May/June

We've had a full May and June.  

Once a week we hosted a PE class that included eight families (including us).  We had a lot of fun trying different activities and sports and it was a great way to get all the ages active and playing together.

We discussed themes like team work and encouraging others.  

Once a week we got together for Botany Class with friends to learn all about plants and our environment.  We had fun planting seeds, doing art projects, scavenger hunts, creating posters and much more!

This was so successful that we've decided to keep this Science class going in the fall.  We're going to add a Social Studies element and another mom is going to teach that.  Once a month we'll also be doing service projects but I'll talk more about that in the fall.  This co-op is such a great way to engage in different activities in a group setting.  It is fun for the kids to get together and learn with their friends as well.

Aiden and Caileigh had their year end piano recital.  They both played well and enjoyed the experience.

We explored the bike park.

The older two went to aboriginal days.

 We've had lot's of art fun.

We had a nice visit from Nanee and Bupee. (apart from Nanee getting the flu!)

The kids put on a play of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The kids attended Nature Explorers, which was a weekly hike with a botanist mom who shared information about local plants and animals.

Looking forward to July and August with lot's more activity, visitors, and fun!

A few things that make me smile......

We still keep the boys buckled in their seats at meal time to keep things a little less chaotic.  I love it when they are finished eating and they ask me to "buckle them down".  

Aiden has always been one to throw around expressions.  For years he could fit actually into any sentence.  These days his word of choice is technically.

Mikayla uses the word twice in a sentence instead of the meaning always or often. 

"I wanted to go outside but twice it was raining."

Caileigh loves to make cards and gifts for friends and family.  I will often catch her running downstairs with paper and tape and then she will come back upstairs with a wrapped gift.  It always puts a smile on the special individual's face.

This little guy is more work than I could ever have anticipated, however, one look into his sweet eyes and how could you be mad at him?  His antics have us all smiling.

Buddy?

Whew.......what a weekend:)  I couldn't believe the timing of the flu.  Caileigh got it Thursday and then Friday everyone was feeling good.  Just before we were to leave for the piano recital, Mikayla started getting sick.  I took the older two to the recital and when we got home around 9, everyone started dropping like flies.  The kids all woke up Saturday feeling horrible.  Sean went in to work early because he was trying to get a few things done before the big trip to Kamloops.  We realized that the trip wasn't going to happen with everyone sick, so I stayed home waiting for the call from the puppy owner.  I had to laugh when she called along the way to tell me that our puppy was getting car sick!  Ah, what's one more sickie:)   

The kids were all lying on the floor in the living room when the lady showed up.  She had forgotten to call and give me warning and Sean was still at work!  I brought the puppy into the house and the kids thought he was cute but were really quite indifferent about the whole thing.  I didn't want to say anything until Sean got home so I just said this lady and her puppy were visiting.  We sat outside watching the puppy play and I asked Aiden if he thought we should get a puppy.  He said no!  He started telling me all the reasons why this would't be a good decision, which is funny because they were all my reasons for feeling hesitant about getting one too.  Finally Sean gets home and tells the kids that this is their dog.  They were underwhelmed.  Mikayla was lying on the grass feeling awful.  Alex was crying because he wanted me to hold him, not the puppy.  Jordan was inside sleeping.  Aiden started to get upset worrying about the puppy leaving his mom.  Caileigh was the only one with a smile on her face.  Really, I suppose the whole thing was quite comical.  Not quite the scenario I had envisioned for so long!

I think it wasn't until the next day when it started to sink in for everyone that he was really staying.  This was right around the time that I started to feel sick.  When puppy arrived, we all started to call him Buddy.  This tends to be a term of endearment in our family.  I realized this wouldn't be a great name because we call all our kids buddy, quite often.  We started to brainstorm other names, Jake, Java, Lou, etc.  I started to feel worse and ended up falling asleep around 4pm.  I was pretty much down for the count until the next day.  I slowly started to feel better yesterday and then put my back out lifting the dog!  So here we are, 4 days later, all feeling better, and we're still calling the dog Buddy.  So, either we come up with another name, or our dog's name is Buddy:)  Funny how these things work out sometime.

Puppies are definitely a lot of work!  He's doing great though.  Aiden and Caileigh are getting fantastic at taking him out to the bathroom if I get caught up with other things.  Because it is nice out, we spend most of our day outside with him.  Sean has been taking the night shift as I have been so tired with the getting over being sick.  Last night he was up twice!  A huge improvement from the first two nights.  His temperment seems super easy going (so far).  Jordan and Mikayla sometimes get scared and run away from him which makes him run after them, but other than that, things have been good. Oh, and he chews everything which I am guessing is just the beginning! We've been working on getting him to sit and walk with the lease. (I'm talking 10metres and we're done:) Our cat remains pretty unaffected by the whole thing.  He typically stays in our room sleeping all the time anyway, and this hasn't changed. Buddy isn't allowed in our bedroom so this has become our cat's safe haven.  I'm super glad we got Buddy now while school is not full time.  I hope that he is fully potty trained by the fall and we're into a bit of a routine by then.

All in all, I think Buddy is the perfect addition to our family.  I'm looking forward to the years ahead with him.  I think it is a special thing for kids to grow up with a dog and I'm glad that he is ours:)

{The big anti-climactic surprise}

{The Great Showdown}

Meet Puppy

D Day

Today is "D" Day.  In only  few hours, our new little guy will be arriving.  Plans have been carefully laid to ensure that Sean and the older three kids would be on their way to Kamloops when the puppy arrives.
But wouldn't you know the way life works..............the flu is ripping through our home!
All of the kids have been/are sick with the stomach flu.
Last night was a Very.  Long.  Night!
Our original plan was that Sean and the older three were to go to Kamloops for our annual Father's Day Walk/Run.  I would stay home with the little boys.  The puppy would arrive shortly after the older ones left and the little boys and I would help to transition and get used to the puppy.  Sunday, Sean and the older three would return home to the big surprise.  Now I'm not so sure?  Sean is at work right now so I'll give him a call and find out what our new Plan B is.
Will post again later with pictures of our new puppy, and perhaps his anticlimactic arrival:)

Spring Photos

Challenges

We're having some challenges with our youngest three.  The little guys are testing the limits like never before and failing to listen.  Mikayla has taken to hiding when we call her, both at home and in public situations.  Both situations are not good. In fact, it is very, very bad.   So, in an attempt to deal with the issues at hand, we have decided to............

Get A Puppy!

Yes, we figure why not deal with all the challenging issues at once.  We are entering a bootcamp of sorts and I am declaring this summer, "Project Lockdown".  The puppy arrives on June 16th, unbeknownst to the kids, so please don't tell!
 I am going to make myself a list of things to work on to help the with the transition.

Goal #1-  Get little boys to listen

Goal #2-  Get Mikayla to stop hiding

Goal #3-  Train puppy

There!  Easy!  Right?

*I'm thinking I should delete the option to comment on this post:)