Bon Voyage

The bags are packed....well sort of packed....nothing like the last minute. The dog...he's not comig he just wanted to be in picture. I did manage to pack all of our stuff for the week in two suit cases and two carry-ons....pray that I am not over the weight limit of 50lbs per bag.

I am so excited to spend the week with my brother and sister in-law to be. They have a fun and action packed week planned for us. We fly in on Tuesday evening. Wednesday we are touring Seattle and having a BBQ at Hillary's lake house. Thursday we will see more of Seattle in the morning and then have another BBQ and out of town guest party at the lake house. On Thursday afternoon the American version of the Snow Birds are putting on a show right over the lake. Thursday late afternoon we go to Crystal Mountain. Friday we are going to Mount Ranier National Park and in the evening is rehearsal dinner followed by a live band and party. Saturday is the wedding at 7000 feet. We are taking two lifts and then walking another 45 minutes to get to the ceremony site....wish us luck! Sunday is rest and recover as well as brunch. Sunday night we are headed to the ocean for some more R & R. We will spend Monday and Tuesday ocean side before we fly out on Tuesday night.

See you in a week!

Parker Family Fun

Thanks Parker Family for another great day together!

Sitting

I have put Cooper on sitting up by himself training. It would be really convient for me if he was sitting independently before our trip to P.E.I in a few weeks....and it is all about me you know.

The Third Child

Being the third child child definitely has it's pros and cons. Some of the cons include constantly being woke from naps to go places, not napping in own crib, being dragged around all over the place. The pros include two siblings that provide constant entertainment and food....lots of yummy food....lots of yummy food on a quicker schedule then my two entertainers....lots of yummy food on a quicker schedule then my two entertainers because my mommy isn't so anal this time around.




Too bad all this food hasn't stopped Coop from waking 10 times a night.

The Weigh In...

Cooper was at the doctor this morning for his check up and his 6 months needles. He is 28 inches long which is the 95th percentile and weighs 17lbs 10oz which is the 50th percentile....a bean pole just like his dad.

He also had 2 needles in his legs. The first one went in and he looked at me with this confused and startled look and then the second went in and he screamed. I usually make sure Jason is there helping the nurse with the needles as I don't want him to be looking at me when he feels pain, but Jason has been in Toronto all week coaching the National Team so I sucked it up and went this time.

After, I sat in the waiting room and nursed him to help him get more comfortable. The monkey looked up at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and bit me harder than he has ever bit before. It was as if he was saying "TAKE THIS LADY." I wiped the tears from my eyes and came to terms with the fact that there was blood coming from an area one should ever see blood come from and we were on our way. Guess I wont be nursing him from the right side anytime soon.

Summer Camp

This week Riley and Simon have been going to summer camp at a Montessori school near our house. Riley is going 5 full days and Simon is going full days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Where's Waldo?

Checking on Simon in the night is a lot like playing Where's Waldo?

6 Months

We love you little man. You melt our hearts with your smile, giggles, coos and when you reach out to touch our faces and give us big slobbery kisses.

Happy Birthday Grandma

Last night we had Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner to celebrate Grandma's birthday. We had a terrific salmon dinner followed by a birthday cake from a new creamery in Barrie. Boy was it good!



After dinner we showed grandma the beautiful rainbow we ordered for her birthday.



The night finished with cuddling and stories.

Playing

I have been playing around with some of the settings in our new camera and I took this picture and I love it. What a handsome boy.

Mmmmmmm....peas

Last time I checked July was summer

We spent a very rainy and cool weekend at the cottage. Despite to weather we had a fantastic time together, there is just something calming and relaxing about being there.

We braved the weather and had some fun with water balloons, water squirtters and the little pool. Don't let the pool fool you, we filled it with hot water. At one point it was pouring rain and Riley was out there lounging in the hot water.




The pool may be tiny but the kids still found the space to jump in.






Newman was the only one brave enough to go into the cold lake


Kayaking in the rain




On Saturday afternoon Jason's parents arrived with a moving van full of furniture for the cottage. Jason's grandparents have recently moved into a retirement home so they had a lot of furniture that no longer fit into their new home. We helped move everything in while the kids crafted and Cooper napped.


We fished. Meet "the best fisherman in the world."



The fish he caught was this big...



How about this rainy day activity...take the kids to the dump to see the bears.




And of course there was lots of cuddles

Conversation with Simon

Riley and Simon were finger painting this morning....

Me: Simon, don't just spread paint all over the paper, make a picture.

Simon: I'm not spreading paint mommy, it's gusts of wind.

I stand corrected.

Our Beach

We have a beach...OK it's not totally ours but not many others use it - so let's call it ours. We packed a picnic dinner last night and headed out to our beach.

Cooper's first beach picnic.


I was trying to take some photos of Riley and she explained to me that she has to be in a pose first. Here's her poses.



Simon was finding great joy in smashing sand castles. I love our new camera it is so rapid and it has a slimming feature...what else can you ask for?

Friday with Laurel

Laurel came to spend the day with us on Thursday. While the boys were napping the girls went to the park.

20 Minute Challenge

We all participated in the Running Room 20 minute challenge. The 20 minute challenge is an anual event that encourages people to be active through running or walking for 20 minutes. We meet down by the waterfront, received our hats and off we went.

Everyone has their hat on and is ready to go....no hat for Jason....they don't make hats big enough to fit his huge melon....he tries to tell me it's all brains, I don't buy that for a minute.


Simon ran the entire time. Riley ran most of but was complaining of stomach aches (yes, still stomach aches!!!) at the end so she walked with Jason and Cooper.

Elmvale Zoo with Nancy and Owen

On Thursday, we spent the day with Nancy and Owen at the Elmvale Zoo. The kids ran...literally ran... through the zoo only stopping for any length of time at the animals you could feed and the park.