a few pictures

I'm up late waiting for bread to bake, so thought I'd kill a little time posting some recent pictures.

My parents and brother were here this past weekend for Dave's third birthday. Of course, I have very few pictures. I have to get back into the habit of using the camera. Just one thing that's harder with so many kids. It can be a bit of a zoo here.  I'm living in the monkey house!  But it was a great, if short, visit. I'll have to get them to send some of their shots to post up. But I do have a couple from the party itself.

Dave with his Cars cake, with John looking on. Dave is obsessed with Cars, but has yet to see the movie!

Opening a 10-pack of Hot Wheels from Mike's parents. What a hit! He's inseparable from them,still. He also got a little John Deere wheelbarrow frommy parents, which I'm sure will be in many pictures to come down the road - he's constantly loading stuff. He uses it to move firewood and toys. So cute! Mike's Grandma sent a new tricycle, which is also a hit. Joan doesn't have a bike, because she finds them very tricky,but she can use John's old red trike. Now, all three can bike around the yard together at the same time. Today, they were out running races, to the horror of our geese.

 Speaking of our geese, they've been acting a little odd lately. I think they're getting cold out there, and have been nosing around for new places to be. Last night, Mike opened the door, and they strolled right in! They warmed up for a while, had a drink from the cat's dish, then went back outside. It was..um...interesting. And slightly messy. Today, they were acting really weird. They were nervously collecting little piles of grass, and the gander kept bringing the goose things. Mostly little sticks. I had a look online, and it seems they may be trying to build a nest. Seems a little early, but it seems to be what they want to do. Mike found an ad for bedding hay at $1 a bale, so we're thinking of getting them a bunch and clearing out some sheltered spot for them. They seem to have their eye on the chicken coop - they've been poking around in there a LOT. But we need to move out the chickens first!

Our Pekin ducks, patiently waiting in line for a dip in their favourite mud puddle. Tom's busy topping it up for them.

Well, bread's done. I need it for stuffing. We're cooking our first farm-raised turkey tomorrow. I didn't actually "kill" him per se. He started dying of a heart attack right in front of me, so I scooped him up, ran him to the cone and bled him out, so he wouldn't go to waste. A call to my Dad, and a quick look online, and we're reasonably confident he's safe to eat. He seemed to be a happy, healthy guy until then and all of his innards looked completely normal and healthy, except that his heart had exploded out the top. (Meat birds die of heart attacks from growing too fast.) He dressed out to 17 pounds. Hopefully we don't die from eating him. :-P

I'll try to post again soon!

for your amusement...

John loves this picture. It was taken while he and Joan were in Dryden. I had gotten Dave and the groceries settled into the house, then came back for Tom and found this. We had them fenced, but it was futile - they gotsobigthey just hoppedover. So we gave up and let them go free range. It works well- we haven't lost one yet, but we do find them in the craziest places!

very quick update!

I have a computer momentarily, so thought I’d stop in and give a quick update on the kids. I don’t have enough time to recap the entire year, unfortunately.




But here goes – Joan started Kindergarten this year, and is doing so well! On her first day, I asked her if she had fun. She crossed her arms, pouted and snapped “NO!” When I asked her why, she said “Because they didn’t teach me how to read!” She has a full-time aid, who she shares with a very high functioning autistic boy. You would never know he was autistic-he just appears really shy. But he needs an aid, because he has a hard time understanding. Her teacher is pleasantly surprised with how well she’s doing. She was the first in her class to win number Bingo, she loves music class, and participates fully. She’s still Joan, though. When I asked her teacher how she was doing she said, “She has quite a stubborn streak in her, doesn’t she?” She’s even made a friend! She and this little girl go off together side by side after class to play ponies. It’s so cute!



John’s doing well, too! He has a male teacher, who he thinks is awesome. “He’s like a professor, but for little kids!” I think that comes from French camp, where he got to spend a day hanging with a real Biology professor at the University- his first encounter with a male teacher. And after all the trouble last year, he has yet to go to the principal’s office once. Not even a detention! The teacher saw his temper flare up once, and was shocked! He told me that he’d been warned about John, but hadn’t seen any evidence of anything they said until that moment –he was a model student, and eager to please. He has been taken back in to reading help, but on a weekly basis, instead of daily – a vast improvement! He spent a month of summer in reading tutoring, and it has definitely paid off.



Anyway, better go. Mike needs the computer for work now. I’ll try to sneak on here every day or two with more little updates – about all I can handle these days, but it’s better than nothing. And with pictures too! Pictures soon.