Hyack week begins

It's the May long weekend and that means the beginning of Hyack week in "The Royal City."  James only worked Saturday morning so, after lunch, we headed down to Westminster Quay to see the festivities that were going on there.  It was called Multicultural Day and there were many dancing and singing groups from various cultures as well as booths with jewellery, knick knacks and food.

Adam and Sarah fell asleep on the ride over, so he hung out in the stroller and she hung out with me in the carrier.  James and Daniel went to tour the Samson V, a paddlewheeler.  Captain Daniel really enjoyed it.

Daniel decided to get his face painted and then played on the big boat/playground until Adam woke up.  As soon as he saw Daniel, Adam immediately wanted his face painted as well.  Here are our Batman and Spiderman!

Then Daniel had to take Mommy, Adam and Sarah on a tour of the Samson V.  The boys were so strong, lifted that heavy chain.

Mommy and Sarah.

Captain Spiderman

Captain Batman

James looks like he should be in a Gilbert and Sullivan musical or something!

I'm sure there will be a few more posts about Hyack week as we take in all the festivities.  We'll probably go to "Family Day" on Victoria Day and see the "lighting of the anvil."  And then, of course, there's the Hyack Parade, which is a must-see every year.  James marched in that parade when he was young and we always make sure we see it.  There's also Queensborough Day at our community centre, which is always a lot of fun.  Lots to do this week!

Animal Grossology

James has been quite busy with work the past few weeks and will continue to be pretty busy until the middle of June.  So the kids and I were left to fend for ourselves on a Saturday morning.  After watching many Saturday morning cartoons, we headed out to Metrotown.  There are some exhibits in the main atriums of the mall, all about "Animal Grossology."  What could be more fun to two little boys than learning about the various ways animals poop!  They had a great time.

Adam is taking his potty training knowledge very seriously.  As long as he only touches what's in a plastic toilet on a wall and not the real thing!

The kids with a larger than life fly.

I liked these two dung beetles battling it out over who gets possession of the massive ball of dung.

And I certainly learned something new.  Learn how a Darwin's frog is born...

Bike riding!

Adam's first big owie

It's hard to believe that it's taken over two and a half years, but Adam finally has his first big owie. He and Daniel were walking home from their friends' (Carson and Will) house. Daniel was walking backwards and didn't see Adam and ended up tripping over him. Both went down and Adam's head hit the sidewalk with a very loud thud. Not too much blood but a lot of road rash and a huge goose egg. Luckily, some juice and a Thomas the Train ice pack helped put a smile back on his face. It'll be interesting to see what it looks like in the morning, though.

Summer is just around the corner...

Who knows how long it's going to last but it feels like summer! We wore shorts and t-shirts today! This morning, the boys had a dentist appointment. They both did great - no tears, no cavities, thumbs up from the dentist. He reminded me, once again, to start saving for braces for them. With the teeth like James and I had, our kids really have no hope!

After the appointment, we went to Central Park for a picnic lunch and some playing on the playground. I wasn't quite ready for summer, though, since I forgot the sunscreen. We didn't stay too long. However, the kids were all fine - I was the one who ended up with a bit of a sunburn!

Daniel had a lot of fun on one of those spinny seats. He loved it but it's funny to see his face while he was on it. He's kind of looking a little unsure!

Adam our climber. He's the one who's going to take after his mom, climbing on top of monkey bars and freaking out his parents!

An attempt at taking a nice picture of Adam. Didn't quite work. :)

Sarah really liked going down the slide with Daniel. It's a cool slide made up of many rollers, so the kids kind of bump their way down. She wasn't too sure but she did like it. The picture's a little off-centre, though, since I had to at least keep one hand nearby to protect her!

Big girl Sarah, standing up all by herself.

A trip to the bird sanctuary

We finally have some nice weather and can spend a bit of time outside! So the kids and I packed a lunch and some bird seed and headed out to the bird sanctuary in Ladner to see if we could find any baby birds. Here is the only picture of Sarah and me, taken by Daniel. Sarah loved her shades! But she didn't wear them for long because she fell asleep just a few minutes into the trip and stayed asleep until we were leaving. Gotta love the fresh air!



Adam loved feeding the ducks. He never did get too close to them, though. He'd just drop some bird seed on the ground in front of him and run away, big grin on his face.



Big brother Daniel had fun pulling the wagon. Adam spent most of the second half of the trip inside the wagon because he was afraid of the geese. There were some means ones! One kept chasing after Daniel, with its ugly black tongue sticking out, hissing loudly. Daniel was pretty brave but you could tell, after five minutes of the ugly goose chasing him, that he'd had enough. It wouldn't leave us alone!


This duck ate right from Daniel's hand!

Daniel and all his little friends.

Mother's Day Bike Ride

Almost six years ago, James and I said our wedding vows to each other and, in them, I promised to continue our tradition of going on bike trips, even with a few kids in tow. Well, we haven't done any bike trips yet but we did manage our first family bike ride today. We bought a Trail-a-Bike a few days ago so that Daniel can ride with James, and Adam and Sarah can ride in the trailer with me.

Daniel LOVED the Trail-a-Bike and didn't want to get off when we finished our ride.

Adam and Sarah enjoyed riding in the trailer.

Cute!

Learning how to balance on the Trail-a-Bike.

Here's what Adam and Sarah looked like about half way through the ride.

It was a very nice morning out and the perfect way to spend Mother's Day. Hopefully we can go on many more rides this summer.

Getting ready for Kindergarten!

It's hard to believe but Daniel is starting Kindergarten in September! When did he get so big? Today was "Welcome to Kindergarten" - a chance for all the new Kindergarteners to see the school, meet their teachers, and do some fun games and crafts. James and I took Daniel and his buddy Carson up to the school. They had so much fun making crowns, playing with PlayDoh, reading stories and playing with magnetic letters. Daniel feels quite at home at the school. He's been there many times attending StrongStart or coming with Mom, since I work there, too! I don't think he'll have any problem adjusting to Kindergarten! It may be a little tougher on Adam, though, who has never really done anything without his big brother. When I went to Kindergarten, my sister Laura said, "When Leah goes to Kindergarten, I'm not going to have a sister anymore!" That's going to be how Adam feels, too. :( It'll be interesting to see how it all goes in September. Exciting, though!

Bowling!

After far too long, we finally got together with our friends Angie and Greg. We were planning to go to the beach but the weather wasn't cooperating and it looked like the rain would start any minute. Instead, we went bowling! The boys were thrilled (all three of them!) because they love bowling.


Here are a few pictures of our fun morning.


Daniel had some pretty good form:




Adam showing off his goofy personality. He walked like this every time he picked a ball:




Goofball:




Sarah had a lot of fun hanging out with Uncle Greg:



and bonding with Auntie Angie:


Smiles from everyone:

Our visit continued with lunch at White Spot. It took a long time to get a table and to get our food, but we had fun colouring at the table and playing with Pirate Packs. :) Thanks, Angie and Greg, for a fun visit!