pics from Isaac's birthday dinner out

Fancy drinks! Even with an orange slice. What little girl doesn't love a Shirley Temple?













Drinking through a straw - a treat for a little one.












Orange and slushy deliciousness. For a special birthday boy.











The wait staff singing happy birthday. He was SO thrilled, he couldn't even eat his ice cream!

5 years ago...

Oh goodness, does 5 years ever go by too fast. Our little man is growing more every day, and it's so hard to remember when he was tiny - yet it feels like only moments ago.

We had a lovely day, presents after breakfast. Treasures unwrapped, and enjoyed. Including the much desired "switchers and connectors" for the train track. (thank you toysrus online shopping!) A road trip to the big city (although, he's not too thrilled about being at Nanny's house without Nanny "you shouldn't be in people's houses when they aren't home"), with the requiste TimBits stop. A supper out, with a 'fancy, big-boy drink' that came with orange wedges and 3 cherries on top, AND the waitstaff singing him a personal birthday greeting. How can a boy not love that special day?

He is now sleeping off the sugar buzz from the drink and the whipped cream from the ice cream sundae he was given at dinner.

We forgot our camera connector, so no pics until we get home again. Instead, may I offer up some stats for your enjoyment.

Isaac
at birth - 8 lbs 5 oz, 22 inches long, blue eyes, no birthmarks, all fingers and toes
age 5 - 41 pounds, 42.5 inches tall, blue eyes, a good number of scars, one finger broken along the way.

We decided after a small falling mishap last week involving his face and a milk crate to delay his 5 year portraits until our next city visit. He's sporting a rather lovely yellow bruise across his right cheek. Until next time!

shhhh

If you listen carefully, you will hear it. Ruby talking. She's a quiet little one, but is developing quite the vocabulary. "tank oo" "dere you go" "top it" "help pease" "music dance?" Every day she seems to be picking up new phrases, as well as words. How fun!

moving outside

the wonderful days of Spring are here. the sun warms the earth and the growing grass is greener every day. We are spending more and more time outside, hoping to enjoy the yard before mosquito season begins.
chasing bubbles around is always a treat










new skills include climbing










but she still wants to hold a hand on the slide - unlike her brave, winter self. probably the lack of snowsuit padding.














the swings - occasionally a fight over whose turn it is to use them, and who gets to dig in the sand.









hanging out under the slide. we're finding lots of ladybugs in there.

dinner with the future fasist dictator, the raging capitalist, and the utiopian dreamer

A snapshot of dinner time conversation at our home

I - hey dad, can I tell you a funny joke?
D - sure
I - what do birds do in the air?
D - I don't know, what do birds do in the air?
I - you tell me
D - when do you tell me the funny part?
I - I don't know, when is it funny?

-- supper is consumed, and older 2 children ask for more --

R - more! more!!! please...please (frantically signing please at this point)
M - you have food, right there
R - more!!! (pushing existing food on plate aside)
I - (laughing) she wants more because I have more. Do you? do you want more when I have more?
R - MORE!
D - our future little capitalist consumer, keeping up with the siblings

----

I - hey mom?
M - yes
I - know what?
M - tell me, as long as it's not about how deep the pool is
I - hey dad?
D - I'm not talking about the pool either
I - No, when I grow up...when I'm big...everyone in the whole world is going to listen to my words.
D - really?
I - yep, and they are all going to do what I say, everyone in the whole world. they will listen to my words
D - those are some big plans
I - yep, they will all do what I say

----
N - (who has been silent through most of the meal) hey mommy, hey mommy, hey mommy?
M- yes
N - *big sigh* oh mommy, after supper, I go put on ballerina dress and we play school
M- sure, after your bath
N- and I put on ballerina dress, and you be the teacher and I be Tiffany
M - who is Tiffany?
N - me, I be Tiffany, and I dance in my ballerina dress and spin and spin and spin and den I fall down and we all be happy

----

we have no idea who Tiffany is, or where she even heard the name. hard to keep a straight face through some meals around here.

outside time!

we got to play outside today for a good, long stretch. It warmed up to 17C, and was just lovely. Ruby managed to figure out how to climb the ladder to the slide, Norah discovered that she doesn't like going very high on the 'big kid' swing, and Isaac found that he can indeed ride his bike on the grass.

Jordyn, Jaycie and Joey stopped by with their mom, and all the kids had a great time playing for a nice stretch of time. The days are getting much longer, and the yard is so much dryer now. Very nice.

Although, we're kind of kicking ourselves for the swing set we have. What were we thinking, only getting one that can take 2 swings when we have 3 kids. grumble. Not to mention that it's tilting to the side a bit after the winter. And they are all getting big for the little playhouse. We did get to see a ladybug in the yard today though, that was lots of fun.

that *that* winter!

it is currently 15 outside - 60 for our American readers. Finally, it's beautiful outside. "Lake Rectory" is visibly shrinking from hour to hour, although the yard is still a muddy mess. We are still avoiding playing on the grass, but we have been able to expand to the back patio and deck from only the garage. In fact, just looked out the back window - the lake is GONE, instead of the large mess we had only yesterday. Wish we took pictures of it.

Windows are open and fresh, spring air pours in. Nice.

Finally was able to capture Ruby dancing

Easter treasures

- the arrival of a package from out west. New clothes for kids, and some airplanes to play with. Yay Grandpa Tom!

- a bag of goodies from the 'big city', new outfits for all, including matching (yet reversed) ones for the girls. And the GoGoTV game, what kid doesn't love to see themselves on tv?

- watershoes in the Easter baskets, in anticipation of trips to the lake this summer. Also, new toothbrushes for all, and a board game too

- a bag of beautiful picture books, from the Archdeacon and his wife. Books that our kids aren't quite ready for, but that we can't wait to read to them.

- the best gift of all, the promise of eternal life, through the death and resurrection of our Saviour. The most wonderful Easter treasure.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter from our family. We had a colder morning than expected, and we had to dress up warmer than anticipated when leaving the house.








Ruby













Norah, who has had a very cranky Easter morning. Naptime needs to begin right now.









Isaac.
Check out how short those sleeves are becoming, that shirt fit him at Christmas!















A rare pic of all 5 of us. not an easy task to get 5 people to look at the camera, AND keep 3 from running off.

Easter weekend

playing the new game, GoGo tv, where the kids are on the screen, playing.

New outfits for the kids too :) thanks Nanny.

road trip!

Dad had to be at the cathedral today for a noon-time service. We all tagged along, and got to have lunch with the clergy of the diocese afterwards. The kids were very impressed to have been blessed by the bishop with the big hat.

Then we went to WalMart. Oh goodness, I think half the town was there. Never have we seen such a busy store. It's not even Christmas! Plowed through the shopping list, and got most of it. Long day though. Good to get home after such a long day of driving.

Hard to believe we're getting ready to celebrate our third Easter here.

Saturday fun

Isaac and Norah had their last swimming lesson of the session today. Isaac is very close to being out of Salamander, and is doing well. Norah, the 'spark plug', and second youngest of her group has passed out of Sea Turtle into Salamander. She is quite the little swimmer. However, Salamander is a non-parent participation class. We're not quite sure if we're ok with that, especially given her total lack of fear.

Although soccer season may preempt signing up for the next set of Saturday lessons, games are Saturday mornings. Ruby, however, would really enjoy lessons. She came to watch the siblings today, and tried to go for a swim herself. More than once. She was not impressed with being stuck on the side with mom.

The boys in Isaac's swim class are all going to be in French next fall, and hopefully some of them will end up in the rotation for Kindergarten. They are all also going into soccer, so it would be great if he ends up on the same team with a couple of them. Nick, Carson and Drew could be a fun bunch of buddies for Isaac who has mostly been surrounded by little girls since we moved here.

The snow continues to melt. Lake Rectory is forming under the swing set again. We are playing in the garage a lot. Which brings us to today's fun.

The garage has a nice amount of junk in it, junk that predates our living here. Including a piece of furniture that once was probably a nice sideboard. However, covered with dust, cobwebs, an ugly board nailed on the top and being slightly moldy in one corner, it is no longer a nice sideboard. I was tired of looking at it, and seeing it taking up space in our garage. Not wanting to plan a trip to the dump to get rid of something that isn't even ours, I decided to take action.

One hammer and some brute strength, and a half hour later, we no longer have a icky sideboard in the garage. We have some of the boards still in there, but most of it is in our garbage bin. A few good whacks, some pulled nails and some serious pulling and prying, and it's dealt with. Now to continue on the plan to make the garage our ideal "out, but not quite outside" playspace.

Miss Dressup herself

Norah came upstairs as I was cooking dinner tonight to show me her outfit. I took some pics.

Norah-isms

- I didn't poop, I only peeped

- I do it myself (said while wagging a finger at you)

- (this one is for Auntie Jen) green beans blecch! said while spitting them out.

- "Norah, you are naked in the dining room." "ya, I know, and I love it! woo hoo!"

- I like praise music (singing) "our God is an awesome dog"

- no, I can't, I just can't (read that over-dramatically, and you are part way there)

- I drink coffee when I a big girl?

- I dress up now, I be right back

Sunshine and puddles

Another beautiful day, and we are now pretty much living on lakefront property. The puddle out front of our house is soon going to need to be named...to say nothing of what we know awaits us under the still-deep snow in the backyard.

Today though, we got to try out the new 'big toy'. The wagon. Thanks to Poppie for this treat. It's big enough to fit all 3 kids....which also has it's downside. That's about 100 pounds of kid to pull around. Mom is now tired, but it was lots of fun.


That ball of fire in the sky is burning our eyes!










A slightly better shot, around the corner. Today we also broke in the new spring jackets that Dorothy made the kids.


Today was the perfect day to play in the garage. If only Dad can see the 'vision' of doing some work in there to make it a decent playspace. It's perfect for wet ground days - lots of sunlight, but no mud. Great for driving around big cars and bicycles, and pushing doll strollers.

Spring calls

The days are getting longer, and we are hoping that the snow will eventually melt. There is a garden out back that needs to be planted. Summer vacation plans to be thought of and dates planned. Soccer season will be upon us, and Isaac is excited about getting to play on a real team.

We dream of putting away sweaters, mittens and boots. The children all have beautiful, new, handmade spring jackets awaiting their first use. We are checking out summer clothes on the websites, and imagining that the day will come that we could actually dress the children and ourselves in such things as short sleeves and sandals. The Land's End website beckons with beautiful playdresses and little boy polo shirts and we think that maybe the days of playing in a backyard free from snow could be in the future. Oh if only we could afford all the shopping, and if the shopping brought about the weather appropriate for the purchases!

it's official!

Guess who is starting French Immersion Kindergarten this Fall?

Skating Carnival!

Most of the performance, up until Tinkerbell's solo. Isaac is the Peter Pan who doesn't fall, isn't wearing a visor/face guard and looks like he is running on the ice. See if you can pick him out. He's the skater who is mostly closest to following the lead skater.


Slightly better resolution, and shorter. Isaac is the Peter Pan right behind the "leader"

from today

silly pictures from today

not quite climbing the walls...

the other day, Ruby decided to climb the stove - and hang there. Tried to get some good photos of it, but only got these.

Saskatchewan's Nancy Sinatra

minidress and boots. Apparently, these boots were made for dancing.

new layout

as you can tell, we've fiddled with our layout and colours a bit. Hope you like it!

Plans for a garden

As we are still optimistic that spring will come, despite us getting snow almost every day for close to 2 weeks, we discussed garden plans with the kids over dinner the other night. We decided that we should grow cucumbers and zucchini, as we eat a lot of them. Pumpkins, because it's neat to grow pumpkins. Potatoes were also requested.

Then we asked Norah what she thought we should grow. She paused, thought for a minute and responded "muffins, we grow muffins". Hmmm...anyone know where we can pick up some muffin seeds?

Some pics from the last week

Isaac and Norah on the roller slide in Saskatoon.














A trio of musicians.











Rain boots! Everyone got to pick out their own, in anticipation of spring eventually arriving. (if it ever stops snowing that is)











Ruby, sick with a cold (still couldn't keep a shirt on her) but having fun in mom's boots.

well that just hits a bit too close to home

Sledding at the park - Isaac and Nanny

more winter festival

Sunday afternoon was "family day in the park". There were kids activities in the afternoon, and it was beautiful and sunny, and a balmy -5. Nanny and mom took the kids over for some fun. There were 5 stations - a snow angel decorating stop, minigolf, smooshing (like snowshoeing, but with 4x8 planks of wood), an obstacle course and snow bowling.

Norah and her snow angel - pink of course!






Isaac's snow angel. Green. Note the artistic dumping of birdseed. ;)












Snow bowling.












Isaac at the snowgolf.












After all the stations were done, you could trade in your 'passport' for a prize - a bag of treats and a crazy carpet slide! Norah picked black, and Isaac green. Then they went sledding down the big hill. They are brave little kids!

Ruby didn't make it into any pictures - she spent the afternoon in the backpack on mom's back.

If you look carefully, you can see Isaac, Norah and Nanny on the top of the hill.

winter festival

This weekend was the winter festival in town. Nanny was up for the weekend too. Friday night was the kickoff. Mini-chucksled races at the arena, followed by a Christmas tree bonfire. the chucksled races were hilarious - kids skating around, dragging another child in the sled, all while dressed in costumes. Chucksleds do not steer well around corners.


the girls in the stroller for the walk over. it was cold.












The fire was large, hot, exciting and very fun. After picking up hot dogs and hot chocolate to snack on, we walked over to the fire spot. Isaac joined a large group of children on the snowbank nearby...until the wind changed and they all scattered. that was funny.








The fire.

couple of pics

Isaac before his haircut. He liked this picture.














Ruby on the kitchen floor. Looking a lot like her daddy these days.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year's Valentines Day was much more pleasant than last years.

Isaac was able to attend his preschool Valentine's party, unlike last year's chicken pox fiasco. He helped make cookies to share with his classmates, filled with chocolate kisses. They were delicious.
Today is apparently the last of the cold snap. It went from -36 this morning to a balmy -15, and is still rising. Which is good, our town's winter festival is this weekend, including a parade. It will be nice to be able to play in the yard again. Really nice.

Not much else to report here. Spring break is next week, and our new statutory holiday on Monday "Family Day" will be held for the first time on the 19th.

watching tv

this spot is a fave for the kids to perch in to watch tv. Ruby has now figured out how to climb up there with the siblings. Although, I don't know why she climbs up there with them - she doesn't watch the tv!

a spot of tea?

Cold, wintery days call for more creative entertainment. Isaac and Norah decided to 'tea party' the other day, fancy hats and all.

I know, I know

It's been some time since we've updated. If you have complained, you have been heard.
To paraphrase Justin Timberlake, "we're bringing blogging back". ;)

Our computers were on vacation out west, you see, so we weren't loading up pics. And life has been very busy...even though we've been pretty much totally housebound for just over a week. Between stupidly cold days, heavy snowfall, us hosting playdates, a couple of ill parents (not quite at the same time) and sleeping through preschool starting (whoops!), we're inside a lot.

There are some pics in the posts that follow. Hope you enjoy.

Pictures!

This girl is loving the camera these days. Please ignore the mess behind her. We had 5 kids under 5 in the house.
















Norah, showing us her "Blue Steel"
(one look? one look?)















The girls after church one Sunday. Note the removal of tights. That happens pretty quick after the service. Can't say I blame them.

















Painting. Isaac is pulling his 'no pictures' moves. Ruby is painting with water.










Pig tails - do you see that? She actually kept them in for 2 whole hours. Amazing. Then she ripped them out.

Pics from the visit

3 little girls for story time. Yes, I know, the book Ruby is shoving at me is upside down. But I am supermom, I can read it that way anyhow!











Do you know how long it takes to get 5 kids and 2 moms dressed to go out to play in the snow? It's a long time. We had such fun with Bonnie, Nathan and Nora.









A very full van. Off to do some sledding.