Outing

On Sunday afternoon we "hiked" up bridal falls. 

When Magdelyn saw the water she screamed 'turtle!'  (See, she's looking for them) But alas, there were no turtles.  I explained that the water was moving too fast for the turtles and that they'd all been washed to the duck park.  She then insisted we immediately go and find them (she started to truck down the hill saying duck park). I told her we'd go 'tomorrow' (she doesn't really understand tomorrow does she?).  Duck park were her first words on Monday morning.  Apparently she does understand tomorrow.    So off to the duck park we headed to find turtles.   

And turtles we found. 

And after all the hoopla about the turtles she was annoyed with me for dragging her over to see them (notice in the picture above she's refusing to look at them).  She was much more interested in chasing the hissing

Canadian Geese.

And, Tim would like me to mention that he was an integral part of the Bridal Falls adventure.  Integral.  Absolutely. 

The end.

Nena

Our churcherecently shouted out a request for host families to put up members of African Childrens Choir.  What a perfect excuse to iron my sheets!  So I shouted back "I'll take them!"  And thus, I shared my home for one too short night with Ivy, Deborah and Faith all of whom Magdelyn quickly began calling "Nena."    

As an experienced billet (I've accumulated months worth of nights spent in random strangers homes) I know what makes a billeting experience stand out.

1.  A clean house

2.  Normal food (avoid casseroles)

3.  No socializing pressure

And so - I scrubbed my tubs and floors.  Washed and ironed my sheets (twice since Tim crawled into the freshend spare bed for a nap) and planned a kid friendly meal plus a trip to the park.  Magdelyn, as usual, was thrilled with company.  I suspect she'll be a hostess with the mostess herself one day. 

This is Ivy, who in particular had a special way with Magdelyn.

Icing on the cake

Everyday feels like icing. But a picnic on the beach with the Emme's on a warm spring evening? That's icing on the icing. Little miss must-be-clean even played!


This is Emme #3. She's nearly dropped the Emme now in favor of actually calling him Ryder. She LOVES him and he's SO good to her. Seriously, if I could have kids as kind and gentle as the Emme's I'd be a very very happy mom.

If mommy does it...

then I'd better too.

This vacuum attachment is the perfect size for her. I love this stage and I'm so glad that this is the sort of thing we get to do all day. Spend copious amounts of time - vacuuming.

Olympic Spirit

On Monday, Tim ditched work early and we joined the throngs in downtown Vancouver celebrating the Olympic Spirit. We also attended a curling match thanks to Britco and all their free tickets. Tim works for an official Olympic sponsor, a entitlement which carries with it certain benefits, ranging from barter worthy lapel pins to free tickets. We arranged sitting for our dear child who currently despises her stroller which she's waaaaaaaay to cool for now that she can "walk walk," which is exactly what she screams every time I wrestle her into her very nice buggy. "WALK WALK!" She didn't get invited to the Olympics.


As much as I enjoyed the crowds, and athletics, and neat street art and performers my favorite part of the day was the company. It's rare that we get to 'go out' together. The biggest treat of the day was just -- time.


I think we're going to start trying to get more of that. Time. Together. Okay, deal.

Don't be sad at me.

Tim and I bickered the other day. I got quiet. An effectively irritating passive aggressive stance. Not really helpful in reaching a resolution, but it drives him crazy. He'd much rather have it out then face my silence. He's not comfortable with silence.

half an hour later he said "why are you mad at me?!"

Me: "I'm not mad, I'm sad"

Tim: "Well don't be. Don't be sad at me."

and I laughed. "Okay, I won't be sad at you."

Just like that, I think we found our key to unlock the passive aggressive silent stalemate. "Don't be sad at me." Man, I like him. He's so easy to fight with. You know you've made it somewhere in your marriage when you figure out how to bicker effectively.

The torch was in town

and we were there.

is there such a thing as done?

I just spent a good amount of time sweeping my driveway. A neighbor drove by and waved at me. Probably thinking what a conscientious addition to the neighborhood we are. Probably thinking how he needs to sweep his driveway so that he can keep up with us.

We need to take our christmas lights down.

Is sweeping the driveway normal? As a kid I'd get sent outside to sweep our mile long farm yard driveway, so it stands to reason that a little piece of cement in the suburbs should be kept clean. Something in my world gets set right when stray bark mulch gets sent back to it's bed. A nearly pebble free driveway makes me feel like I'm ready for company. Stop by! I'm totally ready for you - to ... park. And even though no one is coming over today, so much less gravel will get tracked into the house. And I got to cross it off my list.

It's not normal is it?

While making my front entry a tidy place, I noticed how the driveway next to us is all new and shiny white which made me want to not only sweep but also power wash. My neighbor would probably be even more impressed if he saw me power washing. Why does one task always lead to another? Completion is such a fleeting feeling.