How Did We Get Here?

This week Parker and Lydia and Lydia’s friend went to  VBS (Vacation Bible School) at the church up the street.  They had a great time and by next year Lydia will be able to stay on her own.  Given her frequent bathroom trips, (5 in the matter of a couple of hours) I stayed with her.

One morning the story was about Jesus coming to talk to the crowd. We were the crowd and one of the helpers came in dressed as Jesus. Lydia kept asking where Jesus was and when he was coming. I guess she knew there was an imposter. She was quite upset when the real deal did not show up in earthly form.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Brett Ryan was in Saint John today kicking off his Canadian tour.  http://www.family.ca/familyjams/tour.php

 So far I don’t know anything about him other than Hannah wanted to see him.   It’s pretty rare that Family channel includes any of the Maritimes in it’s events.  Hannah and her friend were in a talent contest today though so we only had a few minutes.  We hurried into the mall and snapped a few photos and a brief video.

After our quick stop at the mall, we booted it up the hill for the Easpoint Has Talent Competition.  There were about 40 performers aged 6-14.  It was long and hot but the girls had fun.  Each Saturday between now and Aug 30, 8-10 of them will perform.  the winner from each group will then perform on the last day and the grand prize is a trip for four to Disney.

Hannah sings her song acapella that she wrote in grade 4.

Alexa performs.

Looks like I’ll be MIA for a few days…at least til the kids go to bed.  We’ve got three new pets.  A frog, a snake and a monkey.

It’s been such a peaceful week with Hannah gone to camp.  Only whining, no bickering. Parker has gone to literacy every morning, Lydia to VBS, then I leave there and pick up Parker and bring him back for the rest of the program.  We come home, have lunch and it’s off to bed for Lydia.  Parker is out the door to the supervised playground program at 1pm and surfaces again around 4pm.  Have I accomplished anything?  Nope.  An afternoon  at the beach and that’s about it.  I’ve taken it easy and relaxed. 

Hannah arrives home tomorrow afternoon and she does not do well when her sleep is interrupted.  I’ll plan on a quiet afternoon/evening with a nice long bath for her and an early bedtime.  She’s singing in a local talent competition this summer and Saturday is an orientation for it.  Then we’ll head to the waterfront for the Buskers.

 Next week Parker has his literacy two mornings but that’s it.  No camps, nothing to drive the kids to.  Maybe we’ll go for a hike in the Irving Nature Park.

  Lydia and Parker are going to VBS this week and it’s a surfing theme.  I realize Lydia is a little young to take it all in but she is picking up the important parts.  When the kids hear someone say the key words, they shout out the surfer phrase.   Be Obedient- Hang Ten, Be Kind- Catch a Wave, Be Forgiving- Wipe Out.

This afternoon we had a great time at the beach with Lydia’s best buddy.  I looked after Kate before her mom went on maternity leave.  The girls had a great time at the beach and I forgot to get pics of kate’s baby brother.  I was wearing him in the sling while her mom had the girls in the water.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Yay.  Can’t say Rosie is one of my favourite people.  I find her far too loud and abraisive. Dh just sent me this link.

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/354501

Matrimony Many gay couples expected to take advantage of Canadian law during Saint John stopover

SAINT JOHN - Many cruise ship passengers who arrive in Saint John single this morning will pull out of port tonight married.

When the Norwegian Dawn docks at 9 a.m., 2,300 gay and lesbian passengers will disembark to what R Family Vacations’ co-founder Gregg Kaminsky hopes will be a huge outpouring of hospitality.

Rosie O’Donnell, talk show maven, activist and blogger, will be at the helm. R Family Vacations is a charter company co-founded by Kaminsky and O’Donnell’s partner Kelli Carpenter O’Donnell.

“One of the reasons we chose two of the ports in Canada is because we love going to places we feel welcome,” said Kaminsky. “We did go to Halifax a few years ago and everyone loved it.”

During the Halifax visit in 2005, Rosie praised Canada’s progressive gay marriage laws.

“We have gone to a few places on our cruises where we have not been welcome,” said Kaminsky. “It’s frustrating. You’re on vacation. Gay people love Canada in America.”

They love it so much, in fact, that 20 couples are planning on getting married during their Saint John stopover.

Some are planning to tie the knot at Mahogany Manor, confirms owner Carl Trickey. The bed and breakfast owned by Trickey and his partner, James Crooks, is an apt place for the weddings given that, in 2005, Trickey and Crooks were one of the first same-sex couples to be legally married in New Brunswick.

Their marriage came just one month after Canada became the fourth country in the world to legally allow same-sex couples to wed.

Nine years before their marriage, Crooks and Trickey became “beloved partners for life” during a covenanting ceremony.

That’s a far cry from New York, where gay couples cannot legally marry, says Kaminsky. Massachusetts and California are the only two states that have made gay marriage legal.

New York state will, however, recognize marriages performed somewhere else, he said.

“That’s one of the things we’re really excited about our visit to Halifax and Saint John,” said Kaminsky

What’s for snack????

I hate it, can’t stand it.  We have a set snacktime of 10 and 3.  Yet they start asking an hour beforehand.  During the school year, I portion food like crackers, strawberries and grapes.  It makes packing lunches much faster in the morning and keeps a bit more control on making food last.  The most perishable fruit like strawberries, bananas gets eaten first, then apples or when we run out of fruit, there’s always apple sauce.

I decided I would keep portioning for the summer as well as there are 4 weeks that I need to pack lunches for day camps.  It also means they aren’t fighting over who got more because they served themselves.

Here’s a picture of the dishes I use.  Grapes are all washed and ready and I made a snack mix of Ritz Bits and Goldfish.

I also picked up lots of cups for summer.  Then if they get left in the van it’s no big deal and I alos have lots for company.  I got these Rubbermaid knockoffs at the Superstore for $.24 each. 

This is my favourite type of cup though…as long as your not putting milk in it.  The valve is built in so there are no parts to lose.

They’re also cheap.  Under $3 at Walmart.

Anyone have any good ideas for summer snacks?

Three weeks of summer vacation down and 7 to go.  Every year i say we’re not going to have a busy summer and we are going to be free to do what we like.  But then we end up filling the calendar.

Week one- I had a few days of babysitting and Hannah got her braces off.  We found out there is a playground program at the school next door.  How sweet is that?  It’s a drop in type of deal and it’s free except for field trips to the movies or pool.  So from 9-12 and 1-4, somone else can deal with the kids arguing and I don’t hear “I’m bored, what’s for snack?”.  When the weather isn’t great, they can be in the gym and use all the equipment.  Considering all the foggy days we’ve had, they’re in there quite a bit.

Week Two- Parker went to camp until Wednesday. Hannah had a sleepover with 4 friends and we celebrated Canada Day.  Lydia still gets excited when she sees a Canadian falg and she now has the national anthem on her Sansa Shaker BTW, I love that thing.  It makes errands much easier.  We have it on a lanyard that says Boys Are Smelly.

When Parker came home from camp, he started a three week literacy program.  It’s an hour and a half every morning for three weeks.  In his group there are only three kids.  Can’t complain about that ratio.  It’s at a school that is only a couple of minutes away so we don’t have far to go and I try to plan to do errands while he’s there.  The good news is that his reading is strong although not fluid but that has more to  do with his speach than reading ability.  He is working on his writing skills.

On the weekend, we went to Mispec Beach where dh got a very bad sunburn. The kids had lots of fun though.

Week Three- Parker was doing literacy and soccer camp.  Another program, just next door.  He was an hour late every day but just jumped right in.  It was put on by Athletes In Action For a kid who has motor skill issues (still waiting to see a neurologist) he seemed to enjoy himself and I think he learned more than he did last year in the summer soccer program.  This one was more intense and as one of the youngest there, was pushed to keep up.

The girls and I went strawberry picking and made jam, took in a concert.  Squid was doing a free performance.

If you have the opportunity to go see them, DO IT! They were great. We also hit the beach on Friday along with Ladybug mom and another CPOer. Hannah went to grammies before heading to camp for a week.
Yesterday we hit the beach again and then the mall to see Santa.  As part of the Rising Tides Festival, the mall is doing Christmas in July.

Since Lydia has Santa on her invite list for her birthday party in a couple of weeks, we had to see him.  She was impressed that he was wearing Crocs like her but didn’t want to get too close.   Our neighbor has some Santa costumes so who knows, maybe he will make an appearance to hand out treat bags.

Anyway, that’s it for the first three weeks of summer.  I think by the end of it, I’ll need a week for me.

That’s right.  I said bring it on.  And I can because I live in the foggy city.  It never lasts long enough to be unbearable.  The temperature in Saint John can change drastically in a half hour.   Even the summer I was pregnant for Lydia was fine.  Today was the first day we made it to the beach.

Parker has finally decided to embrace the beach.  Two years ago we paid him $.25 to go in the water up to his belly button.  Today he spent the entire time in the water.

Hannah is not going to be getting any more two piece bathing suits.  I forgot to see which one she had on today as we were leaving.

 Lydia had lots of fun dragging daddy to the ice cold water and making the kids lug buckets of water for her to pour on the sand.  She even fared well with out a nap. 

I really enjoyed having a potty trained little girl instead of dealing with sandy diapers and lugging a stroller.

Here’s some pictures of our day. The LNG Terminal is in the background. http://www.canaportlng.com/

Make a Smilebox postcard

Oh and I made sure we had our travel box with us. It meant all I had to get ready was towels, bathing suits and drinks.