Well two days in one this time. Wednesday did not prove to be a get up and go sort of day. The twins and myself all seemed to be slightly under the weather so I had a couple naps, they sneezed their way through the day and the rest of the family sort of bumbled along. Rainy weather certainly assisted in the dark moods. We were unable to get Ken freed up in time to head downtown to check out some hair options for Emanuel and when we called the salon in Walmart they were already booked up, and we found out later, closed on Thursday so Emanuel was a little disappointed. 

We made up for it with workbook stuff, talking about coins with the twins, and of course… some cartoon time. Naps for everyone pretty much in the afternoon (minus Ken) and some more quiet time until Ken could be freed up to leave the house ended our day of non-activity. Then it was a family drive to Walmart to pick up a few items. Mom has all the makings for two matching pillowcase dresses so once she has had a break from sewing (that costume was a one night thing) she and Trinity are going to work together to make some new dresses. 

Creative stacking while counting

After supper it was time for Ken and I to take the girls to Bedtime Story Time at the local library… in their pj’s of course. There was a rather large group and a craft and then cookies AND milk! Echo was babbling away and Trinity, though shy, had fun. We plan on going next week… the week after we will be out of town but at the end of the month the story time group is joining the High Tea party to make fascinators! So I think we shall have to try and make it to that! The girls each have some dresses to choose from and I DO have my Lolita dress I could wear… with Ken as our escort… well it would be an experience and a half. 

Well that was Echo’s first real experience of a story time and it was definitely a success. One of the older girls at the group told Trinity that she had a VERY cute sister. I saw a friend of my mom’s though I did not get a chance to talk to her. The girls fit right in! 

Crafting

Cookies AND milk

Our Thursday was a bit of a crafty day… at least for Gavin, who created rings out of pipecleaners to share with everyone.

Creative boy

The weather was perfect for the twins to head out to the pool and splash around…

Fun in the sun

While Emanuel, Trinity and I took a walk to run a couple errands (Echo napped). 

He loves our smaller group walks

Running

And then ALL of us went to the nearby park to play with the kids there and run around. I mean we DID do school work but what is so much more memorable are the wonderful together moments we had that day… and while I (and Ken) were still rather worn out and frustrated with things… well… we got out, saw some sunshine and let the kids make some new friends…

Time to spin....

Walking

Sliding

Swinging

Getting us home in time for baths and clean up and then… COMPANY! Tammy and her 3 kids came by with a library book about making things with duct tape for me to look through and some time to visit. I was working on my bows sorting so it was fun to have someone else peruse the wares! Echo and little Russell are the best of friends, though he is way bigger than her and she pets him like he is a puppy! 

Post bath play, thus the poofy hair

A good ending to a relatively busy day… and with my next blog entry I will FINALLY share the results and the experience of my very first table with my crafts on it!!! Crazy!!! So check back tomorrow!!!

Quiet time with a book

Back to our new weekday routine. The homeschooling around the weather station and the table is going better all the time. Ken had a talk with the boys about respecting their teacher and decreasing the whining about having to do things as well. There has been more complaints than usual lately. Partially out of frustration of the continuing upset, the resettling at Grandma and Grandpa’s and of course the big one – BEAUTIFUL WEATHER. Doing our daily weather report and watching the Weather Network has taught them how to glimpse ahead at the weather too… smart cookies! So now they are already chatting about TOMORROW’S lovely weather today… one step ahead and excited about it! 

Anyway, Ken started reading a USA themed book with them this morning, but I stuck with the tried and true. We have continued adding to our books, this time with the Sunday School special events. Even Emanuel got in on the work – he drew pictures and wrote some words on each page AND willingly worked on the math section of his workbook. I love watching him catch onto something, he was working his way quickly through simple addition using our counting blocks.

Working hard

Grandpa Mike was home for lunch which was beyond exciting and much discussion was had about Emanuel’s need for a haircut… we have a couple affordable options for tomorrow which he is VERY excited about. There was a list of chores Grandma left us and we all worked together to accomplish them. The twins collected the dog poop out of the backyard, Trinity watered the flowers in the front, we sorted out the recycling and Gavin helped me with mopping the kitchen… 

Creative watering

We skipped naptime and instead the littles had their own movie time in the twins’ bedroom – My Little Pony dvd from the library!

Movie time

Which left our afternoon open to Farmer Boy, and then THE POOL! Grandpa Mike had filled it the rest of the way with air so all we needed to add was children. 

Pool time

After drying off and tidying the backyard Zander spent some quality reading time on his level 1 Scooby Doo book. I am so glad they are each finding books to bring along their interest in reading!!

Reading away

And what is the best way to end an evening? A walk with Grandma and Gypsy… to the SLURPEE store… which meant EVERYONE ended up happy. Emanuel hopped, skipped and ran his way through our walk with a smile on his face. Gypsy is doing so well with the new way of walking suggested by a friend in the city. 

Ready to walk

Stops the pulling

My beloved middle child

The clock is ticking on the craft show… I have a few more things to accomplish before I am truly ready… headbands to assemble, the last of the purses, a float to collect together to make change. BUT the 9th is just around the corner! So if you are in the neighbourhood HERE is the link once again! Elk’s Hall, if you can’t see the link drop me a line and I will get you the info! Come support Arthritis research! 10% off all sales go to the cause! 

Our baby

Sunday, what sort of adventures did we have on Sunday… well quite a few actually! First off the whole family had to be up and out the door by 8am… this is actually a bit of a struggle when you add in IN THEIR CHURCH CLOTHES to the equation, but we managed. Thankfully I had everything we could need or think we needed in bags and ready to go. We left Sean sleeping downstairs, the dog outside to play with her across the alley friend and packed up and headed out. Straight on to the church and Sunday School in our Sunday best. 

We managed to dress Echo perfectly in red for the Pentecost Sunday and met up with the NEW minister… he is freshly ordained and VERY nice. We had a chance to speak to him, get some spiritual support and find out that he lit a candle for our family in prayer at the Synod convention this past week. I felt so blessed. AND he says that once we are back in town there is no issue with me lining up some time to come to the church and talk to him. I just want someone other than Ken to share my thoughts with who can be a support system. 

The right colour for the Sunday

Playing in the cry room

After chasing Echo in the cry room and saying hello to people, dropping off the costumes that mom made to finish off the series with the man in charge of them and helping practice next week’s costume dedication songs it was time for church. Now, with 5 kids and the service starting around Echo’s nap time (at 10:30) we usually do NOT stay…  but… this Sunday we were part of the service as it was finally the dedication and welcome of the new members. I am so glad we ran into the minister BEFORE service as that allowed us to sneak out after that point and head on our way to the next adventure on our adventurous Sunday. 

My family

So with church thoroughly enjoyed (the twins even got to draw chalk drawings outside)… and the family back in the van it was time to find an internet connection… thank you Starbucks parking lot… change everyone OUT of their Sunday finery and check the emails to make sure nothing new had come up that we could accomplish in the city… Well there was an errand to run but nothing else… 

With everyone in spring casual again it was time to head out of town, this time to Chris and Chris’ to pick up the all important Chinese New Year poster and some mail I had sent to their place. This was a solo endeavor by Ken. The kids were cranky and time ticking to make plans to meet up with friends. As well, She Chris has been under the weather since the day we left for mom’s so less was best. 

From there it was to the No-Frills which had an awesome 1.00 sale going on. We are very careful when it comes to eating out on day outings like this… with 7 people to feed cheaper is better and going to a grocery store for sandwich fixings, water (great sale I am telling you) than eating out. This No-Frills is actually attached to our clinic where our family doctor is! 

One more internet connection to be found to check email and then on to the MAG to see the new displays. We met up with THREE people this time – Karyn, Victoria and her friend Fatima. So we made a new friend while we learned about proper food preparation and Chinese immigrants who came during the gold rush etc etc. Ken had to dart out for the errand which left me in charge of all 5 with the ladies for help… so we multi tasked as well! I am so helping that those keeping an eye peeled for us can find us the coupons (when they come out) for the free family pass for a year again! We love the MAG. 

Running before we get educational

Then the fish in the entrance

Me and my baby

Zander in one of the Chinese outfits they had to play dress up in

How much cycling does it take to burn off a chip? (Gavin)

A bit of history

One more stop before we said good bye to the city and headed back to Grandma’s – this time a combo. Ken dropped me and the kids off at Dollarama and then went across the parking lot to empty out the old van (bye bye Quest). We shopped all over the place, everyone got a treat and I picked up some things for my craft table. I am almost ready I think, I have some bright containers, baggies for bows to ensure bought bows do not get dirty when taken home, and black Velcro. YAY! It was actually a rather fun walk through. 

A surprise find! RC Cola!

When all was said and done it was around 3:30 when we went through McDonald’s to get apple slices for the kids and head back to home (well where home is for now). We even stopped off at the pharmacy on the way back into town and Gavin got to see his god mommy Christine and give her a specially coloured picture! A fulfilling and FUN day. We ran, we played, we learned and we celebrated… all necessary Sunday activities don’t you think? And we came home to a rather rested puppy who had an afternoon playdate with her bestfriend (thanks again Ashley). 

Worn out kiddos

We also had a Sean to visit with before he had to head home to get ready for school in the morning. I am sure you can imagine how excited ECHO was! And that was how our weekend played out… 

Back in the backyard before bed