Tuesday 15 May 2012 at 11:24 am
The weather has been amazing! It has felt like summer :)
We ran into another one of *those* days with Cailyn on Monday. She just did NOT want to listen or try and got very mouthy sigh... The worst part is when she finally did realize that I was right her response was an "oh well". I know this is normal, I know we would be dealing with this no matter what, but in the moment it is still hard and makes me question the whole schooling thing sigh...
She managed to get it back together and did great in the afternoon. The morning issues involved decimals and fractions. The afternoon she moved on to drawing conclusions, cursive practice (oh my can she write good when she wants to!) and past tense verbs. Tuesday was also a good day with spelling and sentences, mixed multiplication and division, possesive nouns and rocks/minerals.
The gorgeous weather has meant we can have all meals outside :) I love when we return to outdoor breakfasts
It also meant getting the slip and slide out! Cailyn didn't get to participate because this was Monday :( She was having a nap in hopes of being in a better mood for Guides that night (which she was :)). Kien had a lot of fun, but he missed his sister to play with him.
Sunday 13 May 2012 at 5:38 pm
A very pleasant weekend!
Saturday, Liam and Sophie came to play! That is always so much fun because the kids play SO well together. And being a nice hot summer-like day was just the greatest. There were water guns, there was running, there was sprinkler and there was sitting on a blanket with your best friend giggling and playing DSI games.
During this Dan was at a Thai cooking class, learning to make curries. There wasn't much vegetarian options though so Dan didn't get to try it :( It also wasn't hands-on like the classes we usually take sigh...
Then in the evening I was over to the neighbours as Chris was having a "girls night". A very pleasant night, there were some wonderful ladies there and as always lots of good food. Very fun time.
Mother's Day this year was laid-back (as I wanted it). Dan made up a browned butter/apple pull apart loaf (yummy!) Then I headed out for a 10 mile run, it is time to start doing the longer runs again to be ready for the half in June! It was a perfect day, sunny and warm but not too hot. The ocean, the mountains, fighter jets taking off as I was running beside the airport, then some trails and gorgeous trees. Man I love where I live!
The rest of the day was hanging out and enjoying. The kids played, we did some gardenning and just enjoyed the day. Dinner was roasted veggies on pasta while we watched The Muppet movie and ended the night with the molten lava cakes that we made in class last month and had in the freezer. There were SO amazing (and I am not a chocolate cake fan usually).
Pictures are what the kids made me for Mother's Day :) Kien's is a podracer race and 2 of the podracers crashed into each other a blew up. Then when I came back from my run he presented me with his zombie picture that he was really proud of :) I have said it before, boys are *very* different ;-p
Friday 11 May 2012 at 08:54 am
The sun has been shining and the weather has been hot! The kids are loving it :)
All meals are eaten on the deck. The kids are in their t-shirts and they have been playing long and hard until bedtime. They come in exhausted and filthy (as kids should be).
Cailyn has also been getting her school done. Thursday was mixed multiplication and division, pronouns, spelling sentences (they are still short but at least she is getting the capitals to start and finishing with a period) and minerals. Friday was fractions, reading comprehension and spelling. The afternoon was cursive practice, a Canada crossword and reading.
Friday the Guides had a movie night. Everyone was watching Tintin and it was one of those wonderful events that the whole family goes to. Kien LOVED the movie, he sat beside Grandpa the whole time and was transfixed (though being Kien he also had to comment outloud time to time, the best being when he commented on how that wasn't a smart thing to do). Cailyn was off with her friends right away :) It ended up being a super late night and the kids were done by the time we got home, but it is always fun to be out for a night.
The picture is Kien just being a silly, with his tired and dirty face :)
Wednesday 09 May 2012 at 2:31 pm
Things are getting back to normal after the weekend :)
School went well for Cailyn this week! yeah! Tuesday was long division, future and past tense verbs, light and sound properties and spelling words. Wednesday was mixed multiplication and division, reading comprehension (noticing details, this one is a struggle as Cailyn likes to skim what she reads), cursive writing and fractions. The afternoon was badge work (getting ready to work on the gardenning badge over the summer) and reading.
Tuesday was a playdate with Tyler and the twins :) Cailyn is having lots of fun with the girls, Ashley was crawling to her and got upset when she couldn't see Cailyn. The boys jumped on the bouncy castle and played on the swings.
We got home and there was a surprise for us. A dear friend that I have known since high school had sent the kids books. Kien recieved a wonderful book all about bugs, the book has flaps and doors to look behind and lots and lots of wierd bug facts. A perfect book for the bug loving boy that loves to learn :) He also got a cute frog stuffy which he loves. It got a prized spot in his bed (beside his snake and tarantula).
Cailyn got Charlotte's Web :) I am so excited to read it to her!! I remember reading it as a child and when the movie came out a few years back I decided not to watch it until I could watch it with Cailyn. There was also a pig stuffy that Cailyn names Wilbur and has been carrying around since (she has been feeding it with a bottle, but because we never had baby bottles in the house she has been using a wine bottle she found ;-p) She and I started the book on Wednesday while Kien was at Beavers. We snuggled up in her bed and read the first 3 chapters.
Wednesday Kien had a beach cleanup with Beavers. He was pretty thrilled by it and was so happy that he had fallen through the mud (all the way up to his knees). He also said he got stuck a few times, which cracks him up!
Aside from that it has been lots of playing outside. Cailyn is in to do her school. I call the kids for meal times and they show up when it is snack time :) They have a "secret spot" in the front of the house and the "mud pit" in the back stream
Monday 07 May 2012 at 11:38 am
Cailyn came back Sunday morning EXHAUSTED!
I did a quick run of the Elk/Beaver lake loop because the camp was right beside it. It was a gorgeous day! and I do love trail running.
Cailyn came home and I sent her for a nap. Usually there is complaining and argueing but she went to bed and was asleep in seconds! She had a 3 hour nap!!!
While she was napping we worked on yard and garden things. Dan got the rhubarb area ready and got that and some lettuce in. I got the smaller outside raised bed ready and seeded shelling peas and rainbow chard.
After Cailyn's nap we had dinner and then she was off to her friend Hailey's birthday party. It was a movie one, which excited Cailyn! She had SO much fun at the movie and with all the girls. It was 10:30 by the time she got home and she was in her excited talk.nonstop.very.very.very.fast stage.
Monday was a quiet day. After the busy weekend Cailyn took a day off school. It was warm out so out she was playing with Kien all day! It was one of those perfect days, I got my chores done while the kids played happily all day and were so tired and ready for bed at bedtime.
The greenhouse seeds are looking good :) That middle row is chard! I also have some beans against the greenhouse wall and the front row is lettuce. All things are starting so yeah!!
And the best thing we are growing in the greenhouse is a Mars cat :) She is always sleeping in there, it is warm and quiet and is a perfect cat sleeping spot. Though I now have to check there before I turn on the water, I made that mistake once, Mars was not too thrilled. Poor cat.
Saturday 05 May 2012 at 3:38 pm
Friday was Star Wars day "May the Fourth be with you" 
Kien loves that day!! He had a very good day. He played with his moon sand for several hours, then he built a Star Wars kit that I had saved for this day :)
Cailyn had a relax day to get ready for her camping trip this weekend. We got everything packed and she hung out and read and played.
This time she was at Kingswood, which she says is her favorite. And it looks like a no rain weekend so yeah!! Drop off was at 6:00, we said good-bye and then came home to get Kien to bed.
Saturday was another all about Kien day :) This time we decided on a road trip up island. The day started with fresh scones, Dan is seriously the best scone maker ever! Then we started on our way.
First stop was coffee, then onto Coombs, we came across a Dutch store that sold licorice so we got a bunch of kinds for Dan and I (Kien said it was too "askusting" for him) and the goats on the roof. We got ice cream (Kien got bubble gum, he was really looking forward to that) and we realized we hadn't eaten lunch yet, so it was ice cream for lunch!! That cracked Kien up
Kienan also got to pick out one of the little wooden toys that the market always has. He had a tough time but finally settled on a bow and arrow set. He was too excited to try that out. I am finding with Kien, he really likes the "traditional boy" toy things. We tried it out in a grass field and he was pretty thrilled by that. I can see it will get much use! And he also thought we should pick one up for Cailyn, so she could play too :) Things like that melt my heart.
Next it was over to Rathtrevor to hang out at the beach. It was low tide so there was plenty to explore. Kien was really interested in it all. We found a dead crab and spent quite some time checking it out and I explained to him how the boy and girl crabs have different markings. The tidal pools were a huge hit, he loved finding the crabs and fish. And lastly he built mini temples and then jumped in them and cracked up. It was truly a perfect day. We will have to go back soon with Cailyn too!
On the way back we stopped for Thai food (Kien's choice) and then got the very very tired boy to bed.
Tomorrow we pick Cailyn back up. I love these special one on one days with Kien, but I sure miss Cailyn when she is away.
Thursday 03 May 2012 at 3:29 pm
Wednesday we took an off day :) It was hot and sunny and seemed a perfect day to send the kids out to be kids :)
Got some more of the garden done. I should be ready to plant the rest of the seeds this weekend. I also mowed the lawn again!
Thursday was back to school for Cailyn, the break did her good :) She worked on graphs, division, light and sound properties, reading comprehension and predications (reading a story and predicting what would happen next. Cailyn struggles atthings like this). The afternoon was multiplication and reading.
Kien played lego, he plays lego a lot! I am thoroughly impressed with his ability to follow instructions, but also at how he can imagine and create some pretty amazing things! The only downside we have is that he never likes to take apart things. His half of the lego table is always full of ships/airplanes/tanks in various stages of being finished
Tuesday 01 May 2012 at 12:47 pm
Spring is here :) We are back to getting the gardens ready, cleaning up the yard from the winter (leaves and tree branches from windstorms) and getting started on cutting back some of the bushes.
I picked up some more seeds (chard, peas and lettuce) that I plan on planting in the square garden bed (where the beans and peas were last year). I need to finish turning up that dirt first though.
In the growing department Kien planted some seeds in Beavers. He is really proud of his plant :) (see picture, but ignore the dirty window, we haven't done that part of the spring cleaning yet ;-p)
School went well. Monday Cailyn worked on multiplication, cursive and reading comprehension (tides). The afternoon was more multiplication problems, Canada (still on the provinces and territories) and reading. Tuesday was a half day and she worked on mixed multiplication and division word problems, angles (obtuse, acute and right), connecting sentences and spelling/sentences.
I started a 100 pushup a day challenge. Everyday for the month of May :) I have known for awhile that I need to do more upper body work so this will help with that. I also do a "toolbox" class on Tuesdays (which is a full body strengthening class that usually leaves me sore for 3 days), my Thursday yoga and then running :) I will be back into half marathon training next week for a June 24th race. I have also been running with Shealyn once a week and she prepares to do her first ever run, The Goddess run on June 3rd!!!
