by far...

 the best holiday ever with both boys.

Today elliott ran around the indoor track at the TCC 6 times!!!

The boys taking their jelly beans very seriously!

quick nap

Finn fell asleep in his sled this morning. He seemed pretty settled until glen accidentally tipped the sled and finn rolled onto his face! He did wake up but was too sleepy to know what had happened.

christm morning

I do love Christmas with the kids- so much going on, so much excitement. But I couldn't help but feeling relief last night that it was over and I did it!!!!  and beyond a meltdown yesterday, the kids loved it. Onward! A few days at home before a holiday.

merry christmas eve!

A little early morning baking to get us going

on a busy, fun day!

day 1 of holiday

You might wonder what has gotten into me for the next 2 weeks, but I have a little more time now that we are on holiday for 2 weeks!!!

We all went sledding this morning after we said good bye to my parents. They head to Calgary for Christmas with my brother.

busy weeks

So for example, I needed to make some adjustment to my Google account so that I could once again blog from my phone. Well the 10 minutes needed has eluded me for a month. Getting ready for Christmas on top of everything else is almost too much. Might seem whimpy butlife feels hectic these days.

Nevertheless, I had an amazing break in absolutely luxury last weekend (what am I whining about;) with my mom. We were at Sparkling Hills for a couple of nights and it was so nice to break from the routine.

too bad they are so cute...

Very high risk for getting stolen :).

halloween prep

I've never really been into Halloween, but kids are great lubricants. A few prep photos from this evening.

fiiiiinn!

This is a common sight at home. Finn takes off down the sidewalk whenever he can. Glen has secretly followed him and he went 2 blocks before sitting in the middle of the side street. Awesome. But Mr cautious Elliott always runs after him for me and tries to lure him back home. This doesn't work but holds him off until I get there. Oh Finny. I am learning how to parent a risk-taker.

first leaf fall

So far Fall, my favorite time of year, has been so beautiful here. We all raked leafs this afternoon. Elliott actually contributing to family productivity for his first leaf-fall.  Something to look forward to for the future.

charlie bit my finger

this video never fails to impress.  post-thanksgiving laugh-a-thon.  

finn's first trip

We re-newed our membership to the wildlife park today. Good decision - both boys loved it. For $100 a year, I can't think of a better deal.  

On the train. Finn fascinated.

Goats!  

Their were some extra's today, including a dj. Elliott joined in on "hands up, baby hands up."

Art Festival

Another great kids event in kamloops. Elliott really loved making art this year and Finn was right in there for the clown act. Finn in orange, ej in blue.

surviving

We are all doing well actually. Elliott finished his first full week at school, and me at work, and Finny at daycare. So we celebrated with an ice cream in the park after dinner. Finny ended up eating most of his- thanks heavens the river was close for a clean-up afterwards.

penny

Phew- THAT was a challenging week and I am so glad that it is over. One of the curve-balls was that our cat Penny died suddenly on Thursday morning. We held off telling Elliott knowing that he would be upset. Last night we buried her in our backyard.  It was raining, elliott wailed and we sang songs. Penny was so awesome with our kids and we so loved her for that.

'twas the night before kindergarten...

And my elliott is so scared. "Not even a little bit mom" he said. New situations are his nemesis. He'll be great by the end of the week. We tried to distract him with fun stuff today. Like paper airplanes just before bath.

lollipop

I can't imagine a person ever enjoying a lollipop more than finn does. He sucks that think and only very occasionally does he take it out to stare at it. Sometimes I give them to him on car trips... they keep him very quiet for 30 min. These photos capture how serious he takes it.

last kelowna trip...

... this summer anyway. my girlfriend and her kids came over this morning and of course the kids wanted to go for a swim. So they did. Except me. Because what you can't see in this photo is that the water was so freezing they all had blue lips when they got out. The weather has turned suddenly.
Tricia is a brave brave mom.

kissy lips

Finn is a big kisser these days and he hands them out readily.

last day

So many things are winding down for the summer. It has been a good one and the boys and I have been so lucky to do so much together. September brings us a lot of change - me back to work, ej to kindergarten and finn to daycare. I welcome the changes in some ways, but in others feel so sad this special time together is over.

Today we went to see the last performance of the Children's theatre in the park. Elliott and I both laugh a lot and finn pays careful attention. Well done kamloops.

summer lovin

It's going so fast. I feel like today was the last really hot day. We went to a fun park early - before anyone else was there. And then the neighbor kids came over to play and eat Popsicles.

visits

I just visited an old friend with her little girl at a really lovely farm.  Finn loved the animals. And Charlie was very accepting of Finn.

first shave

With papa... so serious about it. 

driving to kelowna

I love going to kelowna - I always feel excited. We needed a break from the heat and glen needed to get a little pool time in.

somersaults

I am sure we can all remember when we wanted to do somersaults all the time... Elliott loves that. He has also mastered our little hill in the front yard. Finn is very impressed.

beach holiday

I generally like to keep low expectations in life (alleviates disappointment). However canon Beach was a flipping good holiday. Perfect temperature, loads of beach time, the boys were good as gold, and I truly feel like I had a break. How great. And we celebrated my parents 40th anniversary with family photos - those to come.

200 posts

Now that's a lot of posts. Sometimes I think how boring they must be. But I am not making photo albums or journals for the kids. This is it. Sorry folks.

Today we awake to this view from our room in cowichan bay. Not boring.

market

It was our first day at the market this summer. I don't know why it has taken this long. Or why we went on a day this hot. But it was actually fun. Even more fun than that was our swim at the y this evening. Finn was so flipping excited and happy that he threw up. Oh kids.

he's a walking man

Finn has been taking steps on his own for a bit but he has taken off in the last 2 days. Tonight elliott and I counted 12 steps! How cute is this pic?!

good bye rowan!

Elliott had a friend over today that he met when they were 10 months old! When they were 2, elliott called her row-row and loved her. Today was our last play as she moves to Victoria on sunday.

 This is my favorite picture of finn. He is eating and chocolate peanut butter, marshmallow square. Maybe not the best baby food but judging by his face, he liked it.

terribly short

A little life was lost after a very short life, and his death has made made many many people so sad. Baby Elias, we will remember you.
When my hydrangea blooms, I will think of you.

fun in the sun

The boys and I are in kelowna this week and having fun. We've been swimming lots and at playgrounds, in the lake, riding the gator, eating yummy food and generally having a nice break. Elliott loves it here and loves his bumpa and nama and finn is warming up. Pretty nice here, eh?