Adam wins the Potty Prize!

Our little Adam isn't so little anymore!  He's a big boy who is now potty trained!  And he's pretty proud of himself.  He loves to go around, announcing when he needs to go to the bathroom.  He loves to check out all the public washrooms at the mall.  He loves being a big kid at Linda's daycare because he gets to play in the big kid room and go in the bouncer.

Adam was pretty stubborn about it at first and did not want to get rid of his diapers.  But one day, right around Victoria Day, something clicked and he got it!  He still has a few accidents, especially in the evenings when he's getting tired.  But, for the most part, he's in big boy underwear!

On June 5, Adam earned his Potty Prize, the coveted frozen-lemonade-can-lid medal.  Daniel got one when he was potty trained and seeing it around the house made Adam want to earn his own.  We also had a little party for him with an ice cream pizza from Dairy Queen!

We have a cute video of Adam receiving his potty prize but Blogger has changed things around here and I don't yet know how to add a video.  I'll keep working on it...

Open House at the Landfill

Only a mom of young boys would think it was a great idea to go to an open house at the dump!  James had to work one Saturday afternoon so I packed the kids up in the van and headed for the dump.  Of course, everyone fell asleep in the van!  But, after I woke them all up and they snapped out of their grouchy, groggy moods, we headed out into the sun to see what was going on at the Vancouver Landfill.

First we took a bus trip around the landfill.  That wasn't so exciting for the boys.  It hardly looked like a dump at all.  They only dump in one area at a time and, when it's full, they let grass grow over it.  So the whole thing really looks like a bunch of big, grassy hills.  But we all enjoyed watching the "bird distraction" techniques they have.  One guy has trained falcons to chase away the seagulls.  We also saw a woman in a bright orange vest, waving a long stick with a plastic bag at the end of it.  That's another high-tech way they manage to keep the seagulls away.  Can you imagine that being your job?

There were some kiosks with information about recycling and things and some free hot dogs that we just missed out on.  But then the boys found the big pile of sand.  Digging in that kept them busy for quite a while!

We were there right until everything closed.  In the parking lot near our van, though, were a bunch of machines that kids could climb on.  They loved getting on the big machinery and pretending to drive them.

And, of course, not to be outdone, Sarah had to check out all the cool machines, too.  She really looks ready to hang out in the dump with her cute frilly hat!

Hyack Parade

Well, the rain may have been falling but that didn't stop us from going to the Hyack Parade.  We can't miss this parade!  James marched in it for many years and it's a tradition for us to go and watch all those participating in it now.

The morning started off with James taking Daniel to swimming lessons and me taking Adam and Sarah to stake out the perfect spot to watch the parade.  We met up with Gramma and Grampa and found a great spot.  Grampa was able to hook our big umbrella up to a sign post and kept us all dry and cozy.

Daniel and James soon arrived, as well as Gramma and Grampa's friends, Don and Marilynne.  We stayed pretty dry and enjoyed watching all the floats and marching bands who, unfortunately, were wetter than we were.  Daniel wasn't too thrilled being in the cold and rain and kept saying it was time to go home.  But Adam is his father's son and loved every minute of the parade.  He never took his eyes off it.  He especially loved the marching bands - he'd clap along to the music.  It was so cute!  Maybe we have a future drum major.  :)

Victoria Day Adventures

On Victoria Day, the whole family went out to Queen's Park for Family Day.  The first thing we did was head to the stadium to see the anvil salute.  E"It traces back to the days of Queen Victoria, and the unique innovation of igniting gunpowder placed between two anvils to provide the traditional "21 gun salute" to the sovereign on her birthday."  (That's what the Hyack Festival website told me.)  The anvil salute was very loud and, after hearing it twice, Adam insisted that we leave.  Daniel wasn't too thrilled with the loud noise either, but it didn't really faze Sarah! 

After our short viewing of the anvil salute, we wandered through the park to the dog agility show.  These dogs were no SuperDogs but it was fun to watch them race around and do tricks.

We headed over to the petting zoo and visited some goats, bunnies, pigs and ducks.  Sarah wasn't too interested.

But the boys had fun meeting all the animals.

Next was a trip over to the playground where our two daredevils could run and climb.

Sarah woke up and joined in the fun.

Then we splurged and let the boys each choose one amusement ride that they could go on.  Adam chose the cars.  (Good thing because I think it was the only ride he could go on without an adult!)

Daniel chose the helicopters.  The ride earned a thumbs up!

After a fun day, we decided the boys (and the parents) deserved a little treat.  We finally decided on Slurpees.  Daniel obviously enjoyed his first taste of Slurpee!

Poor Adam fell asleep before we even arrived at 7-11.  But Daniel was a nice big brother and saved some of his for his little brother.