Another Preschool Party Day

It was 'Party Day' again at Hannah's preschool. I love 'Party Day'... the kids are just so stinkin' cute singing all their songs. Hannah was really into singing and doing the actions to the songs today :-) Even Victoria was clapping along while sitting in her stroller.





When I went to pick Hannah up after school I walked her bike down to the school. Hannah was pretty excited when she walked out of the classroom and saw her bike there. She rode her bike all the way home from school! She is getting much better at steering the bike now that she isn't looking down to watch her feet all the time.

The weather has been beautiful this week! The kids have been outside playing every day and I am enjoying getting a little bit of a tan started while I am watching them play. I need to get a bit of colour before I head to Palm Springs in June where it will be 115 degrees every day. I can't wait to lounge by the pool... the resort that we are staying at looks so beautiful :-)

Sorry!

I know I haven't posted in over a week! Dave was hassling me today about slacking on the blog... so here is a little update...

I had to take Victoria to the Dr. last week because she has been developing a bad rash on her hands that is spreading up into the inside of her elbows. It turns out that she has developed eczema and the Dr. prescribed a cream for her. The cream is helping but it is still very itchy for her. She keeps pointing to her hands and saying 'Owie'.

I attempted to go for a run Thursday night and I ended up almost collapsing on the side of the road. I came home and went straight to the Dr. who prescribed me some super strong anti-inflammatories for what turns out to be shin splints! So my legs have been really sore all week.

Our church is sending a team to Mexico to build 4 houses for homeless families this summer and we went to a Mexican Fiesta fundraiser on Saturday night. It was fun... great food! Hannah and Victoria went to the kid's fiesta where they played fun games and smacked a pinata around. The girls each had to pay $2 for their fiesta and I told them that they had to pay for it out of their piggy banks. I gave them each a little ziploc bag to put their money in and I helped them find a toonie from each of their piggy banks. After Hannah put her toonie in the bag I told her that she could put more money in for the Mexican kids if she wanted to. Surprisingly Hannah actually put a huge handful of coins into the bag :-) Victoria on the other hand did not want to part with her money as easily... she only put one extra quarter in her bag and then she quickly hoarded the rest of her money back in her piggy bank!

Hannah has learned how to ride her 'big girl' bike... she can ride all over the cul-de-sac now! She has been really good about following the rules... she is allowed to ride to the stop sign and then she has to turn around and come back. Now that Hannah is riding the big bike Victoria gets the tricycle. Victoria can't really pedal yet but she loves to sit on it and get pushed around. She gets so excited 'Me bike! Me bike!'

Sun Run 2009

55,858 people. That is how many people participated in yesterdays Sun Run! The crowd was huge and the weather was great for running... cool and cloudy.

First of all, I don't think I blogged about the softball team I joined... I joined our church's softball team and we played a triple header on Saturday (the day before the Sun Run). I had not played in about 15 years and I was very nervous! Our team won all 3 games on Saturday and I felt pretty good about how I played... I started out a bit rusty but it all came back to me :-) I hit every time I was up to bat and I had several plays where I put the other team out.

Sunday morning I woke up with a very sore back and shoulders! 15 years of not swinging a bat or throwing a ball caught up with me and I was sore. This is BEFORE the race... I was really freaking out about being able to even run at all.

Rhonda picked me up at 7am and we took the skytrain downtown and lined up in our pack for the race. We were way at the back so it was a while before we even reached the starting line.

Our goal was to try and run 5km and walk 5km of the 10km race and finish in about 2 hours. It was tough and there were so many points during the race where we really had to dig deep and push through. In total we ran 6km and power walked 4km so we did better than we had hoped for!

I finished in 33,218 place in 1 hour and 36 minutes... there were over 20,000 people behind me. I was glad to not be last!

When I got home Dave and the kids surprised me with an airline ticket to California in June for a girl's weekend in Palm Springs with Christy and some friends. It was a nice surprise and it felt great that they realized how hard I have worked to be able to finish the Sun Run :-) I can't wait until June to relax by the pool!

I was completely exhausted and in a great deal of physical pain last night.... I have never had such sore muscles in my life! Today was a bit better but I am still really stiff and sore. I played softball tonight and my legs felt like they were on fire when I was running the bases... I even almost fell when my legs wobbled under me.

Now I have a week of rest... no boot camp or baseball until next Monday!

Here are some pictures that Rhonda took with her cell phone before and after the race yesterday...

Fire Hall Field Trip

Today Hannah's class had a field trip to the Murrayville Fire Station. It was a great experience for the kids! Hannah was really looking forward to it.



The kid's learned lots of important things while they were there and the firemen made it fun for them with lots of props and role playing games.



They learned how to 'Stop, Drop and Roll', how to call 911 and some important ways to get out of the house in case of a fire. The kid's watched a video and ate their snacks while all of the parents were taken into another room to watch a different video (much more serious) about the importance of making sure your children know what to do in case of a fire in your home. The video was quite upsetting... and shocking to know that even though most kids think they know what to do in case of a fire that they will often panic and forget what to do. The video really encouraged parents to actually physically practice fire drills at home instead of just talking about it. I also came home and realized that we need to have more than one smoke detector in our house... just in case!



After snack time the kids all got to help the fireman get dressed (and learn that they don't need to be scared of someone all dressed up in all that gear!) I can see how little kids could get scared of someone all dressed up and with a big mask with hoses like that! The fireman was great with the kids... he talked to them with the mask on so they learned that it sounded funny but really it is just a person in there that wants to help them.



At the end of the field trip all of the kids got to sit on the fire trucks and check things out. Hannah really liked pretending to drive the fire truck and I think all of those buttons and switches were a little appealing to her... but she didn't touch any of them!




It was a fun day for them and I think they all learned a few things about fire safety. I am however, slightly nervous about Hannah trying to call 911 just for fun now.......

Thanks Elena! I got a good laugh out of this :-)

Never a Dull Moment...

Today Hannah committed a 'B&E' (for those of you who don't know what that is, it is Breaking & Entering!)

I am dead serious. Let me explain what happened....

The weather was nice today and while Victoria was napping this afternoon I took Hannah outside to play. Hannah wanted to play 'hide and seek' and I let her go first. Hannah usually hides in our neighbour's driveway behind our hedges... so after I finished counting I went to look for her. She wasn't in the neighbour's driveway so I started looking around for her. I was thinking to myself that she was getting better at hiding... she usually gives herself away by laughing or shouting out where she is.

After a minute or two I still couldn't find her. I called her name a couple times and she didn't answer me. I wasn't too worried because we live in a cul-de-sac and she really couldn't have gone too far while I was counting to 10.

As I am walking back across the cul-de-sac I see Hannah... she was standing inside our neighbour's living room waving at me through the window!!!! I was shocked! How the heck did she get in the neighbour's house?? They work during the day and I knew they weren't home because both of their vehicles were gone.

I guess Hannah could tell from my face (and a few hand gestures!) that she was going to get it. Next thing I know she disappears from the window with the curtains swaying as she bolted off. A couple minutes later she comes running out of the neighbour's backyard and I marched her home.

I asked Hannah how she got inside their house and she told me that she opened their sliding door (it wasn't locked) and she went inside to hide. She told me that there was a bag of chips on their kitchen table (I think she ate them!) and she even said she went upstairs to see if anyone was home! I was horrified that she was wandering through their house while snacking on a bag of their chips!

So tonight after dinner I took Hannah over to the neighbour's house so she could explain what she did and apologise. I was worried that she had made a mess in their house or something and these people came home from work and thought their house had been ransacked.

Here is the funniest part... when I told the neighbour what happened she told me that her 16 year old son was home sick from school today. So she calls him to the door and asks him if he knew that Hannah was in the house. He goes all red in the face and says that he heard 'someone' in the house and he was so scared that he hid under his covers until the 'person' left!! I am just glad he didn't call the cops!

Happy Easter!

Hannah and Victoria got all dolled up for church this morning :-) The girls both looked adorable and they loved the dresses. Hannah called it her 'Cinderella Dress' because she thought she looked like a princess.



At church Hannah and Victoria were both given flowers that they carried to the front and placed into vases to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such a nice way for the little kids to participate in the service.

While Victoria was in her Sunday School class she told the teacher that she had to go 'pee pee'. So she took her to the toilet and Victoria went pee on the toilet! Dave and I were so surprised that she actually said she had to go and then when they took her that she actually went... what a big girl she is!

The Easter Bunny also made a stop at our house... and when we got home from church the girls hunted for easter eggs that were hidden around the house. They really enjoyed it and surprisingly Victoria found quite a few eggs all on her own.

We headed over to Papa and Buggy's house for Easter dinner with GG, Papa, Buggy, Uncle Brad and Kara. The girls got a few more Easter gifts and of course chocolate!

GG gave the girls a hopscotch mat along with chocolate bunnies... Hannah really liked learning to play hopscotch and GG was a great hopscotch teacher :-)

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Happy 6th Birthday Tysen!

Here are a few pictures from Tysen's birthday party last night. The kid's all had lots of fun... there were 27 kids at the party!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYSEN!

We'll see you tomorrow :-)

Pet Show and Tell

This month is animal month at Hannah's preschool and the kid's were able to sign up to bring their pet in for 'Show & Tell'. Today was Hannah's turn and she brought Pistol, Stallone and Abby for Show & Tell time.

Pistol visited at the beginning of class and Stallone and Abby came at the end of the class.

Since I had to be there to help Hannah with the pets I got to see her during Show & Tell. She had to do an introduction to the class. When she introduced Pistol it was really cute... I didn't get a videoclip of it and I wish I did. Hannah said "Hello, My name is Hannah. This is my dog Pistol and she is a Doberman pinscher." She did really well at introducing Pistol :-) Then she answered questions about Pistol that all of her classmates and teachers asked. I had to giggle when one little boy asked why Pistol had a short tail and Hannah said it was so you could see the poop come out of her bum. Another funny one was when another kid asked why Pistol had lumps on her and Hannah said because Pistol is 'really, really , really OLD!'

Pistol did great... she sat nicely and performed her one trick (shake a paw). Then she layed down and let all 20 kids pet her and give her hugs.

The kids also had their Easter Egg Hunt today during class... so by the end of the class when I brought Stallone and Abby for Show & Tell Hannah was totally hyper! I did manage to videotape a bit of her introduction of the cats but you can tell she was very distracted and wired. It wasn't nearly as cute as when she introduced Pistol earlier in the day.

Stallone and Abby were totally nervous about being there but they did come out of the carrier briefly. Hannah showed her class Abby's 'special toes' and Abby sat on my lap while all the kid's took turns petting her. Abby couldn't get back into the carrier fast enough when Show & Tell was over!

Tonight is Tysen's Birthday Party... the girl's are really looking forward to it. Victoria has been walking around singing 'Happy Birthday Tysen' all morning :-)

The Good, The Bad and The Dog Poop

***Disclaimer*** The following story contains dog poop (Brad you may want to stop reading now)!

Let's start with the good news... tonight at boot camp I ran my timed 1km run almost 2 minutes faster than my very first timed run 6 weeks ago. 2 minutes!! This is the part where I get to toot my own horn... 'Toot Toot!'

The bad news is that it was so warm out tonight (20 degrees!) that it made running a bit harder. Don't get me wrong I am happy about the warm weather and that Spring has sprung and all that but going from running in -2 degrees to +20 degrees in 2 weeks is a bit of an adjustment. I am hoping that on the Sun Run day it is a bit on the cooler side. The Sun Run is less than 2 weeks away now... yikes!

OK now onto the dog poop part of my story. Mondays at boot camp are always 'ball night' where we do most of our running and work out with an exercise ball. Well towards the end of class we didn't need the ball for a couple of exercises and the trainer told us to roll our balls over to a grassy area near the school fence so they wouldn't roll away across the school yard. Easy enough... so I tossed my ball over to the grassy area along with everyone else's balls. A few minutes later the trainer asks us to go and get our balls and meet her back at the mats for our ab work out and then stretch time. I walk over grab my ball and head to my mat.

So as I am laying back on the ball crunching I distinctly smell dog poop. I mention to Rhonda that something smells and jokingly she says 'Maybe it's you'. Ha Ha I laugh and continue with the crunches. I keep smelling the smell so I then start looking around, checking the bottom of my shoes etc. I mention to Rhonda again that something smells. Rhonda stops crunching and looks over at me and discovers that my exercise ball has dog poop on it and it has smeared all up the back of my shirt while I was crunching!! Ewwww! At this point everyone in the class is laughing and I completely lose it... I was laughing so hard I was crying and snorting while Rhonda was trying to wipe it up with Kleenex. What a friend... she tried to clean the dog poop off my back for me! Thankfully it was right at the end of class and I was able to take my shirt off and put my warm up jacket on for the ride home. Ugh! I think everyone got a better ab work out from all the laughing!

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Laundry Hamper Update: Victoria climbed into the laundry hamper after her nap yesterday and she flipped it over while she was still inside it. She trapped herself inside it because it was wedged up against her bed! But when she saw me with the camera she said 'Cheese!'

Little Miss Mischief

Dave and I woke up this morning to a little voice repeating 'Help! Help!' over and over again. I knew it was Victoria and when Dave went into her room to investigate this is what he found....



Victoria had crawled inside her laundry hamper and couldn't get herself back out! She thought it was funny and she was giggling away :-)


Victoria is such a climber! Every week when we pick her up from her Sunday School class they tell us about how Victoria was climbing the bookshelves, play kitchen, toy bins and pretty much anything else she can try to climb. At home she has learned how to pull the drawers out in the kitchen and climb them to get on the counter tops! And forget child locks... there is no such thing as child proofing when it comes to Victoria she can get into anything! (She has learned well from her big sister how to get into things!) She has no fear and she certainly isn't the type of kid to cry over falling down or getting knocked over... she usually just gets right back up. She's a little toughie!


Victoria is talking SO much now! She is picking up new words all the time and she is a total parrot repeating everything she hears! She is also getting really good at tattling when Hannah does anything to her... Hannah isn't able to get away with anything now!


This afternoon Hannah went to a birthday party for her little friend Grace's 4th Birthday. It was Hannah's first 'school friend' birthday party and she was very excited about it. Hannah chose a party dress to wear, I curled her hair and she even got to wear a little bit of lip gloss :-)






While Hannah was out at the party the weather was finally nice enough that Dave was able to cut the lawn. Tanya, Jeff, Tysen and Joshua came over and we BBQ'd since it was so nice outside. The kid's all had a great time playing out in the yard on the playground.


Hannah and Victoria were pretty tired tonight so they should get a good night sleep... tomorrow is Palm Sunday and I am the greeter at church so we have to be up and out the door early tomorrow! I think I am going to get to bed early too :-) Gone are the days of staying up late on a Saturday night!

Mid-Week Update

My aunt, uncle and cousins have been visiting from Alberta the last few days. It is always nice to catch up with all of them. We don't see them as often as we would like to.

On Sunday Aunty Sherry and I spent a whole day (12+ hours) shopping in the States. You haven't experienced shopping until you have shopped with Aunty Sherry :-) We had lots of fun and got a few bargains along the way. I bought Hannah and Victoria all of their spring and summer wardrobes and got some great deals at Target.

Of course an Aunty Sherry shopping experience is not complete until you pay a visit and leave a 'tip' with the customs officers at the Aldergrove border crossing. The nice customs lady at that crossing knows us so well that when we walked into the office she said 'You two again?!?'

My cousins Jaden and Logan spent the night here on Monday and Tuesday night. Hannah was SO excited to have them here for a sleepover and Tuesday morning they came to Hannah's 'Party Day' at preschool. Hannah put on quite a show for them at Party Day she was really dancing up a storm :-)

Tuesday afternoon after we picked Hannah up from school I took them all to The Great Escape. They all had lots of fun running around. Jaden and Logan played hide and seek with Hannah in the big Jungle play area which she loved and then Jaden and Logan played some Laser Tag.

Last night we went to 'The Marble Slab' for ice cream and it was yummy!! Good thing I have boot camp tonight so I can run it all off!

Victoria gave up her room for Jaden and Logan to sleep in and she bunked with Hannah in Hannah's room. Hannah was pretty good about sharing her room with Victoria but Victoria woke up early both mornings calling 'Jadie! Jadie! Jadie!' down the hallway. I don't think Jaden enjoyed the early morning wake up call ;-)

Aunty Sherry and Uncle Les picked Jaden and Logan up this morning and they were heading down to the States to visit some more family before heading back to Alberta sometime this weekend.

Both Hannah and Victoria were pretty tired from all the excitement of having house guests... both girls are crashed in their rooms right now having a long nap!

I'm off to boot camp tonight and then to Earl's for a much needed Mom's night out with friends :-)

Happy Wednesday everyone!