Vancouver Part 2

After our fun boat trip, I had the reception to go to that night while Jamie and Ryan stayed home with the kids.  The next day, we met an old friend of mine, Pat, and her family for breakfast at White Spot.  It was so nice to see her - we hadn't seen each other in so long that we had never even met each other's kids!  After breakfast, Jamie and I took the kids to White Rock.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time walking around.  It was Evan's first time in the Pacific Ocean!  Next, we went to Langley to visit another Aunt and Uncle. We also got to see my Grandma and managed to get a photo with her and all her great-grand children. :)  We were supposed to go home the next day but decided to have one more night back in Richmond at Grant & Donna's.  They stayed home with the kids while we went out on town!  Not a bad way to end the trip.

July - Trip to Vancouver! (Part 1)

We took a trip out to Vancouver this summer for my cousin's wedding reception.  We decided to drive there which we weren't sure how smoothly that would go since Evan had never really been on a long car trip before.  We took 2 days driving there, stopping for the night in Salmon Arm along with the Bielefelds.  We arrived in Vancouver the next day at my aunt and uncle's house just in time for their Olympic party for the opening ceremonies.  We all stayed at Grant & Donna's (VERY accommodating of them!) and had such a fun time.  The next day, we had planned on going to the Vancouver Aquarium but got an offer we just couldn't refuse.  We got to go on Gradon!! (Grant and Donna's boat).  We had a nice cruise down the river and then into the ocean,  over to English Bay and down False Creek.  Such an amazing way to see Vancouver.  We all enjoyed it a lot and Jamie was in his element.  Uncle Grant let Jamie be at the helm for quite a bit of the day - he was pretty happy!

Mr. Painter

Evan got a really cool painting set for his birthday - it's especially for toddlers and is kind of a "no mess" set.  Evan really liked it but didn't really understand what to do!  He liked to dip the paintbrush in the paint, then dip it in the water.  There is a button to drain the dirty water and he also loved that.  So cute.

Kindergarten Sharing Night

I finally had a chance to see some of the things Gwen has been doing at school!  They organized a sharing night for family to come in and see some of their artwork and watch a little performance by the Kindergarteners.  They started off by singing a few songs about spring such as "Each of Us is a Flower".  Then they showed a short movie that was acted out by all the Kindergarten students!  It was really neat as they made the whole thing in the classroom with a few props brought from home.  They have a "smartboard" in the classroom (which is a really cool thing that did not exist when I went to school!) which can also be used as a green screen.  That is how they managed all the different backgrounds in the movie.  Anyway, the movie was called "The Curious Garden" and was based on the book of the same name.  It was very cute.  After, we all got to walk around and see all their wonderful artwork.  They've learned some really interesting things so far - like all about Salvador Dali. They even copied some of his work!  It was a perfect night.

Evan Turned Two!

I can't believe Evan is two!  We had a nice little get together for his birthday with just a few people.  It was a beautiful warm day and the kids actually got to play outside.  He was definitely into his presents more this year - he loves anything to do with the Toy Story movies.  We even had Toy Story cupcakes too!

Nanny Came to Town!

We had a nice visit with Lesley (Nanny) in March/April.  We were counting down the days to her arrival for about 3 months!!!  We had lots of fun visiting and did manage to take a trip to Banff for the day as well.  Jamie also took her to a few of his favourite places like Canadian Tire and Wendy's.   Oh Jamie!  Gwen and Evan loved spending time with Nanny and missed her when she left! 

Easter 2012

Evan was old enough this year to go hunting for eggs around the house.  The easter bunny left little chocolate eggs everywhere and both Gwen and Evan looooved looking for them!  (of course - what kid doesn't!!?)  Here are a few pictures from that morning.

Pinkalicious!

Laura and I took Gwen and Grace to see "Pinkalicious" - a play based on a kids book.  Gwen was really excited to go and see actors live on stage.  It was a fun little show and the girls really enjoyed it.  Can't wait to take Gwen to more stuff like that. :)

Phoenix - March 2012

Our big trip this year was visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Phoenix!  We had such a fun time swimming, shopping and relaxing. It was great to visit with my parents and for the kids to have so much time with them.  We visited the Phoenix Zoo which the kids loved. Gwen really liked seeing the female lion - she was hungry and roaring!  We also went to McCormick-Stillman Railroad park.  It was a nice hot day and this place had everything!  Bouncy castles, face painting, trains, playgrounds, a merry-go-round.  It was a fun day.  We spent a lot of time at the pool in Phoenix too.  Gwen improved her swimming skills immensley!  Evan is totally fearless and just jumps in.  Makes me nervous!  All in all, the trip was awesome and we hope to go back next year.

Christmas 2011

Christmas was spent in Calgary this year with my side of the family.  We had dinner at my parent's house with my sister's family too.  It was nice to see all the kids playing so good together and having fun.  It did get a bit crazy at times but that's to be expected with 5 kids 5 years old and under!

Gwen Turns 5! Dec. 2011

Miss Gwendolyn wanted to invite every kid from her Kindergarten class to her birthday party.  We had to narrow it down to 10 kids, since we were having her party at the leisure center (bouncy castle).  In the end it turned out great - it was her first party where the parents didn't come (except our friends).  She had a Rapunzel cake and pizza and the kids bounced for hours.