Kindergarten Graduation

This is a little late (oops)! In June, Micah finished kindergarten - yay! He made some good friends and enjoyed learning french. His class had a year end program which included the class singing a few songs and a small ceremony. Micah was really proud of his graduation hat that he made.

Jared turns 4!

Happy Birthday Jared - our baby is now 4! Jared couldn’t wait to turn four and waited patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for July 18 to arrive. For his birthday party we held an outdoor party with friends that included time at the local splash pad, water balloons, BBQ and a piñata. His party was extra special this year because Aunt Janette was able to be part of the festivities. The next day we spent the morning at the beach and in the afternoon went to SkyZone for some family fun.

Two Wheeler

In May, we decided that it was time to finally take Micah's trainer wheels off. He was nervous about it; however, was willing to try as long as he could wear his hockey elbow pads :-) He had no problem and did it on his first try.

Biking is hard work.

Happy 6th Birthday Micah!

Wow – at times it is so hard to believe that it has already been six years. He is such an amazing kid and we love him beyond words. He is creative, inquisitive and kind. Lego is his favorite toy and he can spend hours creating and playing with Lego. For the past few months he has been telling us that he wants to be a scientist when he grows up. At first he told us he didn’t know what he was going to do because he wanted to be a scientist and an astronaut. When we told him that many astronauts are scientist he was thrilled J Recently he has been saying that he wants to be a scientist who studies animals. He loves learning about animals, bugs, and sea creatures. He is always reciting different animal facts that he is learning. Right now is favorite animals are the black mamba, cheetah and sharks.

He loves being in water and is becoming a very good swimmer. Swimming is one activity that he is always enthusiastic about and when we are in Phoenix he is happy to swim every day for hours at a time.

He enjoys school; however, usually by Friday he is ready to be done. He is a kid that loves to be social and needs his home time. This is something that I know I will always need to be mindful of in not scheduling too much for him and ensure that he has time to just be at home.

He is a wonderful playmate to his brother and they play together so well (for the most part, they do have their moments).  There are times when he has been able to do things without Jared (e.g., go to a classmates birthday party at a play centre) and afterwards he will talk about wanting to take his brother there next time to show him because he knows that Jared would like that too. He is also very protective. He gets very worried if Jared runs to far ahead of me. He urges me to hurry up and for Jared to stop.

For his birthday party we had a science theme party with his friends. As a surprise we hired a ‘scientist’ from Mad Science to do experiments with the kids. It was a huge hit and Micah loved it. For birthdays we also like to do something special just as a family. This year Micah picked to go to McDonalds with a playplace. That was easy enough. On his actual birthday, I brought Micah’s class a monster craved watermelon (thanks, Pinterest J).

Easter in Phoenix 2015

Around Easter we went to Phoenix for a week. As always, it was a fun and relaxing time hanging out with my family. We had a good mix of activities: swimming, hockey game, the zoo, tennis and hiking. Grandpa also took the boys to a spring training baseball game. It was a lovely holiday.

Family photo (which took a little bribing to make happen)

Hiking with my mom and sis

Doing science experiments with Auntie Janette.

More science experiments.

Jared feeding the giraffes.

 The boys on the water ride at the zoo.

Hiking with mom.

Swimming, swimming, and more swimming.

Silliness :-p

Grandpa and Grandma

March Break and More...

We had a very low key March break. The kids went swimming, had a pj day, went hiking, played hours of lego, built volcanos and went to the zoo. All it all it was fun and a much needed break for all of us from the regular routine.

Ryan's parents came for a weekend in March.  It is always lovely when they come and the kids love spending time with their grandparents. We went to the Aquarium and CN tower with them.

For a special treat, this past Friday Jared and I picked Micah up from school after lunch for a playdate at  Skyzone (indoor trampoline park). I had taken Jared a few weeks ago for toddler time and he was eager to to go back with Micah. For the first 30 minutes we basically had to whole place to ourselves. It was so much fun for all of us and we decided that next time we need to bring Ryan too :)

This weekend was the last weekend for the local Maple festivals, so we headed over to Bonte Creek for our March tradition.

A True Canadian Winter

We got lovely snow this year and were able to take full advantage of all the activities that winter brings. We were able to go out skiing four times this year and Micah took some lessons. Both kids skiing skills improved greatly this season and we are happy that we can enjoy this activity as a family. 

We are very fortunate that we live half a block from an outdoor rink and were able to take advantage of it this year. Ryan even took Micah out few times for hockey practice and Micah enjoyed that immensely.

No snowy winter is complete without some sledding. This year we checked out a few sledding hills in our neighbourhood.

Although we tried to make the most of winter in Canada, I have to admit, I am so glad that spring is here. I am ready for summer!