My Boy Rhys!

Rhys is one of a kind. I bought the hat he is wearing from a craft fair when he was a wee babe, I tried to pass it on but he insists that he fits it and loves it and to show me he was sincere about it, he wore it for the whole day even though it was really hot.

Helping mash bananas for banana bread but not too happy about me snapping pictures.

Hence the pout.

But he's concentrating on the mashing so the pout is going away.

Wait a minute! Mama's still taking pictures!

Pout's back.

Then, he decides that he wants to do some art with his sister but he doesn't want to share the blue pencils. I tell him as long as he is not using a particular colour, Brea can use it until he is ready for it. So he has to use them ALL at the same time in order to not have to share. Have I mentioned, he's a bit of a stubborn monster?

Our Summer So Far...

Our summer is well underway and we have been keeping busy... so busy that I know I have been neglecting my updates here. With summer school out of the way, our bucket list is in full swing and here are a few highlights:

Delicious Maple Syrup soft serve ice-cream at Anny's Dairy Bar! Brea ate Rhys's when he gave up on it.

Geocaching took us to some lovely parks... it also found us with some unexpected visitors...

There is nothing like having your back turned as you are looking into rocks for a cache when the kids start shouting "BEAR!" and you know it's behind you, not 20 feet away.

Thankfully, he was just after a nice cool-down in the water.

We made some delicious homemade popsicles and shared it with friends.

Having science fun with baking soda and vinegar.

Building a lego tower with Kai. Rhys was so proud to get it so tall.

Brea was so excited to spend time with her cousins.

Rhys "reading" to Kai.

Tie-dye extravaganza!

Our house is looking wonderful thanks to Craig busting it out painting every day for several weeks now and our excursion to the south of the border is still to come so our summer has many more things still to come.

Summer Bucket List 2013

Finally buckled down and finished making our summer bucket list. I was inspired after seeing Amy's post at the Connection We Share. So I decided to sign-up for the Summer Bucket List Challenge to get the most out of this summer and hopefully make it a memorable one too. The Happy Family Movement put out the call and it looked like such a simple and enriching concept - think of fun family activities, make a list and do them!

I so loved Amy's bunting idea I decided to make one of my own and affixed it to our art wall. There is now plenty of space above to line it with pictures and projects to mark our progress all summer long.

Our list includes:

• have a family games night
• make our own tie dye t-shirts
• visit a fire department
• go to a museum
• visit a new park
• see a matinee movie
• go to the zoo
• splash at the water park
• ride the sky train and sea bus
• pick berries
• go to the beach
• hopscotch on the driveway
• fly a kite
• kids' choice craft day
• go to a car show
• eat a poutine, maple syrup twist ice cream cone and/or smoked meat sandwich at Anny’s
• geocaching!
• road trip – Oregon ho!
• visit cousins in Penticton
• make puppets

Here's to a fabulous summer!

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Da-Da, Daddy, Honey,

We hope you know how much you are loved. We love the time you give to us, play with us, spend with us. 

Happy Father's Day!

 xoxo

SunRype Tri Kids

Woohoo! Way to go! Brea and Rhys just completed their first ever triathlon!

We are so happy that our friends, the Kinetic Family, told us about the SunRype Tri Kids Races. What a wonderful opportunity for our children to get active in such a fun and safe environment! I showed a slideshow of past races and Rhys was so excited! We tried to prep the kids a bit in the time leading up to the race but we have been hit hard by some kind of nasty stomach bug so it's been a rough 10 days of very sick kiddos who have wanted do nothing but lie in a lump. We weren't sure Brea would be able to participate but she rallied and seemed better yesterday. So it was a quick go over of the transitions of swim to bike to run as well as a few goes of biking to the park and back. It was okay though, the distance expected for the 3-5 age group was very doable by either kid.

Prep the night before.

We woke bright and early, ate our hearty breakfast and were set to go!

It was a bit daunting upon our arrival since there were many people and it was pretty difficult to really explain and prepare the kids for that. We quickly headed to set-up and got our gear in place. It was lovely to bump into other friends who had kids at the event. Rhys was in the first wave and Brea was only six minutes behind so we basically stripped to our bathing suits and stood by the flag ready to go. It was a bit chilly so the kids were not as happy-go-lucky as we would have liked. It wasn't too long before Po-Po, the Kau-Kaus and Auntie Joyce showed up with a dazzling sign to cheer them on. So that made the waiting a little easier.

Both Craig and I had to be in the pool and along the course with the kids, a requirement for the 3-5 age group. We were on deck though for the swim portion so I did manage to see Rhys go. Brea was very interested in the timer that was strapped to her leg and questioned me on how it worked over and over while we waited. Soon we were in the water and off we went, those swimming lessons totally paid off as Brea crossed the pool without any difficulty, just a few stops to rest supported by my arm. Meanwhile, Rhys had a few gulps of water in the pool, insisted on waiting for Brea outside where it was cold and lost a bit of his enthusiasm.

By the time we headed to the bike section, Rhys wanted to go home. I think it was a bit much for him to hear a myriad of people on the sidelines cheering his name. After a bit of coaxing he did make it onto his bike and met up on the course with Brea and Daddy who had gone ahead. We swapped kids and I went to race the end stretch with Brea. It was so great! The announcer called out the kids names as we crossed the finish line and Brea's smile when she got her medal was well worth it. Rhys got there too in the end, with a bit of tugging encouragement from Craig. He was bawling for the 100m run but once he saw that there was snacks at the finish line, he was fine. This kid knows what his priorities are.

I'm waiting for some pictures from our on-site photographers, I was not able to snap shots while participating in the event, though the Kinetic Family totally did with the help of a strapped on waterproof camera. Hopefully, I'll add them to this post soon.

Proud little kiddos.

They did have fun and we are so very proud of them for completing the event. Here's to more triathlons in our future.

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!

Dear Rhys,

The time is flying by and you are growing so fast!
I wish you so much love on your special day.
Never stop with your chortling belly laugh, it makes my day every time I hear it.
Never stop admiring your sister, she loves you so much and is one of your very best friends no matter how much it seems you annoy her sometimes.
Never stop coming for cuddles and hugs, any time, my arms are open.

I hope this is a magical year for you with new adventures and amazing experiences. It will be different, you will be asked to be a little more independent as Brea steps off to school and you will be "on your own" for the very first time but there will be new friends and we will help you every step of the way. I am so proud of who you are becoming (sometimes an impish monkey) and I love you so very much. You will never stop being my own sweet little boy.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

xoxo

Backblogged: Spring Break 2013 - Elko, Laughlin & Oatman

It is horrifying to see that time has flown by so quickly. I had not intended to have such a long hiatus from the blogging world but I suppose life has just taken over. It's that time of year where everything just seems like a constant-flow and even a small distraction, say posting a blog entry would be the END OF THE WORLD because how could I possibly have time for that?! How silly for me to think that sharing those important moments would be a waste of time? I must be going crazy!

So, due to this large chunk of time that has amassed, I am creating a sub-blog. These "new" entries titled appropriately as "Backblogged" will serve to fill in those voids of time.

We managed to get away during spring break to Arizona to spend some time in the sun and visit with Nana and Grumpa. Along the way, we had some stops. I had been sharing a book by Roland Smith with the students at school as a part of a language arts read-aloud project. The book - "Zach's Lie" takes place in Elko, NV. As I was looking at an old-school paper map I noticed that our journey southwards came really close to Elko and I managed to persuade Craig to veer off for a short detour for a photo-op at some of the settings in the book. The kids got a kick out of seeing those places for 'real' when I showed the slideshow after the break. Sadly, the one place I really wanted to try, a restaurant/hotel in town that served Basque food, was closed the day we dropped by but the owner did let me in to take some pictures. The line "but I came ALL the way from Canada and I would love a picture for my students at my school" worked really well.

At the Northeastern Nevada Museum

Much of our view, the whole way there, usually without the mountains.

We did have to shoo a few off the road for us to drive on.

We were so thankful to arrive. We had a small hiccup a few hours in on Day 1 where we may have run out of fuel but it had also been a while since we've had multi-day drives and though Brea and Rhys were wonderful, it was nice to reach our destination on Day 3. The park where we stayed was lovely! There was a swimming pool that Brea took to right away. She was so proud of her new swimming skills, she really wanted to show them off.

Sweet Home Arizona!

While Grumpa whisked Craig off to a baseball game, Nana, the kids and I took a little drive over the water to see some fancy cars in Loughlin. Rhys was in heaven! There is nothing that our little guy loves more than things with wheels. In fact, his delight rubbed off on the man who was working at the museum that day. When he heard Rhys's gasp and saw his glee at seeing the DeLorean, he quickly, moved the barricade and allowed him to experience sitting behind the wheel. It was so nice to see him happy. Rhys had a hard time adjusting to being away from home, mostly at night before bed. The last time we were out and about, I don't think he had a clear definition in his mind of where home was since he was younger but this time around, he was really anxious if Craig was away such as this day with the cars. Shortly after the museum visit, he melted-down and really wanted to go home.

With the family re-grouped the next day, we headed to Oatman to see the wild burros. We arrived armed with carrots to entice them. And what fun we had! Rhys would have fed every single one if we had let him; Brea was not so keen on the slobber.

It's hard to see but the sticker on its head says: STOP! Don't Feed Me! I'm a baby!

Who hasn't seen a turtle in the desert?

The title says it all.

We stopped at some of the little shops in town, many were so cute. Our adventures will continue in the next installment of the backblogs...