Fantasy Fair

We found the perfect activity for a rainy day.  We spent the afternoon at Fantasy Fair; the only indoor amusement park in Ontario!  It was the perfect amusement park for young kids and the best part of it was thanks to an online deal, I scored a family pass for $20, instead of the regular $56. 

It was the first time the boys had been on rides and they loved every one.  

Owen wanted to keep going on the spinny air balloon ride but Mike and I were too whimpy (apparently he's too young to get dizzy)! 

Boohoo, Josh was big enough to go on the airplane ride all by himself!

Mike and I liked the bumper cars the best!

We had some great family fun!  I think though that it is the closest we will get to Disneyland or Disneyworld until the kids are much older!

The more the merrier

Some people think that three's a crowd but my philosophy has always been the more, the merrier.  Maybe that's why I'm a teacher!  That's also why I have always wanted to have lots of kids.  I thought it would be great to have 5 kids but I haven't managed to get Mike on board with that idea (actually, I knew before we got married that I probably would never be able to convince him to have 5).  I think that three kids seems like the perfect amount, too.  I have managed to get Mike on board with that idea and so I am pregnant with our third, due October 29th!  We are all very excited as we await the arrival of our newest addition.  Josh is convinced it's a girl so hopefully we will be able to find out the gender at my ultrasound in June so that if it is a boy, he will have some time to come to terms with that!  Boy or girl, we are all just looking forward to having a new little baby to love and cuddle!

An afternoon at Costco

Everyone knows that I love Costco and it's always a fun afternoon event to do with the family.  Since today was a crazy weather day (rain, heavy snow, hail...), it seemed like a perfect afternoon to spend at Costco.  Of course, everyone else thought so too but we weren't in a rush so it didn't matter.  Mike has already taught the boys the glory of samples and they get very excited about having a hotdog in the food court.
Of course, there were some yummy samples which Mike was very excited about.  He happily went from station to station getting his samples but I had to work for mine.  This is how my conversation with one sample lady (SL) went.
SL: Before I give you the sample, how old are you?
Me: (laugh), Yeah, I'm 31.
SL: No you're not.
Me: Yes, I am and those are my two kids and husband right over there.
SL: Yeah right, fine, here's a sample.
It's good to know that I can still pass as a twelve year old.
Josh and my favourite section to browse is the middle aisles where they have all the seasonal items, including toys and sports equipment.  It's nice because Josh always picks out what he likes but he never whines about wanting it.  Today they had all their summer items and bikes in stock.  Josh thought it would be super cool to have the peddle boat.  I told him that once he has a cottage on a lake, he could have the boat.  We also saw an awesome Lake house outdoor playhouse, complete with everything 'including the kitchen sink'.  We thought it would be great to have that but Josh had the wise idea that he would get Grandma H. to buy it for her yard when she comes to visit (he's always thinking).  (We've already decided that Grandpa & Grandma C should buy the wooden playground there). 
One thing we did see that we couldn't resist was this little bike that turns into a scooter for Owen.  Everytime we take Josh out on his scooter, Owen cries because he wants to ride it and he loves scooting around on ride-on toys so we thought it would be perfect for him.  We convinced Mike that we really needed to get it for Owen and that it could be his early birthday present.

Once we got home from Costco, Mike set up the bike for Owen and he loves it.  Always being one to put safety first, Owen keeps insisting on wearing Mike's bike helmet when he rides it.  I think it actually makes him a more dangerous driver since he holds the helmet with one hand to keep it from falling over his eyes but I don't think any of his accidents will be too serious since he's only a few inches from the ground.
Once the warm weather is here to stay, we will flip the bike into a scooter and I am sure that is when the real fun will begin.
The sample that won for today was the duck drumsticks.  Yes, quite the deluxe sample and very delicious (and the sample lady at that station was so nice)!

The Bookmobile

It was a regular Friday evening in August.  Nothing too eventful had happened and I was a bit worn out from a week of unpacking.  I decided to join the boys in checking out what the awnings were all about at the park across the street.  Well, I didn’t quite make it there as I was sidetracked by the people gathered around a big motor home in the parking lot.  Yes, we have a Bookmobile.  It is a converted Winnebago that is a fully-loaded library, complete with books for all ages, magazines, CDs, DVDs... and it comes to the parking lot beside our apartment every Friday.  That is how the Friday night tradition of the bookmobile began for Josh and I.

Every Friday night, we walk next door to the Bookmobile.  It’s not only a place to stock up on our books but it’s also a place where we meet new people, catch up with our neighbours and plan play dates.  Every Friday morning, Josh asks me ‘is it bookmobile day today?’ and we wait in anticipation for the evening to come. 

There is seriously no better way (in my opinion!) to cure a long day and to have some wonderful mother son bonding then to step out your door and into the Bookmobile.  With the Bookmobile and having our milk in a bag, I feel like I am living in a different era, long gone, and I'm loving it. 

A fun age!

It's hard to believe that Owen is already a year and a half and Josh will be 4 next month.  They are both at such a fun age, where the things they do and say are constantly making me smile or laugh. 
Owen absolutely loves (obsessed with may be a better word) dogs.  He runs down our hallway, goes to the doors where he knows the dogs live and he says 'daw door, daw door'.  Although Josh is usually busy protecting Owen, he knows his weakness when it comes to dogs.   One day we were in the elevator with the most adorable little fluffy white dog.  Josh had himself plastered against the wall (as he is petrified of dogs) and Owen was standing in front of him, busy petting the dog and talking to it.  Josh took him squarely by the shoulders and said 'Owen, can you please stand in front of me and protect me from the dog?'.  Being the sweet loving brother he is, Owen gladly protected Josh from the dog.
Owen has also started to enjoy reading books.  He enjoys reading books by himself but he often joins Josh and I on the couch as we read our stack of books.  He doesn't have very much patience for the longer books, like Curious George, yet.  If he thinks the word to picture ratio is too high (i.e. more than 1 sentence per picture), he starts yelling and trying to take the book away and replace it with another one. 

Josh is a planner and always likes to look forward to things.  The two big events he is counting down to right now are turning 4 in May (he has been talking about his firetruck birthday cake for months already) and starting afternoon kindergarten in September. 

His favourite game right now is the guessing game.  I love guessing games and 20 questions (and Mike is never too excited to play along with me) so I am very happy to play the game with Josh.  He gives me a clue about something and I have to guess what it is.  He actually gives really good clues and if I can't guess the answers from the clue, he will mouth me the answer so that I can guess the right answer but still feel like a winner (he's always so thoughtful).

Josh continues to be a patient, loving big brother.  When Owen obliviously throws a hard toy at him, Josh takes it in stride and forgives him.  We tell Owen to say sorry and give Josh a hug and he goes over and gives Josh the nicest hug - it would be hard not to forgive him.
These two boys are always cracking us up and making our hearts swell with pride, and we're so thankful for them.

Spring is here and summer's just around the corner?!?

Last week, spring felt like it was just around the corner.  We went outside without mittens and toques and one day I even went for a run in capris!  With the time change, it was light later so we could take advantage of going to the park after dinner.  The snow had melted so we could actually see the grass again and there was that smell of spring in the air. 

I was getting excited about packing up the winter gear... and then this Wednesday, we had a big snow storm (yes, a week before April!) and now it's  -10.  Atleast, the sky is blue and the sunshine is glorious, but we are back to bundling up and playing in the snow.
I've been trying to be proactive to avoid a bad attitude that winter is still here (especially when our Vancouver friends are bragging about the +17 temperatures).   I've been trying to convince Mike to let me go away on a beach vacation (I'm even willing to be very selfless and go alone).  He's not convinced so instead I'm trying to be a bit more realistic and start to plan our summer vacation.
I think it would be fun to rent a cottage and explore some more cottage country that Ontario is famous for.  I was asking Josh what we should do for our summer holidays.  I told him that maybe we should go to the beach.  His response was 'I know, we should go to the beach with the yellow umbrellas'.  The beach he is referring to is the 'fake beach' that is a five minute walk from our place.  I told him that I was thinking of going somewhere a bit further away and his next suggestion was going to the Science Centre.  It's nice that it doesn't take too much to make him happy.

For now, while I wait for the day to come when I can finally put away the toques and mittens for good, I will try to stay positive.  It's nice to always have to wear sunglasses when driving and when the sun is streaming in through the windows, I just tell myself that it's really warm out.  And in June when all of our Vancouver friends are complaining about the rain, I will be down at the 'fake beach' soaking up the rays and the warmth!

Good times with Grandma

This past week we had the great pleasure of Grandma (my mom) visiting us.  Much preparation was done for her visit (mostly on Josh's part).  Each morning, he would announce how many days it was until Grandma was here and on the Friday when his countdown was at zero, he could barely contain himself.
Josh had a long list of activities he was going to do with Grandma.  We were able to fit a lot of the activities into the 4 days she was here.  Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind that we didn't get to all of the activities he wanted to do; I think he had atleast a week's worth of things planned.

We thought that since Grandma's birthday was the week before she came, we would make her a cake.  Josh phoned her to ask what kind of cake she wanted.  This is what I heard from his side of the conversation 'what kind of cake do you want for your birthday?  Owen had a football cake and I am going to have a firetruck cake.  Maybe we can make you a hockey cake?'  I suggested that maybe Grandma would appreciate something a bit more girly so Josh decided she would like a flower cake.  It's funny how a child's perspective on a birthday cake is quite different than an adult's.  As adults, we dream of things such as luscious chocolate cakes or yummy cheesecakes but for children, it's all about what the cake looks like.  So, suffice to say, Josh and I made a trip to the Bulk Barn (to rent a cake pan) and Grandma got a lovely flower birthday cake!  Although we didn't get to celebrate her birthday with all the family, we still enjoyed having a special little birthday celebration with her here.

My mom and I were excited to make it down to New York for a day of shopping.

 Yes, it was only to Niagara Falls, NY and we only went to the outlets and Target, but for us, it still counted as a true New York shopping trip (although, maybe we should have bought handbags at the Coach outlet?).

We also went to the Royal Ontario Museum (thank you library for the free pass!) where Josh loved seeing the dinosaurs. 

We got to enjoy the nice weather with a walk and a great time playing at the park. 

Grandma and Josh had a good game of tag.

Of all the things we did, I think the boys enjoyed their snugglefests with Grandma each morning the most.

Josh thought it would be nice for us to have a mother-daughter picture so he offered to take one of us.  He was very confident that he knew how to take a picture (although he's never taken one before) and we must say, we were quite impressed with his photography skills!

Thanks for brightening up our March with your visit, Grandma!