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Okay, I just have to share some photos of our trip to the Vancouver Aquarium. It was a little bit intense keeping track of seven children, but all eleven of us went in and eleven came out, so I guess we did alright! There were so many interesting and beautiful creatures to see. I'm sharing some of the photos over at the Imagine Childhood blog today. Hop on over and have a look!
On our trip I discovered why Riley goes from this...
to this...
for certain family group photos. Normally, Riley loves to have her photo taken and to perform. Try and do a family photo with extended family or while away from home and you will often see a very unhappy child in the photo. We always thought Riley was just tired or overwhelmed by all the excitement as most photos tended to happen in the evenings. This trip Riley enlightened us. After much protesting about not wanting to be in the photo and fussing while the photo was being taken I heard her say (while playing behind the couch), "I don't like getting my picture taken. I don't like saying goodbye." It suddenly became crystal clear. This pattern has been going on for years, since before she could say more than a handful of words. Riley is our extrovert and loves intensely, so it is hard for her to part with people. Apparently, the timing of the requisite family photo is generally right before the people involved are leaving to go home or we are leaving to go home. If it's a birthday party, backyard playdate, or family event with people she sees regularly then all is well. Poor kid! We should have picked up on it sooner. Time to move the family photos to the start of the visit instead of the end!
On our way out of the Vancouver Aquarium, we passed by a pond where people had been throwing coins and, presumably, making wishes. Hendrik asked if I had a coin he could throw in so he could make a wish too. I found some change in my wallet and passed the coin to him. He tossed the coin into the water, and a few seconds later I hear the words, "I wish for lots of lizards." Yep, sounds like a 6 year old boy's kind of wish to me! I asked where he wished for lots of lizards to be. His reply? "Everywhere." Here are some photos of the coin pond and the lizard-wishing boy.
(I love how kids try out so many different smiles and smirks! You never know what you're going to get when you say, "Cheese!")
Litte Miss Emma on Easter Sunday morning
My apologies in advance, my photos are a bit out of focus this week. I ended up taking photos after dark and in poor lighting. Hopefully the colours are still cheerful!
{pretty}
These are my slippers and I love, love, LOVE them! They are pretty, warm, and I can run outside in them to start the generator without freezing. I just wipe off the snow on the way in the door. They are made by a company in British Columbia called Padraig. The kids and I each have a pair.
{happy}
Flowers! I am tired of cold weather already. Not so good when winter is still here for another 2 months. These are keeping me happier this week - birthday flowers from my sister and brother-in-law and a friend. I don't know if I've ever seen daffodils in February here before. I love this little bit of spring!
<
This last flower photo is of a flower Riley made to "make the daffodils even prettier". She fashions flowers out of just about anything - tissue paper bits, masking tape, pencil crayons, leftover giftwrap and bows, etc.
{funny}
I was taking a shower the other day when I heard "BLORP, BLORP, BLORP" come from another part of the house. My first thoughts ran to a plumbing disaster of some kind. Then I realized it was one of the kids playing with a popgun. I had a good chuckle at that.
(Nope, it wasn't this kid! Haha!)
{real}
Being inside for long periods of time and often can make you see things in your house you wouldn't normally see or cause you to wish to move and/or renovate. I use the tried and true method of my mom and grandmother - move the furniture! LOL! Last weekend it was the upstairs - I moved around 5 beds and the corresponding clothing storage for each person. Catch: I haven't put all of the clothes back into said storage units - quel disastre!
I made progress in my kitchen though. I did what made sense and shuffled a few things around. Much easier to function, find my dining table, and put things away. I don't have much counter space or storage space so when things get messy it is almost impossible to function or even put things away. Sanity is returning to the kitchen. Yay!
This first one is by Abby. It is a drawing of me blowing bubbles! (This doodle board gets constant use!)
This is a drawing by Riley that she taped to the wall on the way up our stairs. The masking tape finally lost it's hold the other day so I photographed it against the couch. It is even more lovely against the log wall.
