Adventure Challenge-Race Day

On Saturday, September 11th my Mom and Jonathan's Dad participated in and COMPLETED the Adventure challenge. It was a very difficult race starting out in Kayaks, then biking and hiking through difficult trails. Mom completed the "short" course in 4.5 hours and Dad completed the long course in 6.5... together they raised over $4000 for Canuck Place Children's Hospice and we are very proud of them for their accomplishments!

Because they started at different times they actually finished together which was special for us as we waited at the finnish line and they both came running down the last stretch wearing their matching shirts with Noah's picture on the front. It was a fun day... we waited for them at every start and finish of the 3 elements and in between there were hot dogs, face painting, snow cones and a playground for the kids to amuse themselves at.

Here are a few pictures as promised... sorry they aren't in order but it gives you an idea anyway.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO MADE DONATIONS IN NOAH"S MEMORY!

Big Girl Bed

Today is Angeline's first day in her big girl bed. We were busy this morning arranging David's room so that they can share. It works out the David is having a sleepover with his grandparents so she can get used to her bed on her own. Hopefully it will go well when David is here tomorrow night. I know they are probably going to want to play and not go to sleep.

Angeline will be 18 months on the 14th. This is about the age that David started getting out of his crib and she is a better climber (if you can imagine) so it was time for a change. Also this way they have lots of time to get used to it before baby arrives. And we have a king size bed coming on Tuesday so we can now work on getting our double bed into Angeline's old room and then getting our room ready for the King. Not sure where we are going to put the baby???

Meet Our Fish

At the end of July we set up Jonathan's 40 gallon fish tank and began preparing it for fish once again. We introduced some live plants and then a bunch of different fish in about 3 stages. For the most part they have all done well. It's amazing how much we all enjoy sitting and watching them. Here are some picks taken with our underwater camera.

Freddie, Freida & Stripe

We also have a yellow gourami, 5 red fish, 12 small tetra's as well as Charlie & Waldo who keep our tank clean and a bunch of snails that are already multiplying. I have the types of fish written on a piece of paper which I of coarse can't find at the moment! We are really enjoying them though and we have only had 3 deaths.

Canuck Place 15 Year Anniversary & Family Party

Sunday we all went to the annual Canuck Place family BBQ which was also celebrating their 15 year anniversary. We had a great Family day at Vandusen Gardens. Angeline's highlight was the bubble machine... she would migrate to it whenever we put her down saying "bubbles...bubbles!" David's favorite was probably meeting Fin and high fiving the Superman Smart Bread Sandwich guy (large piece of bread walking around in red boots and a cape). Jonathan's highlight was probably the photo booth and the walk around the gardens. I enjoyed just being out the 4 of us. It really was an amazing day with lots of smiles and a few tears as well. As a young girl sang on stage in her wheel chair I couldn't help but be sad that I wasn't able to continue to witness Noah's accomplishments. Still I am very thankful for the role Canuck Place has played in Noah's life and continues to play in ours.

I've mentioned before that my mom and Jonathan's dad will be participating in the Adventure Challenge on September 11th to help raise money for this wonderful organization if anyone feels led to make a donation there is a link on the Canuck Place website for the Adventure Challenge.

Pizza!

Creativity

Just thought I would write a quick post capturing the kids creativity. David made this Lego "town" all by himself. He also took a picture of himself which I thought was really cute. And Angeline just loves to do anything to mimic her big brother. She will sit and draw much longer then he did when he was 17 months (might be a girl thing too).

Today has been a bit of a challenge for me. I have been teaching David about "privileges." No TV, Gum, Dessert, or Computer if he doesn't co-operate. All I want him to do is help me pick up a few toys in the living room but it is proving to be a long day. Yesterday Angeline and I ate freezies in front of him because he wouldn't touch his lunch. I mad home made macaroni and cheese and he told me it was "bad." There are lots of cute things he does too like before going to bed he tells me "Mommy, I want to give you my kiss." He also has very cute bed time prayers.

Anyway, meeting Jonathan at the mall later to see if we can get a Queen size mattress and bed. We have officially run out of room in our Double. Starting to plan renovations to turn our basement laundry room into a second bathroom. We were talking about moving our bed room downstairs before baby is born but for now we will just focus on the bathroom and not try to get too far ahead of ourselves... I am getting a bit STRESSED!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer... looks like September is almost here!

19 Week Ultrasound

Had our 19 week ultrasound today... we are actually 20 weeks on Thursday. Everything went well. Baby is healthy. The technician asked us if we wanted to find out the gender before we started and we painfully said NO! We do want to know of course but we just can't let go of that anticipated moment at birth when the announcement is made. We got 4 nice pictures of Sugar Plum... these two were our favorites. Got to see baby moving lots. I have not been feeling Baby move much because the placenta is currently at the front... different then any of my other pregnancies.

I am feeling very relieved that everything looks great and happy that we are half way through this pregnancy. Now I am just counting down until we get to meet the newest addition to our family. I can't wait!

Angeline & the Slide

Can you believe she is only 16 months old?

Shuswap Lake Part I

We got back from our summer holidays at Shuswap Lake yesterday afternoon. We are still working on putting a few things away and settling in back at home. We had a wonderful vacation and great weather but it is always nice to be at home and I must say it felt good to sleep in my own bed!

During our week at Shuswap Angeline (16months old) said 7 new words... "bath, cookie, cracker, oh-oh, grandpa, go (can't remember the other one right now)."

David enjoyed rowing the dingy (which he does well), taking the dog for a walk, ridding his scooter down the hill, and driving grandpa's boat.

They both loved all the watermelon and extra desserts and playing peek-a-bo in between the tubes.

Jonathan and I enjoyed the extra hands to help out with the kids (3 sets of grandparents, 2 uncles and 1 aunt), the food, the chance to play a few games of settlers and mexican train and the time to visit with everyone. We also went mini golfing with David for the first time and his uncles and auntie and had ice-cream which is always a favorite. We also drove to Vernon on Monday to visit my Great-Grandpa.

I plan to post some more pictures and maybe a video or two... thus titling this post "Part I."

How does your garden grow?

I have been finding a bit more time lately to work on the garden. I have definitely had to water more often now that summer is here. This morning I took some pictures before I watered just to give you an idea of how our garden is growing. We also have some tomato plants but they aren't doing too well this year... not sure if we will get any big tomatoes. We have rasberries which have started and blueberries (no berries yet). We also have parsley and dill and we have already harvested and eaten our radishes. I planted some things too early I think that never grew including zucchini which is supposed to be easy (and I love zucchini). Next year I want to try broccoli because it is supposed to be delicious when home grown. I am learning lots and having fun and the kids like it too. There is only ever one ripe strawberry on our bush at a time because he always checks and eats them (but that's what they are for). I am hoping to get out some more soon, let the kids play while it is a bit cooler outside and get some MORE weeding done (there is always more weeding to do).

Carrots

Lettuce

Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers

Cherry Tomatoes

Potatoes

Noah's Roses

Strawberries

Peas