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)

Oh they say when you marry in June...

This post has nothing to do with marrying, but for some reason I have the song, "June Bride" from 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' in my head.  I love old musicals!

Anyway, this is going to be a long one, so get out your scroll bar and proceed onward!

With the summer weather in full swing, there's often a little throne of pop boxes for Madeline to ensconce herself in.  For this particular trip to the grocery store, she also convinced me to let her bring her toy shopping cart.  We had a lot of fun with that.  :)

We attended Dreamnight at the Zoo for the first time and it was great.  It's a special night for children with disabilities to bring their families to the zoo and there are tons of activities and experiences to take part in.  We're pretty lucky that Claire lets us tag along.

There were plenty of fuzzy creatures to meet.

I don't know if you can tell, but Madeline was super excited.

We participated in a fun magic show.

We saw the new aquatic area which is really neat.

We got up close and personal with Lucy.

We rode the carousel...

...many times.

We actually ended up going to the zoo twice in one week because Claire and I joined Madeline on her field trip to the zoo.  Luckily the weather held nicely for us that day.  Note the similarity of the poses...

Ryan can always make Claire smile!

Madeline was able to participate in a musical concert at Claire's school.

This is just awesome.

Madeline had a neat summer nature walk at school and got to attend her friends birthday party at the gymnastics arena.

Madeline and I tagged along on Claire's field day at school.  They had lots of fun activities including bubble making, tether ball, parachute games and relay races.  It was a gorgeous day!

If you can get the water temperature just right, this will happen.  On this particular day, she actually slept through my washing her, getting her out of the tub, drying her, dressing her and laying her in bed. It was pretty funny.  She's a tenacious sleeper!

I took both the above and below pictures one night when Ryan worked late, to say goodnight from the girls.

This is definitely a great part of summer!

It was bound to happen some time.  I turned 30 in June.  Because there was so much going on, I really didn't expect much fanfare, but Ryan went above and beyond and planned a surprise party for me at Greg's house.  I really had no idea it was going to happen!

I was spoiled, even getting a fun game of ladderball which I'd been coveting since last summer.

I'm so lucky to have a great family who makes these days special for me.

Since Madeline snuffed out my candle before I got a chance, this picture is totally fake.  But the cake was delicious.  Raspberry cheesecake from Marble Slab.  Yum.  :)

We spent a fun day out at Auntie Sheila's farm.  It was a good excuse to spend the day outdoors and visit with family.  

Our Claire is getting so tall.  It's deceiving because not many people get to see her standing up, but she's nearly 3/4 my height (no great feat, but still...)

Madeline had lots of fun with cousins, especially on the new playground structure made out of an old cow chute!  

The dogs like to lick Claire's dangling hands and she really likes it.  She was quite tired by this point in the day though...

We had a chance to celebrate the dads in our lives on Father's Day with another trip out to Wetaskiwin and a tasty supper of rouladen.  

I'm lucky to have had such a great dad...

...and to have such a wonderful father for my children.

Family photo op!

I had lots of meetings this month to wrap up committees for the summer.  I had one of my last preschool meetings to run, school council and fundraising meetings to run, a park redevelopment meeting to attend where we met with the landscape architect and an Edmonton Cerebral Palsy Association meeting to attend (where they approved our request to fund a bike for Claire!  YAY!  Click here for a link.)  But I did get one fun evening out with the ladies on the Malmo board when we all had dinner at The Keg and talked about the year.  It was a bittersweet time because I'll miss collaborating with them, but will be glad for a little less responsibility in the fall!

This month we had to say goodbye to Steph and Brandon as they headed to New Zealand for a few years while he works as a mining engineer.  They invited us all out to a fun farewell BBQ.

We'll miss them a lot!

But we had lots of fun in the sun.

Madeline ran straight for the spray park and wasted no time in getting completely soaked.

Claire is a really good sport and loves the water.

Even when her mother accidentally rolls her right through a fountain!

Yes, we had lots of fun.

We do seem to have a little monkey on our hands.  She loves to climb and swing.

Another fun activity we shared with Steph and Brandon before they left was a trip to the waterpark.  I couldn't take many pictures because I was in the water with them, but after Claire and I got changed, I snapped a few.  

Madeline got pretty brave on the big slides.

We attended Pioneer Days in Wetaskiwin to hear Robbie's band play and discovered a fun children's carnival put on by the Horizon Centre.  They did a great job and were very welcoming to us.  

While we were enjoying the games, Rob's band played AMAZING songs.  It was a really neat atmosphere as they definitely got the place rockin'.

Madeline was brave and went on the roller coaster and her, Ryan and I braved the spinning dragon ride.  I must admit, although I used to be super fearless, I have my qualms about taking on the big rides these days, especially in these roving fairs that set up and take down so many times a year.  Guess I'm getting old!

After the rides we enjoyed the soothing hot tub.

We saw these amazing cloud formations on our drive back home.

A bittersweet time - the last day of school.  Madeline's grown so much in her years at Malmo but she's really looking forward to kindergarten in the fall!

Claire had a fun pioneer day at school.  We borrowed a bonnet and an apron from Grandma Patterson to complete her ensemble and it was great.  She came home a very tired little trailblazer.

We had a fun field trip for Claire's class at our house.  We rented a bouncy castle and 24 kids spent the afternoon here, playing games, jumping and eating.  It was a lot of fun!

Each of Claire's classmates wrote a thank you note and they constructed this giant sun for us.  She has a lot of wonderful kids in her class!

To take full advantage of the giant castle in our backyard, we had friends and family come over for a BBQ that evening.  It was lots of fun.

We even had fun taking it down!

DJ Samurai (a.k.a. Ryan) was in full swing at his school's retro dance.  

We all decided to don 80's clothing and a great time was had by all.

On the last day of gymnastics, the parents were invited to come out on the floor and take photos, up close and personal.  So that is what I did.  We're really proud of her accomplishments.  Our motto with her has been "Try new things" and she's really taken it to heart.

Speaking of trying new things, she asked Auntie Natalie to give her a summer haircut and it turned out very cute indeed.

Claire had some neat year-end activities.  She had a Fun in the Sun Day with outdoor activities, a Canada flag day where they each got a flag from the Lion's Club and I got to go with her on a swimming field trip to the ACT centre.  Unfortunately...I lost my camera and my sunglasses on that field trip and so I have no pictures from the day.  I'm hoping that my searches with the pool and school bus company will eventually lead me to their whereabouts, but am not holding out too much hope.  :(

Claire great helper and teacher this year, saying goodbye on the last day of school.  I think Claire misses the structure and hustle and/or bustle of the school environment!  We're looking forward to grade 2 and hope it will be a great year!

On Madeline's last day of her first swimming class, they turned on the waves and she had a great time.  

She passed with flying colours.

Ryan enrolled and was accepted in a Leadership for Tomorrow course through Elk Island Public Schools which, in conjunction with beginning his masters degree, will help him gain more opportunities for advancement.  He's pretty much the best ever.  He also got asked to take on more responsibility at the Apple Store and do more training to move up in the world of computers.  He's also been providing professional development for other teachers in the field of technology and is now on the executive of the Educational Technology Council of the ATA.  Still he manages to be home as often as possible to do projects and take care of us!