Springing the kids from school/daycare early

Every so often, it is fun to do something different with Sophie and Fynn and surprise them. Sophie knew we would be picking her up just after lunch today to go to Vernon. I was seeing a specialist to look at the spider/varicose veins on the back of one of my legs, so we were all going down to Vernon for the afternoon.

My appointment was really good. I spent about 20 minutes or so with Dr. Sanders who specializes in vein treatments. The treatment is covered through BC Medical due to the aches I get in my legs and my family history. I should be done in 2 treatments because mine are pretty minor but his ultrasound did pick up a slight defect in one of the valves (blood flowing the wrong way which causes a varicose vein).

Afterwards we took the kids to Polson Park, then over to Kreative Kaos (a big art / craft show) and finally Red Robin for an early dinner.

Family life is built on routine (or atleast ours is) and every so often you have to bust open the routine and shake things up a bit. We were all supposed to be some place else this afternoon, but having a bit of fun like this is a good way to remind yourself that we were all just where we needed to be (even the awful balloon that popped in the truck on the way home and almost deafened us).

art

Sophie loves art. Last summer she took 2 weeks of Art Camp that the talented Michelle Atkins directed. For her 7th birthday which is coming up quickly, Vic and I thought it would be neat to give her an experience. So, since Michelle does some private lessons, I signed Sophie up for an hour and a half with Michelle at our home. I also took the lesson too. I know very little about actual drawing.
Michelle taught us some basics such as lines, shapes, forms, and shading. We learned about contour lines and some simple things about drawing faces.

It was fun! I would love to do it again some time. Michelle is sweet, gentle and knows a lot (she also teaches art at one of the local high schools). Sophie had fun and we got to do something together.

IPE

Last night we went to the IPE (Interior Provincial Exhibition). It is a fun event, but usually extremely crowded, so we thought a good strategy would be to go on a Thursday night. It was a bit less crowded, thankfully.

Fynn was in his glory sitting on the tractors of all sizes. Sophie was happy to be face painted.

Cirque du Soleil

We drove down to Kelowna on Thursday late afternoon to catch the 7:30pm showing of Cirque. We had a quick dinner with our friends Bryan and Patti and then we all hit the show. Well worth every penny - amazing show.

I still can't believe what the Mongolian contorsionists were able to do with their "gumby" like bodies.

The Grouse Grind

My secret little summer goal was to do the Grouse Grind. So we made some plans, were fortunate to have Grandma look after Sophie and Fynn and off we went to Vancouver with our friends Bryan and Patti.

I loved it - both Vic and I would like to do it again and better our time. We finished it in just over an hour but we spent some extra time at the beginning of the trail taking pictures. I was so tired and sweating at the end that my eyes were burning -- I could barely keep them open for this photo, but it was all well worth it. It was also our 20th wedding anniversary gift to each other. I couldn't have asked for a better event to mark it with.

a special night for Fynn

and Sophie!

It was her long awaited sleepover with her after school program kids (AKA "the hut").

Sophie talked about it for most of our vacation, asking me questions about what she should pack, how many more days were left to wait, if she would eat breakfast there (yes). Here she is with one of the teachers, Heather.

Fynn had a special night with mom and dad. We took him out for Thai food (something Sophie would not have been keen on), then a walk, investigated our growing backyard pumpkins and finally a bath and 2 bedtime stories. He was in a very sweet mood.

Father's Day -- never a dull moment

Our day started out nice enough....some presents for Vic and then he went on a nice bike ride with his buddies.

He got back and we all went up the Community Centre pool for Sophie's friend Cami's birthday.

We left at around 3:30pm for a trip to Vernon so we could take Dad out to the White Spot for dinner (photo via iPhone). On the ride home Sophie started wailing that her ear was sore -- really sore. By now we were close to Salmon Arm and I told Vic that we should take her to the emergency room at the hospital since the walk in clinic isn't open on Sundays (grrrr). Vic droppped Sophie and I off and came back 25 minutes later and we were still waiting...and waiting....finally at 9pm, Dr. Phillips saw Sophie (she is the mom of one of Sophie's classmates). I was glad we came in to get it checked out because she had a huge piece of wax that she removed that was obstructing the view of a very red ear. She didn't think it was caused by swimmer's ear since it didn't have some of the usual signs, but still, who knows if all of her swimming the past 2 days caused it. She inserted some drops and a strong dose of Tylenol settled it down and before we knew it her and Fynn were doing their silly penguin walk in the ER.

never a dull moment around here.

field trip

Today was field trip day to the Okanagan Science Centre. 42 kindergarten kiddos and a gathering of adults made their way on a big yellow bus (and a few cars) down to Vernon. We had a blast (in spite of not being able to go to the water park due to the rain). Instead we played at Polson Park.

The coolest parts of the day:
1. Getting to see Sophie having fun with the other kids in her class.
2. Eating lunch from a kids' lunch kit (just like all the other parents).
3. It was also good for me to simply be around the other kids in the classroom. Confirmation that Sophie is developing very normally.
4. Watching what happens when you mix vinegar and baking soda - blast off!
5. Making friends with the kids in my group. I think some of the little girls are really starting to get used to me. I get called "Sheri" and "Sophie's mom" a lot.
6. Getting to chat with Doris on the ride to and from Vernon.

20 years ago today...

It has been quite a ride. Wonderful, stressful, fulfilling, challenging, fun, exhausting. Without the two of us coming together there would be no little Sophie, no little Fynn. My life would not be the same without Vic. I doubt I would be doing what I do. We support each other, cheer each other on and challenge one another to live up to our potential.

We treated ourselves to lunch today at Table 24.

Here's to us.

mountaineering

They sure didn't have places like this when I was a kid!

torch relay

10 of us crammed into a corner office today on the 3rd floor of our building and watched the Olympic torch relay go by. It was pretty cool. The noise, excitement and general "over-the-topness" of the Olympics. Even in my sometimes cynical thinking about the 2010 games in Vancouver, it is hard not to get into the spirit when the torch goes by.

Speaking of torches, I went to my first Partylite party tonight at Barb's house. Some of the products were quite nice. Part of my goal for this year is saying "yes" to get-togethers like this. It gets me out of the house and around other women who are dealing with kids, work, and the usual stuff of life. Plus, there is always wine :)

olympic cookies

Today I noticed a sign on the daycare indicating that they would be taking kids to see the Olympic torch at city hall as it passes through Salmon Arm tomorrow morning. Hmmm, I thought. Sophie will be in Kindergarten. Do I let her miss a day and send her to daycare so she can go with the kids to see the torch. Yep. The whole torch thing doesn't happen very often and who knows when she will see it again.

I picked up these Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake "Olympic" cookies tonight and Sophie had fun baking them. We will bring them to daycare tomorrow as a special treat. Appropriate for the morning's events.

Canada, eh?

Happy Birthday Canada!

Each year we normally head to Osoyoos to take in the fireworks on Canada Day. With the holiday falling on a Wednesday it just wasn't going to work this year. I'm trying to save my holidays for our summer vacation, NYC in October and a little time at Christmas -- they are a precious thing.

We had a great time staying closer to home. We volunteered a bit at the Children's Festival (our daycare had a couple of booths), took in the festivities and then headed home for lunch. Later our friends Dan, Anita and their two children Avery and Sierra came over for a swim. The kids are close in age so they enjoyed playing together.

Vic commented how nice it was to stay close to home this time of the year. So many tourists on the road and crazy driving -- plus it just wipes us out.

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Happy Mother`s Day

We got back from Victoria on Friday evening, and it`s been a busy couple of days.

Saturday:
9am - Sophie`s soccer practice. They had their photos taken with their Wendy`s shirts on.

10am - work bee at the Daycare.

11am - mid afternoon - we did clean up around our yard, planting, etcc

It was also Vic`s birthday, so I managed to get a babysitter (our regular one was busy) but Dory, who Sophie`s loves was able to come over.

Vic and I had a nice dinner out here.

Today Vic planted a bunch of annuals and then we headed down to Vernon to pick up our Disney photos.

Here we are in front of our house and a photo of the little area at the side of our house that has the annuals Vic planted today. Happy Mother`s Day!

NYE

We had NYE dinner in Osoyoos at Passa Tempo with our friends Bryan and Patti.

Dec 7 - Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Today was the wrap up for Sophie's ballet season. Her pre-kinder class did Rudolph the Red nose Reindeer. Jana (another mom) and I were helper moms. We dressed the kids in their costumes, stayed with them during the other kids' performances and escorted the girls on and off the stage. Sophie and her group did really well (as did all the groups). She was so proud of herself and we were proud of our little dancer, too. As a special treat, I gave her a Hannah Montana necklace after her performance. After that we had a nice dinner and visit at my aunt and uncle's place. Perfectly nice Sunday.

cozy Sundays

It was nice to chill out at home today and enjoy our surroundings.

Sophie (and mom) wrote her letter to Santa (our retired Canada Post employees pen the letters back to kids) and we watched this.
The holiday season has officially begun.

birthday update

I turned the big 41 on Sunday.
Wow, I never imagined turning 41 and having two little ones.

Anyways, it is all good.
We were at my parent's place.
Vic spoiled me with the Barbara Walter's memoir Audition (it is a delicious book about her life) and a beautiful necklace. Plus a really nice dinner out -- without children :) thanks to my mom's babysitting.

My SIL Joanne also got be a couple of fun magazines. So, I'm definately set with reading material for the next little while.

Here are some photos of us enjoying the playground on my b'day.

date night

BSF (before Sophie and Fynn) Vic and I went to the movies once a week. It was our "thing". Since Fynn was born, I don't think we have seen one -- okay maybe one but that was when we brought Sophie and found a sitter for Fynn.

We have been having a hard time getting a sitter, so we were very happy when we ran into Nicole on Saturday working at a lighting store here in town. She recognized us since we used to live across the street from her family in our old neighbourhood. She is about 20 and has just finished up a college program and still enjoys babysitting. She still sits for the 3 little boys that lived down the street from us.

I got her business card from the lighting store and we called her this morning to see if she could watch the kids for a few hours while Vic and I went to a late matinee and then grabbed some dinner at a brew pub. We had a great time and she was wonderful with Sophie and Fynn.

BTW...the movie was eh, not so good. Fairly good special effects for the war scenes, and it tried to tell an important story about Canada's efforts during WWI, but the poor excuse for a love story was just bad (bad writing, some bad acting).

Trick or Treat Trail

Downtown Salmon Arm businesses hand out candy to the kids from 3-5:00pm. It's a lot of fun.

-Sophie and Fynn met up with Buzz Lightyear (I work with Logan's mommy)
-A purple mermaid (I also work with Hunter's mommy and she goes to our daycare)
-Fat Cat (the mascot at the credit union where I work)
-Fynn flirting with two of my co-workers
....and a cast of other characters who were terribly spooky

We then headed home so we could put a casserole from Kraft Foods in the oven and hit our neighbourhood before we called it a night. Daddy lit a fire in our fireplace and a little wine capped off a great day.