7 1/2 months pregnant!!!

This pregnancy is going by pretty quickly and I hope that that feeling continues as we enter the hot months of summer and my belly keeps growing. I was able to continue running up until two weeks ago. I am now walking and biking and feeling good. Poor little Justin heads out with me every morning as I push Austin in the stroller. He gets on his bike and rides, he is such a good sport about it. I make sure we finish at a park so there is something for him to look forward too. You should see his leg muscles; pretty amazing for a 4 yr old.

Splash, jump...fun outdoors

Look at Austin's face...he is in heaven. He know how to handle himself around a water gun and gets pure enjoyment out of chasing and shooting people. What a kick. Our next door neighbor is one of our main babysitters (Mikayla) and her brother Chad have been coming over quite a bit the past couple weeks and the kids just love it. Anytime they see them outside they invite them over. Mikayla (14) and Chad (12) are such good sports and really seem to enjoy playing with the kids.
He just shot Mikayla's backside; look at his happy face.
We got out the slip and slide that Auntie Corrina and Uncle Leif gave them. They had such a good time. It was nice to have a warm enough day yesterday to get it out.

Justin made this ramp and gets a good head start and a bit of air. He has yet to crash...this kid loves to be challenged.

A special daddy-son day in Waterton

Eric had no shift on Thursday and had heard about a biking (ended up being a service road) trail to some falls just North of Waterton. He and Justin packed up their packs with all the needed food and necessities and headed off for a fun day.
They saw at least 4 bears (two cubs) , elk, mountain sheep, buffalo, deer, cranes and probably more. Talk about a successful wildlife viewing day. Justin got pretty tuckered out and fell asleep as they headed to the Waterton town site. He woke up when offered some ice cream and another special treat.

What a good sport Justin was, biking on a rough road at age four with howling winds pushing him the other way...what a kid. They had a special time together. Now Madeleine can't wait for her "special day".

Bowling and biking

After having had a great time bowling at Anya's birthday party the kids knew they wanted to go again, and this time with dad too. So, Friday night we had over some good friends with whom we had a bbq and then went bowling. Unfortunately Austin has been waking up with the sun and his naps have been coming early and so when night comes he is exhausted. We all tasted of his fatigue this night. He had a good 30 min. or so and then just kept breaking down. He and I ended up outside in the van for the remaining 30 min. or so. Madeleine and Justin had a great time.

This week was a big one for Madeleine. She has learned to ride her two-wheeler. She has always been a very careful/cautious girl and so our attempts last year were futile as she was not interested in tipping or falling. About two weeks ago she began to "practice" on her bike. I had tried to pull her and Austin in the bike trailer a few days earlier (while Justin rode) and it was just too much weight. So Madeleine and I had a good talk about the need for her to learn to ride and how much fun our summer could be with family bike rides. Well, Madeleine took it to heart and began her practicing. Within a few days you could see she was so close to getting it. By Tuesday this week she got it! We rode with her to and from school the next day and you should have seen her beaming.
Above is us down at the River bottom yesterday for our first family bike ride with Madeleine on her bike. They biked for about an hour non-stop and loved it!!! Madeleine was thrilled and didn't want to stop. We are so proud of her.

Special Days for the kids

While Eric was in Calgary last week for his board exams the kids and I decided it would be fun to have a special "late night" with some neighbors. As we don't do sleep overs the kids understood that they'd be able to stay up later than usual and then I'd take their friends home. Daryn and Kelly are brother and sister that live across the street. They came over, looked for bugs, played, ate strawberry shortcake, cookies, and watched a movie with popcorn...sound pretty good? I thought so and so did the kids. They had such a good time.
The kids were in their pj's and had brought blankets/sleeping bags and pillows. They were so cute and all comfy watching the show. Austin had a friend, Tyler, with whom he goofed around with until the older kids got a bit annoyed that they couldn't hear the movie over his laughing. Tyler and Austin would play off each other; one would laugh then the other would, one would fall to the floor and then the other followed suit. It was adorable to me, but I understood the kids frustration with the loudness of their activity and soon put Austin to bed.

Below, Madeleine was recognized for her progress in school with a "special person" button at an award assembly last week. She had no idea and was happily surprised to hear her name called. We are so proud of her accomplishments. She is doing so well in school.