A few things

No photos from this weekend...they were all for work. But I haven't blogged in a while and had some catching up to do. We had great weather this weekend though for the first time in a long time and we took full advantage of it today. Lots of gardening and landscaping going on and believe it or not, the kids got into the pool!

We spent last weekend (which was the long weekend) at Jason's brother's house with his whole family celebrating his dad's birthday. His brother lives on a farm and there's lots for the kids to do. Plus the fact that there are 7 other kids their age there...it was a great time despite the cold weather!

The adults spent a lot of time in the barn - out of the wind - while the kids played and had a great time. It was a perfect scenario, we could see the kids and what they were up to, but didn't have to referee too much. It's amazing to me how they don't even notice the cold or wind. It could have been raining and I don't think they would have cared.

John prepared a field for the kids to plant pumpkin seeds. They each had their own name post and the idea is that they can harvest their own pumpkin when we all get together at his farm again for Thanksgiving weekend. It's a great idea, but what a lot of pressure on John to make these pumpkins grow!

Jason says he doesn't ever want a pet again after the cats are gone, but I think I will bring this photo back out when the time comes!

There was a crazy dirt bike that kept everyone busy...I don't even know whose it was, but every once in a while it would go back in the barn after someone ran into a tree or tipped over, then it would mysteriously reappear with a kid driving it again.

I love this picture taken just after the girls picked wild flowers (and asparagus) for Peter for his birthday.
Hannah found a toad which she released to an undisclosed location so that the other kids wouldn't throw rocks at it!

Oh yeah, and did I mention there was a trampoline? What more could you ask for?!

Prior to that, Hannah graduated from Brownies! Her leader was a wonderful lady and I was actually a little tearful at the ceremony...I remember feeling really grown up when I was in Guides! I can't believe how quickly 2 years of Brownies went!

School Play

I'm so thrilled that both kids got to be in their school play tonight. They've been practicing for weeks and it was a great show! For some reason there's only a school play for grade 1&2's and for grade 2&3's. We get no Christmas concert and no other presentations so we save up all our excitement for this one night. Hannah's a little sad it will be her last year performing, but I think they might move on to recorder recitals in grade 4 - yippee!

Jack was a blow fish in his play called "Go Fish", the story of a shark who wants to make friends with all the other fish. It was pretty hilarious and Jack had some funny lines! It was his first time on stage and he was feeling a little nervous. He was sorry he was wearing shorts because he felt people might be able to see his legs shaking. Believe it or not, Jason made Jack's costume! It was due at a time when I was knee deep in other stuff and Jason was concerned I might not put the proper effort into the costume...he asked me how to use the sewing machine and then away he went! It was very successful! I'm very lucky, and so is Jack!

Hannah's play, "Bugz" was about a stink bug who wasn't invited to the picnic. She was a caterpillar who turned into a butterfly along with 5 of her friends. She also delivered her line very well and looked very graceful and elegant on stage! I owe thanks to another Mom, Margaret who made ALL the butterfly costumes! They were beautiful!

Eri, Mike, Bennett & Charlotte, Mom & Dad all joined Jason, Henry & I watching tonight. For me it was fantastic! I was surprised to find myself so nervous for the kids and so excited to see all their friends do such a great job. I look forward to the day when we can go watch Bennett at his first play at school!

Murphy's Law

What are the chances that the day after the vaccuum breaks, the kids figure out that throwing glitter in the air looks like fireworks?

Boys

Look what I found written in invisible ink in the boys' room!

Quiet

The weekend is coming to a close and I'm headed to bed, physically & emotionally exhausted.

I stole a photo from the Contact show opening from my work's blog...you can see my parents in the foreground and me in a brown dress talking to my friends (who so kindly came to the opening) in the background. Jason's in there too talking to my boss I think. So it all looked great and I am so thankful to everyone who came! The show will run the whole month of May...I'm anxious to take a look at some of the other work around the city!

Saturday was the 2nd Annual Shania's Sunflower of Hope Fun Fair. I don't know the tally yet, but it looks to be financially successful in raising money for neuroblastoma research. With an added building this year and an additional 100 volunteers, everything ran very smoothly and all the families looked like they had an amazing time, I know mine did.

The highlight of the day was when the Mayor of Markham surprised Shania's family with a gift...they are going to name a street in Markham after Shania! It was a beautiful gift, there wasn't a dry eye in the whole place! It's really amazing what this little girl accomplished in her short lifetime and the impact she continues to have! I felt honoured to be a part of such a wonderful event!