A Day at the Farm

Today was Zachary's 6th birthday, and as he made such a point of inviting us a couple of weeks ago, we thought we would spend some time there! The kids had a lot of fun (as always - they usually all get along pretty well) and Zach was thrilled to have so many people at his party. Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Piet came, as well as Uncle John and Aunt Kim with Olivia and Aaron. Sadly, the rest of the cousins were ill and could not make it.

The day in pictures:

All outfitted in coveralls to go into the barn (no street clothes allowed)

Farmer Brian - very stern.

Hmmm.... think they're related???

The younger group pigging out on fruit. Oh, and chocolate.

Happy Birthday Zachary! Even Uncle Pieter got a hat (can you see him? Kind of like Where's Waldo)

Grandpa had Micah smiling - so cute! You can almost see his dimples!

Natalie's New Do

BEFORE:


(I was making peanut butter cookies - she was helping clean up by licking the beater ...)

AND AFTER:

WOW! She really is a little girl!

(She was really tired, and her blankies just came out of the dryer, so she wouldn't smile for me)

Not Again!!!

WHAT IS THIS???

The calendar says it's spring

My crocusses think it's spring - they're blooming

The robins think it's spring - they're back

Why won't winter go AWAY?

Easter Weekend

We had a very nice Easter weekend. Friday we heard a lovely sermon in the morning, then came home to get ready for dinner. We had Chad and Erin and family as well as Tante Janny (Art's great aunt) and Kina Meinen (she and Tante Janny are pretty much inseparable) over. The kids always like to have the "ladies" over, and of course they brought treats... buns from Eastway bakeshop (Melanie had been to visit T Janny during the March Break) and candy for the kids.

Deanna helped in the afternoon setting the table and making place cards for everyone. Amanda helped with those too. I should have taken a picture of the table, it looked so pretty, but I was a little busy.

Anyway, we had a very nice dinner, after which Chad and Erin were introduced to the Wii. I think they'll be over more often .... :).

In the afternoon, the kids painted eggs, always a fun activity... even Tim got into it still.

I had also picked up these pretty tulips the day before. Just needed a little touch of spring!

Saturday morning, we had a flock of these birds in our spruce tree out front:

(I took these pictures on high zoom through the front window...)

We did some Internet research, and deduced that they were cedar waxwings. Aren't they pretty? Apparently they are native to SW Ontario, but I don't think I've ever seen one. They eat berries, so now the kids want to plant berry bushes to attract them! Later when we went to the library, Deanna hunted down birding books, and was busy the rest of the day identifying every bird in the back yard. Mostly grackles, but also robins and a red-winged blackbird.

During the March Break, Monica came over one day with the kids to try out the Wii. Here's some pictures of Zoe and Amanda bowling. They had a hoot!

That's it for now! Have a good day...

You know when...

...you set the timer on the coffeemaker before you go to bed. Then you anticipate that lovely first cup of coffee in the morning, and you come downstairs,
and there is water in the coffeemaker...
and coffee grounds in the coffeemaker...
and all the right lights are on...
...but there is NO coffee in the coffeemaker....

I hate when that happens.
I'm buying a new coffeemaker this morning.

We're Still Here...

....just a little busy this week. March Break and all. It's been good, so far. Found a HUGE Barbie house for the girls on Kijiji (I love that site!) so that's been keeping them busy. It has an elevator, even! Three stories.... lots of furniture and cool accessories... it's about 4.5 feet tall . I'll post pictures one day.

Tomorrow we are off to Jarvis for the day, and Burlington on Saturday for Grandpa's birthday celebration. We won't even think of John and Kim on the beach in Florida. HA!

Today I had another endodontist appointment, to replace the temporary fillings he put in last month. (This is still clean-up from when they removed the growth in my gum last fall). I understood that this would be the end of it, but no.... I have to go to MY dentist in a week or two so he can put permanent fillings in those two teeth. I almost cried when they said that. But WHY???? Why didn't they just put permanent fillings in today??? Why do I have to spend another hour in a dentists' chair? ? Not to mention the $$$$. Ugh.

On that note.... I'd better go see what I can find to make for dinner. Nothing too chewy. Or crunchy.

This One's for Grandpa....

I got some new toys this week. They provide endless entertainment for the kids. Natalie comes to get me from wherever I am: "Come on, Mom, it's turning!" Who needs TV? Yesterday (snow day) I had Allison, Amanda and Natalie fighting for prime spots in front of the washer as they looked for their clothes in it "Hey, there's my shirt!" "Look, my pyjamas!"


Art built that lovely platform to save my back. He also moved the laundry area out from behind the furnace to make it more accessible. We plan to put a counter up yet, so I can fold laundry down there instead of on our bed. So far I am very impressed with the machines. Who knew laundry could be fun??

I also found some neat Polar Expedition Lego for Tim on Kijiji. Natalie has discovered the joys of Lego, while watching the spin cycle...



More snow on the way tomorrow.... sigh.....

Yet Another Snow Day.... Is It Spring YET???

The girls went out to build a snowman after lunch (I told them it was recess time). It's not that cold out, the sun is shining, and the snow is packing! They had fun...


Natalie was out with them for a few minutes. Then she wanted to paint. Usually she is very good at using the paint brushes, but today... not so much! I was busy folding laundry. I should have clued in when she was SO quiet!

Tim spent about 2 hours shovelling driveways this morning, and came home with $45 to show for it! He's done pretty well for himself this winter. We'll see how many lawns he can mow in the summer. Ours, at least!

Let's hope that this is the last snow day of the season, and that spring will come soon. Isn't that what the groundhogs predicted?

We're Back!

We're home from Niagara Falls, and done with vacationing. Until camping season, anyway.... Americana was great, we had a really good time. The kids LOVED the water park! I don't have time to post pictures right now, but if you follow this link, you can see my facebook photo album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29420&l=403d4&id=590392442

Now it's back to reality, and I have to go to the library, the grocery store, and clean my house. Sigh.