Summer

The summer is officially over and it seems to have flown by so quickly.  There was a lot that happened, but I never seemed to have the time or energy to blog about it.  Here are some of the Highlights and Lowlights.

1.  Death of a Loved One:  My Granny (Dad's Mom) passed away on July 22 at the age of 90.  Her funeral happened to be on my 35th birthday, at a time when I was dealing with a lot of medical stuff myself.  I was scheduled for an emergency EMG at the hospital that day and was very sad not to be able to attend the funeral.  She was a special lady who loved her grandchildren.  She enjoyed spoiling us when we visited her in Agassiz, but took even greater pleasure in showing us off to her friends in the care home where she lived the last part of her life.  She will be missed!

As I mentioned, it was a rough time for me physically, but I was also having a rough time mentally this summer.  I have been missing my mom a lot these days and the death of another loved one always brings it that much closer to heart.  I was extremely saddened when my mom was not mentioned in my Granny's obituary with her other deceased loved one and it made me realize how quickly people are forgotten once they have passed away.  Maybe I am taking this too personally, but I still feel like my mom was a daughter to my Granny for 40 years and should not have so easily been left out!

2.  Hair Donation:  I decided to make another hair donation and cut off my long locks!  This time the donation was made to Angel Hair for Kids, a Canadian company who makes wigs for kids.  I was able to donate about 11 inches!

3.  Camping:  We had our first ever camping trip with the kids at Allouette Lake in Maple Ridge.  The kids LOVED sleeping in a tent with their new sleeping bags and drinking hot chocolate to keep warm.  It rained both nights we were there, but that didn't stop them from swimming in the lake or having lots of fun.  I hope this will be a new tradition that will help us make some great memories as the kids grow up.

 

4.  Family Time:  We did not do any big trips this year, but Johnny was home most of the summer so we were able to spend lots of quality family time together.  We had a few day trips the last week of August.  We get free tickets for living so close to the PNE, so I was able to take the kids over a total of 4 times to see different shows (twice all by myself!).  The highlights were definitely the Backyardigans and the Superdogs.  Johnny and I also splurged one day and bought the kids all day ride passes with their cousin Taylor.  Such joy!



We also went to the zoo, which is always a hit.  Here we are checking out the giraffes (my favorite).

4.  New Roof:  Johnny loves doing projects around the house.  His work does not afford him much time to do many of these projects, but this one was at the top of his list to get done before the rains came.  He and his dad re-did the roof on our garage and did a great job!

5.  Birch Bay:  During my summers growing up in Birch Bay, the C-Shop was a huge part of our lives.  It was such a treat to walk over to the candy shop and pick out something special to eat.  This year, we made our first trip to the C-Shop with the kids.  They each picked out some Jelly Bellies, candy sticks and salt-water taffy.  We had quite a feast!  I can't believe we waited so long to start this tradition.  :)

The summer is now over, the kids are back in school and have started their other activities.  We are back into a routine and I am already missing the lazy days of summer.  Until next year.....

Second Year of Pre-school

Shaylah is an old pro at school now.  She is already into her second year of pre-school.  Most of the kids are the same in her class and she was very excited to see them all again.  I was unable to take her to her first day because of work, but thankfully Grammy and Grampy were in town and Daddy could take the morning off to make it very special for her.

Shaylah loves to pose for the camera.  She is wearing the special dress that Grammy bought her.

Walking the 2 blocks to school.

So excited to see her best friend Bronwen!

First Day of Pre-school

OK, this blog post is a little late, but our schedule seems to be so full these days!  Ashlyn and Caelan started pre-school this year at the same school their big sister goes to.  Ashlyn and Caelan go on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while Shaylah goes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Three kids in pre-school....it just makes me hope that next year never comes, when Shaylah will be out of the house all day everyday at Kindergarten.  I am missing her already!

I was able to take a couple hours off work on their first day, so that I could walk the little ones school.  I wish I could have stayed with them (like all the other moms!) and picked them up too, but at least I got to see them off.

Ashlyn transitioned to school so easily.  She walked right in and sat down at the circle.  She was very excited about going to school like her big sister.

Caelan had a bit more difficulty.  He did not want to let me go and he cried for most of the morning (they were only there one hour the first day).  He has become quite a bit more clingy to his mom since school started, but it is already getting better.  Last week he walked in without difficulty....although I am told by the teacher that he stays very close to his little sister.

Shaylah very proudly helped walk them to school to show them the way.

We are THREE!

My little babies are officially out of the baby stage (sniff sniff!).  They have both developed into wonderful, caring and fun big kids, each with their own unique personality.  We are so proud of who they are becoming and what they have survived.  Hooray for 3 year olds!

Caelan is a goofy, energetic boy.  His favorite activity is running and he is starting to get pretty fast.  He loves to laugh and gives the biggest "cheese" grin whenever he sees the camera.  Caelan does not like to wear long sleeves, pants or running shoes, so I am little worried about what is going to happen once the weather gets colder.  His favorite shoes are his "Chocolate Crocs" and he has worn nothing else all summer.  Caelan will tell you that his favorite color is "brue" and that his name is "brudder".  His favorite saying is "You're too big!", which is yelled whenever he doesn't like something that is asked of him.  He is great at tackling his sisters and pinning them to the floor until they scream, he LOVES Diego and prefers his Mama to anyone else in the world.

Ashlyn is the sweet one of the family.  She is quiet around strangers, but does not stop talking when it is just us at home.  She loves to sing and dance and is really looking forward to starting her ballet and swimming lessons this Fall.  Her favorite color is pink...so much so that when she was allowed to pick out Jelly Bellies at the candy store, she would only allow the pink ones to go into her little bag.  She loves Dora and would wear her favorite Dora dress every day of the week if I let her.  Her favorite phrase is "Um, yep I do!", but she has a pretty fantastic vocabulary for a little one.

Johnny's Third Half-Marathon

We went to the Island this past weekend so that Johnny could compete in his third half-marathon race.  This one was called the Trail River Run in Port Alberni and was quite a difficult track....parts of the trail were washed-out and we saw a couple of people who left blood on the course.  It wasn't his fastest time:  I was told he had to slow down in several spots because of the dangerous terrain, plus the fact that the weatherman gave a forecast of 36 degrees for the day. 

The kids giving him a hug before the race.

Gearing up.

While we waited, we were able to check out some old cars, tractors and the McLean Mill.

The finish line.

Johnny made "medals" for the kids the night before to thank them for cheering so loudly and for supporting their Dad.  We were able to see him at one of the turn-around spots and at the finish.  We are all very proud of him!

Portraits

This is my attempt at getting portraits of the kids.  I sure wish I knew how to use my camera and and/or how to edit pictures!  One day, I will have time for some lessons.

The tractor

We were in Port Alberni visiting Johnny's parents on the weekend.  The kids had fun riding Grampy's "tractor"...and with the word kids, I include Johnny as well.  :)

Ashlyn's turn.

Caelan giving me a big wave.

"Look Mom, no hands!"

Sunset

We had the most amazing sunset last weekend.  This is a view from our front door, looking out over the Lions Gate Bridge.....beautiful.

Throwing rocks at Birch Bay

A favorite activity....

Berry Picking

We have already gone berry picking twice this year.  Once with Daddy and another time with Great Gran.  Both times were so much fun and I am pretty sure the kids ate more than they put in their buckets.  Even Ashlyn and Caelan were getting good at picking only the ripe berries!

New (to us) bikes!

I was able to pick up a couple of bikes for the little ones at garage sales.  Cars for the boy; princess for the girl.  They were really hoping for Dora and Diego bikes, but are still happy with the ones they have.  Caelan has really taken off and can ride on his own.  Ashlyn still hasn't quite figured out the whole pedalling thing, but she has fun anyway.  Shaylah, of course, is an old pro and is already in need of a bigger bike.  Who knew she would grow so much in one year?

Busy week!

We have had an extremely busy week.  I hope summer won't always be like this!

Saturday - Marsalie worked
Sunday - Marsalie and Johnny got to go to the BC Lions Football Game (alone!!) after celebrating Father's Day and going to church.
Monday - Shaylah's end of year pre-school picnic at the park.  Johnny took his Dad to the TELUS skins game in Victoria.
Tuesday - Johnny still away enjoying the amazing golf.
Wednesday - Playland party.  (kids out way too late)
Thursday - Marsalie worked.  BBQ party at Jericho beach for dinner with Sunny Hill work mates.  (kids out way too late again!)
Friday - Marsalie worked.  Johnny did the Grouse Grind before work.  I think we all fell asleep very early from exhaustion.
Saturday - Shaylah's dance recital.
Sunday - Soccer party to celebrate a school friend's birthday.


What will next week bring?

Shaylah's Dance Recital

Shaylah had her final dance class of the season and the girls put on a recital.  She was (of course!) the best in the class.  :)  I was a very proud parent watching her.

Great Gran gave her flowers to celebrate.

She is so proud of her flowers...they are now sitting very proudly on the dining table and Shaylah checks on them frequently to make sure they have enough water.