Let’s make our way to the weekend! The weather has been pretty predictable in its sunny wonderful-ness this week. The kids have LOVED it, the dog has LOVED it… I have to admit I have loved it too! We worked it out in advance so that Ken got enough work done to take his morning slow and we (as a family no less!) scratched ANOTHER thing off our list. Visiting Grandma’s work while she is there! And with the lovely weather how better to enjoy the event than to go for a family walk there, once we covered our Trinity’s blisters with bandaids, packed up the baby’s necessities and convinced the boys that walking WAS much better than the van. 

Walking together

We made good time and brought Grandma a bottle of water, as we all know hydration is VERY important. We met some of her co-workers, played with some toys and made two important purchases. As this is the weekend of Jaywalkers everything was 50% off so I got Echo a booster chair for 1.50 to take to Kathy’s when we pet sit (oh and for her to play with as it is officially her new favourite seat).

A chair AND the Tupperware cupboard

Ken picked out a boardgame. The main reason? It is still in the shrink wrap with a copyright date of 1974! So here’s hoping it is an interesting game! At least it is a good conversation piece for a piddly 2.50!

New game

On the way back Trinity’s feet started hurting again so she got a ride from Daddy. She is so nervous about heights that it took a little time to calm down and get comfortable with it. 

Best view

That got us home in time for lunch and schooling. Of course we had to do our page for the books… they are getting quite full of all sorts of adventures!

Gavin working on his library book

The twins each took some time in the afternoon to help me out with my craft sale items. Each of the boys has made their own duct tape change purse to sell for 4.00 like mine. They picked their own colours and Gavin even took the time with a messed up piece to draw and cut out a duck to embellish his. 

Gavin with duck

The inside on Zander's is silver

There is a measly 1 week left until the craft sale! I am going to link the event HERE so please, if you are in the area on the 9th, come by, buy something however small and help out a great cause. 10% of ALL my sales for the day go to the charity and I am also donating a doorprize. My  table SHOULD have the sign It’s a Hoot and Friends on it (gotta get that done yet!). I am personally selling owls, bows, duct tape items and some headbands. I will post some teaser images later this week as well as this link again and again! So check back! 

So many owls

Anyway after Grandma got done work and we had supper there was some kid and Grandma quality time while Ken and I ran out to get groceries. Some alone time for us and some nail polish time with Grandma. Echo’s first time! She got sparkly stuff and Trinity some gold. Zander had his done as well though we removed that Saturday as we have a special Sunday planned. I am just so glad they are getting some fun time with family in. We hadn’t visited in quite some time and we need to take advantage of this and have new memories and adventures made. 

Echo and her fancy nails

With Grandpa gone to the city for a conference it was bed time and then JAYWALKERS… yup two items in two days! Jaywalkers is an event where the downtown is blocked off from vehicular traffic. Instead booths are put up, carnival games and rides… there was snacks, shopping and even a 4-H booth with some animals! 

Checking out the animals

Bunnies

Echo in her seat

We tried to win free passes for the mini golf/petting zoo/corn maze just outside of town. All 4 kids tried and failed to make the shot but she gave us a pass anyway… after all there is still the REST of the family to pay for! The kids had a blast trying though! Each with a different coloured set of balls. 

Mini golf

And then we paid 2.00 for 6 balls to try bowling for 1,000.00. Ken came rather close but we did not win. It was fun though!! Each of the boys took a turn. 

Bowling

Next came the two things Ken and I absolutely LOVE about Jaywalkers – mini donuts AND lemonade (we tried the cherry version, I still prefer the original). Yummy, though the prices had gone up! Of course it would not be an outing without an injury. On the way back to the van Gavin wasn’t listening and climbed on some cement parking blocks, slipped and biffed it big time! Both knees VERY scratched up. So we cleaned him up as best we could with what we had in the van and after a brief stop off to pick up a medium sized diaper cover (yup I love SPRINKLES). took him home to clean and bandage properly. He did a professional job of scuffing himself up royally! 

OUCH

With Ken’s help, I spent some time making Echo a miniature version of Trinity’s purse… 4 inches long and with a shorter strap. She is very pleased and I was able to just use bits from all of my remaining rolls!

Echo's purse

We had a surprise visit from Tammy and her girls while the kids watched a movie from the Library and I got in some visiting time. She brought some of her older pieces of dressier clothing that she no longer needed/could wear for me to try on later and some company on an afternoon that went from sunny to drizzly rather quickly. 

Supper was homemade hamburger courtesy of Ken and then the kids played  games with mom while I got in some chatty time with Ken. I think we are starting to really feel on the same page on more and more things. I am hoping he can get a few more minutes here and there to homeschool with us in the near future as well. Though I do think we are doing rather well. I would love to do more in-depth things and hope to find some ways to get back into the crafting, math and sciences in a way that actually brings in the boys’ interest willingly. As it is I hope to get started on the United States on Monday. I have a few books from the library to use, and a couple files printed out from my resources. Sunday night I hope to do some more searching. Any suggestions are welcome! We plan to spend the whole month on it! 

It was a great day for together time. And I snuck in another weather page as for the first time in forever the weather changed visibly through out the day. Tomorrow it is the dedication for the costumes mom made the church. I look forward to it, and the last day of Sunday School. I hope to see some local friends, pick up a few items at some stores not available here and maybe stop at a park or two. Gotta keep the adventures going and two more things on our list to cross off! That is without going over the information the Information Center gave me about some local things. There is a great aboriginal event towards the end of the month and I know the library has advertising about a Father’s Day event that includes pictures on a fire truck! 

So my attempt to stay positive and do the day as the day standing alone worked rather well… the evening not so much but you know what? That sometimes gives way to talks that do help… I still have plans to make paper… just need a blender no one cares about, a screen and some paper to shred. Everything is doable if you keep your heart and mind set upon the path. 

A big sister being a big help

Now how do you start a Monday the right way? Well… walk your mother’s dog with two happy little boys. There was even some treasure found! Zander found a penny and a marble! Very exciting, and on our walk we practiced spelling random words… Zander absolutely LOVED the one on one time and is determined that we need to do it much more often. 

Found treasure

I have to admit that as much as I do not want our own family dog… grandma’s is our dog now lock stock and barrow and we love her. I think she rather loves us as well! I was a mean Mommy on Monday and forced the boys to get all educational… outside… in the front… with… GASP… CHALK! Yup, I gave them a list of names of everyone in our family and Grandma and Grandpa Mike and Gypsy and told them to go create. I think they did a great job!

Our family courtesy of Gavin... I especially love the hair

We did our usual school stuff… and made our way through our day with baby and dog in perfect alignment for entertaining themselves. I do love how well they have bonded together!

Buddies

We had surprise visitors, a friend of mine and mom’s came by slurpee in hand (seriously EVERYONE knows my addiction)… Tammy and 2 of her kids (Veronica and Russel). VISITING TIME! You never realize how much a supportive friend is helpful when you are feeling a little down. We chatted about life, frustrations, silly things… and watched our babies enjoy each other’s company. Russel is MUCH younger than Echo but almost the same size. She kept petting him like she does the dog and following him as he crawled. I love it when she plays with other kids. She is so happy! 

Toys!

Travel buddies

I have a new goal – I am going to take the two patterned rolls of duct tape Tammie got me and make a lunchbox for her daughter. I have some ideas I just need to go to Michaels in the city next weekend (church again) and get some purple to tie it all together (none in town here at Walmart boo). A new challenge is always welcome, I just need to finish up the purses I have for sale on the 9th first… and the headbands… and a few more stacked bows… oops! Oh and I think there are a few featureless owls STILL!

After we saw off our friends it was time to make a family trip to Walmart for food and a few craft supplies… oh and a stop off at Dollarama for more RC Cola… I had had a really rough morning with tears and all first thing so I did take a walk before lunch SOLO to get some perk me up items! So yes, it was a TWO slurpee day… and I emotionally need it. Sometime being a woman SUCKS! And as Ken says… it HAS TO BE at the end of the month when right now that is an instant high stress time…

So we had to make it up with Tuesday… I decided to be one on one with the dog and speed walk my way to happiness… when Mommy is the one out of sorts sometimes SHE needs a time out. So I took one, with Gypsy. I have to say I love that feeling where we both just focused on the walk and what we could find out and about. The rest of the world, for that period of time, did not matter. Just Gypsy, me and whatever we saw as we wandered around the neighbourhood. I came back much more stable and ready to work with the boys on their books. And wow are we creating wonderful adventure books! 

A little crafting too

Oh and of course the cake mix I had picked up the day before (chocolate) made wonderful cupcakes for everyone to have a bit of chocolate therapy!

Note the missing one that Ken stole before I could take a picture

With more time in the backyard enjoying the sunshine and rather nice weather we are really enjoying our opportunities to see fresh air and play without electronics and book work. Sandboxes are a great medium for creative play! As is being in charge of your baby sister on a sunny day! 

Fun in the sun

Though Echo did spend some time playing dollhouse…

Dolly time

And we had to bust out Echo’s toy from Dollarama… a no name brand version of the AquaDoodle. If she and Trinity keep on enjoying this one as much as they have I may even have to invest in the brand version… we had one back when and the boys love it but it wore out and it looks like they have improved it over the years!

Doodle time

Now we could not let another day go by without crossing something off our list! This time it was TWO somethings – the fountain on one side of the lake and the swan which apparently felt like being on the other! Add in a bridge, some green grass (and some trees) and a nice drive and I think everyone had a good  time. 

The girls

With Daddy

The fountain

The swan

Now with TWO items crossed off I think we were ALL ready to head back to the house… Supper, baths and BED… and then, come midnight, Grandma and Grandpa Mike home from their Nebraska vacation! WOW has it really been almost 2 weeks??? So I am no longer dog mommy but I still get to spend lots of time with her – apparently I am loved at this point and she enjoys being at my feet when I take my quiet time in the kitchen to craft. And I really must get crafting more… time is ticking! If you are going to be in the neighbourhood remember – JUNE 9th… ELKS LODGE… 10 am to 4pm!! We will have a table (It’s a Hoot and Friends)…

Finding our stride AND our balance

So no splash park yesterday – there is a computer issue with the one in town near my mom’s place and if they DID run it right now it would cost them thousands a day in water costs! (apparently it is something to do with the sensors and timers that is wrong and there is ONE person in the province whose job it is to deal with that!) We made up for it in spades though with GARDENING WITH GRANDMA! AKA… make a mess with dirt and water and end up with (hopefully) little plants for later!

Gardening with Grandma Anna (Zander left)

Even Trinity got in on the fun (especially Trinity maybe!) taking ownership of a shovel and some of the pots that marigolds came in… she moved dirt from one place to another and was quite content grinding a nice layer of dirt into her previously clean clothing.

Watering the new plants with Grandma Anna

Of course HARLEY was included by the fun thanks to a leash and the handy railing which kept her in the front yard and a part of the action. I love watching how Trinity just deals with her, she squeaks at her if Harley attempts to steal her toys and is not the least bit concerned about getting up close and playful. Just how I wanted these two to interact.

Harley in the sunshine

After gardening was sprinkler fun. The lack of a spash park was a minor upset due to Grandma’s luck out shopping – she found THREE pairs of swim shoes (they will be broken in here at home for a while and then taken out to the cabin for fun in the lake). Apparently that was an acceptable replacement – new shoes that are SUPPOSED to get wet. The cabin is over by a lake that is pebble and rock bottomed and we don’t want to ruin the sandals they got for Easter if we can avoid it.

Running in the sprinkler (Zander front)

Of course we also had to have supper at Grandma and Mike’s which meant firing up the bbq for hotdogs. I am not sure who has more fun bbqing – the kids or Mike. Trinity absolutely loves the attention she gets when Mike is in the backyard.

Enjoying the BBQing (Gavin left)

A surprise set of visitors stopped by after supper – a friend of mom’s (Tammy) and her two daughters (Charlotte and Veronica). So we all had a nice visit until Ken was able to wrap up what he was working on in the basement on his netbook and we could head home (much later than I thought I would – we left around 10 pm when I thought we would be leaving before 9!). We made it home in one piece, garden in tow and put the kids right to bed and myself soon after!

Charlotte and Gavin colouring

I did do some shopping in town as well… sadly no diaper pail (they were sold out at the local baby goods store), but I found a little Canadian top for Trinity, picked up our planting supplies and meandered around Liquidation world. I was really hoping to get in some more baby supply shopping but it was not to be!

My dr’s appointment yesterday morning went pretty well… my weight is up again this time to 129lbs right one schedule for once, bloodpressure a “good low” and my stomach measuring right. I was given my paperwork for my glucose test with an added check into iron levels (I am still wondering if the PREVIOUS cupping… I mean BLOODWORK was two vials due to a check on my iron that no one thought to mention to me…), right now I am 27+ weeks so next week for that. My regular doctor was on a week’s vacation so I saw one of his partners and her intern. Basically she reinforced that the placenta SHOULD move, things are ok and not to worry. Though I am now to schedule my appointments every 2 weeks apart. Seems like the time has just zipped by! What was doubly frustrating was the fact that TWO of the doctor’s were on holiday for the week so two others were picking up the slack. So the doctor I saw was seeing double her normal number of patients in the same amount of time… my 9:45 appointment had us in well after 10 after waiting in a waiting room that has NO toys since the virus last year… not so fun!

Pregnant in the shade

Today was a bit on the cool side but due to Ada being due in around 2 weeks we decided to meet at a park and have a little picnic anyway! After all time IS running out before she and baby will be getting to know each other and the heat here… We all got a taste of her mother’s cooking in the form of what the boys call duckings (dumplings) and some chicken. Talk about delicious, and of course we brought banana bread – Nathan’s favourite.

Ada's Mom and Trinity

I am hoping we can get in at least one more get together in more favourable weather BEFORE god-baby #3 comes (that’s right my little family will officially swell to 8 kids when we have our baby… 3 god-children to call our own as well!). I have to admit I feel VERY honoured to have had 3 sets of parents consider us for god-parents. Anthony, Isabella and Baby Perrin the 1st all have a very special place in our hearts!

I have to admit I am feeling a lot more exhausted then I thought I would today… after a day of gardening and running after kids, then today more of the same (the running party)… I am about ready for a rest. Without my newest batch of pictures I have no excuse but to work on the cross stitch for the June wedding… which is probably a GOOD thing. I am trying to map out the next week or so with a balance of fun and rest… so I think we will have a couple of trips out courtesy of our Leisure pass… I have my bloodwork on Tuesday (ick), another doctor’s appointment the week AFTER that, a Michaels free craft on the 5th and of course a trip to the mountains with Karyn to schedule… Was it really ME who thought THIS summer would be a quiet one??

Note the SHAVED face!!