plasma car

Thanks to Uncle Craig, Auntie Allison and cousin Logan for Jamie's new plasma car!

We've all had fun racing around the house...it is very cool and Jamie is picking up speed!

birthday party for Jamie

We had a great day for Jamie's party. It was very hot and the kids loved the bouncy castle and we turned on the sprinkler so they could cool off. This is us at the end of the day...

Jamie had a delicious chocolate cake.

Grant had fun organising the treasure hunt.

gardening

Auntie Stef and Uncle John sent Jamie a VIU (Vancouver Island University) hoodie for his birthday and he loves it.  Auntie Stef works at the university and we all think Jamie looks ready for college!  Thanks Auntie Stef and Uncle John.

Here are the boys gardening today with Granny Tina. They had lots of fun with watering our plants and filling up our pots with water.

 Granny Tina has been doing lots of work in our garden during her visit. We've really got organised and now have lovely flowers in pots at the front and back of our house. We've also started our herb garden. If we have time we have sunflower seeds for the boys to plant and we're thinking of doing some veggies.  Has anyone got advice on easy veggies to plant that the boys will enjoy? I'm thinking carrots would be a good choice.  Last year I planted strawberries and despite my best efforts, with bird netting etc, we were just feeding the local wildlife.

swim gear

This made us laugh so much this evening. Gail sent Jamie some new swim gear for his birthday. He wanted to try it on before bedtime tonight. He loved his new outfit, complete with hat, and was using the coathanger as a pirate hook.

Then he pretended to swim on the floor!

Jamie is 3 years old!

Today was Jamie's 3rd birthday. What a fun day we had with him. He was so happy and excited to be 3 and Cameron was equally excited for him. Cameron was happy to hear that Jamie would be sharing birthday toys!  They had fun playing together with their new Bat Cave. (Thanks Auntie Donna!)

Jamie had donut holes for breakfast (a big treat) and yogurt smoothie in his new pirate mug.

At school Jamie got the Birthday Hat - he was so happy and wanted to show everyone. He kept it on this afternoon at home and no one else was allowed to wear it. Here goes with the funny faces....

Happy Birthday Jamie!

circus

We went to see the Barnum & Bailey circus yesterday afternoon and the boys *loved* it. I asked Cameron what the best part was and he said "everything".  He loved the clowns...they really made him laugh. Jamie was just amazed at everything.  

This is Jamie on one of the clown's bikes. The pre-show lets the kids meet the performers up close.
One of my clowns.Jamie tried on one of the coats and made a new friend.

easter eggs

The boys made eggs this week at the Play Cafe. We had lots of fun dipping them in dye then decorating them. Jamie used the green dragonflies and Cameron used the worms.

We did a little easter egg hunt in our back garden today. Cameron was enthusiastic, as always, about running around the garden and finding eggs. He was also enthusiastic about eating them!  Jamie is a little under the weather but he had fun looking for eggs and managed to eat a few too.

Jamie is trying to say "cheese" but his mouth is full of chocolate!

Bear

I haven't posted any photos of Bear recently. Here he is on his favourite chair on the deck. He's happy that the weather is getting warmer and he can be outside for more of the day.

new bike trailer

We've had the Burley, and hardly used it, and we've got the tag-a-long bike too...and we did use that last summer but we were looking for something that would give the boys a feeling of riding their own bike a little more when we are out on the trails together. Enter the Trailgator bike trailer.

It can be attached to the kids bike, raises the front wheel, and lets the kid cycle at the same time.  Grant just managed to get Jamie's linked up this morning for a quick ride around the culdesac and Jamie really liked it. Hopefully we'll get out on them soon for a longer ride.

grant has a new car

Grant and I have very different shopping styles.  I like to look around and check out everything that is available before making a big purchase. Grant makes a decision and makes a purchase.  So it shouldn't be surprising that yesterday Grant decided, after some internet research, that it was time to go and look at the Toyota Prius.  So we all hopped in his Mercedes and drove to the nearest garage. A couple of hours later we drove out in a Prius leaving his old car behind.

  It may not be the fastest car around but it is a hybrid and gets about 45mpg. For Grant driving to and from DC every day it makes sense financially and environmentally. Grant is ready for all the comments...bring them on!

More Safari Pictures

Here are some more pictures of my walking Safari in Nairobi. The coolest part was getting to stroke and play with a Cheetah (below).

We also got to see albino Zebra's.


And finally whilst this is not Daisy, we spend 2 hours walking around to find 'Jock' who really is the tallest Giraffe I have ever seen. We were supposed to stay 15 feet away but as you can see we got a little closer since at this point we had no guide.

cookies

Oliver, Archie and Harvey came over this morning and they brought cookies with them. The best part about the cookies is that the kids could spread them with icing and add sprinkles on their own. Not as much of a mess as you might imagine!

easter party with the australians

We had a great time this afternoon with Dave, Jean and Ruby at the Australians in Washington DC Easter party.  There was a bbq - of course...they're Australian! - and lots of cookies, cake, games, races, the Easter bunny and an egg hunt.  Cameron and Jamie couldn't believe how lucky they were to find chocolate eggs under a tree...that bunny is not too bad.

Jamie is not that sure why Jean made him wear Ruby's Easter bonnet!