Earth Day Activities

During the last week of April, James travelled to Peru for work. He had a great time sightseeing (as well as attending meetings and doing presentations, of course!). While he was gone, the boys and I managed to keep ourselves quite busy and we had a lot of fun together.

The last weekend in April there were many Earth Day activities going on. On the Saturday, we went to Everett Crowley Park with Gramma to do some tree planting. Everett Crowley Park was once Vancouver's dump (until the late '60s) and is now a really nice park. However, when we went to do the planting, we were told that our job would be to take out some of the many blackberry bushes in the park. That sounded like a lot of work! So we skipped the planting and just walked around the park, checking out the many activities going on.

The first thing we found was the face painting. While in line, Daniel saw that another boy was getting his face painted as Spiderman. Hmmm...I wonder what Daniel chose to have painted on his face? Adam didn't really care, so I just told the girl to do whatever was easiest. It ended up being a really cute bee.

Next, we found some planting that was more our style. The boys each got to fill their own pots and plant a few pea seeds. Daniel's ended up going mouldy and never grew. But Adam's has flourished in our backyard. Daniel has kind of adopted Adam's plant and makes sure to water it every day.

Then we did some arts and crafts. Daniel and Mommy made a beautiful pen holder by gluing tissue paper onto old yogurt containers. Daniel now keeps his "treasures" in it. (I think his treasures now include some shells, a keychain and a tag from LaSenza!) Adam and Gramma made a very pretty tissue paper flower.

We wandered around some more and checked out the many reptiles that were on display. I can't remember what this guy was called but Daniel wasn't scared at all and held it on his shoulder. I was surprised that Gramma was even brave enough to visit with one of the snakes.

Although it was a bit chilly, we still had a really nice day. Daniel, unfortunately, wasn't his usual happy self, though. He was missing his dad because James had just left the day before. That's why Daniel isn't smiling in any of these pictures.

The next day, Sunday, was our neighbourhood cleanup (called Queensweep because we live in Queensborough). The boys and I headed out bright and early with our wagon and our garbage bag to pick up some of the garbage we found on the streets. They were so into it! They loved finding all the garbage - Daniel kept commenting on how lazy people were to be leaving their garbage on the ground! After about half an hour, our bag was full so we headed to the community centre for the Earth Day celebration. Anyone who picked up garbage was able to get a barbecue lunch and Tim Horton's doughnuts. There were a few games and a garage sale going on as well. The theme of this year's Queensweep was "frogs" so there was a woman teaching kids about frogs. The boys got to paint wooden frogs that would later be hung on a wire fence near the playground. They also got to make their own frog headbands!

After we were done, we headed over to the playground, where Daniel discovered the "spider web." Both he and Adam love that thing and Daniel was quite a natural at climbing it. He climbed pretty much to the very top, his first time. Of course, I was on the ground having a heart attack. But, since I very clearly remember climbing to the top of the monkey bars and standing on top with no hands, and most likely giving my own mother a heart attack, I guess I had it coming!

Sun Run 2009

We did the Mini Sun Run today! It was the first time we did the 2.5km one rather than the 10km one and it was a success. The first success was that we made it on time! It started at 8:00am and we were there by 7:53! That is great for us! :)

When the starting buzzer sounded, everyone started to run. Daniel was so excited! He started running along with everyone else, a huge smile on his face. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long. He still has that cold and it wasn't long before he started coughing. That upset him, along with the fact that everyone was passing him and he wasn't winning anymore! So he sat on top of the stroller while Adam sat in the stroller and we went along quite nicely. Both boys were pretty tired from waking up so early (I think Adam was awake around 4:30am), so they were quite happy watching the race from the comfort of the stroller. That is also why Adam, who was pretty grouchy, still has his soother and his finger to his neck. You can always tell when he's tired because his finger goes straight to that spot on his neck - I have no idea why.

The boys did manage to run across the finish line and were quite proud of themselves. They even got a ribbon for finishing the race! Their names will be in the Vancouver Sun tomorrow and their pictures should be online in a few days. If I find them, I'll post the link here.

After the run, we went into BC Place for all the free food and activities. That was the best part of the Mini Sun Run - we were there about an hour before the regular Sun Runners and got all the free stuff first! First we snacked on bagels, bananas and juice and also got yogurt and Power Bars. We got a pretend race photo taken at the HSBC booth.

There was a fitness area that Daniel tried out but he was actually too young for it (it was meant for kids ages 6-11) and it was a bit much for him. Plus, when some bigger kids told him he couldn't play, sad little Daniel ran back to Daddy, quite disappointed. :(

Adam found the Island Farms area and loved playing on the rocking cows. He got some pretty good height on that thing!

He also got to meet the BC Lions mascot. He really liked him until he got up close. Daniel wouldn't even go near.

Finally, Daniel got to the place he wanted to be - the bouncy things. He had a lot of fun and even snuck back in a second time, although he wasn't supposed to!

We left around 11:00am and we were all exhausted. We made it back to the van but, moments after we started the van, the boys were out cold. They slept from 11:30-3:30! It was a fun but very tiring day for them!

Two artistic but accident-prone boys

It all started when I took the boys to our community centre for the monthly Family Fusion dinner. It was a barbecue this time and, since it wasn't raining, all the kids were playing outside on the new outdoor stage. Adam decided he wanted to play with the big kids and was running around, having a great time. Unfortunately, he really wanted to wear his boots which are about two sizes too big. I guess he tripped over his feet and fell. All I saw was him tripping, flying through the air, right into the cement wall that surrounds the back of the stage, head first. :( I ran over, picturing lots of blood but, surprisingly, there was none. No scrape, no bruise, just a little cut and lots of tears. It certainly could have been a lot worse! Just after he fell, the community centre people started the after-dinner activity, which was painting wooden frogs to attach onto the playground fence. Both Adam and Daniel loved it and had a great time and the head injury was soon forgotten.

Today, both boys had mishaps. Adam and Daniel were playing out in the backyard, hitting a big rubber ball with wooden paddles. I guess Adam went for the ball and, instead, hit Daniel in the nose. He gave his big brother a bit of a bloody nose! Again, lots of tears but nothing too drastic. Not long after, the boys were playing inside and Adam tripped over his feet again and went head first into our wooden toybox. He smacked his head in almost exactly the same spot that he did yesterday! This time, a big purple bump soon appeared. So, although his first injury didn't show up much, the second one certainly makes it noticeable!

Hopefully these things really do happen in threes and we don't have any more injuries for a while!

After dinner, when everyone had calmed down, we did some t-shirt painting. We're going in the Vancouver Sun Run tomorrow morning. Usually, James and I do the 10km run but we didn't think the boys would have the patience to sit in the stroller for that long. Instead, we signed us all up for the 2.5km Mini Sun Run. I think that will be a good distance for Daniel to walk most of the way and Adam won't mind being in the stroller. The boys were each given their own Sun Run t-shirt and some fabric paint, so they decorated their shirts tonight. They quite enjoyed it and I think they'll like wearing their shirts tomorrow (with many layers on underneath, since I don't think it'll be very warm at 8:00am!).

Daniel is very excited about being in "the race" and says that he wants to win so he can "get a cup - a golden one"! He doesn't really understand that it's a fun run - everyone's a winner!

Easter Monday

We hosted Easter dinner for just my family on Easter Monday. It was my first ever turkey dinner and, I must say, it turned out alright. My parents did end up coming over to help - and help they did, especially with keeping the boys entertained. Daniel decided not to nap today and Adam had a very short nap, so they weren't their normal, happy selves. In fact, they were quite grouchy. But we had a nice dinner together - the food turned out well, if I may say so myself!

The boys and I made cheesecake Easter baskets for dessert. In case you can't tell, Daniel was very proud of his creations!

Neither he nor Adam were too impressed with the results, though, and preferred to eat the chocolate instead. (The look on Adam's face is the one you immediately get if he hears the word dessert or chocolate. This kid certainly comes from my side of the family!)

We even got a much-overdue family picture taken. We haven't done a family picture since I was pregnant with Adam! Well, this one will be good for a few more months until baby #3 comes!

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter! The boys really enjoyed the day. Daniel woke up bright and early, of course, and snuck downstairs to find his Easter basket. He loved all the candy, of course, as well as the pirate ship that the Easter Bunny brought him and Adam.

Adam woke up about 30 minutes later and loved his candy even more than his big brother! He started stuffing so much chocolate into his mouth that we had to take it away.

That Easter Bunny is one smart guy (or girl?) by giving the boys that pirate ship. They played cooperatively for about 2 hours with that thing!

In the evening, we headed over to Auntie Isobel and Uncle Ron's for the Peters/Terry Easter dinner (my dad's side of the family). We haven't had so many of us together for one holiday - 32 for dinner! We had a big ham dinner and then an Easter egg hunt for the little kids (Daniel, Adam and baby Sara).

Then, as is Peters traditions, the games came out - cards, chess and checkers. Uncle Ron really wanted to play chess but no one else took him up on the offer of a game...except Daniel. He was dying to learn to play chess! So Uncle Ron patiently tried to teach him the game. I was impressed that Daniel stuck with it for quite a while. Adam seemed to like the game, too.

It was a fun evening full of catching up and lots of eating. Here are some other pictures - Adam having a tickle fight with cousin Sheree and Daniel playing Transformers with cousin Nathan.

This was only the start of Easter for our family, though. Easter Monday continued the celebrations...

Pre-Easter Preparations

The day before Easter, we decided to dye some eggs. The boys had a lot of fun colouring them with crayons and then putting them in the dye. As you can see, Daniel is quite a goofball!

And here's just a cute video of the boys with their sugar-high Easter bunny. These kids have rhythm! (With such musical parents, they should!)

Richmond Nature Park

On Good Friday, the four of us decided to go visit the Richmond Nature Park. The boys and I go there every once in a while, but James hasn't been in years. Daniel was quite exciting to share the nature park with his dad. We had a nice walk along the pathway (even if it was a little chilly) and the boys loved looking for animals hiding in the trees and bugs hiding under rocks. Then we found the birdhouses. Both boys were enthralled with the birds. I wasn't surprised with Adam because of his love of all animals, but Daniel sat quietly for about 20 minutes, too, watching the birds (and the sneaky squirrel) eat from the birdhouses.

And, quite possibly one of the cutest pictures you'll see in a while...

Visit to the Okanagan

On March 28, we piled into the van to drive up to visit all the grandparents and great-grandparents in the Okanagan. It was one of our best drives up yet - only 5.5 hours! Sure, it takes most people about 4 hours but, considering we've been doing it in about 7 hours, that's a huge improvement!

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Rowe's at about 5:30pm (the boys hadn't slept at all on the way up) and had dinner and nice evening. Everyone was pretty worn out but the boys still managed to be wide awake by 6am the next morning! Sunday morning was cold and windy - a perfect kite-flying day. Grandma had bought the boys a Spiderman kite so we took it out to Summerland Middle School to try it out on the field. The boys loved it! They were chasing the kite around and trying to fly it themselves. I think the big boys (Daddy and Grandpa) loved it, too! Mommy and Grandma were too busy trying to stay warm and shield themselves from the wind! After that, the boys tried out the playground and swings, which were a little big (being meant for middle schoolers) but still lots of fun.

That evening we had yet another birthday party for James! It was a big turnout, too - Great-Grandma and Grandpa Campbell, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Rowe, (Great) Uncle Peter and Auntie Kim, (Great) Uncle Steve and Auntie Judy and Judy's grandson Rylen, who became Daniel's new best friend. The Easter Bunny decided to make a surprise early visit for the boys and they had an Easter egg hunt in the front yard. They had so much fun. The older boys (Daniel and Rylen) loved searching for the eggs. Adam just loved the basket! He wouldn't let that thing go! Of course, they all loved the chocolate at the end. :)

On Monday, we took a drive into Penticton to go to a fun playground down by Skaha Lake. It was an amazing playground for toddlers and will be even more fun in the summer because there is a really cool waterpark. Unfortunately, it was WAY TOO COLD for that! The boys found some friends as soon as we got there. Daniel, as usual, found an older girl to play with. Adam found a buddy in her younger brother, who was 15 months, but taller than Adam - and with much bigger feet! The two younger boys attempted to play catch but one year olds don't share very well!

On Tuesday, both Grandma and Grandpa had to go to work. So we went over to Great-Grandma and Grandpa Campbell's for lunch. We were going to go to the playground again but it was too cold and was raining on and off. So we just walked around their mobile home complex and played with Daniel's new-found favourite toy, a remote control car Grandma C. got at the thrift store. We had a nice pasta lunch with the Campbells, played with more toys and headed out before the two tired boys could get too grouchy.




Tuesday evening we decided to go to the Summerland Bowling Alley. What a happening place that is! We were the only people there and the manager (and the two women with him) were quite the rednecks! It was certainly an experience! But we had a good time. (And, since I haven't said anything on the blog yet...here's proof that baby #3 is on his/her way. Leah's got a little bit of a belly.) The boys loved bowling. Well, Adam got bored of bowling pretty quick but he liked walking around, spinning on the floor and playing with the arcade games. And he LOVED his bowling shoes. They weren't actually bowling shoes - they were just a pair of velcro runners that were 4 sizes too big for him. And they were pink. But he wore them proudly and had a bit of a temper tantrum when we had to take them off before going home!

Wednesday was our day to head home. We said our goodbyes around noon. Not long after, on the Okanagan Connector, we ran into a bit of a snowstorm. It was some pretty trecherous driving for a while, especially since we ran out of windshield washer fluid! James had some pretty white knuckles for a while but we made it out in one piece! This time, the boys slept very well in the van and we were home in 5.5 hours again.

We had a great time. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for hosting us and feeding us. We hope you're enjoying the peace and quiet now that the boys are gone!