More from Ontario...

Over the river and through the woods to Oma's house we go...


We enjoyed our week in Ontario. We got to spend some time on the beach of Lake Ontario. We visited Port Dalhousie where there is a lovely old-fashioned carousel which offers rides for only 5 cents each. We didn't get a chance to ride this time, but enjoyed the playground and a walk along a dock out to the lighthouse. Katie and August are with Stevie (Otto's son) in the first picture. Bret and August are enjoying the sand on a warm day. We collected sea glass of various colors along the beach. My mom was looking for photo ops for her brag book! :-)







My return trip was exhausting. Me and the kids, no relief driver (Bret) and not a lot of peace and quiet. Bret spent the first half of the week with us and then flew home on Sunday after the photography session (we haven't all been together in a long while). Bret had to be back to work on Monday to complete the last week of his blackbelt training--I won't attempt to explain this, except to say it's work related! The trip was a lot of fun! I'm really glad to be back at home now and into a more normal routine! Yay!

Changes...finally!

Okay, I promised you an update and now--almost one month later--here it finally is! I will be using the newer format and putting pictures in with the text. Hopefully this will work without any problems. Also this will allow those who would like to see closer up to do so by double clicking on the pictures.

So, the first thing I'll do is explain why it's been so long since I've updated this blog...we've been very busy! Okay, I'm sure we all are and this is not a good excuse, but hey, it's true! :-) The kids finished soccer in mid-May with a tournament. They both won trophies (so did all the other participants) and felt proud of themselves, so I suppose it was worth it!

The kids finished school on May 23rd and with great joy and celebration they welcomed summer vacation! It was a happy day, full of anticipation and unplanned time. The next day they were bored. Go figure!

We immediately began planning our first summer trip--to St. Catharines, Ontario (to visit with Angela's mum and extended family). The highlight of this trip was a one year old boy--Benjamin--the kids' newest cousin. You'll see him in some of the following pictures. During our visit we also spent two days at Marineland (amusement park/zoo) and one day at the African Lion Safari (strangely located near Brantford, ON). We also drove by Niagara Falls. One of the rides at Marineland, called Sky Screamer, affords an aerial view of the Falls. (While completely terrifying its occupants!)

Katie got an opportunity to pet and feed a beluga whale. She also enjoyed the company of her uncle Allan when she got tired of all the walking! August was chosen to "teach" a dolphin to sing and dance during a show (also at Marineland). His reward was an inflatable dolphin. I also couldn't resist an opportunity to take a picture of the walrus seeming to chew on his "fingers." The last picture is my brother Stephen and sister-in-law Heidi with the kids on a pirate boat.

The following pictures are from our visit to the African Lion Safari. The cute little guy in the swing is Benjamin. The cute big girl in the baby swing, trying to get Ben's attention is, of course, Katie! I thought it was funny how the primates climbed all over someone else's car (we rode in the bus) in the drive-through part of the safari adventure!

Well, it's late, so I'll try to make another installment tomorrow. Maybe one that won't be like a commercial for southern Ontario! Peace!

Changes...

I am making some changes to this blog, and as you can see, am having some minor issues. I am attempting to insert pictures into the main body of the blog, hoping that this will make them bigger (and also enable the viewer to click on them to enlarge further). However the words are not going exactly where I would like them. So, bear with me as I continue to play with the format over the next few days.
This can't be a long post as I'm needing desperately to mow the lawn today (and do the laundry) and haven't gotten out yet (it's 12:20) so...I have to go now if I'm going to be done before I get the kids from school.
FYI..For those of you interested in our kids' many activities, we have T-ball and Baseball practice tonight. So, I'm gone from about 5 to 8 o'clock tonight with that! Luckily, Bret has a meeting at work tonight too, so we wouldn't have had family time anyway... Soccer is basically over with a tournament this weekend as the finale.
The kids have started their last full week of school. Next week they have Monday and Tuesday and a half day on Wednesday. Then summer break starts in earnest.
August is going away to Camp Menno Haven (church camp) for a short week in July (Sun to Wed). It's his first time away to camp! He is going with a friend from church, so that should help with homesickness!

Lawn mowing and other stuff...

Well, I finally had to mow the front lawn! I take that as an affirmation that it's finally time to wear shorts and enjoy spring. Yay! I mowed the front lawn with the push mower, but am hoping to use a lawn tractor for the rest. (For those who don't know, we have about 1 acre and it's on a hill, so this is a relatively challenging task.) Well, yesterday evening Bret was browsing the classifieds for lawn tractors (ours is really old and needed a new battery and other fixing) and he found a great deal on a Craftsman! So my awesome hubby drove out on Sunday night and got us a newer mower. It looks good, has a nice padded seat, and has more features etc. than our old mower. I'm delighted! I'm really going to enjoy mowing now!

We had a visit from our pastor last week--and sat out on the deck in the backyard for the first time this year. It was wonderful to finally use our backyard for more than putting the dog out. Of course, I'll have to go out in search of "land mines" (thanks to the dog) before the kids go running barefoot out there! :-) We put out a bird feeder all winter with regular wild bird seed. This spring we added a second feeder with black sunflower seeds. The birds LOVE this! Suddenly we are enjoying gold finches, purple finches, several varieties of woodpeckers, chickadees, doves, and more. Yesterday I filled the feeders and one of the birds flew at me! I think either to scare me off or to try to get at the feeder! We can sit out on the back deck and they still come out to the feeders! We are enjoying the view!


The wonderful hubby (whom I mentioned earlier) also tilled our garden on the weekend--YAY--so I am able to get out there and begin planting! Katie has been eagerly anticipating the cherry tomatoes. Last year she would sit with a big bowl of tomatoes and eat as many as we let her!

A visit!

We just had a visit from Mom and Otto and had a great time! They only stayed one day, but the kids were so happy to see Oma and Opa again! Katie cried this morning when she realized they were gone so we reminded her that we'll be going to Ontario for a week at the end of May and that helped! They love visits from Oma and Opa! We tried to do some activities, but weren't able to get in where we wanted to go. But time together is fun no matter what you're doing!

We have only a few weeks of school left, four, I think, after this week. I can't believe that summer break is so close. We are just starting to feel the beginning of warm weather here. Today's high is supposed to be 71 degrees Fahrenheit. It's sunny and that sure makes it feel warmer! I have yet to plant my garden. I did buy some carrot and broccoli seeds. Maybe I'll get out there this afternoon. It will be great to see the garden grow this year! Maybe I'll actually get to taste the carrots and beans this year. (Last year the rabbits got them before they even produced.)

Magic Theatre!

Last night August performed in "Magic Theatre," a collection of silly skits. I included a series of pictures on the right. August was a toaster in one skit about sounds. His line was to say "Ding" with increasing volume. The lesson was that sometimes quiet is better than sound! He was also in a skit about animals (how appropriate) in which they played charades, he was a frog! It was a fun night. All the kids did a wonderful job! (I think that double clicking on the photo will provide you with an enlargement)

I spent several hours this morning out in the backyard stamping down mole trails in the yard. Then sitting and waiting for movement which would indicate the presence of a mole. I am determined to do something about this problem! We'll see how it goes when I go out this afternoon. Bret's dad came out and spent the morning helping me. I was hoping he'd be here for the first catch, because I'm not sure I'll be able to follow up on the other part. Maybe Schwarz will help me with that.

Tooth Fairy, please!

Well, I tried to get a good picture of Katie with her holey grin, but I think our digital camera might be on its last legs. No matter what I tried, the picture came out yellowish and blurry. But, I'm posting the best of them and you'll get the idea at least. This is the third baby tooth which has fallen out so far. Katie is so proud! She got her name on the board at school for joining the "Lost a Tooth Club" and she keeps asking me, "Do I talk funny?" The "tooth fairy" left a dollar under the pillow, and Katie's first question when she found it was, "Which president is this?" :-)