and the "babies" are.....

• FIVE!!
• super excited to be on the brink of opening some gifts
• giving me cheesy grins with their cakes

I tried a birthday party for the two of them together.  They were both allowed to pick 3 friends.  One little girl couldn't come. That made seven 5 year olds under my care for 2.5 hours.
I learnt something about myself.
A kindergarten teacher I am not.  Next time I won't be trying to mix boys and girls again!

Sure am thankful for these two, though, everyday brings another bit of fun!

Today

There are many things I would like to share but here's the picture of the day.

The spot to the far left still has the underlay on top of it but unfortunately the water kept on going...

There was a lot of water to make it that wet.  Now detectives, where, when and how did that water come??!?!

ps.  the girls would like you to know that was REALLY stinky.
pps.  with much thankfulness I would like to say that Leah's room, aside from the closet was totally okay.
ppps.  this was all done thanks to Steve and my Dad who showed up and stayed for the day. Not only did he help rip out flooring but he perfected the plumbing so the washing machine now drains directly into the pump hole instead of first into my laundry tub.  Therefore, my laundry tub is now functioning as a tub instead of a drain!  Now to first get it clean :)
pppps. to make a few of you smile... my Dad commented at lunch that the prediction is for a nice warm week next week.... my reply?  Perfect!  Monday the addition, Tuesday the lawn....Steve was not amused :) :)

Sam's 8!

Has been for a while already...I'm a little behind here.

Sam wanted his cake to be a surprise.  He covered his eyes and waited until I said it was ready.

His favorite bird is still the bald eagle and he's really hoping to use his birthday money (from this year and past years!) to buy a pair of binoculars.  He's looking to get serious with his birding!

He has such a great smile...even with those front teeth :)

His Aunty Shelly and I set up a bit of a ribbon course in the basement hallway.  Object: get from one end to the other without touching any ribbon!  It was too hard to get a picture of but it sure was a lot of fun.
Especially destroying it at the end.  Boys will be boys!

He also wanted to play a game he had found in a book.  So we copied a few of these little men, taped them to pop cans and set them up on the shortest ladder we could find in the church :) They each took a football and took turns trying to knock all the men down.

These two are lego buddies.  They are clueless about what it's like to grow up without a friend in the house all the time.

Just a glimpse of another special day flown by!  We sure do love you, Sam!

Got up this morning SO VERY THANKFUL for yesterday's beautiful 1/2 school day!!  We headed out to the Heron Reserve with the super cool list you can find off this page.  We crossed off nearly everything on the list (except pine cones and smelling pine trees :) )  We saw one snake, bunch of frogs and the returning salmon... first day in the creek.  We also avoided the bear that was spotted 1/2 hour before!

 

With the rains this morning the sunshine already feels like a distant memory but, boy, I'm so thankful for having been able to enjoy it!

Saturday's Work

Saturday came with the promise of rain and there was still a lot of work to do.  Rain wasn't really considered convenient and the hope was to get as much done before it came.

 

This is what the driveway was looking like Saturday morning.  The piles just kept getting bigger and messier!

 It was Brian, Les, Dad and Steve all hard at work, digging, laying pipe, tar-ing the foundation walls etc.

 The dump truck dumped the gravel on the road because there was no room for it anywhere else.

 A mess, but that machine sure makes quick work of it.  Thanks, Jomi Construction for the use of the digger!

 Uncle Les brought this mean machine along and we were VERY thankful for it!

 Notice the gorgeous blue instead of dark gray in the sky!!  So thankful the rain held off until we were finished.  The driveway was already "cleared".

 The trenches were starting to be filled in.  The kids were disappointed when they saw it because they were hoping to have to walk across the moat on a board all gang plank style!

 Still were BIG piles to climb and fill up boots with.

 We had to leave long before the work was done. They first had a bath :) 

Steve and Dad had this system worked out for the narrow side of the house.

 Then we left.  One of the things I did was watch Leah give a demo for some Rotary Club members.  That would be Leah upside down there :)  So much fun being a flier!!

 And by the time we came home they had dug a 14' hole, filled it with proper drainage and closed it back up.  Then they smoothed out all the dirt...

but those are pictures for another post.

 

Once again so thankful for the expert and hardworking help and for perfect weather!!

A Monday Morning Photo

I laugh about it now but he did give me a scare when I first saw him and when I think about how differently it could have turned out.

 

You know you're still tired when your papa wakes you up, sends you to the tub to get washed for school and you fall back asleep when you do your usual lay on your back thing.

He was not happy to be shaken awake and find himself being laughed at by 4 siblings and his mom.

Anyone have any suggestions?  It's not like he was short on sleep because he fell asleep early last night, he just always has a VERY hard time waking up.

Feeling VERY thankful that he was safe!!

Our Castle...

has a moat!!!  (And there are plenty of crocodiles about!) 

 

And do not be deceived...that moat is about as deep as Steve is tall.

 Hi Cam!!

 These kids had a hoot this afternoon!!

Redoing the drainage is proving to be a dirty and chaotic job.  But a lot of FUN too!

Thanks to Dad, Brian and Steve who worked VERY hard today!