Life Captured

Our friend, Jen Wall, took these pictures of the girls one night when she was over. They weren't planned or orchestrated. It is just life captured for a split second before the moment is gone.

~Mandy

Daddy's Girls

There is nothing that compares to warm, post-bath children snuggling up on your lap for one last story before bed. They are soft. They smell good. They are sleepy. And finally the long day of less than pleasant moments is gone, washed down with the sudsy water. All that is left is this beautiful moment. And it is good . . . an "I'm going to miss this so much it hurts" good.

Good Night.

~Mandy

And It Wasn't Over Yet!

So Sean headed back after a week with his family but the girls and I stayed another week in Ontario with my family. We were ladies of leisure, enjoying more time to just do whatever.

Brookie and Bops played lots of games together and she is very good at them. I don't think I learned how to play checkers until I was 12! At this rate, Brooklyn will actually know how to play chess, which is terrible because it will mean that I have to try yet again to understand it.

During this second week of our time with Ama, Bops and Aunt Nessa, Brookie went to the lake with Ama. This was a real treat for a few reasons. She loves the lake (just like her mom) and so being able to sit and watch the water without Rosie terrifying everyone with her near-death rock climbing was wonderful. She also got to spend quality time just with Ama all alone so they could chat. And to top it all off, they had hot chocolate while they sat on their cozy blanket and watched the water. It doesn't get much better than that!

A special trip for both Ama and Brookie. I won't be surprised if this becomes a regular event.

~Mandy

Belated Christmas - Part Two

And so the girls and I met Sean and his parents at their home for another week of family fun. We had a great time just hanging out together. Sean got to actually take a break from teaching, etc., which is something he rarely gets to do.
Nan and the girls enjoyed many a snuggly story reading session together. I am not sure who enjoys these times more - the girls or Nan.
And Pops was kind enough to let Rosie try her hand at photography. Her is a Rosie original portrait of Pops and Brooklyn. That beautiful outfit Brookie is wearing came straight from China and was a gift from Pops.

After Rosie, Brooklyn had a turn with the camera. Poor Rosie is still recovering from her illness. It really wiped her out.

One of the girls' favourite things to do at Nan and Pops' house is to have bubble baths in Nan's big, fancy tub. It is almost as good as a pool, especially since the girls figured out that they could use the one sloped side as a bit of a water slide.

Our week was so good. We even had a belated Christmas dinner, complete with turkey and all the trimmings. Nan even had Christmas crackers for us to pop at the table. There were presents and everything afterward too! That is one good thing about living so far away - sometimes holidays just keep going and going!!

My favourite memory is the night that Pops and the girls decided it would be fun to have a birthday party for everyone. We had cake after dinner with candles that everyone got to blow out. We sang "Happy Birthday" to everyone and the girls wrapped up "presents" which were really just things they found lying around. After dinner, we played a few rousing games like freeze dance - a family favourite. I realised that spontaneous celebrating is a pleasure we need to practise more often. I mean, even when life is difficult, there is always at least one reason to blow up a few balloons and celebrate.

Thanks, Nan and Pops, for a truly festive belated Christmas. We love you!

~Mandy

Millgrove Visit Continued

Here are some more pictures of our time in Millgrove.

Brookie, Bops and Rosie after a session of face painting notice Rosie - she had just been up sick the night before but didn't want to miss any of the fun

Rosie and Brookie loved this pink bowling ball

The bowling was set up specifically for young children so there was no possibility of getting a gutter ball. I personally think this is the only way to bowl - much less frustrating and very good for your self-confidence!

Those of you who have never spent any time with Rosie, will question her choice of outfit for the bowling alley. But those of us who know her will not find it strange at all. For wee Rosie, this is the only way to bowl.

After a week of fun and festivities, it was time to move on to the Davidsons to spend a week with Sean and his family.

~Mandy

Our Belated Christmas in Ontario

It wasn't until February 22nd that the girls and I arrived in Ontario for our Christmas with our "far away family". We spent a week with Ama and Bops before Sean joined us and what a time we had! There was a ton of snow which was really fantastic for building snowmen, shovelling, making snow angels and general frivolity. We also went bowling and we did a lot of snuggling on the couch, reading books and watching our favourite movies. There was hot chocolate for everyone and the fire burned long into the evenings.

Brookie and Rosie made great snow people

Here is Brooklyn giving Mr. Tree a big hug - she had been looking forward to a visit with him for a while

Perhaps Brookie's favourite thing to do on our visit was to help Bops shovel the snow. She was committed and determined.

Rosie got very sick while we were in Millgrove. And then Bops got very sick . . . then Ama. Aunt Vanessa, Brookie and I escaped the worst of it. But even through all of that, we had a wonderful visit as usual. Thanks, guys!! We love you!

~Mandy