summer coming or going?

the weather seems to be rain or mosquitos.

or rain and mosquitos.

it has also been the summer of spectacular thunderstorms. the air is so humid!

{photo credits: Stephen Velthuizen, edmonton journal} see more incredible photos here.

the kids started our church kids' camp on Sunday evening. it meant they did not get to bed until 9:30pm. Kiara was the only one who slept through the 5:30am Monday morning thunderstorm. unfortunately i was exhausted too and didn't take any photos. i managed to tweak my eyes open enough to be stunned by the clouds. the whole sky lit up yellow. quite an incredible site. i would have loved to have watched it move across the sky.

the early morning wake-up for Aidan made him quite exhausted by early afternoon. afternoon naps are rare and don't always make us feel better in this house. unless we are really sick. added to the humid heat of the day, it was not a great combination. i prefer to have the windows open at night in hot weather....but evening thunderstorms have not helped! if the rain sprinkled down, it would be fine. but it slams against the windows. all that to say....the entire house was hot and humid yesterday. in hindsight, i wish i had sent the kids outdoors to get wet in the sprinkler or something. a late morning and early afternoon meeting, combined with a super late lunch and a need for an early supper....it was the day of perfect disasters! ha!! Kiara seems to handle the heat fine. Aidan is more like me and overheats quickly. some days are like that. most days are not.

like Sunday....



another super hot day. so thankful that we had time to hang out in the backyard and play.



i love her pose. Kristian noticed that she started 99% of her slides like this....hands in fists...and one thumb up.



and off she goes!

they were soaked and cool. some time was spent next door in our neighbours kiddie pool. neighbours in our yard sliding away.

i sooo wanted to snap a photo yesterday.....i looked out the window when we were getting ready to leave for kids' camp and saw the funniest site ever. two grown men with beer in hand, cooling off in the kiddie pool next door. not the sight i had expected to see.



we spend some time at the local parks too. our mission is to visit as many as we can this summer.



i found this self-portrait that Aidan took with his camera. he takes the most interesting photos. using the timer-mode, he took an amazing photo of himself and Kiara a few years ago. future photography career perhaps?

well, i have to prepare for my last night of teaching the preschoolers'. wait for a phone call to pick up our car after it's scheduled maintenance....and hope that all is as it should be. i'm also thinking of ideas for my next layout class....which one to go with?! thinking ahead to what i need to do in preparation for a week away with my girlfriend at her cabin. then camping the week after that. amazing how small things can clutter up a day.

back to work!

2 cuties

the simple things in life really are the best things.....






the paint wore off from the day already. right after the photo was taken their destination was the bathtub!


school is still in progress for Aidan, but everyone (kids, parents and teachers) is ready for summer. i am looking forward to the summer with the kids. some stuff has been planned already. we all agreed that we wanted to do things like the zoo and Fort Edmonton park more regularly. as in more than once during the entire summer! hopefully the weather will be hot so that we can visit spray parks too.


not much to say. i know! shocking. {wink!}

here we go again

today is Kiara's orientation for kindergarten. the day she has been waiting for. for years.



her main goal - it seems, at times - is to catch up to her big brother!

i still remember her at the age of 11 months when i dropped Aidan off at playschool for the first time. her tearful babble seemed to tell me that we were forgetting someone. during Aidan's second year of playschool she hated to leave and come home. i was always thankful that his time at playschool coincided with her naptime. she sometimes whimpered herself to sleep in her frustration! the day Aidan rode off in the bus destined for kindergarten she also wanted to ride with him. it helped that she was finally at the age to be enrolled in playschool herself.

i have a suspicion that she will either end up teaching one day. or she may fall in love with being a student and always attend school. {let's just hope she gets those scholarships and well-paying summer jobs!}




the difficult part has been to explain that her time spent in kindergarten today will be super-duper-short!

another concept she hadn't quite understood is that kindergarten does not start 'for real' for nearly 3 months.

sigh. although i am thankful that she is of the mind to be excited for this new phase and know that she will most likely enjoy school.

yesterday i mixed up some cornstarch with water. added some food colouring. {ran out of red and yellow! apparently we use those alot?} gave her a paint brush. she also had a couple of friends join in.



an old muffin tin was perfect. much less spillage.

i also use less than ideal paintbrushes. the concrete/asphalt is pretty tough on the bristles!




this girl of mine is so creative. lately her art projects have had some incredible maturity in them. it has been interesting. to say the least! i do feel bad for the Costco employee who is lucky to have us pass by them when we check out our groceries. they always give the kids a 'happy face' and they have always loved it. Kiara, however, has been more specific and wanting pictures drawn with more skill. we have yet to meet a Costco employee to meet her standards in Sharpie-10 second-receipt-sketch talent. yesterday the poor woman was blasted by the 4 year old for putting a happy face on a flower....flowers don't have happy faces!! i dread those embarrassing moments....and they have to be dealt with. as soon as we have her 'on track' with one issue...there is a brand new issue to take us off guard again. one thing is for certain, Kiara definitely knows when to say "I'm sorry". if only there was a quick and easy way to teach her how to AVOID situations where she will have to use those words!!

so she comes home and paints a flower. with. a. happy. face.

seriously?




this is cute!  although the number of fingers on the hands freak me out a little.

well, off to walk through the rain to school. and a whole new era for this mother.

wish us both luck.