sam is reading...bagel names

On Sunday we went to the Y with just the boys as Anna was at a friends house. On the way home we all had a craving for bagels so we stopped in at the Great Canadian Bagel for lunch. Stew didn't even know it existed (he hardly ever leaves the downtown, and knows all the good places to eat there), but I know it well because it's in between Bulk Barn and Staples, places I seem to visit often.

When we go places with just two kids, things are often very different. It might be that we are evenly matched, and there's just less opportunity for fights, accidents, messes, items lost or you name it, there's just less of everything. We had the entire place to ourselves, so we sat near the counter at a table for four and Sam sat beside me facing the bagel window. Well, sure enough, he started reading out loud the names on each of the bagel bins. He's been bringing home small books from school, he has a word ring of sight words he needs to learn, but we didn't know he knew this many. He started sounding out each of the letter sounds and it was amazing to watch. After awhile a bunch of university students came in and they sat down near us, as they were waiting for the Cheddar Jalapeno bagels to finish cooking. They overheard Sam reading and couldn't believe it either. I remember as a university student, I would go long periods of time without being around or near kids. I remember that feeling because when I saw kids, it felt so strange. After spending many of my summers at camp, and then having jobs with kids on my work terms, those school terms felt strange being around so many students and adults.

Sam did have trouble with jalapeno though, and he thought that pumpernickel was just the funniest word ever...if you see him, ask him about it, he just loves saying it.

february family day fun

First cousin shot of all six of them together!

One of Stew's big goals for 2018 was building a community corkicurl rink. This idea is based off a Winnipeg tradition, and we were very lucky to have our ice be cold and strong enough for two days of fun. People came out, the tv crews arrived and we were on the news - it was very fun, we raised money for charity and we are all proud of Stew and his dedication.

Saturday night rib dinner fun.

Our new rug has arrived. I've looked for over three years for a rug that would fit this room, make it warmer, and not break the bank. It was not easy....we finally found a 9 by 12 wool version at West Elm on a boxing day sale and I love it. We are getting the rug pad next week and over March break we will be doing some bedroom reorganizing, so I suspect I'll get the itch to move things around downstairs.

Henry is building a tractor pull here.

A few gifts for all my loves on Valentine's Day. The two chapter books are for Anna and they are fantastic STEM based books about a girl named Cali that wants to be a vet.

This is also a great book we borrowed from Andy - 5 Minute Hockey Stories.

Watching tractor pull videos on the ipad with Tompa

Valentine's Day treat opening.

This was the snow around the ice last weekend, its melted a lot, but these banks were between 4 and 5 feet high.

My Dad is recovering from knee surgery, so he's taking it easy and resting a lot. It's been a good break and we love spending more time with him. Henry is doing is funny face here.

Anna and Henry getting their Sunday snuggles with Sarah. She's getting big, she's almost 2 months old now and weighs over 12lbs, she's a snuggle bug and Henry loves holding her.

january wrap

Andy was over building forts in the park one day during an epic flood day to keep the rink alive. They stayed outside for more than two hours playing in these forts. This was the 'dog house'....Anna and her friend Lola helped them make it....bahaaaa!

Henry and I's Friday lunch at the Y - he's practicing using his new lunch kit for September!

Henry is 'reading' all of Sam's Kindergarten at home reading books, yikes, being a third child has some serious advantages.

A 40 minute afternoon nap after the first swimming lesson which looks cute but it pretty much destroyed Stew and I....Sam stayed up until 10pm that night, Henry was 9pm, which resulted them getting up really early the next day and being so, so grumpy all of Sunday. Needless to say they went to bed on time Sunday night, but our children do not need naps.

They are actually playing a game on their own together....and not arguing (but just wait, that happened about five minutes after this photo was taken because someone started crying because they lost).

These guys got coloured bath tabs from my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Keith over the holidays and they love them, here is 'orange' which kinda looks yellow - ha!

They make an ice cream truck and serve cones to everyone that comes into the bathroom when they bath together. My favourite is Henry's 'reindeer tracks', which Stew mentioned after he said his favourite was moose tracks. 

visiting the art gallery

Today we visited a place that's been on our list for a very long time, The Art Gallery of Guelph. We drive by it almost every week, we've been to the sculpture garden once before, but never visiting inside the gallery. It was a good time to go, as their 150 Arts Impact exhibit which celebrates art and activism together is ending soon - many of them are personal responses to a number of issues that include interactive elements such as video and song which made it great for the kids. They are also showing Common Collective an interactive display on the loss of farmland and the growth of urban areas - lots of artifacts and a big focus on the social values that are shaped because of the loss - this was very interesting for Stew and I. Much of the video footage and displays are interactive so it made for some great conversation. This exhibit is on until the end of April if you want to check it out.