Eliza and the mittens

Eliza is becoming more and more like a little girl everyday. She trots around the house with confidence and is exploring in every cupboard/nook/cranny she can find. What's interesting is her habitual nature, there are things that she does EVERY DAY. Like this one for example.......while we're cooking Eliza will often come into the kitchen, go derectly to the pot cupboard, open it and grab the oven mitts. She'll put them on (proper hands and all) and trot around the house with her big belly leading the way! It's as if she saying " Time to cook?? I'll help. But first let me inspect the house in my uniform!"

Go Fish

One day when Steve was driving home from work he noticed a place that was advertising Trout Fishing. He quickly seized the momment one cloudy Saturday morning and took both girls to the Fish farm. There they were provided with all necessary equipement needed to catch some supper, including worms for bait.

Chloe caught a fish, all be it a small one. For those animal activists out there it was returned to the lake! ELiza, on the other hand, was more interested in the worms!

Face Painting...and then a parade

Chloe loves face painting. Not only does she love to have her face painted, but she loves to play the role of artist as well. Upon first glance you may not appreciate the detail in her work. I, being safe, painted her face to look like a clown. She, on the other hand, painted a waterfall on my cheek, an ocean on my neck, birds on my forhead, a red mustache on my upper lip, and yellow tears streaming from my eyes. The interesting thing isn't what she painted, but more how she looked while she was painting, which was very serious! I felt as if I was having my fortune told and the path my life would take could somehow be depicted from the images on my face! SPOOKY.

After we were all decorated it was time for a 'parade'. Since no one was around to watch we made an audience with every single stuffed animal we had....thank god they're good for something!! Note to all.....no more stuffed animals as presents....can't you see, we have enough!

Sleeping Beauty

Need I say more?

Hide 'n go "I'm over here"

In the late afternoon hours when we are waiting for food to cook we often fall into a game of Hid 'n go Seek. Well, I think that's what it is. It usually starts with Chloe suggesting that she hide and we come find her. We count to ten, say 'ready or not here we come', and away we go. If we don't find her within the first minute of looking we often get a helpful hint in the form of "I'm over here"......which, as all of us who have any 'hide'n go seek' experience, know completely defeats the purpose. It makes us laugh for it is too cute and so much fun.

As a side note, Eliza is usually being held by one of us as we count to ten before the search. She has now taken to 'counting' with us by making slight sounds with each number we say.....it's amazing.

Below, Steve and Chloe nano-seconds after I found them hiding behing the living room curtain. Can't you just feel the adrenaline rush.

Dad, come play with me.

At this year's street sale for our neighbourhood, we became the proud owners of a executive style doll house! It was a purchase ($10.00) that I was a bit wiery of, for I was not convinced that it would actually get used beyond the 15 min 'new toy' trap. Steve had a gut feeling that this was different and I am so glad he went with his gut. This doll house has more than paid for itself. Chloe and Eliza spend much time behind it's "wings" and imagination explodes from its windows.




I found Steve and Chloe one day enjoying the sunshine....and the doll house.

Camping with the Kiddies

We decided to take a few days travelling home from Nova Scotia giving us time to introduce camping to the kiddies. Chloe, having had some previous experience with the whole 'outdoors' thing was quick to show her sister the ropes. She made sure that Eliza understood the purpose of a tent; a large encloser in which one can run around and giggle in delight at the way the nylon walls collapsed under ones weight. She conveniently showed Eliza the handy place to store snacks; in the cup holder of the mini-camping chairs! And, finally, she demontrated how easy cleaning up after meals can be by getting herself and everyone else soaked at the water pump station. We had so much fun and we can't wait to do it again...really!

Fun with Friends

We had a lovely vacation this summer visiting our family all over the Atlantic Provinces. We even had some visitors come see us while we stayed with my parents in Lunenburg. Betty, Marc, and Sam Yudin made their first trip out to see the East Coast and found our doorstep on their travels. This shot was taken one afternoon when Betty and Marc had succumbed to the exhaustion of travelling with young children and I was the lucky gal who got to spend a lazy afternoon with these three lovely ladies. The front porch and a few green beans was all we needed for this photo shoot!!

Raising a Shed

On Steve's 30th birthday (July 14) all he wanted was a guys night in. I packed up the girls and headed to The Bye's so the boys could have the house to themselves to drink, curse, and play video games!! Little did the guests know that upon their waking up the next morning they would be required to contribute to the building of a shed.......hungover.....in the blazing heat.....with nary a bit of shade.




The boyz did quite well considering the circumstances, but the bulk of the work was completed by Steve and his great friend Chris who flew in from Halifax for the occasion. It took two days to errect the structure you see before you, but can't you just see the pride exuding from their every pore.