Aero Space Museum

My kids are pretty into airplanes right now, so a few weeks back on a rainy day we decided to hit up the Aero Space Museum.  We had seen it on the way to Dirty Bird plane washing event last month and Grady kept talking about it so we loaded up and went.  It was raining so hard that day that while we were driving on Deerfoot I asked James if he wanted to turn around and go home.  It was that bad.  It was a ridiculous suggestion given we were more than half way there but it really was raining hard.

We arrived and the boys were in awe of all the planes.

 

 

They were able to look in almost all of them. I was a little disappointed that they couldn't sit in at least one but I get that they are 'artifact'.  It was posted everywhere. Some of the items the kids couldn't even touch. Try explaining that to an excited 5 and 3 year old.

 

 

 

This photo was taken from the upper level and shows the number of planes that are there.  Even I was impressed!

 

 

Of course they had a few kid friendly things for us to do.  Meet Cooper the pilot.

 

And Grady the astronaut.

 

 

There was actually 2 parts to the museum - inside the building and outside in a big dome structure.  Apparently there are a few planes out front that you can explore to, but not on a rainy day :(  They have the gift shop strategically placed right between the 2 buildings so you have to go through it to get to the inside and then back to the outside.  We didn't escape without buying something needless to say.

 

Cooper was scared of this big black plane.  Can't pinpoint why.

 

 

This last plane was the favorite.

It looks exactly like another plane we've come to love in our house.



 

Dusty Crophopper

Who would have thought that the Aero museum would have its own crop duster.  For the record, I didn't know what that was until I saw the movie planes!

All in all it the outing was only OK.   It is targeted more towards adults in my opinions.  It was fun to look around, but without touching anything or getting to sit inside, the kids only lasted about an hour.  The good thing was that we had a coupon so it only cost us $10 to go.  I'm glad that we went to check it out but won't be in a big rush to go back.

Diary of a potty training Mom - Part 9

It has been a while since I gave the Internets an update on our potty training progress in the past 6 weeks. I am happy to report that in this case, no news actually is good news!  For the most part.

For the first few weeks, Cooper was a rock star. He had no accidents, like zero.  Then he stared to get a little to comfortable and would hold it too long which would end up with an accident.  It tends to happen when he is busy doing something else and the adult is far away.  He can't be bothered.  It happened at the corn maze, in Edmonton, while biking... you get the picture.

For as long as I can remember, Cooper has been a big pee-er.  Even if he didn't drink before bed, it didn't matter, he would always pee through.  Even a night time diaper in a bigger size. It. just. didn't. matter! So we fully expected to use pull ups, or even diapers at night with Cooper where Grady went straight to underwear.   Well after about 2 weeks of being potty trained we started waking up with a dry diaper.  So we put him in underwear and he stayed dry for about 3 weeks.  In the past week or two he has started peeing in the night again so is back in pull ups for nights.  I almost gave the pull ups away during that 2 weeks.  I won't make that mistake again!

Cooper also has some weird pooping habits.  He tells us that he has to go and we rush to the bathroom.  He promptly tells me to go away while he does his thing.  He calls me, I come back, we dump it, flush it, and Cooper tells me to go away so he can poo again.  This can happen up to 5 times a poop.  It annoys James, but I am just happy he is getting the poop in the toilet!

Cooper has also tested us in every single location you can possibly poop.  At the park, in an outhouse, on a road trip, in public, and the list goes on.  Grady to this day has never had to poop at the park or in an outhouse!  We actually brought the potty on our road trip to Edmonton and actually had to use it a time or two.  I would put money on the fact that he will have to poop the next time we are on an airplane, another place that Grady has never gone.  You know those people that can only poop at their own house?  Cooper is not one of those people!

It is also interesting that Cooper uses poop and pee interchangeably.  He'll yell he has to poop and I rush extra fast for those #2's!  We arrive in the bathroom and he pees instead.  One time we were at a public washroom and I was holding him on the public toilet to poop and instead he peed - straight ahead and all over me!   I am trying to teach him yellow pee or brown poop but we are not having much success. It is always a surprise to see what he does in the bathroom :)

All in all, I can't complain.  He is doing heaps and bounds better than Grady did after only 6 weeks.  I'll take it!  I am very happy that I will never have to go through potty training again!

Corn Maze: A great way to spend a fall day

On Sunday, with the sun shining, we headed out the Corn Maze just outside the city limits.  We went last year as well and had such a great time that we decided to back.  I asked Grady earlier in the week if he wanted to go but he didn't remember until I showed him the pictures.  Once he saw a picture of this black tunnel slide the memories all came back.

He couldn't wait to get back to the tunnel slide and then play area with 2 slides from the upper level only accessible by a big net thing.  A big oversight on the designers part if you ask me, BUT if you were able to get to the top the slides were will worth it.  Cooper didn't make it up.

We met our friend Katie at the maze and her and Cooper loved petting the animals. Grady not so much.  Notice how he is hiding behind Cooper and holding his jacket rather than touching the birds.  It felt very odd to pet the ducks.  They didn't even move.

Cooper was all over the animals, ducks, goats, kittens.....

Grady finally got brave enough to touch one with James. Seems like something so simple but he was just hesitant to try.

He was more into the slides.  This one built into the hill is so cool.  I remember having to go down with Cooper since he was too little last year.  This year, he had so much fun that he peed his pants.  Seriously.

Next up was a tractor ride, which Cooper later told us was his favorite.  We fit 4 adults and 3 kids in our little wagon. It was a tight squeeze!

I am not sure if this bike area was new this year or if we just missed it last year but Grady enjoyed.  He could only reach the peddles on 1 of 4 bikes and we had quite a wait to get it.  

Then we hit up the pig races, James and I's favorite. I just can't get enough of these pigs! They are so fast and I find it so funny to watch.  This year the boys were more into it.  Grady was mad that the blue pig didn't win so he re-picked yellow and then Cooper was mad that his pig didn't win.  They will always find something to fight over!

We didn't actually make it to the corn maze last year, but this year no afternoon nap on the horizon we headed straight there after the races.  Grady later declared it as his favorite.  

We spent a solid 20 minutes in there and it felt more like an hour!  We let Grady lead the way and the kid has ZERO sense of direction. We walked the same circuit over and over and over.  We eventually made our way our with a little help from James.

Look at the sky - it was a perfect afternoon to be enjoying the fall weather.

Look at the gorgeous scarf that Carmen made. I finally pulled it out for the fall!  Love it.

 Before heading home we went to the big bouncy pillows.  Cooper loved this and I was really surprised when he said the tractor ride was his favorite.   They stopped for a drink break and he wanted to go back for more.  

 

Immediately upon leaving Grady told us we wanted to go back. Tomorrow.  Weather permitting, I wouldn't be surprised if we made another trip out to the corn maze.  Happy kids make for happy parents :)

You've heard a little about what to do on a nice fall day, now if you want to hear about what to wear on your fall outings (but not necessarily the corn maze) check out Dee's blog where I am guest posting today on fall fashion.  This is my first guest post ever so come on over and give us a little love!

First Parent Teacher Conference

Last week we finally got to sit down with Ms. M to find out how Grady was doing in the classroom. The whole family walked up to the school and Grady showed us were the music room and the bathroom were, you know, the important things. We looked at all the pictures on the wall and even checked out all the indoor shoes that lined the hallway.

 Ms. M is a sweet as can be. She was made to be a kindergarten teacher. Her voice is soft and her demeanor warm and inviting.  I am already hoping that Cooper can have her as his teacher.

The first thing she said when she walked out to fetch us was that Grady brought his mini me! As if we haven't heard that before.  We sat around a little table and she talked to Grady. Asked him how he liked school and if he had made any friends.  Cooper was getting antsy and she told Grady to go and show him all the 'stations' around the room and us adults got a chance to talk.

Overall I walked away feeling really positive.  She didn't really tell us anything we didn't expect.

Grady loves the art station and always goes there first.

Grady is creative.

Grady has a great attention span when he gets into something.

All things we knew and I was glad to see that she had already learned these things about him.

What was surprising is that she had no idea that Grady knew Alex, the boy across the street. These 2 boys play together almost every day and yet they don't appear to play together at school.  Weird.

I am hopeful that the rest of the year will continue on as great as the first few weeks.

Costume

One night I came home from work and we googling Halloween costumes.  I was trying to convince them to be angry birds for Halloween while they were telling me they wanted to be Kyle Busch the race car driver.

See James went to Nascar this year and brought them each back an M&M car that Kyle Busch drives.  Since then, the kids, and especially Cooper, have enjoyed many Sunday afternoons watching the M&M car race on TV.  I'm not sure whose idea it was that they should be Kyle Busch for Halloween but somehow the seed was planted.

Believe it or not, you can find Kyle Busch costumes, just not in Canada so I would have to order them. So of course I was trying to convince them to be something I could buy locally.  Like in a store.

While looking at angry bird costumes we saw a homemade one and Grady insisted we make it, before supper.  So we gathered up what we could and 30 minutes later had a costume.

Since then, we have chosen costumes at Walmart for Halloween, but if for some reason they change their mind, I think this blue bird costume is a perfect alternative.

Edmonton!

This past weekend we packed up our bags and headed to Edmonton for the weekend.  We went with the kids about 18 months ago and Grady still talks about it to this day so we figured it was about time to go back.  This time we upped the antes and booked a theme room.  I'll admit it was a little pricey but I had never stayed in one before so it was  a treat for all of us, especially the little boys given we stayed in the truck room.

The kids loved it. They loved sleeping in the bunks with their own light switch to turn on the firetruck light.  They loved all the decorations, the hot tub right in the room, and they especially loved that you could sit in the front of the pickup truck.

Cooper constantly asked to go back up to the truck room.  I think it is safe to say it was a hit!  The only downside was that we didn't spend nearly enough time enjoying the room. On Saturday we left the room at 10am and got back at 7pm.  That sure doesnt' leave a lot of time to play in the room.  

James and I contemplated whether we would stay in one again. I most certainly would. It is such a small window where the kids will get excited to stay in a theme room and I loved seeing how much they loved it.  James was less convinced.

The great thing about staying at the Fantasyland Hotel is that the mall has so much to offer.  The pirate ship is literally right outside the hotel entrance.  As was Starbucks, which made the adults very VERY happy!

Grady did great with walking.  We are working on getting him out of the stroller and walking on his own.  This weekend he was a superstar!  We only brought one umbrella stroller for Cooper and Grady didn't complain, not even once!

We are the first to admit that we don't take the kids out to eat much.  It really isn't enjoyable for us and it is expensive.  If we want to eat out, we tend to order in on the weekends.  Grady kept asking us why we were eating out so much and why we didn't get a hotel room with a kitchen.  

For the most part, the kids did good in the restaurants.  James and I even enjoyed a few beer while we waited for the food.  It there is coloring, my big boy is happy.  Not to mention access to our iPhone which also make them happy :)

We got away a little later than we hoped on Friday so really all we had time to do was to eat supper, look at the water park, and to have play in the room.  What we noticed right away was how much more quiet the the mall was than when we went on the family day long weekend.  We will never go on a long weekend again after seeing the difference in the crowds on a random weekend.  Imagine how much better it would even be if you could get away during the week!

Saturday morning the little were up and ready to go around 7am. It was water park day and Grady couldn't have been more ready.  

We had one little set back when Cooper puked shortly after he had breakfast.  I was hopeful that it was just because he was coughing so hard and it turned out it was.  There were no further incidents.  But he did regurgitate his breakfast on my only PJs and leggings that I brought.  I survived.

Just like last time he was so excited to get to the water park. He has a fascination with water slides but it still quite intimidated when it actually comes down to it. Last year he only went on the kiddie slide (which was closed this year), this year we went on the super easy kid slide and the slide with the tubes. Cooper went down both as well.  It was a step above last time but we still have a lot of improvement to go!

James was happy to get to go on one adult slide.  He told Grady that if he went on the tube slide he could choose one for Dad to go on.  He originally chose the slide that has a big loop on it but in the end chose a slide that goes straight down.  I think James helped him make the final decision :)  I was proud of James for doing it.   It was one of the slides where the ground just opens up and drops you down.  I would NEVER go down that.

After the water park we headed to the Disney store for a promised toy.  It is really a win win as the kids are happy and play with their new toys all weekend and the adults get a little quiet time.  Money well spent!

Saturday afternoon we took a break from the mall and headed to one of James' friends that happens to live on a farm right outside Edmonton.  Our family, which I fully admit are 'city folk' enjoyed our time at the farm fully from feeding the horsed to quading down the road to looking at the all the tractors.

Some may even say that the big boy had more fun the little ones.  Just sayin'....  We spent so much time at the farm that I almost didn't get my one hour of shopping I was promised.

Coming into the weekend I knew there wasn't going to be much time for shopping.  It is really hard to be so close to so many stores but not have any time to go to any of them!  So I negotiated one hour of kidless shopping time to check out the newest store at the mall, Simons.  My BFF Deena loves the store and orders on line all the time so I had to see it for myself first hand.  I didn't leave empty handed......

I texted this photo to Deena just as I entered the store

By the time I got back to the room the boys were sleeping and James and I sipped on a glass of wine and watched TV in the dark from the back of a pick up truck.  How romantic.

Since Cooper asked all day on Saturday to go back to the truck room we decided to chill out in the room for the morning. Galaxyland didn't open until 11 and we didn't have to check out until then either.  I ran down and grabbed coffee and muffins fro Starbucks and then we watched the kids alternate between the hot tub and the front of the pick up truck all morning.  Nude.  

This tub took the entire time I was gone to Starbucks to fill.

When the time finally arrived and the gates opened we charged to the play area to play.  The first slide they went down Cooper hit his face on the bottom of the slide.  Right as the picture below was taken.  

His lip was bleeding and he was crying but that didn't stop them from playing more.  Later on, Cooper also peed his pants.  They would go up into the climbing structure and not come down for ages.  When Cooper finally resurfaced he was walking funny and I knew.  I started to run up the stairs and I got stopped by security (seriously?) because I didn't have socks on.  So James had to go.

What made it even worse was that Cooper has had so few accidents that I didn't have any spare shorts in the bag, only underwear.  All our clothes was packed in the van so Cooper got to have lunch in his underwear only.  He wasn't bothered and neither was I.  Any parent that saw him could easily guess why he was missing pants!

Before Cooper peed his pants we did take in some of the rides.  It was great because they went all on their own and James and I didn't cost a cent!

There actually were very few rides they could go on but we did watch some of the bigger rides.  The roller coaster looked so scary from down below! I hope the boys never expect me to go on that!

In the end, we spent a full 3 hours at the park.  The kids were upset when we left but it was already 2 and we needed to eat lunch and hit the road.

On the way home we stopped to pee 4 times, yes 4 times.  If one has to go, we always make the other one at least try to.  What was funny was about 30 minutes outside Calgary Cooper announces that he'd like to poop at home.  Great, Cooper has to poop.  James is convinced he can hold it while I think that we better stop before we have a big mess on our hands.

After the third or fourth time that Cooper says he is going to poop at home I convince James to stop.  While we are there, Grady decides he needs to poop to.  We all load back in the van and I kid you not less than 5 minutes later, Grady has to pee.  James thinks he is kidding. I am pretty sure 5 year olds don't joke about these things.  James is so mad while I think it is the funniest thing ever. He refused to take him into Co-op so I did where he had a full pee.  Again. I am still chuckling about this one!

All in all we had a great trip.  I love that family time away where you do fun things and make memories.  On the way home we were already talking about when we will go back.  It was heaps and bounds better than our last trip and we just know that the next trip will be even better!  Maybe we'll stay in the train room next time......

In the swing of things

Someone please pinch me. I am still just so surprised with how smoothly we transitioned from  a summer with nothing really going on to Kindergarten every mornings and our fall activities.  It really couldn’t have gone any smoother.

I’ve already started noticing changes in Grady’s little personality since he started school only 2 weeks ago.  We were at the park the other day and a boy about his age started making conversation with him.  The old Grady would have ignored him and ran away to hide behind me.  The new Grady answered his questions shyly but at least he answered.  He may have told the kid he was in Grade 2, but whatever, it is still progress from not answering at all. 

That same day as we were walking to the van, we passed a boy and Grady kept looking back, finally he said that the boy was in his class.  I stopped and talked to the mom as her son was looking back at Grady as well.  As we got in the car I told Grady he should say hello to the boy the next day and he told me he wouldn’t recognize him.  I told him that he had recognized him today and Grady told me that he only recognized his superhero shirt.  Ha!

Last week we had a back to school picnic where you packed your own picnic and joined everyone at the school to meet and play a few games.  We sat with his friends family. One of only 2 families in the entire school that we know.  The mom asked Grady how he was liking school and he answered her.  Anyone who has spent any time with my super shy son will know that is more than you usually get from him.  Some of my friends he has known since the day he was born and still won’t talk directly to them, so this is huge progress.  I love seeing him open up a little.

I wouldn’t say the picnic was a huge success for our family.  Grady was tired.  He went from school, to gymnastics, to a play date in our garage with the neighbors, straight to the picnic.  There was a meltdown and hesitation to take part in the planned activities, which was understandable.  If I find this whole back to school thing overwhelming, I can only imagine how he must feel.  I am looking forward to interviews to see how my little man is doing in the classroom with the other kids.  He has nothing but good things to say which is great but I can’t wait to hear what the teacher has to say.

 There was a parent orientation at school last week as well where we finally got to go into the classroom. Our original orientation in the spring was cancelled with the flood.  I was most looking forward to seeing his classroom.  I heard through the grapevine that Grady is in a big room with TWO kindergarten classes inside.  I have no idea how it works and they didn't even address it at the meeting.  I hoped to hear more about what happens in a typical day at kindergarten, but most of the time was spent talking about how the kids are assessed and when we get the results.

The best part of the session was getting to wander around in the hallway.  We saw where there shoes go and each class gets a wall of decorations.  For Grady's class they each drew a picture of themselves on the first day of school.

Grady's is the one with the rainbow, of course.

The funny thing is his buddy Alex is the other rainbow one. I wander if they were sitting at the same table....

We are in full swing of the is school thing in our household and all is going well.  Next we throw in Cooper's preschool and hope for just as smooth of a transition!

Addiction

Hello, my name is Christy and I am addicted to lunch time shopping.

There, I said it. Now let's move on to my next shopping adventure.  So I was reading this fashion blog..... Sometimes I wonder if reading fashion blogs if more my problem and not necessarily working so close the mall.  I don't often go on a random shopping trip - there is always a purpose, whether it be to find a blouse (last weeks issue) or camouflage pants.

I first read out the Gap camouflage pants on the Pinterest told me to blog.  I find her a bit overbearing at times but I do like the outfit she comes up with and find she has pushed me out of my comfort zones by repeatedly showing me certain trends.  Like pattern mixing for instance.  In her post on the pants she shows many many different ways to wear the camo pants. My personal favorite being with the striped shirt.  Totally out of my comfort zone.  I was almost sold.

I promptly went to the gap website and noticed it was 30% off online purchases. I sped through ordering the jeans in 2 different sizes and then find out the 30% off didn't include jeans.  So following my own motto of never buying anything at full price, I aborted my transaction.

Deena and I texted about the camo pants and she opted for the Simon's version. I have yet to shop at Simon's, which is Deena's favorite store... However, we are headed to Edmonton soon where they have a physical store that I plan to checkout.  Kidless, if possible!

Then a few days later, Kacey's Kloset blog posted a camo pant.  Low and behold they were the ones from the Gap I had admired only a few days prior.  So it was fate, I was meant to have the pants and I quickly headed to the Gap to figure out what size I was and wait for them to go on sale.  We (including my coworker in crime) arrive to find that all jeans IN STORE were 30% off.  And I bought them, just like that.  No more convincing needed.

When we went out for our anniversary I sported this outfit but with a jean jacket minus the sweater.

Pattern Mixing!

 I got James to take this picture since the next day as the lighting was terrible when we got home late at night and honestly, the full length mirror is to small to really see the outfit anyway.  I much preferred the outfit with the jean jacket over the sweater, however it was raining to hard on Saturday to pull off the jean jacket :)

I am SO happy with the jeans and glad that I took the plunge and fed my shopping addiction :)

Our 8th Anniversary is Today

8 years later! 

Today we are celebrating our 8th anniversary.  Technically we aren't celebrating today since James has a work commitment, but we did break away for a kidless dinner over the weekend.  When Nana offers up babysitting so we can go out, we don't refuse!

On Saturday it rained.  Like really rained.  It reminded me of our own wedding day.  It started raining at the rehearsal dinner and didn't stop until after the reception the day of our wedding.  It poured all day.  The wedding pictures I hoped to get outside at Heritage Park and around the city were shattered by Mother Nature herself.

I didn't let the rain dampen my spirits (pun intended). I was married after all and had all my friends and family to help me celebrate.  Still to this day, my favorite picture of the entire day are the 3 the photographer snapped of James and I on the balcony of the Wainwright Hotel just before the reception started.  The only 3 outdoor pictures we got that day.

So Saturday morning when we were driving and the rain was coming down, I thought of the day I made the best decision of my life by marrying my husband.

Westjet Dirty Bird

Having a friend that works at Westjet has some benefits.... A few weeks back, Jenn invited the kids and I to their annual Dirty Bird event open to staff and their friends and family. Everyone gathers in the hangar at the airport and washes a 737 airplane with water guns and hoses for fun. It is like a mini carnival!

The timing couldn't have been more perfect given my kids current love for Disney Planes (which G has seen in the theater twice).  The ride to the event was half the fun!  The kids watched for planes in the sky and even saw a few big ones take off from the parking lot.  They were in little boy heaven!

We arrived to find out that there wasn't only an airplane there, but bouncy castles, burgers, cotton candy and more!!



Yummmmy burgers!



James was supposed to come with us but ended up being out of town all week so I asked Jenn to stay and help me man 2 kids that I assumed would be all over the place. They were actually really well behaved in the end. The great thing about Jenn being there is I got to be in a picture or 2 :)

I took this picture of the plane while the kids ate their burgers. The size of the plane really is impressive from that close. I had to back up and lean back to get the plane in the picture it is so big! 

Notice how we the floor is.  It was also very slippery. Some of the older kids were slip and sliding on the ground for fun. Other smaller kids were wearing helmets in case they fell. We did witness some nasty falls, thankfully not by my kids.

Here is our attempt at a group shot. Cooper was to into looking at the plane. We didn't have time to get a better one as the kids on the hose just next to us starting spraying us and we made a quick exit to a dryer area.

Look at the plane Mom!

The kids took a real liking to the wheels of the plane.  It was crazy to see how big they are.  Realistically I should have known given the size of the plane but I had never given it much thought.
 

 

Grady took his plane cleaning very seriously.  I kept asking if he was done and he kept telling me not yet. I'm pretty sure he could have stayed there for hours.  Ironically James and the kids hand washed James' car a week later and they were really into that to. 

Cooper on the other hand wasn't thrilled about getting wet.  He cried every time he got sprayed and it was a lot given that they were giving kids of every ages hoses to spray where ever they wanted!  Eventually Cooper and I watched from the sidelines while Grady worked on getting the airplane spotless.  



Missed a spot!



I think Grady said it best when I told him that Cooper and I didn't like getting wet and he told me you were supposed to get wet.  Well said buddy, well said.

 

Grady, on the other hand, didn't mind getting sprayed by the occasional blast of water.  After he decided the plane was clean enough the kids wanted cotton candy.  It was closed.  So we made our way over to the balloon guy as he was making some great airplane balloons.  Jenn headed to the washroom and we decided to meet their.

Upon arrival, we were told that the line had been stopped as we were getting close to 8pm and the guy had to leave.  I told Grady and he burst into tears. Full on cry with crocodile tears and everything.  We were meeting Jenn there at the line so I consoled him while a tired 5 year old cried on my shoulder.  In the end, the guy let us back in line :)  I swore to him that I did not pay him to release tears like that!

We waited in line for an hour for these balloons. During that time Cooper asked no fewer than 20 times how the airplane gets out of the hangar.  Seriously, 20 times.  Then the kids got scared of the clown making balloons treats right behind the man.  We heard 'Cooper no like clowns' over and over. Thankfully he didn't cry like he did at the Crohn's walk when he saw the big bear dressed as a doctor!

We finally got to the front and the kids got their balloons! 

Taken in garage when we got home.

On the way to the van, Grady let his balloon go and it was flying away. I did catch it but not before it lost a propeller. Crisis averted as I thought the whole balloon was going to pop. 

We finally got in the car, at the airport, at 8:30, the kids bedtime.  The kids were happily tucked into their beds by 9:30 and I am sure dreamed about airplanes all night.

Thanks for a fun night Jenn - the kids had a blast.  Not a moment they will forget anytime soon.

Extra Extra Long Weekend

Our long weekend started extra early on Wednesday evening when a van filled with Uncle James, Auntie Chantelle, Madi, Taiya, Tessa, and Grandma pulled up for a weekend filled with family fun.  You read that right an extra 6 people arrived to sleep at my house along with the 4 that already live here.  So 10 of us spent a fun filled weekend in our cozy little home!

We stared the day first thing Thursday morning by heading to Tommy K Play which is essentially a huge indoor play center.  I chose it because of the age range of the kids being 1 to 8.  We managed to spend over 2 hours playing there.

The lighting was really bad and the kids moved to fast to get a good picture.

After a busy morning the little had a nap.  This did NOT include Cooper who thinks he is a big boy and didn't need a nap all weekend.  

Friday morning we braved Calaway Park.  Here is a pic of my James and Madi on the roller coaster.

I swear they are on there. Look closely....

They were the only ones that would go on. Madi eventually convinced Grandma to go on and she claims she barely survived!

The highlight for me was going on the log ride. I actually can't remember the last time I went on a normal ride.  I was actually kind of scared.  In the end, it was so much fun and I am so glad I went on.  It almost had me convinced that I should go on the roller coaster.  Almost.

 

Friday afternoon was spent playing in the yard.  The boys decided to get the water guns out and the big and little kids engaged in a water fight.  It actually went really well except for when the little girls got in the middle of it!

We even attempted to get a picture of all the grand kids together and as usual failed miserable.  Grady was on the swing seconds before the little girls climbed o.  Four out of five ain't bad!

Saturday we took it pretty low key after several busy days.  I ran a few errands in the morning which mostly included taking the kids to get back to school shoes.  My brothers family hung around the house and relaxed.  We had originally planned to go to the pool in the morning but then discovered that the pool didn't open until noon.

We headed to the pool early in the afternoon where all the kids burned some energy, especially Madi and Grady who spent the majority of the time going up and down the water slide.  Grady and James were the last 2 out of the pool!

The adults had to save some energy for the late afternoon of tree cutting that was planned.  My brother used to work for the city and was in charge of tree cutting.  Ever since then we've had him trim our trees every other years.  And we have a LOT of trees in our yard.

This is what the yard looked like when we were done.  

After the fact we had a 'discussion' about whether the it was appropriate to leave the trees laying in the yard like this.  The women and men had differing opinions.... we'll leave it at that :)

After supper, we had a final go at the park.  Have you every played on one of these wheels?  I hadn't and I loved it.  Cooper kept telling me too get off and that I was too big.  I thought it was a blast!

This park is actually at the school Grady's school right behind our house.  We hadn't been in over 2 summers since at the time it was way to big for our kids.  Now Grady loved it. It had a climbing wall and lots of 'older' kid things.  I think this may be our new park of choice!

Sunday morning, they loaded up the van and headed back home.  Although we were sad to see them go, the long weekend was far from over as there were still 2 days left!

Sunday morning we met the P's and headed to Sikome Lake. I had never been and I thought it was great. It didn't hurt that it was super hot out!  The kids dug in the sand and the parents got to visit.  Win win!

On Monday we met some friends at Riley Park and the kids ran around in the wading pool and played at the park.   

On the way home we drove by Bowview outdoor pool.  It was full of kids and had a slide and a bouncy house. Grady wanted to stop.  We didn't, but it was added to the 'things to do next summer' list!

By far the best part of the weekend was getting to spend time with these 3 precious girls (and the adults to!) 

 

I don't get to see these little ladies very often and having 2 boys of my own it is nice to have nieces. I got to brush Madison's wet and knotty hair and it was a treat. I told her I had never brushed a girls hair and that I didn't brush the boys hair ever. She thought that was funny. MAdi and I also ganged up on Grandma together. It was fun, well for us!
TAiya and Tessa are a little harder to bond with. Tessa is still somewhat scared of me and Taiya isn't all that interested in me either. Don't they know I am the fun auntie?? It took a while with MAdi to, so it will come.

I just love getting to know them a little better even if that just means watching them play and making them cry every so often. For the first time the 4 littles even seemed to play together a tad. I love watching them interact together. I love that both my boys know not to hit the girls but openly hit each other. I love that Grady brought down his box of Disney stuffies because he knew Taiya would like them. Watching the cousins get to know each other is priceless.

Thank you James and Chantelle for taking the plunge and driving 6 hours to come and see us. And thanks to Grandma for coming along to be that extra set off hands (and babysitter) that makes the trip that much easier.

Can't wait to see what next year's adventures will bring!