Summer Smiles.

Bring on the summer! It was late in arriving but we're all excited it's here.

Love.

Everyone likes a hug.

Homework

Holden loves preschool. He attends the french preschool five mornings a week and he misses it on the weekends. It seems crazy that he will be 5 this summer and will be attending full time kindergarten in the fall. All in french. The kids are both pretty much fluent in french and english which is super fun and a great advantage to them.
Holden had to make a collage about himself for school. He brought out all the things he wanted pictures of. That included about 12 dinosaurs and his name as he had written it.
He was proud of the pictures and his work. So were we.

Clean.

Short hair is easier to manage and keep clean. And when the kids decide to cut their own hair, since they both want to do everything themselves, then it's time to pull out the clippers.

Yoda the Turtle

Afton and I spend mornings at the local climbing gym while Holden is in school. I love to climb and welcome any exercise I can get. Afton loves some mom time alone and Yoda the turtle has taken up residence at the gym so she has developed quite a happy bond with him.
"Yoda's sleeping." she says as we arrive.
"Yoda's awake, he's hungry." she usually says after about a half an hour.
"He's nice."
"Bye Yoda!" she says as we head down the stairs and out the door to pick up Holden.

In the snow hut.

This has been a great winter for snow huts. We have had plenty of snow.
Therefore we have built plenty of snow huts.
Make a pile.
Leave it over night.
Hollow it out.
Play in it.
Play on it.
Poke holes through it.
Collapse it.
Repeat.
It's good fun for everyone.

How 2010 ended.

Life is busy.

To put it plain and simple.
There is a time where you reach your maximum capacity and then you go on autopilot.
And the next thing you know, your baby is close to three years old.

Helping with repairs.

Kids always want to help. Not that the help always helps. But allowing them to take part in the daily bike repairs, chores, cooking, etc lets them know that their contributions are valuable and appreciated.

We're home from the lake!

Here we come up the stairs...

...do we have your full attention...

...and here's the naked happy dance.

Just another summer day...

...enjoying the lake.

Kids on bikes.

Despite the fact that I have no photos of myself on a bike, I spent most days in the summer on one. The kids were happy to wave as they headed out to play and say, "Have fun biking!"

At the lake in Whistler.

The kids spent most of the summer at the lake. They splashed. They dug. They paddled. They floated. They ate. They napped. Afton licked her tube. Holden threw lots of rocks and made lots of friends. They would leave the house in the morning with a stroller full of food, sunscreen and toys that floated and come home at the end of the day happy, tired and hungry. At the end of the summer they both had better tans than I have ever had.

Relax or not.

The kids and I spent the summer in Whistler. Me to ride my bike. The kids had a nanny and they spent the summer playing, swimming, exploring, picnicking, hiking, bear watching,...etc.
At the Whistler house the kids moved right in. Being 2 and 4 they could not read the 'Relax' sign posted above the bunk beds. But they had fun not relaxing!

Outside.

The more time we spend outside the better our lives are.

Ross agrees!