Just another day in the kingdom...

Not content with all the partying yesterday, the girls had another big event to go to today. A wedding ball. So they dug out their best dresses, added some accessories (crowns & veils & whatnot)

Lovey was pretty content out in the backyard but the blackflies drove the other two back inside. I wasn't able to stand it out there either though & left her to finish her flower picking & dashed back inside before I got eaten alive. She came in a few minutes later, no worse for wear. Either she's oblivious to them or they just don't go for her??

Sweetie felt her outift needed a little something more and found these "wedding gloves" to complete her look.




They also decided that I needed to go to the wedding ball too & even searched the closets to find my "gown". Honey graciously loaned me her crown so I'd fit in with the crowd!

Party all the time!

We had a very full schedule yesterday! (we're just so in demand you know!) First the girls & I went to church in the morning while Murray stayed home with the dog who was going to be abandoned the rest of the day.

We got home, had lunch & then headed off to the multiples picnic. It was a great event, and the best part was that I was hardly involved in the planning! The kids enjoyed the magic show & the bouncy castle and had loads of munchies before we headed on to our next destination!

My little cousin (ok well, she USED to be little!) graduated this year so this called for a big ol' family potluck (which there can just never be enough of!) at her parents' place. The kids went from fun to funner (yes, I know that's not really a word but it's my blog so buzz off ;). There were more kids to play with and cousins at that, woohoo! and as if that wasn't exciting enough, there was a fort, a swing set AND a trampoline! The trampoline was pretty well dominated by the bigger kids but every once in awhile they cleared out & my girls made a beeline for it every time there was an opening. It's not as bouncy as the ones at gymnastics but that's probably a safety thing. They didn't even notice any difference & were happy as clams to show Murray all their tricks. Aunt Sue & Uncle Laurence have had this thing for many many years and it's always a huge hit at every party! I got to mingle with everybody and catch up on the latest.

Up the Creek Without a Paddle!

Well actually we did bring paddles & life jackets & a bailer so we were well prepared! I went to circuit class Saturday morning & then went to do some pictures for one of the twin families from the club. When I got home it was already lunchtime & Murray suggested we try taking the kids canoeing. He mowed the backyard & then loaded up the boat & we headed for the water. The kids were very anxious to go & hurriedly cleaned up their stuff & put away toys etc so they could go. Nothing like a little incentive!

It was a nice calm day and hardly any other boats at all. The water was very smooth & we didn't have to fight any current.

Lovey was a little scared of the tippiness of the canoe as we were loading & getting into the boat. It was rocking back & forth a bit & this was making her very nervous. Once we set off she was fine & they sat right in the bottom and were good as gold. They loved being on the water and sticking their hands in, playing with some sticks they found and seeing all the camps along the shore.

My paddling muscles! : ) The Schwarzeneggar look is in this year isn't it?

We were probably out for about an hour & then they played a bit more at the waters' edge as Murray & I loaded the car. We had just finished tying down the canoe when the heavy rain started. Luckily everything & everyone else was in & ready to go!

Another Jam Packed Day!

We were off & running this morning & had another funfilled day! We had gymnastics first thing this morning & then after that, everyone came over to play & stayed for lunch. There were 5 little girls in the house and Teena & I were rarely needed. The kids just ran around playing and kept themselves busy! They didn't all stay together. At one point, I peeked into Sweetie's room & she & Tulip were in there playing "sleepover" or something. Lots of chatter & giggling involved anyway. I glanced out the kitchen window another time & saw Boo, Tulip & Lovey racing around the yard chasing after Jordie who spent the day here while M&D went out of town to visit Grammie at the hospital. Tulip's mum, Penny, had to take her mother to the eye doctor so Tulip stayed with us while she was gone for that. Tulip didn't seem the least bit concerned about being left behind. She really seems to enjoy coming over to our house to play & the girls love having her here.

We had some lunch & then they went right back to playing and running around the house. They did quite well until around 2pm when there started to be some squabbling. We all went outside & walked down to the farm & spent an hour or so down there playing in the yard, picking dandelions etc.

Just as we were leaving to come home, Tulip's older sister found some baby squirrels who must have lost their mother. The kids were fascinated by this find!

Seeing GG!

My grandmother had an unexpected visit to the hospital yesterday! Apparently she'd found her heart medication was making her a bit lightheaded and this was slowing her down. With the great wisdom of 90 years, she decided she'd cut the dosage in half. This might not have been too bad but then one day she forgot to take it at all. Her heart took exception to this and her heart rate elevated and was a bit erratic. We're hoping that once they get her back on track with the meds that this will fix her right up.

I decided the girls & I would do a road trip today to go visit GG. The kids were quite excited about it. We packed little bags for them to take in the car with snacks, doodle books, a magnadoodle, some books to read, a toy and a bunch of movies. We were well equipped in the entertainment department.

We got to the hospital a little after 2pm and GG was glad to see us! Down in the gift shop, the girls had each picked out a helium balloon to give to her. She didn't have any other decor up there yet so it added a little colour for her. The girls showed her their babybooks that I've been making for them and they sang some songs for her, drew pictures for her and got her to read their stories to them (nothing like a captive audience!!). We were in that little hospital room for over 2 hrs and they were perfect the whole time. Towards the end, Sweetie asked a couple times if it was time to go but other than that they were content to visit with her and behaved so well I was amazed! I was afraid that after 1½ hours of driving, they'd only last 20 minutes but they far surpassed my expectations! Once again I am a VERY proud mumma! It was such a long day for them and hospitals aren't much fun for anyone so I couldn't believe what good girls they were. Even the drive home was good!

Before we left, Sweetie told GG to behave and to listen to the doctors and not to goof around her medicine!

It was a little weird to see Grammie parked in one spot for so long. I don't think I've ever seen her sit still for more than 10 minutes in my entire life. She's usually a bustling dynamo! Other than the strangeness of seeing her sitting still, she seemed to be doing pretty well. I almost had to physically restrain her when the lady in the next bed was getting dressed to go home. Grammie was throwing back her own covers to get up and give the woman a hand.

I'm glad we went down & I feel a bit better now that I've gotten to see her. Other than my kids, I think I have the best Grammie in the world & I'm not quite done with her yet!

Sunshiney Day!

Today started off rather overcast but by lunchtime the sun was out in full strength! We'd killed the morning by doing some housecleaning and the girls had a bath that they were overdue for. Then after lunch we ventured out & the girls helped me pull weeds out of the garden. Now that they see some flowers coming through, they're more keen on getting the grass & stuff out of there. My flower beds have a looooooooong way to go before they could actually be considered a garden but they are looking better than they have in recent years. I hope the previous owner never drives by here to see how we've maintained her work! She had some really nice plants and well tended beds that I've let go to H in a handbasket. The gardening gene, wildly rampant on both sides of my family, seems to have passed me by. Murray's interest only runs as far as what it will produce for him to eat. If it's just for looking at, forget it. His strawberry garden seems to be off to a good start but sadly, the nicely potted rhubarb given to us last year has failed to thrive. We are the only people I know who can't grow this usually hard to limit plant. No one else can keep up with what their rhubarb produces and ours barely has leaves poking out of the ground. It might not help that it's right where Murray shovels all winter and has a bit of gravel stuck in there but doesn't rhubarb just grow wherever? How many people actually dig a rhubarb bed, fill it with fancy soil & then tend their rhubarb garden??? We seem to have the "black thumb" when it comes to plants.

On our walk today we noticed some little white flowers growing in someone's ditch. Figuring they were some sort of pretty weed, I told the kids they could pick some. The man who lived there was on his way to check the mail when he noticed us looting. He hollered over "Pick 'em ALL!!! Less whippersnipping for me later!!!!" Then he suggested that the kids go pick the ring of phlox growing around the base of their birch tree. Weeds in the ditch are one thing but this seemed like an actual purposeful arrangement & I wasn't sure it'd go over well with his wife! Then he decides to go get her so she can come watch the kids "enjoying" the flowers. I trusted he knew what he was doing but was a little apprehensive that he might have gotten it wrong. but he didn't. She thought it was just great that they were having so much fun, running back & forth from the flowers to the stroller, filling up our basket. She even told them to come back in a couple days because the ones they picked wouldn't last long & they'd need some more!

Curly Sue

Honey was particularly taken with her "curls" this weekend. All afternoon Friday she kept pointing them out to Grammie & showing her how her hair was curly just like her sisters!
She even requested I take pictures of the curls.

Sweetie making "soup", don't mind the choke hazards!

Well I had an awesome weekend!!! I went to Alisa's Scraporium for a "cropcation" and did nothing but scrapbook alllllll weekend!!! We went out for supper Friday night & got chinese take out on Saturday night and other than meals it was crop crop crop!!! Alisa has a whole room full of scrap goodies which she generously shares so I had everything I could possibly need, want or desire. It's like having a whole scrapbook store at my fingertips. I got off to a slow start Friday night but by the end of the weekend I had 10 new pages done in the baby books & am very very close to finishing them! In my own scrapbook I think I'm either still pregnant or in the recovery room after the caesarean. In either case waaaaaaaaaay behind. Once I get theirs finished up I can hopefully get crackin' on mine again. I've done the odd layout out of sequence (*gasp*) just for a break from the baby stuff but there is ALOT of catching up to do. I stayed up late with no worries of having to get up in the night or early in the morning! It was 48 hours of complete and utter self indulgence that I revelled in. I highly recommend it to anyone & think I should do it again sometime!! : )))

Murray had a pretty good weekend here despite the dreary wet weather. He said he had to get up a couple times with the girls on Friday night but Saturday night was quiet and he slept straight through. Even with the rain, they all went for a walk & were thrilled to get to use their umbrellas.

The girls missed me a bit & were happy to see me when I got home but made out quite well overall. When I got home the house was cleaner than when I left, Murray had vacuumed upstairs AND down and made brownies. This is all the more reason for me to go away more!!! : )