Happy 25 1/2 months!

Last night we celebrated James and Mason's Grammy's birthday at our place with a delicious bbq dinner on a lovely summer afternoon and evening! Every time I told James it was Grammy's birthday party, he seemed shattered that it wasn't his and pointed to himself sadly...so I told a little white lie and told it was also his birthday again!

Cutie pie Mason!

No birthday party complete without blue balloons or J Lohr!

Snuggles with Auntie Jocey! (notice lovely new paint colour in the background!)

You did it! Yummy peace blackberry pie from Krause (same place we got our wedding pies!)

More firehall fun

James had a blast, no pun intended, pumping out the big hose at Geoff's work last weekend! He sqeals with delight as we pull into the firehall driveway and climbs into the big truck! Geoff even drove it around and they got to wash it together! So fun!

Camping in the great outdoors, but still really close to all your basic needs

We gave camping in our backyard a shot with the kiddos last weekend and for the most part it turned out great and by that I mean I got to sleep in my nice cozy bed inside all to myself, until a wee visitor joined me for some night feeds!

Setting up the tent (pop-up) was a breeze and proved to be quite an attraction all day!

Wouldn't be camping without smores roasted on our outdoor patio heater!

Brushing all the sugar bugs off!

Settling into the sleeping bag, with about 8 books and 45 minutes of me pretending to sleep and watching James wiggle around and talk to himself...until....

Mason had fallen asleep inside, so Geoff tucked into the tent for the night with James and I slept inside....not too bad for a first go! It was so sweet watching James fall asleep!

10 on the 15th?

Oops, seems things got away from me this month (no shock there) - so here's another round of my new post called 10 on the 10th...

1. James loves playing on our new deck, especially sweeping it (I love this kid!)

2. Mason loves his jolly jumper

3. James is not interested in swimming in anything but a public pool (no backyard, private pools?!)

4. Mason on the other hand loves to swim

5. Mason can fit in my double stroller now!

6. James hosed Mason down with a hose the other day (by accident and by poor parental supervision on my part) - Mason did not like this water experience!

7. James has a new favorite book "The Sleepy Lion Lullaby", by an author we know - it's a great bedtime story and beautifully illustrated - pick one up for that special little one in your life!

8. Anytime we ask James what he wants to eat, he asks for sushi and anytime he's on the phone, he's ordering sushi...again, I love this kid!

9. Mason is just about rolling from front to back

10. James had his first sleep over away from Mom and Dad and I got three whole days of just Mason!

Island Adventures

I decided late Saturday night to hop on the first ferry over to Nanaimo with the boys (Geoff was working) and surprise my Mom and family at our Family Reunion at Rathtrevor Beach! It was a mad pack and dash to get there, but we made it unscathed and had a great day at the beach! We stayed in Victoria until Thursday with my parents, as Geoff was working and it's always great to have a visit with them (and get lots of help!)

Here's James napping at the beach (this was my first day ignoring his nap at home and he did well all things considering!)

Eating lunch with Grauntie Karen

Playing bocce with Papa G & Gruncles

Back in Victoria, happy after a long travel day!

Oh you're so funny Grandma!

A nice visit with Uncle Jeff

Cuddles!

Surprise for me when I got home - Geoff painted the house (well half of it anyways, a huge task) - I love the colour (we had picked it out before) and can't wait for it to be done and the new deck is all done too, looks amazing!!)

Off for a dip!

In the midst of a heat wave, there's nothing better than knocking on your relatives door and inviting yourself in to their beautiful pool - and that's exactly what we did this afternoon once it hit 29 degrees inside the house! I had felt bad I forgot my camera when we first took Mason swimming last month, so was happy to be able to get some good shots today! He stayed in the pool happily for an hour!

And then he settled in for a nice long nap!

James did swim for a bit, but was too preoccupied with the crackers and blueberries Auntie Deb put out! They even ordered pizza for us for dinner - how wonderful!

Finally....summer!

It's here! Bring on nudie time (for the boys that is!) We've been loving every minute of our new deck and can't believe how much we use it now that it's safe, useable & nice looking!

James loves little jobs like sweeping the deck and here he is 'painting' the house (with water)

Nudie bumbo time!

Taking a (very short) dip in the pool, still slightly cold!

Happy sun-seeker!

Keep it coming Mr. Golden Sun!!

Three Day Vacation in Brentwood

Papa G and Grandma caught the ferry back to Brentwood Bay with an extra passenger in the car…me,James !!!! I do not do sitting on the ferry. We walked circles inside and out and spent 25 minutes in thecafeteria. I waved to passengers and shouted “ HI “

Papa g showed me how to work the remote control for the sprinkler system, took me crabbing at the beach and let me blow my own bubbles on the deck.

Grandma showed me off to some of her friends...Sue, Karen, Judy and Trudy. We also went to the big aquarium in Sidney and lots of trips to the park. We made smoothies and even had a dinner with Uncle Jeff, Auntie Genn and big dog Tika.

Best part was having my bottle on the beige recliner…oh and stories on the blue (doo) chair!

The ferry trip back was mellow. I watched Barney on DVD as I was all tuckered out !! So was Grandma.She said I could come back anytime. I will Grandma !!

(Grandma's first blog post)

Ferry ride

Looking for crabs

Catching a sunset & watching Tika swim

Shaw Marine Centre

I don't miss Mom and Dad at all!

Sharing a laugh over milk

Family dinner

Bed time!

Mama got to snuggle Mason for three whole days!

Oh Canada!

We spent Canada's Birthday having a nice family day - phewf, it had been a long time! Between two jobs, two babies and many many hours of deck building, it seems like family days are a rarity right now! Geoff and I spent the morning putting some finishing pickets up and the safety gate, which made our new deck totally child proof! We had a nice lunch together, while the babies slept, under the umbrella in the pouring rain - didn't matter, deck was done and I was having lunch with my hubby (the corona was nice too!)

Here's James checking it out for the first time!

High five for Dad, who worked so hard for our new play area!

We decided last minute to throw the kids in the car and head out to Langley's Canada Day Festivities at McLeod Park!

James got a ride wrist band, which we wondered if he'd get his money out of, but once he found the train and rode it 10 times, we were satisfied that our $15 was well worth it!

Moo - is this a Canadian Cow?!

Instead of eating crappy carny food, we opted for sushi at our favorite place and cuddled in for some red snuggles before bed! What a great day with my guys! xox