see that?

that honeydew melon? Ya, that one. Guess where I found that today?

Yep, in the garden. Our garden. woo hoo!

there are also a lot of green, plump tomatoes out there. A LOT. About a dozen peppers that are supposed to be yellow or red, but are still green. Also, there was rather a shocking strawberry pick done today, we thought they were done for the year.

...also, we picked over 20 pounds of zucchini...no exaggerating. 20 pounds, and still more growing. Next year? Half the zucchini plants. Lesson learned!

"Bonjour, mes amis"

Dressed, and ready to head out. It was only a half day today, and parents were invited to stay. So I did. Our local chapter of Canadian Parents for French provided muffins for snack...which meant I was baking zucchini muffins last night.













Madame Kate and her class. Isaac is in M1, M2 attends the alternate days. Kindergarten is full day here - 8:55 to 3:30. It will probably be nice to have a smaller class of 12 or so each day.


Say hello to the first French Immersion class in this town ever! Aren't they cute?














Isaac during seat work time. Lots of new words to learn. Lots of new rules to follow. Lots of friends to make.

Well, his bag is packed...

and *he's* ready to go. Mom and Dad? Not so sure.

Kindergarten starts tomorrow. Full day kindergarten, every second day. French Immersion Kindergarten.

He's excited. He wants to know where "the garden" is. He can't wait to see his "new friends" and carry his new backpack to school.

We want to know where the last 5 years went.

why bother trying?

seriously. why do we attempt to book a trip for portraits at Sears when we are in the city?

Every time, someone gets a visible injury.

Today, Ruby. We were playing chase, and she fell. Right into the metal bedframe. Nice red mark that will probably turn into a bruise, right across her left eye area. lovely.

No pictures today.

On the other hand, we got all of our school shopping done. Isaac now has his indoor shoes, a brand new backpack, some random clothes he needed to round out the wardrobe, and a kindergarten sized thermos. Big days ahead.

the beach

We may not have done much swimming, but it was still a great hangout.













On a windy day












That Norah is brave...

but loves a good "wrapped and cozy" after a dip










































the big water fight with Nanny. I think Isaac lost.












Snuggling with Dad












Sandcastle building with Nanny












Of course, all princesses are wearing their tutus to the beach this season.

the climbing

They started off the week mildly...ya right! Check out Ruby's bold moves here, with her sister right on her heels. That climb was mastered in one day.










































Later in the week, they moved on to more vertical climbs. both girls had that one mastered quickly as well. Still didn't mean we were comfortable watching it!

A week at the lake!

What a week. It was lovely. It was relaxing. It was peaceful. It was cold. Well, mainly at night, but still, too cold for August. There wasn't enough swimming, but we just weren't that brave. A 15 minute dip here and there was plenty.

We started off the mornings with hot chocolate all around.






Out front of the cabin.










In the wooded campfire spot, with our successful fire, last night there. Isaac loved the lights strung about the trees. Not quite as much as riding his (training wheel-less) bicycle all week though.

the most exciting day EVER!

Guess what showed up at our OUR house yesterday? It was also the very thing that had these two children glued to the back window.




















You may notice that the lights are on.

We had to call 911 because of a bbq gas leak. They came, and the leak was fixed. We felt really stupid calling 911, but what else is there to do when the firehall's phone wasn't being answered?

Oh, and just to reassure us ALL. 911 had to call us back after 15 minutes. They couldn't remember our address. We will all sleep better knowing that tidbit of information.

GARDEN!

We are amazed. Our garden is actually growing and producing. The tomatoes are a bit (to say the least) unruly, but things are growing. Tasty things at that.


a little "harvest". Isaac loves the yellow cherry tomatoes. there is also a huge container of ripening tomatoes in the house.










look what we found today! apparently, ignoring the garden for a couple of days will cause zucchinis to grow at double time in protest. That is no trick photography, that is a massive zuke next to the boy.

a beautiful baptism shot

from baby I and baby J's baptism. that's baby I.

Camp photos

Our "chalk monster"












in the hole "her boys" dug





































on the top bunk. Yes, it really was that high up. Ruby is a daredevil.



Every night topped off with a Saskatchewan sunset

a quartet of cousins

cute kids, and the flowers aren't bad either!

Mid-summer posting

It's been a long stretch since we've updated. We've been enjoying summer, and haven't had much time to keep up here. Lots has been going on, it's a great summer.

We're always just a phone call away if you are wanting more info on what's new and exciting here! Feel free to leave a comment too - it's nice to know if people are "out there in blogger land"

Let's try to sum up things so far...
(we're also short some pics that are on the laptop, which has a recently departed power cord)

-Canada Day. Sick dad, but fun picnic at the lake, followed by a parade. Glad we brought a change of clothes, very wet kids swimming in lake.

-Dad's birthday party. We had a lovely "Mexican Fiesta" party to celebrate Rob's birthday. I think the final head count was 17 adults and 16 kids...wait, not sure if that included us5 or not. Build your own burrito bar, strawberry slushies, Melissa's fantastic avacado/mango salsa, a pinata and lots of laughs. To be true to a party we throw, the weather turned too windy to eat outside, so we moved indoors. Tight, but fun, squeeze. As Isaac was the oldest child there, we went with a pinata that used pull strings, as opposed to the wild, stick waving style. Much safer!

-double baptism at church of two little girls who are in our circle of friends. What a beautiful day it was, even though it was stinking hot and we were on the way out to camp.

-Week at camp. Kids had adoring fans all around, lots of fun, swimming, playing, singing. Even got to try out bunkbeds - which went over very, very well.

-visit from cousin Katie, and her parents too. ;) They are all asking when Katie is coming back to play. They all got to experience life here at it's hottest.

-VBS - Dad ran one at our smaller church, and Isaac tagged along. Then Mom helped run one in town, and Isaac and Norah participated. That was lots of fun, and we still have the songs stuck in our heads. The songs have led to some great mini-chats about God looking at our hearts, and how important it is to be strong and brave because God is with us.

-Next, we're off to the lake for some rest and relaxation. woo hoo!

now to post some pictures...anything to get out of packing...