Back to school, back to school (*Sung Adam Sandler style)

Summer is over.  Alas and alack.  Here's how we ended it in our neck of the woods.

We attended a CNIB Year end Picnic and had lots of fun at Rundle Park.

Because the facility caters to people who have disabilities, there are a lot of cool features at the parks, these swings included.  Claire's having more fun than it appears....at least I hope.

Madeline stuck to Dizzy the Clown like glue.
She followed him around as his self-proclaimed assistant.
He was a very good sport and they got to be good friends.

Ryan and I at The Stewarts' house celebrating Brandon's birthday.

Just another example of how Claire can fall asleep any time, anywhere. 

Happy Birthday to Auntie Olivia!
Carrying on the Layton tradition of Shirley Temples and quarter chicken dinners at Swiss Chalet!

Madeline's newest interest is going for rides on the motorcycle with Ryan.
Here she is, all geared up for a drive.

Madeline and Ryan also had a fun daddy-daughter date where they had a yummy breakfast, played at the park and looked at fancy new motorbikes.

Madeline at our favourite new park.

I just had to include this.  Madeline can be a very creative dresser and sleeper.
We'll often find her asleep amidst a pile of pillows/blankets/toys/books.  She'll most often be wearing something other than the pajamas we put her to bed in.  Here's an example.  A sparkly gold sweater paired with sequinned pink spandex.  She also insisted on wearing that outfit several times afterwards.
Maybe those pants will have to be lost.   By accident.  Soon.

The girls and Ryan went on a walk to visit Auntie Steph and Uncle Brandon one day and got caught in the rain.  Luckily Claire helped Madeline out.

A major adventure of the summer was Ryan's trip to PAX in Seattle with a couple of his friends.  

Super cool scenery.

Meeting a Nintendo legend.

And a gaming legend, Morello.

And some pretty crazy stuff along the way.  

He brought home lots of swag, lots of stories and lots of fun pictures.  He was able to see some pretty cool new games and try them out.  He even tried out a new Dance Central Kinect game in front of a large crowd!
We're glad he had such a fun time.

While he was having his adventures, we had a few of our own.  Claire got a fancy new hair cut, courtesy of Grandma and Auntie Natalie.  We also celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Patterson in Wetaskiwin as they marked 30 years of marriage!

We got to see Uncle Rob's band, Pants and Animals play at the agricultural fair in Wetaskiwin.  They did SO well!

Grandma and Claire took in the music from a slight distance in order to maximize enjoyment.

Madeline found a dance partner and they boogied almost the whole set.

While both our husbands/dads were gone to PAX, we had a quick visit from the boys and Kate.  

We had some good fun playing together.

FREEZIES!

Liam and Claire jammed together on the piano.

It was really good to have Daddy home though!

Before school started again we had a few playdates, lots of fun with Lisa,  a swimming trip to the awesome new Terwillegar Pool (which included a fire alarm being pulled!), a final Stake Presidency family party at my parents' house before my dad and his colleagues were released after 10 years of service, Ryan sorting out his classroom and teaching a PD session on iPads, getting taught how to use the sling lift at Claire's school and meeting with her teacher and aide to get prepared for the year, organizing the Malmo Preschool AGM and getting the classroom technologically caught up and all the other little things that come with a new school year in this house.

Claire was extremely happy to start school again.  I couldn't get her to stay very still for a photo!  It's very surreal that my little girl is in Grade 1 this year!  Luckily there are a lot of friends from kindergarten that moved up with her.  It's good to see familiar faces!

Here are all the things we sent to the school for her!  She's got a great teacher, a great aide and a supportive administration.  We're lucky to be where we are.

Ryan's school year has begun and he hasn't had time to catch a breath.  Between working at the Apple store a few evenings a week and Saturdays, getting a new grade organized and planned, being the technology guru at his school and being a great dad and father - he's pretty exhausted!  We're so grateful for all he does.

I've been busy with transcriptions, school meetings, parent meetings and home stuff.

I'm looking forward to hitting our stride, getting in a schedule and buckling down for a great and productive year with only happy surprises in store.  It's worth hoping for, right?!  :)

Friggin' June

It went a bit too fast.

Here we are. School's done. Summer's in full swing. We're all a little older, a little wiser.

Speaking of older...

Before:

After:

Both Claire & Madeline finished their school years.

Madeline will move on to the 4 year old class at Malmo Pre-kindergarten, after a wonderful experience in the 3 year old class.

One of Madeline's year-end activities in preschool was a trip to the zoo.

Grandma Patterson accompanied her and they had a wonderful time together.

Claire is going to be in grade 1 in September at Grace Martin.

She'll move up with lots of her friends and we're looking forward to a great year.

We've been very lucky to have wonderful teachers for our kids.

Here is Claire and her entourage. :)

Claire and some of her friends.

Many of them will run to greet her as they can see us coming from our house.

We celebrated Steph's birthday at her place with a great BBQ.

Madeline's always right in there, being helpful.

Val discovered Claire's new favourite way to snuggle.

We were walking home from Auntie Steph's house after the birthday party and crossing a very bumpy street. Madeline was concerned about how rough the road was for Claire's wheelchair. She looked at me and said, "I wish Claire could walk." It's the first time she's ever said something like that. It wasn't said in a mean or a whiny way, but sincerely. I wish that too, Madeline.

Claire is our human pretzel :)

Such a sleepy cutie pie :)

Claire has finished Little Bits for the summer. As she gets bigger, taller and more wiggly, it's harder for the side-walkers to help her sit up straight. We're hoping that she'll be able to continue in the Fall, with reassessment with a physiotherapist to make sure that we're supporting her correctly.

Madeline and the other siblings that come to watch riding are always good sports, finding ways to entertain themselves.

Here the kids were hopping back and forth over the line while running full tilt!

Despite some setbacks at a few lessons, the last two rides of the season were very positive.

Ryan's been having fun with his new ipod and a program called Instagram.

Here are a few pictures he's taken with it. It's a pretty fun program!

Auntie Natalie has been helping out with babysitting a lot lately.

She always comes prepared with exciting crafts and fun toys!

DJ Samurai (a.k.a. Ryan) rocked out the tunes at the year-end Campbelltown Dance.

Guess the theme!

We had a fun time dancing and listening to the music. Claire had some glow in the dark bracelets and a wand that she held onto for most of the night.

Madeline was up on the stage with Ryan nearly the entire dance.

She took her job of twirling the disco ball very seriously.

When she did get down on the floor to dance, she would be moving so fast I couldn't catch her. Here's the best dance picture I could grab.

Madeline said to me, "Mommy, I'm going to marry a handsome boy who doesn't hate the world." Sounds like a plan to me.

Spring?

Hello to everyone who reads this blog. Sometimes I do wonder who ends up coming here to read my ramblings. It's interesting to ponder. :)

Since I last blogged we have changed seasons - or at least the hope for change is here! I know the official switchover was back in March but that just didn't feel right. Now that the snow is melting and the piles of gravel will soon be swept away (I hope) I feel like we can move on with our lives and embrace the rebirth of Spring.

Unfortunately, we started our embrace with a bunch of sickness over the break from school. Despite almost everyone taking turns with colds, we had fun spending time together, visited family and friends, had friends over, played games and we also dejunked the house and switched the girls rooms. To make a long story short, we did it to make things more accessible for Claire when she eventually has her wheelchair in the house and in her room.

Ryan and Rob went to the Mother Mother concert here at the EEC and had a great time. They had hoped to line up early to get good spots in the general admission venue, but didn't make it in time. However, they were happy to find a great place to watch, right behind girls who had waited two hours in line. Things like this always seem to work out for Ryan. I believe he has a gift!

I recently joined a committee to revitalize a community playground. It looks like a lot of work, mostly due to the fundraising but I'm hoping to be a representative for families of children with disabilities and advocate for accessibility. It should be exciting to see the plans come to fruition in 2013 - yes, that's how far ahead we have to plan, apparently.

Claire started Little Bits horseback riding again. You know you're a seasoned veteran of a program when you don't even think to take pictures the first day! She did wonderfully, back on her old horse Babe again. There have been some improvements to the riding arena and it looks to be a great session yet again!

Madeline and her class had their Winter Nature walk today...April 7. Welcome to Alberta. It was fun to be the parent helper and watch the children frolic in the snow.

You can't tell from the picture but this is a rather high mountain of slick snow. Of course, being the responsible parent I am, I took a picture before telling them that they should probably get the heck off of it.

The girls also recently had their recital for Ballerina Dreams and it was very cute. A wonderful volunteer made all their little lion costumes and they danced to "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from the Lion King.

After the performance they were showered with gifts and both were very happy about that. Many family members came out to cheer them on.

You know, there are some wonderful people in this world. Volunteers who are patient, kind and enthusiastic renew my faith in the human race.

I don't want this blog to be a platform for social change or calls to action, but meeting great people who donate their time, talents and energy to good causes motivates me to give more of myself. :) The students who volunteered as dance mentors for Ballerina Dreams were some of these people and we're grateful for them.

Just a couple more pictures...

Apparently Madeline is conducting some serious business and Claire is weighing the pros and cons of it all.

Daddy story time is the best.

The end.

(Claire's birthday is in one week. Last year we had her birthday party in the backyard and were all playing on the green grass!)