Mom had her camera out taking some pictures for Dad so, of course, the girls had to get a picture with the best Dad ever!!
One night we were running some errands in the city and instead of fighting the traffic home we stopped at one of the girls favorite stores - Ikea! They did a little looking around and then it was upstairs for a cheap, yummy dinner.
Who doesn't love Ikea chicken, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy!?!? Everyone was happy even Mom who didn't have to cook and didn't have to empty her wallet either!
It was time for the annual black knot trim of the tree. Dad worked hard to reach the top of the tree. He even enlisted some help from Cera as she is a bit smaller and able to reach some of the tighter spots.
We have enjoyed spending some time together at the tennis courts this spring. On this occasion we watched some nasty looking storm clouds blow in on top of us. Luckily they didn't amount to much while we were playing.
We've had a lot of fun using the tennis ball machine. It's a pretty good workout to hit a bin full of balls and then gather them all up!
Our tree reminds us how wonderful spring is! It's beautiful and smells so amazing. We wish it would stay like this all year round!
We were excited to be part of a Canada 150 celebration - Canada 150 Mosaic. Communities across Canada participated to created a huge mural.
We each painted a 4 inch by 4 inch tile however we wanted and then the mosaic team placed them into the town mural to create a bigger picture. There were some amazingly painted tiles!
The towns finished mural. Somewhere in there are 4 tiles painted by our family! It was a fun project to be part of and will be part of history!
Cera was able to paint two tiles as they went with their grade 5 classes. Emilee was invited to a birthday party at the same time and was so sad to miss it. She's hoping they do it again another year.
Elizabeth is excited for spring and the chance it makes for more bike riding! We enjoy stopping to watch the different birds and ducks around the pond. We still can't seem to convince her to take her training wheels off but we'll hopefully get there soon.
Dad had some work changes happen recently that allowed him to be able to go on an end of year field trip with each of the girls. They absolutely loved having Dad come with them!!
The junior high students at the girls school made these beautiful feather wings which were displayed in the hallway. The pictures don't even do them justice! A few weeks after we took this picture, they added a step stool so kids were closer to the right height. What a fun project!
Emilee has now been added to the orthodontist visit list. Even though it was warm out, they were excited to make their cups of hot chocolate at the end of the visit.
Shockingly the skirts the girls made themselves over 2 years ago don't fit anymore! They went from maxi skirts to mid-calf before Mom said it was time to retire them. The girls were a bit sad so of course, we headed to the fabric store to get material to make some more.
We measured the girls and they each made their own pattern pieces.
They cut out their material and then pinned it together for sewing.
Then they sewed up a storm!
What a cute little seamstress!
Proud girls showing off their hard work! Way to go ladies!
We decided to make another trip to the science centre as Emilee had really wanted to go into the Star Trek exhibit and we didn't last time. We started our visit with a stop outside - it was such a nice day!
Cera and Emilee had a fun time bouncing each other around on this teeter-totter swing.
We then headed into the Star Trek exhibit so we had lots of time. We started in the medical area. The girls were great doctors and all figured out what was wrong with their patient!
We have some great shooters in our family. They were even great at not shooting the ones that took points away.
We finally made it to mission command after all of our other department challenges. (speaking klingon was the hardest!) The girls were all ready to control the ship! (Emilee is at the right back, Cera in front of her, and then Elizabeth front and centre)
Lots of buttons and instructions!
Nothing's better than the Captain's chair!
The girls liked turning themselves into aliens. Aren't they all so cute!?!?
Maybe this is the better look? Which Star Trek character would you be? The girls liked checking in again at the end to find out their best suited job on the starfleet would be.
Cera - Engineering with an interest in Command
Emilee - Engineering with an interest in Communications
Elizabeth - Tactical with an interest in Communications
Mom - Communications with an interest in Science
And a visit to the science centre is not complete without a stop to build with the hot glue guns! Elizabeth doesn't love this station as much as the other girls so her and Mom usually end up at the kinex table to build.
We had such a great day at the science centre and, not surprisingly, didn't leave until they were locking up the building. The girls love it here!
Mom was treated to a special dinner and short program from the Activity Day girls this year. Cera and Emilee decided they wanted to invite Grandma to this special event also. It was a fun evening to visit and for the "older women" to enjoy being pampered by the younger girls. What a great evening!
On Mother's Day Mom was treated to breakfast in bed with some special gifts to open. It's always fun to see what the girls have created at school. Mom attends Elizabeth and Emilee's class on a weekly basis but their teachers took great care to make sure she didn't see any of the surprises beforehand.
Mom had requested no big gifts this year as she was pretty spoiled at Christmas with all her new camera gear. Luckily Dad listened (for once!) and came through with a much better "gift". Dad and the girls made a poster of the reasons they love Mom. It was pretty special to read through the poster and it will probably find a pretty permanent place in Mom's room!
Mom was able to go on a hike with the grade fives this year - Fullerton Loop. It was a fun day - nice weather, gorgeous outdoors and time with Cera! Along the hike, their leader would stop and point things out, teach them about something like the growths on the trees, or have them take a moment to relax and reflect on their life.
It wasn't a super difficult hike (except that it had been raining for days before we went so the trails were pretty muddy and the hills a little slick) but the view at the top was refreshing. We enjoyed our lunch with this view and then the kids took a few quiet moments to write in their visual journals about what they saw in regards to what they've been studying this year. They've been learning about how animals and humans affect nature in positive and negative ways and also clouds and weather. We would have been happy to spend a little longer here but had to head back to catch the bus.
It was an enjoyable and Cera enjoyed some Mom time. Getting into nature, slowing down, relaxing and enjoying God's creations is so great for the soul, mind and body!
The Activity Day Girls (girls age 8-11 in our church) made their cars to race again this year. Emilee was so excited to get to be part of it this year. They both had different ideas of how to decorate their cars - which ended up a little different than planned as most things do - but they were both happy. (Car #1 - Cera; Car #2 - Emilee)
One of the reasons the girls love these car races is because they get to spend some extra time with Dad (and Grandpa) building their cars and then on race day.
The girls did great in their heats and overall. It was a fun day with lots of great memories for the girls!
They are already talking about their plans for next time - although Cera will probably be too old and Elizabeth will be old enough for the fun!
We had some last minute decisions (and approvals from Mom and Dad) on what the girls wanted to do for their birthday parties. Cera decided she wanted to do some pottery painting with her friends. She was limited to the number of friends that could fit into Mom's car for the drive into the city. It was a fun, busy, loud....but good group.
Elizabeth was very focused on her painting!
The girls all had fun painting, laughing, visiting and snacking while celebrating Cera!
What a group of girls!! The lady working at the store helped wind them up too! It was a long drive home for Mom but she was glad that Cera was happy with the day.
Elizabeth was super excited to have her birthday party at the bowling alley with it being setup for glow in the dark bowling! Can you tell by her smile!?!
The kids had so much fun bowling and then headed to the party table for some more fun!
Elizabeth decided to have cinnamon bun bars instead of cake this year. The kids enjoyed some treats, opening gifts and then some crafts and dancing before their parents came to pick them up.
The girls were both happy with their parties and grateful for everyone that helped them celebrate another wonderful year!
