Day with Jinny!!

Today, Elliot and I spend the afternoon with Jinny.  First on the list was a haircut for little guy.  Why can’t we all get haircuts like this??  Sitting on a cool car, watching your favourite movie?   Here we are at Beaners!!  When we arrived, Elliot ran, kicked his shoes off, and did a flying swan dive into these balls!!  Got to love his zest for life!!!

 Thomas the Train...one of his favorites!!

Beautiful Boy with a super new cut! 

Jinny bought a ‘hair’ elastic....literally. It was an elastic with hair on it! Looked like a dead rat when it lays in your hand....but put it in your hair, and you look like you’ve got talent to really DO your hair!! 

Time to hit Delicados for lunch after and then the whole reason for the trip: Costco!

We bought these amazing, fresh carrots!!  But the whole reason we went in was for chai tea!!  And we both walked out spending a tad more than we planned....but such is what it is when you go to Costco!!

This evening was musical Greys Anatomy AND Margarita Pajama Night!!

Ah Mel......nice you were up for some fun with your new purple tank top that your wonderful bought for you!!  You missed the last part of "Carts of Darkness".....but thats ok....it was fun while you were here til your eyes started closing!!!

Doesn't she make that look SO good??!! 

Time i spend with Jinny has always time well spent.  She has always talked with me so freely and i have always loved that nothing is off the table with her....my filter doesn't have to be turned on....which is often a huge relief!!  And the big bonus is that she loves my boys....all of them.

Mel....thank you for not making me drink my virgin margarita alone tonight....

it was a good day all round....

Everyone should start their morning like this:

 Here you go dad...as promised! 

Where i was standing this morning when we spoke. 

And the shot above?  A picture, again for my dad, of the best woodshed EVER!! 

With the best cut, dry wood I have ever burned!!  Amazing what men can do with their retirement!!

NEW HUMMER!!

We are just getting our coats on for a quick road trip to canadian tire for a new battery for it.  We're also going to throw Jon and Mel into the car -- its time for Tim Hortons Cold Stone ice cream tonight!!!

SUNDAY!!! or the "I am becoming more and more like my dad" blog post.

Last day of Spring Break and we wanted to make it FUN!!

"Something my dad would do" stunt #1: telling Nic that you could get up into the exhibit and pose with the mammoth.  I suggested she stand behind the trunk and put Adessa on the curve of the trunk.  She gets all excited and literally scoops the baby up and runs towards the mammoth to pose for the amazing shot.  I feel guilty last minute and tell her i was kidding.....there is an alarm that will go off {which isaac set off a little later......}!!!

Family shot by the sea lions..... 

 Finding Nemo.....

 A couple of tools.......

If you have ever been to this museum, you know that this is the 'train station' where the fogged out windows just light up like a train is pulling into the station, and then the lights fade like its pulling away.  "Something my dad would do stunt #2:  I tell Nic that when the train comes, we all get to get on and go for a ride around the museum and they give us popcorn to eat and its super exciting......she was pretty bummed when she saw that no door opened to let us on to the 'train'......

 Father-Daughter teachable moment caught on camera:

 "This is how you pick their nose...hilarious hey Danika?"

 i just loved this shot of Elliot

 Couple of great dads....

 Mel braved the afternoon with 2 families with crazy kids!!!  yay mel!!!

 Racing to the fountain!

 Enjoying a kidless moment!!

 Nic and I enjoying our view--nothing better than watching your man with your kids.....

 Moments after getting into the car......

SATURDAY.....

Today was a fun, beautiful and sunny day!!

This afternoon, as the "big boys" went goldpanning, the ratio on the homefront was 6:2, kids to moms!!

And was actually very ok!  When they started getting a little crazy before supper, they got kicked outside and here are some of the fun shots we caught of them all:

Beautiful Nic.....

Adessa....she's little, but she keeps up.

Olivia thought it would be a hilarious picture to put isaacs bat up to her neck for the shot......

Yup....as always, these two first to be seated.

CHEERS!!!!  nice elliot.....sheesh.

Time for bed......its FUN having girls for sleepovers.....

Isaac cried when it was time to disperse after the story was over.....

Chris tells him:  "sorry isaac, girls sleep in the the girls room, boys sleep in the boys room"

Isaac: "but you sleep with mom!!" 

Following my 6 year old....

After dinner we took a hike across the mountain to check out the trails that were cut this past weekend.

Isaac led the way....and do you want to know something?

When you are walking up mountain trails, you don't really look up.....

You look at the next step.

It was really something to be watching these 2 little blue boots leading me up a mountain.

Thinking to myself  'he is leading the family on this hike'

What an amazing thing it was.

Morning at Ikea!

 It was a beautiful morning in Vancouver with a gorgeous view at breakfast.

I had breakfast at the Pan Pacific with my old friend Yogi.  I met him when i was 17 as a camper and he became my friend.  Here we are almost 20 years later, having breakfast like old friends as though no time has passed.  It was a really special morning.

It was then off to Ikea to pick up the bookshelf that Nicole had been dreaming about for ages; we didn't really buy anything for ourselves, but the kids got to play for an hour at the Ikea playplace for an hour so chris and i could walk around on our own - it was lovely!!

We brought them their bookcase and they gave us dinner....good trade!!

 Here is Isaac, dreaming of holidays and catching a few rays!!

We did have plans to head down to see Susan, or perhaps head East to kelowna.....but when it came down to even getting ready to go to Vancouver...chris and i looked at eachtother wednesday morning and were just SO tired!!  I don't think we would have even gone to vancouver if we didn't have friends planning on us arriving.  I am so glad we went, and i feel blessed and thankful to be reminded that we have super nice friends.....but heading home on the 3pm boat was wonderful......nice to go away, awesome to come home!!

A night with old friends....

and yup, we are getting old.  We discussed gaining weight, feeling old....we laughed when jeff told me about him getting a little 'makeup' on for a commercial shoot earlier that morning when the make up girl kept going up and up on his head to take away the shine....you know, the place where guys used to have their hair?  Consensus was we definitely feel younger than we are!

Food was first on the list: Japanese = variety and lots of it!

{Isaac had his own dynamite roll!  Seaweed and all!!}

She makes me laugh.....all the time. 

 Can dress them up.......

 Next was swimming!!  Scott and Corinna got a sitter and Paul had no kids that week.....Would have been nice to have spent some time with their kids....so compared to how chaotic it could have been....its was quite chill with just the 4 kids {and the 7 big kids!}

 Underwater race about to start....but here we are watching as jeff took off a little too early!

{like my goggles???}

 Post-shot of being kicked in the shoulder by jeff on the first stroke, then

kicked in the gut on his second stroke!!

 My beautiful man!!

 Think Paul is up to no good?  probably......

 No swimming party is complete without launching children....

 Second Launch!!

Speaking of launching: she looks amazing, doesn't she? You'd never know

she was literally moments from launching her dinner!!

 Seriously....you would never know!

 do you remember as a kid being kicked into the other room to watch a movie so the adults could visit??  Well, here we are full circle!

 This was around 11....all the kids had impressive stamina......

 View from our amazing suite.....thank you Mike and Susan!!

 Little boy in a big bed......

It was a nice night and so good to see some old friends.