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...

For Auntie Kendra

or Fenfra has she been known in the past ;)

The package was here to greet us as we arrived home. As soon as the girls realized there were new dresses, they were stripping down to put them on. Isaac had to be encouraged into his outfit after his shower tonight though. He's just not the clothes hound the girls are.

Note the hint of Norah's dress in this shot. *Of course*, the dresses went back on the girls after bathtime.

It's Stampede week!

Stampede week is going on right now. We're not into any of the events, except for the parade, which was last night. As parades go, it's not super exciting, but most of the groups in it throw candy - that's the part the kids like best. On a Sunday evening in June, you could do a lot worse for entertainment.

We watched the parade with a new family to our church, and some of their friends. Their older son, Kevin is a big fan of Isaac's.


Norah and Isaac loved the horses and different cars/trucks/quads that went by. Ruby was a bit nervous about the marching band and the fire truck's siren. Then they asked for more candy all the way home. nice.

Major Bedhead and her brother, Captain Cowlick

Each morning, we are greeted with a lovely tangle of curls. It's becoming more and more amusing each day












And Isaac wants to get in on the photo action

the front garden

The front garden area. Purple petunias and a pair of planters










the new shrubs out front














more baby shrubs








close up of the flowers

2007 - the summer of living outdoors

Marking outdoor time in hours, slathering the sunscreen, never forgetting bug spray and hats. Cold drinks at the ready, finding shade where we can. That is our motto.










The now-fixed screen door, thanks Rob!













It's fun to dig in rice











Some of our gardening work. We now have a bed along the east wall, where just last week there was only dirt. We will attempting to grow grass around there too. It's taken our yard almost 2 years to recover from the "big dig" of 2005...and it's still in transition.







The mix of a shrub and some perennials needed some colour - hence the marigolds in 3 different varieties. LOOK! The fence is back up too!










Come and join us on the patio for a cool drink in the shade. It's currently 29 (84), with a humidex of 32 (90).

Great article

Now, we don't generally use this blog as a place for strong opinions, but this article from Maclean's magazine highlights why we are so picky about the clothes our kids wear. No icky slogan shirts or tube tops here.

Rob and Kristin, letting children be children since 2002.

the elegant sisters

You can dress them up, but if you leave them to pick their own accessories. Nothing says pretty quite like a pink dress and daddy's ball cap.

For the record, Norah has a mosquito bite on her nose, she does not have a drinking problem. ;)

Busy, busy days

Life has been moving along at a fast pace here.

Last weekend, Grandpa was out for a visit and a 'work party'. Our playroom is now a fantastic shade of green, and the dark green paint on various walls has been banished forever. woo hoo! We had a fun visit, including kite flying, dandelion picking and hardware store visits aplenty. Thanks Dad for all the hard work, it just looks fantastic. Our first 'post painting' playdate was great - thumbs up.

Today, after a fun soccer game (the green monsters tied the red team), we got about 1/3 of the garden planted. Isaac and mom had a fun visit to one of the local greenhouses for some plants, and we will soon have pics of the brand new garden to share. Hopefully, we will even have some things growing in the garden too. Grow, little plants, grow!

leave 2 toddlers in a bathroom for 3 minutes

Oh the excitement! Oh the fun! Oh the bubbles!

As Isaac and mom were getting supper and all the cutlery on to the table last night, dad had to run into to bathroom to help the girls wash hands. The first thing we heard was an "oops, I dropped it" from Norah, followed by a groan from dad. Apparently, she dropped a whole roll of toilet paper into the (thankfully freshly cleaned) toilet bowl. Despite the claims of absorbency on the packaging, the roll of tp didn't quite manage to hold all the liquid it was tossed in, so dad had to run it out to the outside garbage to contain the leaking, leaving the girls to wash their hands on their own.

Maybe this is a good time to explain the new 'game' that the 2 smallest members of our family like to play regarding hand washing. In order to best wash hands, one must use the drain stopper and fill the sink part way with water, which is then best used to splash on your closest sibling while giggles of glee are shared.

They work quickly, our little pair. Rob was gone and back in less than 3 minutes, and in the time he was gone, they managed to discover the joy of the hand soap pump.


this was what awaited Rob upon his return. Being the ever so helpful wife I am, I ran for the camera.

Poor Ruby kept rubbing the bubbles into her eyes and complaining about the soap.

the watermelon shovel

We're not sure if she actually chews or not...

Soccer Star!

Isaac had his first soccer game on Saturday. It was great! We're not entirely sure what the final score was, but I think it was 4-4.

He is playing on a 5-6 year old team, and is one of the littlest kids on his team. He also is one of the least experienced, which was obvious at practice when he kept picking up the ball and running with it. The whole family was there to cheer him on - thankfully we aren't quite into mosquito season yet. Lots of fun.
that's him with the bright red socks.


chatting with the teammates during a break




Isaac is in goal? I can't watch.

He was such a goalie superstar!











Hanging out on the sidelines with the girls.

the party

We prayed for sun, and got it. Forgot to mention that NO WIND would have been nice. It was ridiculously windy today, as in, small children would blow away windy. So we moved most of the party indoors. Which is fine....but we had a large number of guests today.

Games were played outdoors, and small children 'picnic'ed' on the kitchen floor. Lots of fun was had, it was a great party.

'cars' were raced around the yard. there were lots of giggles. lunch was enjoyed, with only one juice spill and a minor ketchup mishap.

Thanks to all our party guests:
Jordyn, Jacie, Joey and their mom
Carson, Riley, baby Margo and their parents
Nicholas, Shanna and their parents
Keanan, baby Georgia and their parents
Drew and his parents
Elizabeth, Noah and their mom
Riel, Shawn and their mom

Yes, that is a head count of 31 people. What a party!

a couple more pics from our latest trip

This post is a touch "Ruby foody".


<--- this is why chocolate cookies and toddlers do not mix in a van. This pic doesn't even come close to showing the real mess.









Our picnic in the park today














Ruby and watermelon. She was in LOVE with it, and what a mess. Let's just say she had a change of clothes before we drove home.