My sweet baby boy made this for me. It was rolled up like a scroll. He is such a giant mushball. I love the rose and violet he drew. So awesome. I have so many treasures he has made for me. I love them all. What are you loving today?

School supplies and gorgeous boys

School supply shopping was in full force this weekend. We got off pretty good and having boys means they don't want any back to school clothes. Score! A couple of $3 haircuts and they are good to go.

Cold here today. Not too much going on. Craig did do this for me, though. They are 12x12 pictures and I think the collage is just awesome. Man are those guys cute!

new roof and a comment

After two full days of mess everywhere, we have a new roof. All for the bargain price of $500 and a bottle of Tylenol. It really looks great. I'm thrilled with the results. My neighbor is jealous and even got their business card to have his roof redone. I think he is waiting for another hail storm!

Friday already. Can't believe it. I don't know where this week has gone. We only have one week left of summer vacation. I don't know where the summer has gone! I was so concerned at the beginning of the summer that it would be so long but it has gone so smoothly. We have really been blessed with nice weather, a sprinkling of activities, two great kids, a visit from family and a lot of smiles.

Just wanted to mention one thing that I am so happy about. Many families cannot boast about loving their immediate family and their in-laws the way I can. I am so blessed to come from a great family and having been welcomed into another. This weekend my mom and dad, and Stan and Shirley will be spending the day together. I love that. My parents and my in-laws are friends. That rocks. I love them all so much and I love the fact that I never think of my in-laws as "out-laws".

Not too much planned for this weekend. Craig has had a huge week that culminated with him having to leave for work an extra half hour early today (5:30am). I am hoping there is football on this weekend (did I actually say that???) so that he can sit down, snack on his wasabi peas, and chillax.

Hope your weekend is great.

Oodles of Doodles

Went to our last Waterfront Trail program this morning. The boys loved it. It was about cartooning. Right up their alley. They loved it and immediately went up to their desks to continue drawing once we got home. While they will never make their living as artists, they do a really good job. It was fun watching them tackle the challenge of working within the parameters set out by the instructor. These programs have been great and we have enjoyed 4 of them this summer. These free programs are really something and I will definitely keep my eyes open for them next year, if the boys want to participate.

The roof is almost done and I'll be glad for the end of the mess and pounding. It looks great so far. You don't realize how ugly orange shingles are until they put brown ones one! I'll post some pictures of the roof tomorrow.

Aaahhhh

So cute! Our dog is the best. He is now one of the Flying Walendas! After 5 years of him not being able to jump on the couch, he has mastered this and now flies through the air with ease. He sometimes follows you from room to room just so he can show off his jumping skillz! It's like,"watch me, watch me, I can do it, I can do it!". He has also learned to jump up onto our bed. Thankfully he is well enough trained that he knows when he gets put back on the floor he doesn't try to get up again.

Today everyone slept in, I did the laundry, we all had breakfast, watched some TV, did yoga, went for a bike ride (the boys), did some crafty stuff, read, and are now going to watch Harry Potter 4. The boys have never wanted to watch the Harry Potter movies but now they are really into them. We have watched 1-3 so tonight is the night for #4. Should be good.

A very happy birthday to my dear mom-in-law, Shirley. We love you so much and hope you loved our very off-key and LOUD Happy Birthday cha cha cha! We love you!

Saturday

The weather is beautiful. The sun is shining. The kids are playing in the pool and laughter is in the air. One of Kaedo's friends is over today and they are having a blast playing in the pool and jumping on the trampoline. I had to snap a couple of pictures of them. Not too much planned for this weekend. Craig is working on Sterling's old bike, I am just hanging out - reading a Rapid Read book from the Library (7 day loan) and watching the boys play. Kaedo's friend has to be home at 2:30pm, so I don't know what we will do after that. I know tonight we plan to watch "17 again" with hottie Zac Efron. Looking forward to that!

Sex Shop

Drove by a sex shop this morning and the sign outside of the building said the following:

"Do you want that Supersized?"

oh my!
Something funny to start my Friday!

Thursday already. I can't believe that Stan and Shirley have been gone for two days. We had such a wonderful visit. So fun and easy. The boys loved having them here, as did we.
The roofers are getting started in the next week or so, so I am not so anxiously waiting for the sound of construction at 7:30am. Oh well, a new roof for the cost of a deductible is money well spent.
Today we found ourselves at the orthodontist for Sterling's monthly appointment. He had a track that had come loose and he didn't even know. Also, two of his other teeth had come in far enough for him to get two more tracks put on. Dr. Pong says not too much longer before the bottoms ones get put on. He will have had his braces 1 year in October. Man, time has gone by fast.
After the ortho we headed up to the library so Kaedo could do his final book report of the summer. They have read and reported enough to get an invitation for an end of summer party at the library, so that is fun. Once we got home they went out for a walk to Zellers and Dollarama and then came back here and played in the pool for an hour. They have just asked what their daily chore is and have headed downstairs into the cool basement to watch some TV.
Craig is working from home tomorrow and then the weekend will be upon us. Looking forward to that.
Also looking forward to the next round of company coming to visit. Jessica (Ken - maybe) and family and mom and dad. So looking forward to seeing everyone and getting my hands on my cutie nieces.

Memories

Stan and Shirley's last full day here. We spent the morning sitting outside, chatting. The boys played in the pool and then they went to the park where they played some games and took these pictures. Yes, that is Ketchup going down the slide. Poor bugger.

We have had a great visit and I can't believe they are leaving tomorrow. It has been just terrific and we have all enjoyed being together.

The boys have had so much fun. They have been to McDonald's for lunch and many ice cream treats. They have been strawberry picking, to Cedar Park, to the movies, the zoo and spent the morning "triathloning". It is when I am doing posts like this that I miss living in the West, close to our families.

Thank you, Stan and Shirley - for a wonderful visit. We love you.

The Triathelete

Kaedo took part in the Kids Of Steel Triathlon today. Can I just say we are so proud of him? He did awesome. He came in 31 out of 44 kids in his age group which I think is remarkable. He had to swim 150m, bike 10km and run 2km in 30 degree weather. He did not train at all aside from running the course once and biking it once. He was the only kid in his age group that rode a BMX bike. He just did awesome. He pushed himself so hard that when he finished the race, he puked! Craig says that is how you know you've worked harder than hard. It was great that Stan and Shirley were here as they got to witness his greatness and cover all the photo taking bases. The last picture is how I found him an hour after the race. Conked out on the couch. He recovered well though, and spent some of the afternoon/eve in the pool swimming his heart out.

A great way to spend a sunny Sunday in August.

Spent part of the day today at the zoo. It was a lot of fun and Craig got a lot of exercise pushing Shirley in her wheelchair. I'm so glad we were able to get one, as Shirley wouldn't have been able to walk as much as we did. 28 degrees today. It was so hot!

Self-portrait - Sterling holding the camera and taking their picture in the van

At the water park at the Zoo

My favorite picture of the polar bears.

Kaedo's shadow with his antlers on

The fam

Petting the stingrays at Stingray Bay. Kaedo was just amazed at this.

He absolutely loved petting them.

Unfortunately the sharks were staying in the middle of the pool so we didn't

get a chance to pet them.

We picked up Kaedo's race kit, had some lunch and then I took the boys for $2.99 haircuts. You can't get a better deal than that. The boys are playing in the pool, Craig is mowing the lawn, Shirley is reading a book, Stan is snoozing and all is well here.

Thursday Already???

I can't believe that Stan and Shirley have already been here for two days. Man, does time ever fly. Yesterday was spent in the pool and on the trampoline (Stan and the boys) and Stan and Kaedo were sunburned last night - and tired!
Today they went to Cedar Park and Shirley tells me they had a fantastic time. I can't believe she didn't take any pictures. She can't believe she didn't take any pictures! The kids jumped off the diving board ("like 50 times, mom!"). I don't know what they have planned for tomorrow but the weather is great and I'm sure it will involve outdoor play.
Saturday we are all going to get up early and head to the zoo and show off our great zoo to the westerners.
Kaedo had a special request for gramma - to bring some of her books from Saskatchewan so she could read to him. So, a few books came East as well as "gramma's magic back scratching fingers". The boys have given me NO trouble going to sleep at night. How long can you stay Shirley?
Sunday Kaedo is in a triathlon. So exciting. He has to do 150m swim, 10KM ride and 2KM run. He has done the ride a couple of times with Craig and practiced his laps today. We are all excited and none of us are volunteering as we don't want to miss a minute of the excitement.
That's about it for us. Hope everyone is doing well.

Antis beautiful girls

My cutie nieces. Just love them to bits. These are just a couple of the great pictures that Jessica and Ken had taken. While Avery is beautiful, Emma takes my breath away. I think so much of that has to do with how much I love her and how much she loves me. I can't wait to meet Avery and start forging that bond with her as well. I am the only Anti they have and they are stuck with me. I'm so happy for that. September 23 is the big day. A darling new baby in the house and my sweet Emma here to visit. Did I mention they are bringing their mom? and Amma and Baba? More company to look forward to.

Beach Bums

Or should I say "Backyard Bums???"

My surfer dudes rock!

Love these pictures (and I've got ton of them!!!). Summer is going great and I can't believe it is half over. We've had some fun and are looking forward to Stan and Shirley's visit. The boys can't wait and either can we.

I thought I could stay away

Saturday we had the great opportunity to go to Indigo Books at the Yorkdale Mall and go to the Jeff Smith Book Signing. Jeff Smith writes the BONE books and started writing them in 1991. Since then he has written 10 books in this series. Sterling has read 9 of them and now proudly owns the 10th. It was super exciting. We got to the mall at about 12:45pm (signing was at 2pm) and there were already at least 150 people in line. We had to go upstairs and stand in line and then in spurts they let us down the stairs and to the main signing area. Sterling was so good and patient and didn't ask me 400 times "how much longer". We waited in line and finally at 2:50pm we got to the front of the line. Jeff Smith was so cool. He not only signed Sterling's book he also did a little drawing on it. Sterling was just thrilled. It isn't too often that you get the chance to do something like this. It was a total fluke that we even knew about it. I was skulking the Chapters website a couple of weeks ago and saw that a new BONE book was being released. After some searching I found out that Jeff Smith was doing the signing and that it was his ONLY Canadian appearance. What luck! A pat on the back to the cool mom in this story! I rock!