Trip to the farm, Pt 1

After Josh's birthday, we set to preparing for a double-header trip, Josh traveling to Denver and Indiana on business, while the kids and I went to the farm to pass the days of his absence and get some springtime-on-the-farm experiences into us city dwellers! 

Our little escape artist, hanging out by Mommy and Philip while Daddy got Hope in her PJ's that night.

 We were to be in Foremost May 4-11, which encompassed several female birthdays in my family, so the girls were busy making cards before we left.

 Philip supervised from his cushy, lilac coloured Bumbo seat. :o)

He doesn't mind the colour. Really. :o)

 This was the day I was packing for our trip...I tried to dress the kids in clothes we wouldn't need to take on our trip. I ended up packing this outfit into the suitcase dirty that night because I thought he looked so cute in it. :o)

 That boy loves to chew.

 I covered our seedlings with some plastic and misted them every night before bed, and they sure sprouted up in a hurry!

 Hope was so happy to see each new plant that came up. :o)

 Sweaty son, after his afternoon nursing. :o) That boy loves his milk, and his third finger, as you can see.

As per my norm, I let the girls "help" pack their suitcases in the morning, so I would be done with things from their room before their afternoon quiet time. Hope must have remembered packing at Christmas, because as we were getting things ready to go in the suitcases she said, "Wait Mom - we need Zipyock bags fer our socks!" I was baffled. I had forgotten that we used "Ziploc" bags when we packed at Christmas. :o) So, I got a Ziploc bag for my organized child and one for my not-so-organized child, because she would want to be just like her sister.
That was our Hope packing moment.
We had a Joy packing moment too. :o)
Hope, of course, was putting things neatly in her suitcase as I handed them to her, and Joy was putting most things in that I handed to her, the others were going into a stack/pile on the floor, which stack/pile Hope took upon herself to put into Joy's suitcase to "help her." And you know how that goes, the second born doesn't want the firstborn to help them... and so, uh... skip that part.
Now we come to the part where we have to close the suitcases. Hope, whose lid fits on her suitcase because things inside are still actually folded, flips her lid down and proceeds to work the little zipper around,  asking me for help where it gets stuck because the suitcase is very old. Joy, seeing that it is time to close the suitcases, tries to flip her lid down, becoming cutely disgruntled to see that it stays angled up due to the state of the contents. And what does Joy do? She stands up and launches herself in one merry fling right down on top of that suitcase squealing "oooopfh!" Her round, solid tummy almost bounces her back up off the suitcase. This totally cracks me up, and I realize the irony of it all, for it was the neat stack that Hope placed in Joy's suitcase that actually made the lid unable to close, because it was on top of the other stuff that was hanging out in there! Ahh, life with my girls. Brings many laughs!

I packed everything that I could into the van the night before, because when you travel with little ones, there just are a lot of little pieces to remember, and we wanted to make a quick escape in the morning. And besides, I enjoying packing the van, when I'm not pregnant that is. :o)
We picked up Luke's girlfriend, Pilar, on our way south. Josh was driving when I snapped this picture. It took Hope about two minutes to warm up to Pilar, and Joy about five, and after that we were away! I think Philip was a little put out, because his back-seat babysitters were being entertained by someone and forgetting to entertain him! So, yes, he exercised his voice box a bit more that day than usual, but hey - I knew he was really fine, and it was in his best interest to keep on driving!
We bade Josh goodbye at the airport in Calgary, and Pilar, the children, and I headed on south, bound for supper at Chloe and Lydia's house in Lethbridge.
It was such a help to have Pilar along for the ride! The backseat just is a long ways away from that drivers seat, I tell ya!

We went to Chloe's, but she was out on a walk with Reid, who was visiting her that day, so we walked down their alley and stopped by a garage sale we spotted. We picked up this Winnie-the-Pooh trike for the girls, and another toy. :o)

Upon returning, we found Chloe and Reid just returning as well, and it was a merry reunion.

Reid was very kind to blow bubbles with the girls on the lawn while I took care of Philip's needs inside and chatted with Chloe, who was fixing up some supper.

Thanks to Pilar for snapping all these cute shots of the girls. You can tell she's a photographer!

The man of my sister's dreams. :o)

Lillies Lydia had given to Chloe on May Day. :o)

Getting some smiles from my little man, who was very happy for a break from his carseat.

That's Joy. :o)

The dear little tot.... one of these summer days she'll figure out that you're supposed to blow into the bubble horn, not suck it. :o) Just kidding! I think she got it right a couple of times, but she always has to taste it ya know, just in case it tastes good once!

I'm thinking she must have been looking at a bug walking across the sidewalk.

The cool red sneakers Reid bought for Chloe for her birthday. (which happened to be that very day!)

After supper we loaded the children up once more, and took off for the farm, where Luke was eagerly awaiting lovely Pilar. :o) We made one quick stop in Lethbridge so I could pick up some sunglasses for the girls, as I had not had time to find any before our trip, and our eye Doctor recommended getting them some. :o) Needless to say, they were thrilled, and neither pair has been broken or lost up to this point. :o)

We arrived at the farm, unloaded, and the girls got a bedtime story read to them by Auntie Lyddie.

To be continued...

To plant some seeds and make a special day for Daddy

For some reason, I decided this year I would try starting some seeds indoors. I know why - it was for the sake of my girls. I thought they would find it fun. :o)

 And so, one day near the end of April, when the sun was out and the snow was still melting, we went out to mix up some soil and fill some little seed trays with it.

 Old yogurt containers were perfect for scoops. :o)

 Once I made some suitable boxes for holding the seedlings-to-be, I brought them indoors, set up on the kitchen floor, and let the girls put the seeds in. Hope enjoyed scooping a bit of extra dirt on top of some of them, as Joy didn't exactly get that you were supposed to "bury" the seeds.

 Joy had fun watering them.
Then I brushed the dirt off the girls, swept the floors, and found a place by a window to put a table and our seeds.

 I remember how much Hope and Joy liked being higher up when they were babies, better able to see what Mommy is up to.

 Turns out Philip is the same way. :o)

 And he's at kissing level this way. :o) haha. Dear little man.

I find him too adorable for words. :o)

 And I call him "the king of the castle" in this pose.

 "What, me, Mom?"

 The girls being very silly at play, seeing how fast one of them could fill the magna doodle and how fast the other could erase it. :o)

 I could just kiss those little cheeks all day long!

 A tranquil moment of sibling-hood,

 but just one! I mean, what's the fun of being still when you can move?

 Aww. Joy likes to give snuggles as much as she likes to receive them.

 Then it came time for Daddy's birthday. We worked hard all day to make a poster, homemade ice cream, and some of his favourite foods for supper. It was a work day, so we just had the evening with him, but it was special!

 He was delighted to receive a receipt scanner from his family. It will save him a lot of time as he faithfully takes care of our finances. :o)

 This little guy was pretty thrilled with Daddy's birthday balloons the next day!

 He got soooo excited when I would dangle it around above him, reaching up his hands for the dangling ribbon.

 I did have to take it away when he started chewing on the balloon though... didn't think that was very safe.

Of Phones,Pajamas, and a Princess Party

 I asked Hope to "babysit" Philip for me for a few minutes while Joy was still napping one day, but she was also interested in having her few minutes of playtime on my iPhone, so she assured me she could watch Philip and play on my phone at the same time. :o)

 He seemed to think that was okay. ;o)

 A movie before bed (probably a Wed night, I usually have the children alone while Josh goes to church.) And of course, a snack. Joy's favourite. She asks for one every night. :o)

This was when Joy was cutting her lower 2-year old molars. Her tongue was constantly out, or her fingers were in her mouth, or she was rubbing her face against things. Sweet girl. Must have been an itchy experience.

 Two sisters from church are born on the same day, so their Mom and Dad hosted a fun princess party for all the little girls from church!

 The four-year old birthday girl, Tallulah.

And her wee sister, Petra, two-years old.

 Such a fun fountain, and yummy, probably-very-not-good-for-you punch!

 Josh was a chump, and hung out with the lot of us and held Philip a lot. :o)

 Time for food!

 Time for presents. Hope and Joy each helped pick out their gifts to give, and they picked the bags and wrapping paper themselves.

 A blob of excited girls, exchanging presents while Dad and Mom (Ben and Jenna) each helped a daughter with her gifts.

Joy got bored of the gift circle pretty quick, and found something more exciting to do. :o)

Hope had such fun with the games they played at the party.
Thanks for inviting us, Ben and Jenna! :o)

The return of the Erin

Hello you dear blog followers!
The snow has melted,
our gardens have been planted,
we have traveled,
we have had company,
the baby has two teeth,
the two-year old is potty training,
the Daddy is traveling,
the four year old is writing letters by sound,
and me, the Mommy, am trying to keep up with it all,
which has meant leaving the blog behind for a while. I didn't think it was as long of a while as it actually has been, but enough about that... I am trying to find time again to get this space updated. :o)
So stay tuned for the familiar and yet ever changing faces of my wee ones and those around us, for I still have been taking pictures, even though I haven't been blogging them!