Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. - Sam Keen

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I made a yummy red velvet cake with cream cheese icing.  

I think this is a good tradition to uphold.

We had a nice, relaxing Canada day together.

(*see above reference to "relaxing")

It was a gorgeous day!

Madeline took this picture of us.

Getting all dressed up for the celebration.

I couldn't be left out.  :)

Waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Claire had a sleepy day, but she was determined to see the fireworks and was not disappointed. 

They were good!

Neither of us are "hat people," but we all wanted to match!

We did our best to get a family photo...ha ha.  Claire looks so mad!

But here is evidence that she did enjoy herself.  I took this picture and I swear it looked fine at the time, but I guess it was too dark and Ryan is relegated to the shadows.  I apologize.

So Ryan's begun working full time at Apple but has luckily had weekends off.  This has allowed us to have some fun adventures as a family.  Luckily, during the week, I have Natalie coming to help with respite care.  

We had a fun family brunch to celebrate Travis' birthday.  We survived getting new passports for the girls. (*Mini rant*  Why do passport photos have to be so stringently controlled?  Can there be no exceptions for individuals who cannot hold their head straight and make eye contact with the camera?  It's an absolute nightmare to get passport photos taken of Claire.  We have to drape her chair with a sheet, to cover the handles.  We have to try to get her to look at the camera, without smiling and anything that effectively gets her attention will usually make her smile.  So both Ryan and I had to crouch beside her chair on either side, with our hands under the sheet, holding her head and neck steady while the frustrated AMA photographer tried to snap her picture at the exact right time.  The more you try to hold her still, the more she tries to move.  She has a visual impairment which makes it difficult for her to focus straight ahead on anything.  We finally managed to get one photo, only to have the passport officer doubt that it would be acceptable because you can see the white sheet in the background.  How frustrating! *End of rant*) 

Just like her sister, Claire got a summer time haircut.  She can definitely pull off the short hair and it saves us so much grief because she really hates having her hair brushed or styled!

Ryan and I had a fun date night with some friends.  We saw this play at the Walterdale Playhouse.  One of Ryan's colleagues had a role in it so it was very exciting to see her do a great job.  

We all went out afterwards to a really cool rooftop patio on Whyte Ave.

On rainy days, we do our own thing like...monumental tea parties!  All the stuffies were invited.

Madeline began a second round of swimming lessons.  Unfortunately her last two classes were cancelled because of flooding at the pool during the rain storms of the past week.  Oh well, at least she can look forward to receiving her report card in the mail.  Mail is fun!

Because I wasn't organized enough to have them in swimming at the same time...or even the same pool!...Claire began her classes this month.  While she has fun in the water with Auntie, Madeline and I have explored the rec centre and have now ventured to the nearby neighbourhood park.  On this day, the children had spent all afternoon constructing a series of trenches that filled with water because of the huge rainstorm the day before.  They had a messy blast.

Claire's class is called Swimabilities and it's for kids of all ages and abilities to learn at their own speed.  She LOVES it but falls asleep almost immediately after each class from exhaustion.  Luckily Auntie Natalie is a great helper and they have lots of fun together.

We spent a fun day at the Street Performer's festival.

First we hit the children's area where the girls played some games.

Then we took in a cool show.

Then we cooled off in the wading pool because it was super hot that day.

Then we took in a couple more shows before heading home.  

Luckily we found some spots in the shade for this one!

There were some pretty talented performers there!

Madeline and Ryan had a date night to see Madagascar 3.  Ryan also went to see The Amazing Spiderman with a friend.  

We took our first trip to Jurassic Forest.  It was a pretty neat experience.

Madeline was a bit nervous at first, but when she realized that the dinosaurs wouldn't pop out and scare her, she was okay with the concept.

The forest was really beautiful and fun to walk around in.

Madeline especially liked the signs that told you to stay on the path or you'd get eaten.  

There was a fun discovery park and we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in the shade.

(*Note:  To avoid any confusion, Ryan is in the foreground)

We give thanks....better late than never.

Thanksgiving is a great time of year.  It's a good excuse to get together with family, eat lots of food and reflect on the beauties of life.

This year Madeline and I made some pies and buns to take to our various dinners.  Her favourite part was helping me "clean up" after rolling out the pie crusts.

Here's the product.

And the aftermath.

Lucky for us we had two Thanksgivings.  The first was with the Laytons.

Travis made that cheesecake on the BBQ.  

Everything was magnificently delicious as usual!

We snuck in some chilly family pictures before it got too dark.  It was good to have everyone there!

On Thanksgiving Monday we headed over to Pattersons for our traditional get-together.

Noah is such a cute little man.  One minute he can look just like Stephanie and then the next minute, Greg.  

Madeline enjoyed some time in Uncle Robbie's studio (a.k.a. his room) and you could hear her singing and drumming throughout the whole house.

Noah and Claire got better acquainted by beating each other up.

Maddie, Noah and I played a trio on the piano.

Madeline was feeling a bit under the weather for the long weekend, but still managed to get lots of good hugs in.

Now, before you think we're insane, holding a stick with Melanie's head on it, hear me out (or maybe it's our facial expressions that have you thinking that...).  Have you ever heard of Flat Stanley?  It's a character in a children's book who gets flattened (I know, it's horrific, but cute) and can then travel around the world by mailing himself to his friends.  A long time ago, one of our cousins mailed a "flat" version of herself to another cousin who lives far away.  Since then it's become a silly way for us to include family members in activities when they're not able to be there.

 So here are all the siblings - including Flat Melanie who happens to be in Scotland.  You probably can't see it in the small photo, but we're copying her strange facial expression.  Don't worry, there was a Flat Adam too, since he's in South America.  Our stalwart missionaries.

 It was a great Thanksgiving long weekend, despite the fact that Ryan had to work on the Monday.  We had a lovely time with family and friends and loved the great weather. But...

...it takes a long time to recover from a party weekend like that.

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.