It's over! (wiping brow and collapsing on couch)

The party is done. Another year done.

It was great. Rain loomed in the sky, but didn't fall (woo hoo!), even though it got cooler and windy. There was great yard time with the kids (aside from Norah getting kicked by a kid on the swing - no serious damage). Sand play was enjoyed by all over the age of 18 months. The BBQ prepared the perfect amount of food for dinner. Cake was sufficiently mushed about. Presents were lovely and fun. Indoor playtime knocked everyone out. Cleanup was easy. What more could you ask for? Oh yes, pictures!

It got too cold to eat outside. So the little picnic table came inside.
Left: Jordan, Norah, Isaac
Right: Leila, Keanan, Jaycie














Cake time!














The cake - hockey, of course!














Show me your cake face!














And yet, there is more to do. Bringing cupcakes to preschool tomorrow. Gotta get them iced. Bed time must be soon, right?

Before the party

We gave Isaac his gifts from the family on Saturday night. He was so excited to see the Vancouver Canuck stuff. He loves the jersey. Loves it. Wanted to wear it to bed. But settled for wearing it to church instead.




















Who can be sad with a red balloon?
















Our almost 6 month old. Getting so grown up.














yes, they are in matching dresses. When you have 2 little girls so close in age, you resist the urge to buy matching dresses. Bet you can't!

He's got the bike...

We had a wonderful afternoon in the yard, assembling our picnic table, washing the chairs and playing. Temperatures in the low 20's and clear skies. Sure beats Isaac's birthday last year, when it snowed. :) We also had our first BBQ of the season, and ate at the new table. There is now rice all over the deck, thanks to the kids. That's actually 2 meals outside today, we did lunch there too.

Popsicles!!!















We decided to give Isaac his bike tonight, as we were all home. Rob is working most of Saturday, and Sunday is the birthday party and it's a big gift to give in front of other kids.

After supper, Rob went into the garage and came out with the bike and Isaac yelled "A bike for me to ride!" His face lit up and he went running, faster than I could get photos. But here are a couple of him with the bike - he also couldn't look at the camera long enough to actually get the photo of his face.

A few shots from the winter

Rob's ordination. 2 weeks before Ruby's birth. That was a long Sunday morning.


2 week old Ruby and proud big brother.














The crazy late sunrises of December....this was taken around 9:15. Kristin kicked open the back door and clicked quickly. It was cold!















Norah on Christmas morning. Has her hair ever grown since then.














Isaac and Norah in the snow. That was such a pretty day.














Rob and Ruby on Christmas morning. Remember when she was that tiny? That was a good 10 minutes...

The birthday party

is set for this Sunday afternoon. We're going to have a few people over, kids to play, serve supper and cake. We ordered the cake today - hockey themed. Norah is saying hockey now too - recognizing it on the tv as well. Now to get the house cleaned for Sunday. hope the weather holds so we can use the backyard!

"when I grow up real big, like a man, I'll use the man bathroom at church!"

-Isaac

birthday wishes

Isaac's 4th birthday is coming up. We're getting him a much desired bicycle. He wants a red and green one, but the one hiding in the garage is red and blue. And a red helmet to go with it. Hopefully he isn't sad that it's not green.

We are making plans for a party, possibly for next weekend, but it's looking like we may put it off a week. Next weekend is already a birthday party on Saturday, the trade fair in town which could be a fun outing, and Rob has to do his other service in the afternoon. Last year, it snowed on his birthday....hoping we don't get a repeat of that nonsense. We're going to have a cake at church next Sunday either way. He's been making a list of who he wants to have over. He is really understanding the whole birthday thing a lot more this year. Which is nice, although he often will tell us he would rather be 8 than 4.

We feel really blessed to say that he doesn't need anything. Maybe a pair of sandals - apparently his feet may have grown 2 sizes over the winter. But he has so many toys already, and lots of clothes. We're really excited about the bike. He was starting to be interested in them last year, but we're really glad we held off. Not only did we get one that will probably last a couple of years sizewise, but he really really wants one. If he's not talking about hockey and books, it's about bikes.

We will probably do an outside party, with a bbq. Which means we will have to finally decide if we are going to get the picnic table from Extra foods we've been looking at. For whatever reason, we just can't seem to make a decision on it. Our ideal outdoor dining set is a pair of benches with backs and a long table, with room for chairs at the end. This particular table at Extra foods is close, but the benches don't have backs. But it's WAY cheaper than the other options that are more like the ideal. So we'll probably be picking it up sometime this week.

Family fun night!

Friday night is our family fun night. Last night, we decided to take the kids swimming. It was great! (aside from the meltdowns over getting dressed that both girls had, but that was minor) It was a great chance to break in the solarveil mesh sling too. It was a gorgeous 22 degrees outside, so it was a pleasant 2 block walk ;)

thought we'd put in some pictures from before we left. Can't get all 3 to look at the camera at once.

Is it a gender thing?

Isaac has pretty much always been easy-going about clothes. He does have a couple of favourite shirts, depending on the colour or pattern. He prefers no-button pants, but that seems to be for ease in the bathroom. And loves those Canuck socks. But really, we can pull something out of the dresser and say "put this on" and he does.

Then there is Norah. Prefers dresses. All the time. "pretty" she says. She even prefers some dresses to others. Today, tried to pull out pants "NO!" she says, and pushes them away. Did that with every pair of pants I tried...although, I admit that I kept trying just because it was funny. She had to wear a dress today. It's not easy to get her into something she does not feel beautiful in apparently.

A friend came over yesterday. Norah was all excited about her "pretty" nails. What? She's never been told that painted fingernails were pretty before! This is a princess on our hands...

Hockeyville!

I would tell you to vote for our town as Hockeyville on CBC, but we were advanced to the next round by the judges. If you saw our town's video on the show or at the website, I would just like to point out that the doctor who delivered the mascot's baby is the doctor that fixed up Isaac's broken finger AND was present at Ruby's birth.

couscous is yummy

couscous, when fed to a toddler with questionable fork handling skills is, well, messy

down one child

Isaac has been on a trip to Nanny's house. He left yesterday late morning, and gets back sometime tomorrow afternoon. The house seems a little empty without him. He has phoned to check in (even dialed himself - with help) and says he's having lots of fun. We miss him. Can't wait until he's home again!

everyone in the van

Spring sunshine!

Another beautiful day! Sunshine and warm breezes. "Lake Rectory" has dried up, but the ground is still wet. We went outside in the yard today and hung the swings. Poor Norah doesn't have boots that fit. We tried one size but they were too narrow, the next size up we had were too big for marshy ground walking. Bare feet were great.















Siblings on patrol. Check out the static in the hair.














Too small to play, but not to watch!














The discarded boots. One foot stuck in the sand and they were off. The wettest point in the yard is now the sand under the swings.














Then Rob came home, bringing a fantastic treat that Isaac decided to share.

"think dad will notice?"















Sweet victory

Norah at the Fun Factory in Saskatoon

Only managed to get shots of Norah - Isaac was a blur, running all over, and Ruby was sleeping.

The ball pit!




























Shoulder checking in the Winnebago

Isaac says "knock, knock"

who's there?
Tank
tank who?
you're welcome!

It's all about the knock knock jokes these days. Tonight's dinner was a mess of giggling over knock knock jokes, some of them even told properly. Lots of fun.

seriously reading

It's official. He's reading. Isaac is really reading, on his own. We've been sure that he was picking up words here and there, but this confirms it. Last night, at our small group, he started reading words off of the handout we had. Not just words, but full sentences. We knew he was getting the short words: it, open, stop, my...that sort of thing for months. This was a lot more than random words.

Samples:
Break into small groups
three tools God uses to make you like Jesus
You can choose

To think he's not quite 4 yet. How do we keep up with this boy?

Spring is here!

It's official. Spring is here. Snow is going...almost all gone off our lawn. And replaced by a lake in the backyard. The lake is exactly around the swing set. Darn lowest point in the lawn being the best spot for a swing set. The streets are drying up and the weather is mild. It was 13 today at the warmest, and the days are getting longer. We even went for a walk after supper and got home as the sun was setting at 7:55. It's so nice to have the dark winter days behind us for another year. We may still see some snow, but it won't last!

home again

Home after a great trip down to Saskatoon. The kids were wonderful, even though we were battling head colds. We even managed a fantastic visit to Sears portrait studio....there are pics to come - of all three of them together! I can't wait for them to be ready to pick up. They will be out in the mail as soon as we get them.