much anymore, but she LOVED it!

On the way home we stopped at the beach for a little look around and had a great time.

A little confrontation with the sidewalk. This hand lost the battle.

An old boat

And then these cuties slept the time away in the border lineup. All in all a great trip.

Spring Break in Seattle- Starbucks

2011-03-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

We are slightly obsessed with Starbucks as a family. R could say Starbucks when he was 18months old. Daddy used to work as a barista when we were first married. We also lived by a drive thru Starbucks when the kids were very little and there was a lot of driving through going on. All that to say it was a nice vacation treat to hang out for a bit and relax after our swim but before bed.

I can't say enough about these 'ThinkFun' Games. We have Rush Hour Jr, Pirate Hide and Seek and Clever Castle. They are all single player logic games appropriate for young kids. My littlest can do the easiest level of the Clever Castle but my almost 7 yr old can also play, doing the hardest levels and having fun. They are portable, educational and fun. And they make for a nice quiet activity at Starbucks when you're on vacation.

R with Rush Hour Jr, L with Pirate Hide and Seek, K with Clever Castle

Spring Break in Seattle- Star Wars

2011-03-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Luke's landspeeder

When we planned to go to Seattle, we also planned to go to the Science Center. The boys both proclaim they want to be Scientists, some of the time, so we thought it was a natural choice. After the plans were in place we realized the Star Wars exhibit was there at the same time. Too perfect, especially considering even my 2 yr old's vocabulary includes 'Millennium Falcon' and 'Qui-Gon Jinn'.

Ya. Perfect.

It was so fun. Glad we did it.

Yikes, the Vader costume seemed really tall.

Annakin seemed about the same size as R

Masters Yoda and Windu

Some Wookies. K's haircut has him blending right in.

Stormtrooper

Padme

Leia, R2 and C3PO

We also checked out other stuff besides the Star Wars exhibit. The kiddie section was a favorite. I didn't get any pictures of the music room because we were too busy having fun.

We also saw the butterflies. They were everywhere. Cool but kinda creepy too. With all the warnings not to let them land on you and the 'decontamination' procedures to leave, L was a bit freaked out by the end:)

Then, after we were done, a trip to the LEGO store was in order. What to buy you ask?

Of course. And then play with our Star Wars guys later in the week too. It NEVER gets old.

Spring Break in Seattle- Zoo

2011-03-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

We hadn't been to the Woodland Park Zoo since Kobes was about one. Yep, that means L had never been so we were long overdue for a visit. The weather cooperated and the sun was shining almost the whole time. Gotta love sunshine, especially on vacation.

First stop was the penguins as R has been studying them in school this year. He announced which ones were Chinstrap penguins very authoritatively as they swam past.

watching the penguins together

K and a big bear

this guy was napping in a tree...

... his two friends were napping under these sacks, it was pretty funny.

I'd like to say the boys are learning about the animals here, but really they are spinning that thing like crazy and presumably, trying to break it. Sigh, boys.

catching a quick cat nap

R watching otters play

Zebra

Hippo

Giraffe sitting down

lion whose roar was amazing

elephant

rare moment of love between the littles

Tried hard for a good sibling shot but it's hard when there are three of them.

Ahh, kids in a cage, sounds good at the end of the day.

After the kids got too crazy for the Zoo we left and went to the park just next door.

The ran around and played together so nicely while we sat for a bit.

And that was the day! More to come check back later.

The Library and Science Books

2011-03-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Daddy has been taking the kids to the Library every Tuesday as this is also Library day at school. One of the fun books they got was on pushing and pulling. Basically, all about forces. They spent one afternoon recreating an experiment from the book to learn about weight and gravity.

Pretty much perfect for kids who have proclaimed they want to be scientists* when they grow up.

*Ok, Koby wants to a scientist or a gorilla. It's good to keep your options open.

Calling the tooth Fairy

2011-03-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

Last week my big 6 and a half year old lost his first tooth. It seems like everyone he plays with has already lost a tooth or two so he was happy to join in the fun. All my kids (and me too) were late getting teeth. They say if you get your teeth late then they come out late. My mom tells me I didn't loose my first tooth until grade 2. So I completely missed the "First Tooth Club" and was devastated. I have no memory of the whole thing so apparently I got over it.

He wasn't ready to give up his tooth right away so I put it in a ziplock bag and he carried it around and showed everyone. One of my work friends mentioned on facebook that her kids asked the tooth fairy to leave their first tooth as a keepsake. I thought it was a great idea so he wrote the most adorable letter. In order to ensure the tooth fairy actually saw the note (I guess he wasn't expecting money to be left) he wrote a box and asked her to mark it if she saw the note. In the morning we found she did mark the note and she did leave the tooth and a dollar!

The tooth next to it is wiggly too so we might get another Tooth Fairy visit soon enough.

Snow Day

2011-03-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

On Feb 27th we had a bit of a snowy day. We decided not to go anywhere because daddy was at work and the car looked like this...

So we shoveled our driveway and sidewalk, and a bit for our neighbour...

When the work was done we went on to playing...

Another Scenic Walk by the River

2011-03-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Pictures from February 20th, by the Fraser. It was VERY cold and sunny.

Paddlewheeler

Tugboat

Trying hard to keep your balance

Ry jumping from rock to rock

Kobes

Nice view!

We spent a few minutes playing knock Daddy off the rock.

He finally went down

We finished up the day with hot chocolate to warm up. It was a great way to spend the day.

My Lovey Mr.R

2011-02-19T18:56:00.001-08:00

Not as flashy as the other two he doesn't seem to get as much blog attention. Not that there isn't much to say about his sweet little self.

concentrating on a comic he is writing just for fun

This week Mum and Dad were able to go with R to his 'student led interview'. He showed us around his classroom, samples of his work and how to play some pretty fun math games. A few observations on that night were that he really does great work, but doesn't always think so himself. His teacher obviously enjoys him and is proud of him. Gotta love that.

Also we could see the wheels turning as he figured out some very complex stuff - doing math problems in more than one way, reading all on his own. It was a really nice time, in fact we stayed 3 times as long as we were supposed to because we all were enjoying ourselves so much.

One other thing that must be mentioned is his coordination. This boy loves sports. Here he is enjoying soccer with his friends. He also has done well at the intro to Lacrosse they have been doing on Friday nights. Picked it up right away. When I see him play I know he will be an athlete, it just comes so natural to him.

So proud of my boy!

My funny valentines

2011-02-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day was low key around here.

Fun presents from Grammie, two sick kids and Mummy working the evening.

But we did have a heart shaped balloon. That's something!

For some reason Blogger didn't want me to post this and refused to load the picture for 3 days now. Bitter maybe?

I am back dating the post to the 14th so I can feel like I was on time:^)

More Random Moments

2011-02-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

My Grammie went to Hawaii and now I can hula dance!

My Daddy thinks this is how to clean me up after dinner....

I made this all by myself. Really!

More Ninja Party pics

2011-02-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

OK, I am semi-recovered from the parties. So here are some snapshots of how it went down.

Everybody was kung fu fighting..... or maybe just dressed like a ninja.

In fact K, dad and grandad were all fully dressed as ninjas!

ninja colouring pages

ninja crafts

ninja presents

ninja dish master

ninja cake

ninja goodie bags containing ninja silly bands

ninja cake pops

ninja family party

All in all pretty fun party for a big 5 year old!

Super Ninja turns 5

2011-02-04T16:23:00.001-08:00

This birthday is hard for me. The oldest being almost 7 is fine. The youngest being almost 3 is fine. But Koby turning 5, it's hard for me to take.

He is hilarious and joyful and emotional and creative. I love him so much. He is the easiest for me to be patient with. He is the hardest to get to accomplish anything. He plays the best on his own. He snuggles and tells jokes early in the morning. He is so comfortable visiting at the nursing home or making friends in the grocery checkout lineup. He has the best imagination of anyone I have ever met, or even heard of.

Here he is in his birthday costume. What? Doesn't everyone dress up for their birthday? Doesn't everyone plan their birthday theme around a costume? Well this one does.

Check out those poses and expressions. All his plan I tell you. Hilarious.

Random Moments

2011-01-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

Big brother reading possibly the silliest book ever. So glad I don't have to read it anymore!

Hilarious dress up outfit

Giving Papa his Christmas present!

Christmas Catch up - the main event

2011-01-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

Here we go, the real deal. Christmas morning!! Daddy had to go to work so we started a bit early and he got to see the kids open their stockings and first few gifts. But Grammie and Skipper then later Auntie Nic and Uncle G were there to join in the fun.

Stockings

My favorite picture ever "SOCKS! Just what I always wanted!"

Crazy glasses, the mustache and eyebrows wiggle!

Beloved Puffles!

Monster-eating-your-head toque made by Auntie Nic

Baby buggy for all the new dolls

Various adorable dress up items

This one is less into posing than the others but here he is taking inventory of his dinosaur silly bands.

He also got lots of science type stuff (big hit) and an electric pencil sharpener (also a big hit).

Now you open your gifts!

I'll just watch you Uncle G

Here are some more sweet gifts:

K made a card and candle for us.

R made a decoration for his parents and bought perfect (and very well received) gifts

for his brother and sister at the school Christmas market.

Looking at these two pictures tells me where Ry gets his silly grin!

He made us the snowman ornament by his shoulder.

He actually used money he earned vacuuming and

cleaning mirrors and picked the presents himself. Glasses and a dolly!

We ended the day with dinner at Nana and Grandad's but I didn't take any pictures. Oops! It was fun too! All in all a great day.

Christmas Catch up - the night before

2011-01-06T21:03:00.001-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, as they say, and we were busy. First off to the Christmas Eve service. It was a candlelight service and R was with me and Grammie, Skipper and Auntie. He got to hold his own candle - a grown up boy. Nana and Grandad were in the nursery with the littler two. It's a general policy to keep Kobes and fire far from each other. If you read this regularly (or know him in person) you know what I mean. I heard K had an interesting conversation with my friend while he was there ;^)

This is the usual special occasion picture: all three kids at the bottom of the stairs. As usual I took 10 or so and someone has crazy eyes in about every one. I give up. I am going to start posting only the craziest pictures. At least I'll have a lot to choose from.

Then, after the service Daddy got off work and met us at home. We had a nice little dinner of appies for my sisters birthday. Relaxed and casual, it was a nice time together. The kids got to open one Christmas Eve present. The boys got Lego books with enough Lego in them to keep them occupied for a while. The little princess got a little princess book with figurines that also kept her very occupied. Then off to bed to wait for Christmas morning surpirses!

Christmas Catchup - the goodies

2011-01-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

R's masterpiece gingerbread house he made at school!

And initial sugar cookies made with Daddy!

Superstar Daddy not only went to school as a parent volunteer for gingerbread house making but also baked sugar cookies (among other things) with the kiddies while I was at work. They had a great time, made yummy cookies that we ate, and shared with our neighbours.I love how he's helping her and how willing she is to have his help. Makes a momma proud.

Sweetest little cookie baker!

Christmas Catchup - the concerts

2011-01-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, OK. I know it's January but I am going back and finishing the Christmas catchup stuff.

The kids had 3 concerts this year (all in one week - gee thanks). Each boy had a school concert and they were both in the Sunday School concert which was the funniest thing ever. So great.

Angels, Lambs, Ladybugs and Fireflies

I'll have to work on a better close up pic, but my grasshopper is in the green (middle left).

And the two cutest fireflies!

After Kobes preschool concert we got to visit with Santa who knew their names! L would not go near him with out mom of course.

Grown up 4 year old!

He's next to the kid in argyle... where is Koby-roo?

The reluctant spectators

Trying for a decent cousin pic by the tree!

Cute teachers!

Santa T!

R's school concert was amazing, his music teacher is great, all the kids sang and did the actions perfectly! I think my mom and Skipper got a bit tired of driving out from Harrison, this was the third time in 4 days!

Sorry Mom, you look a bit stunned but it's the only one I have of you...

He's the red dot on the stage in the middle, partially hidden behind two girls!

Christmas Catchup - the trees

2010-12-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

First it was time to decorate the big tree. It was another great IKEA tree and it is wonderful and full! No theme this year, but we decorated the whole tree not just the top half (note- this only makes sense if you have toddlers). I consider that progress. Maybe by the time they are teenagers I will have that perfect tree that could be in a Pottery Barn catalogue. I can dream right?

Anyway, try to get a serious picture of three young children and you know you are asking for trouble. This day was not an exception. Silly Billies.

Each kid has their own little tree for their rooms. They loved decorating them. We got in our jammies and listened to Christmas music and they did their little trees up just so. Totally sweet and lovely.

Christmas Catchup - Nativity Scenes and Advent Calendars

2010-12-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

I am ending radio silence with some getting-ready-for-Christmas updates. The shopping is 90% done, the decorations are finally up and my 3 weeks of working full time are almost over. Now I have a bit of time to blog and show you what we have been up to.

First off we have not one but 3 nativity scenes in our house. One we got as a wedding gift (got married in Dec), one is a Veggie Tales set the kids got a few years ago, and the latest purchase is a playmobil nativity. They love it. In fact pieces of it keep turning up all over the house!

I also bought them really cool advent calendars. L's is a fairy Playmobil calendar. Each day she gets a little fairy or their accessories. She plays with it a ton. And sometimes the playmobil wise men come to visit the enchanted forest, and they chat about baby Jesus :^)

The boys got... you guessed it LEGO calendars! The pieces are everywhere already but it's ok, they are really loving it as they work on it day by day and that's good enough for me.

We did have one of those reusable calendars with little fabric pockets. I love it and wanted to use it somehow too. So I combined that with the idea for them to memorize part of Luke 2 (the Christmas story - inspired by my Auntie Marjie would did this with her boys a long time ago). Each pocket has a verse and they learn one each day before they open their toy calendars.

R is doing great, really great. His mind is like a sponge. K has a few verses totally down pat but I think I am going to focus with him on just the shepherds/ angels part. That might be the amount he can handle! L just likes to listen and pretend she knows them too.

Snowy snowball fight!

2010-11-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Around here even a small snowfall can lead to big excitement. Traffic disasters, meager attempts at snowmen and sledding. Hey there was hardly any last year so it's been a while since the white stuff came to visit.

I fully admit to not being a fan. Don't like snow at all and would be happy never to see it again. And all those people who say it's so pretty? I like the green trees just fine, thank you very much.

Finally my kids are getting into snow. We have some videos of their first few times in the snow where they were really not enjoying it! But they were thrilled at the prospect of a snowball fight when they looked outside this morning. So out we went. Even though it was pretty mild, there was still a fair bit of whining about cold hands, but overall there was a lot of laughter.

Snowball fights!

Snow baseball?

What do you think?

Naughty or nice?

Random Cuteness

2010-11-17T22:26:00.001-08:00

Scenes from the playground.

If it is sunny, we tend to hang out at the school playground a bit longer after school. Sometimes a lot longer, if the weather (and the kids) cooperate. The longer we stay, the higher the chance of Kobes shouting "take my picture Mom!" Here are a few recent pics from our school playground.

There is a big container of emergency supplies next to the playground. That's the backdrop in these first pictures.

A boy who got an award for his hard work and a girl who thinks she is a monkey-superstar.

Halloween

2010-11-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of the actual day. We had tons of fun and now have tons of candy to show for it!

Someone is grossed out by pumpkin guts, and basically nothing else in the world!

R designed all the faces and daddy carved them.

Some with a knife, some with a drill. It was very quick!

Vader, Yoda and Belle

Hanging out with buddies.

R's little friend Dracula and the princess cousins.

The cousins at the very end of the night.

Working our way up to Halloween

2010-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

A 2 part prequel to the actual Halloween photos coming next week.

Today was costume day at school and preschool. A little Halloween preview, a dress rehearsal for the big night. I found out that Darth Vader is prone to wedgies, and Belle's dress is a bit too long, and of course that cheap green face paint goes on like it's cheap. All good to know for this coming Sunday. Anyway, they loved dressing up for school, just take a look...

3 cute cousins at preschool. Not supposed to have masks, that's why Darth has face paint!

Leia and Darth Vader make peace.

My hair is a rolled up t shirt glue gunned to a hairband.

Totally cheesey but I think it's awesome!

Darth gets into the olympic spirit.

There's Yoda walking behind Mario.

Yoda up close.

Ears knit by Auntie N. Cloak sewed from a crop cloth.

Too cute RyGuy.

It is a bit tricky to do holidays with two shift working parents. The years I have been on Mat Leave it has been a bit simpler with only one random schedule to work around. Ok, his schedule isn't completely random, it does repeat every 12 weeks!

But this year we had to do a few of our traditions apart from each other, like getting the pumpkin at the "patch" near our old house. So we called Grandad and he joined in the little tradition as Daddy was at work all week. Mummy works this weekend so it looks like the carving will be all up to him! Here are the kiddies picking out "Orangey".

Aren't they the cutest pumpkins ever?

preschool at the pumpkin patch

2010-10-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is another one of those posts where I want to share my pictures and stories but really I think you ought to go see Lindsay's blog and see how she saw it. It could be promo material for the pumpkin patch next year, really.

But I caught some funny things too so here you go. This is our annual, dry but not sunny trip to the Patch.

Arrr.

The girlies walked around hand in hand like little angels.

Seriously. What are you trying to do with your face?

Checking out the bumpy pumpkins.

A few days ago

2010-10-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

Big K was the Jellybean helper at preschool. His brother had just gotten a very cool watch and K had watches on the brain.

So he brought a Ben10 "watch" that actually doesn't tell time.

Once upon a time it used to light up with little holograms but it has long since run out of batteries and the discs have been lost.

That didn't really matter. So he brought it.

And he told stories about it that had absolutely no basis in reality and really didn't make sense. And he was hilarious.

The other mom's stayed to watch because they know he is, well, himself.

And he did not disappoint. He put on quite a show.

Practicing for Halloween

2010-10-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

When we were getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner we had to dig out the fall decorations. The old Halloween costumes happened to be inside the same box, so we played dress up. I don't think either of these will be this year's costumes, but it was sure fun.

Random Happenings

2010-10-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what happened, where have I been the last 10 days? Maybe working, house renos and hosting Thanksgiving dinner have something to do with it. Yup, that's probably it. And it has been sunny, nice crisp fall sunny days. Anywho, here are some pics of the little ones doing what they do best. That is being cute!

Here is Kobes saying thanks for hand-me-down little

skateboard guys he got from my friend at work.

Here are the two little ones passing the time while big brother is at school.

L with her little people:

Can't talk to you Mummy, I busy!

She has recently been skipping naps.

Then at 6:30 she puts herself to bed, this day it was in Koby's bed!

Helping Daddy dig for the new fence a few weeks ago!

There you go, a quick recap!

Cute quotes

2010-10-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

"Hush little baby don't say a word, Momma's gonna buy you a knocking bird, knock, knock!

.... if that looking glass gets broke Momma's gonna buy you a building coat"

Lainey Jane's new favorite song with a few of her own flourishes.

Random Cuteness

2010-09-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

A trail of Diego cards that leads to....

... a crazy monkey.

Dressing up

2010-09-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Friends came by to play yesterday. A little buddy with the boys for running around and pretending Batman and Indiana Jones. And his big sis. Who has a great sense of style.

Note the necklace, bracelet, purse and heels!

Poor little Lainey needs more pink in her life. Thanks J.

Backyard before the rain

2010-09-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

View of the neighbourhood from a top the playhouse

On one of the last nice days before the pouring rain started we were hanging out in the back yard. Very much cuteness was caught on film. Well, ok, not really film but you know what I mean.

I know there are broken arms in my future just a matter of who and when...

Love these ones of big brother teaching my baby how to swing.....

And a good time was had by all!

Oops, the first day of preschool

2010-09-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

With the onset of this back to school cold I seem to have neglected about every responsibility in front of me. Except cooking, mysteriously I am cooking a ton lately. But don't worry I am still neglecting the dishes so the universe isn't totally thrown off balance.

On to Kobaroo's first day of preschool. It was a full week after Ry-guy's first day of grade one. Torture I tell you. Try to explain to a somewhat absent minded 4 yr old that he is going to school just not for 6 more days. 5 more days. 4 more days. You get the idea.

Here is his cuteness packing the backpack.

posing on the porch...sitting with his teacher...

Hmm, funny how she sat right next to him right away. She says she is excited to see him again. Just kidding, I know she loves his quirky side (sliding around on his belly like a penguin instead of walking for example), but I think he caught the new teacher a little off guard. Just wait til she gets to experience the 2 cousins together in the same class this Monday, should be fun.

One quick picture

2010-09-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry, my brain has been on vacation this week, I do have pictures to post but until then....

Here is a little something to tide you over.

This is our friend the mower who has been styled with a leaf much the way a ballroom dancer would carry a rose. Can you picture it? Courtesy of Lainey Jane.

In case I forget..

2010-09-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, Aaron walked out into the hall as Laine was walking by.

She said -

That's my Daddy.

He's a good Daddy.

Hi Daddy!

And then continued on down the hall.

Holy cuteness.

Just like when she says

You changin' me Momma?

Oh tanks Momma.

Indie

2010-09-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

There are 3 obsessions in our house right now when it comes to the boys. Lainey is obsessed with Angelina Ballerina and Dora the Explorer, but that is another story. Back to the boys. LEGO is still king, they play LEGO everyday and love it. Kobes is obsessed with Batman, particularly the LEGO Batman game for the Wii. But he doesn't descriminate, he also love the original series TV shows that we downloaded.

That brings us to Indiana Jones. Ry is particularly smitten. He wants to play LEGO Indiana Jones 2 on the Wii everyday. And when he is not playing he wants to be telling me about it, offering me Indie lessons, explaining the levels to me. He requested I come and take these pictures. So here they are.

Long weekend fun Pt 2

2010-09-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

After the picnic with Oma and Opa, we went to Grammie's for the afternoon then dinner, and stayed overnight. Sorry no pics! Then we went to an outdoor movie near her house and watched "How to Train Your Dragon". It was very fun.

The movie ended around 10:15 at night. Which was, coincidentally, about 20 minutes after Lainey lost her mind and started rolling around and laughing histerically. She was only calmed by fruit snack bribes and managed to survive 'til the credits. The boys did fine and really loved the whole experience.

We were pretty early so we passed the time with UNO among other things.

We watched them inflate the gigantic screen, a highlight for the kids too!

And here they are just as the movie started.

Aaron was on the left of Kobes, and I was in the space between Laine and Ry.

And of course we stayed like that for about 5 seconds and then proceeded to try 15 million other configurations as the show went on.

Long weekend fun

2010-09-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here we go, sigh, the last summer recap. We had a little bit of time the last weekend of the summer so we made the most of it first with a picnic with Oma and Opa at their favorite park near their house.

This is Ry telling them something unnecessarily long and detailed.

I have always known Aaron looks like his Opa, but checkout Koby-roo next to Opa! Yep, there is some Dutch in that boy.

One last note, Laine was there too but she didn't make it in the pictures mysteriously. And the boys shirts match but I had nothing to do with it, Ry picked their clothes, really!

School Days

2010-09-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

Ry guy started the big Grade One yesterday. But today is his first full day.

I am chilled about it, really. (But I did give him a note with my cell number just in case, don't tell Aaron.)

So these pics are from the first 2 days of school because they don't look right without his backpack full of labelled school supplies and his Star Wars lunch kit.

Looking big with his friends, and bored already.

Koby had to pack a backpack too. It had a "video camera", a doll, a bouncy ball, a broom, and baby turtle. Oh, and he dressed himself.

Waiting for Ry on the first day, all 45 minutes of it.

Lainey thinks she is going to school too. Not for one more year little one.

Happenings

2010-09-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Back to school is coming today for one of my kids! Crazy! The middle child starts next week. But before then I am going to desperately try to post some more pics to get "caught up". Truth be told I have pics from Labour Day weekend that I will put up later this week, but for now here's a snapshot of the last week of vacay...

... helping Daddy repair the deck, yes they actually did the hammering

and yes it's actually quite sturdy!

Princes L playing cars, this time with the ones from Rush Hour Jr

which I love BTW

Dressing herself already, I am so proud!

She is modeling a spiderman mask over a OR christmas hat, and carrying a "packpack"

And here more modeling of the costume jewelry

that Auntie Donna gave us that was GG Nan's

what a mug!

Hiking with friends

2010-09-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

We initially had high hopes of camping for the weekend with our friends this summer. Due to some disorganization and procrastinating (that would be me) we didn't end up camping but instead spent the morning at Golden Ears Provincial Park hiking and picnicking. My baby girl was getting the star treatment with her Grammie that weekend so it was just the 4 kids.

you try to get a picture of 4 kids at the end of the day...

Can you believe the monkeys did 5.4 kms just like nothing?

Probably better in the end for the kids, and parents too that it was just a day trip. It was just enough time to be enjoyable and when everyone got cranky it was time to go home.

All in all very fun. A new summer tradition maybe?

LEGO

2010-09-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

LEGO continues to be the #1 past time at our house. Jo told us about a big Lego build that was happening at Willowbrook Mall and the kids could participate. Here are the boys building part of the wall of that gigantic backpack behind them. As a nod to back to school. See the pencil behind Koby's head? It was big. Ry could have stayed there all day. Koby was pretty much done after a few minutes. So we got the free ice cream and left. But it was worth the trip for sure!

One long month

2010-09-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Everybody's favorite person is Miss Charlene our babysitter. Kids and parents alike are happy to see her come.

But she is on a very exciting trip overseas for a month. A very long month. Then I think she is getting a real adult job. Sad all around.

Anyone know a nice 13 year old that can keep 3 kids in line and enjoy it?

For like the next 6 years?

Miss you Charlene!

Swimming Lessons

2010-09-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Summer lesson at an outdoor pool. Is there anything that screams summer more than this?

And if the kids have lessons you can get in before (or after) for half price. That means 3 kids and me for $2, or the whole family for $3. The weather was perfect the whole time and we all swam 6 or 7 of the 10 lessons.

The key was finding a very shallow outdoor pool in our neighbourhood. We had to carry Laine around but the boys could easily stand on their own. That made for a lot more practice and a lot more fun.

Very proud of both these monkeys. Ry passed his level and Koby passed 2 levels! It his floats. He is very floaty.

I swear we feed this kid. Yikes, look at those ribs.

They were so proud of themselves too. It is great to see them getting better and more confident. We swam a ton this summer and I could really see the difference.

Working Out

2010-08-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

The kids love to watch me workout. The other day Lainey grabbed a plastic rattle and started swinging it like a kettlebell. She looked just like me, complete with grunts and breathing fast. It was hilarious.

Anyway, this particular day Ry saw the end of my workout and insisted he join me. So we did the ab section (around 15 minutes) then he still wanted to exercise, but I was done. So I pulled out Tamilee Webb (the buns of steel girl) and they had a blast. Just check out the form and concentration ...

VBS

2010-08-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

The boys went to a daily vacation Bible school 2 weeks ago, every morning for a week. Not only did I enjoy the girl time with Laine 5 days straight, but also the joy and stories that came from that week. They had a blast. Crafts, games, singing, videos, they even told me what happened in the stories each day. And memorizing, they both memorized verses and enjoyed it. It was a last minute decision to enroll them, but I think it ended up being a highlight of the summer.

the action

posing with their shirts

Seriously people...

2010-08-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

... just try not to laugh.

Dr. Freeze (from Batman, of course)

A girl teacher (apparently)

Where do you come up with these things, my little sunshine?

a Hike in the Forest

2010-08-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Or a walk in the park down the street, whatever you want to call it.

A nice way to spend a rainy summer day.

Random photo

2010-08-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

Random cute lunch. This is the way my sweetie ate her lunch one day last month. Too funny, especially the carrot. I think it looks like a little bunny ate it.

And notice how she was careful to stay far away from the crusts. Very prudent. Coincidentally this is a picture of what I, then ate for lunch.

A walk in the park

2010-08-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday we took a walk through the park.

We had a little picnic and played at the playground, then off to the library. It's not that much further to walk but it is very fun to bring home all those books. Then on the way home we stopped at Ry's school and tried out the new climbing net.

Aaron was going to take the sleeping beauty home to bed, so he could get ready for work, but he just had to climb it first.

Na na na na na na

2010-08-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

....na na - Batman!

Notice the game (earned by a month of check marks for good behavior) and the shirt.

And the goofy grin face. Obsessed much?

Girlie girl

2010-08-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

She has definitely inherited the female shoe loving gene from me and Grammie.

Styling by Laine

More flashbacks

2010-08-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

When I posted our recent vacation pics it reminded me that we haven't been to the Bay in a few years. Some of that was due to border issues (we just got passports this spring) and some was due to having small children (why get passports when you're not going anywhere?).

But two summers ago we went down for the day, I think, and had a blast in the pool. Just like our most recent trip.

That's me looking mighty white...

And here are the kiddies looking mighty little...

They grow fast

2010-08-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

What a difference a year makes.

Here is my babe summer 2008...

summer 2009...

and now...

Again, summer 2008...

last summer...

and now!

What a big girlie!

while Mom is asleep...

2010-08-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

... Dad and the kids will play.

It was back to work for me this weekend and that meant sleeping during the day and working overnight. So Aaron always wants to get the kids out of the house while I nap.

This day he only had 2 kids (Ry-guy was at Grammie's) and they went biking/triking and then to the playground. The kids loved it. They both have road rash, but they loved it.

lego Batman

2010-08-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

There is a little obsession at this house lately. It is called "Lego Batman". Lego Batman game, Lego Batman shirts, Lego Batman pretend time, Lego Batman jokes. Everything Lego Batman. I thank Dear Daddy for buying the game for them (uhem, after I said they were not allowed to get it).

Anyway, Mr. Kobes is so creative he used our lego pieces to make the characters from the Wii game. They are actually quite clever.

From Left to Right: Catwoman (notice the girl hair and the whip), the penguin (top hat & umbrella), tough guy (he is green guy's brother apparently - I have no idea what that means), Dr Freeze (he wears a helmet in the game), green guy (again I know this is a character that he has given this nickname to, but I don't know who), lastly the riddler (he carries a staff with a question mark in the game).

He also made Batman and Robin, but they are somewhere under the bed saving the day and didn't make it to the photo shoot. Pretty creative for a 4 year old!

Vacation stage 3

2010-07-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Straight from my mom's we went to Birch Bay to a trailer my in laws have there. Nothing beats free accommodations! It was also perfect weather and also pretty laid back and relaxing.

Beach shoes from the shed at the trailer. I know you're jealous.

We went to the beach twice, the pool three times, the coffee shop, biking, frisbee, badminton, the C shop for ice cream. We did it all.

playing Pirate Hide and Seek and Rush Hour Jr

In my mind it was the perfect summer trip and the kids had so much fun. I think they will remember it for a long time. The first thing Lainey Lou said when we got home was "I go swimming?" They are easy to please when it comes down to it!

Fantastic Blog Alert

2010-07-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished writing about the blog Momastery on my other blog, but I felt it deserves a mention here as this is where I talk about being a momma. I just read her post about having 3 kids, and it is exactly what I was saying to my m-i-l last night. Just written better. With more grace and clarity. Whenever I find a new blog I dive into the archives and hunt around and read it all up for a few days. Can't wait to dive into this one!

Harrison - part two

2010-07-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

We spent the rest of our time at Grammie's in, on and around the water.

There are two places to swim at the lake. A shallower lagoon that is warmer and has weeds, or the big lake which is cold but clear. The sand is great all around but my Mom highly recommends the cold lake over the lagoon. I have learned it is wise to listen to your Momma, so we swam in the lake. Well, I didn't. They did. My feet almost fell off just standing in it. Brrrr. But the kids don't care, and even Aaron jumped in for a dip.

sandcastle building with Skipper

making sand angles, then messing them up

We also got to take a ride on Skipper's boat across the lake and down the river a bit. What a great time. We went to go look at some petroglyphs (I guess technically they are pictographs- rock paintings) on the rock. They are red, can you see them?

The kids all loved the boat ride, and playing around in the boat. "It's like a motorhome on the water!" I found it very enjoyable and peaceful.

Ry with Gram

two little boys check out the view

she looks squished in this pic but she actually loved it

Harrison fun - part one

2010-07-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

As our trio of mini vacations continued we spent 2 nights at my mom's house.

There was one evening at home with a pool in the backyard and pizza for dinner.

We spent one morning at a local minigolf place. Wow, they had everything.

Golf, a train, bouncy castle, a little jeep, an obstacle course in the woods.

Amazing. It was a bit pricey, (thanks Mom) but the kids LOVED it.

Just see for yourself...

This was a jam packed time so I will write about our

time on the water and at the beach next time.

Alice Lake

2010-07-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last summer on our way home from Whistler, we decided to stop for lunch at Alice Lake Provincial Park. It was a hot sunny day so we had a picnic and played on the beach, then resolved to come back to stay. This year we made reservations to camp and talked Nana and Grandad (and their motor home) into coming and bringing cousin Abby.

the perfect campsite

enjoying the lake

thanks for the treats Auntie Lindsay!

I love jiffy pop. Doesn't it seem like magic?

roasting marshmallows over (unfinished) old IKEA furniture

I must say this was the most relaxing vacation I have had since we went to family camp 3 years ago. Maybe it was the convenience of having the motor home and all the cooking stuff right there. Maybe it was how organized Nana and Grandad were. Maybe it was the campsite that backed on to a bit of forest where the kids could play and we could watch them. Maybe it was the 1 to 1 ratio of kids to adults. Maybe it was the distraction of having a cousin in the mix. Whatever it was that did it, it sure worked because it was a lovely trip.

park day

2010-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Before we went camping and before we went to Harrison then Birch Bay (post on that coming up) we had a quick morning at the park with our little buddy Alex. It was a weekend day but no one else was there enjoying the perfect weather. We took over the swing set for a bit then went to Mickey D's and went inside to play. The kids were in heaven!

Aquarium

2010-07-22T15:31:00.001-07:00

We skipped the last day of school. Yes, we did. Since kindergarten is only the morning and the whole morning was going to be an assembly, and we were wasting a perfectly good(and rare) day off together, we decided to skip. And we went to the Aquarium instead. It didn't rain, the kids liked it and we got in free(it pays to know people) so the day was pretty much perfect.

animal rescuers

He needed to find the alligator with the map...

here it is

baby beluga

watching the show

ice cream on the way home

that was exhausting

More Random Cuties

2010-07-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted this week. The weather has turned nice, finally, and we have been getting wet and hanging out outside and not taking a lot of pictures. I do have some new ones to get organized but in the mean time here are a few random cute pictures from June.

Also I decided to use the kids nicknames instead of initials as I am starting to get confused. I figure if it confuses me then it confuses you too. Also their names are not easily derived from their nicknames so it's not that big of a deal!

This is a performance Ry had near the end of the school year. They sang "Each of Us is a Flower" and he was the roots. Very cute and he was thrilled I was there.

Ry and Laine play very nice together. He is very patient with her (unless she is breaking his stuff) and she likes to be with him.

We had a lot of fun with the science kit Ry got from his birthday. Test tubes, pipettes, they loved mixing colours!

Lego continues to be a strong theme at this house. This is the Limited Edition fire truck we got from our US trip to the Lego store. Smiles from this one are very posed lately...

Here are the boys collaborating on Kobe's Star Wars Lego from the Lego store.

Ry decided that he should label all the different kinds of Lego we have. This is the new location of Lego City.

A puzzle Ry made for me. It was very tricky to put together so I taped it as I went. The strings are just to make it pretty and the two houses are to signify the corners.

Just sitting here...

2010-07-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

... on the kitchen counter, making faces at Mom.

Now the other one has to get in on the action.

Sweet sibling love.

Now come the tears. And we're done.

It was darn cute while it lasted.

Please tell me you didn't notice that not one of my children is fully dressed. I swear they were in the morning but shirts and pants just seem to disappear around here....

Recognition

2010-06-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

My little kindergarten man has officially gone into grade one. In his opinion as soon as school finished he started grade one. Yes, he knows there is no school for the summer but he insists "Now I am in grade one".

Before the end of school he got a recognition award at a special assembly. I feel compelled to tell you that throughout the year every kid gets an award and it was just his turn. But please let him figure that out in his own time. The neat thing is that the teachers give each kid a reward for something specific that they do well. I like that. They say sincere praise is better received because it is indeed sincere.

So Ry-guy got his award for "his quick and observant mind". Very fitting. Here he is proud as punch with the sweetest little kindergarten teacher ever.

Now, on to grade one!

Summer Snacks

2010-06-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

Nothing says summer like freezies in the backyard. I bought the "real juice" ones. So it counts as health food. Right?