fall

It is really beginning to feel like fall here. I don't mind it so much but I'm not looking forward to winter...apart from maybe a little skiing and fun in the snow. Oh, ok, there are a few good things about winter!

After school today we were out playing in our front garden. All the other kids seem to be busy with after school activities for big kids or homework so Cameron and Jamie miss the big kids in our neighbourhood. Still, they had fun on their bikes then chasing each other around the garden with a plastic pumpkin!
For some reason Jamie's foot got caught inside the plastic pumpkin.

This is Cameron's face after he told me that he got candy corn at school today!

green and yellow park

We've found a new park near our house and school. Cameron says we can call it "green and yellow" park so there is no confusion with the original "green park". It has fast slides and yesterday there was a bonus attraction - the icecream truck came to the park! Our lucky day!

more meadowlark

This morning we had a fun Meadowlark walk with Anna, Oliver and Archie. Say "cheeeeeese"!

at the park

This is one of their favourite things to play with at "blue" park. They are really bouncy. We have 3 parks that we go to on a regular basis and it was Cameron who one day said "let's go to green park" and I realised that the park in Great Falls does have all green equipment and the park in the photo near Algonkian is all blue equipment. Sometimes kids are so much more observant than adults!

computer geek

Cameron has turned into a computer games addict. There is a computer in his new classroom and he loves playing games at school. I showed him the Noggin games on my computer and he's hooked. He picked it all up really quickly and in no time was going between games and asking for new ones. Granny is going to get him a Leapster system for his birthday because he needs to get off my computer otherwise I'll never get to blog again! I'm a little torn about letting him get too involved in computer games but hope that if I keep it to educational games for his age it will be ok. And yes, we are in our pyjamas in this photo because Cameron wants to play games the minute he gets up in the morning. Luckily he's willing to stop for breakfast and school.

baby shower

Yesterday we went to the Willard Hotel in DC for afternoon tea. It was Anna's baby shower and she's looking great. Her baby is due in 5 weeks and we were all guessing if it will be a boy or a girl ..bets are on a girl since so many of us just have boys...will let you know!

bagels

Jamie loves bagels and making a mess eating them.

my mum

I don't often get a photo together with my mum. Normally we are taking pictures of the boys and the fun they are having. This weekend, I got Grant to take a photo of us together. My mum is the best. She's fantastic with the boys, helps me around the house and today, after our boring Giant shopping, we had a pedicure together and a good chat. Mum time is great!

swimming, police and golf

I really didn't catch up from last weekend. Grant keeps asking when I'm going to update the blog?! So here I am, before bedtime....just making sure that we don't miss any "moments".

Cameron was at swimming class too on Saturday. He looks so funny wearing goggles.

After swimming we went to Reston Police Station open house. It was a fantastic event. They had all the police vehicles out and fire engines. There were cars, trucks, motorbikes, the bomb squad with a robot, police dogs, the diving squad and to round off a perfect day free popcorn! Here is Jamie dressed up as a fireman - he loved getting into the boots.Sunday morning was another hot and steamy day. Grant went to play football and we decided to try another sport -mini golf! It was about 100 degrees and 80% humidity but the boys didn't mind. Granny Tina and Miranda were the caddies.

mark spitz in training

Jamie took his first PeeWee Paddler I class today. He was moved up to swim with 3 year olds and he was so happy to be in with the big kids. We were a bit nervous about it because it is the first class where he swims without a parent but Grant said Jamie had lots of fun and you can see him in the pictures above, and below, splashing with the other kids and participating in the lesson. Perhaps we have a Mark Spitz or Michael Phelps in training? (Grant hopes not because he doesn't want to drive kids to the pool at 5am for training!)

more masterpieces

Jamie was so excited to show me this funny man that he made at school today. The hands and feet are outlines of Jamie's hands and feet...what a great idea!Jamie also made this happy sunshine.
Cameron has been busy as well. His class is focusing more on learning to write by tracing shapes and letters but he's found time in his busy day to create some shape pictures and this fun butterfly - pure genius!

ex-squirrel

Bear is such a sweet cat. But yesterday he was chewing on pieces of squirrel and has left a few squirrel legs outside on our deck! Tina thinks Bear might have found an already ex-squirrel because we're not sure he can catch one on his own. One thing is sure...he can eat it...yuck!

more meadowlark

This is one of the great sculptures at Meadowlark Gardens. We took Granny Tina to our favourite place this afternoon. We chased pretend bears, played in the sandbox and fed the massive cat fish. Jamie and Cameron were exhausted after our walk and had a little rest on the way out.

sleepy

This morning I had two little boys who slept much longer than normal. Jamie got up at 7.15am and Cameron just kept sleeping. Eventually, Jamie and I thought we had to go and wake him up otherwise we'd be late for school. So we crept into Cameron's room and quietly woke him up. His latest phrase at wake up is "rise and shine!" which he thinks is really funny to say to me. This morning Cameron was very sleepy and once he got downstairs he said to me "I don't like it when you wake me up. I prefer waking up on my own". I didn't say "yes, me too" but I was thinking it!

circus

Cameron is mad about the circus. He loves the idea of clowns and acrobats, and, after seeing Barnum & Bailey "the greatest show on earth" earlier this year, he has been asking to go to the circus over and over again. We found out at the last minute that there was a circus in town so I took both boys on Sunday afternoon. I've always been a bit hesitant about the circus. I don't like the big animals or big cats in a circus but I thought the Barnum & Bailey circus was really well done...like a Disney production, which is not surprising since it is managed by the same people that handle the Disney on Ice shows. Anyway, yesterday it was the Cole Bros. Circus. It is under a big top as you can see from the photo above. Cameron loved being in the tent and loved some of the acts - elephants, motorbikes in a big globe and the acrobats...but for me it was a bit of a let down compared to Barnum and Bailey. This was an old-fashioned circus that seemed to have tired acts in old costumes. I think I've become used to the polished, professional acts of Cirque du Soleil and Barnum and Bailey so in comparison this looked like a very amateur production. Having said that from my point of view...the boys had fun and enjoyed the show.

swimming lessons

Swimming lessons started today for both Cameron and Jamie. Jamie went with Grant for his lesson and Miranda took Cameron. This time Cameron is in "big boy" classes where he goes into the class on his own without a parent in the water. You can see they have 3 instructors for the 10 or so children in the class. Mr Yuri is our main teacher again and since we had him before we're really happy. Can you spot Cameron sitting on the side of the pool listening to the teachers? He's the palest kid!Then they did some splashing, kicking and jumping - the jumping is Cameron's favourite part.
Next week Jamie has been told to move up a class - so advanced! The instructor thinks he should go into the class above where he also takes a lesson without a parent ... we'll see how that goes!

back to school

Here are the boys ready to leave for school this morning. Cameron had a better day than Jamie, who was a little upset at times but made it through the morning. He'll be fine when he gets back into the school routine.
After school we had time for a little bike riding with Granny and some of our neighbours. The boys were shattered after their first day of school and are tucked up in bed now. It'll be a shock when they realise there's more school tomorrow!

labor day weekend

We had a great weekend.

Granny Tina arrived from Scotland and Cameron and Jamie are thrilled that she is here. Cameron can barely be more than about 5 feet away from his Granny all day. We opened a special bottle of champagne the evening she arrived. Deb and Jason gave it to us as a wedding gift and we decided to celebrate Grant being an American citizen and Granny Tina arriving for her holiday. It was delicious! Thanks Deb and Jason!We failed to take photos at a wonderful bbq at Cheryl's house. We went to visit Pam and her family at her sister's new house which is only about 30 mins from here. We all had a great Sunday so sorry there are no photos!

Jamie found a box this weekend that we'd kept from his birthday party. He loves Thomas the tank engine and the box has Thomas all over it. He had the best time climbing in and out of it as you can see from this photo. Sometimes all kids need is a large cardboard box to keep them happy!
This afternoon we went over to our neighbour's house for a bbq and pool party. We had such a great time and the kids loved being in the pool. It made Grant and I plan a spot for a pool in our backgarden...maybe when we win the lottery!

Tomorrow the boys start their new school. Backpacks are ready, boys are sleeping and I'm ready for a little down-time.