8 and counting!

Happy Birthday to Jack!

Well Jack turned 8 on October 14! It's hard to believe, but time just ticks away and each year it's always surprising as to how fast it's gone by! He's a very enthusiastic 3rd grader who enjoys everything from sports to music to art. I think the thing that has been most surprising is Jack's willingness to express himself by singing, dancing, drawing, and writing. He loves to make up songs and writes funny little stories and poems. He's very creative and likes to draw a variety of scenarios from rock bands to football plays. In his 8 years our little boy who was such a peanut at birth, has grown into a great, amazing and fun loving kid! Such a great athlete, Jack has excelled in his sports, which have included soccer, basketball, football and ball hockey. His latest loves are his rip stick and guitar hero. Both of which he has mastered well...he has a very competitive spirit by nature (Hmmm...I wonder where he gets that from) but a very gentle heart. We love you Jack..here's to another amazing year full of fun and surprises! xoxoxo

BC Lions Game

I took the boys to a BC Lions game with the rest of their cousins and needless to say they had a blast! Football has quickly become a favorite sport...next to basketball of course...and it was so nice to be able to go to a professional sporting event that still had good ticket prices and allowed the kids to cheer for a home team! Forget Canucks tickets, unless you've got money to burn, and now that the Sonics are no longer we can't even enjoy a pro basketball game. So really, I think being a CFL fan is the way to go...Go LIONS!!

Good Boys!

Sometimes I think that everything I say goes in one ear and out the other and that no one cares about the small things that I'm trying to get my boys to appreciate...like a nicely made bed! Well it is a very heart warming feeling to go into their room and see that a 6 year old and a 4 year old boy do in fact have the capabilities of not only making their own bed, but also taking pride in doing it well!...that's all I ask...to do your best and give it 100%, even when making a bed! Although it does come across as a tad bit perfectionistic, the importance of taking care of your own things and your own space is a very good lesson boys can benefit from at an early age! Now if their dad could only be so diligent!

The Enforcer!

Although completely not okay in so many respects, I have to say that an incident that happened at school the other day may just show a small glimmer of hope, however misguided, that perhaps brotherly love does exists between our boys. Jack and Hunter and some of their friends were playing football at school. The rules were set out and as sure as the sun was shining the game quickly turned. Although I have no real details as to what actually went down, all I know is that an altercation between Jack and John occurred (typical and predictable, and not really that big a deal). Anyway, not much later John comes over to me to say that Hunter has been trying to get one of Jack's friend's to punch him. Completely appalled and annoyed at Hunter's behaviour I reprimand him and the other boy then ask Hunter what he was thinking and why he would stoop to such barbaric behaviour. He had nothing to say, only "I don't know", which of course irked me even more.
Later, as the story is unraveled it turns out that Hunter saw what happened between Jack and John and then took it upon himself to bring on the big guns. (Jack's friend, who's a little larger then the rest of them)
As misguided as my wee one was, in his warped and twisted way he truly believed he was doing right by his brother...thus becoming the enforcer!

10 pm Yoga!

The kids have been in school now for a couple weeks and the daily grind of their schedules always over-rides anything else. Drop off at school, pick up from school, football practice, soccer practice, homework, birthday parties football games, soccer games, PAC meetings, it's all one big juggling act. In between there's errands to run, groceries to buy, lunch to make, dinner to make, and of course a never ending house to clean. I've been working at the yoga studio a couple times a week and now the only real time to spend strictly for myself has come at the 10pm yoga class! Although it does seem rather late to be doing yoga, I am by nature a late night person. Instead of vegging out on the couch watching TV, or sitting on the computer until 12am, 3 times a week I make my sorry ass get up and take the 10pm class. I do feel great when it's over and at least at the end of even the most hectic of days, I can manage to find a little peace for myself!

Cole's 1st day of Preschool!

Although I have no idea why Preschool has to start a week later than regular school, Cole finally got his chance to step out into the world of institutionalized learning! Preschool is such a crazy concept. I mean it's essentially saying to parents that kids need to go to school to get ready for when it's actually time to go to school. Where's the logic...we have all been suckered in to thinking that kids need school from as early as 2 or 3 years old...really...it's glorified day care...throw in a circle time and add themes to each week and wa la...preschool! but the kids love it, I love the 2 and 1/2 hour break, and at the end of the day, I'd feel guilty if I denied my kids the chance to experience the wonders of preschool. Cole was very excited to have his own backpack and pack his own snack...because we decided to wait until next year to put Cole into Kindergarten he was definitely ready for his turn at school...ah the fun he will have! Hooray for Cole!

Another school year!

Although yesterday was technically the "first" day of school, today officially marks the beginning of full time, Monday-Friday, all day classes! Jack and Hunter start grades 3 and 1 while Cole will start preschool next Monday....ahhhh...the sounds of silence have never seemed so sweet!...it's amazing how one child at home is so easy, but with that said, it just goes to show you how fast time flies...soon Cole will be in full time school and I will have to evaluate the next phase of my life...whatever that maybe! For now, I will enjoy not having to cart everyone off to the grocery store or listen to the moans as I tell them we are off to do errands...a small milestone...but I will take it!

Good friends!

It was Andrea's 30th Birthday and she was successfully welcomed into her thirties with a number of surprises, one of which was a party thrown at her parents house. She is the last in our group of six to become an official member of the 30 plus crowd which we are all now so lucky to be a part of. Although I remember my mom and dad in their thirties it seemed so old when you were younger. Now, well, it really isn't! No one is anymore sophisticated or "mature" as you might have thought the thirties would be like. All in all I've come to the conclusion that no one really grows up...they just get tired of being such idiots as the twenties afforded you to be! In any case this was the first time we had all been able to be together all summer....responsibilities and schedules just seemed to collied this summer...but that's the best part about true friendship...it's always there during the important moments in life!

Football Season has begun!

After 2 years of saying NO to football, we finally caved in and let the boys decide to give it a try. Hunter is playing flag while Jack is playing tackle. Jack's team already has an established group of kids who are in their 4th year of playing...all the kids start out in Flag and then move up based on age...although this is Jack's first season he is catching on quickly and having a blast! Their team has already played in 2 preseason tournaments and won both! I do have to say that it is a lot...the boys practice twice a week for 1 1/2 hours and then games on Sundays...Hunter's is the same, luckily practices run at the same time, but figuring out games will be tricky. It's funny how quickly the kids activities take priority over your own...I guess that's the responsibility of being a parent...oh ya...that would be us!

Boys are inately gross!

I don't know what it is about boys...they must be born with some genetic anomaly that allows them to at any given moment be completely and utterly disgusting about bodily functions! This morning as I was sitting reading my magazine of gossip, (a woman's genetic anomaly) the conversation I over heard from Hunter and Jack was this...Hunter says, "wait, wait for it," as he tries his hardest to squeeze out any bit of gas he might have in him...Jack giggling, says, "can you help me figure out what I had for lunch today"...Hunter pipes in "how are we suppose to do that"...Jack then replies, "here smell my fart!" they both laugh out loud as I yell at them to quit being so rude and disgusting...The dialogue that they so happily recited was of course straight out of a movie they frequently watch called Little Giants. A movie for kids about football with of course your standard stereotypical boy behaviour built into it! They are now wrestling on the ground, Hunter finally wound up enough passes his gas...Jack pops up in disgust for a brief moment over the odour and then proceeds to place his nose right up Hunters butt for a second sniff...they are both laughing hysterically and all I can say is, "you two are GROSS!" This of course is my life! Boys are gross and it never ends...EVER!

Where has the summer gone!

Now that school is exactly one week away I am both sad and happy that summer vacation is coming to an end! June was such a bust with terrible fall like weather, but by the time we made it up to Green lake at the end of the month, Summer had definitely arrived! We had a great time visiting with Grandpa Jack swimming and roasting marshmallows everyday...although Hunter was really the only kid who actually swam...I think the combination of the cold water and thought that fish or other things being in the lake freaked Jack out too much that he never allowed himself to actually swim. He loved the boats and the floating beds, but that's about it. Cole was another cautious child...he wore this crazy, swimsuit that was part life vest part spandex shorts everyday and still wouldn't swim in the water...it was very annoying to say the least...the boys however did take full advantage of the hot tub that was up and running this summer. The weather was great, very hot, but the mosquitoes were a little crazy at sundown. The boys are at a great age... they could take the peddle boat out on their own entertain themselves and for the most part leave me to cook, read and relax! Jack learned how to play checkers so every moment away from the lake he was challenging someone to play, grandpa never let him win, but he did get very good...it's amazing how things like that just click..Hunter is only 19 months younger than Jack yet he was at a complete loss...couldn't quite figure out the strategy of it all. John on the other had was completely cocky as to his checkers playing ability, that is until I kicked his butt! He was so pissed because about 10 moves into the game he knew he was doomed and that he had to painfully suffer playing through it...ahhh the satisfaction of it all...All in all it was a nice time away...it's too bad we were only there for 6 days but we know we can always go back!
In mid July, we went camping for a couple nights at Golden Ears National Park with the Josephs, Macfarlenes, and Estradas...all in all 4 campsites and 15 kids later we had a total blast...the kids played in the forest all day long building forts and of course wielding sticks around...it's funny how nature will still bring out the true "nature" of girls vs boys. The girls took lots of time planning and preparing, then building and beautifying their forts...the boys on the other had found a pile of sticks that somewhat resembled a fort and wa-la...they had themselves a fort...no nonsense, no fuss! We adults pretty much occupied our time with eating and drinking and then inventing a game we all know as "Extreme Boccie" John and I won both rounds of course, not that we're competitive or anything. Late one evening after a few too many beers and a few funny stories, the park ranger told us to quiet down...it's still like being in high school I tell you! Next year we will all do it again!

Better Late then Never!

I finally realized that almost 8 years have gone by since I told myself that I was going to keep track of all the precious moments that happens when you have a child...Well...ummmm...3 boys later and a heck of a lot of procrastination, although it's almost silly to say that, I mean putting something off for a few weeks is procrastination, maybe even a few months, but I guess popping out 3 kids in 3 years affords me all the excuses in the world!
I wrote Jack a letter on his first birthday and meant to do it every year after...I think I made it to his 2ND but nothing after that! Hunter and Cole barely have pictures put together, let alone a letter! So with the weight of guilt pressing down on me, I thought maybe if I did some writing online I would be more inclined to tell a few stories and essentially give them something to look back on...And if truth really be known...our friends( Eric and Leslie) who have been blogging about their family and kids over the past couple of years have made me extremely envious of the eventual diary that their kids could one day look back on. So even if this isn't the most original of ideas it is the reality of this day and age to blog or post or what have you, the things you may have only written in a diary in the the past! In any case...this will be our stories to tell in the future!