camp starts tomorrow. will be back, hopefully with wonderful pictures, next weekend.

sweet, sweet rain

YAY!!! it is raining. No thunder, no lightning...just rain. Nice. Wind is blowing, air is cooling. Brains can think again.

Knock knock jokes are still big here. Even Norah is in on the action.
N ~ knock knock
Adult ~ who's there
N ~ egg
A ~ egg who
N ~ dissolves into a fit of giggles, then repeats again and again.

Finally a cooler day predicted

The last few days have been nearly unbearably hot. Temps hovering around the high 3o mark, and higher than usual humidity for this region. We alternate between hiding out in the basement, ourselves in front of fans, or shaded spots in the backyard with popsicles. There has been a faint smell of smoke in the air, and yesterday was really strong. Forest fires burn a few hours north of here, but not dangerously close. Afternoons threaten rain and thunderstorms, but only seem to bring lightening and trace amounts of rain...and more forest fires. The sky for the last 2 days has been a smoky haze, and it is not that pleasant outdoors. We had rain last night, and woke up to a cooler house, but only slightly cooler. Today is supposed to be cooler, that would be nice.

You can really see the smoky air in some of these shots. Not so nice for breathing.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It is dads birthday today. The kids almost let him sleep in a bit. Almost, but not totally. At least they were quiet. The current temperature, including humidity, is 38 degrees. Therefore, we decided an ice cream cake was in order. For the record, grocery shopping with 3 kids is a snap when the store is air conditioned. Isaac and mom whipped up a vanilla ice cream, cool whip, crushed oreo *cake*, decorated with gummy worms, more crushed oreos and whipped cream. Isaac insisted on the worms, but was rather freaked out by the idea of the *dirt* from the oreos. He was not happy with that idea, until it was explained to him that crushing the cookies made the *dirt*. Crisis averted.
The cake...Isaac had a blast decorating it!

No presents for dad, as his ipod already received some accessories as a birthday gift. However, dinner tonight is a daddy request. Bbq steak, baked potatoes, corn and salad. And some well chilled beer. Lesson learned from last night though, do not leave the beer in the freezer too long, beer slurpees are not a good plan.

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Ruby has a new best friend. Erika was born on June 27 to our friends in NB. Little girl #3, and the first one not to be almost the exact same age as one of ours...but she is not that far off! Just 8 months behind.

I think she looks like her mom. In this picture that is, we will have to revisit the question as she gets bigger.

finally a storm!

We finally had a real big storm blow into town. After lots of promise, it came! We quickly ran around shutting windows as the rain came from many, many directions. Norah took me up on the invitation to go and play on the deck as the rain pelted down. Isaac could not find his raincoat and therefore declared that he does not *do* rain. Ruby was just unimpressed with the thunder. She was already somewhat terrified by the blender from earlier, as mom and dad made caramel frappuccinos.

We *Yeti Stomped* around the deck.

the heat...

oh the heat. It is currently 33 with a humidex reading of 38. We are under a thunderstorm watch, and a storm would be a nice break. We hide in the basement, keep the blinds drawn, and limit cooking to the bbq and the occasional saucepan. The dehumidifier is running to keep the basement humidity down, because the heat level down there goes up with the humidity. The wading pool is filled first thing in the morning so that it isn't unbearably icy by 3 pm. We sleep in in the mornings, and the heat doesn't really even break at night either.

Next week, it is supposed to hit 35 before the humidex rating, right on Robs birthday. nice...

another first

3 in a tub. A whole new way to enjoy some chaos. Of course, darn near impossible to get all 3 looking at the camera - especially when trying to keep things family friendly in the frame. :)

Adorable

Got home from our road trip to Saskatoon today. We went to see Dora's Pirate Adventure. Almost didn't go, as both parents were under the weather. Rob and I were fighting some bug, fevers and nausea. Also looks like the kids have roseola - which apparently by the stage of showing the rash (which they were) meant they were no longer contagious. Icky rash either way.

Norah proudly wore her Dora dress, and was rather the envy of many little girls. All three kids enjoyed sections of the show. Norah loved seeing the Map, Isaac jumped up and down for Swiper, and Ruby just clapped along with the music. We had a little speed bump when both Norah and Ruby wanted Mommy only at the same time - did you know it actually IS possible to simultaneously nurse a baby and bounce a toddler on your knee in a theatre seat? Not that it's easy. At all.

Adorable is actually the word written across Norah's new pj's. Dora pj's of course - thanks Nanny! Norah saw them tonight and tried to put them on herself. She did alright, until she got both legs stuck in one leg hole. Hard not to laugh at that.

Then Isaac had us doubled over laughing tonight. Apparently he pays more attention to our words than we thought. Warning - this is a bit of potty humour - "Daddy, did you fart? You know what your farting tells Mommy? Mommy, you tell Daddy that he has to poop. You have to poop don't you Daddy?" Where have we heard those words before?

A short trip away, but full. Between sick parents, rashy kids and a theatre packed with preschoolers, it was eventful! Good to be home.

she's on the go...

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EEK!!

While uploading that last post, Ruby crawled for the first time. She actually was up on both knees and moved one 'step' forward. And Rob and Isaac were out for it.

so what is this?

This is Ruby's *thing*. She does it to me, to the other kids, to dad, to toys...to whatever or whomever she seems to love.


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lesson learned?

well, the storm blew over. Oh well.

Today, Norah managed to flip her chair over at breakfast. While Isaac was insisting he didn't like pancakes (while eating 3 of them, go figure), she managed to push back on the table with her feet and flip her chair backwards. That was a bit of a scare, and she bit the inside of her lip and had some bleeding. Some tears, some cuddles and a story later she was fine. Hopefully that won't be repeated.

looks like a storm

outside at least! woke up to really humid morning, which turned into a hot and sticky lunchtime. it's now 4, and those clouds are threatening and the wind has really picked up. could be our first big storm of the season.

Took the kids to the local Children's festival this morning. We watched Ukranian and highland dancing, then saw 2 musical acts. One was a family, mom, dad and their 5 kids age 10 - 21. That was fun. Then we had lunch and saw a trio perform some great kids songs. Then mom took the girls home for naps, and dad and Isaac stayed to see more. A pupet show, Indian dancers and some more music. I think we missed a couple of shows, the Chinese and Native dancing too. It was a lot to take in in one day! Great fun.


Norah and Isaac loved dancing to the music. Looked like Norah was attemtpting to do somersaults, would have been better if she did that in pants instead of her dress. Ruby got to hang out in the mei tai on mom.

one step forward...

and two backwards. Norah doesn't want to sleep in her bed. She cries out "crib, crib" at night. Yesterday at naptime, I laid down with her, and that helped her nap in her bed. She only wants to sleep in the crib. *roll eyes* So we stripped the crib today, and are considering taking out the mattress for a week or so to see if she adjusts.

Let's hope this isn't a preview of things to come...

Yes, that is the back of a police car. Thankfully, it's just a preschool field trip. He also gladly volunteered for to get a mug shot taken, Rob is still hoping he can get a copy of it. We're really hoping that is his only mug shot and visit to the back of a squad car.















Maybe they picked him up for underage driving?

breaking out the birthday present

Jordan and Jaycie got Isaac a sprinkler toy for his birthday. We finally got it out yesterday, as it was warm and the grass was freshly mowed, cutting down many of the evil dandelions. Isaac wasn't as big a fan as Norah was, he kept asking for warm water. Maybe we won't pull it out again until it's a hotter day. After getting the critter ready for play, we decided we REALLY need an air pump.





No, I won't hold Isaac's hand!







Luckily, we got to enjoy this before the town-wide, indefinite water boil advisory came in to effect. New water system in town starting up, so we are told to boil water before using at all. Good thing it didn't start yesterday, a LOT of water was consumed while they played in the sprinkler.


She got a lot more wet than this. They both needed a shower afterwards, cut grass, sand and mud everywhere. So much fun!

***solids!***

Ruby has officially had her first solids. As we are of the opinion that kids don't need to start them until they are showing readiness, we figured now was a good time. Banana was the choice for the evening. She wasn't too sure about actually eating anything, but it sure seemed fun to play with.

The first bite














Mashing is fun!














If it's on my face, does it count?

Saskatoon trip pics

Didn't manage to get many pictures on this trip. Here is Ruby in the ball pit at the Fun Factory. She practically leaped out of the sling to get in there. She was in heaven.















Wasn't allowed to take pics during the show at the Children's festival. So I tried to get one beforehand. Not good lighting, or cooperation from the kids either. Isaac is 'performing' with that face, the girls just didn't want to be in the picture.