Today we had a fabulous time. We got up bright and early (read before 6) and started our day. Big C has been asking 'What's on offer for breakfast?' - a true sign that he's in for the meal plan that we've started up where we rotate through a variety of healthy options and they get to enjoy lots of different types of meals. Monkey was up soon after Big C and was raring to go. By 8 am we had played gone through all of our items for the day. To explain further, each boy gets to play a learning game on his own and they also get to play a game together. It's a fun was to cover learning skills, math, reading, gamesmanship and teamwork. It went very smoothly and the boys did very well. We also cleaned out the Tupperware cupboards - phew they were a mess.
Looking for something to do I decided to check out the local library to see if they had any reading times. Instead of this program, they offer 'Agent 009' - a crime solving / reading program geared to kids 5-10. I packed the kids in the car and we were off. Monkey did really well. He sat on the mat, took in all of the instructions and even made his own detective badge. He listened very closely to the stories and chose a book at the end to read for next week. It features a monster that can't scare anyone, so he decides to make a friend instead. It was pretty cool and I spent much of the time in another part of the library reading a huge train book to Big C. He chose a book about contruction vehicles to bring home. Go figure.
We stopped by daddy's work (hoping to find his iPod on his desk, but no...arrgh) and then came home for lunch.
After a little bit of play we had junk afternoon. The boys had picked out 'The Velveteen Rabbit' as a video to bring home. I recall the heartwarming story and knew that it would be kid friendly. Little did I suspect that it would clearly impress upon our children the joy, preciousness and life-long friendship that one can have in a rabbit. They aren't asking for Richard to come back any time soon, but they did suggest to me that 'bunnies are all bad daddy. This one is nice and would never bother mommy's garden'. I doubt we'll be swaying mommy or daddy's opinion on rabbits anytime soon, though if you know the story it made me hug my little boys a LOT. Likely the most precious, and tear-jerking, part of the movie was when Monkey realized the little boy was really, really sick. He said very comfortingly 'it's Ok, daddy. Kids can't die. He'll be alright.'. We had a good discussion about this, and that some kids do no matter how hard their parents try and how much they love them. It was really tough. There were plenty of hugs and daddy tears to go around.
I really love my boys and am looking forward to a wonderful summer together.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mimi's Farewell BBQ
Mimi is heading back for Finland this Saturday :(
To celebrate her 10 months in Canada we held a BBQ for family and friends on Friday night :)
Grandma and grandpa had just returned from Finland and the surrounding area - with really silly hats and gorgeous t-shirts for the boys. Here are the little ones being....monkeys!
We had a great time at the barbecue and the rain was good enough to hold off until after the party. There was plenty of good food, good friends and lots of fun. As a farewell gift from our family we presented Mimi with two mugs, each with the handprints of two members of our family. (check out the Canada flag in the background that's she's been having her friends sign to take back home)
She's truly one of us and always will be. We'll miss you Mimi. 
To celebrate her 10 months in Canada we held a BBQ for family and friends on Friday night :)
Grandma and grandpa had just returned from Finland and the surrounding area - with really silly hats and gorgeous t-shirts for the boys. Here are the little ones being....monkeys!
We had a great time at the barbecue and the rain was good enough to hold off until after the party. There was plenty of good food, good friends and lots of fun. As a farewell gift from our family we presented Mimi with two mugs, each with the handprints of two members of our family. (check out the Canada flag in the background that's she's been having her friends sign to take back home)
She's truly one of us and always will be. We'll miss you Mimi. 
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Great WB family treasure hunt!
Goal : To find the missing iPod (lost last Wednesday somewhere between parking our car at grandma & grandpa's house and Thursday afternoon when daddy left for commencement at his school)
Challenge : Have turned the house upside down (making it thus quite clean in the process) and we haven't found it.
Rules: First to turn in the iPod receives a fantastic mystery prize *
*please note that in this case there will actually be a prize of reasonable value
Good luck!!
Challenge : Have turned the house upside down (making it thus quite clean in the process) and we haven't found it.
Rules: First to turn in the iPod receives a fantastic mystery prize *
*please note that in this case there will actually be a prize of reasonable value
Good luck!!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Ok, Ok....
Here's some photos of the little guy.
(plus some of the rest of us goofs from the weekend spent with grandma and grandpa W...more to follow)
grandpa W reading Big C some books with Monkey looking on:
Grandpa and Monkey building a wooden bulldozer together and having a great time:
Big C giving daddy his father's day present and the boys getting together for pictures:
(plus some of the rest of us goofs from the weekend spent with grandma and grandpa W...more to follow)
grandpa W reading Big C some books with Monkey looking on:
Grandpa and Monkey building a wooden bulldozer together and having a great time:
Big C giving daddy his father's day present and the boys getting together for pictures:
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Medeival Fair Part II
The conclusion of the sword 'sampling' we decided to check out the last place at the Medieval Fair. They had a little set up for displaying some people in traditional attire and their skills. It looked like they were just hanging out next to the fire, so we were going to pass by. Instead, they invited us in to throw spears at a hay bale (or rather lump of hay by this time in the fair) and axes at the target. Here are the boys taking their turns, which they were just thrilled with:
and the grown-ups.
Here's R taking her turn in full flight:
P hurling his spear and nailing his axe right in the middle of the target:
and daddy throwing his spear, then getting the axe to bounce off the target backwards:
Thankfully it just thumped to the ground.
Upon saying goodbye to the fair we were off to the Upper Canada Village itself. In comparison to the Medieval aspect it was a bit of a let down. The buildings were cool, but not to a 5-year-old who just saw jousting and threw a spear. The highlights did include the following:
The really big look out tower where we spent a few minutes looking for pirate ships, treasure and buried buckets of fish (trick pirate treasure that they hide when people follow any 'fake' maps that the pirates have laid out)
The really big rock that 5-year-olds can climb and then jump off of:
and the mill with huge gears in the basement
that had some really big fish in behind it.
that had some really big fish in behind it.
All-in-all it was a lot of fun. The boys got to bring home big pieces of wool, which P and daddy then tried to turn into big goofy mustaches.
Are you sure that the two of us have to grow up??
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Saje 800,000, Richard 0
Yep, zero. Richard never even got a point on the board. I put the trap out on Saturday, June 13 at 9:45. By Sunday, June 14 at 8:40, Richard was in the cage. 
I had honestly given him more credit than that.
Richard, you were a very unworthy advosary.
The boys and I drove him out to Greeley and dropped him off at the McEwens gas station.
It is right next to some lovely green space with lots of trees.
I hope he is having a ball.
I had honestly given him more credit than that.Richard, you were a very unworthy advosary.
The boys and I drove him out to Greeley and dropped him off at the McEwens gas station.
It is right next to some lovely green space with lots of trees.I hope he is having a ball.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A Day with Monkey at the Medieval Fair
Today we ventured out to Morrisburg to visit Upper Canada Village and check out the Medieval fair that was here for the weekend. Monkey and I linked up with the B family while mommy and Big C stayed home so that he could nap after he'd already been to swimming and fun church. We arrived at the gates at 2:05 and were told to hussle back to the Medieval Fair area as the last jousting of the day was to start at 2:15. We made it in plenty of time and found a good spot.
The jousting stuff was actually pretty cool. There was a lot of showmanship (read half an hour of lead-up stuff before they actually got to jousting) which was well received all around. They started by introducing everyone and our section was to cheer for Sir Timothy of England. Cool.
The boys were impressed with all of the armour. Here's one of the knights up close.
In terms of the action, the kinghts all started off by spiking a lance into a bull's eye on a bale of hay. Our guy won, so the kids were ecstatic.
Next came the 'slice an apple of the head of a subject'. Paul and I weren't sure how the summer student missed seeing this as part of his summer job, but hey - 10 bucks an hour is 10 bucks an hour. The first two knights womped the poor guy on the side of the head, but here's the third knight slicing the apple clear in half. It was quite impressive to do this with a full sword at a running gallop.
Next came the actual jousting. It was pretty cool I must say. The 3rd and 4th place knights from the first 2 competitions squared off and did pretty well. Then our knight and the 2nd place knight took centre stage. There were some impressive smashing of the lances, like this one that I captured on the camera and uploaded all by myself to the blog.
After this we were off to the rest of the Medieval Fair. The boys were drawn right to the trubuchet exhibit. They made a little castle wall and had 3 catapults lined up in a row to shoot at them. The boys each launched 3 rounds of golf balls at the windows of the castle. It was a hoot and Monkey and E-man tried tirelessly to get one in. Monkey was sooooo close so many times, and then this happened:
I think that the video says it all.
The boys checked out the knights fighting with swords.
We also checked out the swords that they had for sale. Please note that neither boy came home with a sword. CHEO is already busy enough. They did however pose with their swords for some photos.
(more on this to come...I took lots and lots of photos)
The jousting stuff was actually pretty cool. There was a lot of showmanship (read half an hour of lead-up stuff before they actually got to jousting) which was well received all around. They started by introducing everyone and our section was to cheer for Sir Timothy of England. Cool.
The boys were impressed with all of the armour. Here's one of the knights up close.
In terms of the action, the kinghts all started off by spiking a lance into a bull's eye on a bale of hay. Our guy won, so the kids were ecstatic.Next came the 'slice an apple of the head of a subject'. Paul and I weren't sure how the summer student missed seeing this as part of his summer job, but hey - 10 bucks an hour is 10 bucks an hour. The first two knights womped the poor guy on the side of the head, but here's the third knight slicing the apple clear in half. It was quite impressive to do this with a full sword at a running gallop.
Next came the actual jousting. It was pretty cool I must say. The 3rd and 4th place knights from the first 2 competitions squared off and did pretty well. Then our knight and the 2nd place knight took centre stage. There were some impressive smashing of the lances, like this one that I captured on the camera and uploaded all by myself to the blog.After this we were off to the rest of the Medieval Fair. The boys were drawn right to the trubuchet exhibit. They made a little castle wall and had 3 catapults lined up in a row to shoot at them. The boys each launched 3 rounds of golf balls at the windows of the castle. It was a hoot and Monkey and E-man tried tirelessly to get one in. Monkey was sooooo close so many times, and then this happened:
I think that the video says it all.
The boys checked out the knights fighting with swords.
We also checked out the swords that they had for sale. Please note that neither boy came home with a sword. CHEO is already busy enough. They did however pose with their swords for some photos.
(more on this to come...I took lots and lots of photos)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Climbing the walls!
Here are the boys on Sunday morning. 
I came downstairs and Big C was climbing straight up the wall! 
Monkey ran out the second the camera came out,
ever the ham for the camera he started making faces for me right away 
I came downstairs and Big C was climbing straight up the wall! 
Monkey ran out the second the camera came out,
ever the ham for the camera he started making faces for me right away 
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Richard's First Video Vignette
So that was prior to 9:45 am so no points yet accumulated. Lets see how long he makes it.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
An Open Letter
Dear Mr Bunny,
You have been living off of the avails of my yard for long enough. It is time for you to leave. If the recurrent barking emanating from both my husband and my children, bless their barking little hearts, has not been sufficient to get this point across, now you have it.
After you chewed holes through my hockey net just to get to the other side, I had enough. Just in case you are a Mrs Bunny, I have waited long enough into the season that your (potential) little bunnies will be fine without you. I think that was generous of me, you are free to disagree.
Here are the rules. They are the same as Stephen King's "Running Man" with three notable exceptions. I'm not sure if you've had time to read it in between visits to my garden, but you really should pick up a copy, it is a pretty good read. If you don't have time to read it, apparently it was made in to a Movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Richard (for our purposes, would be your role).
So here are the rules. I set the trap tonight at 9:45. For every 24 hours you stay outside of it you get two points. In the end, I am looking to trap you. When I do that, I get 800,000 points. If you make it to the one month mark, I'll give you 800,000 points plus the ones you've earned up to then. The notable exceptions are as follows, 1-I am not going to move the trap, so I am not really "hunting you"; 2-you are not expected to send in any video vignettes to prove you are still alive we'll take a "no news is good news" sort of approach to this thing; and 3-I am not trying to kill you, just re-locate you.
So Mr(s) Bunny. ITS ON
You have been living off of the avails of my yard for long enough. It is time for you to leave. If the recurrent barking emanating from both my husband and my children, bless their barking little hearts, has not been sufficient to get this point across, now you have it.
After you chewed holes through my hockey net just to get to the other side, I had enough. Just in case you are a Mrs Bunny, I have waited long enough into the season that your (potential) little bunnies will be fine without you. I think that was generous of me, you are free to disagree.Here are the rules. They are the same as Stephen King's "Running Man" with three notable exceptions. I'm not sure if you've had time to read it in between visits to my garden, but you really should pick up a copy, it is a pretty good read. If you don't have time to read it, apparently it was made in to a Movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Richard (for our purposes, would be your role).
So here are the rules. I set the trap tonight at 9:45. For every 24 hours you stay outside of it you get two points. In the end, I am looking to trap you. When I do that, I get 800,000 points. If you make it to the one month mark, I'll give you 800,000 points plus the ones you've earned up to then. The notable exceptions are as follows, 1-I am not going to move the trap, so I am not really "hunting you"; 2-you are not expected to send in any video vignettes to prove you are still alive we'll take a "no news is good news" sort of approach to this thing; and 3-I am not trying to kill you, just re-locate you.
So Mr(s) Bunny. ITS ON
An update on the pox
We seem to on the mend. He is still getting Banadryl every 6hours and is not eating up to his full appetite yet, but we are seeing improvements. 
We'll just have to wait and see now if his brother (who was innoculated at 2.5 years old) ends up catching it or not.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Update on the little guy
Here are some shots of Big C this morning. I apologize for the blurriness, but it's hard to get either one of them to be still in the morning.
He's being such a little trooper through all of this. It seems that the little bumps aren't bothering him as he's kept his hands away from them so far. He's got 100 or so little bumps.
His big brother has been just super through all of this. He's been helping him when they play and his attitude towards his little brother has been above reproach. I wonder if he realizes that when someone's sick they need you that much more. Monkey's maturing so beautifully it's hard to imagine the kid that we had 12 months ago. Thank you mommy for all of your work in making him a beautiful young man.
He's being such a little trooper through all of this. It seems that the little bumps aren't bothering him as he's kept his hands away from them so far. He's got 100 or so little bumps.
His big brother has been just super through all of this. He's been helping him when they play and his attitude towards his little brother has been above reproach. I wonder if he realizes that when someone's sick they need you that much more. Monkey's maturing so beautifully it's hard to imagine the kid that we had 12 months ago. Thank you mommy for all of your work in making him a beautiful young man.
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