enunciate

Joseph drew this picture for his friend who likes superheroes. This is... Spiderman.

we ran out of jam

So strawberry picking was the logical thing to do. And we went with the Dhas people. And we had a picnic. And we picked a lot of berries. And we made ice cream and pie. And jam.

we did it

Last day of school! And that's what I said to the kids when we pulled into the driveway after picking Joe up at the end of the day: we did it. All those drives back and forth, all the strictly scheduled naps that were usually interrupted, all those car seat buckles... we did it. It may not sound that rough when written out like that but, living through it, these school days were a lot for these little bodies. So all this coming to an end for couple months feels really joyful. So we did it. And I'm glad.

Hello, Summer. We're so happy to see you.

this is how you do it

grad 2015

This is Henry's grad song... it's running through my head so now I shall share it with you... you will have to come up with your own tune, unless you want me to sing it to you.

we're moving up... to kindergarten
we're moving up... to kindergarten
we're departing
and soon we're starting
kindergarten

Isn't that a clever trick, to make "starting" rhyme with "kindergarten"? Love it.

So off we go, to Senior Kindergarten in the fall. Okay, not "we". I don't think they will let me in.

day o' dad

Happy Father's Day! Today we celebrated Daddy with breakfast in bed... here's where the kids tell David what's in the presents before he opens them...

and here is where we go to the Museum of Steam and Technology, where we enjoyed train rides, rockets, chalk, and lots of fun engineering information (some enjoyed this more than others - ahem - David).

And here is where David says he had a great day. The kids (and me, too) loved celebrating him.

a quiet drive in the country

backyard clara

Clara likes to explore the great outdoors (ie. eat grass). And while she slowly, slowly makes her way across the yard, the others ransack stuff.

fr. greg is in the house

Here he is... fresh off his ordination, Fr. Greg came to bless us with his priestly presence. We were glad to catch up and find out what life is like two weeks into his vocation (and the answer: good. He is so content, and confidently and faithfully stepping into his responsibilities. What an honour to see.)

We're going to hit up a Mass that he will be celebrating in Guelph. We will be the people in the pews with the foam fingers, cheering him on.

camp

Look at these guys. They went to the Conquest Father/Son Camp this past weekend and did all sorts of daddy/boy camp stuff. Canoeing, archery, high ropes, campfires, and hiking. Plus they also had Mass and prayer and good talks. And slept in bunkbeds. So, all in all, a pretty good weekend. David reported that Joe kept saying, "I really like it here. We should come here again."

Henry, Annie, Clara, and I drove up on Sunday for Mass and lunch and to pick up those campers. Joe and I had a pretty nice made-for-tv-movie reunion moment. Picture the two of us running toward each other over a grassy field. I might have cried.

Next year, Henry will be old enough to go, too. How will I bear to be away from all those boys all at once. That's going to be a lot of crying. But, for them, also a lot of good stuff.

fresh

We have strawberries! Most of them look like mutants, they're about the size of dimes, and we're fighting the birds to get to them first. But we have strawberries.

this girl

- got her haircut
- USES THE POTTY
- is amazing

ten months

Well, little miss Clara is already ten months and scoffs at my idea to just lie politely next to those letters. She is now officially mobile - not crawling but bum-scooting and she will, very slowly, very deliberately, make her way across the room to get into the most dangerous thing. And she is getting her first tooth - bottom right. CAN YOU SEE IT?

starlight

Joe's school had its annual Starlight Festival last night. Annie was really committed to that box of popcorn. It was the "vegetable" to her really terrible supper of chips, juice, two bites of hamburger, and ice cream cone. Anyhoo, fun was had by all, what with the face-painting, tattoos, magic show, hamburgers, ice cream truck, and running around. Running around is a crucial element to any elementary school fun. Plus, today is a PA Day, so we can wear off that sugar at home.

b-ball

We spend our nights on the driveway. Even Clara gets in on the game (her version uses a much smaller ball). Playing against Joe is fun/funny... he cheats and doesn't like when I block his shots. I'm trying to imagine five years from now when he's that much taller, actually dribbles, and tries to block my shots.