Aloha Winter

I realize it's been a bit, and I have pictures that need posting. These ones were taken in the last snow fall. We headed outside quickly to play and realized that the snow was ideal for a snowman. I was lacking a bit on carrots and stones for the eyes, as well as a scarf, so we improvised. Lucy decided that reusing some of the long grass that we have in abundance out here for hair was a great idea, and our snowman quickly turned into a snowgirl. She's paying homage to warmer days I guess.
The kids have enjoyed having snow and the idea of it, but the actual execution of putting on a lot of layers and playing outside and getting cold and wet quickly dampens the excitement. Having runny noses, doesn't help the situation either. We all came back inside and each had a cup of warm apple cider.
Later that night, as I was working on the computer organizing some primary things, Max decided to start up another round of his favorite game: "Find the largest pair of shoes and try to walk around with them on." Maybe he's practicing for some snowshoeing event I am unaware of.

Before the Snow

Because we knew the weather was going to be changing quickly, we decided to take a quick trip to the zoo while it was still decent. We ended up being some of the only people at the zoo and decided to go and visit some of the animals that we rarely see. We ventured into the "Creatures of the Night" section, which we have avoided in the past, due to Lucy's fear. The kids were pretty interested this time, and we were able to see some pretty great amphibians. Usually if we can relate an animal to one that Lucy has seen on a movie sometime, then she's pretty ok with it. Here's a Dragonhead lizard similar to the one on Nim's Island.
We had a pretty great time, and the kids enjoyed playing at the park with no competition. With the change from Daylight savings, we left the zoo in the near cover of dark, and Max fell asleep pretty quickly on the ride home. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air. We're all suffering from sore throats and colds today, so it makes me especially grateful for our day out yesterday, since we'll be staying pretty close to home for the next few.
And here's a shot of our little gymnast, Max.
He has amazing balance and loves to stand on anything and everything. I attribute it to his massive calf muscles. He has spent most of his standing/walking days on his tip-toes and that has created some pretty significant stubs.

Patriotism and Parties

It's been a while since I posted anything here, so i thought I'd cover all the major events of the past month. Lucy's uncle Jason is getting married in just a little over a month, and Lucy gets to be one of the flower girls. We've attempted putting curlers in her hair a few times to see if we can come up with a hairstyle that will work for the wedding.
She looks like a little old lady (minus the housecoat and wrinkles) with the curlers in, and unfortunately the hair doesn't look much better when the curlers come out. A little too boufant for me. We'll keep trying.

Max celebrated his 3rd month birthday as well. The chub in the legs and face indicate that he is healthy...and the silly grin indicates he's happy.

A few weeks ago the whole family was able to head over to Riley park to celebrate Emma's 2nd birthday. It was a bit of a chilly day, but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying time in the wadding pool. We had fun watching the kids play, eating lunch and watching Emma quickly open a few presents before the downpour was upon us. The best surprise of all was when Mike and Tammy announced that they were pregnant again by showing everyone a t-shirt for Emma that said, "I'm a big sister". Tears and hugs were enjoyed by all. We got a picture of all the kids at the party and I had told Lucy that she wasn't allowed to have a cupcake until after the picture...as you can see from the photo, Saydee Walker had a cupcake and Lucy couldn't manage to keep her eyes off of it long enough to smile for the camera.
This past weekend I spent Thursday and Thursday nigh at girls camp, while Tyler watched the kids solo. My first night away from my kids in a year. It was fun to go out and spend time with my girls and goof around. The weather was only so-so, but we enjoyed playing games in the "river house" and eating some most excellent food. i can't share too many details unfortunately, because we agreed that what happens at girls camp, stays at girls camp.

On Canada Day Sunday, our family wore our patriotic red and white to church and enjoyed singing all the verses of O Canada in Sacrament Meeting...a rare treat. Even more rare is the singing of the national anthem with out a puck drop at the end!
It's been a pretty great month.