A Visit from Nana and Papa

My Dad drove from Utah to Saskatoon on his motorcycle and to my surprise my mom showed up with him (it is a very long drive especially for a motorcycle passenger)!  It was a very short stay but we enjoyed every minute of it.  We were so excited to show Nana and Papa around the city.    

Here we are at a parade downtown.

My favorite parts of the parade were the Calliope, bagpipes, and the camel.

 

Then we headed over to Kinsmen Park.  Here is Campbell on the carousel with Nana.



Papa and Logan on the train.  We raced for the caboose.



A not-so-great picture of the train.

Afterwards we headed to the paddling pool and playground.



Elsie was chipper as usual (thanks for the picture papa).



Two best friends and partners in crime.



Here we are crossing the train bridge.  It has a beautiful view of the city.



I love this picture my Dad took of the city from the bridge.



This is my favorite picture he took on the drive up. Its a view of the Little Rockies

This is Fort Benton.

A Montana Sunset.

Dad you made the drive look magical maybe now we'll have more visitors.  Any takers??

Thanks for coming all this way Mom and Dad.  It was so good to spend more time with you.  We have had an eventful summer (plenty more posts to come).

  

Campbell is Three!

Campbell turned three in April.  He is quite obssessed with Kinder eggs (chocolate eggs with surprises in the middle) so he insisted on having a "Kinder Egg Party".  "But what do you do at a Kinder Egg Party?" I would ask him.  Campbell: "You have an easter egg hunt and give everyone Kinder Eggs." So here it is folks...The Kinder Egg Birthday Party.

   

The spring has been cold and wet so we waited until the end of May for the perfect day.  I think it was worth the wait.  Campbell was one happy boy!

   

Our guests met us at a park perfect for picnicking and easter egg hunting. 

While Mike hid the eggs we distracted the kids with a few games. 

The kids had to push their kinder egg with their nose to a plastic spoon and then balance it while racing down to a tree. 

Then it was time for the much anticipated hunt.   

I had a hard time getting decent pictures of the kids.  They were too fast racing around gathering their eggs.

Campbell took his sweet time hunting.  He likes to stop and check out what is in each egg before he moves on to the next.  I guess he knows how to live in the moment.  You could say he is a "stop and smell the roses" kind of a guy. 

 

The good news is the party was after easter so I was able to buy buckets and eggs on clearance.  I wrote each child's name in gold on the bucket to avoid mix-ups and sent them off to find fifteen eggs each.  I tried to fill the eggs with things other than just sweets.  There were glow-in-the-dark spiders, felt bunny stickers, foam surprise capsules, and then treats of course. 

It was nice having the playground close by so the kids could play while we waited for other guests to arrive or while we set up for lunch. 

 

After the egg hunt it was picnic time.  We served croissant sandwiches, fruit kabobs, chips, drinks, and chocolate bird nests. 

Here are a few of our little guests. 

I was so glad that Mike was able to leave work for a few hours to celebrate.  He is always such a big help and the best dad.
 

We are so grateful Campbell is a part of our family.  He adds so much joy to our life.  He is one of the funniest kids I have ever met.  He has a grumpy old man soul and he always has us in stitches (see above picture).  He scowls at admirers in public places, "I'm giving them my mad face Mom", he says whatever he feels, and has no hesitation doing whatever he pleases.  He is confident and tough, don't you dare call him cute to his face.   He is very smart and he keeps up with his big brother Logan whom he admires greatly.  Logan is his best friend.  They do everything together.  He is still obssessed with cats and has already planned his fourth birthday party which yes, is indeed cat themed.  He spends most of his spare time pretending to be a cat named Fluffy (which I thought was just a little phase but it is turning out to be a really long phase).  His favorite toys are Squinkies.  He lives off of fruit.  He is a pro at riding his little red tricycle around and he has been a great shopping companion while Logan is in preschool.  When I try things on I always ask Campbell what he thinks.  Once I got the response, "you're a pretty princess Mom!"  My heart melted.  Another time I held up a shirt and Campbell said, "not good Mom".  I don't know if it was how he said it or the look on his face that had me laughing hysterically.  He still loves books and hates princess movies.  He has recently overcome his fear of skunks.  On our drive to Utah for our christmas vacation a skunk sprayed our truck and at the next stop Campbell thought he saw a skunk close by him in the bushes.  He was really startled and made us carry him to and from the car wherever we went for two weeks.  Now he is on to coyotes.  There have been several sightings of coyotes in the neighborhood and warnings from the neighborhood association.  I may have used this to my benefit when Campbell kept letting himself out to play without my supervision.  I told him about the letters and he hasn't left the house alone since.  If you want to be this little guys friend you have to earn it.  Grandma Elsie says she has to win Campbell over everyday when he comes to visit.  But his company will keep you entertained for sure.  Here is a recent conversation we had:

Campbell:  "Mom I can't find_____ (some toy I don't recall which particular one).  Do you know where it is?"
Me:  "Campbell, I think we should get rid of some toys.  You have too many so you can't ever find what you're looking for."
Campbell:   Silence. . . "Mom?  I think you have too many dresses."

I could go on forever.  The point is, Campbell, you are awesome and we love you!         

Elsie, Elsie, Elsie



(part 2)

 She out-grew her little cradle far faster than I had imagined.

 

Two teeth

Elsie's first time on the swings.  Her brothers were very eager to participate in this experience.  They were very good helpers.  Though the picture doesn't capture it, she did enjoy the swings.

Here is a little glimpse of our house Steph.

Elsie's first accident.  I was fixing dinner and thought that I had placed the vase far far out of reach but this Houdini somehow managed to arch her back and yank those tulips across the counter.  I'm not sure if the crash of the vase scared her or my startled scream. 

Elsie's first trip to the zoo.

Elsie's first time eating baby food...not a fan.   

Elsie doesn't want to sit up and it's killing me!  She prefers to be held while I bustle around the house but when I can't hold her she is happy to just lay on her back and watch the constant action around her or play with her toys.  

These boys love their little sister so much.  At times it is somewhat overwhelming for little Elsie but her life wouldn't be the same without them.  They play with her and help fetch diapers and soothers and they love to hold her and make her laugh.  I am so lucky to be mother of these three crazies! 

Elsie, Elsie, Elsie

(part 1)

Elsie is already six months old!  It's hard to believe, the time has passed so quickly. 
She is currently 99th percentile for height and 85th percentile for weight.  She is the happiest baby and loves to talk and laugh.  People notice her eager smile wherever we go and she has convinced many that they are actually funny.
     

This picture doesn't fully capture how similar these two look but they're like twins, seriously.

The boys are so sweet with Elsie. 

Elsie has two teeth, sharp teeth!  They are almost fully grown now...more pictures to come.