The TK Report

Annual Killam Tree Cutting Weekend

2012-02-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Time for some catch up blogging! We had such an awesome holiday season - kicked off with the annual Killam family tree cutting weekend adventure. We all love this fabulous tradition. This year we even got asked by the park rangers for our tree permits, which we happily shared, and they responded by giving us nine sets of colouring books and crayons for all of the kids. We were lucky with the weather as the morning started out as a huge blizzard. The kids and dogs had an epic time playing in the snow....

Then we enjoyed Ammie and Pop's reliably wonderful hospitality for dinner and sleepovers...

And the best Christmas Concert ever by all 9 Killam cousins!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T23:04:00.000-08:00

This year seems to have flown by without my usual blog postings. I have been pondering my distraction from this favourite activity of mine.... I love the electronic scrapbook and collection of stories and memories. Plus I love going through our photos and enjoying the ordinary moments that make up our days. So here I am, way too late at night, getting back to something I love because its worth it - with a bit of an explanation to myself as to what has been filling up my days.

I started a new job in January 2011 with a maternity group in Calgary at the Foothills Hospital. This was in addition to my job in High River with the awesome Low Risk Clinic there, Family Medicine locums, an academic contract with the Department of Family Medicine and a series of teaching roles. Dave has been working full-swing full time emergency medicine and working as the Assistant Medical Director for STARS for a couple of years now. Between the two of us, we were juggling a hectic schedule, enjoying our professional lives and of course embracing the times we have with Mike, Kate and Beth. I was feeling, however, that my 40-60 hour work weeks were too much out of balance with having enough family time, so by what turned out to be a good thing, our nanny left us for a teaching job in June. We decided that we could cover the gap until our next nanny starts ourselves. We chose a highly referred nanny to sponsor over as a live-in caregiver (she's not here yet!) So I cut back on work to working solely maternity care at the Foothills, and Dave juggled a bunch of shifts around, and all of the grandparents have helped out and we have been making things work. Six months now into the new rhythm and I LOVE working 1-2 days per week and being the full time caregiver the rest of the time. Its different than being on mat leave - I'm not up doing nighttime feeds or feeling like I have to recover from the whole pregnancy-birth-breastfeeding thing. So I think its fair to say that Dave and I are both feeling like we have a wonderful work life balance lately and are really cherishing these days with our little kids, these days that we never get to have again.

So why no blogging? Well clearly as any mom will agree, being home most of the time with 3 kids is busy! And my new found love for triathlon training has cut into my blogging time. And with enough life lessons of late to take less for granted, be grateful, embrace little moments, and cherish making ordinary memories with the kids, I have found myself trying to BE more, instead of DO more. So I have been more patient and relaxed with the kids, I have been getting back to the basics - hugging more, laughing more, sleeping more, eating better, exercising, and being mindful to drink in the days with the 3 little people that fill me up overflowing with love.

And a few things have been done too - Dave has finished his Masters in Education (finally!). He completed 3 Gran Fondo bike races and an off-road duathlon, started skiing again and has embraced his parenting days with joy when I am at work. I have done 4 sprint triathlons, 1 Gran Fondo, started doing crafts with the kids and amazingly (this is quite shocking for anyone who knows me well), have been learning to cook from a wonderful new friend. Mike has remained a gentle, busy, active, energetic little boy who is witty, smart and did I mention busy? Kate is a charming, helpful, spirited little girl who is also extremely active and energetic. They are both loving their new Montessori preschool, playdates with new friends and our regular trips to the parks, pools, zoo and anywhere else that you can run, climb and jump. Beth is a sweet, busy, talkative little girl who has an amazing sense of humour and who thinks she is also a 4 year old twin. Busy seems to be a running theme here... and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I guess that is why this blog has been neglected. Well since it is the time for making resolutions, as my goal for myself, I am going to get back to documenting the things that I hold closest to my heart - the every day moments with my family.

So Merry Christmas to everyone that I love. And best wishes for a New Year full of whatever you hold closest to your heart too!

More Random Summer Catch Up Photos

2011-10-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

This summer I was inspired by Caeri to give triathlons a try. It was a wonderful goal, a great way to stay in shape and a lot of fun! This is the last of 4 sprint triathlons that I did this summer - in Banff on an epic and gorgeous Alberta day!

We were joined by our friend Keele. Caeri and Keele both did the olympic distance - double the distance of my sprint!

Beautiful Banff.

More fun together - how about a Mike sandwich?

The kids and I spent a fabulous weekend with friends in Canmore! We just love being back so close to the mountains!

Here I am at my 3rd sprint triathlon of the summer - Strathmore Women's Triathlon. Sarah kindly came and took photos - I cannot believe that I actually did this!! Those of you who know me well, know that I just learned a proper swim stroke January 2011, got on a road bike for the first time in May 2011 and haven't done much running since my pre-kid days. I was so excited to be able to finish!

Once I started road biking, I have learned that lots of people spend their beautiful weekend days riding. Once I figured out that Dave was more than willing to watch the kids for me to ride and race, I started to join in the fun. Here is a group of girls and I biking from Canmore to Banff.

A Whole Bunch of Catch Up Photo Blogging

2011-10-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Summer was busy and fun!

Mike and Kate saw Bennett and Erik ride their big-kid-bikes without training wheels and were brave enough to ride a number of times on the grass at the park. Next summer we hope to hit the sidewalks! Hooray Mike and Katie!

And these two discovered blisters and callouses this summer learning the monkey bars...

Beth enjoying special birthday presents!

We had a gorgeous afternoon on the Highwood River at Hogg Park - so much fun!

Caeri and Dave and I were able to participate in an XTERRA triathlon in Canmore thanks to Pam and Rick watching all of the kids for us! Caeri and I did it as a team with our friend and neighbour Jen - I did the lake swim (my first ever open water race!!), Jen did the bike and Caeri did the run. We were awesome!

Dave did the duathlon - run, bike, run - and he came in first place in his age category! Not bad for his first race...

Some wildlife on our drive home from Canmore through the Highwood Pass:

Beth showing off her curls!

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa Lendrum.

Mike and Kate were amazing at soccer camp this summer.

So proud of their medals....

We got an underwater camera - such a great way to document our many hours spent playing at the pool with the kids.

Uncle Rob

2011-09-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

Robert Gordon Shugg

November 11, 1948 - September 13, 2011

Exuded Kindness.

Warmth.

Embraced Family.

Love.

Modelled Determination.

Strength.

Epitomized Support.

Commitment.

Enjoyed Curiosity.

Inquisitive.

Defined Optimism.

Energy.

We didn't get to say good bye. If I had the chance, I would have thanked you for being everything that you were and for always being there for me. And I would have told you that I am me in so many ways, in part, because of you. I am really missing you. I know that you are somewhere out there smiling down on everyone who loved you so much. I am so grateful for the thousands of memories I have of you to wrap me up in comfort.... you were really there for every family occasion, graduation, holiday meal, special milestone and even airport arrivals. In your honour, I am always going to remind myself and my kids to hug, ski, work hard, smile, sail, ask questions, be hospitable, stay positive and to of course take vitamin D. You are forever in my heart.

On my wish list...

2011-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

... is a photo of all 3 of my kiddos smiling and looking at me at the same time. Maybe a bit ambitious?!

Zero eye contact:

This is after Caeri's Okotoks Tri this summer. There is a theme here with Beth - posing is not her best quality!
Mike and Kate did the Little Legs race - Beth gave her shirt to Sawyer and he did it instead!
Over here guys - how about a smile?!
First wagon ride of the season - Beth was way too busy looking around at the neighborhood bunnies to look at me!

At least it was a fun outing!
This is right before the kids all did their first triathlon in Strathmore (June 25, 2011). They look thrilled...
And after the race, with their new shirts and medals... still no luck getting 3 kids looking at the camera!

We had some family photos done with Heninger Photography - he did a fantastic job, but this is the best he got for my dream shot...
I am pushing Beth out behind the tree to try to get her to smile, and Mike is likely out of focus on purpose!
This is such an awesome photo - they all finally looked - with their mouths full of mini eggs!
Canada Day sitting on the hallway bench... Beth is actually smiling in this one!
Heritage Park on the train - I think Beth's finger went right up her nose immediately following this one:
The easiest way for me to get all 3 of them together:
I took about 25 photos of the three of them on the warf at Gambier - these were by far the best ones!

I could never ask for 3 more beautiful children.... but I am going to have to persevere on this wish!!

August 10 2011

2011-08-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

We made it home from our trip in time to join in the family dinner at the farm for Bennett's birthday. It is hard to believe that Bennett is already 6 years old! He wanted a rocket for his birthday and I think he ended up getting 4, so there was some exciting rocket send offs in the yard!

Cupcakes!
Yet another attempt to get a bunch of cousins all together for a photo - 9 kids all within the ages of 1 and 6!
Maeve - cuteness!
The boys all checking out one of Bennett's new toys:
The ones who keep getting us all together - thank you Pop and Ammie! xo

Last Day of Vacation at Gambier Island

2011-08-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

The bikes were such a hit for the kids that we enjoyed having them up at camp for them to cruise around on the paths.

Mike and Kate discovered the fun of moving logs around on the beach...

Our view! And I also swam around these twin islands - Dave brought the kids in the boat to spot me along the way. They reported to me once I was done that 2 seals were following me as well!
A fantastic surprise was a chance to visit with some wonderful old girlfriends that I used to cherish hanging out with at Gambier - it was such a treat to see everyone and all of their kiddos!

Boat time!
Farewell to Gambier!

More Gambier Island Bliss

2011-08-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

We were so incredibly lucky with the weather! We headed back up to Gambier Island for a few more days before making the trip back home. We had such an amazing time.

There was a children's fishing derby at Gambier Harbor - even the bacon bait was provided! Beth had more fun walking around dumping out all of the buckets with shiners in them (that other children had caught) back into the ocean, so she needed some close supervision!

Mike and Kate and I spent an afternoon hanging out with Mike and Maudie. Mike showed the kids how to fix a bike which they were thrilled about. Maudie showed them a beautiful book about going on fairy hunts in the forest and with those fabulous 4 year old imaginations, hours of fun were had finding fairies. Such a magical time!

The weather was so lovely that we spent so much time on the beach. Somehow, one or all of the kids ended up naked every time!
There remains nothing quite as cute as a bunch of kids in rubbermaids taking baths at the end of the sun-filled day!

Last Day at Whistler and then Back up to Gambier

2011-08-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

We attempted to get a group photo of the Lendrum-Fort cousins.... nice couch.
Siblings! So much fun.

This ramp in the courtyard of the place we stayed and the run bikes provided hours of fun for the kids - they called themselves the bike train and were happy to cruise up and down while the adults all had a chance to get picnics packed and ready for the day!
We were so happy to meet with Grandad, Auntie Marg and Anne at Thunderbird marina on our way back up to Gambier Island - we are so lucky to have such amazing family members who are always up for a visit!

The Lendrums at Whistler!

2011-08-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

Beth turns 2 at Whistler!

2011-08-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing day for Beth's birthday - with a huge thank you to all of the Lendrum's for making it such a great day for all of us! It was an all day party!

Mike and Kate wanted to have a bike parade for Beth just like Bennett had for his birthday last summer!
Cousins!
We spent the morning at Rainbow Park:

And the afternoon at the pool!

Lily is going to be a fish just like the rest of us!

Happy TWO year old getting dressed for birthday dinner after a busy day!

Here comes the cake...

What an awesome day for an incredible kid. We love you so much little Beth!

Lendrum Family Vacation at Whistler!

2011-08-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

After our first amazing week on Gambier Island with so much help from all of the Killam's, we then went to Whistler for 4 nights to enjoy the Lendrum summer vacation! We had amazing weather and so played outside all day. We spent the whole first morning at Lost Lake. The kids were pretty excited to get on their run bikes all over, and then go play in the sand and water!

Tadpole hunting with Grandma

Beth: "Hey Kate, come over here and look at Lily sitting in our mud puddle."

"Let's get in and join her!"

We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day at a gorgeous spot!

Day 6 and 7 at Gambier

2011-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Monday August 1 marked Poppydad's 99th Birthday, so Caeri, Mom, Dad and I got cleaned up and headed into Vancouver to celebrate this amazing milestone with a family dinner.

At the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club
Poppydad and his 6 sons
And the ladies too:
The views on our boat ride back up to Gambier were breathtaking!

The next day we enjoyed more relaxing and exploring with the kids!
Uncle Dave picked huckleberries on the forest walks. The kids hunted for fairies as well - such fabulous imaginations!
Caeri's boys had made a row of shells on a log on the beach and Mike and Brady were working on counting all 108 of them!

Day 5 at Gambier

2011-08-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

Cutie!

The kids enjoyed some early morning fishing for shiners on the dock:

Another adventure with the cousins - a hike to 'treasure island'

Kate loves her baby cousin Lily! She has been asking for her own babies every day since our trip. Too bad she isn't going to get one!
We had a little warm up birthday cake for Beth - why not celebrate all week long when someone has a birthday while on vacation!

More Vacation Moments!

2011-08-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is days 3 and 4 of our trip. I love this shot that I caught from the deck of Pop Rick getting the gang all set to go out for a row:

Dave took the kids out so that I could go for a run!
So many happy beach times!

Not much better than a swing from a tree set by the sea!

These t-shirts were mine and Darren's when we were little - I love those vintage Gambier t's!!

Mike and Kate's imaginations exploded on this trip. There were many trips out to "pirate island."

Some of our favorite cousins!

We were happily joined by Wendy, Dave, Anna and Lily and by Caeri, Erik, Brady and Sawyer. Look at all of these cute cousins!

Lily (age 7 months)

Mike, Kate and Anna (all age 4)

Beth (2 years old!)

Sawyer (age 18 months)

Erik (age 5) and Brady (Age 4) on the cousin forest adventure.
I love that the kids are going to have amazing memories of this special place!

More Gambier Island Bliss

2011-08-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

The kids enjoyed having breakfast looking out over the water - at about 5am no less. We had a little trouble adjusting to the time change, we were basically on BC time the day before we came home! So we drank in the early morning peacefulness (or tried to anyway!) for the two weeks that we were away.

Walking on logs along the beach at low tide was a favorite activity.

Kate was incredibly happy on this trip - she wanted to live at Gambier. And then when we went to Whistler for a few days for the Lendrum Family Vacation, she wanted to live there too!

Looking for beach glass...

The Kayakers took out the crab trap and dropped it off in the sea.

Jasper went for a swim every time anyone else was in the water!

Apparently kids don't need anything else when they have sand, water and buckets! Many happy beach times for hours were had.
Our fabulous cousin Eliza - what a fabulous treat to see her and to enjoy her magical talent with the kids!

The exciting and successful crab trap return...

A perfect end to a beautiful day...

Made it to Gambier!

2011-08-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

As soon as I get out on the boat on the ocean, I am flooded with amazing memories of lifelong adventures on the west coast. I get constantly revitalized by the setting. This is even more true when I walk up the warf to the cabin on Gambier... I wish I could bottle up the familiar sights, the breathtaking views, and the ever constant smell of cedar and arbutus trees. Delicious!

The kids were busy looking for treasures on the beach with Ammie in no time...

And then we were off for a walk in the forest to find the swings!

Rubbermaid bathtubs on the deck!
What a great way to start our trip being spoiled by Pop and Ammie taking care of us!

Summer Vacation Begins!

2011-08-16T15:19:00.004-07:00

Enough already! I am back on the blog!

We had an amazing trip to the west coast for a couple of weeks and have just returned back home. The trip started with the kids and I flying out to Ian and Angela's for a day of play while Dave did the drive out with all of our stuff - which included the camera, so I didn't get any photos of the kids having a blast in Richmond. The next day we stopped in for a visit with Poppydad who is now 99!

And then we had lunch with Grandad at Ambleside Beach - the kids loved getting a chance to explore the beautiful beach!

And then we headed off to meet Pop with the red boat to go up to Gambier Island!

Catch Up Blogging - Spring!

2011-08-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Take note of the many hats in these photos made by Jenny - Nut and Satchi Knits!

Kate and Mike played soccer this spring with the community program. It was a wonderful way to gather up with a bunch of neighbors and enjoy - most of the time - the spring weather. Kate and Mike were both quite reluctant at first to get going, but eventually started loving it and actually gained some soccer skills too!

We had a great zoo outing with Chantal, Alexandra and Django - lots of fun with more cousins!

The trikes and run bikes came out as soon as the snow was off the sidewalks. Beth thinks that she is 4 and can keep up with Kate and Mike!

Story time before bed...Beth doesn't actually sit still or listen unless she gets stories on her own, but she likes to back up and plunk herself down into the lap of the story reader and pretend that she is a big kid.
Thanks to Auntie Sarah, I have been able to get out running! It is so awesome to have another set of hands to push a stroller and to keep me getting out the door.
Dave and I made it to the Mother's Day race and the kids were total troopers in the rain!

Mike and Kate did their first ever little legs race - way too cute!
Beth smiled all morning, even though she got soaked!

Catching up on the blog - Easter!

2011-08-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Easter was very special this year - we had Bennett, Lucie and Maeve for a couple of nights for a sleepover while Darren and Christine worked all weekend to get moved into their new house. It is truly fabulous to have kids over to stay and play - and we had lots of fun things to do being Easter weekend. Plus, they were on a sugar high for 2 days straight....

Cute little bunnies:

Great Auntie Marg made this beautiful sweater for Beth - she calls it her "special swedder" and wore it for days this spring until it finally declared itself too small.
Outside Easter egg hunt in our yard - approx 7am!
Maeve wasn't ready to go outside, instead she was keeping me on my toes climbing up the stairs!
By 8am, Dave was off to go help Darren and Christine move some boxes, so I took the 6 kids to the park!

Later that afternoon, Auntie Caeri came over with her 3 boys and Dave came back to help us with dinner. We set off to the park again, this time with all 9 Killam cousins!

Dave set up the rocket launching for the kids. Seriously, it was a blast, and there were kids all over the park watching.
Erik helped press the button:
The other 8 cousins did the countdown:
And then we headed back home for dinner and bathtime!

The next morning, we all headed out to the farm for an epic outdoors egg hunt.

Up through the field with Pop Rick!

More cousins joining along by stroller:
And by bike chariot too!
So much fun!

Spring at the Farm

2011-05-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

These are photos from April - one of many fabulous visits to the farm to play!

Mike and Kate 4th Birthday!

2011-05-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, I am posting photos from Mike and Katie's 4th birthday weekend. I have the uploaded these photos backwards so the weekend is out of order. This year, the kids requested separate parties. On Saturday March 19, we started with presents then headed of to the zoo for "Katie's" cousin party. Then everyone came back to our house and there was a trip to the park to try out Mike's rocket! Sunday was "Mike's" bowling party with lots of friends.

I cannot even begin to put into words my love, awe, joy and gratitude for these two beautiful 4 year olds in our lives!

Bowling fun - please note Beth's shoes in this photo - even though she didn't want to be put down :)

So excited!

Grandma Lendrum made this incredible cake for Mike!!

We're 4!! These two wore their preschool birthday name tags all weekend!

This rocket, although not entirely age appropriate, has been an incredible hit!

Zoo party with the cousins!

Both Mike and Katie are quite happy to report that they are "big kids" now!

Springtime In Alberta

2011-05-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite songs by Ian Tyson says it all:

It's like springtime in Alberta

Warm sunny days, endless skies of blue

Then without a warning,

Another winter storm comes raging through...

Auntie Caeri gave the kids some fabulous shovels that have been played with non stop this spring - both for moving snow and water. The kids called the backyard their "puddle project" for quite a few weeks.

Mike and Kate have enjoyed introducing Beth to the joys of puddles! This one runs through our back alley:

And back to the yard:

Then when the snow hits, they just keep playing out there! One of the greatest 'toys' was a spray bottle filled with colored water to spray all over the snow. Thanks to Jenny's girls for calling it fairy dust - we searched for snow fairies a lot!

Who knows how many more snow storms we will get! I always learned growing up in Alberta never to plant the garden until after the May long weekend... things haven't changed.

Helping Hands

2011-05-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that sometimes the people who are around helping out the most with the kids are the ones that I never seem to capture on film. Our amazing nanny, April, takes incredible care of our kids so that Dave and I can get off to work, sometimes at all hours. We all love April and are so grateful to have such a trusted, energetic and creative caregiver!

The other person that I just don't seem to get enough photos of is Auntie Sarah. Since we have moved into Calgary, we are on Sarah's drive home from work and we are so fortunate to get in a visit with her regularly. She is that Auntie who does all kinds of fabulous things with the kids and they are so lucky to have a loving relationship with her!

February Fort Family Fun!

2011-04-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

While still in catch up mode on my blogging, I am enjoying going over photos of the last couple of months. We had an amazing and fantastic visit with Wendy, Dave, Anna (age 3.5 yrs) and Lilly (age 2 months) when they came to see us from Seattle for a week of winter fun.

Mike helped me get some baking done - the self proclaimed 'muffin man!'

Kate SO happy to hang out with her cousin Anna.

Kate and Beth adored baby Lilly and loved having her in the house. They put her in their doll stroller and read her some books....

We hit the local outdoor skating rink on a chilly afternoon and had to shovel off the snow before the kids could get skating - good thing Beth and Lilly are happy to be carried along for whatever we were up to!

It was warmer skating indoors at the Olympic oval!

On one of the cold afternoons, Dave and Dave took the kids to Gnomeo and Juliet - fun movie times!

When Beth wasn't trying to look after Lilly, she was wanting to be a big kid! It was great to see how well the cousins all got along.

And Beth really did love playing with baby Lilly - she got lots of coos and giggles from her little cousin. Beth and I stayed home with Lilly while the big kids went off skiing at COP. At first I was a little overwhelmed having two small kids in the house at the same time, and then it all came back to the early days of Mike and Kate - let them entertain each other and its much easier!

Auntie Sarah got some beautiful photos of the gang:

Happy times!

Anna, Lilly, Mike, Kate and Beth (Beth is being bribed with a chocolate to sit still on the couch - you can see her showing it off!)

The sledding was fantastic this winter!

Anna in a tinkerbell costume at the park - fabulous!

Siblings! These guys haven't all been together since Christmas 2009 - it was certainly time for a visit.

Beth loves sledding - as long as she is attached to someone:

Love it!

Story time with Auntie Sarah...
... and the cousin group hug train!

And I got to get in so many baby cuddles - yum!

I love fabulous family visits!

February Visit

2011-04-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am a few months behind on my blogging. I am just going to go back and catch up bit by bit...

We have had quite the winter - lots of snow storms and frosty mornings. I drive out to High River every week for my shift there and if I am lucky, I will have time to sneak over to the big house for a visit... and perhaps to enjoy the incredible frosted trees!

We had a wonderful visit from Ian and Angela for Ian's birthday in February. We love visits from Grandma and Grandpa! The kids get so excited that we now have to give only "one sleep" notice to the kids so that they don't go nuts all week anticipating their arrival. We always manage to fit in lots of activities when Ian and Angela visit - including a trike ride to the park in the middle of winter!

Cutie Pie

2011-04-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

Beth is at that ridiculously cute toddler stage - 19 months old - into everything, talking up a storm, running around, and her favorite thing of all is to play with Mike and Kate. She wants to be a 'big kid' and is very intent on keeping up with them.

New Foyer Light

2011-02-18T20:22:00.000-08:00

A guy with a big ladder came to change our light for us. Good-bye Gothic, chunky, lights-pointing-in-the-wrong-direction, hung-way-too-high chandelier:

Hello mission style, hung-properly, looks-like-it-belongs-in-our-house chandelier!

5 Things

2011-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

1. I have had a couple of busy months with work! Since our move to Calgary in the summer coincided with the time that I was ready to take on more work after having Beth, I didn't end up going back to the Family Practice that I was doing in Okotoks. Instead, I took on a contract with the Family Medicine residency program to help improve the curriculum for the residents around maternity care and also behavioural medicine. This takes about 1.5 days per week of my time and involves a lot of planning, curriculum design and teaching. It is great because it was hard for me to be this connected to the program while we lived in Okotoks. I still work out in High River about once per week doing maternity care and being on-call for a 24 hour shift for patients in labor. I also wanted to set myself up to do maternity care in Calgary in case the commute to High River becomes too stressful. So this January, I started also working a day per week at the Foothills Hospital in addition to what I already was doing. This is a transition and starting at a new place always bring on a big adjustment - and I have really felt the difference to working full time hours again every week. My challenge now is to figure out how to adjust things so that I am working less and still feeling good about being at work - such a balancing act. In the meantime, my blogging has been put on the back burner and I am ready to catch up again!

2. We had a beautiful sunny day with the chinook winds blowing the paths clear enough to go out for a family bike ride a couple of weekends ago. We ended up at Lic's Ice Cream (no surprise!) and picked up some ice cream for dessert. We brought it home and it didn't take Beth long to get Mike and Kate to both give her their cones!

3. Mike and Katie have really been enjoying preschool! We went to the preschool skating party - and the preschool teacher offered to grab a photo of the kids and I. Thankfully Beth is happy to be worn, and at this kind of skating event, it was fine for me to be on the ice in my boots so that M and K could practice scooting around the rink.

4. Dad took me for an afternoon ski in Fernie - it was the weekend of the inbounds avalanche in Curry Bowl - and we were actually skiing in Curry Bowl, but luckily not too close to the avalanche site. We actually had some incredible powder turns and made fresh tracks through the trees for quite a few runs before it got closed down. Being that close to an avalanche certainly gives pause for reflection on how vulnerable we all can be to a certain arbitrariness in life. Why we were spared being caught in that slide? It makes me feel even more grateful to be out skiing with my dad, in the majestic mountains, making turns together that afternoon.

5. The kids all went through about 10 days of having a miserable fever and cough. There were a few nights where Kate was having trouble sleeping (partly from her fever, but mostly because she still sucks her thumb and can't breathe when her nose is congested with her thumb in her mouth!) She came in to our room quite a few times when she was awake in the night and so I just started reaching out to her and pulling her into bed beside me to go back to sleep. They are all feeling better now, but a couple of days ago Kate said to me: "Mommy, sometimes I get up to see if you will just keep your eyes closed and reach your arm out and cuddle me into your bed." I can only imagine that the stage of her wanting to crawl into bed with me will be over all too soon... I just love those cuddles.

Fernie Fun

2011-02-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

We made it down to Fernie again in January and were lucky to be joined by Pop. The kids associate skiing with Pop Rick, and it is so awesome that he takes the time to help them ski and to enjoy them discovering the thrill of it all.

Kate let go while skiing for the first time! She just wanted to keep going and going once she started to get her feet under her.

Mike likes to turn around the little course set up on the bunny hill.

Dave and Pop Rick are showing off that the kids are going down all on their own!

Beth gets the fresh air while watching and taking in all the sights.

The glorious drive home with 3 tuckered out kiddos from a morning on the hill!

Letting Go

2011-02-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I find myself being that person wondering 'where the time goes'. After a few times out on the ice, Mike and Kate have decided to let go of their skating frames. Really, are they really almost 4 years old and letting go? And it always delights me to see them figure something out so quickly... and I also love when they come back closer to hold on for a few minutes again too.

More Winter Fun

2011-02-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

Uncle Darren built this snow mountain for the kids to play on - it was hard to get them to come in for dinner!

Beth supervised.

And loved having a chance to talk to the horses (or "neigh neighs" as she calls them).

Winter Fun

2011-02-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

We have had a snowy winter and we have all really been enjoying many outdoor winter activities. We met Caeri and the boys at the park and then had a skate at the rink one afternoon. Each time the kids go for a skate, they get amazingly more confident on the ice.

Fernie Days

2011-01-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

After a busy week of many shifts for both Dave and I over Christmas, we had 6 days off together over New Year's and had a little trip to Fernie. Thank goodness for family getaways!

This is how I feel about going to Fernie:

I love the drive down to Fernie. We timed the drive so that all of the kids slept for the whole trip down. Dave and I enjoyed view of the gorgeous rolling hills and then those fabulous rocky mountains. I love that when we get out of the car in Fernie, it even smells like snow - cold, clean, white, soft snow. I love the excitement of the kids to stay in a tiny apartment with one box of toys just because they know we are going to hang out with them the whole time we are there. I love the view from that little apartment. I love bumping into our old friends when we are there. I love that Dave and Dad took the kids skiing in the mornings and then we all went swimming in the afternoons. I love that all 5 of us sleep in the bunk bedroom all together when we are there. I love that cleaning the place only takes 45 minutes. I love that I have so many fond memories of skiing there and that Fernie really hasn't changed very much in the past few decades. I love that being in the mountains is like therapy. I am grateful that we have such a close and awesome destination!

Quiet time with the ipad while Beth naps...

Where's Beth?

Peek-a-boo!
There she is!

Christmas at the Farm

2011-01-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

Both Dave and I were working on Christmas Eve, and Dave worked on Christmas day as well. Mom and Dad graciously had Mike, Kate and Beth stay at the farm for Christmas. Dave and I came and went as we could. The kids hung their stockings in the place that I hung my childhood stocking...

The gorgeous tree!
Luckily, both Dave and I made it there for Christmas morning! It was a magical and gleeful way to start the day.

Christmas Day Skate

2011-01-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

A huge thank you to the Wambeke Family for sharing their amazing skating rink with us over the holidays! Christmas day was glorious - brilliant sunshine, blue skies, warm and a with fantastic mountain view. It is hard to beat an afternoon skate on such a day. The kids had a great time testing out the ice... with frames, with sticks, with skates, with boots... it was a challenge to get them home in time for Christmas dinner!

Lucie, Kate and Mike:

Christine showing the kids how to use a stick:

Lucie:

Caeri with Brady and Sawyer:

Kate and Mike:

Bennett and Erik:

Beth - happy to be along for the ride!

Oh how I love Canadian winters!

Christmas Dinner at the Farm

2011-01-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

We were spoiled to a delicious turkey dinner at Pop and Ammie's - it was a wonderful celebration of family and the traditions of the season! We were so grateful to have not only our local rellies, but also Grandad (at the young age of 90!) and Auntie Marg join us for Christmas. There are not many Christmases in my entire life that I can remember without these special people there. And I am so grateful that my kids have a chance to know their 'great-grand' generation.

As usual - we were all spoiled! The kids had fun opening present round #3.

Grandad has made each of the 9 Killam kids a hooked rug - this is the one that he made for Maeve, and he also made one for Beth and Sawyer this year. He told me that each rug has 8000 stitches! Thank you Grandad, for the treasures and gifts made with lots of love for our children.

Merry Christmas!

Soccer Camp

2011-01-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Caeri's suggestion, I signed Mike and Katie up for a 3 day soccer camp before Christmas. This was a big deal for us. Mike and Kate both tend to be shy to warm up to new situations and have really been getting more confident since preschool started, so I thought we could give this a try. The first morning drop off was a bit overwhelming for them, but then they got right into the groove and loved it. Erik was there too which was a huge help for M and K!

Apparently they had a contest every day and on the second day Mike won the "passing contest". I had no idea what it would feel like to be so excited for my child to be proud of himself. Not sure who was more elated - him or me? At the end of the camp, a mini awards ceremony was held, Mike received a prize for his win, and Kate also was honored as "Kid of the Week". The coach told us that she was friendly, outgoing, a great sport and did amazing being the only girl in the group. I seriously cannot express how awesome it was to see them doing so well. (I will be that mom crying when they head off to kindergarten... )

Getting Ready for the Holiday Season

2011-01-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Magic was in the air this year at our house for the Christmas season - the kids' excitement was tangible! Beth was basically in awe of the whole thing. Her favourite part was saying "Danta (Santa), HO HO HO" over and over again noticing that her cuteness made us all laugh. This came about from the tacky blow up Santa that managed to make its way into our basement this year (at least it didn't get up on the lawn!) Mike and Kate seemed to be at a beautiful stage of loving it all, being full of spirit, singing carols around the house, making wish lists, being curious about how Santa gets into houses that don't have chimneys, giving out extra hugs and kisses and really having fun.

The kids had a question about every decoration that went on the tree - it felt amazing for Dave and I to relive all of our own childhood memories as we put up our old ornaments on the tree.

This is just after Mike put the Angel on the tree.

Having a gleeful chat about the new ornaments that came in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Lendrum!

Mike and Kate at their preschool Christmas concert - so cute!

Those two really are attached at the hip to each other...

Beth wanted to join them in the singing! I loved watching Beth dance around and clap her hands - she is quite a bit more outgoing than either Mike or Kate who never got up and danced or clapped their hands at this stage (I can't help but compare sometimes!)

We had an early Christmas celebration with Sarah and Lindsey - Dave cooked a turkey and we enjoyed getting spoiled by the Lendrum's from afar.

Beth watched as Mike and Kate showed her how to open up her presents...

Then she danced some more around the hallway while checking them out!

We are so lucky to have Sarah and Lindsey so close by!

This Christmas cactus was a gift last year - I was amazed by all of its blossoms. The other one is just starting to flower now. I have a history of being a very poor plant owner, so I am excited that I have not only managed to keep 6 plants alive for over a year, but that some of them are doing well enough to bloom!

Killam Christmas!

2010-12-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

Every year we celebrate Christmas at the farm at some point in December with a family dinner and the tree cutting adventure. This year, we managed a sleepover at the big house and it was truly magical to have all of the kids playing together and sharing the excitement of this special time of year.

Maeve happily chilling out with Jasper:

Mike and Kate were playing on the rocking chairs yelling out "Merry Christmas!" over and over!

Maeve loved the entertainment of the older kids.

As did Sawyer!

Cousins having fun all together...

Ben and Erik taught the 3 year olds how to line up for their gift exchange with special gifts from their cousins and fantastic pj's from Pop and Ammie!

The kids have already been spoiled, these 'cow banks' were a huge hit - thank you AK and UR!

Caeri and Mom ordered sweaters from the Town of Killam fire department for everyone - this is the first time all the Killam cousins have worn the same thing. You might be noticing a trend here with Beth not loving the group photos! She is at that very busy toddler stage....

We headed off to Etherington campground in Kananaskis with tree permits in hand to seek out our trees. We were so lucky with gorgeous weather - we all had an amazing afternoon. Darren pulled most of the kids behind his horse and then hauled all of the trees back. Eventually we will have everyone on horseback again once the kids are older, but for now, Darren is our rider to get all the work done.

Ammie and Sawyer

It was a perfect day in the hills!

Lucie temporarily adopted herself into our family for a bit of the weekend - she loved that Uncle Dave would pull her around alongside M and K.

Kids checking out a favorite tree!

And supervising Dave cutting it down.

Heading back to the trucks...

The warm afternoon hung around long enough for us to have our pic nic outside. Here's Beth:

And back to the big house for hot chocolate!

Beth discovered that this baby was her present after Kate and Lucie were done playing with it for her..

Thank you mom and dad for a wonderful weekend and fabulous memories for Christmas traditions. xo

Holiday Party Day

2010-12-06T22:13:00.000-08:00

Both Dave and I were off work for the whole weekend. It was awesome to just hang out with the kids and enjoy family time. We made it to two holiday parties yesterday and the kids were all actually clean at the same time for a few moments. None of them are very cooperative for photos these days (you will note the Beth is holding my camera - its the only way to get her to sit still for a picture and not reach to grab the camera from me) so Dave ran to grab his camera when they actually agreed to a very short photo session, with the promise of chocolate afterwards!

San Francisco November 11-15 2010

2010-12-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

A big huge thank you to R&P for watching Mike, Kate and Beth for 5 days while Dave and I went to San Francisco! Dave was presenting at a conference there and I got to go along as the conference spouse - it was the first time we have both been away together for more than 24 hours since the kids were born. It was an amazing holiday - and we had perfect weather too. And there was nothing better than coming home to the huge smiles and hugs of our kids. And ever since we returned, M and K have been asking if we are going to go back to "Fran Sansisco"!

Fall Fun

2010-11-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Since I am still behind in my blogging, it seems entertaining to write about fall fun now that we are six inches under the white fluffy snow... but I am determined to catch up on my posts anyway. I find blogging to be such a great way to document the memories that I hold close to my heart.

A little post-Halloween down time:

Beth is at the fabulous 15 month old ever-curious-I-want-to-do-whatever-you-are-doing stage. She "helps" with laundry, the dishwasher, the recycling, putting things away and recently with the vacuuming. As you can see, she was very focussed on her project (also, it was very gratifying for her since she was cleaning up the pile of cereal that she had dumped out onto the floor and it made lots of noise going up the vacuum hose!)

Dave took Mike and Kate out to get some skis for winter this year. It was a very exciting purchase for everyone. Skiing and being out in the mountains are activities that we are always striving to do more of. Now that the kids ask us to go, it is easier to make it happen. Mike tested out his skis in a pile of leaves...

Beth cheered him on (dragging her blankie in hand of course).

It was so beautiful in early November that we enjoyed a number of family bike rides around the neighborhood. We love to end up at Edworthy Park!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun for Halloween this year. The kids had fun dressing up for days leading up to the main event. Kate wanted to be Supergirl, so we were excited to find this costume. After she tried it on, she decided she wanted to be a princess instead and she never put on Supergirl again.

The kids were enthusiastic about crazy hair day at preschool the day before their halloween party!

Dressing up for the preschool parade. Mike actually wore this spiderman costume nearly every day for a month. He added the cape for some extra flair, even though he told us that the 'real spiderman does not wear a cape'.

Preschool friends dressed up!

And Beth was, as Mike and Kate called her "a sweet and delicious juicy little strawberry" by day and then was a little piggy by night. She would only look at the camera if I let her run around with this toothbrush...

Beth helped us to get candy organized for giving out!

We had a really fun Halloween party for the morning of the 31st out at the farm. Mom and Dad had an amazing lunch for all of us and lots of great activities - pumpkin painting and pumpkin carving included. The kids all have so much fun with their cousins out at Pop and Ammie's place!

Then we got ready for Halloween Night. The kids, although often painfully shy, figured out Trick or Treating very quickly!!

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Farm

2010-11-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

As usual, mom and dad spoiled us with an amazing turkey dinner for Thanksgiving out at the farm. We really have so much to be grateful for, it is almost hard to even express it. I am especially grateful to have such a warm, loving, hospitable, generous, supportive and caring family and that I have so many moments with my kids and my nieces and nephews.

Dave's sister sarah was able to get some fantastic photos of the whole gang all together. If you click on the photos, they will enlarge for a closer look.

This is quite the sight - 9 Killam cousins! From Left to Right: Lucie (age 3), Maeve (age 10 months), Bennett (age 5), Erik (age 5), Sawyer (age 8 months), Brady (age 3), Kate (age 3), Mike (age 3), Beth (age 14 months).

Thanksgiving Weekend Trip to Elbow Falls

2010-10-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Fall Fun at the Farm

2010-10-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

The kids and I joined Caeri and her kids at the farm one sunny afternoon. Beth hunkered down for her nap peacefully inside while the older kids frolicked around the yard.

Mike, Kate and Brady played "carwash" and used the water from the dog's dish to 'clean' their bikes as they took turns riding around on the deck. It was quite the display of teamwork for 3 three year olds!

Mom and Dad set up a little horse riding opportunity. Mike was basically terrified to even get close to the horses, while Katie was eager to get on one as soon as it was her turn!

Erik was also brave and keen to have a ride. Bareback no less! It is such a gift we have that we are able to go visit the farm and embrace the chance for our kids to play in the wide open spaces!

Toronto Trip September 2010

2010-10-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

A dear friend from our Toronto days got married in September and so we packed ourselves up and headed back for a week of wonderful visits, beautiful weather and reconnecting with much-missed friends.

We were incredibly lucky to be able to stay with Barbara Rose and were completely spoiled by her warm hospitality. The kids loved playing at her house and we were also treated to babysitting by Barbara, Catherine and Geneva while Dave and I went up to Collingwood for Kylie's amazing wedding.

Barbara Rose's house - we have so many memories here!

Mike and Katie shared a bed while we stayed in TO and it amazed me to see them sleep right up against each other every night.

We spent a wonderful day hanging out with my dear dear friend Jen and her twin boys who are the same age as M and K. Here are old friends having a snack - with Beth now a part of the bunch!

While we were in TO the weather was gorgeous - sunny and warm. At that same time, it was cloudy, raining and cold for the entire time in Calgary. We were thrilled to be able to get out in the sun.

Jen also hosted an amazing twin reunion for us. This is the gang that we did our prenatal classes with and hung out with for much of the first year of Mike and Kate's life. These kids are all within 6 weeks of each other in age. Dave and I are the only ones who added a third...

One of the best parts of visiting TO was taking the kids downtown on the subway - we used to live so close to it and it is such a great way to get around the city.

As part of our downtown tour, we stopped in front of Women's College Hospital - the place where I trained and worked for 5 years and where M and K were born. We were there just a couple of days after the Maternity program moved up to Sunnybrook. I felt extremely nostalgic being back by its doors again.

We kept up a busy visiting schedule and saw many friends who opened up their doors for us and treated us to playdates, meals and hospitality. Kid friendly activities certainly dictate the events of a trip!

(Again, please note that it was 2 degrees, raining and cloudy in Calgary while we were playing in our friend's amazing outdoor pool in TO - TO was good to us for our trip!)

We gave beth a chance to nap while we went out for walks while Mike and Katie 'searched for treasures' - the maple leaves and acorns were discovered with much glee and excitement!

It was fun to see M and K's fascination with plunking acorns into a little murky stream.

Although it is always a tad stressful to travel with little kids, it was so incredibly worth it to be able to visit most of our TO connections. Thank you Barbara for having us to stay while we celebrated many friendships!

Hanging Out

2010-10-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

Cuties - nice safety goggles Mike.

Doesn't everyone have shakers made out of urine specimen bottles? Don't worry, they were new when filled with rice, flax seed, beads, salt and tic tacs - a fabulous variety for making music or stacking; and they have been crazy glued closed.

The one and only time that I have ever actually gotten braids into Katie's hair - they lasted for about 30 minutes. She is not into having her hair done!

Our wonderful helping hands - this is our amazing nanny April who is a fabulous addition to our family. Being back to work is possible with her incredible help - the kids all LOVE her!

Beth is excited that she can climb onto the snack table with M and K.

Those little strollers - just keep on giving and giving.

Auntie Sarah's Photos!

2010-10-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yummy .... gorgeous fall photos of our little munchkins! Thank you so much Auntie Sarah!! Check out www.nestphoto.com for Sarah's info.

Preschool!

2010-10-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

On Mike and Kate's first day of preschool, they were so excited. Kate wore her backpack around the house all morning and couldn't wait to get walking.

We were able to get two spots in the same class at the preschool just 3 blocks away. The school is full of neighbourhood kids, and both of our immediate neighbours have kids in the same class as Mike and Kate. We are lucky to be able to just walk over, often together with the neighbours.

They look so grown up - heading off to school!

Bedtimes with Beth...

2010-10-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

When I think about it, we have quite a system for getting all of the kids into bed - especially for a solo bedtime. Usually I will put all 3 of them in the tub together and then get Beth out first and nurse her while sitting perched somewhere in the bathroom. We brush everyone's teeth while we are still in the bathroom. Once Mike and Kate are out of the tub, then we all usually go into Mike and Kate's room to put on pj's and brush hair. If Beth is tired, then she usually gets one quick story or song and then is off to bed. Then Mike and Kate like to have a number of stories and songs, in true 3 year old style ('just one more mom', 'how about another one', 'I need two songs AND Mike needs two songs' etc.) If Beth is still happily hanging out with us, then she will join in for a few extra stories.... which usually results in her just cruising around M and K's room, playing with their toys, climbing the ladder (yikes!! a very good reason that I can't leave her for a second these days!) and completely disrupting story time altogether. Eventually M and K get tired of the distraction and ask for Beth to go to bed.

Little Chick getting into trouble and loving it!

Such an angel!

And back to that ladder again...

Nothing better than the sweet peacefulness of a sleeping beauty...

Beth is on the move!

2010-10-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

These photos are from August 27th 2010. I am really in catch up mode on the blogging - when Mike and Kate started walking, I documented it at the moment it happened.... at least I got some photos of some of Beth's first steps!

Beth is a busy little monkey, and at 12 months she started walking independently and a few days later she started climbing too. She climbs the stairs, the step stools, the bunk bed ladder in Mike and Kate's room and it will not surprise me if I find her soon sitting on top of the kitchen table. Her latest climbing move (now at age 14 months) is to haul a push toy (a little truck) over to the safety gate, climb on top of the truck and try to climb over the gate. She will try anything to keep up with Mike and Katie!

Gambier Island Day 5

2010-10-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Our last day was the 5th day in a row whereby we didn't even see a cloud in the sky! Hooray for an amazing trip!!

We had fabulous visits with Maudie!

Beth was just a couple of weeks away from walking and she spent a lot of time doing downward dog poses in preparation - love that she is looking out at the sea!

And the kids were mesmerized by Eliza...

There's nothing like having cuddles with Ammie.

You can't tell here, but unlike M and K, Beth hated being in the kayak!

For our trip home Dad dropped us at the sea bus terminal in North Van so that we could make our way back to the airport. In one day we rode in a boat, the sea bus, the sky train, an airplane, the park n ride bus at the Calgary airport and the van back home. Phew - thankfully we have 3 well seasoned little travellers on our hands!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the incredible trip. Gambier Island - can't wait to see you again next summer!!

Gambier Island Day 4

2010-10-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

I am still catching up on our trip in August to Gambier Island... more blissful beautiful summer days!

Kate's hat fell overboard and so she wore Dave's hat for the rowboat ride.... on yet another clear calm day. Mike and Kate enjoyed "fishing" with their little rods and catching shiners. These are such awesome experiences for prairie kids!

Mr. Mike!

"We're 3!!"

Pop Rick enjoying the inevitable chaos of small children running around him.

Ahhhhhh - the view from Uncle Tommy's place at the top of the hill.

The blackberries were just ripe enough to start picking - we had a lot of questions from M and K about not picking the red ones, even though they looked like perfect raspberries. All the kids ate more than we actually went home with - the ripe ones were simply delicious!

Watching Daddy to see how to get into the berries...

Kate dove in and started picking -

- followed by passing her sweet treasures over to Mike for tasting!

Beth LOVED the blackberries! She was completely covered.

It was fun to teach the kids about being in the BC rainforest - so amazing to see the tall trees.

Beth smeared dinner all over herself - thank goodness for the warm water that we have there now for bath time!

We ended the evening walking down to the dock to feed the seagulls.

If it wasn't for the pj's and lifejackets, I would have had my Christmas Card photo done!

Gambier Island Day 3

2010-10-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

The early mornings continued on Gambier Island.... the kids loved having swing time in their pj's!

Discovering blackberries... yum!

Morning stories in the hammock - what a retreat!

Pop Rick and Ammie took us to Gibson's for fish n chips. It was a hot as ever there - and the kids loved having another boat ride on the way over. They were so comfortable on the boat that they all fell asleep with the wind blowing on their faces on the way back.

Dave took Mike and Kate out for lots of row boat and kayak trips to the little island across from our beach. It is fantastic to see their imagination come alive as they explored and had adventures.

Gambier Island Day 2

2010-10-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Despite that this trip now feels like it was ages ago, I want to get each day down as a way of remembering our amazing time there.... time for me to catch up on my blogging!

The kids awoke on our first morning still on the Alberta time zone (which was 5am BC time). Thus began our routine of heading out in our pj's for an early morning adventure - beach walks, forest hikes and enjoying the peaceful beauty of the west coast.

Pop Rick took M and K out on the row boat on the calm waters...

And down to feed the seagulls!

Then we were off to check out New Brighton. The kids did so well in the boat and were eager to learn about the lines and the bumpers.

Then Dave arrived to join the vacation! Hooray!

Water time, relaxing, swimming, fishing.... nothing better!

Ammie showing Beth fresh peas.

Bedtime stories in the hammock!

Gambier Island Day 1

2010-09-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

Time on Gambier Island is one of the greatest gifts that I have been given in my life. Somehow, I have managed not to make it there for the past 4 years (for fairly obvious reasons... moving, bearing children, moving some more, bearing another child and moving again) and I was incredibly disappointed this summer when it looked like we weren't going to make it again. Rick and Pam, being the amazingly supportive and loving parents that they are, rescued me from the depths of my disappointment and facilitated an entire Gambier Island vacation for us. When the days in my life are otherwise generally hectic, there remains nothing better than a rejuvenating stay on the west coast.... thank you Mom and Dad!

Mom and Dad drove out all of our baggage so that I could more realistically fly with the 3 kids on my own to Vancouver - and the kids were amazing for the trip. Dad came and picked us up at the airport and we were able to sneak in a visit with Poppydad (now 98 years old!) and with Grandad(now 90 years old!), Auntie Marg and Anne. Such a treat!!

We were greeted by warm sunshine and managed to have 5 straight days of sun and completely clear skies. My soul became exponentially more energized and rejuvenated as the moments wore on.

Mom showed Mike and Kate around the beach.

Beth's first dip in the Ocean, the first time to Gambier Island for all of the kids.

I got a lot of photos of the tops of heads - the kids were too busy digging to look up!

Mom taught the kids how to find 'treasures' on the beach.

Mom and Dad spoiled us in every way including planning and preparing every meal. It was like an all inclusive resort!

Admittedly, I have been very envious seeing photos of my siblings giving their children baths on the deck at Gambier Island over the past few summers, so I was very excited that it was our turn!

More Cousin Time

2010-08-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

On my journey of becoming a more involved Auntie, although I haven't had Erik and Brady over for a sleepover yet, I loved taking them to a park no so long ago (forgot my camera) and also having them over here for some playtime while Caeri did some work. The kids really love playing together and M and K are enjoying showing off their new yard.

The slip and slide is one of those toys that just keeps on giving! Erik was so brave with the freezing cold water...

And Brady is really loving his newly found bike riding skills - good thing we don't have patio furniture yet as there is a great area for riding around in the back yard...

Sawyer is all smiles. This kid is so mellow! Mike, Kate and Beth all love crowding around him to watch him smile, laugh and coo. As long as they don't dog pile on him, he keeps them all occupied for quite some time!

Now, if I could just get Anna for a sleepover next....

Are these CUTIES really mine!?!

2010-08-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hammock Time

2010-08-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

We pulled out the hammock in preparation for our Gambier Island vacation - we just set it up right in our front yard and settled into it for some story time. Now the kids ask every day for books in the hammock... ahhhhh summer!

Bennett's Birthday

2010-08-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Bennett decided to have a bike parade for his 5th birthday party. It was such an awesome idea - we all had so much fun enjoying the river path and celebrating his special day.

We weren't organized enough to actually decorate our bikes, so Mike and Kate thought it would work to wear their halloween costumes from last year!

The parade was one huge, and really cute, success!
An amazing moment - Darren on a bike instead of a horse!

Beth and I walked along enjoying the site of all the excited kids...

Love how I caught the little sibling hug on film...
Mmmmmmm cupcakes! The kids didn't even take off their helmets, gobbled up their cupcakes and headed off on their bikes again!
Happy Birthday Bennett!